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"I'm not nervous," George said into the phone.
"Of course not," Sapnap said. His tone sounded sincere but George knew better. Of course he did. Though he didn't mean it maliciously, Sapnap was teasing him.
"I'm not," George whined defensively.
"Of course not," Sapnap repeated his sentiment though it was clearer now that he was grinning on the other side of the phone call.
"Are you sure I don't have to bring a present?" George asked nervously. "Like flowers, or chocolate, or like a good bottle of wine?"
"Georgie," Sapnap said. "She doesn't care much for flowers, chocolate will make her impossible to deal with, and-" Sapnap chuckled. "Wine? Really?"
"I don't know okay?" George yelled. "I'm nervous, I'm nervous, there I said it!"
"She's like six!" Sapnap laughed.
"Like six?" George asked incredulously.
"I'm like 79% sure she's six years old," Sapnap joked in an attempt to make George loosen up and laugh.
"Yeah? Well she's known you her entire life, and I've known you like 4 months," George said. "Forgive me for being intimidated."
"Daddy," George heard a little voice in the background of Sapnap's side of the call. "Who're you talking to?"
"It's a surprise," Sapnap sang.
"Who is it, who is it?" She pestered.
"He's daddy's special friend," Sapnap said.
"Daddy's special friend," George mumbled softly to himself.
"Who is it?" She asked a little louder. "Daddy tell me," She whined.
"See Georgie?" Sapnap called softly, ignoring his daughter now clinging onto his leg. "She's asking for you." George felt butterflies flutter in his stomach as he smiled, his chest feeling warm and fuzzy. "Would you just get here already?"
"Gogy?" She called. "It's Gogy. Is it?"
Sapnap could only smile and pat down his daughter's hair, slowly shuffling across the kitchen, dragging her along as she was unwilling to let go. He looked down at her big green eyes, still looking at him expectantly as he wedged his phone between his ear and shoulder, hands full with trying to cook his boyfriend dinner.
"Hold on two minutes George," Sapnap sighed.
George hummed softly before hearing Sapnap's phone hit the counter from Sapnap dropping it a little too hard. Still, he could hear Sapnap talk on the other side.
"Amelia," Sapnap coaxed softly. "You wanna help daddy mash the potatoes?"
"Can I?" She exclaimed, finally releasing Sapnap's leg and running towards the step stool that Sapnap had put in their kitchen for exactly moments like this.
"Of course, bunny," Sapnap said, placing his hands over hers, guiding her to press down the potato masher on the bowl. "Are you strong enough to mash them, baby?"
"Yes," She sounded so proud of her work, slightly shrugging Sapnap's hands off of hers even.
Sapnap knew all the tricks already. A father would by now. His daughter is one particularly easily distracted kid, this would occupy her for a few minutes, enough for him to finally finish the conversation with his George. So he picked his phone back up from his countertop and held it back up to his ear.
"Still there?" Sapnap asked.
"Yeah," George replied softly.
"Are you just sitting in your driveway?" Sapnap accused. He was only met with silence.
"No," George lied.
"You're sitting in your driveway," Sapnap said knowingly. "Would you get here already? The chicken's in the oven, potatoes are being mashed-"
"I'm scared," George muttered the smallest of confessions that melted Sapnap's heart right then and there. He watched as his daughter continued to struggle with the boiled potatoes, listening to the breathing of boyfriend from the phone.
"Sweetheart," Sapnap called. "You'll be fine."
"I'm sweetheart!" His daughter chimed in out of nowhere. There was no malice in the statement, she wasn't jealous, it was just an offhanded association that she made with Sapnap's numerous nicknames. The timing was unbelievable though.
"Oh good, she already hates me," George said. "She's gonna think I'm stealing you or whatever like I'm the evil stepmother."
"George she doesn't hate you," Sapnap chuckled. "You're being dramatic."
"I'm not," George said. "She's going to hate me and you're going to break up with me, that's it. That's it for me."
"Okay," Sapnap sighed. "Are you going to lock my daughter in a tower?"
"That's Rapunzel," Amelia chimed in.
"That's right baby," Sapnap replied. "Are you George?"
"No?" George said slowly.
"Why did you hesitate?" Sapnap exclaimed in laughter.
"It was a weird question!" George yelled defensively. "No, no. I'm not gonna lock your daughter in a tower!"
"Poison her with an apple?" Sapnap asked as he patted his daughter's head.
"Snow White," Amelia replied.
"You're right again," Sapnap kissed the top of her head, waiting for George to reply.
"No," George said. "No, I'm not gonna-"
"Overwork her and make her do house chores with rats?" Sapnap said.
"Cinderella!" Amelia exclaimed.
"You're so smart bunny," Sapnap gushed at his daughter. "Are you George?"
"Of course not," George said.
"Then you don't sound like an evil stepmother to me," Sapnap shrugged. "And as long as you're not a complete B-I-T-C-H," Sapnap spelled out. "I think she's smart enough to figure that out too."
"I'm not a bitch," Geroge mumbled.
"That's what I said," Sapnap agreed. "Though you're acting a little bit like one, sitting in your driveway, too scared to drive 10 minutes to come and meet a 6-year-old."
"You're not very helpful and kind with this whole thing by the way," George said bitterly.
"How much kinder could I possi-" Sapnap scoffed. "Get your butt over here, or I will-" He stopped. "-do things that I can't say in front of sensitive ears."
"What can't you say, daddy?" Amelia asked. "Is it a bad word? Is it Woshershesir sauce?"
Sapnap and George both giggled at the absolute innocent words coming out of her mouth. If not only for that alone, George's heart was slightly comforted.
"Alright fine," Geroge said. "I'll be there in like, 15 minutes?"
"Perfect," Sapnap said. "I need to aerate some grown-up juice, do you want red or white?"
"I would like red grown-up juice, please," George chuckled.
"Alright, I'll see you when you get here," Sapnap said.
George said goodbye back, finally ending his little panicked call, allowing Sapnap to go back to cooking. He placed his phone back on the counter before walking back to watch what his daughter has done to the potatoes. Actually, it's not looking too bad.
"Princess," Sapnap called as he took the butter and milk that he would need to finish prepping the mashed potatoes. "You know daddy loves you, right?"
"Yeah?" Amelia hummed, watching Sapnap splash the milk into the bowl.
"And no matter what, daddy's not going to hurt you," Sapnap said. "And he cares about you very much, and you're always going to be his number one."
"Yes," Amelia nodded, taking the wooden spoon from Sapnap, attempting to mix the butter and milk into the potato.
"Well, you're going to meet Daddy's special friend tonight," Sapnap continued. "And daddy cares about him too."
At this, his little girl turned around on her step stool to look up at Sapnap, squinting slightly.
"Be nice to him, princess?" Sapnap requested. "I promise he's also nice."
"Not evil stepmother," Amelia said slowly.
"No, absolutely not," He assured her. "And if he's mean to you, daddy will choose you. Always."
"Okay," She said slowly. "Okay."
"Thank you," Sapnap said, pressing his lips on her forehead. "Thank you," He muttered into her skin.
"Daddy, the veggies are burning-" Amelia said timidly as Sapnap closed his eyes in an attempt to enjoy the moment with his daughter.
"Oh, shit-" Sapnap exclaimed, running to the stove immediately, switching it off with a sigh. He froze and looked back at his daughter. "Don't repeat what I just said," He pointed a warning finger at her. "Don't you dare."
"Daddy said a bad word," She sang.
"Don't you dare, Lia," Sapnap said playfully.
"Swear jar," She said proudly.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sapnap rolled his eyes with a fond smile on his face.
If Sapnap was telling you the truth? He was probably just about as, if not more nervous than George about this dinner. Of course, the most important person in his life is about to meet another person who's started to become very important in his life. Of course, he knows who to pick if it had ended up being a choice, but also, he really wished there isn't a choice at all.
His movements are just a little thoughtless like he was moving out of habit, navigating his way around the kitchen and his daughter like it had been choreographed. He found himself still able to answer his daughter's question about the salt even though his head was only filled with concerns about George coming.
He didn't even realize nearly 20 minutes had passed, amidst some of the burning food that's been cooking a little too long, when there was finally a knock on the door.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Don't swear out loud though.
"Lia baby," Sapnap said as he turned off all of the stovetops. "Ready to meet daddy's friend?"
