Apparently DVD Commentary yields creative results! \0/
pseudo_catalyst and I got to talking over
HERE, and this ficlet is the result! (You can read it without having read the thread, but the thread will definitely clear up where the ideas for this came from!)
Yay, Emily ficlet! \0/ Emily is the cutest baby alien EVER, y'all know it's true!
"Hey!" Ashlee greets them at the door. "You're back early!"
Mike just says, "Yeah," but Kevin goes in for the hug. Ashlee giggles and hugs back, just like she always does, while Mike rolls his eyes. Being married to Pete, Ashlee got over any tentacle hangups a long time ago.
"Did you talk to Joe?" she asks, concerned. "He was planning on picking Em up after work."
"We called him from the airport," Kevin assures her, and Mike asks, "Where are they?" as they step inside.
"Oh, they're having a snack in the playroom. She'll be so happy to see you!" Ashlee waves them down the hall, and okay, they might sort of race a little bit, but they've been away from their little girl for a week. Kevin had wondered aloud on the flight home whether she might have, like, forgotten them or decided Uncle Joe was her new favorite and she didn't love them anymore or something horrible like that, and Mike had told him he was being an idiot but what if she had? It's just important that they get there as soon as possible, that's all.
The door to the playroom is half-open and there are Emily and Bronx, deeply involved in what appears to be a debate about how to properly color some sort of cartoon action hero. As soon as Kevin pushes the door open all the way, Em is up and rushing toward them, a huge smile lighting up her face.
"Daddy!" She shouts as she jumps at Kevin and hugs him tightly, turning lightning-fast to leap from his arms to Mike's and repeat the process.
"Daddy, you have to tell Bronx he's wrong!" She proclaims, squirming down to the floor and running back over to the table. "Captain Major's belt is blue, not green!" She admonishes Bronx, who is clinging resolutely to the green marker.
"Is not!" He argues. Em plops down on the floor.
"Is too," she grumbles, and reaches out to take an apple slice from the plate in the middle of the table, which is when Mike and Kevin turn in unison to look at each other, eyes wide, and nearly take each other out trying to be the first to get to her, but it's too late. She munches half the slice down quickly, then looks up at her dads as if they've gone crazy (which is a fair assessment).
Mike scoops her up instantly, checking her eyes and holding the end of one of her slightly-pudgy (in the most adorable way possible, because every part of their daughter is beautiful) tentacles in his much larger hand.
"How do you feel, baby girl?" He asks, and Em rolls her eyes at him (by the time Mike realized she'd learned that from him, it had already been too late).
"I'm fine," she says.
"Are you sure?" Kevin's got his worried face on, which both Emily and her father know means they aren't getting away until he's satisfied there's nothing wrong.
"Daaa~aad," she complains, "I'm not gonna choke on an apple. I'm not a baby." And that is a blatant untruth, because she will always be their baby, but that's the least of their concerns at the moment. Mike and Kevin trade a bewildered look.
"Can I go color some more?" Em asks, and Mike lets her down again, where she happily picks up an orange marker and colors the belt with it, accuracy no longer important.
"She--" Kevin waves, indicating the slices of apple and their daughter with one motion.
"I know," Mike says. "I have no idea."
~*~
The MIB scientists run some tests, which mainly involve Kevin, Mike, a private room, and a lot of apples--Mike contends this is either proof that Zed actually hates him kind of a lot, or that he's secretly quite fond of both of them. When they return with "conclusive" proof that as long as they don't eat the seeds Kevin's people can eat all the apples they want, Mike and Kevin exchange a lot more looks.
They also exchange their home office for a new nursery, but that's another story.
This has a series tag now! Because it's apparently a series! Awesome! \0/