Work Text:
Tetia rushes into the room, eyes wide and sparkling. “Guys, guys, you’re not going to believe this!”
Coco and Riche sit up straighter, infected by the excited aura of their friend. Agott keeps drawing.
“What’s up, Tetia? What did you find today?” Coco grins.
The witch in training reaches into her cloak and dramatically pulls out a stack of…papers? “Ta-daaa!”
Riche blinks. “Papers?”
“Yes!” Tetia nods rapidly. “It’s enchanted paper, so apparently it’s like pictures, but - moving! It’s really, really amazing!”
Agott turns her head, perking slightly. “Enchanted paper? Do you mean the ‘movies’?”
“Yes, that’s it! I was forgetting what it was called!”
Coco leans forward. “Oh, Agott, you know the enchanted paper?”
“Yes.”
After a few seconds of silence, Coco shrugs. “Okay, let’s watch the moo-vees! I’ll go fetch professor!”
Riche stretches. “I’ll get the pillows.”
Tetia stares at Agott until she sighs. “I’ll help you set up the movies.”
—
Quifrey says no at first - he has to finish up some work, and he has to get this in, really he does. Coco pouts up at him. But Quifrey needs to finish work, so maybe next time, okay Coco?
She just stares up at him, eyes wide and watery.
Five minutes later, Quifrey sits in front of the makeshift movie setup, wondering when tiny girls became his biggest weakness.
—
The first movie ends in all of them crying. It’s a heartbreaking one, about a poor girl who loses her brother and has to go look for him. Coco and Tetia clutch one another, wailing. Agott quietly sniffles into her pillow. Riche snores.
Amused by his pupils, Quifrey turns to look at Oluruggio who had come in at some point during the movie. It turns out that he’s crying too, silent tears dripping down his face. Quifrey grins in the darkness.
—
The next movie is filled with lots of fighting and yelling. Riche loves it.
—
The third movie is -
“Wait, wait, hold on,” Quifrey interrupts. “How did we end up watching three movies? I still have so much work to complete!”
From the floor, his girls look up at him, still giggling from the movie.
He sighs. “That’s why.” Oluruggio pats his back and nods solemnly.
—
The next movie ends at 2 in the morning, a gentle movie about a boy discovering his place in the world. It ends with all of the girls asleep in a giant cuddle pile. Agott twitches slightly, frowning in her sleep, and Coco rolls over to face her. It’s really, really cute.
Quifrey feels the heavy pull of sleep at his eyelids. He can lie down for a little bit and then he’ll finish up that work so he can spend more time with Tetia and the others. He’s just going to…close his eyelids for a second.
Just one…momen…
Oluruggio peeks over at Quifrey, careful not to dislodge the sleeping Riche from his legs. His friend is snoring slightly, head tilted back in a painful looking position - but he looks really relaxed and happy. It makes Oluruggio’s heart warm.
He’s really glad for Quifrey and their kids. He’s really glad for their family.