𝚃𝚠𝚘 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝙻𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛

"Daddy!"

Sierra sighs right into my neck, groaning as my little cheeseball calls out for me again. "Just when I thought we could finally sleep."

I chuckle, pressing a kiss to Sierra's forehead. "I'm sure she just wants another donut before she's ready to compromise and go to sleep."

Unfortunately, I have to detangle myself from my wife to get up from the bed and make my way across the hall. The second she spots me walking out of my bedroom, her face lights up and her arms reach out.

For a second I ask myself whether or not Sierra and I really should have gotten her a night-light. It's always on, always. Not that I couldn't pay the bills, but god, I do think she keeps it lit twenty-four/seven.

"Is there a reason why you're not asleep yet, cheeseball?" I lean against the doorframe to her room, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

Allie scrunches up her nose, mimicking the way I hold my arms in front of me. "Don't call me that!"

Snickering, I take a few steps into her room, kneeling down in front of her bed. "I'm so sorry, cheeseball, but I can't stop."

"Daddy, the other kids on the playground make fun of me when you call me that," she says, letting her eyebrows fall into a mad frown. "And Johnny says it's em-bar-assing."

I have to swallow the chuckle that threatens to come out. Allie is only two years old, well, she will be tomorrow. She's still learning how to speak properly, and sometimes that requires her to speak words as multiple individual ones. Or whenever she tries to say the word "of" it's more of a "f", the "o" just completely disappears from her brain.

"Why do you care what Johnny thinks?" Johnny, the five-year-old from some woman Sierra met at the playground and instantly became friends with.

"Daddy, don't get mad, but I like him."

I think my heart just stopped beating. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Allie shakes her head hysterically, slapping her tiny hands to her mouth. "Alison Rose Storm, we said no boyfriends before the age of forty-five, remember?"

She shakes her head again, this time giggling. "You said—" she holds up three fingers "—this old."

"With a zero behind it, yes."

Her eyebrows rise, mouth opening. She has no idea what number that is, yet she groans like it's the largest number there is to exist. "I will be dead be-fore that year comes." She falls back on her bed, sighing deeply.

I'm about to tell her that this is definitely not going to happen, when I spot a big lump under her blanket. One that I am sure shouldn't be there. "Did you get Taco from his room?"

Allie giggles again, quickly grabbing her blanket to cover herself with it, in hopes that would stop me from being able to snatch it from her. What I've learned so far, not only does Taco love Allie, Allie loves him even more. Every single morning, Sierra and I find him in Allie's bed, even though we told her to stop getting him from his room.

Taco is the sweetest dog there is, he's friendly, barely ever barks, never gets aggressive, ever. However, he loves chewing on shoes or toys that lie around. I had to buy three new pairs of shoes for Allie, as well as two new barbie dolls this week alone...it's Tuesday.

"Daddy, you can't take Taco away, he's slee-ping." Allie hugs the bump in her blanket. Her arms are way smaller, which just makes it look so much more adorable.

"One night, okay, cheeseball?"

She nods, kisses the top of the bump on her bed then jumps right into my arms. "Thank you, Daddy. One night, I promise."

I hold her close to me, hugging her like this was the last time I'd get to do it. It's something I started doing ever since Sierra nearly died good two years ago. You never know when it's someone's last day on Earth, so might as well use the time you have together.

"Don't promise anything you won't keep, cheeseball." I kiss her cheek, then lie her down, tugging her in. "We both know I'll magically find Taco in your bed again tomorrow, and the day after that."

She giggles but shakes her head. "Tomorrow I sleep with mommy."

"And why is that? You have a huge bed all to yourself, there's no need to kick me out of mine." Allie holds my hand in hers, or at least tries to as mine is a lot bigger than hers.

"Birth-day sleep-ing over."

"That was tomorrow?" She nods. "I'm pretty sure that was last year."

"Mommy said tomorrow."

"When mommy says it's tomorrow, then it's tomorrow." She agrees. Despite Allie definitely favouring me, she knows exactly which parents has more to say. That being, of course, Sierra.

