It had almost been a miracle they kept it up this long. When the pandemic had hit and they were doing press from home nearly everyday, both of them just knew they would forget to move a toy or something would happen to make people figure it out. There were a few close calls, like the time she and Emmy both got sick on a day Daveed was swarmed with zoom meetings. Luckily though, he was able to get out of the ones that needed video, and no one found out before they were ready.
They never really planned on doing this, but to be fair, they didn't plan her either. When Emmy found out she was pregnant 5 years ago, it was the last thing she was expecting. What she thought was a prolonged stomach bug ended up being a little girl. At the time, she and Daveed had just began to share their relationship and fans weren't going easy on Emmy. She knew that her being pregnant would just add on to the dogpile, and she wanted to protect her daughter from that.
Since then, nobody outside of their friends or family knew that Ella existed or even that Emmy had been pregnant, for that matter. Daveed and Emmy didn't go to the extremes of locking her in the house, but they were careful to not post her on social medias or take her where they knew there'd be paparazzi.
That all was trickier now that Ella had turned 5. She was a smart little girl with all the questions, and she wanted to go everywhere with her parents. Daveed and Emmy wanted her to be with them all the time as well, but they weren't sure how to navigate this.
Today, however, was the premiere of the new Little Mermaid, so they decided that there wouldn't be a better time to rip off the bandaid. Ella had seen the first movie already, and was so excited that her daddy was in this one. She had told all their friend's kids the news before the announcement even came out.
Emmy was currently making breakfast for the big day. All three of them were excited for different reasons. Daveed for being able to have his whole family there, Ella for the movie itself, and Emmy because today marked how far they'd come as both a couple and a family.
Daveed entered the kitchen and sat on a barstool. She hadn't seen him come in so he just watched her for a minute.
It wasn't until she put a pot of oatmeal on the stove that she turned around.
"God, you scared me," Emmy jumped with her oven mitts still on.
"Sorry babe," Daveed responded, "It smells good in here."
Emmy grinned and walked over to him. She stood behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You smell good too," Emmy murmured. She kissed his cheek before backing away.
"Wait," Daveed said before she could leave. He hooked his arm around her waist and brought her down to kiss him. The kiss lingered and both of them got lost in one another. Daveed rose off the stool still kissing her.
Emmy's back was against the island when the sound of tiny footsteps broke them apart. Ella, Luna, and Moose raced into the kitchen all at once. Ella's sweet giggle flooded the room, interrupting the heavy breathing.
"Is it time for mermaids?" The little girl exclaimed hopefully.
"Not quite," Daveed said, picking her up mid run. He threw her into the air a couple times which granted him more giggles.
Emmy watched the two of them play before a lightbulb went off in her head. "Shoot," she said before racing to the stove.
"What?" Daveed turned as he caught Ella once more.
Emmy held up the pot of burnt oats with an oven mitt. "Forgot about the oats," she said as she held back a laugh.
"I... can't say I'm mad at that," Daveed said with a smirk, "What do you say we go get coffee?" He asked his daughter.
"Cake pop?" Ella asked back with big puppy dog eyes.
"I think today would be a great day for cake pops," Daveed responded, knowing that he would've said yes anyways. He bounced her though the living room so they could get ready for the day.
Hours later, it was finally time to start getting dressed for the premiere. So much had been leading up to this moment, and Emmy was starting to feel the nerves set in. She sat on the edge of her and Daveed's bed, watching while he got ready.
"I feel like I'm just throwing my baby to the wolves," Emmy thought out loud. She still didn't like red carpets herself, and those nerves coupled with the nerves of this big announcement were sending her over the edge.
Daveed came out of the bathroom straightening his tie. He stood in front of her. "This is going to be good, Em," he said as he rubbed her shoulder, "There's going to be so many people there, she'll be in one picture at most. We can't hide her forever."
"I know," Emmy nodded, slouching her shoulders. She still couldn't help but be nervous. As much as she wanted to not care about what people could think, the thoughts still rung in her ears.
Just then, Ella burst into their room holding her teal dress. "Can I put it on now?" She said in a repetitive fashion. This dress as well as purple earrings had been picked out for months.
Seeing her excitement immediately took all Emmy's nerves away. This night was about Daveed's accomplishments and their family, and she just needed to keep that in focus.
Emmy crossed the hall into Ella's room and helped her put both the dress and earrings on. The pair then moved to the vanity to do her hair. Emmy pulled Ella's hair in a half up-half down style while she waited patiently.
"Mommy?" Ella looked through the mirror.
"Yes honey?" Emmy responded.
"Will Ariel be there?" She asked hopefully.
"She will," Emmy grinned, "And guess what? Daddy and Ariel are friends so you'll get to meet her."
"Daddy is friends with Ariel!" Ella jumped out of the chair, "The real life Ariel?" Ella could hardly contain her excitement now.
Emmy finished the last piece of her hair. "Yep, the real life Ariel," Emmy nodded, "Let's go find Daddy so we can go."
Emmy was the last person to get ready, and just like that they were pulling out of the driveway to head there.
When they finally arrived at the premiere, hundreds of paparazzi swarmed their car from the minute they pulled up. Daveed stepped out first, and since he was in the movie, he was enough to keep them distracted so Emmy and Ella could walk behind.
The carpet was fairly standard. Stars walked, posed, and moved on while paparazzi yelled so many names that you could hardly understand them.
