(third person pov)
"Where's your brother, angel?" Ethan asked, turning around as his 5-year-old daughter climbed into the back seat. Mabel grinned, pulling her seat belt on.
"Detention," She said. Ethan sighed, shaking his head. "He said it's 'till 4, this time," Mabel told him as Ethan began to drive home.
"4," Ethan repeated. Mabel began laughing again. "What'd he do this time?" Ethan asked, referring to his 8-year-old.
"I think he put gum in his teacher's hair, I don't know that's what a guy in my class told me," Mabel said. "Kyle's gonna get suspended soon if he doesn't stop, daddy," Mabel said. Ethan sighed, coming to a stop at a red light.
"I know princess, but he just doesn't listen, does he?" Mabel giggled in the back and Ethan smiled. "I'll talk to him when I get him after detention," Ethan said, getting closer to home, where y/n was home, taking care of Grayson's kids while their parents were out on a second honeymoon.
"Is he gonna get grounded?" Mabel asked. Ethan pulled into the driveway and raised his eyebrows. "Daddy he should get grounded, he stole my Halloween candy!" Mabel whined, pulling her seatbelt off.
"That's for me and mommy to decide," Ethan said, getting out and helping the child get out of the car. "And your bag?" