The taste of cherry dawdled in his tongue and Heather purred from the radio, spurring Aiden on to keep his hands tight on the wheel despite how impatient he has been growing with the white sand seemingly trying to ruin his windshield. Absolutely a blizzard coming—the Creative Director could only release a sigh, which he can visibly see dancing in front of him like smoke considering the weather.
He wouldn’t have driven out so late in the snow if he hadn’t spent most of the time watching his mother gawk at the massive closet of clothes (which he, blood and sweat, transferred up into her room with whatever’s left of his strength) he once told her she deserved. So when Helena learned he was the designer himself, of course the woman broke into tears and just insisted he eat pie with her downstairs before she could faint.
Apparently, a Creative Director even in his early career earns quite an out of the ordinary sum, not that Aiden was bragging, since it was true. He loves the financial relief he’s experiencing, but just as he promised himself back then, he wouldn’t want to rub it in other people’s faces that he has a more than stable amount of money now.
People have laughed at him for so many things back then—like at the fact that he was just a lowly son of an independent mother who has to work at a local diner and a shop—it was more of an honor than a burden to him.
The daily CNN weather report earlier announced it was officially a snow day, so he was off-desk-duty. It was enough justification for his mother to give him a quizzical look when she saw him twirling the car keys as he made a bee line for the garage. He told her he was merely going for a brief ride, but Helena already bore a knowing smirk.
Honestly, the milky scent teasing his nose at the moment was tempting. He knew it was obviously coming from none other than the box of goodies sitting right next to him, but he wouldn’t want Claire wondering why there was a hasty bite on one of their party brownies—and he just got back from the gym yesterday.
The sublime sight of his girlfriend’s home coming into frosted view got him smiling in relief. Steering the car into the extensive driveway, Aiden wasted no time turning the engine off whilst grabbing the fresh box beside him with a slight grunt.
“Well, that certainly took longer than usua–”
Noisily, the engine sputtered and within a few seconds, the sounds expelling from what seemed to be the internal structure of the KIA soon came to an end with a volatile squeak. Now, that wasn’t something that should emit from a car. Probably something with the transmission... Again.. Aiden grumbled and shook his head.
There was no point in denying anyway. He has been planning to buy a far more fetching one, and he has his options referred by Heine long before since the man had an eye with a variety. But as much as he wanted a new, sweet ride, he already made a much more preferable purchase.
Like the tiny, velvet box he’s fumbling with right now in his pocket.
He nearly jumped out of his composure.
“Hey, you,” she grinned, hurriedly stepping out and he heard the glass doors slide smoothly, not even scraping against the granite floor. Her motions were just as effortless, anyhow, as she shifted herself closer to him, and she looked rather... Skittish.
Aiden chuckled, shoving a hand to his pockets nervously, “Hey yourself,” he pecked her lips shortly, but before he could pull away, she extended the duration of their passionate embrace with a low hum, “Mmh. Cherry. Tell your mother she bakes wonders,” she smirked—though she really liked the older woman’s pies, but his lips made a fine plate.
He darkly blushed, a sheepish smile quirking his lips as his stare wavered from her figure to the ground.
Elsa backed away—drinking in his flushed skin, from his dimples to his cheeks, the little specks of white sticking out of his black locks which used to be combed neatly if it wasn’t for the outdoors. It almost seemed like the green of his eyes were stirring with the reflection of the grassy hill they stargazed on many months back.
She brought him forth with a hug, her nose buried within the brown Inuit scarf he bought at the peak of autumn.
“Aw, is something wrong elskede?” he mumbled to her hair, running his hands through her spine, “I’m sorry I haven’t been visiting here much. Work’s been tough.”
He felt her tilt her head against the cotton he wore to form an understanding nod. A kiss met her temple, a shade of pink reigning over her face as they brushed their noses together amidst an ardent silence. “So, you won’t mind me taking you out for Korean Grill later tonight?”
She beamed next to his wintry breath, all the while dusting snow off his hair. “I won’t mind. I’m happy with that.”
“T-that’s great,” his smile sparkled with hope, “I really am sorry. It’s the least I can do to make it up to you.”
