dǫçţǫŗ şɭęęƥ (shone) wrote in valloic, @ 2020-07-14 08:29:00 |
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Teenagers were one thing, but a small child was quite another - as Dan was rapidly learning. With the teenagers, he was excruciatingly uncool and didn’t necessarily approve of underage drinking and ragers, but realized they happened anyway (after all, it wasn’t like he behaved perfectly when he was a teenager) - all he hoped for was that Sabrina, Abra, or Stan didn’t end up dead in a ditch and that, maybe, just maybe they’d eat a vegetable without complaint. But with Claire, he just felt like he was walking on eggshells a little - he knew he didn’t have much authority to set rules or punish her if she did something wrong since he wasn’t her father but he also didn’t want to leave the entirety of the child-rearing to Allison either. That wasn’t fair. They were partners, after all, so he simply tried to ease into it, getting both himself and Claire used to the idea of him as a father figure - she still didn’t have to call him Dad, and he used cookie cutters to make her sandwiches in fun shapes like hearts and stars. They also had a chore chart for Claire (it was on the fridge), since it was important that kids learn responsibility and self-reliance (also known as, how to not be a slob). Both chores and goals - one of her goals was to get up, get herself dressed and downstairs for breakfast. She also made her bed and was old enough to do other chores, wiping spills and dusting and clearing her place at the table. But always in the morning, either he or Allison would make sure she got up and did what she was supposed to do - Dan sometimes slept later so it was usually Allison but this morning, he made sure it was him. Because he needed to have a chat with the littlest member of their family. So he went to her room to rouse her. “I’ll be downstairs making waffles - you can tell me what you want on them,” he said, then left so she could pick out her outfit for the day (probably something pink). Claire was getting used to Vallo. She missed her daddy and her friends, but she was happy to see her uncles and aunt when they came and she was happy to see her mom again. Daddy had tried to hide how upset he was, but she could always tell. She was getting used to Dan. He seemed very nice and he didn’t really complain when she asked for different shapes. He and Mom were giving her rules and boundaries and chores, but she dealt with it. Most of the time anyway. Being here was different from anything she’d known. She’d seen unicorns and all different things! It was like being in a storybook. The house they lived in was big and weird and she couldn’t go past certain places. She guessed it was okay. Mostly she just liked the unicorns. Waking up, she rubbed at her eyes until she opened them. She heard Dan’s voice before she saw him. With a small sigh, she nodded at his words. She didn’t know what she wanted yet, but she had an idea of what they had. Once he left, she got out of bed and made her bed. She didn’t worry too much about neatness. She could probably fix it later. She picked out one of the dresses Uncle Klaus got her and kicked the pile of sleep clothes into the closet, shutting the door. Once she was dressed, she made her way downstairs, found a spot to sit at the table, and swung her legs as she waited. Either for food or for Dan to ask what she wanted. She’d probably ask for strawberries and chocolate chips. Dan was down in the kitchen, mixing up some waffle batter. “Hi sleepyhead,” he greeted low and smoothly, rolling waves, but a tinge of amusement there. It really was early - Allison was still asleep, but he imagined she’d be down shortly. Which was why he needed to figure out a way to ease into this particular topic of conversation - not too abruptly, but he couldn’t dawdle either. Once he’d asked Claire what she wanted in her waffles (confirmation: strawberries and chocolate chips), he began pouring batter onto the waffle maker itself. Couldn’t really make fun shapes out of these, unfortunately, since with the griddle it was only one shape - but he’d make it up to her later. He got her a glass of milk and some OJ for himself, keeping an eye on the cooking waffle so it didn’t burn. “Claire - “ he started, and he wasn’t sure how this was going to go but so far it seemed like the best way to talk to kids was to be honest with them, talk to them like any other person in a natural kind of way. That helped them open up. “Can I talk to you about something important?” Claire didn’t have special powers, but she knew when things seemed off and Dan seemed weirder than usual. She’d watched him despite her best efforts to ignore him sometimes. She didn’t know why he was being weird, though. She assumed it was just because her mom wasn’t up. She was going to suggest that she go get her mom to keep her from having to endure it alone when he said her name. He used the sort of serious tone that made his weirdness seem even weirder. And it was “something important”? She stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he needed a response. “Okay.” Kids were pretty damn observant, Dan knew that - his nerves probably did translate to ‘weird,’ but that was a whole other bag of worms. He finished making the waffle and added the required toppings - both his waffle and hers - and sat at the table. Best to have this conversation over delicious breakfast foods. “So I think you know how I feel about your mom,” he started. “We’ve been dating for awhile and, well, the next step would be for me to ask her to marry me - give her a ring and there would be a wedding, but otherwise, nothing would really change. Especially about how much she loves you - she’s glad you’re here and she’s glad she gets to be there for you. So am I. I’m glad you’re here. I know it’s strange because I’m not your dad - but I’m not trying to replace your dad, I promise. I just - would be there for you too. As someone who cares about you. And I wanted to ask you first, since your mom loves you more than anything and she wouldn’t want you to be