As autumn slowly began to make itself known, dawn was coming later in the morning, which could only be a blessing for all parents everywhere. It was certainly a blessing for Des and Piper, curled together in their bed, blissfully unaware that just down the hall a small, easily excitable girl had just woken up as dawn filtered in through the crack in her curtains. Lyneth stretched, hugging her favorite stuffed rabbit close as she watched her fairy friends flutter away from the bed to tend to their plants in preparation for the day ahead, and a wonderful thought occurred to her. Moments later, she was sliding out of bed, pattering on bare feet through the door and down the hall. The blissful peace of her parents' bedroom was shattered with a cry of, "Daddy's still here! Mornin'!" And the inevitable bounce as one toddler-sized half-Fae launched herself on top of them both with a loud cackle of impish delight.
"Oof," came the disgruntled and partially pained reply from one half of those parents as the toddler-sized half-Fae bounded into the bedroom and gleefully pounced atop the peacefully sleeping and unsuspecting big'uns in the bed. Hopefully, she didn't give her chosen father any long-lasting injuries with a stray foot or elbow.
Piper's groan was a little less pained, but still not entirely pleased to be woken up quite so enthusiastically. She had a little more experience at it than Des, though. Not even bothering to open her eyes, she twisted about, grabbing the giggling bundle of too much wakefulness about the waist and dragging her down into the warm space between her parents. "Five more minutes," was mumbled against Lyneth's hair, which naturally put Des face to face with his grinning soon-to-be-legally-adopted-daughter. "Mummy's grumpy inna mornin'."
"Oh, god..." Des groaned. "I hope you didn't want anymore kids. I think Mr. W*nky is..." He would have finished that statement, but he cut himself off when he pried an eye open to find a very familiar and beloved face grinning toothily at him. "It takes us a little longer to walk up, Lyneth."
"Is Mr W*nky grumpy in the morning, too?" She really was disgustingly awake for the first light of dawn, but given that she didn't generally impose herself on them every morning, Lyneth had earned a few free passes. The first morning Daddy is home after being away for a month' Free pass. She giggled as Piper, still stubbornly refusing to open her eyes, blew her hair out of the way to plant a loud raspberry on the back of the tiny girl's neck.
"Good morning to you, too," he said, with a slightly painful wince, though the damage was minor and not lasting. It wasn't the most pleasant way to be awoken first thing in the morning, but he couldn't hold it against her. "No, Mr. W*nky isn't grumpy in the morning," he replied, somewhat grumpily himself. "You're lucky you're cute or you'd be in so much trouble," he said, tweaking her nose, as he had a habit of doing. "You're lively this morning," he said, secretly wishing he had half her energy.
"Ooh." The cheeky face in front of him went from beaming to concerned for a moment, obviously worried she'd done to him what she'd done the first morning he'd woken up in this house. "Did I squash Mr W*nky again? Mummy has cream that makes booboo's all better, I can put it on!"
"No!" he replied, a little too quickly. "No, he'll be fine. It'll be fine..." He furrowed his brows, his half-asleep groggy mind unsure which pronoun he should use to describe that particular part of his anatomy. "I'll be fine. It's okay. Just forget it!" He privately wondered if he should start wearing an athletic cup to bed to protect his most valuable asset.
"But if I hurt Mr W*nky, then you'll be sad, an' Mummy will be sad, an' I won't get a baby to play wi- oooh." The concern suddenly intensified in her face, realising she'd let slip something that she wasn't supposed to be telling her grown ups about. Abruptly, that concern switched back to beaming impishness even as Piper lifted her head, eying Des over Lyneth with sleepy bemusement. "You didn' give me my pressie las' night 'cos I got all sleepy, but I'm not sleepy now! An' it's not a kitten, or a puppy, or a monkey, or a griffon, an' I have a bunny." At this, said stuffed rabbit was waved in Des' face enthusiastically.
Des arched a brow at her as she almost let slip something neither he or Piper thought she knew. She was, after all, just a toddler, albeit a precocious one and only half human, but he was willing to let it go for now, still too sleepy to tackle the birds and the bees at the crack of dawn. "What time is it?" he asked, groping around for the clock, just as a stuffed rabbit was waved in his face. "Lyneth, let me wake up first!" he exclaimed, without anger, almost falling out of bed as he groped around blindly for the clock.