Which is quite funny, actually. You'd think I'd be the strict parent. That I'd be the fun-police. But nope, that's all Sierra. Sure, she allows a hell lot, we both do. But she's the one making sure neither Allie nor I do something stupid.

"Now, go to sleep, okay, Princess?" I press a kiss to her forehead. It's only seven p.m., but plenty late for a two-year-old.

She nods, rolling over to her side to wrap an arm around Taco who now magically lies on top of the blanket instead of underneath.

"Good night, daddy. I love you."

My heart does a little jump, like it does every single time when she says that.

"Good night, love you, too."

-♡-

"Happy Birthday, Allie-Bear," Sierra says as she hugs our daughter tightly. When they let go of the hug, Allie goes in to give Sierra a kiss, then thanks her just like we have taught her to do. She's a quick learner, a lot like Sierra. "What do you want for breakfast?"

Allie is about to respond as Vienna starts to cry. Right, Vienna was born nine months ago, and just like with Allie, my mother is convinced she'll come after Sierra.

Oddly enough, my mother was right. Allie does look identical to her mother. A lot younger, but basically the same. She's a cut-out of Sierra. But as Sierra would like to say; Allie's got Sierra's face and my brain. She's stubborn, grumpy a lot of times. And she utterly despises having to socialise. Especially with her little sister.

Allie groans, running off to the blanket on the floor on which Vienna lies. "Stop crying you little at-ten-tion-seeker."

"Allie, stop being mean to your sister," Sierra warns, as she has to do every day. More than once.

She sighs and dramatically lies down onto the floor beside Vienna. "When is Vivi going back home?"

Sierra looks at me, exhaling deeply. Her eyes staring right into my soul as if to say "this is all your fault." Perhaps it is, maybe not. I don't really care. I'm a father of two girls. I repeat, two girls. And Allie has already given me a heart attack last night with the Johnny talk. I sense a hell lot of more to come my way.

"Vienna is your sister, cheeseball," I tell her, looking down at her. She giggles, clearly finding the view amusing. "She lives here, just like you."

"I don't want a sister."

Picking Allie off the floor, I hold her in my arms, carrying her into the kitchen where I sit her down on the counter. I don't even bother telling Allie all about how it wouldn't change, because...well, Vienna was born nine months ago and there is no going back. Allie wouldn't understand it anyway. I'm just hoping she'll eventually get used to her little sister.

"What do you want for breakfast, little birthday-girl?" I repeat Sierra's question. It's not like Sierra would've cooked it anyway. I love Sierra, more than anything, but it's so much better for our kitchen if she sticks to baking rather than cooking.

"Donuts. Tons'f donuts. Like mommy all the time!"

Of course she demands tons of donuts. Maybe there really is another thing she's got from Sierra. Her addiction to donuts. Her eating habit in general.

After we finish eating breakfast together, Sierra and I clean up. In the meantime Allie goes to play, I think. It doesn't really matter what she went to do, not until shattering of anything is to be heard.

I use the toddler-free time wisely, wrapping my arms around Sierra's waist from behind. "Happy Birthday, sweetheart," I whisper into her ear, kissing down her neck.

"Thank you." She tilts her head, granting me more access to her neck. Of course I use the space, kissing her silky skin everywhere I can reach before I turn her around to face me. Once we're face to wake, our lips meet.

In all the two-and-a-half years of me pinning after this woman more and more with every day, I can now, with one million percent certainty, say; I will never grow sick of kissing my wife. Her lips are the softest, most perfect ones I've ever kissed. And the only ones I plan on kissing for the rest of my life. They feel a lot like they were made for me, fitting so perfectly to mine, it's ridiculous.

"Stop that!" Allie's voice comes from the living room. "Vivi!"

Both, Sierra and my head jerk towards the huge living room, trying to find our daughters. It doesn't take very long as there is only one place they could be at; the floor.

"Mommy, Vivi is pulling my hair again!" Allie cries, desperately trying to get her hair out of her sister's grip.

