Work Text:
It was well past midnight, not even at the first crack of dawn, and even if he wasn't a light sleeper due to his detective work, Kyle would've preferred to stay asleep for just a few hours more. At least, if only to keep snuggling with Vanilla, his paw caressing the noticeable bump in her belly.
His ears twitched at the sound of a door opening from behind, and he initially assumed that it was just a small draft. Then, he heard the pitter-pattering of tiny paws, and he assumed that it was a little mouse. He huffed as he snuggled closer to Vanilla, wanting to savour more of her warmth before the sun rose.
And then, he felt a second weight behind him, much lighter than Vanilla and their yet-to-be-born second child combined, before a pair of paws descended on his exposed shoulder, jolting him awake.
"Daddy?"
Oh, no.
Daring himself to move, Kyle turned his head to look over his shoulder. It was then and there that he found himself staring up at his daughter. She stared back down at him with eyes bearing the same crystal-blue colouring as her mother's.
A sense of dread washed over him as he realized what this meant. Though Aquila was just one month away from turning four, she had a penchant for being troublesome. Whether it be painting the walls of the mansion, or snatching the toilet paper from the bathroom, there was a lot of mischief that she could get herself into.
Waking up her parents in the middle of the night to ask endless questions about the things she liked was the latest of her trouble makeries. And tonight was no different.
"Daddy, why do butterflies sleep during the night, but moths sleep during the day?" Aquila began asking. "Why do some moths look like other animals? Where do the butterflies go during the winter? How do moths—"
Kyle groaned and flattened his ears as he flopped over on his belly and buried his face in his pillow. It was just way too early for this kind of shit, especially when he was trying to get that sleep he desperately craved after working so many tireless nights.
But no matter how hard he tried to tune out his daughter's voice, it seemed that she was going to persist until she got a response from him. Letting out a disgruntled sigh, he finally turned to Aquila, glaring at her with gold-coloured bedroom eyes.
"Aquila," he whispered, his voice undercut by an annoyed hiss.
Aquila's ears perked up, unfazed by her father's annoyance. "Yes, Daddy?"
"Please, just go back to sleep. You can bother Aunt Hanna about this when we visit her in the morning, alright?"
Aquila just stared at him, unmoving.
"Alright?"
Aquila still didn't move. Then, she smiled. "Okay," she finally said. She bent forward and kissed her father on the cheek. "Love you, Daddy."
Kyle gave a small smile as he watched Aquila hop off the bed and scamper off back to her bedroom. Then, he let out a breathless chuckle as he rolled onto his other side, finally able to resume his snuggling with Vanilla.
"She been keeping you up again?" came his wife's soft voice. Kyle cracked open an eye. Vanilla's eyes were still closed, but she wasn't asleep anymore.
He smiled again. "Oh yeah," he answered. "I swear, that kiddo's gonna turn my hair grey before I grow old."
Vanilla giggled as she placed a paw on her swollen belly, caressing it gently. "Well, let's hope this one will be much calmer." As if responding, the unborn baby squirmed about inside their little cocoon.
Kyle let out a breathless chuckle as he snuggled closer to her. "Yeah, let's hope so," he answered. He rubbed his paw against her womb, and she purred in response. He wouldn't trade any of this for the world, no matter what.