"Too bloody early," was Piper's muffled reply from where her face was buried in Lyneth's hair even as the tiny girl cackled with laughter at Des flailing around for the clock. And just to put the cherry on the top of the morning, all the noise from the bedroom had attracted Loki. 85 lbs of Alaskan Malamute came barreling through the bedroom door to leap up onto the bed, landing squarely on top of Piper, who was up and out of bed within seconds. "Okay, okay, enough, I'm up!"
It was Des' turn to laugh at Piper as Loki launched himself at her, which ended in Piper rolling out of bed and Desmond somehow ending up on the floor with a loud thump and another "Ooof." He lifted a hand from where he lay sprawled on the floor in his pj bottoms, waving it around to get their attention. "I'm okay! It's just my pride that's injured!" Not to mention, Mr. W*nky, but it didn't seem to be a serious injury.
Left triumphantly happy up on the bed, Lyneth beamed once again, bouncing up and down amid the tangled mess of covers as Piper took charge of the dog. "All right, Loki, down," she ordered, reaching over to tweak her daughter's nose. "You, little miss, be nice to your dad while I go and deal with the dog." Loki, knowing when he was being talked about, barked, wagging his tail as Piper scritched his head fondly. "Okay, downstairs and outside, I know the capacity of that bladder," she said cheerfully, grabbing a cardigan as she passed her closet.
A moment later, the sound of dog and owner jogging down the stairs made itself known, leaving Des in a room with a cheeky imp of a child. Lyneth crawled to the edge of the bed, peeking over it to grin down at him in her own irrepressible manner. "Is your butt hurt, Daddy' Are you all waked up?"
Des sat slowly up, eyeing Lyneth with a familar look that wordlessly told her she was in trouble. "Do you know what this means, young lady?" he asked, as he climbed to his feet, crossing his arms against his chest and trying to look stern.
Oh, she knew that look. Unfortunately, Lyneth was in trouble so rarely that when that look came out to play, all the joy went straight out of her life. She scrambled back off the bed, big eyes wide and wary as she hugged her bunny tight to her chest. Instant guilt, just add scolding.
He scooped her up before she could get away and tossed her on the bed to tickle her sides, playfully. There was no malice in him when it came to Lyneth and rarely any anger. He loved her to death, even when she was being a little naughty, and if anything, he indulged her a little too much. "This means you are going to be tickled until you say Uncle!"
"Oof," came the disgruntled and partially pained reply from one half of those parents as the toddler-sized half-Fae bounded into the bedroom and gleefully pounced atop the peacefully sleeping and unsuspecting big'uns in the bed. Hopefully, she didn't give her chosen father any long-lasting injuries with a stray foot or elbow.
Piper's groan was a little less pained, but still not entirely pleased to be woken up quite so enthusiastically. She had a little more experience at it than Des, though. Not even bothering to open her eyes, she twisted about, grabbing the giggling bundle of too much wakefulness about the waist and dragging her down into the warm space between her parents. "Five more minutes," was mumbled against Lyneth's hair, which naturally put Des face to face with his grinning soon-to-be-legally-adopted-daughter. "Mummy's grumpy inna mornin'."
"Oh, god..." Des groaned. "I hope you didn't want anymore kids. I think Mr. W*nky is..." He would have finished that statement, but he cut himself off when he pried an eye open to find a very familiar and beloved face grinning toothily at him. "It takes us a little longer to walk up, Lyneth."
"Is Mr W*nky grumpy in the morning, too?" She really was disgustingly awake for the first light of dawn, but given that she didn't generally impose herself on them every morning, Lyneth had earned a few free passes. The first morning Daddy is home after being away for a month' Free pass. She giggled as Piper, still stubbornly refusing to open her eyes, blew her hair out of the way to plant a loud raspberry on the back of the tiny girl's neck.
"Good morning to you, too," he said, with a slightly painful wince, though the damage was minor and not lasting. It wasn't the most pleasant way to be awoken first thing in the morning, but he couldn't hold it against her. "No, Mr. W*nky isn't grumpy in the morning," he replied, somewhat grumpily himself. "You're lucky you're cute or you'd be in so much trouble," he said, tweaking her nose, as he had a habit of doing. "You're lively this morning," he said, secretly wishing he had half her energy.
