Work Text:
It was about 6:30 when Emma got the call. That day hadn't been ordinary in the least bit. Normal would have been if one of her kids hadn't scrapped their knee during recess. The worst of it was yet to come, though, for Elizabeth Minerva hadn't been picked-up, and Emma was getting worried.
There the little blonde sat, in her assigned seat, with her rainbow-colored nametag in fourth-grade handwriting, miserable as ever. She had been sitting there for two hours longer than she should have because today she was a car rider. To Emma, the silence felt deafening, or, more likely, awkward. Until the phone rang, It didn't even continue for more than a moment before her hand eagerly grabbed it, "Hello, Ms.Ratri's classroom, Ms. Ratri speaking," She regurgitated.
"Hello, Ms.Ratri, we are sending a Mr. Norman Minerva to your classroom to pick up Elizabeth," the secretary's voice spoke calmly spoke.
"Thank you, Mr. Wright. We'll be waiting," Emma smiled and nodded to Elizabeth before putting the back on the telephone stand. "Your father will be here in just a minute," she declared, and the brightness on Elizabeths face after she uttered those words made the wait worth it. Although, she was still going to have some words with her father about his tardiness.
A couple of minutes passed before a man with platinum blonde hair burst through the door, "I'm sorry, sugar!" he exclaimed. "I-" the man began before he was abruptly cut off by the child hugging him. Instead of continuing his excuse, he decided to wrap his arms around her in a tight squeeze.
In the few seconds that he was preoccupied with her pupil, Emma studied him. His white hair pulled most of her attention, as well as his tall frame and soft facial features. he wore a tuxedo that seemed out of her yearly pay range and had disregarded its topcoat and a briefcase on her floor. Leaving him in a white shirt and tie, making him more attractive than he already was in the first place. "Ow!" he shouted, retrieving Emma from her thoughts that shouldn't be happening. This is Elizabeths MARRIED father, for crying out loud! "You hit me!" he exclaimed to the student.
"You were late!" She responded to him. His blue eye's started to roll before he saw Emma in the corner.
"Oh," he started, a bit embarrassed at being caught acting like a child, "You must be Mrs.Ratri. I'm Norman Minerva. It's a pleasure to meet you," He held out his hand, expectantly.
Elizabeths married father
"It's Ms.Ratri, Emma Ratri, it's nice to meet you too Mr.Minerva." She shook his hand, as a professional should. "Although I do have some concerns as to why you were late picking her up," Emma voiced.
Elizabeths married Father
"Oh, I haven't picked her up before and, I forgot I was supposed to," He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "When I work, I usually don't stop until I have everything for the day finished. It's a bad hab-"
"How did you forget your daughter?" Emma interrupted, pushing her eyebrows down in fury. Elizabeth was kind, and a very good student, how in the world could anyone forget her?
"What? I'm n-"
Elizabeths married Father
"Hey," Elizabeth pouted, "I wanna go home today, please." tugging on his shirt cuff, she pulled him out the classroom door, in a rush, "Let's go home, Uncle Norman!"
Elizabeths married Fa-
Elizabeths potentially single Uncle
After hearing this, she quickly ripped a small piece of paper from the closes notebook and wrote down her number. She picked up the briefcase, which had been left behind in the rush, and shoved it in one of the pockets before scurrying down the hall to catch them.
"Hey, Mr.Minerva!" She shouted to them, moments before they left the building, "You forgot your case!" His kind eyes darted down to the item in her hands.
"Thank you," His voice, soft with gratitude, stated.
"Sorry for the misunderstanding, about, you know, the dad thing," She pushed his lost item into his chest, "Please, let me treat you to coffee, as an apology, I've already written my number down and put it in your briefcase." She bit her lip, "Of course, if you don't want to come then, just ignore it and go about your business."
"No, no, coffee would be great!" his cheeks flushed, "I guess it's a date,"
"Yeah, a date," she repeated back to him, her face turning red. "See you then!" She exclaimed before running back around the school corner.
"See you then," he whispered even though he knew she couldn't hear him.
Norman and Elizabeth continued their way to his car, and they began their drive to Ray's house. On the way, Elizabeth asked the strangest question that almost made Norman swerve off the suburban street, "Are you and Ms.Ratri going to have babies?"