Chapter Text
The morning light shone through the curtains softly, casting rays over the small figure buried under the covers like a little bunny. It was peaceful… Quiet…
…
“Rise and shine, sweetie! Daddy’s gotta get ready for work, and get you ready for the first day at the nursery!” A cheerful, loud voice called out, as Vincent opened the door to his daughter’s room, wearing an apron over his pajamas, not having changed yet. He held up a mixing bowl and whisking a batter, that was probably soon-to-be pancakes.
The lovely morning routine of the single father Vincent was.
“Nooo…” Victoria whined quietly, burrowing further under her patchworked blanket. The man came up to the bed in a few effective strides, uncovering the warm fabric from that sweet, little face.
“C’mon, dearie. We don’t wanna be late on the first day, do we? That would make a bad impression on so many new friends! I’ll go finish the pancakes now… And when I’m done, you better be up, little lady!” He chuckled softly, ruffling the soft brown strands on the girl’s head, messing them up further. It’d be a pain to tame those later, but he was in a way too good of a mood to care.
Vincent walked back to the kitchen downstairs, humming a jazzy tune under his breath as he continued cooking. Soon enough, the smell of sweet pancakes filled the air. It was enough to get Victoria out of bed as well - as he could hear the quiet thud of her bare feet on the stairs.
“I see we’re awake now. Hungry?” He looked over his shoulder at his daughter with a bright smile, observing as she rubbed her sleepy eyes with a yawn, and gave him a small nod. Still barely awake.
He finished cooking, tossing the pan into the sink carelessly (there was no time for dishes anyways), before he plated the fluffy goodies on her pink plate, pouring some orange juice into a cup as well. Vincent placed the dish before her, leaning in to kiss her forehead softly.
“Eat up. Daddy will eat later, I slept over a teeeny tiny bit… No biggie! Eating in a moving car is my absolute favorite anyways.” He huffed out a small laugh, his words sarcastic as he quickly made himself a simple sandwich with ham and cheese, putting it into a paper bag.
“Daddy always hurries…” Victoria mumbled with a roll of her eyes, before stuffing a bite of pancakes into her mouth, chewing.
“Well, that adds a little thrill to my mornings! I think - will I make it or not today? Hm? Isn’t that fun?” Vincent chuckled, preparing a simple peanut butter jelly sandwich - without crust of course - for the girl’s lunch box. A simple, lightly decorated metal tin.
“Okay, Vee-vee, I’ll go dress myself and prepare some clothes for you, then prepare everything you need for the nursery!” He said, already hurrying upstairs again, tripping over his own feet on the way. Luckily he didn’t fall - though it did happen often. Vincent was a clumsy man.
Upstairs, he started preparing all the supplies she might need at the nursery. Mumbling to himself, he arranged everything with care - as much care as a single dad in a hurry could provide. Vincent pulled out spare clothes, an apron for arts and crafts, a wash rag, a nicely embroidered towel with Victoria’s name on it (he embroidered it himself!), a small blanket, nap mat, one of the girl’s stuffed bunnies - all in her satchel bag, secured neatly.
He folded every single piece of cloth overly carefully. The man was anxious!
As good as he could play it cool in front of her, Vincent was very nervous about the separation. Sure, he left her with nannies before, but this was… Giving his daughter away to a completely new place. With new people. With strangers.
“Nope! No, Vincent, relax. She’ll be fine. Super fine, make so many friends, and the people here are experts! You picked the best nursery yourself. A nice, private nursery… She’s gonna be fine.” Trying to convince himself, he quietly muttered the words. Once he was finished, Vincent moved quickly to his own bedroom, slipping into a nicely ironed suit. Soft brown, with a darker, teal vest underneath and a crisp white button up, paired with black slacks and polished oxfords. He struggled a bit with the tie because of his shaky hands, but finally tied a neat knot. To top it all off - a simple enamel pin on the chest, shaped like a tiny boat.
Adjusting his cufflinks, he walked down the stairs again.
“Victoria, are you finished? Come on, let’s get that sweet face cleaned up!” Vincent chimed in, taking the empty plate and putting it in the sink with the rest of the dishes. Victoria already began walking to the bathroom, her father quickly following along.
“So. Is there gonna be a war with the toothbrush again, sweetie?” He leaned down to her level, already knowing the answer. And just like clockwork - Victoria’s lower lip jutted out in a pout as she stomped her foot and crossed her arms.
