((Takes place during the afternoon of the 3rd February, while Piper is at Vicki's baby shower.))
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There are some things no man should agree to. One of those things should be the suggestion made by a tiny child that the best thing they could possibly do with their afternoon would be to bake her mother a cake as a surprise for when she got back from the baby shower she was attending. Lyneth had made full use of those big turquoise eyes, and Des had caved, with interesting consequences. Certainly he'd never been in the presence of a kitchen full of faery folk before, and it was highly unlikely that he'd expected the baking to merely involve sitting down and reading out the instructions while fairies, gnomes, pixies, and brownies simultaneously made a mess and cleaned it up after themselves. And somehow Lynnie was still covered in flour.
It was no secret that Desmond had found himself completely charmed by the little girl he'd met on Christmas Eve and by her lovely mother, both of them somehow melting his heart and able to wrap him around their fingers with little more than a smile, but Des wasn't complaining. For the first time in a long time, he felt loved, wanted, needed even, and for the first time in his life, part of a real family, even if it was a family unlike the traditional kind, filled with magic and fairies and a little girl not of his own blood who seemed to adore him. "Lynnie," he laughed, sky-blue eyes dancing with mischief. "You've got a little flour on your nose," he said, tweaking her nose playfully before plucking her up and setting her down on a chair. In all truth, she was covered in flour and he wasn't quite comfortable enough with her yet to give her a bath.
"A little?" came an indignant squawk from the brownie on the floor, his familiarly ugly face screwed up incredulously as he paused in his sweeping up of the bag of flour that had unaccountably exploded. It could have been the fact that the fairies dropped it from a height of about six feet that had done it.
Lyneth giggled as Des lifted her up, her feet kicking for a moment before she was put down again. "Where on my nose?" she asked Des curiously, big eyes crossing to try and locate the little bit of flour he was worried about.
To be fair, Des had a good amount of flour sprinkled in his hair and dusting his clothing, almost giving him the look of an older man with graying hair, if not for the youthful face and the lively blue-gray eyes that were bright with affection for his littlest charge. Des ignored the cranky brownie, whom he'd become accustomed to over the last few weeks since he'd first made his acquaintance. He'd learned that the brownie meant no harm, at least where Lyneth was concerned, and was far more helpful than harmful. He had, in fact, become fond of the little man, though Des was loath to openly admit it. "Right there," he said, brushing a finger against her nose with a grin. "Wait, I think I have it," he said, leaning in and crossing his eyes playfully before brushing his nose against her in an Eskimo kiss.
The little button nose scrunched as first a finger, and then a nose was brushed against it. In hindsight, Des should really have known better than to get that close to an affectionate little girl who was wearing more flour than was in the mixing bowl. Certainly, Lyneth gave no warning, launching herself out of her chair in a billowing white cloud to hug her newest friend tightly, leaving more than just handprints on his shirt. "Mummy's goin' to like the cake, isn't she, Des?" she asked hopefully, planting a wet kiss on his cheek. "An' we can decorate it an' put yummy flowers on it an' share it with the faeries -" this got a cheer from the various little people making organised chaos around them "- an' have it for puddin', can't we" Please, please, please?"
To his credit, Des didn't recoil when that flour-laden little girl launched herself at him, squatted down in front of her the way he was. He sneezed once as the cloud of flour tickled his nose but the sneeze was quickly followed by light-hearted laughter as he found Lyneth hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek. How could he possibly find anything wrong with that, mess or no mess" "She's going to love it, Lynnie, so long as you promise to eat your dinner before we have cake," he said, tweaking her little cute button nose again, just because he could. He slid her onto his lap, as there wasn't much point in trying to stay flour-free anymore. He couldn't deny he felt happy when he was with her and Piper, happier than he'd ever felt before, but there was something he hadn't told her yet, something that might make them both sad.
"If I promise, will you promise not to tell Mummy about the big choklit ice cream?" Lyneth asked solemnly. She'd tricked him into buying an ice cream bigger than her own head, eaten it all, and then thrown up mostly on Correy, and had spent the remainder of the day trying to convince Des not to mention it to her mother when Piper got home.
Disgusting as it had been, as soon as Des and Correy had determined that Lyneth was all right, he couldn't help find himself a little amused by the incident. With any luck, it was to be their little secret, and Piper would never know he had horribly spoiled and overindulged the little girl. "I promise!" he declared seriously, drawing a cross against his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye!"
"All right then!" As Oisin the brownie charged across the kitchen, having produced a needle from the depths of his grubby coat, Lyneth let loose with a raucous peal of laughter that brought Loki rushing in from the garden. Flour on tile plus paws was not a good combination, and the Malamute quickly lost all traction, skidding wildly across the floor to land in a heap by Des' feet. And from underneath the dog came a very muffled, "Ow."
