Mr. Mom

31

"Alright, kid, I gotta head to work. Have fun with Allie." He gives Ellie a kiss and sets her down. "Be good for her."

"I will daddy! I promise!"

Ellie runs off to her bedroom and Alice smiles at him, handing him his lunch. "Have a good day."

"Thanks, Al." He takes the lunch from her and presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth, not quite her lips but not quite her cheek. "I'll see you later."

He walks out the door and Alice finds herself smiling like a fool.

___

"Allie!" Ellie calls as she runs into the kitchen where Alice is sitting, working away on her computer.

"Yeah, honey?"

Ellie climbs up onto her lap. "Can we make ice cream sundaes?" She pecks a kiss to her cheek in an attempt to sway her decision.

Alice laughs. "Sure we can!"

"Yay!" She hops down and jumps to try and open the freezer. "Allie help!"

She lifts the little girl up so she can pick out the ice cream she wants. "Do you like Strawberry or Chocolate?" Ellie asks her.

"You pick. I like both."

"Let's put both in our sundaes then!" Alice smiles and sets her down on the counter so she can go get the toppings for their sundaes.

She drizzles a lot of chocolate sauce over both and covers them with sprinkles.

"I think I have the finishing touch, hold on." Alice turns to the fridge and roots around until she finds the whip cream can she was looking for. "Do you like whip cream?"

"I love whip cream! Daddy always puts extra on top because he loves it so much."

"When I was little I always used to spray it in my mouth and eat it." Alice says as she covers both of their sundaes in whip cream.

"You did?" Ellie looks at her curiously.

"Yeah, you want some?" Ellie nods excitedly and opens her mouth wide, making Alice laugh. She sprays some of the whip cream in her mouth and Ellie giggles.

"Yummy!" She motions for Alice to help her down from the counter and then clasps her hand in Alice's, dragging her into the living room. "Come on Allie let's eat on the couch."

"Okay but don't make a mess."

"I won't. Make sure you don't either."

"Let's watch cartoons, Allie! I love cartoons!"

"I love cartoons too." Alice smiles, turning on the tv. She hands Ellie her ice cream and watches as her face lights up in glee.

They eat their ice cream as they watch cartoons and when Alice turns to ask if she's finished she nearly bursts out laughing. Ellie's face is covered in ice cream and chocolate. "Looks like you're going to need a bath."

"Nooooo." Ellie whines.

"You don't want to be all sticky when you go to bed, that's no fun. Come on, we'll just bath you quickly and then we can play, okay?"

"Fine." She huffs, walking towards the bathroom.

"I'm just gonna wash up our bowls, I'll be right in."

"Okay, Allie! I'll get out my bath toys." Alice smiles and washes up their dishes.

She walks into the bathroom and sees Ellie rummaging through a small basket full of toys. She pulls out a towel from the cabinet and starts the bath, making sure the water isn't too hot. "Can you make it a bubble bath? Those are my most favourite!"

"Sure." Alice pours some bubble bath in and Ellie chucks in some toy boats and rubber ducks to play with. "Let's clean you up first and then you can play."

She washes her hair and cleans the stickiness off of her face and hands. "Close your eyes, honey, don't wanna get soap in your eyes." She washes the soap from her hair and makes sure it's all out before letting her play.

"Now can I play Allie?" Ellie questions.

"Yeah honey, now you can play."

Ellie splashes around in the bathtub, so much so that Alice has to lay a town beside the tub to soak up all the water. "Careful kiddo, you'll have no more water to play in if you keep splashing it out."

She giggles. "Sorry Allie!"

She plays a little more calmly with her toys and Alice places her hand in the water to check the temperature. "The water's cold, sweetie. You wanna get out?"

She pouts a little and then shivers. "Ok, Allie."

She gets her out of the tub and wraps her up in her towel. She's shivering due to the cold air so she clings onto Alice for warmth.

Alice gets her changed into nice, warm pyjamas and the two head into the living room to watch a movie. "Can you do my hair in piggy braids, Allie?"

"Piggy braids? Sure." She heads to the bathroom to retrieve a hairbrush and a couple elastics before returning to the living room. She brushes through Ellie's hair, careful not to hurt her as she gets all the tangles out and starts braiding. "I think daddy's home." Alice tells her as she hears a vehicle door shut in the driveway.

"Yay!"

Sure enough, FP walks in a few moments later. "Hey you two, what's going on?" He smiles at them as he walks in the door.

"Allie's giving me piggy braids!" Ellie happily announces.

"She is? That's awesome." He shrugs off his jacket and hangs it up before walking into the living room towards the two of them.

Ellie puckers up her lips and gestures for FP to lean down to her level so she can give him a kiss. He takes a seat on the couch next to Alice and watches as she braids Ellie's hair.

"Did you two have fun?" He questions, stretching his arm above the couch.

"We always have fun." Alice smiles.

"We made ice cream sundaes!" Ellie squeals.

"You did?"

"Mhm, with extra whip cream!" Ellie proudly tells him.

"Oh my favourite!" FP smiles. "Sounds like you guys had a good night."

"We did." Alice answers, securing the braid in Ellie's hair. "Alright sweetie, your piggy braids are done." Alice finishes securing her braids and Ellie jumps up onto her lap to give her a hug.

"Thanks Allie!" She shuffles onto FP's lap and snuggles into him, her eyes growing heavy. "Allie's so fun, daddy!"

He and Alice share a smile. "Yeah, she's pretty great isn't she?" She smiles and turns her face but he doesn't miss the faint blush on Alice's cheeks at the comment.

"Can we watch a movie?" Ellie asks, they both knows she's going to fall asleep but they agree nonetheless.

"Sure baby girl."

"How about Pocahontas?" Alice suggests and Ellie nods.

Apparently they were all pretty tired. Alice  wakes up first, finding Ellie and FP snuggled up fast asleep across from her, both snoring softly.

She groggily smiles at the sight and stands up, draping a blanket over the two of them. She presses a kiss to Ellie's forehead and a lingering kiss to FP's cheek before heading to bed herself. The man heavily on her mind as she falls asleep.