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“Dada…” Neuvillette felt small hands grabbing at his arms. He had only been sleeping for around forty five minutes, despite it being past three o’clock in the morning. Furina had recently fallen ill, and he had been taking care of her for the past few days. Today had been the worst day yet. Neuvillette had been doing everything in his power to help Furina feel better, but nothing seemed to help. She was in a horrible place, between the monthly cramps she suffered from, and the variation in hormones causing her immune system to fail her. She had caught some sort of cold which never let her keep her eyes shut for more than twenty minutes without waking up, nose runny and head throbbing, on top of the abdominal pain she endured.
So as soon as Neuvillette heard her call him that, he felt relieved. He knew he would be dealing with a lot of whining and a lot of crying, but her feeling little would ensure that he could, at least, get a few smiles out of her. It would ensure she felt safe and protected during these hard times. As he opened his eyes, Neuvillette noticed Furina, teary-eyed, innocently staring at him.
“What’s wrong, Princess?” he asked gently, so as not to startle the poor girl.
“My paci, dada,” she spoke, slurring her words.
“Have you lost your paci, Love?” He slowly rose up to help her.
“Yea… Can’ find it,” she declared, lying back down on Neuvillette's large bed, hugging her Chevalmarin close to her chest and coughing a few times. She was so tired, unable to sleep for days, and in so much pain. Neuvillette felt so sorry for her. Not sleeping properly was definitely impacting her ability to get better.
He stood up to look for the missing soother, but he felt his shirt being tugged at from behind.
“No leave… tummy ouch” Furina whispered, sniffling and pointing to where it hurt. As Neuvillette turned around to look at her, he noticed her suddenly very shiny eyes, and her furrowed eyebrows, giving him a pleading look.
“I’m not going to leave you, Bluebell. Never ever,” he spoke reassuringly, “Come here. It seems you are feeling very small right now. Let me blow your nose. I can carry you while we look for your paci together if you’d like,” he smiled.
Her face lit up, and she put out her arms, grabbing the air with her hands, lightly bouncing on the bed. Neuvillette picked a fabric tissue and gently brought it to her nose, encouraging her to blow into it, and ensuring she had gotten it all out. He then picked her up with ease and settled her against his chest. He started rubbing her back while he stood up, and she nuzzled her head into his neck in response, before pulling back to cough lightly.
Neuvillette could see it happen in real time, as a look of realisation settled on Furina’s face.
“Oh no!” she shouted, before wriggling out of his grasp and running off.
“Furina, what’s wrong? Please don’t run or you’ll slip!” Neuvillette warned. He heard a loud thud from the hallway. Then, silence.
“Baby, tell Dada what’s going on please,” He pleaded, making his way over to her, already hearing soft sniffles. He found Furina sitting on the ground, holding her head and rubbing her eyes, surrounded by a small yellow puddle that was getting larger by the minute. This was going to be an even longer night than expected.
“Sweet girl, are you alright? Did you hit your head?” Neuvillette asked, concerned. He only received small heaves and a single tear flowing down her cheek as an answer, as Furina sat wide-eyed on the ground, staring blankly at the wall. He only had a few moments before she would burst out into tears, Neuvillette knew. He cupped the girl’s cheek and made her look at him.
“It’s okay Precious, Dada will fix this, don’t you worry,” he reassured. Nevertheless, Furina burst into tears and started sobbing.
“Bad girl! Not… nice,” she cried, turning herself away from him in hopes of avoiding eye contact.
“That’s not true at all, Princess,” he said, bringing his hands under her armpits, ready to pick her up, “You are not a bad girl, Furina, you are sick and exhausted,” he picked her up, and kissed her forehead, “You need to get some sleep. It’s not your fault, Baby,” he comforted, carrying her towards the bathroom, but the girl wasn’t even listening.
“Hurts, Dada, hurts! So icky!” Furina sobbed, in obvious discomfort as tears flowed down her face, hands weak and shaking. Neuvillette sat her on the bathroom sink.
“Listen to me, Furina,” he started, only to come to the quick conclusion that Furina was, indeed, way too exhausted to listen as she carried on crying. He brought her into a tight hug, which she didn’t refuse. As his hands entirely embraced her, she caught sight of his fingers and began separating one of them, putting it in her mouth. This seemed to soothe the girl. Neuvillette stroked her hair with his other hand, and caressed her tear-stained face with his fingers until the crying ceased. Her eyes were shut, her throat still making her hiccup and heave, but the only sounds that could be heard from her were the soft sound of sucking, and the occasional gentle hum.
“Love,” he attempted to catch her attention, and she opened her eyes to look at him in response, “Dada is going to quickly rinse you off in the shower so you can go to sleep without feeling icky, alright?” She hummed and buried her head in his chest once more. Neuvillette held her head and stroked it in a comforting motion. Taking a bath would take way too long, he doubts she would want to take two baths in the same day. He carried Furina into the shower, making them both realize she would have to let go of Neuvillette’s finger. The girl grabbed his shirt, trying to make him stay, already starting to whine, her eyes filling with tears.
“I’ll find your paci, don’t you worry, my baby,” he spoke. He kissed her cheek before standing up.
“Can you promise me to stay still for a minute?” he asked, knowing there was no other solution. She nodded weakly, eyebrows still furrowed,
“Good girl. Rest your eyes,” he helped her sit in the shower, still dressed, “Dada will take care of everything,” he assured, before walking off with a certain speed in his step. Furina could become irritated at any moment.
Sure enough, the pacifier had been left on the kitchen sink. Neuvillette made sure to wash it again to avoid the bacteria on it keeping Furina sick. He walked back towards the bathroom.
“Hello sweet girl, guess what I’ve got for you,” he said, gently getting closer to Furina. She smiled. He slipped the soother between the girl’s lips, immediately leading the girl into a gentle sucking motion, her eyes closing.
“I know you’re so tired, Baby, but you can’t fall asleep in the shower. Hold on just a little more for me,” he told her, “Dada will be quick,” he promised, kissing her temple before undressing Furina. As promised, he made quick work of cleaning her to help her feel better. He hummed a tune, soothing her and preventing another outburst. Once he had finished, Neuvillette wrapped his little girl into her warm fluffy towel that he had put onto the towel-warmer after her previous bath. He started drying her off, and Furina kept rubbing her eyes and yawning, the steam making her even sleepier. Neuvillette yawned at the sight of her yawning, making him chuckle.
“Should we use some of your special undies? So you can sleep soundly, Precious,” he asked, and kissed her shoulder. This was how they referred to Furina’s pull-ups, which she was normally very embarrassed about. Apparently too tired to care, she nodded.
“That’s my good girl,” Neuvillette praised, before grabbing a pair from the cupboard. He was thankful she had agreed, not having to deal with the blood and preventing any further damage caused by accidents. He helped her step into them, pulling them over her hips before grabbing her a new pajama top, the old one drenched in sweat. He picked the girl up, and rocked her slightly as he walked them both back to the bedroom. He laid Furina down on her still-warm heating pad, tucking her in with her Chevalmarin. He then kissed her forehead before turning the bedside lamp off. He hurried out to clean the mess from earlier, using vinegar to make sure no smell would be left. He stepped back into their bedroom a few minutes later.
“Thank you, Dada,” she said, before adding a slurred, “Love you,” as she hugged him.
“I love you too, my sweet girl,” he said, laying himself behind her, shielding her body and holding her tight, providing warmth to her lower stomach with his hands. Furina snuggled against him.
Needless to say, all eyes were permanently shut within minutes.