concordia

thirteen

word count: 809

date written: 25.5.19

verse: unspecified au

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on her way back from the sink, connie paused to turn down the radio slightly as the station cut to an ad break. while preparing lunch for the boys, she'd only been half-listening to it anyway, and now that they'd run off to pester their other mother she had a clamoring baby to deal with instead.

"i know, i know, i haven't forgotten," she sighed, gently tapping the tip of claire's nose as she reached for the fruit bowl further along the counter. "it's just that your brothers are like bottomless pits." she didn't doubt that they got it from elle. connie had watched that ungodly woman devour an entire pizza in minutes without any help. claire clapped the plastic cup she was holding against the counter with a giggle, eyes widening when connie pulled a banana into view.

"nananum," she mumbled to herself, gripping the cup with both hands as she watched connie begin to peel the fruit. she almost seemed hypnotized and connie smiled slightly as she placed the banana on the chopping board, beginning to cut it into thin slices. there was currently very little claire would eat beyond squashed bananas, turning her nose up at the majority of the baby food they'd been trying to feed her. the scrunched up little face she made whenever they did said plenty and she was even less impressed when they eventually managed to convince her to eat it.

"that's right, darling," connie said, gathering the slices and dropping them into a nearby bowl. "it's a banana." claire giggled again, attention moving to the bowl as she placed the handle of her cup into her mouth. connie rolled her eyes, quick to gently stop her from sucking on the plastic. "what have i told you, hm? just because you can put something in your mouth doesn't mean you should."

"what's she trying to eat this time?"

connie looked up as elle entered the kitchen, stained overalls hanging off of one shoulder and her curls spilling free from the rushed bun they'd been twisted into earlier. in the short time she'd been gone, she'd managed to wind up with a bright blue streak of paint on her cheek and a slightly smaller yellow one on her forehead. connie shook her head in amusement. "someone's been busy making a mess i see," she said, stepping forward to meet her.

elle shrugged, wrapping her arms around connie's waist. "the boys are more interested in painting on each other than the paper," she admitted, although it wasn't entirely true. blake had been happy to paint quietly away while his brothers ran loudly around him attacking each other with their paintbrushes. "it's a good thing i put down some sheets otherwise we'd probably need to replace the carpet."

"if they're making that much of a mess, why have you left them unsupervised?" connie asked, stifling a laugh when elle immediately scowled down at her.

"give me some credit. they got bored and-" she cut herself off without warning, suddenly more interested in something over connie's shoulder, and a bright grin immediately began to form on her face. "speaking of unsupervised..."

connie frowned, turning to see what she was looking at, and immediately freed herself from elle's embrace when she discovered claire with the leftover banana peel now hanging out of her mouth. "claire, no!" she chided, unsuccessfully trying to take it back when claire clamped her mouth shut around it, whining in protest. "come on, let go! you can't eat that!" she shot elle a dirty look when she laughed loudly at the sight of them. "oh i'm glad you think this is funny."

elle rolled her eyes, struggling not to laugh further as she joined her at the counter. "here, watch and learn," she said, gently nudging connie out of the way so she could take over. connie sighed, folding her arms as she watched elle grab the banana peel with one hand and then use the other to start tickling claire's stomach. right on cue, claire burst into shrill laughter and the banana peel fell out of her mouth with ease as she flailed around, trying to stop the tickling. elle laughed with her, dropping the banana peel on the chopping board before she lifted her into the air and turned back to connie. "ta-da!"

connie scowled at them for a moment, pretending to be unimpressed, until claire started reaching for her from elle's arms. "you two are just as bad as each other," she muttered, reaching out to let claire grip her finger and shake her hand as she mumbled incoherently to herself. connie was convinced she heard something along the lines of banana.

"and that's why you love us," elle said brightly, ruffling claire's short curls. but while she might have been right, connie stubbornly refused to tell her that.