Young Love

10

On Saturday morning, Liam runs into Ariana's room at 5am with a huge grin.

"Mommy wake up! Let's go see Bella!" He exclaims excitedly, jumping up and down on the carpeted floor. He clearly can't tell the time.

The young brunette mother groans and opens her eyes sleepily, wondering what on Earth is happening. Why is her son shouting like it's Christmas Day?

"What?" Ariana rubs her brown eyes and peers outside through the slats in the blinds to see it's still dark.

"We're going to see Bella!" The little boy claps his hands in delight, causing Ariana to plonk her head back on her pillow and sigh heavily.

"It's too early. Go back to sleep."

There is a moment's silence, and it's almost as though Ariana can see the frown on his small face.

"But mommy, Bella." Liam pouts with a quivering bottom lip, looking at his mommy with genuine tears in his eyes.

"C'mon, Bella is still sleeping." The woman pulls her young son up into bed with her and tickles him, bringing back his happiness in an instant. "Sleep in mommy's bed until Bella wakes up too."

"How will you know?" The four-year-old questions with a puzzled look on his face. He assumes it's because his mommy has superpowers or something, after all, she knows a lot of things that he doesn't.

"I just know." Ariana smirks to herself and pulls Liam into her warm chest to cuddle him tight.

As soon as the small brunette snuggles up and looks content, his mommy finally relaxes, closes her eyes, and falls fast asleep again.

-

The second time Ariana awakes however, is when her annoyingly loud alarm goes off at 11am.

She looks over to see her gorgeous little boy under the covers with his brown eyes closed and his chocolate hair touseled, breathing softly.

Ariana smiles and hops out of bed to get herself ready, careful not to startle her son.

She undresses from her pyjamas quickly and jumps in the shower with her hair in a messy bun, immediately playing her shower songs playlist on a low volume so as not to wake Liam.

Although, not long after his mother has gotten in the shower, the little boy wakes up alone and starts to cry forlornly.

Ariana hears his cries, instantly stepping out of the steamy shower, wrapping a towel around her body and running into the bedroom.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" The brunette mother scoops him up and rubs his back to stop his wailing.

"I thought you left to see Bella without me." The poor kid sobs, clutching onto the white towel around Ariana's body.

"Aw baby. I would never." She sighs, running her fingers through his curly hair and smiling. She never knew Bella meant this much to him and it's adorable.

"We still have a long time until Bella's ready so there's no reason to rush around okay?" The young woman reassures him, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.

-

Justin meanwhile, still hasn't stirred one bit. He's still sleeping like a log.

He is used to sleeping in until at least 1pm on the weekends and Bella is well used to it too.

As soon as the little girl wakes up, usually around 8am, she toddles all the way into her father's room and buries herself in his chest until he opens his eyes many hours after.

Bella loves spending time just cuddling into her daddy's warm chest and listening to the beating of his heart, wondering what on Earth it is that's making that noise.

At 12:45pm, Justin finally wakes up to see his little girl with her thumb in her mouth, yawning against his chest.

"Good morning beautiful." The sandy-haired man smiles, kissing her forehead gently and pulling her into a tighter cuddle.

"Good morning daddy. Is LiLi coming today?" The small child asks inquisitively.

"He sure is baby."

"Dada guess what?" Bella giggles.

"What?" The young father chuckles, rolling over from his comfortable position to find his phone on the nightstand.

"My tooth is more wobbly." She grins, now understanding that this is what makes her a big girl, something she is very proud of.

"Pull it out then." Justin hums, looking at his little daughter with a silly expression on his face. She giggles and wiggles the tooth with her finger gently to show him.

"No daddy. It might hurt me."

"It won't, I promise. You see, daddy's teeth fell out when he was little just like you. And they didn't hurt, so they won't hurt for you either." Justin explains, trying to persuade his daughter.

Bella stares at her father inquisitively and laughs, bringing the hem of her pyjamas into her mouth to chew on.

"Want me to do it for you?" The man asks, already knowing her answer will be no. Bella isn't the most confident or bold human, so she is probably frightened to let him do so.

As expected, she shakes her head, her brown eyes staring softly into his.

Justin chuckles, jumping out of the double bed and scooping Bella up with him, making her squeal.

"So, what does princess Bella want for breakfast today?" He asks, looking through the fridge for something sufficient.

Bella stands in her seat and looks too, deciding on a cherry yogurt.

Almost dropping the milk all over the floor, Justin manages to pour his 4-year-old a cup full and sits back to watch her eat.

The whole time, she looks at her daddy with a loving look, batting her eyelashes absentmindedly, although Justin knows it's only because she's in a happy mood today.

"Finished?" Justin asks, sipping his coffee to give him more energy.

"Yeah. When is LiLi coming?"

"In about 2 hours." He laughs, watching her face fall. "But we can always watch Frozen while we wait."

Her tiny face lights up once more and she eagerly follows Justin to the couch as he switches on the television.

He puts Frozen into the DVD player and tucks Bella up in a blanket on the couch, sliding onto it next to her.