You're In Awfully Early {Septiplier}

Just Too Sure

"Layla, sweetie," Ken tries not to groan, his wet shirt sticking to his chest, "why don't we try to keep some of the water inside the bath?"

"There's a storm, Daddy!" she smiles, splashing her rubber ducky into the soapy water.

Another wave crashes over the side of the tub, Boss jumping back to avoid the cascade of water. It joins the puddle surrounding Ken's kneeling form, soaking his jeans as well. The Newfoundland places his nose to the growing puddle, pink tongue peaking out to give a taste, before he gives a small shakes to his head. The dogs sits back down beside Ken, his fur nearly as wet as Ken's clothes.

"There always seems to be a storm during bath time," the black haired man muses, reaching over the dog to grab a fluffy towel.

"I don't wanna get out," she pouts, crossing her small arms over her chest. Her wet, black hair sticks to her chubby cheeks.

"Well, you can stay in there until you turn into a little raisin," Ken muses, tapping her button nose with his index finger. Layla giggles, her soft eyes crinkling. "But, if we don't hurry, then there won't be enough time for a story."

She gasp, her small hands reaching up to Ken. "Gotta get out, Daddy! Gotta get a story! The puppies!"

Ken lifts her from the tub, sitting her on the wet tile. He wraps her in the towel before she can shiver, pressing a quick kiss her her nose. She smiles brightly, cuddling the oversized towel. Ken drains the water before sweeping Layla off her feet, hugging her to his chest.

The small toddler stays pressed into her dad's chest, a warm roll while wrapped in the towel, as he carries her out of the bathroom. Boss trots begins them, his heavy paws making soft thuds and his dog tags jingling lightly. They slip out of the bathroom, finding Mary carrying a heavy basket of dirty clothes towards the laundry room.

"Are you all squeeze clean?" Mary asks Layla with a smile, the corgi on her heels as she turns into the room off the hall.

"Yes, Mommy!" Layla chirps, grinning wide in Ken's arms.

"I can see you gave Daddy a bath too," the blonde chuckles, tossing clothes into the washer as they walk by the get to Layla's room. Betty waits patiently by the dryer, her little tail waging as she imagines jumping into the basket of warm, fresh laundry Mary will pull from the dryer.

"There was a storm!" she explains, wiggling to get her hands free. She gestures wildly, small palms far away to give some illusion of size, "It was this big!"

"I bet it was," Mary laughs.

Ken shuffles Layla to a single arm, twisting the knob to her room. He takes her over to the dresser, sitting her back on her feet. She wraps herself back in her towel as Ken pulls open the drawers to her dresser.

"Do you want your princesses pjs? Or stars or ice cream cones? Oh, there are the puppy print ones. How do those sound?"

"Stars! And my froggy underwear!"

Ken pulls out the soft blue, fleece pajamas covered by purple and pink stars. He sorts through her folder underwear until she finds the blue ones with a smiling frog sitting on a lily pad. He kneels down in front of her with her new clothes, drying her quickly before ruffling her wet hair.

He drops the towel to the floor, Boss taking it in his mouth like an impromptu towel rack. Layla puts her hands on his shoulders to step into her underwear and then her pajama bottoms. She puts her arms up for Ken to slip the soft shirt over head.

"Okay, sweetie, why don't you grab your book and get into bed," Ken says, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back in a minute."

Layla nods quickly, bouncing over to the bookshelf. The tall set of shelves is crowded with books, the unread ones within reach of her small hands. She can stretch to reach the fourth shelf, but she drops to her knees instead, sights set on the book they've been reading through for the past few nights.

Ken takes the towel from Boss mouth, quickly ruffling his dark fur in an attempt to dry him. He leaves with the dog on his tail. Slipping into their bedroom, he tosses the wet towel into the hamper before peeling off his own wet clothes. They join the towel.

"Have you talk to her yet?" Mary asks as she pushes open the ajar door, carrying a basket full of fresh clothes. Betty trots after her, jumping into the warm clothes when Mary drops them on the floor.

"I'm about to," Ken assures, shuffling through his own clothes. He dresses himself in a pair of plaid pajama pants, sliding on an old college shirt.

Mary nods, pulling clothes from under Betty and folding them. Ken gives Betty a pat on the head, kissing Mary's cheek. "I'll text him the moment I get the okay," he promises, tapping his pocket to assure his phone is there.

By the time Ken gets back to Layla's room, she is cuddled into bed, engulfed by her comforter with a book in her lap. She's pressed close to the wall, her thin form barely taking any space. Plenty of room for Ken to sit beside her, she pats the bed eagerly, grabbing the book in her small fingers.

Ken sits gently beside her, Layla immediately cuddling into his side. Boss jumps onto the mattress as well, curling near the foot of the bed. The toddler quickly flips through the book, looking for the page they left off on. He waits until she finds the page and hands him the book, placing it face down on the bed so he can save the page without holding it.

"I actually have a different story to tell you, Lee Lou," he begins. "Daddy's friend are all going to PAX. And Mommy wants me to go too. It's going to be far away, and I'll be gone for the weekend. Are you okay with that?"

"What's that?" she ask, brown eyes curious.

"PAX? It's like... a party," he fills in, Boss shuffling at this feet when he doesn't hear the usual soft, smooth voice of reading.

"A birthday party?"

"Kind of," he offers, gently running his hand through her wet hair to ease out the tangles.

"Can I come?" she asks, dark eyebrows quirked.

"You'll miss Sarah's birthday party," he warns her.

"We can come go to both!" she decides, smiling brightly.

"We can't, sweetie," he offers sadly. "We'll be far away."

"Like more than twenty minutes?"

He nods. "Like way more than twenty minutes."

"Wow," she mutters, eyebrows raised, "that's far."

"It is," Ken agrees with the smallest chuckle.

"But you wanna go?"

He pauses for a moment, tossing the question around in his head. He'll admit that he's been avoiding PAX for years, not only for Layla but for himself. However, he's missed his friends, never quite able to disconnect himself complete. And, he would love to see Jack's face when Mark proposes, knowing the Irishman's eyes will fill with tears and cheeks will turn rosy.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Ken decides.

"Then you should go, Daddy!" she decides, big eyes looking up at her father.

Ken smiles. "Thanks, sweetie. I'll just send Mark a quick text, okay?"

She nods as Ken fishes his phone from his pocket, sending Mark a quick, simple text: I'll come. He drops his phone back into his pocket, grabbing the book from his lap.

"You're going to come back soon, right Daddy?" Layla asks.

"Of course, baby," Ken smiles, ruffling her hair. "It's only for the weekend. And I'll call you every day, okay?"

"Will you still read to me?"

"Of course, sweetie."