Broken Descent (Bruno Mars)

The Little Things

Bruno fell asleep very late Christmas Eve. Eric was over in the middle of the nigh, helping Bruno put the aquarium together. It seemed as though it had only been minutes that he had been sleeping. The early morning sunlight peeked through the curtains, setting on his face. It put him in a now-light sleep. He groaned, pulling the comforter over his eyes. A few minutes later, a soft little hand grabbed his, that had been dangling halfway down the bed.

"Psst..." she whispered. "Daddy..."

"Good morning Charlotte. Merry Christmas," Bruno said, kissing her.

Bruno pulled her up into his bed and she sat with him for a few moments. He tiredly swept his hand through his messy curls. Charlotte played with them for a while, and then stopped.

"Santa?" She asked.

"Okay," he said. "Okay. Let's go check out what Santa brought."

Charlotte held his hand as they both headed toward the Christmas tree in the living room. She broke free from his grip when she saw a huge box-shaped present placed against the wall. It was pretty tall and very wide. She put her hand on the sheets covering it but Bruno redirected her to the other gifts first.

"Santa told me that one is for last."

Santa spoiled her to no end. She got stuffed animals, dolls, and movies. Finally, it was time for the big reveal. Bruno grabbed a chair and placed it in front of the aquarium. Charlotte hopped up, standing on the chair. He lifted the sheet and the blue lighting illuminated her face.

"Yay," she whispered softly, pressing her face against the glass.

Bruno snickered a bit, watching her amazement in something that held importance to her. This little world of colorful fish, plants, and clear water was amazing in the eyes of a child. Her eyes began to track one of the fish as he swam from one side to the other, through the plants, and past the treasure chest.

"You like that one?" Bruno asked, sitting on the chair with Charlotte standing on the edge. Bruno held her waist with one arm as she continued to lean into the tank.

"Nemo!"

"He does look like Nemo, huh?"

Charlotte stared at at all the beautifully colored fish for a long, long time. She was memorized. Bruno left for a second and came back with breakfast. He pulled up another chair beside her so they could both watch as they ate. Charlotte was in her own little world.

"Here ya go, peanut," Bruno said, handing her a bowl of Cheerios.

It took Charlotte a long time to eat. She took a break after every bite to look up at the fish. Bruno put the dishes in the sink and then came back into the living room. He grabbed the container of fish food from the bag.

"Should we give Nemo and his friends some breakfast too?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed.

Bruno brought her up high so she could reach into the top of the tank. He opened the lid and sprinkled some food into her hand. She giggled watching all the fish swim up to the surface as she scattered the food.

"Perfect," he smiled.

Later that night, the whole family gathered at Bruno's house. Charlotte still couldn't pull herself away from the aquarium, despite all the other presents she had gotten. All the cousins played together in the living room with all their new toys. Phil decided to take them outside to get the energy out. The adults followed shortly after.

"Pretty solid Christmas," Phil said to Bruno as they sat on the patio chairs, watching the kids playing on and around the playground.

"Yeah," Bruno said, sipping some of his drink. "It was great."

"I might have to take the batteries out of Darth Vader. Our house is noisy enough."

"Hey that's your fault. You bought it."

"It was the only thing he wanted. I couldn't just not get it. You're lucky Charlotte wanted a gift that makes practically no noise."

Suddenly, the kids got silent, except for one that surprised everyone. It was Charlotte, running toward Bruno.

"Daddy!" She cried.

"What's wrong?" Bruno pouted.

She hopped into his open arms and sat in his lap, sobbing. Holding her hand out flat revealed a splinter on her pointer finger.

"Shh," Bruno whispered. "Shh."

Bruno held her hand with one of his. Her whole arm trembled. Tear drops splattered on her arm and Bruno's hand.

"D-d-d," she cried again.

Bruno began to sing, which calmed her down quite a bit. He struggled to get the splinter out. Charlotte, to everyone's surprise, felt at ease despite being in pain.

"Ow," she said softly.

"I know, Charlotte. It's almost out, okay?"

When he took it out, she started to bleed a little. Again, she felt at ease. Bruno pulled out a band aid from his back pocket. Impressed, Phil started a slow clap. Bruno finished wrapping the band aid around her finger; Charlotte examined it for a second, finally putting on a smile. She turned to Bruno.

"Thank you, Daddy," her little voice said.

Bruno kissed her finger and then her forehead before setting her back down on the ground. "You're welcome, sweetheart."

Bruno watched Charlotte run back to play on the slide. Phil had his eyes on Bruno, who noticed his stares.

"What?" Bruno asked. "Why is everyone so surprised that I'm a good dad? It's getting a little insulting."

"No," Eric said. "It's not that it's just you're doing it all by yourself."

Bruno loved doing it all by himself. He got to share a journey with a little girl; he didn't want to share it with anyone else. He didn't have nine months to plan everything. He didn't have nine months to fall in love with her as she made her way into the world. He didn't need that time. Bruno fell in love with her at first touch. He fell in love with the little things each and every day.

A/N: I hope this is okay. Every time I read it to look it over my cat would jump on my keyboard and I'd have to start over again. Anyway, thank you everyone supporting this so far. There's plenty more to go!