Work Text:
When you’re a mother to a five year old, a calm awakening becomes a thing of the past, but Agott can still hope. This time, however, it wasn’t just Agott since she can feel Coco trying to hide from the noise by burying her face into Agott’s chest.
Coco often wakes whenever the sun rises, no matter when she went to bed the night before - a habit that’s gotten her compared to Master Qifrey more than once. With the winter season causing later sunrises, it means Coco is still in bed and wasn’t able to distract their daughter before she went to their bedroom.
The consequence of this is their lovely daughter, Qikian, is currently sprawled across both of her mother’s legs and wriggling around in a quiet-ish attempt to wake them up. The silence of the room also allows Qikian’s quiet giggles and breaths to be heard as if they were yelled. The sun hasn’t even risen yet, but it’s around the time Coco wakes up in the summertime and begins her routine. Qikian must have gotten used to waking up to the sound of her mama walking around and beginning the day. But even then, Coco always encourages Qikian to sleep more, sometimes even carrying her to snuggle up with Agott to do so while she starts on breakfast.
Since Coco typically handles Qikian at this hour, Agott feels as though she should do it this time. She can feel that Coco is too sleepy to handle this right now, with the way she presses further and further into her chest at every movement Qikian makes.
“Qiqi, honey, it is still dark outside.” Qikian is welcome in their bedroom at any hour, but she clearly wasn’t suffering from a nightmare or was so hungry she couldn’t wait for the morning. She wanted them awake for the day, and Agott could only hope a gentle reminder would settle her.
“Mhm. I know, mom. But– But Aun-Tetia and Auntie Richeh and Uncle Euini are coming today. I wanna get ready.” Agott can’t say she’s surprised, and if the feeling of Coco’s laughter against her chest is anything to go by, Coco wasn’t either. Qikian loved seeing her family, whether that be her Auntie Tetia or her Great-Grandpa Beldaruit (who Qikian has lovingly dubbed “Great Beldy”). She gets most excited seeing them, since Coco and Agott set up a windowway to Qifrey and Olruggio’s new home that they built before handing the atelier off to Coco and Agott. Coco had shown interest in being a master before graduating, so Qifrey thought of it as the best graduation gift for the girl. Naturally, they also have a windowway to the Great Hall, so Beldaruit was an often visitor.
Tetia was a hard find, since she was always traveling around the world and a single windowway did nothing. They relied on letter contraptions to hear anything from her and plan visits such as this one. Richeh and Euini were easier, since they didn’t move around much, but they preferred to stick to themselves rather than plan things like the weekly dinners the little family has with Qifrey and Olruggio. This planned lunch was an extremely rare, exciting treat to little Qikian.
Coco’s hand blindly reaches out to their daughter, searching for her soft curls to wrap around her finger. Getting Qikian to settle was proving to be a two-woman job.
“Lovebug…” She had to roll a bit away from Agott to speak properly, causing Agott to huff and tighten her grip on Coco. Agott was always clingy around this time. “Mama and mom wanna sleep more, and you need your rest as well.” Qikian’s pout could be heard even in the darkness of the room, and they both had to try not to laugh at their daughter’s upset behavior. Coco rolls back into Agott’s arms fully while keeping a hand on Qikian’s head to soothe her, silently making Agott handle the rest.
Agott mindlessly traces animal sigils on Coco’s back, fighting to keep herself awake to get their daughter to agree to sleeping more. “Qiqi, do you wish to sleep with us or go back to your room? If you don’t rest, you’ll be too sleepy to enjoy lunch with everyone.” She hopes that warning Qikian like that will actually get her to settle down. Giving her options means that even if she doesn’t wanna be asleep right at that moment, she can be in her bedroom and realize that she is tired on her own rather than keeping Agott and Coco awake.
Qikian sits up, removing the pressure off of her parents legs and freeing her hair from Coco’s soothing motions. She kicks her legs for a few moments as she thinks on the choices, a movement that makes Agott and Coco silence a groan.
“I wanna be in my room. I like my nightlights.” The nightlights were a joint invention of Coco and Olruggio, before they graduated. They’re lighter than snugstones, and can be made into shapes to be stuck onto the ceiling. Currently, Qikian made Agott shape them into animals from her picture books, and they glow a gentle blue light to soothe her. With that, Qikian pushes herself off of the bed and they can hear her feet pattering to the door. “Night-night mama, night-night mom!”
“Goodnight, Qiqi.”
The sound of Coco rolling over and yawning is heard, “Sleep well, lovebug.”
Finally, the door opens and closes, Qikian having finally left. She wouldn’t have left until both of her mama’s wished her a goodnight. Coco and Agott shuffle around to find a new comfortable position, since Coco burying her face into Agott would lead to difficulty breathing if she actually tried to sleep that way.
When they finally become a comfortable tangled mess of limbs, both of them can’t help but laugh at their daughter’s behavior.
“Do you think she’ll actually go to bed?” Coco can’t help but get reminded of how Master Qifrey must have felt, with four apprentices that would always insist on staying awake longer at night then be falling asleep at the table during breakfast. Maybe she should send him some nicely scented candles for his troubles. With the silverwood gone but taking his vision with it, he enjoys the smell of things more than anything – and has made a game of guessing the notes in perfumes and candles.
“She’ll have to tire herself out. No child likes staying awake all alone.” Those words make Coco dramatically frown and squeeze Agott. She remembered how often Agott stayed up all by herself to work on spells, and while it wasn’t something that bothered her today, her words made Coco imagine a little lonely Agott.
“You stayed up all by yourself all the time…” Coco was pouting, ridiculously so, and Agott could hear it in her voice.
“Hush. None of that.” Agott’s words and the kiss pressed onto Coco’s head to try and quiet her down did nothing.
“Agott…! You were so tiny and all by your lonesome…” There was an attempt made by Coco to squeeze and shake Agott, but with how tired they both were, it was weak and made Agott have to bite her cheek not to laugh. Her wife was absurd, but she’s been absurd since they were twelve, Agott knew what she was getting into proposing and loved it anyways.
“With your snoring, I was not alone.” When Coco’s movements stilled and she gasped, Agott couldn't help but laugh.
“I’m sorry, my dove, I did not mean it. You don’t snore.” It was hard to sound serious through the laughter, which made Coco sound even more offended.
“I do not! You know I don’t! You’re spreading… lies about me.”
Agott pressed apologetic kisses to Coco’s head, “I know, I’m sorry.”
Coco wiggles around to give herself room to look at Agott, face-to-face. The furrowed brow and pout Coco has made Agott have the most smitten smile – yes, this was her very laughable wife that carried their child.
“If you think I snore, you can sleep with Qiqi.” Coco had to hold back a smile when Agott’s response to her words was to press their foreheads together.
“Coco.”
“What?”
“Go to bed.”
It was Coco’s turn to laugh, making Agott dramatically roll her eyes and pretend she’s bothered at being kept awake. Coco responded by finding her place comfortably back in Agott’s arms, closing the temporary distance between them. There was a sigh of contentment from both of them when they settled.
“Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you.” Coco never went to bed without saying that, no matter the mood or time or place. She believed it helped make her dreams better, and let her sleep with a full heart.
“Yes, goodnight, dove. I love you as well.”