kisses and freckles (eddie redmayne oneshots)

Twelve: The Passing of Time

The idea of me being a mom was still hard to wrap my head around, even five years later. I felt like I was still the one needing to be mothered, not in the way of immaturity or incompetence, but the familiarity and comfort. The passage of time was a tough concept for me, but before I knew it Eddie and had been married 7 years and our little girl Lolita had just celebrated her fifth birthday.

The remnants of her birthday were still scattered across the living room. Streamers had been half-ripped from the ceilings, cake plates licked clean littered the tables, and torn apart wrapping paper decorated the floor. It was nearing Lolita's bed time, but she still had cake in her hair and icing across her face, so Eddie had taken her upstairs to get cleaned up. After decidedly giving up on cleaning the main floor until the following morning, I made my way upstairs to the bathroom where I knew Eddie and Lolita would be.

I stood in the doorway for a moment longer before they'd noticed my presence, basking in the sight of Eddie sitting on the edge of the tub in only his boxers, ankle deep in the water where Lolita sat splashing. I came and rubbed up his back and wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning against his shoulder and giving Lolita a smile.

"How's it going, Lo?" I asked sweetly, "Getting nice and clean?"

Lolita gave me a look as she played with the water, "Mommy, that is the general idea of a bath, you know." She replied. My jaw dropped in shock, but I couldn't help but laugh at her sass.

"Psh! Ok sassypants! You're only getting away with it because it's your birthday, little munchkin." I said, dipping my hand in the water and splashing her gently. She wriggled back and erupted in a fit of giggles. Eddie gave me a fond smile.

"She gets it from you." He said. I laughed, looking down at Lolita who looked back, opening and closing her hand in the water.

"That's not such a bad thing, is it?" I said, tickling Lo's belly so she giggled again. She had Eddie's laugh.

"Alright my love, let's get you to bed." Eddie finally said, stepping out of the tub to lift Lo up and set her on the bathroom tile. He was quick to wrap her in a big, fluffy towel that only left her eyes and shins down exposed. I couldn't help but smile as Eddie ran his hands up and down Lolita's arms to warm and dry her. Eventually he handed her her PJs and held her hand for balance as she got in them, before taking the towel and rubbing her hair dry with such vigour that a giggle could be made out from underneath all the fabric. Eddie and I exchanged fond smiles as he lowered the towel. Lolita grinned up at us with her missing-tooth smile, her sandy brown hair dark with water and a tangled mess on her head. I kissed her on the head and made my way to Eddie and my bedroom to change into my pyjamas.

By the time I went back to Eddie and Lolita, Eddie had brushed out her hair and tucked her in, flannel sheets to her chin. Eddie was sitting on her bed beside her, reading a story in a hushed tone as Lolita's eyelids drooped.

"Happy birthday, darling. I'll see you when you wake up." He whispered after closing it, kissing a sleeping Lolita on the temple and me on the head on the way out. I watched him go with a smile, brushing Lo's hair out of her sleeping face and kissing it.

"Your daddy loves you very much. And so do I, sweetheart. Happy birthday." I whispered, gently getting up and making my way to our room.

Eddie gave me a grin from bed, opening the covers and snuggling deeper into the depths of our blankets, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into his chest. His nose found the cook of my neck and he gave me a kiss on my exposed skin. "Our baby's getting old." I muttered. I felt Eddie grin against our skin.

"Did you hear the sass she gave us? She's already turning in to you." Eddie laughed. I groaned and turned to him, my hand splaying out against his chest.

"That means we're getting old." I said quietly. Eddies chest lifted my hand as he laughed.

"It means that she'll go from one cute phase to another and we'll watch her learn and grow into a spitting image of her mother." He whispered. "Ready to go to sleep now?" He chuckled.

"We have so much to clean up tomorrow." I groaned. Eddie tightened his arms around me.

"Go to sleep, love." Eddie muttered. I sighed and gave him a kiss, letting my eyes close softly.

"I'm going, I'm going.." I muttered, finally drifting off and letting the day get to me.

"I love you." He muttered.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you.. love you too, Eddie."