Cherry Vanilla 10: Bright and Early
Title: Bright and Early
Main Story: In The Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Cherry vanilla 10 (et tu?), My Treat (Possibly AU: Someone unexpected betrays Aaron.), malt (summer challenge 284: I could probably think of a reason of why that's villainous if you gave me enough time. - Adventure Time (Jake)), caramel (the twins are around and bouncing).
Word Count: 896
Rating: PG for one naughty word.
Summary: Vengeance is Clara's.
Notes: So yeah, this is what I immediately thought for this prompt.
It was, Aaron reflected, an ability peculiar to young children that, no matter how long they managed to put off bedtime, they could always be awake and bouncing on their parents' bed at the most ridiculous hours of the morning. All right, eight o'clock might not be particularly ridiculous, but Sundays were his day to sleep in, damn it, and he had to be up at five-thirty the next morning.
Worst of all, it was his birthday, and they undoubtedly had some sort of plans, so he had to be both nice and properly appreciative. At eight AM.
If there was a God, He hated him.
Aaron removed his head from under his pillow and managed, with some effort, to smile at the twins bouncing on either side of him. "Good morning."
"Morning, Daddy!" they chirped, slightly out of sync. They stopped bouncing then, looked at each other, visibly counted, and in perfect synchronization said "Happy birthday!"
"Thank you," he said, and ran a hand through his hair. "And you woke me up bright and early, too."
"Of course," Molly said, her tone implying a 'duh' that she knew better than to vocalize. "We have all sorts of plans. And presents!"
"Uh-huh." Billy nodded so hard his blonde-brown hair flopped down over his eyes. "We made you breakfast!"
"Did you?" Aaron smiled again with slightly less of an effort. "That's very sweet of you two, thanks."
He moved to get up, but Billy said "No!" and Molly sat on his legs. "It's breakfast in bed," Billy continued, very patiently. "You have to stay here."
"Mommy's bringing it up," Molly added, and indeed, Clara was not in bed next to him, which he should have noticed before; she'd have been laughing long before this if she was. "She said we weren't allowed to bring it up ourselves."
Which was wise of Clara. Billy had slipped on some ice and banged his head pretty badly not two days ago, and he hadn't quite got his balance back yet, and Molly just had an unfortunate tendency to run everywhere. Food was almost guaranteed to end up on the carpet. "Fair enough," he said, and moved Molly off his legs, which were starting to go numb. "What did you make me?"
Molly beamed, and began reciting, ticking things off on her fingers. "Orange juice and toast with peanut butter and cereal," she said.
"And bacon and eggs and a grapefruit," Billy added. "Mommy helped with those."
Aaron was beginning to get suspicious. "Oh, Mommy did, did she?"
"Mommy wasn't about to let six-year-olds handle knives," Clara said, from the doorway. She came a few steps into the room and added, "Particularly not our six-year-olds. Happy birthday, dear."
Okay, Aaron didn't really want their kids running loose with knives either, but still... "Did you have anything to do with this?"
Molly scowled. "No," she said. "I came up with it! All by myself!"
"You did not!" Billy yelped, and without further ado threw himself at his sister. The twins disappeared over the side of the bed, yelling.
Clara glanced down at them, evidently decided they weren't going to kill each other, and said, without heat, "Molly, stop pulling your brother's hair. It was their idea."
"Yeah!" Billy said, from below Aaron's line of sight, and then two tousled heads appeared above the bed, Molly's expression triumphant, Billy's somewhat sulky.
Molly had always been the better fighter. Like her aunt, she cheated.
Aaron gave them both a smile. "Well, whoever's idea it was, thank you very much. I'm very happy." Apart from the being woken up early thing, but the twins would figure that out eventually. He could wait until they realized it on their own.
Both twins beamed, looking worryingly identical. "I'm glad you like it, Daddy," Billy said. "You'll like the presents too!"
"Presents!" Molly said, and without further ado both of them bounced up and clattered down the stairs.
Aaron seized the opportunity, and turned a reproachful look on his wife.
Clara gave him a wide-eyed look of innocence. "What?"
"This is revenge, isn't it?" he said.
Her look turned amused. "It was their idea," she said, "but I'd be lying if I said I didn't encourage them."
He sighed, and flopped back onto the cushions. "I said I was sorry!"
"You didn't mean it, though," Clara said. "I can read your mind, remember?"
She couldn't. "You can't. If you could you'd know it was an accident."
She dropped her chin and gave him a deeply unimpressed look. "Aaron, no one feeds two small children ice cream and cookies right before he knows someone else has to watch them by accident. Especially not a preschool teacher."
"It was Christmas!" he said. "They're kids! What was I supposed to do, say no?"
"Yes," she said. She bent and kissed his forehead. "Consider yourself duly punished. And consider that it could have been much, much worse."
When he thought about Molly's resemblance to his sister, and thought about the things Ivy had gotten up to when she was a kid-- yeah, it really could have. "Okay, fine," he said. "But did it have to be my birthday?"
She smiled angelically. "I told you, it was their idea. I merely encouraged."
"Bitch," he said, quietly, as thundering on the stairs heralded the return of the twins. "I love you."
