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Robin knew you were getting extremely tired, but she had to hide her slight smile when she faced you. “It’s getting late, baby.” She reached out and patted your head softly before cupping your cheeks in her hands. “I know you want to play, but we have plenty more days to do that.” She gave you a kind smile, but it only made you point.
You shook your head without a word, letting out a noise of protest as you tried to reach up to her. It wasn’t fair! You wanted to stay up and play, but you wanted to cuddle your mama even more. If you couldn’t play, then you were entirely determined to cuddle with her for as long as you could. It made her let out a small laugh and she shook her head.
“I won’t know what you want if you won’t tell me.” The corners of her lips twitched as she tried to hide a smile, entirely wrapped up in how adorable you were being right now. “You have to use your words, okay?” She leaned and kissed your forehead before standing up straight and crossing her arms over her chest idly. “Can you do that for me, baby?” Her tone was soft, trying to get you to speak despite knowing exactly what it was you wanted.
She had come to know all your signs and tells for when you wanted different things, but she also knew that challenging you just slightly was also good for you. She wanted you to be open with her, but still knew your limits when you were in your little space. “Just one or two words, okay?” She spoke softly, looking at you with adoration in her eyes.
It made you puff out your cheeks, whining. You didn’t want to! But you wanted mama to know how you felt. Big emotions were always hard when you were like this, and finding the right words to say was even more difficult. “Mama!” You whined, trying to reach out to her without saying what it was. But when she didn’t give in, you fidgeted with your hands. “Read! Sleep cuddles!” You said, looking at her with near pleading eyes.
Her smile widened, nodding as she scooped you up in her arms. “That was really good baby, I’m proud of you for using your big words.” She cradled you close to her chest, and walked over to the bed you often shared. Her touch was gentle, tender as she set you down. Robin let out a soft laugh when you whined and reached out for her. “Just a second, I’ll be right back. I just have to grab a book from your shelf.”
It seemed to soothe you slightly as you sat with your legs hanging over the edge of the bed. You still didn’t take your eyes off her, but you were excited you could finally get what you wanted. You even tried to lean in an attempt to see what book she was picking up to read to you. It didn’t exactly work, but she brought over two to choose from.
She let you look at them, raising one as she spoke before raising the other. “The bunny one, or the dolphin one?” She asked, trying to prod you for just one more word to settle in for the night. Her eyebrow raised as you only pointed to the one you wanted, and you let out a huff as she silently asked you to use your words again.
“...bunny.” You mumbled, and she gave you a wide and tender smile as she nodded.
“Bunny book it is.” She said, shifting you over so she could sit on the bed with her back against the headboard. She eased you down, letting you rest your head on her thighs. You both knew you were too tired to actually look at the book, and you settled down while cuddling her leg. You mumbled softly, nuzzling closer to her as she started reading. It was beyond comforting, and not just for you, but her as well.
Before she started reading, she grabbed your bottle with some water in it to nudge it towards you. You eagerly grabbed it, trying to drink as much as you could instinctively. “No, no.” She said, prying it from your mouth. “You can’t have all of it, just a small sip before bed, okay?” She said softly, setting it back on the table. “Your mouth will get too dry if you don’t have just a little…but we don’t want you getting up all night either.” She reasoned, tracing her hand along your cheek.
You huffed, pouting only momentarily before you nodded against her lap. She smiled at you and let out a soft laugh. “Good job baby.” She mumbled, using one hand to trail over your cheek while she opened the book with the other. “If you get too sleepy, you can always fall asleep on me, okay?” She said in a soft voice, and it left you nodding.
“Stay up.” You said, but couldn’t stop from rubbing your eyes sleepily. You didn’t really want to go to bed, you just wanted her to read to you and cuddle. But with a yawn, you knew you’d fall asleep soon regardless of if you wanted to or not.
She smiled, but started to read. Her voice was soothing, rather you were little or big, and it usually meant you fell asleep pretty quickly when she read to you. She knew it, too and used it for your benefit. You often tried to refuse to sleep when you were little, but she discovered quickly that if she started reading…you’d be asleep before she could make it far in the book. Just in case, she’d usually read the full thing, helping you sleep soundly.
Within a matter of minutes, you’d fallen asleep with your head on her lap. You’d mumble softly before drifting off to a deeper sleep. Once she’d finished the book, and looked down at you lovingly. Her hand trailed over your cheek and arm, moving ever so slowly to shift your positions to lay down beside you. Her arms wrapped around you, your face pressed against her neck.
She cradled you close, rubbing your back gently as she kissed your forehead. These moments made her feel treasured, in more ways than she’d ever anticipated. Knowing she could make you feel safe made her the happiest in the world. It was unexpected for her to find someone like you on the crew. One who loved her as much as you did, and trusted enough to be little with. She smiled at the thought, falling into a deep sleep with you in her arms.
There will be plenty of time to play tomorrow…but for now she was more than content to enjoy her time she got to spend with you.