unhappy about someone else joining the family unless you were okay with it.” He hoped that made sense. God help him. This was the most difficult thing he’d ever had to do. Claire made a face when he mentioned how he felt about her mom. Adults were weird. But she was quiet while he talked because it wasn’t polite to interrupt people. He wanted to marry her mom. She didn’t really know how she felt about it. Dan was okay, but he wasn’t her dad. And she knew her parents weren’t going to get back together. She sighed, fork forgotten as she picked at the strawberries. “Do I have to decide now if it’s okay?” She wanted to sit in her room and think about it mostly...or just go do something outside the house. “No, you can take your time,” Dan assured, picking up his glass for a sip of juice because his throat felt parched and Jesus, he was glad that conversation was sort of over. Maybe he’d be the one to tuck Claire in tonight and read her a story, and he’d check back in with her then, but otherwise - yeah, done.. He’d almost rather battle Rose on the fucking Overlook staircase again than have this conversation multiple times. “I understand it’s a lot to think about.” The Shining extended like tendrils, psychic feelers curling this way and that - a natural extension of him, and he heard Allison up and awake on the second floor. “Your mom’s coming downstairs,” he added. “Maybe just keep it a secret - something you and me talked about, if that’s alright?” He was pretty sure that, even if Claire was unsure about him, she didn’t hate him enough to go blabbing to Allison that he was going to propose eventually. Maybe. Claire nodded at his words. She could sit and think about it, then. Only now she had to keep secrets, which she wasn’t supposed to do. She guessed she did things she wasn’t supposed to do sometimes, though. Like take extra cookies that one time or hide her dirty clothes in her closet so no one would know they weren’t in the hamper. She guessed she could do this. “I won’t tell, but don’t ask her before I say.” She started to eat her breakfast, turning briefly when her mom walked into the room. “Good morning, baby.” She pressed a kiss to the top of Claire’s head, lightly squeezing her shoulder and stopped to give Dan a quick kiss. “So what are you two talking about?” “Dan promised to get me ice cream later.” Well, she might as well, right? Ice cream was important. Allison arched an eyebrow and looked at Dan, “Ice cream, huh?” Claire nodded. “He said I can have three scoops.” She smiled at him before eating more waffles. Devious little sprite, wasn’t she? Dan was actually sort of impressed. “Yeah, ice cream,” he agreed and, well - he wasn’t sure about three scoops (if Claire got a tummyache or spoiled her dinner because of him he’d feel like shit) but maybe they could negotiate. Maybe the scoops would be teeny tiny. He’d just have to see. “We’ll go to that place Sabrina and I first met at,” he said, getting up so he could make himself useful and fix Allison her waffles. He passed her on the way, leaning in and giving her another kiss (she was probably heading for the coffeemaker and he didn’t blame her). There was something else he wanted to talk to her about, that didn’t involve marriage proposals but he didn’t really want to bring up ghosts in front of a five-year-old, so it could wait until Claire finished her breakfast and got distracted with glow-in-the-dark dinosaur toys. “Want us to bring you back a pint of anything?” Claire grinned. She wasn’t sure it would work, but she got it anyway. She swung her legs for a moment, continuing to eat her waffle as she did. “Okay!” She looked over at her mom and studied her for a moment. Did she want to marry Dan? She seemed happy around him. Claire sighed again at the thought. She didn’t think this would make her Claire Torrance. She hoped it wouldn’t. She didn’t want to change names. But she guessed if her mom wanted to have a different name...it might be...okay. She rolled her eyes, chin resting on her hand as she ate. Allison was on her way to the coffee machine and she missed all the unusual looks her daughter was giving her. She made her coffee before sitting down at the table. “Rocky road.” She watched as Claire got up from the table. “Take your dishes to the sink, please.” Claire rolled her eyes again, but took the plate and utensils anyway. “Thank you.” And then Claire left the room and went back to her room. Allison had waffles at her place a second later, plate slid under her nose, courtesy of Dan - he didn’t always make them for breakfast (sometimes it was just cereal, or oatmeal for him because he was an old man) but he had thought that talking to Claire about marrying her mom might be easier if it wasn’t over gloppy oatmeal. He poured himself some coffee from the pot as well, grabbed the creamer from the fridge, and sat down at the table again. “Rocky road,” he agreed, laugh lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes when he smiled. “Also there’s - something I wanted to tell you? I just, you know - I didn’t want to bring it up in front of the youngin.’” Good thing he was doing this over coffee. The caffeinated ambrosia was necessary, especially since he was up so early. Allison smiled a little at the waffles. They almost always made her think of Klaus and his obsession with waffles. She put syrup over it, but not too much. Okay, maybe a little too much. No one had to know. Probably. She took a sip of her coffee, ready to start eating some of her waffle when Dan spoke up again. “Oh?” She turned her attention to Dan, waffle mostly forgotten for the moment. “Something that isn’t about three scoops of ice cream, then?” Because the three scoops sounded a little suspicious, but she figured Dan understood that much. But she believed the ice cream part. Claire was probably just trying to get more than agreed to. “Tiny scoops,” Dan amended, holding his thumb and forefinger an inch apart, in what was supposed to be an approximation of tiny. “We’ll negotiate later.” Because even a grown-up sized Dan didn’t want three scoops of ice cream - Jesus, he’d