"Yes," His little girl nodded enthusiastically.
"Come," Sapnap helped her down the step stool, taking her hand as he brought her all the way to the front door.
Sapnap stood in front of the door, inhaling deeply as he looked at George's silhouette from the window. He felt a little squeeze from his little girl's hand, causing him to look at her to which she grinned wildly back. Sapnap exhaled his breath before opening to door to reveal George.
"I caved," George said.
Sapnap could hear his daughter gasp and start to bounce on her feet next to him. George was holding a bag of M&Ms and two tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
"Georgie," Sapnap chuckled, jokingly disappointed though he felt nothing but his heart bursting with joy.
"Gogy," Amelia repeated, still excitedly jumping.
"Right," Sapnap almost forgot. "George, meet my daughter, Amelia."
George looked down at the smiling girl. He stepped into the house, placing the ice cream and candy on the closest table where Sapnap stores his keys, before kneeling, making sure that he was at eye level with the young girl, and held his hand out to shake.
"Amelia, this is daddy's friend," Sapnap nudged her softly.
She took George's hand and shook it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Amelia," George said curtly. "My name is George."
"Lia," She replied. "Daddy calls me Lia."
"Can I-" George said hesitantly, glancing up at Sapnap. "Can I call you Lia too?"
"Are you Gogy?" Amelia asked. In very simple terms, George assumed that was a question of whether or not she was allowed to call him Gogy.
"Well, your dad calls me Georgie sometimes," He corrected. "But you can call me Gogy if you want," He nodded with a smile.
"Okay," Lia nodded.
"Lia baby, you wanna put this in the freezer?" Sapnap said as he took the ice cream from the table and holding it out for Lia to take.
"Can we have some?" Lia asked expectantly.
"A little bit, but only after dinner," Sapnap told her. "And if you finish all your vegetables."
Without another word, Lia took the tubs of ice cream and ran to the kitchen, leaving George still kneeling on the floor. Sapnap looked at George and raised an eyebrow, holding out a hand for him to take as he helped George stand up.
"How bad is the sugar rush?" George asked guiltily.
"If we give it to her when the movie starts, she'll crash by the end of the movie," Sapnap winked. "She'll just be a little difficult," He added.
"I caved," George said again, patting his clothes down as Sapnap pulled off his coat for him. "I really wanted her to like me."
"Ah yes," Sapnap hung George's jacket on the coat rack. "And you bribe her with M&Ms," He took the remaining bag from the table and rattled it.
"Is that bad?" George asked sheepishly.
"I appreciate the thought," Sapnap said, taking George's chin and pulling him into a kiss. "Thank you for being wonderful."
George felt his eyes flutter just by the softness of Sapnap's lips, unable to contain the smile on his face. And he feels Sapnap's warm smile as he hummed, placing another small peck. He lets his face gets held for just a few more seconds before the whirlwind of the 6-year-old girl runs back into the room.
"Daddy, the chicken-" Lia warned again.
"Oh shit," Sapnap cursed again, immediately running off to the kitchen to watch the stove.
George felt cold, immediately losing Sapnap's closeness to him. He quickly shook himself out of it though, looking down at the girl staring back at him.
"Swear jar," She whispered and George smiled back.
"Lia," George held out his hand. "Do you want to show me your living room?"
Lia nodded and took his hand, dragging him towards the living room where she immediately climbed up the couch. She patted the cushion loudly, indicating that George was invited to sit with her, to which George gratefully accepted.
"My dad said you're pretty," Lia blurted out suddenly.
"Uh-" George has never been so off guard before.
"Daddy always calls me pretty," Lia said. "But he also said you're pretty."
"Oh well, I-" George felt exposed, and honestly, unsure where he could ever go from there. "Your dad just-"
"He's right," Lia said, tilting her head as she continued to look at George.
"Oh," George sighed, feeling simultaneous that the weight has been lifted off his shoulder and also his cheeks starting to warm up. "You're also really pretty Lia, your dad was right about that," He said excitedly.
"Daddy likes you a lot you know," Lia said.
"Does he?" George asked amusedly.
"Yeah," Lia nodded. "He's just shy," She shrugged.
"I see," George smiled. "Well, I like him a lot too."
