Pov y/n
Two days later it's unexpectedly warm, even warmer than usual around this time of year in LA, so Rose asks me to go to the beach. I agree happily.
Scarlett will join us later when she's done with working.
I carry a basket with water, snacks, beach toys and towels as Rose skips towards the beach next to me.
It's around noon and the sun is really quite warm.
But luckily, the beach isn't very full, only a few people lay in the sand and sun bath, one or two children playing in the sand.
I assume it's because the houses around here are all pretty big and probably expensive, so not a lot of people can afford to live here and the ones that do are all more or less famous, so I'm guessing that there is security at certain parts of the beach, so there won't be a bunch of fans lingering in front of celebrities' houses.
Rose decides on a fitting spot and I put down the basket and get the towels out for us to sit on.
"Look, Mama, a big wave." Rose says and points towards the sea. I look and smile.
"That really is a big wave." I agree and we watch as it breaks and sloshes onto the sand.
"Can we go into the water today?" Rose asks as I sit down on my towel. I look from her to the sea and towards the sky.
"I don't know, Rosie. It's not really that warm and the water is also still kinda cool. We can put our feet in the water and if it's not too cold, we can see if we can do a quick swim, okay?" I offer and Rose thinks about it before agreeing.
I pull my t-shirt over my head and remove the pants since it's pretty warm in the sun, leaving me in a bathing suit. Rose also gets out of her dress. She wears a swimsuit today, that is a little longer and has sleeves that cover her shoulders and a bit of her arms as well as the half of her thighs. Scarlett said it'll keep her warmer in case we decide to take a swim.
We already put sunscreen on, so we don't have to take care of that anymore.
Rose looks inside the basket to see what I brought and with a smile pulls out a bucket and a little shovel.
"Will you build a sandcastle with me?" She asks and I nod, grabbing a bucket and a shovel as well. I was actually hoping to lay around in the sun a little bit but I guess we are building a sandcastle now.
Rose looks for the perfect spot near our towels and starts to shovel sand into her bucket.
Since it doesn't stick, she runs to the ocean and adds a little water to it before turning the bucket around and making the first little tower in the sand.
We spend the next half hour or so with running between the water and the castle, building up higher.
Rose pads down the sides to shape the castle a little while coming up with a story who lives in the castle.
She decides there live two princes together and two princesses. They love each other (the princes each other and the princesses each other) and go on big adventures together.
It makes me smile a lot to hear Rose talking about two boys and two girls loving each other as if it's the most common thing in the world. Which it is but a lot of people have trouble accepting that and here I am with my seven-year-old who makes up a story about two gay couples and I couldn't be prouder.
Once the castle is to Rose's liking, she wants to build them a swimming pool. I have the job to bring water to her while she digs a hole. When it's enough for the royalty to swim in, I pour the water into it and watch as it seeps away.
Rose frowns a little.
"I thought it would stay in the hole." She says and looks unsatisfied to me.
"Well, there's nothing holding it there. Like, in a pool there are walls that keep the water inside." I try to explain.
"But there's water in the ocean and there are no walls." Rose points out and I nod.
You should think with three years of studying marine biology, you should be able to easily answer this kind of questions but no. I struggle a bit to come up with an answer that Rose will understand.
"That's because there is so much water and all the sand on the ground is already wet through and through, so the water has nowhere else to go." I explain and watch Rose's reaction to see if she understands. She hums and her eyebrows scrunch up a little in thought.
"But why doesn't it seep into the sand at the beach?" She asks and I look at the sea.
"It doesn't quite reach it." I say, unsure about my own answer.
"It could seep into the whole continent and then there would be no water anymore, right?" Rose asks and I smile a little.
"Well, not quite. You see, the earth consists to around 66% percent of water and only 33% percent of land, so there is more water than land." I explain and Rose hums.
"But what happens to the water of the rain? It also rains on land, where does it go? Doesn't it pool underneath the surface then?" She asks further and I smile softly at her sudden curiosity.
"It goes into the ground and through many, many layers of dirt and rocks and after a lot of years, it's filtered so clean that we can drink it. That's where our tap water comes from." I explain and Rose nods before her eyes light up with a new idea.
"Does that mean, if I dig deep enough, I could reach water?" She asks excitedly and I nod.
"That's what it means." I confirm and she scrambles to get up, not minding to dust off the sand from herself.
