A Pocketful of Elavan

Step Up

(Au)
"Papa," a pair of sparkly blue eyes came into Avan's peripheral vision.

He smiles at the small voice and lifts its owner onto his lap. The little girl cuddles into his chest and starts fiddling with the collar of his shirt, a habit she has had since infancy.

"What is it?" he asks, pressing his lips against her soft brown curls.

The little 4-year-old raises a piece of paper to him shyly.

He takes the it from her and smiles at the little picture she drew. It was a blue stick man engulfed in a giant red heart with her name on the bottom left corner. The lines were squiggly and the letters were fat and not alined but it was an adorable little piece of artwork.

"It's you," she smiles, pointing with her marker-stained fingers. "You're in my heart."

Avan could practically feel his heart melt.

"And why is that, nugget?"

"Because I love you," the small girl puckers her lips, asking for a kiss.

He leans down and gives in to her unspoken request. As soon as he turned his attention back to his work load, the child on his lap tapped his forearm with her pudgy hands.

"Papa, don't work."

He chuckles and kisses her square on the cheek, "Papa needs to work, honey."

"Papa," she whines.

"What?" he chuckles at the little one's neediness.

She pulls out one of her many colorful markers from under her light pink shirt and begins to scribble on her arms, showing him how it no longer left a trace.

"See?" she pouts, her chubby cheeks becoming even more apparent.

"I see that, peanut. Don't worry, okay? Papa'll buy you new ones."

Her pout quickly fades into a bright, dimpled smile as she kisses him on the cheek.

Avan hears a forced cough from behind him while he sets the young one on her feet. He swivels his chair to see the love of his life with her milky white arms crossed over her bust and her eyebrows raised.

"Mommy, I'm getting new markers!" the young one squeals.

"I know," she narrows her eyes at him subtly. "Abby, why don't you go in your room and play with your toys for a bit."

"But I wanna play with Papa," Abby pouts, oblivious to the glare her mother was giving.

"Later, princess," Avan blew her a kiss as she took off with heavy feet towards her room.

As soon as they were sure the little girl was out of hearing proximity, Liz drops her hands and puts them on her waist. Avan knew that pose and he was not excited.

"I thought we agreed we weren't gonna buy her new art supplies until her birthday?"

"They're just markers, love," he stands up and places his hands over her shoulders, gently massaging in hopes of defusing her current mood.

Liz groans, "She's growing up so spoiled, Av. It isn't at all times that we can give her what she wants and-"

"And you just don't want her to get used to a lifestyle of instant gratification, I know," he nods in understanding.

Avan completely understood where she was coming from. She hasn't lived the most luxurious life before she met him. Liz struggled to keep afloat amidst the many things she had to pay for with the little to no money her bastard ex-boyfriend left her with.

But Avan couldn't say no to Abby. She was the most adorable thing to ever set foot on the planet earth and when her lower lip quivered in distaste, he physically could feel guilt constrict his heart.

"Your spawn has your eyes so don't blame me," he jokes. "Can't refuse those baby blues."

Liz chuckles, "And to think you're not even her real dad. Thank you, Jogia."

Despite Abigail's name meaning 'my father's delight', she indeed was not her biological father's delight. Liz's ex was what Avan liked to call a deadbeat human being. When they were together, he would verbally abuse her even when people were around.

Avan had always been her crying shoulder. He stayed by her until the day that all his nagging finally worked and she broke it off with her ex. But that very same day was the day she discovered that she was pregnant with Abby.

The eye opener for Liz was really when he told her to abort her child, despite the many other reasons she was given. Although the woman had neither discrimination nor judgment to spare for women who choose to abort, she couldn't even begin to comprehend how she was just supposed to get rid of her baby. At the time, she was three months pregnant and knew it for a while, so the amount of love she had for what would be her daughter overwhelmed her.

She waited until the second time he commanded her to "get rid off the parasite in her belly" before she broke it off and packed her things up.

The first person who welcomed her with open arms was Avan. He's been harboring feelings for her since they first met so it was his greatest joy to have her stay safely within his care. He took the initiative to step up as the fetus's father and pay for absolutely everything.

The moment Abby came into this world, she knew no other father's love than Avan's. Even if they made it very clear for her that Avan wasn't her biological dad, the small girl only understood that her daddy was just a name but her papa was her father.

Avan did not feel as though he was raising another man's child. In fact, he was the first to call Abby their baby girl instead of just her baby when Liz was pregnant. He was wrapped around the girl's little fingers and she had him in her command.

He adored Abby, and Abby loved him back. They didn't know how not to.

The way Avan was with her daughter was what got Liz to initially fall in love with him. She saw the love and affection in Avan's eyes whenever they saw the baby on the sonograms and the plentiful happy tears he shed the day she was born. Sooner or later, she found herself fallen too deep to help it and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I may not be her 'real' dad but I'm the dad that stepped up," Avan nuzzles her nose.

Liz's eyes filled with joyful tears. Avan's forehead wrinkled. It wasn't typical behavior for her to be crying.

"Well, I hope you're ready to step up one more time, babe," she lets out a watery smile as she guides one of his hands to the lower part of her abdomen.

Avan's mouth dropped open in realization of what she was trying to say. He softly caresses her flat belly as his eyes watered as well.

"Oh my God," he whispers unbelievably. "We're having another one."

Liz nods and smiles to herself as he pressed his lips against hers. When the need for air came in, they pulled away and stood there in tears.

"I'll take that as a yes," she giggles.
__________
Did anyone else like giving their parents random drawings as a child or was I just weird?

Hope you enjoyed it. Don't be afraid to comment down your thoughts! Lots of love! Be kind, y'all!