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"Have fun, lovebirds!" Tara waves at Nick and Charlie as they peek through the door again to say one last goodbye to their daughter. Amelia gives them a full smile, her dimples on display, and waves back at her dads from her spot on the sofa, as she cuddles more comfortably into her aunt Darcy's arms. "She'll be okay, guys. Go! Have a nice weekend."
"Thank you so much for doing this, Tar. Really." Nick repeats, making the woman roll her eyes humorously.
"Call us if you need anything. Please." Charlie adds, and Tara smiles as she starts closing the door on them, waving them out.
"We will. Now out you go. Have a safe trip!" Closing the door, she hears the men's laughter and their footsteps as they retreat to their car, ready for their long weekend getaway vacation. It was the first time they were going away for multiple days since they adopted Amelia when she was only a three months old baby. The girl is now six years old, full of energy and kind smiles, and her parents have trusted Tara and Darcy with the task of caring for their little one as they enjoy some much deserved travel time.
Both women have barely any experience with children, not used to being around them at all before Amelia came into their lives, so when Nick and Charlie contacted them to ask for their help, it felt like a huge thing, and they wanted to earn their trust by making sure those four days were simply the best of this kid's life. A hard task, they knew, considering the little one had been blessed with two of the most loving fathers in the universe.
Back then, completely baffled by the request, they enthusiastically nodded and accepted the task, leaving the freak out for when the video call ended and they eyed each other for the first time.
"Oh, lord." Tara let out a panicked sigh, after closing off the laptop. "We'll babysit a kid. For four days. Darcy, how do we do that?" At her wife's panic, Darcy smiled kindly, patting her cheek as if calming down a scared animal.
"We'll be okay, Jonesy. Mia is a great kid. Besides, we already had Daisy over for a whole week and we managed it." She shrugged at the time, appearing completely unworried. "How much harder can it be?"
"Did you seriously just compare a child to a dog?"
"They need to be fed, tucked into bed, cleaned, played with and entertained. Seems close enough for me." Darcy stood up, jogging happily towards the kitchen, where the oven beeped, letting them know their cake was ready.
"I don't know if that calms me or terrifies me, actually, babe." Tara yelled, not moving from her spot on the sofa.
"We got this, T!" She yelled back from the other room.
There were no amount of words enough to explain how they totally, completely, did not get this. They've had the kid over for only three hours and Tara already felt like running away in panic, or calling Nick and Charlie back.
Or both.
Simultaneously.
It took one minute.
Sixty seconds.
The couple steps away from the living room for one minute and by the time Darcy comes back to check on Mia as Tara gets started on dinner, somehow the sharpies aren't being used on the coloring book anymore, but on the walls instead. The ice-white walls.
"Oh, that's gonna be hell to clean up." She whispers to herself, before shrugging the thought off and smiling at the little girl as she sits on the floor next to her. "Hey kiddo, get me a sharpie too, I wanna help."
Amelia’s large smile as she hands her aunt a pink sharpie almost makes her forget that they are, indeed, permanent markers, and removing them from the wall is going to be very complicated.
Well, she thinks to herself, adding a heart next to a flower Mia just drew on the lowest part of the wall, near the floor. Removing it is future Darcy’s problem.
👑 princess protection program 💌
Darcy
my bi-loved gaysss
(ha - see what i did there? 😎)
Charlie
hey darce
everything good? hows mia doing?
Darcy
all is well with your majesty
however
I might’ve let it slip that i used to cut my own bangs at home when i was younger and now we have a mini narlie begging me to cut her hair
Nick
She’s hard to say no to isn’t she
Darcy
oh my GOD
the hardest
she’s got your puppy eyes nicholas it is not fair
can we?
Nick
Choice is hers, Darce. If she’s sure, go for it.
Just make sure Tara helps you with it
Darcy
you are a rude man nicholas, how DARE you
i am excellent cutting hair
thank you very much
Nick
Oh I am sure you are nearly a pro
Darcy
as if you are any better
just ask poor daisy about her pup days
Charlie
darcy
i love you
but… tara?
Tara
i’m keeping an eye on them, dw
“Can I help, auntie Tara?” Amelia asks, standing on her tiptoes to try and take a peek at the counter, where all the ingredients are set. She shakes her head with a giggle, making her newly-cut bangs wave around with the movement. The kid managed to stay, surprisingly, very still as her aunts cut her hair for her, crying with joy at the result and begging them to send a pic of the new haircut to her aunt Elle - her fashion inspiration through and through.
“Wanna help me bake us a cake, munchkin?”