"Good," Lia said, her feet dangling off the side of the sofa, absentmindedly kicking the air. "So who's your favorite superhero?"
George felt whiplashed.
Sapnap's daughter had just gone from giving her opinions about their relationship, as much as a 6-year-old could anyway, and went on to the next topic without skipping a beat. He can guarantee she doesn't even realize the blushing mess she'd made him just exposing Sapnap alone.
"Superhero?" George tried his best to recover.
"Yes," She said earnestly.
"I like-" George tried to rack his brain though he doesn't know much. "Captain America."
"Hm," Lia hummed, her face not giving him a clue at all about how she felt regarding his answer.
"Is that-" George asked nervously. "Is that goo-"
"Who's your favorite princess?" Lia interjected.
"Princess, I-" Again, George felt like he was caught at a game show he didn't apply for. Sapnap had not prepared him well enough for this interrogation. "Elsa?"
"Elsa is a Queen, silly," Lia muttered knowingly. "Who's your favorite Princess?" She emphasized.
Unfortunately, George was not well versed in this topic.
"Rapunzel?" George offered.
"Okay," Lia nodded. "Do you wanna look at my LEGOs?"
And on to the next thing, he felt like he was speedrunning.
"Yes, I would love to look at your LEGOs," George nodded.
Lia hopped off the couch and tugged on his arm. He was two steps into walking towards Lia's bedroom when Sapnap peeked his head out of the kitchen and called them.
"Dinner's ready," Sapnap sang.
"Awh, I was going to show Gogy the LEGOs," Lia whined.
"The food's gonna get cold, princess," Sapnap said, looking at a smiley George. "You can show Gogy the LEGOs later."
"It'll be quick, please-" Lia pouted and begged.
"Bunny, your chicken's gonna get cold," Sapnap coaxed. "Plus, I'm sure Gogy's hungry. You don't want him to go hungry, do you?"
George had the tiniest gasp on his lips as he stared at Sapnap, having just been used as an excuse for his daughter. Sapnap caught his eyes and winked before looking back at Lia. Lia looked up at George with her big doe eyes, contemplating in her head if it was worth it to starve her daddy's special friend.
"I promise I'll look at them later," George offered, giving her little hand a squeeze.
"Fine," Lia turned up her nose and made her way to the dining room, her hand was still tugging on George's though, refusing to let go.
Sapnap and George shared a look when George passed him, being pulled behind her, both trying their hardest to hide their absolute glowing smiles. Lia stopped in front of the chair with the seat booster and looked at George, who quickly picked up on the cues and helped her up to sit in her chair.
"Gogy sits next to me," She demanded.
George continued to look at Sapnap for some kind of guide, but his boyfriend simply shrugged.
"You heard my princess," Sapnap said. "She wants what she wants George, sit next to her."
"Alright," George chuckled and placed himself next to Lia, sitting across from Sapnap. "Didn't know you cooked so well," He commented.
"Well you gotta learn somehow," Sapnap said, pouring George a glass of wine.
"I did the mashed popatoes!" Lia exclaimed.
"Yes you did, and it's po-ta-toes baby," Sapnap said patiently.
"Po-ta-toes," Lia repeated slowly.
"There we go," Sapnap confirmed, passing George his glass of wine. "Lia did the mashed potatoes, George," He emphasized.
"Oh I'm sure the mashed potatoes are great, I'll have some," George finally picked up on the code.
Sapnap prepared a plate for Lia, before getting food for himself whilst George took food for himself, making sure to show Lia that he'd gotten not only one scoop but two scoops of mashed potatoes.
"Daddy, Gogy said his favorite is Captain America," Lia piped up as Sapnap made sure her chicken was properly cut up and shredded.
"Ooh," Sapnap winced causing George's eye to widened immediately.
"Oh? Is that bad?" George asked in a panic. "Is Captain America bad?"
"Well in this house, we like Spiderman," Sapnap tutted cheekily, Lia nodding in hard agreement.
"Spiderman's the best," Lia yelled.
"Captain America is fine, I guess," Sapnap said teasingly.
"Well Spiderman's also really cool," George said, Lia nodded along as she munched on her green beans.
