Willow|| Klance Single Dad AU

Chapter 17: Dolonia

"Papa," Willow whined, stumbling into her father's bedroom.

Lance laid in his bed curled under the covers, watching some old reality TV show from the early 2000s. Today was a lazy day for the two, not having any plans for the weekend. They both went to bed late the night before, deciding to binge-watch old Avatar episodes till they fell asleep. The two slept the following day away, finally waking up sometime after noon.

Lance didn't really feel like cooking or cleaning, so breakfast consisted of cereal and fruit. They spent most of their evening playing old Wii games and watching more Avatar. Willow went down for a nap only a few hours after waking up, leaving Lance some time to himself.

Willow had clearly just woken up again, her red bonnet slipping off and eyes squinted in the bright light. Lance chuckled a little, sitting up against the headboard. "Come here, Mija," he spoke softly, opening his arms.

Willow lazily climbed up into her father's bed, collapsing in his arms. She rested her head against his stomach, snuggling into his lap. Lance lightly pulled back Willow's silk bonnet, revealing the passion twists Dee had done for her the previous week. He softly pulled at one of the twists, rolling the white lock between his fingers.

"Are you feeling okay today, princess?" Lance asked quietly, concerned for his daughter. She was lacking in unnecessary energy and excitement. Willow seemed oddly tired for the time of day, and it worried Lance.

Willow rolled on her side, nuzzling her cheek into Lance's thigh. "I-I'm okay, just bored," she whispered, gazing at Lance through the side of her eye. She snatched away the twist Lance was playing with, not wanting him to ruin her hair. "Can-Can we watch more Avatar?"

Lance chuckled softly, figuring he should have expected that. "Yeah, of course," Lance mumbled, reaching for the remote on his nightstand. He clicked off his reality TV, scrolling to Netflix to find what Willow wanted to watch.

"T-Thank you," Willow muttered under her breath, flipping to her other side so she could see the TV. Lance turned on Avatar, resuming the episode Willow fell asleep too. Once the show started he lightly pulled a fleece blanket off his footboard, covering Willow. Willow tucked the blanket under her chin, cuddling close to her father.

Willow grew silent the more invested she became in the show. Lance started to zone out within the first few seconds of the cartoon resuming. He actually enjoyed Avatar because he used to watch it as a kid too, back when it was still running on Nickelodeon. Lance was ecstatic when he stumbled in on Willow watching it, insisting they watch it together. As much as he loved the old cartoon, his mind was elsewhere.

Willow watched intently, ignoring her father reaching for her hair again. She was far more interested in her show to be bothered with Lance and his fixation with her twists. Willow just got introduced to a new character a few episodes ago, and she wasn't going to let Lance ruin her excitement to see him again. She was determined to watch till she saw this character once more, and Lance wasn't going to get in the way of that.

The two sat in silence, Lance drifting off into his mind. Recently he's been spending most of his time in his head, just thinking. In moments like this, where he wasn't drowning with responsibilities, he was left with nothing to do except think. With that, he allowed himself to get lost in his head, staring off into the distance.

Willow's eyes lit up the moment the animation panned to the character she's been waiting for, Prince Zuko. If she was being honest, Zuko was kind of mean, nothing like her favorite character Sokka. Despite his rudeness, Willow kind of liked him. Something about the character made Willow feel content, and she couldn't figure out why at first. The more she thought about Zuko the more he started to remind her of Keith. When Willow first drew that line she grew a newfound love for the animated character.