Our fairytale (Matt/Karen oneshot)
a/n: to Lilly: because you rock my world.
They didn’t heard her get in, and Karen took a few steps, her coat still in her arms.
“Daddy…” Alyson said, Karen couldn’t help a little smile when she heard the weariness in Matt’s voice as he said, “Yes, sweetheart…”
“Fairytale?” Alyson asked. Matt was the man in charge with fairytales, it had always been…maybe because he had started telling them when she was pregnant, whispering against her belly, reading to the baby…and Alyson was enamored with her father’s voice.
Karen took another step toward the door, it was ajar, so she could see, without being seen, Alyson was already under the covers, her ginger hair braided, her eyes, big and green in rapt attention as she waited for her father to start telling her a fairy tale.
And Karen was waiting as well, because Matt’s words, the way he told those tales enchanted her as well.
She saw Matt smiling at his daughter, and recalled for a moment the sheer panic they had both experienced when they had found out she was pregnant. At the time she had been afraid, she had thought she was too young, she had thought her career would suffer, she had been afraid Matt wasn’t ready to be a father…
Matt’s shock at the news had lasted exactly fifteen minutes: he had stared at her, blinking slowly, his face pale, and Karen had feared the worst: that he would say he didn’t want a child, because yes, they had talked about having children, but it had been something they both had seen happen in the distant future, not so suddenly, not so unexpectedly.
It had been the longest fifteen minutes of Karen’s life and then Matt had grinned, he had taken her in his arms and had made her twirl around the room.
She shook her head, coming back to the present, as she saw Matt making a face at Alyson, the little girl giggled and reached for her father’s left hand and Karen saw the wedding band sparkle under the soft light of Aly’s bed lamp.
“Which kind of fairytale?” Matt asked.
Alyson grinned, and Karen noticed how much her grin matched her father’s, it was always so full of wonder, of joy…
“New one!” She exclaimed squeezing Matt’s hand.
Matt grinned back at her and Karen tilted her head on a side, resting it against the doorframe.
She recalled how Matt had proposed, a few days after they had found out about her pregnancy, how it had been almost comical, natural and *so* them…she had been in the bathroom, brushing her teeth, counting her blessing because she still wasn’t having morning sickness, Matt had been combing his hair. He had looked at her for a moment and then had said, “Will you marry me?”
She had coughed, spit in the sink - all very ladylike, she thought with a snort - and had said, “What?”
“Will you marry me?” Matt had repeated, smiling…grinning and Karen hadn’t known whether kiss him or throttle him.
“I’m brushing my teeth” She had said, but she was grinning.
“I noticed” Matt had said.
“And you’re asking me to marry you?” She had said.
Matt had shrugged, Karen had crossed her arms over her chest - and had it doubled its size overnight? - and had looked at him, confusion on her face.
“Will you marry me?” Matt had asked again.
“Is it because I’m pregnant?” She had asked, because….Matt proposing in the bathroom was making no sense and her hormones had apparently gone crazy because she was feeling unsure and was both on the verge of tears and of hysterical laughter.
Matt had shaken his head, “No…it is because I love you…and apparently you’re crazy enough to love me…”
“But…” She had trailed.
Matt had closed the distance between them - which, to be fair, hadn’t been a lot to begin with - had wrapped his arms around her waist and had said, “And it’s because I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and because yes, we’re going to have a child together, but mostly it’s because I’m crazy about you, Kaz! Will you make me the happiest man on Earth and marry me?”
“Ok…” She had said simply.
“Ok?” Matt had replied.
She had nodded her head and had then laughed and cried, when Matt had first kissed her, then had dropped on his knees and had kissed her belly and said, “Hey there…we’re getting married! Mommy and daddy are getting married!”
Alyson was waiting for her fairytale and Matt was taking his time, enjoying the curiosity and expectation in his daughter’s eyes and on her face.
“Once upon a time …” Matt started, his voice dropping, “there was a young man, he believed he was happy, he believed his life was full of colors and sounds, but he didn’t suspect it was not the truth until he met…”
“A princess?” Alyson supplied, and she was still holding Matt’s hand with both hers.
Matt nodded, “Yes, but you see…she was not only a princess: she was beautiful”
“Like mommy?” Alyson asked.
Matt’s smile softened, “Exactly like mommy…and she was not beautiful outside, with her long red hair and big eyes, she also had a beautiful, kind heart…” he lowered his voice and said, “you see, Alyson? The young man…had never really seen the colors, he had never seen the world, until he saw it through his princess’s eyes. They met at a fair, and the man thought she was a vision…”
“And she thought that he was her prince?” Alyson asked.
Matt grinned, “She thought he was weird…and clumsy and had a stupid face”
Alyson giggled, and Karen had to refrain from doing the same, recalling how much Matt and she had teased each other…and they still did, heck, they hadn’t stopped teasing each other even during their wedding, how much they had laughed as they exchanged the rings and how, a second later, they had both had tears streaming down their faces.
