circle of life [TGWDLM]

:)

"Paul, Paul!" the little six year old exclaimed when she saw the college student open the door, pizza box in hand, climbing off the couch in a rush to hug her babysitter.

Grinning as he set the pizza down on the table, he crouched down with his arms open, ruffling Alice's hair when she practically jumped into his arms. "Al, hey." he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her as he stood up, holding her up in the air. "How are you?"

"Happy, now! Last time I saw you was a whole three days ago." she frowned, giving him a pouty face as she was set down. "That's okay though. Daddy said you'll be hanging out with me more often because momma's busy with a lot of busy-ness trips."

Biting his lip, Paul nodded. Yep. Business trips, that's what it was. He cleared his throat, then grabbed Alice's hand, leading her to the kitchen. "Have you eaten yet?"

He got a head shake in return.

"Okay, luckily for you I got pizza. Your favorite- cheese. Just need to talk to your dad for a bit." he said, grabbing a plate for her and setting the box on the island. "All you can eat, just don't waste anything."

Poor kid. She was completely oblivious to what was going on between her parents, but maybe that was best. Ignorance is bliss, they say. Paul felt bad- Bill had been trying to make it work with his wife ever since high school, even when they both knew there was really no love between them, it was all for Alice. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed as he watched Alice chow down on her pizza. She was an amazing kid, he thought to himself before he went to go search for his best friend.

He found him in the bathroom, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. Paul knocked on the door frame before walking in, scoffing. "You look fine, dude. Swear you're gonna land this job. Mr. Davidson is a great guy."

Bill looked at him warily, a disbelieving look in his eyes. "I know, I know. You've told me about him a dozen times. Just nervous, y'know?"

"Whatever." he shook his head, affectionate smile tugging at his lips. "I bet you just don't wanna work with me."

"Oh no, you've found out the truth."

"Just get out of here- I believe in you."

Paul shoved Bill out of the bathroom, trailing behind him as he made his way to the front door. Alice looked up when she heard the two, mouth full of food and tomato sauce smeared on her face. "Bye, daddy!"

Glancing at Paul one last time, he nodded. "Bye, sweetheart."

-

"It's ten. You have to go to bed."

"No."

"Alice."

"No!"

"Aw, come on. I let you stay up two hours past your bedtime. Your dad's gonna be mad at me if I let you stay up any later."

"...Can we watch one last movie? Please."

She always fell for that, he chuckled to himself, rolling his eyes. "Okay, fine. One last movie. What do you want to watch?"

"The Lion King! Daddy and momma watch it with me all the time when they're home. It's my favorite. Daddy likes to hold me up like Simba and momma sings the song. It's fun. You have to sing it with me, though."

"Al, I love you, but come on. I'm not singing the Lion King song with you. I have dignity."

"Don't care." she huffed, rushing over to her collection of DVDs and pulling out The Lion King. "You're gonna do it no matter what! Or else I'm gonna... snitch! Like Uncle Ted always says, stitches get snitches."

"That's not...  you've got it flipped around. Don't listen to anything Ted says. Hey, come here. I've got a secret to tell you."

Alice finished setting up the DVD, then grabbed a Simba plushie from her toy bin. She scrambled back up on the couch next to Paul, tilting her head. "Yeah? What're you gonna tell me."

"Don't tell anyone this." he whispered in a low voice, leaning in. "Ted's a big idiot. Don't listen to anything he says."

Gasping, the six year old covered her ears. "Paul! You said a bad word. You don't call people the I word!". She removed a hand from her ear, and pointed at a somewhat full jar sitting on the TV stand. "Dollar in the swear jar."

"I am a struggling young adult, Alice! I cannot afford to put anything in the swear jar."

"Ya have to. That's the rules around here!"

Laughing, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a crumbled up dollar bill from his wallet. He waved the dollar in front of Alice's face, then dramatically stalked over to the swear jar, dropping a dollar in. The biggest contributor to the jar was Ted, then came Paul. Bill was extraordinarily good at not cussing- he always replaced them with stupid censored versions, like frick. Hell, one time he even used the phrase "H-E double hockey sticks", and Paul almost pissed himself from laughing so hard.

"There ya go, are you happy?"

"Yes. Thank you, Paul! Now watch the movie with me."

Alice didn't forget. She forced him to sing the song, but the expression on her face was the cutest thing ever, so it made the experience a little bit better. He'd do anything for a happy Alice. Around forty five minutes, maybe a hour, she passed out, still hugging the little stuffed animal.

He paused the movie, then picked the kid up, who made a quiet grumbly noise. Paul carefully carried her to her bedroom, gently placing her down on the bed and tucking her in. "Night, Al." he whispered, brushing the hair out of her face. She turned around, back facing him, the collar of her pink pajamas peeking out from under the blanket.

Paul turned on her night light, casting a soft light in the shadows of her room. He shut the door, hinges creaking as it clicked into place with a soft thud.

He had nothing to do for a few hours. Maybe he'd finish watching the movie. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but maybe he hummed along to a few songs.