probably need to take a Lactaid first or something. Getting old was the worst. Alright, he wasn’t that old. It just felt like it on some days, especially with so many kids in the house who thought he was. “No, it’s just - “ His hands curled around the coffee mug, heat seeping into skin. “Someone offered to help - with the lockboxes,” he said. “We met on the beach and tried it out, releasing a few of Overlook ghosts one at a time. They were angry, starving, but - she somehow soothed them, sent them on. It was really kind of surprising, I mean - they’re all darkness, and they were after me so when Dick taught me to lock them away, I didn’t even question it.” He’d just been a kid, scared, and wanted them to leave him alone - as an adult he’d been tired, worn down, angry at the world. It didn’t even occur to him that he should find a way to send them on. She laughed softly at his comment and the “tiny” scoops. She reached over to lightly pat his arm. He would have his work cut out for him, but Allison could always go and tell her that three scoops was too many before they went as well. It was easy enough. Allison watched as he held the coffee mug, letting him get to what he wanted to say without pushing too much. She knew about the lockboxes, the ghosts kept inside and hidden away so they couldn’t hurt anyone, especially Dan. The concept of letting them out made her anxious for him. What if it didn’t really work? Not that she didn’t trust Dan to know if something worked or didn’t. She just worried for Dan. “And you are sure they’re gone?” Because that was the part that mattered. She didn’t want them to hurt Dan or anyone else. “I’m glad they can get peace if they have. I just...want to make sure you’re sure and careful.” At first, Dan had been uncertain about opening even one of the lockboxes - they were all starving, searching for food; he remembered how quickly they’d swooped down on Rose, like birds of prey. They fed off her steam, silvery fog that barely satiated their hunger until she’d disintegrated and nothing remained but a pile of dust - he didn’t care how much she deserved it, watching it was unnerving enough and he didn’t want that to happen to anyone else. He was afraid they’d attack Korra, but they hadn’t. “I’m sure they’re gone,” he promised. “Well, the ones I opened that day. We’ll get the rest later. But I feel - better about it. I thought that now, since I’m here - I kind of owe it to myself to finally be rid of that. Not just for me but for you. For us.” Because, call him crazy, but he wanted to be happy. This place came with its share of strife and struggle, but it went hand in hand with all the good parts too and he wouldn’t trade those for anything. Allison nodded. As long as he was sure of it, then she’d take his word for it. She didn’t want to lose him. He’d become very dear to her in a very short amount of time, but she was beginning to like the life that they’d started building and she wasn’t giving it up for any ghosts. But if it was a good thing, then she could get behind it. “Why didn’t you say so ahead of time?” She reached out, fingers resting on his arm. She definitely would have been concerned, but she figured the answer was that he wanted to be sure it would work first before he worried her about it. It was fair enough. “I’m glad that it worked and that you feel better about it, though.” Because if he could be rid of at least that, it would be one less thing to carry around with him. “I love you.” Because she wanted and needed to make sure he knew it no matter what happened. “I don’t know - I should have. It just felt like something I had to do first,” Dan admitted, fingers of his other hand tip-toeing over and slipping in between Allison’s. He held her hand in place on his arm for a moment, thumb brushing skin. “I didn’t want to worry you too much.” Which, yes, that was definitely a good chunk of the reasoning - maybe it was also because the ghosts took him back to an awful place, when he’d been forced to lock them away that initial time, when all he saw was decaying Mrs. Massey climbing out of the bathtub in him and his mom’s new apartment (a reminder that he couldn’t escape). Those horrible feelings, those horrible memories that lingered like frost on a wintry morning, or like a goddamn toothache. He didn’t want to subject her to that either. But he was here now and things were - better. Much better. “I love you,” he murmured, rough, but emotion caught in his throat, as if someone had whirred a set of beaters in there. “Guess I better get dressed if I owe Claire three scoops,” he added, leaning in and planting a kiss on the corner of Allison’s mouth. Allison nodded at his words. “Next time just let me know and text me when you’re done.” It wouldn’t stop her from worrying in between, but it was easy to distract herself with a five year old around the house. She was just glad to know now. “You can worry me sometimes. Keeps me on my toes.” She smiled at the kiss. “Tell her I said only two scoops and if she has any complaints, she can come see me herself.” Because she could make rules if she had to. “I’ll see you later? With my ice cream.” Well, Dan supposed that was fair - after all, he worried about the ones he loved too. It was kind of a rite of passage. And sometimes by trying to protect someone from worrying you just ended up making things worse. “I promise I’ll let you know all about my ghostbusting,” he said, hands coming up to frame Allison’s face and he leaned over in his chair to give her a few kisses, all in a row. “And bring you back rocky road like you asked for.” He’d have picked a different flavor (who ate rocky road? Gross, Allison) but no one was perfect. Anyway, he’d just clear his place at the table like a good boy and then get dressed to run some errands - he’d take Claire with him so she could frolic outside the house, and then they’d get ice cream later. It had been at least twenty-four hours since something weird happened, so he was going to assume it was safe. Now to just coast to the next weird thing and through it and - they’d all be okay. Probably. |