A/N: Hello, new chapter to start the weekend.
Read and enjoy. :)
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"What do you think of taking the girls to the park for an afternoon this weekend?" Normani asked as she and Dinah laid in bed on the following Wednesday night. She had her head against Dinah's chest, tucked underneath the younger woman chin's.
Dinah had been back at work for three days, and the adjustment was slightly easier than they had expected, but Normani could see the girls slowly becoming a little restless.
There was only so much Normani could to keep the girls occupied while also managing to work from home. Thankfully, Dinah managed to be home by early afternoon to take over while Normani worked.
"I'm sure it would be a great idea," Dinah replied as she ran her hand down Normani's arm. She lowered her hand to rest on the older woman's hip and gently tapping her fingers. "The weather's been pretty good. It could be a nice day. And, they might enjoy getting to play on an actual playground. Would be a lot more fun than being cooped up inside or stuck in the backyard."
"Maybe you could stop at the store on your way home from work tomorrow and get some stuff to take?"
Dinah groaned softly but asked, "What did you have in mind?"
Normani grinned and lifted her head to softly kiss the younger woman. "Toys of some sort for outside play? The park around the block has a sandbox. Maybe a soccer ball or something for them to play with?"
Dinah nodded. "I can work with that as long as you plan what food to take."
"Deal. Thank you, baby," Normani said appreciatively as she leaned in for another kiss.
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Dinah and Normani managed to survive the rest of the week, and Saturday finally came.
The older woman would have been happy to sleep in, but apparently that was not in the cards for the day. She could hear some voices out in the hallway, and she sighed deeply as she resigned herself to the fact she would have to leave her comfortable bed. She stretched and yawned as she walked out of the room.
Ally and Lauren were in the hallway by their bedroom door, and they both looked up in slight panic as Normani appeared.
Normani frowned and tilted her head to side, taking in the sight. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly.
Ally bit her lip as Lauren hid behind her. "Um, um, Lauren's bed is wet."
That had Normani slightly more awake. "Why is her bed wet?"
Lauren looked up hesitantly before ducking her head again. "Spillded cup. It made wet."
Ally nodded as if to confirm the story. "She took the lid off and then dropped her cup."
That was entirely plausible, Normani thought. She and Dinah gave the girls each their own water bottle to keep on their beds at night. Lauren had chosen a Lion King themed one, and Ally had chosen a Moana one.
Normani wondered why Lauren took the lid off hers, but shook her head. It didn't really matter. "Well, let's leave the lid on from now on, yeah?"
Lauren nodded as she watched Normani enter their room and go over to her bed and start taking the sheets off.
Ally, however, regarded the older woman with a frown. "Is Lauren in trouble?" she asked hesitantly.
Normani paused and turned to look at the girls. They were still by the door, with Ally stood protectively in front of Lauren, watching her like a hawk. "No, she's not in trouble," she said calmly. "It was an accident. Or, maybe it wasn't, but it's only water. Even if it was something else, it's easy enough to throw the sheets in the washer."
Ally scrunched her nose a bit before she responded. "One of the adults yelled when Lauren spilled her cup. It was scary."
Normani tilted her head to the side. "Well, that wasn't very nice of them," she said. "Dinah and I know that accidents happen, and we won't be mad if you make a mess by accident. Even if you did something on purpose, we would never yell at you to scare you."
She looked back to the bed and found Lauren's water bottle, with the lid screwed off as they girls had explained. "Let's keep this on from now on, okay? Having wet sheets and blankets isn't very fun."
Both girls nodded, and they seemed to have visibly relaxed at the older woman's gentle tone of voice.
Normani gathered up the sheets, deciding she may as well throw Ally's in the wash, and headed to the laundry room. Ally and Lauren followed along behind her. Lauren dragged her Simba stuffie along by the tail.
"What do the two of you want for breakfast today?" Normani asked after getting the washer going. She was surprised to see Dinah already in the kitchen making coffee. "What are you doing up?"
Dinah shrugged. "Heard you talking with the cubs. Couldn't go back to sleep after that."
Lauren pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head furiously. "No, I Lauren. Not cub. I Lauren.
"It's, it's a nickname?" Ally asked. "Like, like Lolo?"
