Intertwined //l.p

Proposition

The man had never slept as peacefully as he did that night with her by his side.

How long has it been since he had held another person? He supposed it was the same amount of time since his wife had passed, that is, if his daughter didn't count. It was odd having someone else in his bed, because it had only been his for such a long time. He almost felt like it was wrong to invite her into his bed but he did it because she needed him, even if she didn't want to admit it.

And tomorrow, he would offer her something. He would give her a proposition.

~ L i a m~

I stretch my arm out across the bed and find the other side cold, which isn't unusual expect for the fact that I know for sure Rose was here last night. I sat up immediately. There was evidence that she was still here so that was good. I could also hear two very excited voices downstairs. Frowning, I got out of bed and headed for the kitchen.

I could smell the food from upstairs but the smell grew stronger as I got closer. I was just outside the doorway to the kitchen where Rose was at the stove singing a song about pancakes to Abby and Audrey who were crowding her legs. Abby was laughing hysterically and Audrey was smiling wider than I've ever seen her.

"Hey! You're up." Rose said happily. I looked up at her. She was still wearing what I had given her last night but her hair was up in a ponytail and I couldn't help but think of how she resembled Lily like this.

"Yeah I heard the girls." I replied, stepping into the kitchen. "Were you singing a song about pancakes?" She blushed as Abby and Audrey rushed towards me.

"My mommy makes the best pancakes Mr. Liam. You're gonna love them!" Abby exclaimed. "She's also good at cooking spagetzis and las-gana." Abby continued, listing off all the food that Rose was good at making while also simultaneously saying all of their names wrong.

"But my daddy makes good food too." Audrey said, tugging on Abby's sleeve and silencing her.

"What does he make?" Abby asked, intrigued. Before Audrey could answer Abby tugged on my pants leg and motioned towards Rose who was flipping another pancake. "Go cook with my mommy. We'll be in the living room." Abby told me excitedly before grabbing Audrey's hand and walking away with her. "So what does he make?" Audrey grinned as she quietly began listing food for her. Their voices faded out as they moved into the living room.

"Good morning." Rose said with a small laugh.

"Good morning." I murmured, stepping towards her. Wrapping one arm around her waist I kissed her cheek. She blushed red. "When did you wake up?"

"Not too long ago. I heard Abby and Audrey running around so I went downstairs." I let go of her waist as I move towards the fridge. "They had said they weren't up for that long but they couldn't give me a time."

"Did you dress them?" I asked pulling out the carton of eggs. Rose smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah. I packed Abby some spare clothes in her bag. I was going to leave them in their pajamas but Abby wanted to change and I asked Audrey if she wanted me to change her too and she said she'd.." Rose paused as I got out a pan.

"Said what?" I questioned. Rose pursed her lips as I lit the gas range.

"She said that her mom never changed her before." Rose said carefully. I shrugged.

"She has but I guess she doesn't remember." Rose was quiet. "So I'm assuming they were hungry?" I asked, moving the conversation away from Lily.

"Yeah. Abby wanted pancakes and I asked if she could wait until we got home because well.. I didn't want to just raid your kitchen." I chuckled. "But Audrey said Abby didn't have to wait, that there was food downstairs and she took my hand and showed me." I smiled as she blushed. Cracking the eggs into a small bowl, I quickly stirred them them up with a fork before pouring the now scrambled eggs into the pan to cook them.