We quickly arrived at the museum, with Syd continuing to skip ahead of us. I have no idea why a five-year-old finds a museum so fun, but I'm definitely not complaining.
I briefly wonder why Florence isn't wearing a hat or sunglasses to conceal her identity, but she has this aura about her that makes her seem so normal. She's just so kind and approachable; if you didn't pay close attention, I doubt you'd notice that she's a famous celebrity. Her beauty could catch your attention from a mile away, but her personality is so warm and comforting— I can't even begin to explain it.
Syd stops in front of a painting, staring up at it in awe. We quietly come to a stop behind her, watching curiously as she takes in every brushstroke. Florence and I exchange a glance, silently asking each other what Syd might be doing.
"Momma, I like this one," she says, her voice barely above a whisper.
"You do? What do you like about it?" I question.
"Well, it looks happy. If you just looked at it really quick, you see bright colors and smiles on those people's faces. But if you look closer, there are darker colors in the corners and none of their eyes look happy. The brushstrokes are harsher in the areas where people don't usually look— like that corner. They're all faking it. It's all pretend," she states without turning from the painting.
I stutter, unsure of what to say. "Are you sure you're five?"
"It reminds me of you," Syd concludes, ignoring my remark. Abruptly, she turns and walks down the hall to look at another display. I remain frozen there, staring at the painting and feeling like I might puke.
"Are you okay?" Florence asks, brushing my stiff arm with her gentle hand.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just caught off guard," I say, forcing a slight laugh.
"She's a smart kid," she says, cutting through the silence that had fallen over us.
"Yeah, she is," I agree, watching as Syd stood on her tip toes to read a display. "Don't know where she got it from."
"Don't sell yourself short, Y/N. I hate it."
I shrug and laugh a little, unsure of what to say. Why am I so damn awkward?
After walking through the rest of the museum, Syd asks to leave.
"Momma, I'm bored. Can we go to the park? I wanna show Florence the fishies!"
"Well let's go then," I reply enthusiastically, picking up her small body and putting her on my back to walk through the busy New York streets. It's safer and she has fun with it, so I figure it's the best solution.
As we walk down the sidewalk, singing "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" without a care in the world, I spot Florence pulling her phone out. I stick out my tongue and make a funny face as she snaps a picture, giggling at the result.
"I'll get my revenge for that, Pugh," I warn her.
"Oh, I'm sure you will."
"Momma, keep singing!" Sydney demands.
Eventually we make it to the park, and thankfully there aren't many people here. Sydney runs, quickly leading us to our usual spot.
"Florence, Florence, come here!" she says excitedly, crouching down and peeking through the railing on the small bridge. I watch as they point out the fish in the creek together, giggling excitedly when a few ducks make an appearance.
"Momma, come here. Look at this one!" Syd points to a fish in the water that's swimming in circles. "I want it," she states.
"Okay, I'll throw you in so you can grab it," I retort. Florence snorts and chuckles, and I watch her with delight.
Just then, two older women walk by us, smiling lightly at the scene. "You have a beautiful family," one of them says.
I open my mouth to correct them, but Florence just says "Thank you very much," before I have the chance. I give her a look of confusion after the women are gone and she shrugs, saying "Why correct them? Just take the compliment and go on with the day, you know?"
"A compliment doesn't count if the circumstances are false," I argue, feigning seriousness.
"Who says? I think compliments should always count, no matter what. This world needs a little more kindness."
I pause slightly. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I'm right."
"Don't make me throw you in this creek, Pugh."
"Do it!" Syd yells.
"Don't you dare," Florence warns.
"Or what?" I challenge with a smirk.
"Or...or I'm- I'm gonna be mad," she stutters, trying to act tough.
"I can handle that," I decide quickly. I pick her up and throw her over my shoulder, carrying her off the small bridge and dragging her down into the creek. It was too shallow to just throw her in, so I had to improvise.
She yells the whole way, laughing as she hits my back to try and make me put her down. I get knee deep in the water before I drop her. She quickly sits up in the creek and splashes me with the cold water. I laugh and splash her back, but she tackles me and brings me down into the water.
"Asshole," I mumble.
"You did it first!"
Syd is laughing hysterically up on the bridge, and Flo and I are laughing right along with her. We make eye contact and our laughter dies out slightly, small smiles decorating our faces. "Come on. Let's go back to my place so we can dry off," I say, offering her a hand to help her up.
We quickly make it back to the apartment, pretending not to notice strangers' questioning looks at our soaking wet forms on the walk home.
Syd immediately heads for the couch to play with our cat, Liho. I lead Florence to my bedroom to grab her some dry clothes to change into. She looks around my room as I rummage through my drawers in search of my comfiest sweatpants.
I hand her a pair of sweatpants and an old oversized t-shirt. "The bathroom is right through there," I say, pointing to the en-suite attached to my bedroom. "Feel free to shower if you want."
"Thank you, Y/N."
She heads into the bathroom and I grab some dry clothes for myself, bringing them to the other bathroom to change.
After I'm done, I sit on the couch with Syd and wait for Florence to come out. We put a movie on and get out some ice cream, since I promised Syd we would get some at the park.
When Florence comes out into the living room, my breath catches in my throat. My sweatpants are just a bit baggy on her, and my t-shirt is hanging off her shoulder. Something about seeing her in my clothes makes my heart race.
"I didn't know you played hockey," Florence says, breaking the silence as she gestures to the t-shirt I gave her, which has the logo of my high school hockey team.
"Uh, yeah, I started playing when I was a little kid."
"Well, in that case, I think we'd better go skating together someday. I wanna see what you've got."
"I think we can arrange that." The conversation comes to a pause and we just look at each other, taking one another in with small smiles and light blushes. "Uh, do you want ice cream?" I ask, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, that sounds delightful."
~
a/n: hey guys! i'm so sorry for the slow updates. i've been super busy lately and i've had barely any time for writing. i hope you enjoy this and future chapters!