Dinah nodded. "Yeah, it's just a nickname. I don't mean anything bad by it," she assured, smiling softly at the girls. "I do think Ally and little Nala here should take a nap before we go," she said to Normani.
Ally frowned and watched the couple skeptically. "Go where?"
Normani smiled reassuringly. "There's a park around the block we can walk to. What do you and Lauren think about going there today?"
Lauren, who had been giving Dinah her best angry glare for calling her 'Nala', started bouncing on her feet and clapped enthusiastically.
Ally considered the question for a moment, and then nodded excitedly. "Are there, are there swings? I like them a lot."
"Yep, there are swings," Dinah said as she filled two cups of juice for the girls. "And some slides, and monkey bars. I'm pretty sure this park also has a sandpit."
"Dinah also bought some stuff to take with," Normani added. "But you'll see that later. Right now, the two of you need to eat breakfast."
The two girls settled on eating cereal and some cut up fruit, and then afterwards went to watch tv in the living room while Dinah and Normani ate their own breakfast.
"We can leave them alone in there for like ten minutes, right?" Dinah questioned.
Normani shrugged noncommittally. "Probably. Think the worst that can happen is Lauren falls off the couch."
"What were you doing in the laundry room?"
"Putting the girls' sheets and stuff to wash. Lauren decided to take the lid off her water bottle and then dumped it all over the bed," Normani explained. "Figured I'd just throw everything into the wash. I'm still trying to figure out why she did it."
Dinah shrugged as she picked a couple of blueberries up to eat. "Kids do weird shit, Mani. There probably wasn't a reason."
"I mean, I guess."
The younger woman scoffed. "You're gonna tell me you didn't do weird things for no explainable reason as a kid?"
"Of course I am. I was perfect."
Dinah hummed and quirked an eyebrow. "Uh huh, sure. I'm gonna call your mom and ask for home videos."
Normani narrowed her eyes threateningly. "Don't you even dare think about it."
The younger woman smirked. "Well, I wasn't going to, but now I will. What have you been hiding from me, Mani?"
"Not anything that you need to know about."
They finished their own breakfasts, and then went to check on the girls.
Dinah laughed quietly as she saw Lauren in the recliner, curled up in a ball and fast asleep. Ally was contently lying on the couch and watching whatever cartoon she had chosen.
"I thought about suggesting we get a puppy, but I think Lauren is way cuter than one."
Normani scoffed in disbelief. "Like you could be responsible enough for a puppy."
The younger woman glared and shoved Normani's shoulder. "Excuse you. I've kept you alive for years."
"Well, we're not getting a puppy right now. That'll be a discussion for another day."
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Lauren held onto Dinah's pinky as they walked across the park field. Ally and Normani were just ahead of them. "We pway?" she asked, pointing towards the play structure.
Dinah nodded. "Sure. You and Ally can play for a bit, and then we'll have lunch."
It was a pleasant, if cool, mid morning. Some clouds provided coverage but didn't threaten rain, perfect for their outing.
Lauren frowned and kicked a rock as they walked. "But, but you pway wif?"
Dinah hummed, lightly swinging her and Lauren's arms. "Of course, little lady."
Lauren scrunched her nose at the term, still not quite understanding of nicknames.
"What do you want to play first?" Dinah questioned. "There's the swings, play structures, or the sandpit. Plus, Mani and I brought some stuff."
Lauren tilted her head curiously, and Ally asked, "Like what?"
"Well, there's some buckets and shovels for the sandpit," Normani answered, motioning to the bag she had been carrying and set down when they reached a table under the veranda. "I think there's a soccer ball, and some giant jenga blocks."
"Oh, I like kicking a soccer ball," Ally said.
Lauren nodded excitedly. "Me, too."
"Do you guys want to start with that?" Dinah asked. She opened the bag and rummaged through it for the ball.
Lauren and Ally both nodded and followed the tall blonde a little ways away from the veranda and out into the field.
"I'm going to stay right here," Normani said.
"Fine, be boring," Dinah retorted. She set the ball on the ground and gently kicked it towards Ally.
Ally, in turn, kicked the ball towards Lauren.
Lauren whiffed on a kick, and the ball rolled a few steps behind her. She ran back and then charged ahead to kick it, but missed, and her forward momentum mixed with a wildly uncoordinated kicked sent her toppling to the ground. She landed on her butt with an, "Oof," and sat with a very confused look on her face, processing what just occurred.
