Multifandom oneshots

52 ✁ [straizo & lisa lisa] sleep

Prompt 52: "Just hold my hand, please."

Fandom: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Pairing(s): none

Tags & warnings: family fluff, hurt/comfort, a bit of character study

This was requested by skiddy-noddlez!! It was soooo cute, and you're right Straizdad and Elizababy do need more recognition T_T I had a bit of trouble writing this at first, but then inspo struck and ta-daaa xD (I still suck at titles tho ;_;) Hope you'll like it!! ^^

✁ — — —

The clock strikes one. Sighing, Straizo looks up from the papers strewn on his desk, raising a hand to pinch his nose bridge. All this reading and research is giving him a headache, and he wishes he could just push it all aside, call it a day and go to bed — but ever since he took over for Tonpetty, moments of rest have been few and far between. It doesn't help, either, now that he is taking care of the baby Erina saved on that ship. To say he has learned to appreciate his parents would be an understatement; at times, Straizo is genuinely awed by the sheer amount of effort one has to put into caring for a child. Dirty diapers, temper tantrums, midnight tears... he's surprised he still has the energy to get up in the morning, sometimes. But despite it all, Straizo can't deny how much he adores Elizabeth: her ecstatic giggle each time he lifts her way up into the air; her wide, shining stare whenever he's telling her about one of his "adventures;" even her snores, breathy and soft once he finally gets her to fall asleep. Moments like these are the ones that convince him it's all worth it, especially during long nights with seemingly infinite documents to plow through like this one.

As if on cue, the door to his office creaks open. Straizo turns around, expecting to see a groggy Elizabeth demanding to know why he's still awake — but to his surprise and concern, his little girl shuffles in with tears streaming down her face:

"Papa... can I sit with you for a little bit?"

"Of course!" Straizo opens his arms wide, suppressing a sigh as Elizabeth immediately runs toward him and crashes into his embrace, her tiny frame shaking with each sob. "What's wrong, darling?"

"I... I had that dream again, Papa." Elizabeth chokes out, her hands clinging onto the fabric of Straizo's shirt as if for dear life. "I... I was on a ship, in the sea, and everything was so nice and pretty.... But then... then came this really evil man, and there was fire everywhere, and the ship was about to e-explode! But I couldn't move... I couldn't run at all. And you weren't there either, Papa... I couldn't find you anywhere.... I was s-so scared...."

"Liza... hey. Look at me, dear." Straizo coaxes, but Elizabeth has already buried her face into his chest, refusing to move even an inch. "You've got nothing to worry about, alright? I'm still here. You're safe. We're both safe. There's no ship, there's no fire... we're safe, darling. It's okay."

"But it felt so real, Papa...."

"I know. I know." Frowning, Straizo begins to rub circles onto his little girl's back. He'll have to tell her one day — but not right now, when she's so young, and definitely never through shitty nightmares like this. He has been looking for ways to temporarily chase these dreams away with Hamon, but so far nothing has come up. "But you're safe now, Liza. I promise."

Elizabeth is quiet. She has stopped crying, and for a moment just remained inside her father's embrace, neither moving nor speaking. Straizo wonders if she has fallen asleep due to exhaustion, and is just about to stand up and carry her back to bed, when he hears a tiny request: