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“You sure Patrick doesn’t mind?” Diego cautiously checked as soon as he shuffled through the door. Allison smirked, finding it entertaining that he thought she would’ve ever given Patrick a choice. “I’m sure, he’s in Texas anyway.” she assured her brother, she would’ve probably rumored him into visiting another state even if he didn’t have to be there for work. Diego nodded, lingering by the door uncomfortably. Allison was considering if she was going to have to rumor him into brooding less. She wondered if he even knew any kids, she imagined he didn’t. Allison couldn’t really picture it, but she supposed she didn’t know him anymore. She was still surprised he’d accepted her invitation; she’d been expecting to have to use her power. Allison had reluctantly given in to Claire’s begging to properly meet one of her siblings, now that her daughter was a little older. Diego was the only realistic option.
The pitter patter of tiny feet raced towards them, making Diego’s eyes grow wide with panic. “Uncle Diego?!” Claire excitedly exclaimed, rushing towards him for a bear hug. Diego stood in stunned shock, awkwardly hugging her back. Uncle Diego? He didn’t think Claire even knew he existed. Diego had assumed Allison was just saying Claire wanted to meet to convince him to come. “Hi...” he drawled, looking to Allison with uncertainty. She nodded encouragingly. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” Diego truthfully told his niece. Claire had been in the back of his mind quite a lot since she’d been born. He didn’t really have any excuse to meet her though, Allison practically being a stranger to him now. Diego doubted he’d ever have his own children, he didn’t have the temperament to be a dad. He couldn’t see any of his other siblings as parents either... at least he goddamn hoped not. It was deeply comforting to hug his niece, even if Diego felt utterly out of his depth.
“Why don’t you give your uncle a minute to unpack?” Allison softly suggested to Claire, praying she would actually listen. Diego clearly needed a moment to emotionally unpack. They hadn’t seen each other in years, never mind being suddenly presented with his overly enthusiastic niece. Allison wouldn’t be able to rumor away a tantrum with Diego right there, she was so nervous. Allison just knew how much of a snarky asshole he’d be if he knew she rumored Claire... even though Allison was aware that would probably be deserved.
Claire pulled away from Diego and pouted at her mom, stomping her foot on the floor petulantly. Allison clenched her jaw, knowing she was terrible at reacting to Claire’s misbehaviour without using her power. “Your moms right, I should go put my things away.” Diego gestured to his bag, edging away from Claire before she could tackle him again. Allison gently breathed out with relief, worrying about having to cope without her power for the entirety of the time Diego was here. “It’s the fifth door on the right.” Allison pointed down the hallway to the guest room. Diego seemed taken aback by the vast amount of doors in the hall as he sauntered away. Her brother was peering around the place in awe, as if they hadn’t been brought up in a mansion. Allison’s home was definitely more luxurious and stunning though, she knew that with certainty.
“Does he have his knives?!” Claire asked animatedly, almost jumping up and down with how giddy she was. “I hope not.” Allison chuckled, lovingly ruffling Claire’s hair. She waited for her brother’s footsteps to become very faint, and then crouched down to Claire’s level. “This is kind of a lot for him, you know...” Allison murmured softly, hoping she could get Claire to calm down a little. How would she be able to manage this hyperactivity without rumors? It was terrifying to cope with. “I knoooow, mommy.” Claire stuck her bottom lip out, rapidly fiddling with the stuffed animal in her hands. Allison began to ask her daughter to behave before she suddenly turned on her heel to hurriedly skip towards Diego’s direction. Allison groaned, jumping up to stop her. “I want to see Uncle Diego!” Claire loudly whined, trying to shuffle away from Allison. “I know, bu-“ Claire harshly scowled, intensifying her attempts to squirm free. “Mommy!” Claire yelled with frustration, verging on a full blown tantrum. Hearing a door distantly open, Allison felt herself getting more intensely agitated. How the hell could she deal with this attitude without rumors today?
”I heard a rumor...” Allison guiltily frowned as she watched her daughter’s eyes shine with a flash of white “...that you’re a little sleepy today, and don’t have much energy to play or yell.” Claire stretched with fatigue, ambling over to the couch to rest. Allison felt terrible to make her own daughter feel lousy, what kind of mother was she? “I’ll make you some hot cocoa.” she gently tried to soothe Claire, pulling her over to kiss the top of her head. “Thanks, mommy.” Claire tiredly replied, calmly snuggling up onto the comfortable couch cushions. Allison softly placed a blanket over her daughter, feeling deep remorse. Claire was the most perfect, beautiful thing Allison had ever seen, it was hard to tear her eyes away from her daughter to go and prepare the drink.
—
Diego watched his niece quietly push her lunch around her plate, seeming somewhat flat. She’d been like that since he’d came back from the guest room. Sipping from his coffee, Diego stared at Allison with disapproval. Surely she wouldn’t rumor her own kid? He knew she was basically addicted to using her power, but it was pretty messed up to control her child like that. “You tired, Claire?” he addressed his niece without looking away from Allison. His sister predictably bit down on her lip, appearing incredibly suspicious. Goddamn it... it would’ve been good to have had one remotely functioning family member. “She just didn’t sleep well last night.” Allison answered for Claire, avoiding meeting Diego’s eye. “That’s not true, mommy. I slept betterer than normal.” Claire huffed, putting her fork down on her plate childishly - which Diego figured was fair, her being an actual child and everything. He looked back over to Allison with a snidely quirked eyebrow, wondering what her response was going to be.
“Better, Claire.” Allison corrected her daughter sweetly, cupping her little cheek in her hand. “And I know, but maybe the sleep wasn’t nice enough.” she tenderly placated, placing Claire’s fork back into her hand. The only reason she had slept well to begin with was due to yet another rumor. Her daughter shrugged in response, not having the energy to put up a fight. Allison winced, loathing her dependency on her power. It would be okay though, Allison told herself. Claire would be fine once the rumor wore off, she’d be back to feeling like herself. It wasn’t like Allison was hurting her, she just needed to calm down a little. It was for the best. There was no harm done. It was just an advantage. Apprehensively looking to Diego, Allison could tell he had guessed exactly what she’d done. Her brother smirked passive aggressively, twiddling with a butter knife like he does with his actual blades.
“She’s a sweet kid, you’re clearly a great mommy.” Diego kept his tone light so Claire couldn’t tell he was making a jibe at her mom. Claire was actually very sweet, but that was beside the point. Allison glowered at him pettily, not looking confident for once in her life. “Thanks, Diego. That’s nice of you to say, but you’re not a parent. It isn’t really your place.” Allison tried to defend her actions with fake chirpiness, briefly glancing to Claire to check she hadn’t realised they were having a subtle argument. She clearly hadn’t. Allison’s insulted sharpness was still evident to Diego, despite her glaringly false cheery disposition. “Maybe, but I guess some things are obvious, even if you aren’t a parent yourself.” Diego shrugged smugly. He could undetectably bicker all day. Bring it on.
The next thing Diego knew, he was in the middle of doing the dishes. He felt that was unbelievably petty revenge, since his sister most likely had several maids. Other people would just assume they’d gone into autopilot, but Diego knew exactly what Allison had done. “Did you just try to fix a rumor with another rumor?” he snickered with condemnation, yanking off the bright pink rubber gloves. She probably made him wear those just to piss him off. Claire was in another room now, which Diego assumed was also because of Allison’s literal power of persuasion. Just how frequently did she use it? Was anything real?
“You throw things all the time, you hypocrite!” Allison fiercely gesticulated towards the gloves Diego just vengefully threw into the trash across the room. Her brother shoved his hands in his pockets sheepishly, as if that could take back the use of his power. Allison stifled a giggle at his expense; she was too riled up to laugh. “My power isn’t throwing things, let’s make that clear.” Diego narrowed his eyes at her, always sensitive about how mundane his power seemed. “And even then, it’s not the same as you making your kid do whatever you want.” Allison wished she could briefly have his power so she could scornfully throw something at his face. “Every mom makes their kid do whatever they want! That’s what being a mom is!” she exclaimed offendedly, attempting to convince herself as well as him. Allison loved Claire so much it ached, she’d never do anything to hurt her. “Bullshiiiit.” Diego replied haughtily, which made Allison’s comeback falter. She wasn’t sure how to respond, since she knew he was infuriatingly right.
Crossing her arms with annoyance, Allison rolled her eyes. There was no way Diego was going to just drop this. They would genuinley be here quarrelling all day about the topic, they were both so stubborn and snarky. He was only here for a couple of nights, it couldn’t be too terrible to go without her power for the remainder of his visit. “If I end Claire’s rumor will you play princesses with her so she won’t throw a hissy fit?” Allison pleaded, trying not to laugh at the idea. It would probably just make Diego refuse if he got too embarrassed. Diego groaned with disgust but nodded anyway. “Fine, but she is the princess. Not me.” he agreed begrudgingly, following Allison towards Claire’s room. Allison scoffed at that comment, as if her daughter would actually want him to be a princess. Claire had classy taste, she’d be well aware that Diego wasn’t elegant enough for that role. “You’d be an awful princess...” Allison gave her brother a sassy side eye “...she’s a little kid, not an idiot.”