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«Oh, Lorcan,» Elide muttered to herself as she stepped into the dim living room.
The floor was littered with toys, ranging from barbie dolls to plastic dinosaurs, Frozen was paused midway on the TV, a giant blanket fort was built around the dining table, and in the midst of it all, on the too-short couch, was her husband, snoring softly, looking as if this was the first time he slept in days.
Which it might as well be, since he’d been alone with their daughter all weekend.
Four whole years had passed since their home was colonized by a tiny, glitter-obsessed person, and while Elide was loving every second of it, little Alma had proved to be as stubborn and strong-willed as her mother, and taking care of her was definitely a two-person job.
Taking in her mess of a living room, Elide decided that single parents had to be actual superheroes.
Lorcan probably thought so too, from where he was passed out on the couch.
As Elide stepped closer, she let out a quiet chuckle at the sight of her husband. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he was drooling on the nearest pillow, but that wasn’t what made her reach for her phone to take a picture.
No, because, his nails, and fingers, were covered in bright pink nail polish, and tangled into his badly braided hair was a sparkling tiara. It was the most adorable thing Elide had ever seen. How the man in front of her was the same as the brooding bad-boy she’d fallen in love with during her college years was beyond her.
At least it looked like Alma’s weekend had been fun.
Leaning down towards her husband, Elide brushed away a strand of dark hair and placed a featherlight kiss on his brow. «Lorcan,» she whispered as his eyes began to flutter, but Lorcan didn’t wake up, only clutched the pillow tighter.
«Lorcan,» Elide whispered once more, shaking his shoulder. «You can’t sleep on the couch. Your back will kill you in the morning.»
«You make me sound so old,» Lorcan grumbled, his eyes finally opening.
«You are old,» Elide teased, smiling at her husband. She took a step back, almost slipping on a rubber duck. Wasn’t that supposed to be in the bathtub?
Lorcan let out a loud groan as he stood up, only furthering Elide’s point. His gaze wandered over the room, a frown on his face. «Shit! I-I was supposed to clean before you came home,» he slurred, voice still laced with sleep.
«This place looks like a war zone,» Elide chuckled, her face softening at Lorcan’s clearly exhausted state.
«At some point it was,» Lorcan said drily, running a hand through his long hair, only for it to get caught in one of the loose braids.
Elide stepped closer, standing on her toes so she could reach up to carefully untangle the tiara from his hair. When it was free, she tossed it onto the nearby couch and walked into his awaiting embrace.
«I missed you, both of you» she whispered against his chest. Being away from her family was always hard, and although the much-needed spa weekend with her friends had been amazing, Elide had been looking forward to come back home the entire time.
«And we missed you,» Lorcan mumbled, leaning down to give her a kiss.
«How was she?» Elide asked her husband, as if his exhaustion and the mess surrounding them hadn’t already answered that question.
Lorcan looked down at her and cringed. «Not as bad as it looks…I just can’t say no to her.»
Elide knew all to well what he meant. Those pleading puppy-eyes were impossible to say no to.
«Is she sleeping?»
He nodded, his eyelids drooping.
«We should go to bed too, then. This can wait until tomorrow,» Elide declared, gesturing to their toy-invaded living room.
They’d nearly made it down the hall when Lorcan said hesitantly, «About the whole sleep thing…»
But Elide was already opening the door to their bedroom, and the sight that met her had her halting, tears already gathering in her eyes.
The room was cast in a soft glow, a nightlight making the starry sky appear on the ceiling, and in the middle of their bed, surrounded by all her stuffed animals, was Alma, wearing one of her many princess dresses over her pajamas and a tiara matching the one that’d been on Lorcan’s head mere minutes ago. Her blankie was clutched tightly to her chest, the way her mouth hung open making her look exactly like her father.
Said father stepped up behind Elide, a soft smile on his face as he, too, took in the sight in front of them.
«We made that,» was all Elide said to him, her voice a low breath, as her heart filled with such overwhelming love.
For her daughter, and for her incredible husband, who’d do anything for that little girl.
Every day, she was amazed by how good of a father Lorcan was. This man, who’d once upon a time told her he didn’t care for anyone, who’d then fallen in love with her, had married her, had held their newborn child for the first time, no bigger than his hand, and wept with joy.
They shared a look, their eyes conveying more gratitude for this life, this gift, than words could ever do.
Then Elide cringed, whispering, «We have to move her, don’t we?»
Lorcan nodded reluctantly, stepping into the room and beginning to remove the many, many stuffed animals from their bed.
Elide leaned forward and slowly picked up their sleeping daughter, careful not to wake her. She made sure to grab the nightlight as well, since all hell would break loose if Alma woke up without it on.
As she made her way towards Alma’s room, a small, sleepy voice said, «Mommy?»
Looking down, Elide met a pair of wide, nearly-black eyes, Lorcan’s eyes. She smiled softly at her daughter, who was rubbing at her eyes. «It’s late, love. You can go back to sleep.»
Alma simply let out a big yawn before she curled into Elide’s neck, instantly asleep again.
After maneuvering her out of the glittering dress, Elide laid her down on the bed and tucked her in, placing a soft kiss on her sleeping daughter’s head. «Mommy loves you,» she whispered, before turning on the nightlight and stepping out of the room.
Once she was back in her own bedroom, Lorcan already asleep, to no surprise, Elide replaced her jeans and sweater with one of her husband’s old t-shirts. She loved being surrounded by his scent, even if his huge shirt looked more like a dress on her small frame.
Then she climbed into bed, ready for a good night’s sleep after a long weekend.
Lorcan, who was lying on his side, facing away from her, suddenly reached for her hand. Elide took it, and he pulled her closer. Taking the hint, she wrapped her body around his broad frame, Lorcan humming contentedly.
«You’re an amazing father, you know that right?» Elide whispered, brushing a finger over one of his pink nails. She didn’t tell him that enough. Not nearly enough.
He only hummed once more.
«Are you even awake right now?»
Lorcan grumbled something into his pillow, but Elide couldn’t make any sense of it, and her suspicions were confirmed as he again began snoring softly.
Elide let out a soft chuckle before snuggling closer, her eyes falling shut as she thought of how incredibly lucky she was.