Dinah waited anxiously, not knowing what to expect for a reaction. "Lauren?" she called hesitantly.
Lauren burst into a fit of giggling before she declared, "'gain! 'gain!" She quickly stood up and tried to kick the ball, her tongue poking out as she concentrated. This time she did manage to kick the ball and send in a vague direction towards Dinah and Ally.
Their game eventually turned into Dinah and Ally kicking the ball to each other with Lauren attempting to stop it, running back and forth between them and chasing the ball, giggling madly. Eventually, the younger girl plopped to the ground, breathing heavily.
Dinah put her foot on the ball to stop it rolling and set her hands on her hips, watching as Ally came to stop next to Lauren. "Let's go get something to drink from Mani, and then maybe we can move to the swings?"
Ally nodded and ran back to where Normani had been watching them.
Dinah picked the ball up and walked over to Lauren, who just lifted her arms up. Shaking her head, Dinah bent down and scooped Lauren up into her arms. "A little cub is too tired to walk, huh?" she asked as she headed towards the table, kicking the ball along as she went. "Did you at least have fun?"
Lauren nodded. "Swings?"
"Yeah, let's get a drink, and then we can go over to the swings," Dinah promised. "I'm sure by then it'll be a good time for lunch."
After they had gotten drinks, Dinah began to lead the girls over to the swings. Normani joined them this time.
"Oh, I see how it is," Dinah teased, nudging her wife's hip. "I have to do the hard, physical work. You join in for the easier activities."
"Getting sweaty is gross," Normani defended.
Dinah hummed skeptically. "Mhmm, sure." She leaned in closer to the older woman and murmured, "Because that's totally stopped you from jumping me after I get home from the gym."
Normani gasped incredulously, and shoved the younger woman forward. "You are absolutely the worst."
Dinah only laughed and went on ahead with Ally and Lauren.
Ally had to jump and pull herself up onto the swing, but she managed it on her own and held onto the safety chains as Dinah gave her a gentle push.
Lauren struggled to pull herself up onto a swing, and eventually settled for laying over it on her belly.
Normani chuckled softly. "Here, Lauren, let me help you, yeah?" She picked the girl up and settled her on the swing. "Okay, you gotta hold on tightly so you don't fall," she stated.
Lauren nodded seriously, and then started giggling as Normani pushed her. She kicked her legs as she swung back and forth.
They stayed that way for a while, Normani and Dinah keeping an eye on their stuff at the table, and eventually Ally wanted to stop.
"Miss, DJ, Miss Mani, I'm hungry," she said as she hopped off the swing.
Dinah nodded as Normani helped Lauren off the swing. "I think lunch time sounds perfect," she said.
Dinah was a little surprised when Ally took her hand without a word, but didn't say anything, opting to lead the girl back to their spot with Normani and Lauren following behind.
Dinah set up a blanket on the grass and Normani set out the food they brought. After lunch and everything had been cleared away, Lauren fell over onto her side and passed out. Ally seemed pretty close behind, though she tried to keep her eyes open.
"You can take a little rest, Ally," Normani assured. "And then play again afterwards if you feel like it."
Apparently that was all the confirmation Ally needed to curl up next to Lauren and fall asleep.
Dinah sat down after returning from throwing their trash away. She wrapped her arms around Normani as the older woman settled in her lap. "I think today was pretty good."
Normani nodded as she laid her head on Dinah's shoulder. "Agreed. We'll have to do it again. I think it's good to get them out of the house."
Dinah hummed her agreement but remained quiet in thought. "You know, one of these days, we might have to introduce them to our moms."
Normani groaned dramatically. "Don't. Don't do that to me. I'm not ready for that."
Dinah laughed and rubbed Normani's back soothingly. "I'm just saying." She bit her lip and then said, "You know, if it's a possibility, I would love them staying with us forever."
Normani smiled softly. "I want that, too. We'll just have to wait and see."
They lapsed into comfortable silence after that, ready to enjoy the rest of their afternoon.
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A/N: Hopefully you enjoyed, let me know what you think!
I'm 100% winging this and have no actual plot line planned out at this point so chapters are more than likely just gonna be random snapshots of the Hamilton-Hansen household.
See you in the next update. :)