“No brushing!” she stated, stomping the foot once again. Vincent straightened up with a nod, thinking.
“Hm. Yeah, okay.. then I guess I have to change that delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich I packed you for lunch for a… stinky tuna sandwich!” he said, with that winning smile. There was nothing Victoria hated more than tuna. Actually, any fish. He basically already won this little argument.
“Bleegh! No! No tuna! I’ll brush!” she shook her head enthusiastically, stepping on her tool and grabbing the pink toothbrush, squeezing a generous - maybe too generous… - amount of toothpaste on it. Hesitantly at first, she started brushing, but quickly went all out on those little teeth.
“That’s my girl.” Vincent ruffled her hair again, before taking a hairbrush into his hand, trying to somehow tame the messy strands on her head as she brushed. He was never good at doing her hair - no one to teach him how to do it.
“Oh gosh… That knot wasn’t here yesterday... goddamit…” He huffed, tongue sticking out a bit in concentration. Victoria winced from time to time at the pulling, to which he apologized with a quick “sorry princess…”.
After a few attempts, he was done! Vincent somewhat successfully caught the hair in a pretty neat ponytail. He even tied a little blue bow around it!
Victoria finished brushing her teeth, spitting out the foam into the sink, then rinsing the rest of it out. Now Vincent was brushing his - while leading her to her room again. Risky action. Just a drop of toothpaste foam could absolutely ruin his suit. He was in too big of a hurry to care though.
“Okay, Vee-vee.. Let’sh put on a dressh.” he muttered with the toothbrush still in his mouth, laying out a pretty blue dress. One he bought her for this exact occasion.
A simple, yet elegant dress with balloon sleeves, white collar and a bow tied at the neckline. Tiny white daisies were scattered across the material too.
“Armsh up!” still with his mouth full, he started dressing her properly. The smushed up words earned a giggle from the girl.
“Daddy sounds silly!” she said, as he adjusted the sleeves and collar of the dress. Vincent just rolled his eyes affectionately.
“Daddy’sh in a hurry. Go put on shoesh!” and with that, he bolted to the bathroom again - simply to rinse his mouth and finish up all the morning routine. Five minutes later, he was fresh, styled, square frames sitting neatly on his nose, standing before the door.
“Okay, uh… Did I forget anything… Stove’s off, keys, wallet, glasses, daughter… Bags! Right!” He bolted upstairs again, with Victoria giggling at his antics. Coming back, he was holding her bag, and a bigger bag of all the other things. In hers, there was just the lunchbox, and the stuffed bunny.
“And we’re ready to take off! Are you ready, princess?”
Victoria nodded proudly, and they walked out the house. Vincent checked the lock two times, before coming into the car, buckling her up and getting into his driver seat. The engine purred to life, the car pulling out smoothly onto the street.
“Are you nervous, Vee-Vee?” He asked, glancing in the rearview mirror for a second, then focusing on the road again.
“No, daddy. But you are! I know! You only check the lock twice when you’re nervous.” she answered, looking out the window. Victoria loved car rides, no matter how short.
“Okay, rude, I’m not nervous.” a pause.
“...fine, maybe a little. Daddy’s just super worried about you! What if… what if you scrape your knee and I’m not here to kiss it better?” Vincent’s hands subconsciously tightened on the wheel. He didn’t mean a scraped knee - what if a tragedy happened and he wasn’t there to save her? That’s terrible!
“I will kiss it better myself! I’m a big girl!” Victoria said proudly, kicking her legs idly in the seat. Vincent let out a sigh of relief at that. Right. She wasn’t a little baby anymore. She was a smart, strong girl. Everything was gonna be fine.
Soon enough, they pulled up to the nursery, Vincent getting her out the car, before leaning down to the girl’s level.
“Will you be good?” he asked softly, worry and care shining in his eyes. And a massive amount of love, of course.
“I will! Super good!” she jumped in place once, clearly excited about everything.
“Okay. I believe you. But if anything happens, you go and tell a teacher. They’re like daddy - just… way less cool.” Vincent chuckled, taking out the bags. He gently shut the car door with his foot, walking up to the entrance.
The nursery didn’t look much like a school object. More like… A converted house. White walls, a picket fence, small garden on the front. Playground peeking out the back, a lovely front porch with two long benches and a small table, and in the windows, flowers and butterflies cut out of paper, stuck onto it from the inside.
Vincent took it all in, the domestic look easing his nerves a bit. And so, he rang the doorbell. Victoria was practically jumping beside him.