I watch as she walks a few steps further towards the sea and starts digging another hole and chuckle, this could keep her occupied for quite a while.
I go back to our towels and lay down, keeping my eyes on Rose as she walks to the sea to get water to pour it into the hole, so the sand from the side won't always fall back into it.
She seems determined to find water and it's adorable to watch.
Slowly but surely she makes progress and now the hole is deep enough for her to stand in and it reaches up to her calves.
I get out my book and get comfortable. With Rose occupied, I am able to relax a little and read my book. Every few minutes I look what she's doing to be sure she's okay.
She knows not to go into the water without an adult and follows that rule, only getting close to get some water for her construction.
After a few chapters, I put the book aside and watch as Rose crawls out of the whole that now reaches up to her hip. It looks entertaining and since she still has fun, I am happy.
I take a few pictures of her work and also get up to take some of our sandcastle.
"Are you taking pictures for Mommy?" Rose asks when I get closer and I smile.
"Yes but also so we can remember the sandcastle we build." I explain and Rose nods.
"Can you send Mommy a picture of the hole I dug?" She asks and I laugh a little and agree.
She holds up her in sand covered hands and smiles widely into the camera. I take a few pictures until she needs to go back to work.
She asks me to get her some water to drink and I do so, bringing her a sunhat as well, so she is a little more protected form the sun.
When I offer snacks, she declines and says she has work to do, so I let her get back to digging.
I lay on my stomach on the towel and send a picture of Rose to Scarlett before enjoying the sun and keeping an eye on Rose.
The pile of sand next to the hole grows and she slowly is less and less visible.
She climbs out of the whole and I have to hold back a little laugh when she robs on her stomach forward to get out. Her whole swim suit is covered in sand but she doesn't care and runs to the water, filling both buckets and pouring the water into the whole.
She does it a few more times and I assume it's because it's getting harder to get out of the whole with each time. Careful to not destroy everything, she slides back inside and continues the digging.
My phone buzzes and I see a text from Scarlett.
Scarlett: What are you two doing there? Why is she so dirty? XD
Y/n: She's digging a hole because she wants to find water
Scarlett: I need a bit more context I think
Y/n: A bit of a longer story
Scarlett: Alright. My little baby all dirty :(
I laugh at the obvious fake pout and shake my head.
Y/n: Then you shouldn't see her right now, she's all covered in sand XD
Scarlett: Oh, I can imagine, she always liked playing in the sand. You're the one responsible to clean her tonight tho ;)
Y/n: I can live with that and maybe I'll just take her into the ocean with me for a first clean, wouldn't want half the beach to end up in our bathroom.
Scarlett: Hahahaha, alright but the water is still a little cold, so don't stay in there to long
Y/n: Yes, mother -_-
Scarlett: XD <3
Y/n: <3
"Mama!"
I instantly drop my phone and my head shoots up to look at Rose. I can only see her head anymore and run over to her, worried something is wrong.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" I ask concerned but she just beams at me and looks down and when I follow her eyes, I see her feet splashing around in a tiny puddle of water.
"I found water." She tells me proudly and I internally take a deep breath, calming my racing heart down because I thought it was something bad.
"That's great, little dolphin, well done." I say and smile. She grins happily and splashes around a bit more.
"But I think I'm not able to get out of here." She tells me with a little giggle and I smile, adjusting her hat a little.
"Well, then I think you have to stay in there until you're taller." I tease and she laughs a little and raises her arms up.
I lean down and lift her out of the hole, which isn't easy because of the angle but I still manage. Rose proudly looks at the hole.
"I made it pretty deep." She says and I nod, brushing some sand off her skin.
"You really did." I agree and she smiles.
"But now I am hungry. Can I have a snack now?" She asks and grins up at me. I chuckle and caress her cheek, too much sand on her for receiving a kiss.
"Of course, you can baby." I answer and we walk back to our towels where I hand her a few boxes of fruits and some crackers.
After the little break, she has new energy and goes back to playing in the sand.
It's quite fun to watch her because she went over to playing Godzilla, creating many smaller sandcastles, each about two buckets big and then running through them, kicking them over and stepping onto them.
It is pretty adorable and after a while of watching, I ask if I can join and she allows it, so we destroy them together. When I pick her up, she squeals but giggles when I set her on top of the sand mountain she created when digging the whole. She stands up on it and is as tall as me, grinning.
"Look, I am all grown up now." She cheers and I laugh, bopping her nose.
