Work Text:
“Daddy!” Libby wails from her time out spot on the bottom step of the stairs.
Chris winces with each new round of sobs, every bone in his body is screaming at him to pick up his daughter and wipe away her tears.
“Papa!” She blubbers when her pleas go unanswered, though her words are muffled.
“Papa’s not home,” Chris reminds her, though all that seems to do is increase the volume of her cries. He wishes Sebastian was home right now as much, if not more, than their daughter does. He finishes sweeping up the stray crumbs coating the kitchen and then makes his way to the staircase.
He crouches in front of Libby, using the sleeve of his henley to wipe away her tears and then her snotty nose. Her wails calm to whimpers at her daddy’s presence, which Chris is very thankful for.
“No more time out?” She asks, her little face still red and puffy from her screams.
Chris tucks her hair behind her ear and looks his daughter in the eye. “I think you have an apology to make first, Libby. You know it’s not nice to hit Dodger, we only use gentle hands.”
Her big blues eyes glisten with guilt at the reminder of her offence.
Certain that his heart can’t take any more tears, Chris is quick to reassure her. “Let’s go say sorry to Dodger and maybe we can cuddle on the couch and watch Land Before Time again? Whaddya say, princess?”
Libby nods her little head and takes his hand. They make their way into the living room where Dodger is sitting on the couch. His ears perk at their presence and he quickly comes bounding over towards them.
“Sit, Bubba,” Chris instructs and Dodger does without hesitation. “Okay, Lib. What do you have to say to him?”
“Sorry, Dodgey.” She says softly, her little body flush with Chris, her face burrowing into his shoulder.
Dodger tilts his head to the side expectantly.
“Think we should give him a treat?” Chris whispers to his daughter.
Libby’s eyes light up and she nods. “Yes!”
Chris passes her the peanut butter flavored dog treat and Libby eagerly gives it to Dodger who gobbles it right up. “Looks like Bubba accepts your apology, Miss Molly. But remember no more hitting.” He reinforces the lesson one more time.
She’s sleeping before Littlefoot meets Ducky but Chris doesn’t turn on the movie. Instead he lets the familiar dialogue that he could easily recount by heart, lull him to sleep too.
***
Roused from sleep by his pants’ pocket vibrating, Chris answers his phone.
“Hey,” he says, careful to keep his voice quiet, not wanting to wake Libby or Dodger who are both sound asleep, snuggled up against him.
“Hey!” Sebastian greets from the other side of the country. “What kind of trouble have you and Libby gotten into today?”
Chris lets out a heavy exhale at Seb’s unfortunate choice of words. “There was trouble alright,” he sighs.
“What’s wrong?” Sebastian asks, the question full of worry. “I didn’t get any texts from you.”
“Didn’t want to bother you,” Chris tells him, honestly. “There’s nothing you can do from California.”
Sebastian tries not to let the comment eat at him, knowing Chris isn’t trying to make him feel guilty. But he does.
“She had another one of her meltdowns,” Chris explains. “Got upset when she tossed a pretzel on the floor and Dodger ate it. Smacked him square on the snout.”
“Oh no,” Sebastian sympathizes, already knowing that’s not the end of the story.
“So instead of letting me get her a new one, she proceeded to dump the whole cup. Which Dodger promptly scarfed down while I dealt with our sobbing two-year-old.”
He listens to Chris detail the rest, from the time out cry fest to the eventual nap of exhaustion.
“I’m sorry, babe. Sounds like you had a rough day.”
“Yeah,” Chris sighs, feeling just about ready to go to bed and forget all about it; try again tomorrow.
“Wish I could be there,” Sebastian tells him. “Hold you both close. Dodger too.”
“Yeah,” Chris repeats in a way that makes Seb’s stomach clench. But he quickly softens it with an understanding, “I know.”
Sebastian curses himself for being so far away from the people he loves most in the world. Wishing that with the snap of his fingers he could cancel his work commitments and get back to the East Coast as soon as possible.
“It’s just harder than I thought it would be. You being gone and us being here without you.” Chris’ comment breaks Sebastian’s train of thought. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, I miss you.”
Tears well in Seb’s eyes, his voice thick as he tries his best to choke them down. “I miss you too, Chris. So fucking much.”
“It’s okay, we’re okay.” Chris emphasizes, annoyed with himself for making his husband feel bad. “I’m just tired and lonely. Which is pretty hilarious seeing as I’m currently at the bottom of a doggy pile and the only time I’m ever really alone is when I’m in the bathroom.”
Sebastian lets out a rough chuckle at the picture Chris paints. “You’re doing a great job, if I haven’t told you that enough lately. I promise I’ll be home soon.”
“And I can’t wait.” Chris tells him. “I’ll finally have someone to keep me company in the shower.”
This time a genuine laugh rumbles in Seb’s chest that makes Chris giggle on the other end of the line.
“We have signs of life,” Chris tells his husband when he notices Libby shift against him and her eyes pop open.
“Wanna say hi to Papa?” He asks her.
His daughter nods and he holds the phone to her ear. Dodger is seemingly displeased by all the movement and noise so he makes his way over to his own bed by the fireplace.
“Hi Munchkin,” Sebastian greets over the phone.
“Hi Papa!” Libby exclaims, though her voice is still heavy with sleep.
“Are you being good for Daddy?”
“Yep!” She answers resolutely. “Dodgey ate all my pretzels.”
“So I heard,” he replies, trying not to laugh at the creative way she’s spun the story. “I’ll be home soon though, make sure you save some pretzels for me.”
“Okay Papa.” She nods as if committing the important task to memory.
“I’ll see you very soon, okay? I love you, Libby.”
“Love you, Papa!” She calls already pushing the phone towards Chris ready to go play instead.
“Sounds like there’s more exciting things to do than talk to her Papa,” Sebastian chuckles at her quick getaway.
“I can think of a couple of other things I’d like to do with you too,” Chris says suggestively. “But they’ll have to wait until our alone time in the shower.”
Sebastian’s cheeks heat at the insinuation.
“Just another reason why I can’t wait to get home to both of my troublemakers.”