The door opened with a quiet creak.
Vincent’s breath hitched in a weird way at the man standing in the doorway. Slightly shorter than him, definitely older, and yet… handsome. Warm, chocolate skin, soft brown eyes, small mustache above his lip, a few smile lines. Brown locks with a few gray strands peeking out, one side falling over his left eye a bit. Golden, circular frames resting on the man’s nose. And that soft, gentle smile… Vincent had to shake himself out of some kind of trance!
What the hell was that?, he thought.
“Good Morning, Mr… Whittman, I suppose? It’s the only one we’re missing.” the man said calmly, eyes scanning Vincent from head to toe. Analyzing him.
Black, slightly messy hair, a thick strand of white at the bangs. Neat suit. Young face, square glasses, wide eyes… Heterochromatic. Interesting.
“Ah, yes! Yes, good morning, sorry for the, um… wait. If- if you were waiting, of course.” Vincent stumbled over his words a bit, feeling a pang of embarrassment in his chest. Why the hell was he stuttering now? It’s just a guy!
“Of course we were waiting. We’re always excited for new little friends. You must be Victoria, my dear? Oh, no need to be shy.” The older man leaned down a bit to get a better look at the girl, giving her a friendly smile. Victoria was shyly hiding behind her father’s leg, watching him with wide eyes.
“She… Um, Victoria is a little sheepish around strangers. I-I’m sure she’ll warm up.” Vincent gave a crooked smile and patted the girl’s head gently.
“Absolutely. All children tend to be shy at first… But oh, where are my manners? The name’s Alastor, Alastor Hartfelt. I’ll be your teacher, dearie. I promise I won't bite!” Alastor laughed quietly, the sound warm. Victoria stepped out from behind Vincent, fidgeting with the material of her dress.
“I’m… I’m Victoria… Victoria Whittman, a-and this is my daddy Vincent..” She whispered shyly, yet properly extended a little hand to the man.
“Oh, that’s a very pretty name. And such a polite young lady!” Hartfelt smiled, shaking her hand gently, before turning to Vincent again.
“I promise you, sir, your daughter is in great hands. We will inform you how she behaved at the end of the day… I’ll take the bags, while you say your bye bye’s now.” he stated calmly, taking both bags from Vincent’s hands with a polite nod. Victoria then turned to her dad, hugging his legs tight.
“...daddy, don’t leave… I-It’s scary now…” She mumbled, burying her face in the fabric of his pant leg.
“Oh, baby, I… I know. Daddy’s a little scared too! But I know you’ll be brave. You said it yourself… You’re a big girl… You’re strong, smart, kind… And I will come back for you, always. Here, you will play for a whooole day, with new friends… And Mr. Hartfelt seems nice, doesn’t he?” Vincent reassured her, caressing the soft hair on her head, leaning down to kiss the top of it.
“...mhm… He does… Promise to come back?” she asked, still a little unsure.
“Promise. Daddy never breaks promises. And I love you, so, so, sooo much!” He pulled her into a tight hug, kissing the girl’s forehead one last time.
“Have fun, sweetie. You’ll tell me all about it at home.” Vincent smiled, gently encouraging her to get inside with a tiny push.
“O-Okay. I love you too, daddy. Bye bye..!” Victoria waved him a small goodbye, before disappearing in the hallway. Alastor came up again soon after - just to exchange a bit of information now. Boring talk. And yet… Vincent wanted to talk with him more. He could not shake off the feeling!
“Since this is the first day, we recommend you pick her up rather early. Normally, the nursery works as late as 6:30PM. Today we’re closing at noon. Is that alright?” Hartfelt asked formally, that small smile still on his face. Polite. Professional.
It gave Vincent a sense of security.
“Yes, I know… I’ll be there. Thank you a lot… She’s also.. very adventurous, just to clarify that. And Victoria still has trouble with sharing, so she might throw a tantrum if she has to do that, and-” he started rambling, but was quickly cut off by the gentle voice again.
“It’s perfectly fine. We know how to handle all kinds of children… And we’ll make sure she learns everything that makes a person good. Any questions will be answered later, when you pick her up. The children are energetic in the morning, so I have to go back to my classroom. Have a nice day, Mr. Whittman. Goodbye.” With that, the door softly closed, leaving Vincent alone with that weird feeling again
“...goodbye..” He whispered, standing there for a second too long.
What the hell was happening to him?