"Love you too."
Main Story: In The Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Cherry vanilla 10 (et tu?), My Treat (Possibly AU: Someone unexpected betrays Aaron.), malt (summer challenge 284: I could probably think of a reason of why that's villainous if you gave me enough time. - Adventure Time (Jake)), caramel (the twins are around and bouncing).
Word Count: 896
Rating: PG for one naughty word.
Summary: Vengeance is Clara's.
Notes: So yeah, this is what I immediately thought for this prompt.
It was, Aaron reflected, an ability peculiar to young children that, no matter how long they managed to put off bedtime, they could always be awake and bouncing on their parents' bed at the most ridiculous hours of the morning. All right, eight o'clock might not be particularly ridiculous, but Sundays were his day to sleep in, damn it, and he had to be up at five-thirty the next morning.
Worst of all, it was his birthday, and they undoubtedly had some sort of plans, so he had to be both nice and properly appreciative. At eight AM.
If there was a God, He hated him.
Aaron removed his head from under his pillow and managed, with some effort, to smile at the twins bouncing on either side of him. "Good morning."
"Morning, Daddy!" they chirped, slightly out of sync. They stopped bouncing then, looked at each other, visibly counted, and in perfect synchronization said "Happy birthday!"
"Thank you," he said, and ran a hand through his hair. "And you woke me up bright and early, too."
"Of course," Molly said, her tone implying a 'duh' that she knew better than to vocalize. "We have all sorts of plans. And presents!"
"Uh-huh." Billy nodded so hard his blonde-brown hair flopped down over his eyes. "We made you breakfast!"
"Did you?" Aaron smiled again with slightly less of an effort. "That's very sweet of you two, thanks."
He moved to get up, but Billy said "No!" and Molly sat on his legs. "It's breakfast in bed," Billy continued, very patiently. "You have to stay here."
"Mommy's bringing it up," Molly added, and indeed, Clara was not in bed next to him, which he should have noticed before; she'd have been laughing long before this if she was. "She said we weren't allowed to bring it up ourselves."
Which was wise of Clara. Billy had slipped on some ice and banged his head pretty badly not two days ago, and he hadn't quite got his balance back yet, and Molly just had an unfortunate tendency to run everywhere. Food was almost guaranteed to end up on the carpet. "Fair enough," he said, and moved Molly off his legs, which were starting to go numb. "What did you make me?"
Molly beamed, and began reciting, ticking things off on her fingers. "Orange juice and toast with peanut butter and cereal," she said.
"And bacon and eggs and a grapefruit," Billy added. "Mommy helped with those."
Aaron was beginning to get suspicious. "Oh, Mommy did, did she?"
"Mommy wasn't about to let six-year-olds handle knives," Clara said, from the doorway. She came a few steps into the room and added, "Particularly not our six-year-olds. Happy birthday, dear."
Okay, Aaron didn't really want their kids running loose with knives either, but still... "Did you have anything to do with this?"
Molly scowled. "No," she said. "I came up with it! All by myself!"
"You did not!" Billy yelped, and without further ado threw himself at his sister. The twins disappeared over the side of the bed, yelling.
Clara glanced down at them, evidently decided they weren't going to kill each other, and said, without heat, "Molly, stop pulling your brother's hair. It was their idea."
"Yeah!" Billy said, from below Aaron's line of sight, and then two tousled heads appeared above the bed, Molly's expression triumphant, Billy's somewhat sulky.
Molly had always been the better fighter. Like her aunt, she cheated.
Aaron gave them both a smile. "Well, whoever's idea it was, thank you very much. I'm very happy." Apart from the being woken up early thing, but the twins would figure that out eventually. He could wait until they realized it on their own.
Both twins beamed, looking worryingly identical. "I'm glad you like it, Daddy," Billy said. "You'll like the presents too!"
"Presents!" Molly said, and without further ado both of them bounced up and clattered down the stairs.
Aaron seized the opportunity, and turned a reproachful look on his wife.
Clara gave him a wide-eyed look of innocence. "What?"
"This is revenge, isn't it?" he said.
Her look turned amused. "It was their idea," she said, "but I'd be lying if I said I didn't encourage them."
He sighed, and flopped back onto the cushions. "I said I was sorry!"
"You didn't mean it, though," Clara said. "I can read your mind, remember?"
She couldn't. "You can't. If you could you'd know it was an accident."
She dropped her chin and gave him a deeply unimpressed look. "Aaron, no one feeds two small children ice cream and cookies right before he knows someone else has to watch them by accident. Especially not a preschool teacher."
"It was Christmas!" he said. "They're kids! What was I supposed to do, say no?"
"Yes," she said. She bent and kissed his forehead. "Consider yourself duly punished. And consider that it could have been much, much worse."
When he thought about Molly's resemblance to his sister, and thought about the things Ivy had gotten up to when she was a kid-- yeah, it really could have. "Okay, fine," he said. "But did it have to be my birthday?"
She smiled angelically. "I told you, it was their idea. I merely encouraged."
"Bitch," he said, quietly, as thundering on the stairs heralded the return of the twins. "I love you."
"Love you too."