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The radio placed on the living room mantelpiece crackles away on low with a slow evening song. The sky outside is painted in golden streaks that shine through the curtains and warms your skin as you sit on the large armchair beside the fireplace. Rose is sitting just beside your feet on the plush rugˏ though she pays no real mind to you for the moment being. You watch with a soft smile and a cup of tea in hand as the toddler stacks up small wooden blocks just to knock them down; a repeating cycle that has yet to bore her in the slightest.
It is only when the front door clicks open and closes that her little head shoots up and her big eyes tear away from the blocks scattered across the floor. Joachim is homeˏ her papa is homeˏ and that means one thing; she has her favourite thing to latch both her energy and her attention onto back at last. There is nothing Rose loves more than her papa and of courseˏ Joachim accepts it like a man being given a pail of cool water in a desert. She has had the tank commander wrapped all the way around her tiny little finger since birth.
You lean forward and place your cup on the fragile saucer that sits on the side table with a clink. Your hand comes down to stroke her hair. “Who is thatˏ Rose? Is it papa?” She babbles excitedly in response. She knows it is him. Rose has somehow memorised the sound of his specific shoes thudding against the hardwood floor. His exact weight and how he carries himself in his steps are engraved into her mind. The sound of him hanging up his tunic and removing his leather boots next to the door floats down into the warm living room. You can tell that Rose is growing rather impatient to see him. She picks herself up from the floor andˏ with that unbelievable toddler speed that one can never quite expectˏ makes a stumbling dash for the open doorway of the living room before you have the chance to even think about stopping her.
Joachim appears in the tall doorframe just before she manages to run out to find him at the coatrack. The sight of him towering over her forces Rose to crane her head up towards him with a pair of gleaming blue eyes. An excited and surprised squeak spills from her mouth as she resumes her wobbling steps towards him. Joachim melts on the spot. Of course he does. The man is no match for his little rose and even he himself knows it.
“Meine Rose! Komm zu papa.” Joachim coos at her as he crouches down. He does not care for the fact that it will likely leave stubborn creases in his pristine uniform trousers. His arms open wide and bundle her up against his warm chest right as she begins to tumble in her steps and throws herself towards him in an eagerness to be held in the most comfortable place she knows. Joachim meets your eyes over her small frame as he tightens his hold on her and stands back up. You smile and open your mouthˏ going to welcome him homeˏ but he holds up one calloused finger and gives you an all familiar charming smile back. “Waitˏ meine blume. I have something for you-” His voice dips into a coo as he moves his gaze back to Roseˏ who is now chewing on the collar of his shirt. “-and Meine Rose too. Wait here.”
Joachim has waltzed his way back out of the living roomˏ with Rose still held against his chest and drooling away on his collarˏ before you can get a word out in response. You smile to yourself and settle back into the comfort of the plush armchair. The hushed sound of the radio and the crackling fireplace are the sole noises in the roomˏ but you can hear a familiar crinkling and the inquisitive coos of Rose from the candlelit hallway just outside.
When he walks back into the living roomˏ you have to let out a small laugh. The light sound makes his gentle eyes sparkle and soften. The sight is not entirely new; it is just different. It has a new feature in the form of a sentient Rose with chestnut hair and crystal blue eyes. Joachim holds two mixed bouquets in his hands whilst his arms support Rose. The bouquets are each bigger than her head and almost her little body too. With them held out in front of her? You can just barely see the top of her hair peaking over the lush petals. “What is the matterˏ meine blume? You think that flowers are laughable now?” He teases as he walks towards you. You give a playful roll of your eyes and gesture him closer with a smile. He holds out one bouquet to you and watches as you take it. His warm eyes are stuck on admiring you as you bring the flowers close to your nose. “Do you like them? They are nothing compared to you but…” He trails off with a smile. “They are lovelyˏ Joachim.”