"What about his favorite Princess?" Sapnap asked his daughter.
"He said Rapunzel," She reported.
"Ah," Sapnap hummed as he sipped on his wine. "Rapunzel."
"Is that also a bad choice?" George said sheepishly, eating the surprisingly well-prepared mashed potatoes.
"Rapunzel's good," Sapnap said, waiting for his daughter to nod along with him. "She's actually top three, along with Mulan and Merida," He told George.
"Moana," Lia exclaimed. "And Moana, dad!"
"Oh?" Sapnap looked just as surprised at the development as George was. "Who's out of the top three then?"
Lia fell silent and stopped chewing altogether. She sat back and thought about it for a second, her eyebrows furrowed at the thought of having to choose between her favorite princesses.
"You also like Tiana, right?" Sapnap said.
"Dad!" Lia whined.
"There you go, you have a top 5 now, not a top 3," Sapnap offered her a way out.
"Five," Lia nodded. "Rapunzel is good," She turned to George, assuring him that his choice was good.
"Actually," George said sheepishly. "I've never watched Moana," He confessed.
The most offended and outrageous gasps escaped both Sapnap and Lia's mouths, both of them staring at George with absolute horror. George froze and stopped eating, waiting for either of them to make a move.
"That's not right," Sapnap shook his head, Lia doing the exact same thing.
Sure, George was being criticized for not being educated in his Disney princesses, but he couldn't help but smile at the comically identical movements from Sapnap and Lia. Like father like daughter, I guess.
"Well, I guess we know what movie to watch tonight," Sapnap jokingly said.
"We have to watch Moana," Lia nodded in agreement.
"We have to watch Moana," Sapnap agreed.
"I'm excited," George said.
"We'll watch Moana once bunny finishes her greens," Sapnap said. "So you better get to eating those veggies, I see you tossing them around the plate, princess."
"I don't-" Lia made a face and stared at it in disgust. "I don't like them."
"Your dad promised you ice cream if you eat them all, remember?" George persuaded her. "I got two flavors just for you. Brownie fudge and cookie dough."
"Oh, George," Sapnap very jokingly scolded. "Don't remind her!"
George felt unbeatable joy when he saw her eyes lit up and she began to munch down on her vegetables. If not for the temptation of ice cream, could possibly out of pure spite for her father. It took no longer than five minutes when they all ate their food and soon enough, their plates were emptied clean.
"Only one bowl of ice cream," Sapnap said warningly, as Lia jumped down from her chair and ran towards the freezer. "One small bowl, baby. The small bowl, I won't have you eating too much sugar."
"Okay, okay," Lia brushed him off.
"You wanna go help her make a sundae?" Sapnap asked George, nudging at his daughter who was struggling to reach the bowls. "Make me one too?"
"Okay," George nodded, leaving Sapnap to clear the rest of their table except for the wine glasses.
"Baby, you wanna show George where the toppings are?" Sapnap called as he began to rinse the dishes.
"We get to have toppings?" Lia gasped excitedly.
"Of course, it's a sundae type of night," Sapnap told her. "We have a very special guest, and he brought M&Ms."
"Alright, where are the bowls, Lia?" George asked. "And the toppings?
"That ones," Lia pointed at one of the higher cabinets. "And the syrup and toppings are over there," She pointed towards the corner cabinet. "I'll get the M&Ms!" She yelled as she ran out of the kitchen to go find the bag George had left near the front door.
George and Sapnap continued to exchange glances, only being able to talk through the gazes and looks, not having a second to themselves yet today when the child is involved. But the smiles and rosy cheeks spoke enough.
"Here you go Gogy," Lia held out the bag of M&Ms to George, who'd just placed the syrups, sprinkles, marshmallows, gummy bears, and whipped cream on the counter next to the three bowls.
"Do you wanna help me?" George made sure the step stool was close to the sundae-making station.
Lia nodded as he quickly stood next to George, trying her best though with a little struggle, managed to open the two tubs of ice cream. George looked around to try and find a spoon, only to be met by Sapnap holding up an ice cream scoop.
"You have an actual ice cream scoop?" George questioned.
"We're big ice cream fans in this household," Sapnap nodded as he finished loading up the dishwasher. "Only two small scoops okay, not too much," He called to catch Lia's attention.