"Yes, you are." I agree before she hops off and I pretend to look for her.
"Rose? Where did you go?" I ask and look around, hearing her giggle and tugging on my hand.
"I'm here, Mama." She giggles and I pretend to only find her now and pick her up, spinning us around and making her laugh.
"Can we go into the water now?" She asks when I set her down again and I nod. I knew that sooner or later she would want to go inside the water, we're at the beach after all.
"I have a little surprise for you. Do you remember how we practiced your diving last time when we were at the pool back in New York?" I ask and Rose nods excitedly as I lead her back to the basket.
"Look what I bought." I say and hold up two snorkel sets.
Her eyes grow big and she takes one into her hand. I explain to her what it is and how it's used and that she can look underwater with them.
She gets really excited and pulls me towards the water as I put my snorkel on as well.
"Remember, you can't dive too deep or otherwise the snorkel fills with water." I remind her and she nods, pulling down the goggles.
We step further down into the water and when it reaches up to her chest, I tell her she can try looking underwater now, so she can practice.
She does so and I watch her snorkel, making sure it's over the surface.
The water is cold but not as cold as at night and with the sun, it's actually quite okay.
I get flashbacks from going skinny dipping with Scarlett and heat rises between my legs, so I push those thoughts away, this is not the right moment or place.
Rose dives up again, grinning brightly.
"This is so cool! But there aren't many fish so close to the beach." She says and I nod.
"This is just so you can get used to the feeling. If you feel ready, we can go a little further out. But only as long as I can still reach the ground." I tell her and she nods.
Technically, Rose can swim but with the waves and everything, I don't want to put her in any danger.
I do have floaties with me but they kinda make it hard to snorkel, so I decided that I will just keep Rose up myself.
She starts swimming when her feet can't touch the ground anymore, before I offer my arm and she takes it, holding onto it as I pull her a little further out to the ocean.
When we reach a point where I can still stand but it's getting close to not being able to stand anymore, I stop and Rose wiggles her legs a little and pulls her goggles down.
I smile at her excitement and do the same.
One arm is wrapped around her to keep her up, just for safety as she looks underwater, the snorkel always above the surface.
I watch her for a few moments, making sure she is okay, before I look under water as well.
There are some smaller fish swimming around and I am completely in awe. It's been a while since I saw fish and it's just great to do now. Of course, this is not really snorkeling and not as good as diving but it is already pretty great and I feel a rush of excitement.
Rose points to a slightly bigger fish and I look at it with a smile.
We stay underwater for a while longer until we lift our heads above the water again.
I can tell that Rose's lips are slightly blue, indicating that she is cold.
I tell her we're getting out again and she whines a little, wanting to look at the fish some more but she understands that I don't want her to get sick, so she follows me when she reaches the ground again.
Out of the water it's a little chilly and I am quick to wrap a towel around Rose, to ensure she won't freeze.
I wrap one around myself and tug it into the front before packing the basket and nodding towards the house, telling Rose we're heading home.
She follows me and tells me about all the fish she saw.
I comment on a few things and willingly give her more information about some of the fish when she asks.
I love how interested she is in this, it's really cute and it makes me happy to share such a big interest of mine with her.
We arrive at the house at the same moment as Scarlett does and she smiles when she sees us.
Rose instantly starts telling Scarlett about what we did at the beach and about the castle we built. Scarlett listens with a smile and we go back inside. I let Scarlett take care of Rose because I am kinda cold now and quickly hop under the shower.
When I'm all warm and dressed again, I find Scarlett in the kitchen, preparing dinner.
"Rose is in the shower." She informs me and I nod, wrapping my arms around her from behind and resting my chin on her shoulder.
"What are you making?" I ask and look at the vegetables on the kitchen isle.
"Potatoes with nuggets and vegetables." She answers and I hum and kiss her neck in reply.
Scarlett puts the knife down and leans a little more into me, her fingers intertwining with mine.
"This is nice." She hums and I smile and kiss the spot underneath her ear, making her shudder a little.
"It really is. Even though I see you in the afternoon or evenings, I still miss you." I say and she turns around in my hold, her arms resting on my shoulders loosely.
"I miss you too. But we should wrap on Friday. Well, actually tomorrow, at least for my scenes but some of the others still have a few smaller ones on Friday and we all want to be there for the wrapping." She explains and I nod, feeling her hand move to the back of my neck, starting to play with some strains there that have fallen out of my ponytail.