“Hormones” Matt had explained when they had parted, turning toward their friends.
“I’m the pregnant one here, oy!” Karen had said.
“I’m empathetic…” Matt had dead panned.
Karen had shaken her head, “Sure you are…”
“I also have cravings…” Matt had continued as they walked out of the aisle.
She had giggled all the way out of the church, hiding her face in Matt’s shoulder.
“Daddy?” Alyson asked, sleepily, “how did the princess made him see those things?”
“They were in this fair…and one day she just started to dance, even if it was late at night, and there was no music…and the weird thing is that she didn’t care, and the young man…started to dance with her, because she made him see the music, the world…her world”
“She was a fairy?”
“She enchanted him, and the young man was never the same…”
Alyson was smiling, but Karen saw that she was fighting to keep her eyes open, Matt kept talking, quietly, telling the story of how a young man had learned to laugh, to dance without music, to sing silly songs and to open his heart completely, wholly to another person.
Matt’s voice became a whisper as Alyson closed her eyes; he waited a few seconds and Karen felt a lump in her throat watching her husband looking at their daughter…it never ceased to make her heart beat faster, the love she could see in Matt’s eyes, as he looked at Alyson…since he had first held her, when she was born and Matt had smiled and cried as she wrapped her tiny little fingers around Matt’s index and Matt had whispered in amazement, “It’s our daughter, Kaz…”
“Good night, my love” Matt whispered kissing her daughter’s brow.
He got up from the chair he had been sitting on and started when he saw her, Karen smiled, feeling her heart ache a little, bursting almost with how much she loved the man in front of her. To think she had never thought it would happen to her.
Matt took some steps toward her, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, his smile was contagious, she reached a hand and Matt took it, twining fingers, he turned for a moment to look at Alyson then placed a soft kiss on Karen’s lips and whispered, “how was your day?”
“Long…” She said.
“You know?” she said as they exited Alyson’s room, “The young man did something as well..”
“You mean besides tripping all the time and proposing as the princess brushed her teeth?”
Karen nudged Matt, she stopped walking and took Matt’s face in her hands, “He made her believe in fairytales…”
“That’s because he’s cool” He said.
She rolled her eyes, and giggled when Matt tickled her sides, “Seriously, Matt… So we’re a fairytale?”
“Why not?” He asked, “our fairytale: you are the princess, I’m the young man who fell in love with the princess…and …”
“This is our happy ending?” Karen said
Matt shook his head, “This is us”
-fin
They didn’t heard her get in, and Karen took a few steps, her coat still in her arms.
“Daddy…” Alyson said, Karen couldn’t help a little smile when she heard the weariness in Matt’s voice as he said, “Yes, sweetheart…”
“Fairytale?” Alyson asked. Matt was the man in charge with fairytales, it had always been…maybe because he had started telling them when she was pregnant, whispering against her belly, reading to the baby…and Alyson was enamored with her father’s voice.
Karen took another step toward the door, it was ajar, so she could see, without being seen, Alyson was already under the covers, her ginger hair braided, her eyes, big and green in rapt attention as she waited for her father to start telling her a fairy tale.
And Karen was waiting as well, because Matt’s words, the way he told those tales enchanted her as well.
She saw Matt smiling at his daughter, and recalled for a moment the sheer panic they had both experienced when they had found out she was pregnant. At the time she had been afraid, she had thought she was too young, she had thought her career would suffer, she had been afraid Matt wasn’t ready to be a father…
Matt’s shock at the news had lasted exactly fifteen minutes: he had stared at her, blinking slowly, his face pale, and Karen had feared the worst: that he would say he didn’t want a child, because yes, they had talked about having children, but it had been something they both had seen happen in the distant future, not so suddenly, not so unexpectedly.
It had been the longest fifteen minutes of Karen’s life and then Matt had grinned, he had taken her in his arms and had made her twirl around the room.
She shook her head, coming back to the present, as she saw Matt making a face at Alyson, the little girl giggled and reached for her father’s left hand and Karen saw the wedding band sparkle under the soft light of Aly’s bed lamp.
“Which kind of fairytale?” Matt asked.
Alyson grinned, and Karen noticed how much her grin matched her father’s, it was always so full of wonder, of joy…
“New one!” She exclaimed squeezing Matt’s hand.
Matt grinned back at her and Karen tilted her head on a side, resting it against the doorframe.
She recalled how Matt had proposed, a few days after they had found out about her pregnancy, how it had been almost comical, natural and *so* them…she had been in the bathroom, brushing her teeth, counting her blessing because she still wasn’t having morning sickness, Matt had been combing his hair. He had looked at her for a moment and then had said, “Will you marry me?”
She had coughed, spit in the sink - all very ladylike, she thought with a snort - and had said, “What?”
“Will you marry me?” Matt had repeated, smiling…grinning and Karen hadn’t known whether kiss him or throttle him.