"Yes dad," Lia rolled her eyes, making Sapnap shake his head at the attitude.
George scooped both of the flavors into all three bowls before letting Lia pick her bowl, which of course she chose the one that looks like it has the most amount of ice cream. Sapnap now stood on the other side, having finished cleaning up, opening the topping bottles for her.
"Chocolate, caramel, or strawberry syrup?" Sapnap asked.
"Can I have caramel and strawberry?" Lia tested her limits, grinning sweetly at Sapnap who only squinted at her.
"Okay," Sapnap agreed. "Only a little bit of both," He did ribbons on top of the ice cream. "George?"
"I'll take chocolate," George said. Sapnap did so, before adding Caramel onto his own bowl.
"Next," Sapnap said. "What toppings do you want baby?"
"All of them," Lia exclaimed.
"All of them?" Sapnap gasped jokingly. "Lia," He tutted.
"What the princess wants, the princess gets, right?" George said.
The little girl exploded into a burst of giggles, leaning back so much so until she nearly toppled over had she not bumped into George to held her steady. Sapnap took a little bit of the candies, placing gummies, M&Ms, and marshmallows on all three bowls. You would've thought her eyes had popped out of her face by how big it got the more candy Sapnap added.
"Last but not least," Sapnap said. "Whipped cream."
"A lot," Lia said. "A lot of it daddy," She encouraged.
Sapnap placed three big dollops of it on each bowl. Seeing his daughter looking up at him, he held the can to his mouth and sprayed a mouthful for himself, hearing his daughter shriek.
"Daddy!" She yelled as Sapnap laughed at having cheated his daughter out of whipped cream. "I want some too."
"Mouth, aah-" Sapnap told her to open her mouth. "Tilt your head back baby," He held her head gently until her mouth was open for him to squirt the can of the whipped cream into her mouth. Lia giggled, licking the leftover cream from her lips. "George, aah-" He said.
George laughed, following his direction, and opened his mouth for Sapnap to feed him whipped cream straight out of the can too.
"Alright, alright, that's enough whipped cream," Sapnap settled, seeing George and Lia both giggle mischievously. "Take your bowl and go to the couch," He told them. "I'll just put things away."
Lia held on to her own bowl, while George took the other two bowls and the spoons. Sapnap, after putting away the sundae ingredients, went to the living room to find them already comfortably sat on the couch, leaving him space next to Lia to sit on, sandwiching the child in the middle. Sapnap had brought the leftover wine glass, placing it at the table though he knows it would remain untouched as long as the sundaes were still there.
"Right," Sapnap said, taking control of the remote. "Moana?"
Lia nodded, watching Sapnap navigate the TV to Disney+ and to a movie that they've clearly watched before. Sapnap clicked the button that confirmed that they start the movie from the beginning again, and then the movie finally starts.
No, George has not watched the movie, but he can't completely say he was paying attention either way. All he could do really was watch the way Sapnap's daughter leans forward at the bright-colored scenes, and when things are calming down, she snuggles back into the cushion. He smiled and laughed at the way Sapnap sings the songs at the top of his lungs, knowing he must've heard the soundtrack, if not watched this movie, countless times just because his daughter loves it. Lia would yell playfully, saying how daddy was ruining the song, though Sapnap persists, knowing it only made his daughter giggle even harder.
I guess George was also mildly distracted with Sapnap's hand that reached over the back of the couch, hand laying softly on his shoulders and his neck, softly playing with the little tufts of George's hair. And when George reached his arm back to meet his halfway, Sapnap just continued to play with his fingers, constantly touching him just because.
And as they stood up and placed the bowl on the coffee table, they sat back on the couch even closer than before. Lia didn't seem to have a problem with it though, feeling quite comfortable being snuggled by both her dad and George.
And when Lia started to lean more on George's body, he was too scared to move like he was afraid to scare away a cat. I mean, maybe he shouldn't compare his partner's daughter to an animal, but the second Lia rested her head against George's chest, he panicked and pinched Sapnap's hand that was holding his, causing him to yelp. George only stared at him wide-eyed, before looking back down at Lia. George wouldn't even move to get his glass of wine.
Sapnap had never felt his heart feel so full.
