𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚 [robert downey jr.'s daughter] - discontinued

015 - vices

Later, in the night Dana was on FaceTime with her family. It was very chaotic because her mom was freshly making all kinds of noodles. It was always a huge deal when they were making noodles at home as they were pre-producing them for the next three months, which was why they were up early on a Saturday. Her papa was rolling out the dough, her mom was running the dough through the machine, that cut it in strings and her brother would put it on a thing similar to a laundry rack. Dana would usually sit in a corner making smart comments, which wasn't really much different to now.

"Oddio, Oscar, li lascerai cadere." She laughed as her brother almost dropped a hand full of noodles. Oh god, Oscar, you'll drop them. She had been laughing for the last half an hour she had been on call with them.

"Shut up, you'll fall of the couch." He retorted annoyed referring to her almost falling onto the living room floor five minutes earlier.

Her dad chuckled.

"Don't side with il principino." Dana protested as Robert entered the living room. Don't side with the little prince.

"Va bene, fate silenzio ora, tutti voi." Her mom exclaimed. "Os, do your job. Dana, don't fall off the couch." Alright, be quiet now, all of you.

Robert laughed heartily.

"I can't believe it." Dana dramatically put her hand over her heart. "My family is betraying me."

"Hello." Robert greeted them, looking over his daughters shoulder.

"Hi. How are you, Roberto?" Her mom's Italian origin always came through when it was about names. She italianized practically every name she came across. Charlie's birth name Charlotte became Carlotta, Tom's name became Tommaso and Robert's name became Roberto.

"I'm fine, thanks. You?" Robert leaned closer to the phone trying to see on the small screen. "Are you making spaghetti?"

"Yes, we are." Oscar responded.

"Dana, cara. Why are you even still awake?" Anna interrupted them. "Isn't it past midnight in California?"

Dana smiled a weird smile. "Whoopsie."

"Go to bed, immediately." Her mom scolded her.

Robert chuckled. "That's what I wanted to say when I came here."

"Well," Dana sighed, "If all my parents tell me to go to bed, I guess, I have to."

"You do." Dana's papa stressed. "Good night."

"Good night. Love you. I'm going to call again soon. Bye." After everyone had said their goodbyes, Dana hung up. She sighed.

"Everything alright?" Robert asked.

"Yup, just tired." She smiled softly, her eyes dry from tiredness.

Her dad clapped his hands. "Alright, like your mom said. Off to bed."

***

After an hour of tossing and turning, Dana gave up. She wouldn't get sleep after all.

She hastily put some clothes on, grabbed her pack of cigarettes, which she had hidden away behind her diary and the book she was currently reading in her nightstand, and snuck out of the house.

She wandered over to the sheds of alpacas and goats, watching the moon as she climbed on of the fences. It was almost full moon and the pale light made the farm look magical.

After a few minutes of just enjoying the mild temperatures and silence, she took a cigarette out of the pack and lit it up. She inhaled the smoke and held it in her lungs for a moment and exhaled again. It had something of a ritual. And it was. It was her ritual to help her push feelings and thoughts out of her mind.

As she took the last drag of her cigarette, she saw a shadow coming up to her. Dana quickly put the cigarette out and shoved the butt into the pack to dispose it later, then proceeding to put the pack in her back pocket.

"You know, you should really consider talking to people instead of taking to unhealthy coping mechanisms." She heard her dad say, picking up on the sad undertone in his voice.

"Everyone got to have one vice." Dana turned to Robert. "But it's nothing. I just wasn't able to sleep, my thoughts wouldn't rest."

The man looked at her closely with a slightly scolding expression, knowing that she was, once again, understating regarding her feelings. "What are these thoughts about?"

"School, love, family, me not being able to keep my shit together." She responded.

"Come here." Robert opened his arms. Dana leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She breathed in the fragrance of his perfume; a mix of citrus, jasmine, thyme, incense and leather. "I want you to know that I'll always watch out for you and make sure you're safe, okay? You can always talk to me."

Dana nodded, really close to crying, while he pressed a kiss on the side of her head. "Sorry, it's just really hard for me to open up." Her voice broke.

He shushed her, stroking her hair. "It's okay." He took her shoulders and brought her an arm's length away from him to look at her. "But I got to confiscate the cigarettes. You know, being your dad." He held his hand out to her.

His daughter sighed. She took the pack out of her back pocket and fished the butt of the smoked cigarette out, handing him the rest. "Oh man."

"Just protecting your lungs, sweetie." Robert said, shrugging his shoulders while putting an arm around Dana's shoulders. He pressed a kiss to her temple, guiding her back to the house. "Come on. You need to sleep."

Word count: 917

a/n

so first: thank you for understanding that i skipped one date in the schedule!

i'm hoping to make up for it with this slightly longer chapter (which made me cry just a little bit).

love you

~snax