“I’m brushing my teeth” She had said, but she was grinning.
“I noticed” Matt had said.
“And you’re asking me to marry you?” She had said.
Matt had shrugged, Karen had crossed her arms over her chest - and had it doubled its size overnight? - and had looked at him, confusion on her face.
“Will you marry me?” Matt had asked again.
“Is it because I’m pregnant?” She had asked, because….Matt proposing in the bathroom was making no sense and her hormones had apparently gone crazy because she was feeling unsure and was both on the verge of tears and of hysterical laughter.
Matt had shaken his head, “No…it is because I love you…and apparently you’re crazy enough to love me…”
“But…” She had trailed.
Matt had closed the distance between them - which, to be fair, hadn’t been a lot to begin with - had wrapped his arms around her waist and had said, “And it’s because I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and because yes, we’re going to have a child together, but mostly it’s because I’m crazy about you, Kaz! Will you make me the happiest man on Earth and marry me?”
“Ok…” She had said simply.
“Ok?” Matt had replied.
She had nodded her head and had then laughed and cried, when Matt had first kissed her, then had dropped on his knees and had kissed her belly and said, “Hey there…we’re getting married! Mommy and daddy are getting married!”
Alyson was waiting for her fairytale and Matt was taking his time, enjoying the curiosity and expectation in his daughter’s eyes and on her face.
“Once upon a time …” Matt started, his voice dropping, “there was a young man, he believed he was happy, he believed his life was full of colors and sounds, but he didn’t suspect it was not the truth until he met…”
“A princess?” Alyson supplied, and she was still holding Matt’s hand with both hers.
Matt nodded, “Yes, but you see…she was not only a princess: she was beautiful”
“Like mommy?” Alyson asked.
Matt’s smile softened, “Exactly like mommy…and she was not beautiful outside, with her long red hair and big eyes, she also had a beautiful, kind heart…” he lowered his voice and said, “you see, Alyson? The young man…had never really seen the colors, he had never seen the world, until he saw it through his princess’s eyes. They met at a fair, and the man thought she was a vision…”
“And she thought that he was her prince?” Alyson asked.
Matt grinned, “She thought he was weird…and clumsy and had a stupid face”
Alyson giggled, and Karen had to refrain from doing the same, recalling how much Matt and she had teased each other…and they still did, heck, they hadn’t stopped teasing each other even during their wedding, how much they had laughed as they exchanged the rings and how, a second later, they had both had tears streaming down their faces.
“Hormones” Matt had explained when they had parted, turning toward their friends.
“I’m the pregnant one here, oy!” Karen had said.
“I’m empathetic…” Matt had dead panned.
Karen had shaken her head, “Sure you are…”
“I also have cravings…” Matt had continued as they walked out of the aisle.
She had giggled all the way out of the church, hiding her face in Matt’s shoulder.
“Daddy?” Alyson asked, sleepily, “how did the princess made him see those things?”
“They were in this fair…and one day she just started to dance, even if it was late at night, and there was no music…and the weird thing is that she didn’t care, and the young man…started to dance with her, because she made him see the music, the world…her world”
“She was a fairy?”
“She enchanted him, and the young man was never the same…”
Alyson was smiling, but Karen saw that she was fighting to keep her eyes open, Matt kept talking, quietly, telling the story of how a young man had learned to laugh, to dance without music, to sing silly songs and to open his heart completely, wholly to another person.
Matt’s voice became a whisper as Alyson closed her eyes; he waited a few seconds and Karen felt a lump in her throat watching her husband looking at their daughter…it never ceased to make her heart beat faster, the love she could see in Matt’s eyes, as he looked at Alyson…since he had first held her, when she was born and Matt had smiled and cried as she wrapped her tiny little fingers around Matt’s index and Matt had whispered in amazement, “It’s our daughter, Kaz…”
“Good night, my love” Matt whispered kissing her daughter’s brow.
He got up from the chair he had been sitting on and started when he saw her, Karen smiled, feeling her heart ache a little, bursting almost with how much she loved the man in front of her. To think she had never thought it would happen to her.
Matt took some steps toward her, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, his smile was contagious, she reached a hand and Matt took it, twining fingers, he turned for a moment to look at Alyson then placed a soft kiss on Karen’s lips and whispered, “how was your day?”
“Long…” She said.
“You know?” she said as they exited Alyson’s room, “The young man did something as well..”
“You mean besides tripping all the time and proposing as the princess brushed her teeth?”
Karen nudged Matt, she stopped walking and took Matt’s face in her hands, “He made her believe in fairytales…”
“That’s because he’s cool” He said.
She rolled her eyes, and giggled when Matt tickled her sides, “Seriously, Matt… So we’re a fairytale?”
“Why not?” He asked, “our fairytale: you are the princess, I’m the young man who fell in love with the princess…and …”
“This is our happy ending?” Karen said
Matt shook his head, “This is us”
-fin