Somewhere towards the end of the movie, or what George assumed to be the end of the movie, Lia was slowly hiding her face against George. She even flinched at the roaring, shoving her face against George's chest. George finally moved his hand from holding Sapnap's and brought it down to hold Lia closer to him.
"Oh darling, are you okay?" He asked with a little laugh. "Is Te Kā scaring you?"
"No," She mumbled, though the scene with the crawling and screeching lava entity was a bit much for the little girl. "She's a good guy."
"Oh?" George hummed, trying to stop himself from smiling having just been spoiled of the twist of the movie.
"Oh," Lia seems to have caught on of what she'd just done. "Sorry," She mumbled. "Spoilers."
"That's okay darling," George assured her, brushing her hair down.
As the movie came to a close, it was obvious what Sapnap had predicted was coming true. Amelia was rubbing her eyes and yawning, no longer laughing and reacting as lively as she had before. She just continued to cling to George's arm. He was almost sure that she was already half asleep when the credits finally rolled.
"Time for bed," Sapnap said softly.
"Mm no," Lia mumbled, though she was practically sleeping on top of George.
"Come on princess," Sapnap said, trying to peel her away from George. "Brushing teeth time and then bed, come on."
"No, I don't want to-" Lia whined even louder, her grip on George's shirt only tightening.
Never did George think the problem tonight was going to be that Sapnap's daughter liked him a little too much. Sapnap looked at George, chuckling out of fondness but also exhaustion. He looked at George, almost like he was looking for an answer or some help. To his surprise, and even George's, George tried.
"Bunny," George said hesitantly, trying out the nicknames he's heard Sapnap use multiple times today. "Let's go brush our teeth, we'll go brush our teeth together and you can show me your LEGOs after, remember?" He asked, waiting for an answer. "Sound good?"
After a bit of silence in which George was crossing his fingers for it to miraculously work, Lia replied to him with a soft hum. He shifted softly, trying to shuffle Lia until the girl was positioned correctly so that he could stand up and carry her on his waist. Sapnap watched closely, in case anything happens, but turns out George was strong enough to carry her.
Sapnap led him to the bathroom where George sat her down at the counter next to the sink. Sapnap took her toothbrush and applied some toothpaste before handing it to George so that he could be the one to hand it to his daughter.
"Can you brush your own teeth or do you want daddy to brush it for you?" George asked.
"I can do it," Lia mumbled sleepily, taking the toothbrush out of George's hand and starting to brush her teeth.
George looked to Sapnap, who mouthed to him very quietly hang on, I'll be back, before leaving the bathroom only to come back a few minutes later with what George guessed would be Lia's pajamas. Sapnap gave George the pajamas to hold while he gets a cup of water for Lia to gurgle and spit after her spectacular teeth-brushing. Without the need for additional persuasion, Sapnap just tugged on Lia's clothes, to which she knew meant she had to change into her PJs quickly.
And so she was finally ready for bed.
Although, she was still attached to George at the hip, clinging onto his neck as he walked her to her bedroom.
"So those-" Lia yawned. "I have 3 cars and the blue one is my favorite," She pointed at the LEGOs at the corner of the room. "Daddy helped me build the house. He's a good builder."
"I'm sure," George gushed. "The house is very pretty darling, it's very cool."
"We could play-" Yet another yawn indicated that the child really needs to be put to bed.
George picked up on it and slowly walked her to her bed. But once he sat down, it was obvious that she had no intention of letting go.
"Lia, baby," Sapnap said. "It's time for you to go to bed."
"No," Lia shook her head.
Sapnap tried again, for the second time that night, to peel his daughter's hands off of his boyfriend. Alas, unless he genuinely uses brute force, his daughter is not easily persuaded.
"Amelia, sweetheart-" Sapnap sighed. "George needs to go home, it's getting late for him," Lia was persistent with her head-shaking. "He needs to drive home."
"No," She cried. "Don't go, stay please."
"Baby," Sapnap said. "Please, he has to-"
"I'll stay," George blurted out.
Sapnap stopped and looked at George, who only gave him a half-smile and shrugged.
"I'll stay until she falls asleep," George told Sapnap. "But you have to go to bed, okay Lia?"
