One-Shots ✧ COLIFER

Hippo the stuffed elephant

Jen's POV

"Asher, are you ready?"

I was waiting by the doorway of his new bedroom, looking into the hallway to see if he was coming, and I shook my head when he didn't answer. We'd just brushed his teeth and put on some pajamas, but he insisted on having a glass of water before bed.

All by himself, of course.

I leaned forward again when the door of the bathroom opened and light poured into the hallway. "Asher!"

"RRRAAAAAAH!"

Asher came running into the hallway with his favorite stuffed elephant, slipping on the hardwood floor because of the little feet of his striped onesie. He was making the elephant fly through the air with a really bloodthirsty look on his face. I'd tried to explain to him once that elephants didn't exactly behave like lions, but he didn't care— and he stubbornly named the elephant "Hippo".

He dramatically dropped on his knees right in front of me, making the elephant crash to the ground with additional sound effects. Colin, who was leaning against the doorframe, grinned down at him.

I stroked Asher's hair, which was sticking up in every direction. "Time for bed, buddy. I think Hippo's pretty tired too."

"He's not," Asher said, but he continued his way into his bedroom. It was the only room in the house that didn't have any boxes in it, and the only room that was completely finished. Downstairs everything was still a mess.

He jumped on his bed, held the elephant in the air and let it fall to the ground again. I pulled back his sheets to tuck him in, and I watched him drop to the floor on his belly, next to Hippo.

He just lay there for a few seconds, looking up at Colin in the doorway. My gaze went from Asher to him, and I smiled.

"Ready, monkey?"

Asher got back up, a lot calmer than a few seconds ago. "Yeah," he said, crawling into bed with his elephant. He got under the sheets and he let me tuck him in, but he wrapped his arms around my neck to pull me closer.

"What is it?" I whispered in his ear.

"Is he staying here?"

I got a smile on my face, and I pressed a kiss on his cheek. "Do you mean Colin?"

"Yeah."

"Would you like that? If he stayed here?"

He pushed me back so he could look at me, and then he nodded.

"Okay," I said, rubbing my thumb over the bridge of his nose. It was something I'd been doing ever since he was a baby, and it always seemed to calm him down.

I kissed both of his cheeks, and then his forehead. "Yes, he's staying with us."

"Okay. Momma?"

"Yeah, Ash?"

"Nothing."

I laughed and poked him in his side. "You little tease. Okay, one more story and then it's bedtime. Okay?"

"Okay." He grabbed his elephant and squished it tightly as I grabbed a book from his little book shelve. I lay down next to him and read the story for him, glancing at Colin every once in a while. The hallway was illuminated, so I couldn't really see much more than his contours, but I knew he was smiling.

When the story was over, I put the book back and gave Asher one last kiss. "I love you, little monkey."

"I lowe you too."

"If there's something wrong, you come and find us, okay?"

"Okay." He stuck out his hand and very slowly stroked my hair, and then he grinned and dove under the sheets.

I shook my head before I got up. Colin's eyes met mine and he reached for my hand when I walked to the door. I intertwined my fingers with his before I stepped out and into the hallway.

"Goodnight, buddy," Colin said.

"Goodnight," Asher whispered.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around Colin's waist as he closed the door. He left it open just enough for a little strip of light to come into the room, and then he moved us a little bit further towards the staircase.

"He likes you," I said, closing my eyes before I leaned in to kiss him. "I try to explain it to him. And I think he's starting to get it."

"Hm," he grumbled, and he smiled against my lips. "I like him too."

When Colin spent the week with us in Vancouver, Asher didn't understand what was happening. He didn't say anything to Colin those first few days, and he hid behind me whenever he felt scared or unsure. But eventually he started warming up to him, and by the time we had to leave, he didn't want to.

Now, two months later, we'd moved into a new house in New York just a few blocks away from my old place. The last few weeks had been hectic and stressful, but it was finally over.

And I knew that everything was going to be okay as Colin pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me.

When something is right... you just know it.