Both Austin and Nora instantly turned their heads toward their little bundle of joy.

Meanwhile, Luna was watching them from her crib with bright and delighted eyes.

Her little body wriggled with excitement at the sight of her beloved parents moving in front of her.

Then she let out a short and happy giggle that made her whole face scrunch up adorably.

Actually, it almost sounded like she was greeting her two parents after witnessing them do the same thing every single morning.

Of course, her daddy and mommy knew exactly what she was doing, so Austin replied with a grin on his face as he carried her out of her crib and placed her on the floor, sitting in front of her.

"Good morning to you too, my little pupcake."

Luna giggled again and it was louder this time, but then she did something neither of her parents expected.

Luna pushed herself upward with both arms and her little body wobbled as she worked very hard to get herself up onto her feet for the very first time.

Seeing this, Austin froze and Nora’s hand flew straight to her mouth.

Meanwhile, Luna wobbled left, then right, then steadied herself before standing on two unsteady little legs as she concentrated fully on keeping herself upright.

But then she looked up at her parents with wide eyes and said very clearly. "Hun-gee."

Upon hearing this, the room went completely silent as an invisible Cupid’s arrow landed softly on their chests.

Both parents froze in disbelief at what they had just heard.

And aside from that, her voice was simply the cutest they had ever heard.

Meanwhile, Luna stared back at them whilst still standing and still wobbling slightly.

She looked very pleased with herself as she smiled, having tried to speak to her parents just like how they had been doing to her for so long.

"Did she just..." Nora whispered softly as she pierced through the silence in the room.

"Yes, she just said hun-gee." Austin whispered back.

"She said hun-gee, huh. So I didn’t hear wrong." Nora repeated as the realisation really began to dawn on her, and Austin nodded in response whilst experiencing what his wife was currently experiencing internally.

"Nope, you definitely heard the same thing I did, and she certainly said hun-gee." Austin affirmed this, and the two of them briefly stared at each other before staring back at their daughter whilst their lips slowly began to widen into a smile.

Seeing the smile on their daughter’s face, both parents instantly rushed toward her with tears in their eyes whilst saying.

"Luna!!!"

The little girl let out a startled giggle as both parents dropped to their knees in front of her to shower her with kisses on her cheeks, her forehead, her tiny hands, and anywhere they could reach.

"You talked!! You actually talked!! My sweet little baby said her first word!!" Nora gushed over her baby, covering her daughter’s chubby cheek with kisses.

"Say papa, pupcake. Come on, Luna. Say papa. Pa-pa." Austin said immediately as he pulled back just enough to look at her face.

Luna blinked at him, but before she could open her mouth to speak, Nora instantly cut in quickly as she leaned forward. "Say mama, pupcake. Ma-ma. Say mama, Luna."

"No, no, no, say papa first." Austin said, turning to his wife.

"Mama comes first." Nora said firmly.

"Papa is easier to say."

"That is not true."

"Pa-pa. Look at papa and say Pa-pa." Austin said again to Luna whilst completely ignoring his wife.

Meanwhile, Luna looked between the two of them with wide, curious eyes.

She watched them both with a quiet and observant expression before giggling again as she said. "Hun-gee."

Hearing this, Austin and Nora both stared at her with shocked expressions.

Then Austin dropped his head in defeat and laughed, whilst Nora covered her face with both hands as her shoulders shook in realisation of what was currently happening.

Of course, Austin had also managed to understand it as well.

"I think she’s hungry." Austin managed to say with a chuckle.

"Yeah, she’s definitely hungry, just like someone I know." Nora agreed, laughing behind her hands.

"Nah, she definitely takes that after you."

"Nope, she takes after her father and you know it." Nora said with a chuckle before wiping the little tears at the corner of her eye.

"Well, now that I think about it, this is completely your fault. You were the one who woke me up begging for food." Austin said whilst reaching out to scoop Luna up carefully from the floor.

"I wasn’t begging." Nora said as she straightened up and crossed her arms with great dignity before following behind him.

"Yeah, you were. Besides, you were the one pressed against me whispering in my ear."

"I was simply making my situation known to my husband, nothing more." Nora replied in a cute voice, and Austin shook his head whilst holding Luna against his chest as the little girl continued to wriggle happily, completely satisfied with the amount of attention she had caused.

"Yeah, right. Come on then. Both of you are getting breakfast." Austin replied, and Nora smiled as she followed him out of the room.

Of course, as always, her tail was happily swaying behind her.

Days passed by in a flash, and right now, Rowena’s mansion was extremely quiet as the night settled comfortably around it.

Currently, Austin and Nora lay side by side beneath the sheets, completely bare as they stared up at the ceiling together.

Neither of them said anything for a while as they simply enjoyed the warmth of being pressed against each other, but then Austin’s voice broke through the silence.

"I’ve been thinking, Nora."

"About what?"

"About making plans for our wedding."

"What?" Nora turned her head to look at him, and Austin turned to look at her at the same time.

Austin could see the surprise on her face, so he reached over to gently touch her cheek. "I’m sorry it took me this long to bring it up. I know you deserved better than that, and I’m truly sorry for not putting it at the top of the list of things I need to do to make it official for us." Austin said softly, but Nora held his gaze for a moment without speaking.

Then she turned her face slightly into his palm and kissed it softly.