Emmy mostly stayed behind Daveed and let him do his thing. Like most 5 years olds would be, Ella was pretty scared of all the camera flashes and yelling. She clung to Emmy and buried her head in her mother's shoulder. The carpet seemed to go on forever, and Emmy was beginning to wish she just skipped it and went to their seats. This was especially the case when they wanted pictures of her and Daveed and she had to put Ella down.
"Is Ariel here yet?" Ella kept asking. She would lift her head just slightly to peek over Emmy's shoulder.
"Not yet," Emmy answered, "Hopefully we'll see her soon."
At last, they were making it towards the end of the carpet. Daveed snuck a peek behind him and saw Emmy carrying Ella. Going in, he knew he wanted a picture with her to remember this night, and he knew that now was the time.
"Ella," he called and she immediately picked her head up.
Daveed called her over and picked her up on his hip. "1.. 2...3... Say cheese," he told her. Ella smiled widely, looking like a perfect mix of her Mom and Dad. She posed confidently for the camera.
Emmy looked on at her little family. "Aww" was fired all around them from people she didn't even know were watching. Her own heart could hardly handle it. She'd been on so many carpets with Daveed where they left Ella at home, and it felt special to have her here.
The three of them reunited off the carpet in the space set for all the stars to mingle. "We did it," Daveed smiled at his wife.
Emmy wrapped her arm around him to pull both of them into a hug. "We did," she smiled proudly.
"Mermaid time?" Ella looked up between them.
"Let's see if we can find Ariel," Daveed grinned. He looked around the space, knowing that Halle was probably here by now.
When he spotted her, she was in the midst of any interview, so he waited to go up to her. It was hardly any use because when she spotted him, she immediately ran over, ending the interview early.
"Daveed!" Halle shrieked and moved as fast as she could in heels. "Emmy!" She pulled both of them into a hug. When she pulled back, her attention was on the little girl Daveed was carrying. "And who is this?"
"This is Ella," Daveed showed her off, "Our daughter." Ella waved although she didn't know Halle.
"Shut the fuck up," Halle gasped before immediately covering her mouth, "Oh my god, sorry, wait, gosh, sorry."
Both Daveed and Emmy burst out laughing. "She's heard some bad words," Emmy said with a pointed look at Daveed.
"How did you just not tell me you had a whole daughter?" Halle asked. She was in a complete state of shock considering the months they had spent together in London while shooting.
"We weren't really telling anyone who hadn't met her," Daveed shrugged, "And word can move fast on set."
"Well, hi Ella. It's so nice to meet you. My name is Halle," Halle gave her signature smile.
"Ariel?" Ella asked one last time, looking up at her Mommy.
"That's her!" Emmy could finally give the answer Ella had been waiting for. She didn't even bother explaining that Halle only acted as Ariel. The magic didn't need to be ruined just yet.
Ella reached out to Halle. "It's the real Ariel," she exclaimed happily.
Halle let out an aww and hugged her. "You're such a sweet girl."
"I think you're her favorite princess," Emmy grinned at the two of them, "She's been waiting for this for months."
"Are you excited?" Halle asked animatedly.
"Yes," Ella perked up, "Mommy got me my own mermaid tail."
Halle grinned and stepped closer to whisper in her ear. "I heard they're going to pass out some at the end."
Ella opened her mouth widely and then began to hit Daveed playfully, "Let's go, let's go, let's go."
With that, all of them walked into the premiere and found their seats, all right next to each other. Ella had been practically bouncing on the walk in. Daveed had put her down and she took off.
"Can I sit next to Ariel, Mommy?" Ella patted Emmy's knees. Her seat was between Daveed and Emmy but she was crossing her little fingers that Daveed would let her sit between him and Halle. She looked over hopefully as Halle mingled with some other stars.
"I don't see why not," Emmy shrugged, "Ask Daddy to scoot down for you."
Ella walked up to her father and patted his knees just like she did Emmy. "Daddy, Mommy said scoot down."
Daveed gasped wildly. "She did?" He pretended to be shocked, "Does Mommy want to sit next to me?"
Ella nodded her head in the most innocent way possible.
"I guess I can move down," Daveed continued the bit. He stood up and Ella quickly slid into his seat.
"Missed me?" He smirked at Emmy once he saw that. He wrapped his arm around her to pull her close.
Emmy shook her head, "She missed her new friend." She pointed at Ella who had already gotten Halle's attention back.
The movie started shortly after and everyone got comfortable in their seats. Daveed's arm was still around Emmy and she leaned into him now. Ella's eyes were fixed on the movie and her parents kept sneaking glances to get her reactions. So far, she had been smiling the whole time.
"I'm glad we did this," Emmy whispered into his ear at the lowest volume, "She's having a blast."
"She might enjoy the spotlight more than us," Daveed continued to whisper. He looked over and Ella was singing along now, quietly but still singing.
"I know," Emmy agreed, "We need to a picture to remember this when she's at her own premieres."
Daveed smiled to himself. He was hoping she'd say that. He started to fish for something in his pocket until he pulled out a Polaroid. It was the picture of Ella on his hip on the carpet. She looked like his mini me. On the strip of white, someone had written the date.
"One of the photographers slipped this to me earlier," Daveed said.
"Aww," Emmy said a bit too loudly before catching herself. She raised her hands to hold the photo as well. "This is perfect."
Daveed rubbed Emmy's shoulder as the two sat contently for the rest of the movie. They couldn't have asked for a better night. It had been a long time coming, but their 5 year secret was finally out and it honestly felt like perfect timing. Every time Daveed and Emmy looked at their daughter, they felt nothing but grateful that she was here with them, and now that it was out, they were overjoyed to share her with the world.