In what appears to be a second, Sierra is kneeling down beside Allie, somehow loosening the grip of Vienna's hand around my cheeseball's hair. Another second later, Allie is all cuddled up in her mother's arms, sobbing while continuously saying how much her head hurts.

I'm pretty sure she can't even feel the pain anymore.

Allie hasn't quite stopped crying yet as the front door opens and Cody comes rushing inside, followed by Athena and Hunter. At the sight of Hunter, Allie's crocodile-tears disappear and she's ready to annoy her cousin to the gods.

Hunter sighs, forcefully following Allie outside into the garden.

"She didn't even let me say Happy Birthday," Cody says, plopping down onto the sofa while still holding his nieces present in his hands. "Anyone ever tell you the meatball is just as rude as you were at the age of seventeen?"

"Don't call me that!" Allie screams from the patio, stomping her little feet on the black stone.

"Correction, she's as rude as you were at the age of twenty."

"And I heard she's got a boyfriend," Athena says, somewhat singing the word 'boyfriend'. "How are we liking that?"

Sierra laughs, leaning the side of her head against the front of my shoulder as I pull her in closer. "He's not a fan."

"I am not a fan." Shaking my head, I let out a deep sigh. "She's two."

"Old enough for a little affair." And just like that, Cody is earning a slap from his wife. "Alright, alright. Did you try telling her no?"

"Did you try telling my daughter no?" I ask in return. "She'll look at you with those big eyes and repeat 'please' in twenty different ways until you give in because she's far too adorable."

"What are you going to do once she turns sixteen? Boys will be standing in line to get into her pants."

I groan, trailing off into a whine. "Don't tell me that."

"He will have nightmares," Sierra tells Cody kindly. "I'm not kidding. He has them already."

"That's it. Allie is going to get homeschooled. That way there is no chance she will meet any boys." It's a great thing, isn't it? I mean, Sierra was homeschooled and she turned out okay. Exceptionally smart even.

"And then she wanders off to college, has no idea how to talk to people. Ergo, she won't have any friends. That way she ends up with the wrong crowd, gets pregnant at the age of eighteen from a one-night stand and marries the guy just for the sake of it." Sometimes...Sometimes I really do fight myself not to wrap my hands around my best friend's throat and strangle him to death.

Other times I think about just stabbing him, or poisoning him. Anything that kills him, really.

Anyway;

Today is not the day to think about my daughter's future. That one is far, far away. As of now, she is two years old, barely understands the concept of talking, or walking, or anything really. She loves donuts and the colour pink. She loves when things are simple, loves going to the park, Target, or simply playing outside in the mud. She also loves annoying me when I have to work; and she loves watching Moana every single day on repeat.

That, and only that, is what I have to concentrate on. Making her, my family, happy now. Making sure my daughter enjoys every single day as much as possible. Because there might come a day when that is no longer possible. Making sure the love of my life is cared for, happy. That she knows I love her, and will do so for the rest of our lives.

The future isn't written in stone, so might as well live in the moment, right?

And the best part of living in the moment is; I get to do it with the three girls I love the most in this entire universe. Even when it's something like having to sit through the sixth time of watching Moana for the day. But I've done it with my wife and my two daughters.

And the smiles from every single one of them right before bed makes it totally worth it. Yup, even the crying and groans of frustration. Also the death-threats I receive from Sierra on a daily for getting her pregnant twice and "forcing" her to live through the pain of parenthood. All worth it when it gets me just one little smile right before falling asleep.

It's crazy, truly. I've gone from being the grumpy CEO to still being the same asshole at work, but a whole different person the second the three girls that own my heart are near. And at home? There is not a single ounce of the CEO left in me.

All that wouldn't have happened if this one blonde girl didn't smile up at me through her tears as she sat on the kitchen floor, already claiming my heart as hers. Then years later, she crashed right back into my life and finally took what she claimed oh-so many years ago.

The one thing I'll never regret; giving Sierra Storm my heart and letting her create nothing but happiness from it.

The End