“Papa always lets me help, he says I am very good at it.” Her eyebrows shoot up dramatically as she eyes the woman next to her, nodding as if to emphasize what she is saying.
“Oh, he did tell me you are excellent at it.” Tara immediately agrees, moving to grab a tool for Mia to stand in so she can reach the counter, handing her the bowl where she was starting to get the cake dough ready. “Can you stir this for me, please? I think I have an apron here for you, let me grab it.”
“I got it!” Darcy calls from the living room, coming back to the kitchen and placing a cherry-pattern apron on Tara’s stretched hand so she can show it to the girl, and help Mia put it on. Once dressed, she jumps excitedly in celebration, making some of the flour jump around, some reaching her cheeks and shoulders.
“Oops.” She giggles, Darcy leaning in to remove the flour from her cheeks.
“You are so Charlie’s daughter, Mimi.” Tara comments, winking at her wife. “He always made the biggest mess while baking with your papa, it was so funny and so cute.”
“Famous last words…” Darcy whispers to herself with a smile.
The squeak of the door, followed by quick footsteps approaching the bed wake Darcy up from a dreamless sleep - after watching some Disney films with Amelia and putting the little girl to bed, the couple went back to the kitchen and spent at least an hour wiping it clear. How they managed to get even the cabinets dirty, she finds hard to understand. But, after all of that, she was quick to fall asleep from how tiring the day was. Feeling a slight tap on her shoulder, she opens her eyes to a rumpled-faced Amelia, holding her plushie tight in her arms, eyes wide.
“What’s the matter, princess? Are you okay?” She whispers, opening her arms and lifting the covers. Mia is quick to jump on the bed, snuggling close inside Darcy’s embrace, her eyes shutting close. “Bad dream?” She asks, and the girl simply nods, moving the plushie to one of her arms, the other settling around her aunt’s waist.
“It was ‘cary.” Mia explains through a whisper, her tiny fingers clutching the fabric of Darcy’s PJs. “But I okay now.”
“Yes, you are, baby girl. You were so brave, I am super proud of you.” She reassures the little one, pressing a kiss on her head. Absentmindedly, she rubs circles on the girl’s back with the tips of her fingers, the movement and quiet stillness of the room lulling them both back to sleep, tightly clinging to each other.
3 days later…
“You’re early.”
“Wow, what a warm welcome. I am delighted to see you as well.” Charlie mocks Darcy’s surprised greeting, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe, a teasing smirk on his face. She scrunches her nose, attempting a scowl, but can’t manage to keep her laughter bottled up for long, and the impromptu staring contest transforms into a fit of giggles.
Nick appears by Charlie’s side, placing his arm around his waist as they move towards the living room. Darcy hears a rustling sound and only then notices the bouquet on the taller man’s hand, the flowers a mix of Amelia’s favorite colours.
“You are such a softie.” Her voice softens at the sight, and she can’t help but poke his cheeks as they redden at the comment. Charlie laughs, standing on his tiptoes to press a kiss to his husband’s cheek, pulling him by the hand so they can both settle next to each other on the sofa, Darcy getting comfortable on the armchair right next to it. “Mia is finishing her bubble bath now.” She explains with a theatrical flail of hands. “Because both of our princesses spent the morning painting a few canvases, some of the paint somehow mysteriously ended up on their faces as well.” At that, Nick’s eyebrows raise, and Darcy points a finger at him. “Don’t ask. They’d give the smurfs a run for their money, that’s all I’m gonna say about it.”
“Do you have pictures?” Charlie asks in a mock-whisper, leaning forward.
“Pictures? Oh, my sweet boy, you underestimate me.” She stands, approaching them. “I have videos. Now scoot over so I can show you while they finish their thing.” Taking her phone out of her pocket with one hand, she gestures at the couch with the other, jumping in it between the couple when they both move to the sides, clearing a space for her to properly settle in.
“That was a fun weekend.” Tara comments with a dreamy smile on her face, settling next to her wife in bed later that day, pulling the covers up to her chin. Darcy smiles back, pecking her on the nose and wrapping an arm around her waist under the sheets.
“Yeah, it really was.”
“We… Would you…” She starts, staring at the ceiling. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she shuts her mouth, turning her head to the side to look back at Darcy’s curious face.
“Made you feel like we are ready to have one too, Jonesy?” Her wife whispers sweetly, reading the thoughts in her mind. Tara doesn’t hold back the large grin on her face, shifting closer so she can place her head on Darcy’s chest and hug her more fully.
“Yeah.” She smiles, her cheeks squished hard against Darcy’s chest, her voice barely understandable. “I’d like that a lot.”
“Me too, princess. Me too.”
The end