"Ooh." The cheeky face in front of him went from beaming to concerned for a moment, obviously worried she'd done to him what she'd done the first morning he'd woken up in this house. "Did I squash Mr W*nky again? Mummy has cream that makes booboo's all better, I can put it on!"
"No!" he replied, a little too quickly. "No, he'll be fine. It'll be fine..." He furrowed his brows, his half-asleep groggy mind unsure which pronoun he should use to describe that particular part of his anatomy. "I'll be fine. It's okay. Just forget it!" He privately wondered if he should start wearing an athletic cup to bed to protect his most valuable asset.
"But if I hurt Mr W*nky, then you'll be sad, an' Mummy will be sad, an' I won't get a baby to play wi- oooh." The concern suddenly intensified in her face, realising she'd let slip something that she wasn't supposed to be telling her grown ups about. Abruptly, that concern switched back to beaming impishness even as Piper lifted her head, eying Des over Lyneth with sleepy bemusement. "You didn' give me my pressie las' night 'cos I got all sleepy, but I'm not sleepy now! An' it's not a kitten, or a puppy, or a monkey, or a griffon, an' I have a bunny." At this, said stuffed rabbit was waved in Des' face enthusiastically.
Des arched a brow at her as she almost let slip something neither he or Piper thought she knew. She was, after all, just a toddler, albeit a precocious one and only half human, but he was willing to let it go for now, still too sleepy to tackle the birds and the bees at the crack of dawn. "What time is it?" he asked, groping around for the clock, just as a stuffed rabbit was waved in his face. "Lyneth, let me wake up first!" he exclaimed, without anger, almost falling out of bed as he groped around blindly for the clock.
"Too bloody early," was Piper's muffled reply from where her face was buried in Lyneth's hair even as the tiny girl cackled with laughter at Des flailing around for the clock. And just to put the cherry on the top of the morning, all the noise from the bedroom had attracted Loki. 85 lbs of Alaskan Malamute came barreling through the bedroom door to leap up onto the bed, landing squarely on top of Piper, who was up and out of bed within seconds. "Okay, okay, enough, I'm up!"
It was Des' turn to laugh at Piper as Loki launched himself at her, which ended in Piper rolling out of bed and Desmond somehow ending up on the floor with a loud thump and another "Ooof." He lifted a hand from where he lay sprawled on the floor in his pj bottoms, waving it around to get their attention. "I'm okay! It's just my pride that's injured!" Not to mention, Mr. W*nky, but it didn't seem to be a serious injury.
Left triumphantly happy up on the bed, Lyneth beamed once again, bouncing up and down amid the tangled mess of covers as Piper took charge of the dog. "All right, Loki, down," she ordered, reaching over to tweak her daughter's nose. "You, little miss, be nice to your dad while I go and deal with the dog." Loki, knowing when he was being talked about, barked, wagging his tail as Piper scritched his head fondly. "Okay, downstairs and outside, I know the capacity of that bladder," she said cheerfully, grabbing a cardigan as she passed her closet.
A moment later, the sound of dog and owner jogging down the stairs made itself known, leaving Des in a room with a cheeky imp of a child. Lyneth crawled to the edge of the bed, peeking over it to grin down at him in her own irrepressible manner. "Is your butt hurt, Daddy' Are you all waked up?"
Des sat slowly up, eyeing Lyneth with a familar look that wordlessly told her she was in trouble. "Do you know what this means, young lady?" he asked, as he climbed to his feet, crossing his arms against his chest and trying to look stern.
Oh, she knew that look. Unfortunately, Lyneth was in trouble so rarely that when that look came out to play, all the joy went straight out of her life. She scrambled back off the bed, big eyes wide and wary as she hugged her bunny tight to her chest. Instant guilt, just add scolding.
He scooped her up before she could get away and tossed her on the bed to tickle her sides, playfully. There was no malice in him when it came to Lyneth and rarely any anger. He loved her to death, even when she was being a little naughty, and if anything, he indulged her a little too much. "This means you are going to be tickled until you say Uncle!"