The kitchen had suddenly - or maybe not so suddenly - erupted into a comedy act. Des arched a brow as he watched the show, almost as if it was all taking place in slow motion, the brownie taking him literally, the dog skidding across the floor to land as his feet and squish the poor brownie beneath him. Des pressed a hand to his mouth to suppress his laughter, before leaning over to lift Loki up to save the brownie from being crushed beneath him. "You okay?" he asked, trying to look more concerned than amused.
Leaning over her little friend with an expression as much concerned as giggling, Lyneth prodded the brownie with a finger.
Oisin was lying on his back, his big nose bent flat against his face, and the needle he had been proposing to stick in Des' eye pinning his bowler hat to the floor. He groaned, taking in a deep breath that somehow managed to ping his nose relatively straight once again. "Fine," he croaked, coughing out a lungful of what looked like dog hair before pulling himself to his feet. Loki lowered his muzzle to look closely at the brownie for a moment before barking in a friendly way, resting his chin on Des' knee. Now everyone was covered in flour.
Desmond couldn't help himself and broke into a fit of laughter at the comedy that was playing itself out before his eyes. In all truth, he needed it. His life on the other side of the Nexus was far too serious, far too dismal, and he was thoroughly enjoying the light-hearted fun he enjoyed whenever he was with Lyneth and her fairy friends. "Oh, God..." he said, heaving a breath as he shook with laughter. "Your mother is going to kill me!" But for some reason, that only made him laugh that much harder.
Des' laugh was infectious enough to be joined very soon by Lyneth's familiarly high-pitched giggles, even as the little girl swept the brownie off the floor to hug him. Oisin obligingly didn't complain, rescuing his hat when he'd been put down and scuttling back to his tidying, his greyish face flaming red with an almost embarrassed blush. A squeaking voice from the work top where the cake was being assembled drew their attention to the fairies, who were struggling to lift the mixing bowl in order to pour the mixture into the prepared tins. There were seven of them, yes; but the bowl was ceramic, and pretty heavy even when empty. It looked like a disaster waiting to happen.
"Oh, sh-" Des cut himself off before the entire world slipped out of his mouth, so as not to soil a certain little girl's virgin ears. Even if she had heard it before, she wasn't going to hear it again from him. He was on his feet in an instant and dashing across the room to rescue the ceramic bowl before it crashed on the floor. "You know, I appreciate all the help, but I am capable of baking a cake!" he said as he caught hold of the bowl and helped the little people pour the batter into the pans. That was a close one.
There are some things no man should agree to. One of those things should be the suggestion made by a tiny child that the best thing they could possibly do with their afternoon would be to bake her mother a cake as a surprise for when she got back from the baby shower she was attending. Lyneth had made full use of those big turquoise eyes, and Des had caved, with interesting consequences. Certainly he'd never been in the presence of a kitchen full of faery folk before, and it was highly unlikely that he'd expected the baking to merely involve sitting down and reading out the instructions while fairies, gnomes, pixies, and brownies simultaneously made a mess and cleaned it up after themselves. And somehow Lynnie was still covered in flour.
It was no secret that Desmond had found himself completely charmed by the little girl he'd met on Christmas Eve and by her lovely mother, both of them somehow melting his heart and able to wrap him around their fingers with little more than a smile, but Des wasn't complaining. For the first time in a long time, he felt loved, wanted, needed even, and for the first time in his life, part of a real family, even if it was a family unlike the traditional kind, filled with magic and fairies and a little girl not of his own blood who seemed to adore him. "Lynnie," he laughed, sky-blue eyes dancing with mischief. "You've got a little flour on your nose," he said, tweaking her nose playfully before plucking her up and setting her down on a chair. In all truth, she was covered in flour and he wasn't quite comfortable enough with her yet to give her a bath.
"A little?" came an indignant squawk from the brownie on the floor, his familiarly ugly face screwed up incredulously as he paused in his sweeping up of the bag of flour that had unaccountably exploded. It could have been the fact that the fairies dropped it from a height of about six feet that had done it.
Lyneth giggled as Des lifted her up, her feet kicking for a moment before she was put down again. "Where on my nose?" she asked Des curiously, big eyes crossing to try and locate the little bit of flour he was worried about.
To be fair, Des had a good amount of flour sprinkled in his hair and dusting his clothing, almost giving him the look of an older man with graying hair, if not for the youthful face and the lively blue-gray eyes that were bright with affection for his littlest charge. Des ignored the cranky brownie, whom he'd become accustomed to over the last few weeks since he'd first made his acquaintance. He'd learned that the brownie meant no harm, at least where Lyneth was concerned, and was far more helpful than harmful. He had, in fact, become fond of the little man, though Des was loath to openly admit it. "Right there," he said, brushing a finger against her nose with a grin. "Wait, I think I have it," he said, leaning in and crossing his eyes playfully before brushing his nose against her in an Eskimo kiss.