"Will that actor be there that you..." I trail off, pressing my lips together but Scarlett still understands.
"The one I was rumored to date?" She asks and I nod.
"Yes, but the rest of the cast will also be there, so no worries. Besides, you're the only one I am interested in." She assures me and kisses me softly.
I sigh a little against her lips and return the kiss before leaning my forehead against hers.
"I know, I just don't like him." I mumble, feeling like an overly jealous girlfriend.
"And that's okay, you don't have to. You are allowed to dislike people or be jealous, that's totally okay and normal." She says and traces her fingers over my neck. I hum in response and she smiles softly before pecking my lips again.
"But speaking of working schedule. Since Rose knows a lot of the people who work with me on this project, I would like to take her to visit the set with me tomorrow. I have a pretty calm filming schedule and have enough time to spend with her and the rest of the time, she can spend with Lizzie or Flo or so." Scarlett says and I look at her surprised.
"Flo is also here?" I ask. This is the first time I hear of that.
"Yes but her schedule started a little later but therefore she now has a lot of filming to do. She's been pretty busy, that's why she wasn't able to visit. But you'll see her at Lizzie's wedding." Scarlett explains and I nod, drawing random shapes into her sides.
"Don't you also have Lizzie's bachelorette party tomorrow night?" I ask, remembering that Scarlett said something about this a few days back.
"Yes, it'll start around 6 pm. Well, at 7 but I have to prepare and stuff, you know." She answers and I nod.
Scarlett is one of Lizzie's bridesmaids and therefore has to plan the bachelorette party. When she told me about being a bridesmaid, I was very happy for her and congratulated her because I know how much it means to her.
"Why exactly are you doing it at a work night again?" I ask and Scarlett chuckles a little bit.
"Because Lizzie doesn't want to be hungover at her wedding, which I can understand. So, we made it two nights before, leaving us with Thursday night. Sure, we have work the next day but it's really more like sitting together and watching the last few scenes being shot. And since we are in none of them, it's enough for us to make an appearance there around noon." Scarlett explains and I nod slowly.
"That does make sense." I agree and she chuckles a bit.
"Glad you see it this way too." She says and pecks my lips.
"Are you okay with being on your own tomorrow?"
I nod and pull her a little closer, resting my head against her shoulder.
"I am, I'll find something to do, don't worry. I'm already a big girl." I tell her and she brushes over my back.
"A big girl that is already tired?" She teases lightly and I huff but press a kiss to her neck.
"It's been an exhausting day at the beach." I defend myself and she chuckles and kisses my temple.
"That's true. But would a big girl be excited over dino-nuggies for dinner?" She asks with a hint of a smirk in her voice and I stand up straight again, looking at her.
"We're having dino-nuggies?" I ask excitedly and she nods, brushing some hair out of my face as I smile widely. "Yay!"
Scarlett laughs a little and kisses the tip of my nose.
"You are adorable, angel, do you know that?" She asks softly and looks at me with adoring eyes. I shake my head and let go of her to go search for the dino-nuggies.
"Uhh, I saw a video on TikTok the other day, where they made a volcano out of mashed potatoes and put broccoli around it as trees and the dinos where also there and the sauce was the lava from the volcano." I explain, searching through the freezer for the nuggets. "Can we do that too, please?"
I turn around, holding up the nuggets and see Scarlett smiling softly at me, her eyes holding nothing but love.
"Sure, I can mash the potatoes but we also have peas and beans as vegetables beside the broccoli." She says and I nod in agreement.
"Those can be bushes or leaves." I say and start unwrapping the nuggets to put them on the tray. When I turn around, all ready, Scarlett still looks at me.
"What?" I ask, a little unsure why she's looking at me.
"Nothing, I just love you and the way you see things and how you let your inner child out around me." She explains and I blush a little.
"Yeah, I mean, I feel safe around you." I say and she nods, opening her arms for me and I walk over, hugging her and relaxing at her touch.
"And that means the world to me." She whispers into my ear before kissing it lightly.
My heart melts at her words and I smile against her shoulder, she really knows how to make me happy.
A/n: A really cute chapter :)
Also, I need vegetarian dino nuggets to make such a volcano as well, it sounds like fun!
Also, I will change the upload schedule for December to uploading: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
Because I will also upload on my smut advent calender daily and my professor x student story on three days a week.
Thanks for reading and love to you all <3