He’s really still the same, she chuckled. She straightened herself a bit and shook her head, “Shh. It’s okay, love. I heard your car back in there. Is something wrong?”
“Just a bug with the old shack,” Aiden shrugged, “But never mind about that. It’s nothing too serious.”
Unlike my thoughts, Elsa mentally frowned.
“Umm... Can we–?”
“Why of course,” she laughed, “Come on in. Claire’s been waiting for you.”
“Don’t she usually take naps at this hour?” He asked curiously, knowing the child’s schedule quite thoroughly. The blonde responded, “She isn’t taking one right now. She was making a snowman a while ago, so I think you’re in for some hot cocoa with her upstairs.”
Aiden tensed up.
“Ooh, yeah, I almost forgot,” —When apparently he definitely did not. It was one of the reasons why he kept swallowing coffee last night, he was only grateful Elsa didn’t notice the bags under his eyes.
It’s now or never.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
He supposed a tea party was equivalent to a play date, but he didn’t mind at all. Of course, Claire was more than happy to give him a tour of the massive midgets her mother have gotten her last Christmas, which eventually lead to the young blonde prattling on and on about the purple unicorn that came along with the Equestrian castle she was deeply smitten to as of the moment.
The little dear had a habit of hugging his leg—it was the lone warm welcome Claire could think of as per usual due to how he was six feet and three inches the second he stepped foot into the room. She has pulled him to sprawl around with her on the mat to help her scribble another ‘masterpiece’ she was working on (one that consisted of a snowman) with an orange crayon balanced on her nose, so he was glad to oblige.
At first, the hot cocoa and brownies were neglected on the table since apparently Charlie was ‘sick’ and in desperate need of the Doc McStuffin’s doctor’s kit set Claire owned. Charlie was never absent from Claire’s near sight—Aiden took note of the brown haired doll’s unceasing presence just now, but this time his enthusiastic playmate had introduced him to who seemed to be Charlie’s partner—a golden blonde doll named Charlotte.
Aiden could only laugh silently as Claire began narrating on and on about how her mother told her to name the new doll similarly to a favorite novel character of hers—at least, Claire didn’t mind. She thought the name was pretty.
“Are they married?” he once curiously asked when Claire took a few minutes putting on an effort to make the two dolls hold hands. Claire has beamed, “Yeah! How’d you know?”
Aiden just told her it was his intuition, and Claire didn’t understand what the word meant, but she shrugged it off in a matter of her attention shifting back to what she was preoccupied with.
For awhile Claire has propped herself down on the little couch made for her size, sipping the warm drink along with him asking her how has she been doing as if she was the pen pal he never met for years, but the four year old wasn’t bothered by the constant arrival of questions.
“You look silly,” he heard her giggle as she swung her legs back and forth, her index finger pointing at the lower level of his face.
His gaze went south and realized the brownies has gotten into his teeth. Covering his mouth with a giggle of his own, Aiden fixed himself, “Well, don’t I really,” he mused out with a laugh.
And they were in silence once again, but it wasn’t one that was awkward, much to Aiden’s relief. Claire has never been awkward to be around, he wasn’t going to lie. She was spunky at some point, immensely intelligent and ahead of her age despite some times she does act her age. She’s a great kid—courtesy of Elsa.
Aiden’s gaze steered towards the pair of dolls sitting yards away from his companion.
Charlie and Charlotte.
His gaze softened; so did his heart.
Mister Pretty Eyes... and Mrs. Darling.
“Hey... mind if I ask you a few questions, little darl?” he flashed her a toothy smile. Claire perked up in interest at her friend’s call, all the while nibbling on a piece of brownie simultaneously.
“Okay!” She grinned.
Here goes nothing—or everything.
Aiden took a deep breath—once,
twice.
“C-can I... braid your hair every day?”
Claire blinked. She pondered briefly, and maybe that shouldn’t even be called pondering since she answered faster than Aiden thought. A child can never possibly take an hour to decide—oh now he was envious, obviously.
“Well, I’d let you ‘cause you’re really nice, but you gotta go here a lot.”
Aiden nodded, signifying he understood her point and he chuckled at her sensible response.