The little button nose scrunched as first a finger, and then a nose was brushed against it. In hindsight, Des should really have known better than to get that close to an affectionate little girl who was wearing more flour than was in the mixing bowl. Certainly, Lyneth gave no warning, launching herself out of her chair in a billowing white cloud to hug her newest friend tightly, leaving more than just handprints on his shirt. "Mummy's goin' to like the cake, isn't she, Des?" she asked hopefully, planting a wet kiss on his cheek. "An' we can decorate it an' put yummy flowers on it an' share it with the faeries -" this got a cheer from the various little people making organised chaos around them "- an' have it for puddin', can't we" Please, please, please?"
To his credit, Des didn't recoil when that flour-laden little girl launched herself at him, squatted down in front of her the way he was. He sneezed once as the cloud of flour tickled his nose but the sneeze was quickly followed by light-hearted laughter as he found Lyneth hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek. How could he possibly find anything wrong with that, mess or no mess" "She's going to love it, Lynnie, so long as you promise to eat your dinner before we have cake," he said, tweaking her little cute button nose again, just because he could. He slid her onto his lap, as there wasn't much point in trying to stay flour-free anymore. He couldn't deny he felt happy when he was with her and Piper, happier than he'd ever felt before, but there was something he hadn't told her yet, something that might make them both sad.
"If I promise, will you promise not to tell Mummy about the big choklit ice cream?" Lyneth asked solemnly. She'd tricked him into buying an ice cream bigger than her own head, eaten it all, and then thrown up mostly on Correy, and had spent the remainder of the day trying to convince Des not to mention it to her mother when Piper got home.
Disgusting as it had been, as soon as Des and Correy had determined that Lyneth was all right, he couldn't help find himself a little amused by the incident. With any luck, it was to be their little secret, and Piper would never know he had horribly spoiled and overindulged the little girl. "I promise!" he declared seriously, drawing a cross against his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye!"
"All right then!" As Oisin the brownie charged across the kitchen, having produced a needle from the depths of his grubby coat, Lyneth let loose with a raucous peal of laughter that brought Loki rushing in from the garden. Flour on tile plus paws was not a good combination, and the Malamute quickly lost all traction, skidding wildly across the floor to land in a heap by Des' feet. And from underneath the dog came a very muffled, "Ow."
The kitchen had suddenly - or maybe not so suddenly - erupted into a comedy act. Des arched a brow as he watched the show, almost as if it was all taking place in slow motion, the brownie taking him literally, the dog skidding across the floor to land as his feet and squish the poor brownie beneath him. Des pressed a hand to his mouth to suppress his laughter, before leaning over to lift Loki up to save the brownie from being crushed beneath him. "You okay?" he asked, trying to look more concerned than amused.
Leaning over her little friend with an expression as much concerned as giggling, Lyneth prodded the brownie with a finger.
Oisin was lying on his back, his big nose bent flat against his face, and the needle he had been proposing to stick in Des' eye pinning his bowler hat to the floor. He groaned, taking in a deep breath that somehow managed to ping his nose relatively straight once again. "Fine," he croaked, coughing out a lungful of what looked like dog hair before pulling himself to his feet. Loki lowered his muzzle to look closely at the brownie for a moment before barking in a friendly way, resting his chin on Des' knee. Now everyone was covered in flour.
Desmond couldn't help himself and broke into a fit of laughter at the comedy that was playing itself out before his eyes. In all truth, he needed it. His life on the other side of the Nexus was far too serious, far too dismal, and he was thoroughly enjoying the light-hearted fun he enjoyed whenever he was with Lyneth and her fairy friends. "Oh, God..." he said, heaving a breath as he shook with laughter. "Your mother is going to kill me!" But for some reason, that only made him laugh that much harder.
Des' laugh was infectious enough to be joined very soon by Lyneth's familiarly high-pitched giggles, even as the little girl swept the brownie off the floor to hug him. Oisin obligingly didn't complain, rescuing his hat when he'd been put down and scuttling back to his tidying, his greyish face flaming red with an almost embarrassed blush. A squeaking voice from the work top where the cake was being assembled drew their attention to the fairies, who were struggling to lift the mixing bowl in order to pour the mixture into the prepared tins. There were seven of them, yes; but the bowl was ceramic, and pretty heavy even when empty. It looked like a disaster waiting to happen.
"Oh, sh-" Des cut himself off before the entire world slipped out of his mouth, so as not to soil a certain little girl's virgin ears. Even if she had heard it before, she wasn't going to hear it again from him. He was on his feet in an instant and dashing across the room to rescue the ceramic bowl before it crashed on the floor. "You know, I appreciate all the help, but I am capable of baking a cake!" he said as he caught hold of the bowl and helped the little people pour the batter into the pans. That was a close one.