"Can we go to Daddy's bed?" Lia asked timidly.
George looked towards Sapnap, who only rolled his eyes and nodded. George picked up the little girl in his arms again, following Sapnap out of the door of the bedroom and into his bedroom.
Sapnap's room was not the neatest, but his bed was mad. Sapnap pulled the covers off and fluffed the pillows, giving space for George to put Lia in the center, allowing George and Sapnap to climb into bed on either side of her. Lia laid down, tucked in under the covers. Her one hand still holding George's in a death grip though at least she wasn't clinging onto his neck.
"Okay, you have to go to sleep though, alright?" Sapnap said. "Gogy's not going anywhere."
"Mkay," Lia mumbled. "G'night daddy, g'night Gogy."
"Good night sweetheart," Sapnap placed a kiss on her forehead.
George only smiled silently, brushing her hair out of her face with the one hand that wasn't occupied with Lia's hand.
"Good night," George muttered back.
He was lying on his side, propping himself up on one elbow, so that he could see both Lia slowly going to sleep and Sapnap gazing lovingly at her. They kept quiet for what was probably only a few minutes before they began to hear soft snoring coming from the little girl. Her grip was starting to loosen, though George was still a bit too scared to escape.
"She's not-" Sapnap's voice was only a whisper. "She's not usually this difficult, I promise."
"No, you're just a pushover, really," George replied teasingly. Sapnap chuckled, looking at George still gently patting Lia's head. They were quiet for a moment before George started talking again. "Sapnap, she's beautiful."
Sapnap could see George's eyes melting as he continued to look at his daughter. If Sapnap could try to describe the relief, the warmth, the unbridled joy that he was feeling at that moment, he would need the help of the ancient poets.
"And she-" Sapnap was trying not to cry. "And she likes you."
"Well I think she loves me, but I may be biased," George joked.
"I do have to warn you though," Sapnap said. "Her tantrums can and will get worse than tonight. We can't always give in."
"We'll figure it out," George replied. "It'll be easier to handle her with two parents, right?"
Sapnap's heart stopped.
He doesn't even think George knew the gravity of what he'd just said. It was such a small comment. The effortless use of we, and the fact that George had immediately said, two parents. And he'd only met his daughter mere hours ago.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" George's voice brought Sapnap back from frolicking in his mind palace.
"Like what?" Sapnap asked.
"Like- I don't know," George shrugged. "Like you just-"
"You said we," Sapnap said sheepishly, breaking eye contact with George to glance down at his peacefully sleeping daughter. "We'll figure it out?"
"Well yeah," George said. "Of course. Wouldn't we?"
And at that moment, he will forever thank the stars for allowing him to choose correctly. To choose the one man with the most love to give, compassionate, and absolutely lovely.
"I'm looking at you like I'm in love with you," Sapnap said. "Because I do."
George finally stopped patting Lia's head, frozen almost as he looked up to his boyfriend with a lopsided smile.
"You've never said that before," George said softly.
"Four months is enough time, don't you think?" Sapnap replied.
"It's me taking care of your kid, isn't it?" George accused.
"Maybe," Sapnap confessed with a small smile. "Can't help it."
"I-" George said slowly. "I do too," He said causing Sapnap to shake his head and roll his eyes, but the statement was enough.
Neither of them was good with saying what they feel, but both of them knew each other enough to understand what they meant.
I love you.
I love you, I love you, I love you.
The air in the room smelled like flowers and rain, and sugar, and of course all of this a metaphor as the room was really filled with love and happiness. It was silent. The most comfortable kind of silence where you just feel safe and at peace, not a care in the world. You only know the best awaits you.
"You know-" George piped up after a while. "When I think about sleeping in your bed for the first time, this isn't what I was imagining."
"What were you imagining?" Sapnap said coyly.
"Something that might traumatize your sleeping daughter," George replied. "Something probably best kept for my apartment. Not when I'm sleeping over at yours."
"You're sleeping over?" Sapnap asked through his mild chuckle.
"Can we have pancakes in the morning?" George returned the question.
"Yeah," Sapnap nodded. "With Nutella, maple syrup, and berries."
"Then yeah," George nodded, sliding down to lie more comfortably on the bed. "I think I'll stay."