“Next one. Can I piggy back ride you to bed every night?”
The gorgeous curl quirking the four year old’s lips was wider than ever by now. “That sounds fun! Of course you can!”
“Then can I read you bedtime stories...”
“Princess Ciri and The Witcher!” Claire specified cheerfully.
“... And kiss your forehead when you fall asleep?”
There was a small blush gracing the kid’s cheek when her dearest companion spoke the last part, but she thought it was sweet of the green-eyed prince sitting in front of her to ask for her permit for such an endearing thing.
It wasn’t that her smile shrunk since she didn’t like the idea—she was just shy. “Aww. Okay.”
“How would you like to drive to ice cream every weekend?”
“I’D LOVE TO!” Claire squealed.
Aiden fell silent now.
“O-okay. Well, uh... Do you like me for your mama?” he nervously added.
Claire tapped her chin and in a split second she nodded vigorously, “Of course! You’re nice for someone like mama. I think you look like a prince, and you’re really nice to me and Auntie Anna and Uncle Kristoff and Olaf and...”
“That’s g-good to know,” Aiden anxiously blurted out, hoping that the child wasn’t starting to sense how tense he was becoming, “I only have two questions for you now, and they’re very important. Can you answer them well for me, little darl?”
Claire nods slowly.
And again, it was now or never.
Aiden breathed in deeply.
“Will you let me take care of your mama?”
Claire’s smile disappeared; which got Aiden’s heart slowing down for a steadfast minute out of apprehension. She wasn’t going to frown... Was she?
“Like the way mama takes care of me?”
Aiden fiddled with his fingers, sweat forming on his brow in opposition to the temperature of the room, “Y-yeah. But in a slightly different way. If you’d let me.”
“Okay, I’ll let you,” Claire smiled.
“Really?”
“Mmh-mmh. It must mean you love mama a lot, don’t you?”
“With all of my heart, little darl.”
“Okay. What’s the last question?” She queried curiously, fixing herself in an Indian-sit on her couch, “You’ve asked me a lot, but I kind of liked them anyway.”
Goodness—Anna wasn’t wrong at all when she unveiled the fact that Claire’s approval mattered the most three days ago. Aiden never thought of Claire as an obstacle of any sort when it came to his relationship with Elsa, but it could be a silent message that heedless to how much Claire finds him suitable for her mother, she can still be quite protective. Aiden didn’t find it surprising, but he kept it in mind to take the pace with popping the big question as slow as possible.
“Will you let me marry your mama?”
It sounded more like a statement than a question—at least, to him. Because he was getting worried with the silence the four year old was succumbing to.
The stare she was giving him unnerved him slightly, and he did his best to make his spine less stiff. He couldn’t tell, honestly, if what she was giving was a glare or it just seemed like one but she was staring off into space—he found the color blue for an eye color intimidating, but not Elsa’s. And most certainly not Claire’s.
The child’s eyes almost bore the Atlantic. Depth and color combined.
A blink, at long last—then an intensely palpable gasp.
She has been waiting for this for far too long. But it came, nonetheless.
“Hm. Can I ask you two very important questions too?”
Aiden finally unleashed a long held breath, “Go ahead.”
“Does that mean you’ll help me make mama happy?”
It was such a simple question and all he had to do was say a simple answer and yet it felt as if something had clicked inside of him. And as the sun passed by the window of Claire’s room, Aiden’s heart slowed once again. The sun shone past and through the frosty air, smiling down at him and illuminating the future.
Aiden could only respond with a vigorous nod of his own, an electrifiying sensation of hope striking his body as he ran his fingers through raven locks. His wide smile quivered and shook—when he finally found the same expression plastered on Claire’s face.
“C-can I...”
He waited.
Patiently.
He has, for a long, long time.
“Can I call you papa?”
Tears brimmed on each edge of his eyes.
It was clear—and reflected in Claire’s eyes that she would love the help. That yes. She’ll let him take care of mama because mama deserved so much too.
She was just waiting for his own approval, like he was waiting for hers.
“𝘠𝘦𝘴. 𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦.”
To be continued
on the next chapter...