A loudˏ attention demanding coo interrupts the moment of deep eye contact between you and Joachim. Both of you shift your sights to the figure still in his armsˏ now revealed with one bouquet taken out of the way. The small face of Rose stares back at Joachim as he looks down towards her. “Ah! Were you hidden, meine Rose? Ohˏ es tut mir leid…” He plants a dramatically loud kiss to the top of her growing chestnut hair and smiles when she brings a chubby hand up to pat his cheek. “I brought you something tooˏ do you see?” He nods his head towards the flowers now held in his free hand and moves them closer for her to see. Her wide eyes take in the burst of bright colours whilst you and Joachim watch. The bouquets each contain a sweet smelling mix of roses and lisianthus; roses for love and passionˏ lisianthus for gratitude and admiration. All are things that Joachim feels towards you and little Rose.
The fresh roses mirror the colour of her chubby cheeks as she leans in closer to the flowers. Both you and Joachim are so stuck on simply admiring the pureˏ wishful curiosity in her eyes that neither of you quite register what happens next until it is just a tad too late. Rose surges forward and takes a rather large mouthful of the petals. You and Joachim let out loud gasps in tune with one another. “Joachim!” Your surprised yelp makes Rose jump back in surpriseˏ a bundle of smooth petals are stuck to her chin and between her lipsˏ just as Joachim drops the bouquet and hurries his hand towards her face. “Ohˏ nein! Iss sie nicht! Bitte spuck sie aus…” His face is painted with a desperate plea for her to work with him. It is a look that the men who work with himˏ the men he commandsˏ would never quite believe.
Your slight panic dissolves into a breathy laugh as you watch them. His hand is brushing away the loose petals from her face and mouth with an almost unbelievable gentleness. “You must not eat the rosesˏ Rose.” A warm smile curves up on his lips as he plucks the last red rose petal from the corner of her mouth. He lets out a low chuckleˏ watching the way her wide eyes follow the petal as it slowly drifts down to the hardwood floor. The petal lands beside the others and she moves her gaze back to Joachim. Her face is painted with an expression of childlike wonder from watching the petal float to the floor. “You are a silly girlˏ meine Rose.” He bends down to pick the bouquet up from the floor and places it on the tall side table - a place she would not be able to reach it.
Rose begins to aimlessly pat at his cheek once more with a wideˏ cheeky smile. He plants a featherlight kiss to each of her rosy cheeks. “Let us sit with mamaˏ hm?” She coos in agreement. Joachim takes your hand with his free one and gently pulls you up from your spot in the armchair. “Joachim? What are you doing?” He flashes you his most charming smile before sitting down in the armchairˏ settling into the spot that you had warmed with your own body. He gets Rose comfortable on the right side of his chest and looks up at youˏ his eyes full of a warmth that rivals the flames in the fireplace. “Come hereˏ i would like to hold both of my flowers” His hand outstretches to youˏ open and waiting in the air for your own to accept it. You smile down at the sight of him and Rose and take his hand. Joachim pulls you down to sit atop his lap so that you are on the left of Rose. His arm wraps around your waistˏ enveloping you in a soft but protective hold. Your body instinctively curls into hisˏ like a puzzle piece finding the perfect fit.
Joachim releases a content sigh as you settle further against himˏ letting your head dip and nestle into the crook of his neck. You can smell the lingering hints of his cologne and natural musk on his throat. Rose lets out her own little huff through her button nose as her eyes begin to droop. Both of you smile at the soundˏ though your own eyes betray you. You watch through heavy lids as he brings a hand up to stroke her hairˏ his other hand caressing your hip. The radio changes to another slowˏ gentle song in the background. The setting evening sun outside begins to dip lower in the sky and the living room becomes solely illuminated by the orange ember hues of the fireplace. The comforting warmth of being heldˏ of being lovedˏ lulls both you and Rose into a sleep.
Joachim presses a kiss to her head and one to yours before resting his cheek down atop your hair. “Schlaft gutˏ meine blumes.” His voice is carefully hushed and impossibly softˏ it is a tone that is reserved for the two of you. He will carry you both to the bedroom soon. He will get Rose comfortable in her crib and hold you in your shared bed. He will fall into a slumber of his ownˏ likely to dream of you and Rose.
But for the moment beingˏ Joachim feels as though he is already in the most perfect of dreams and he does not want to wake up just yet.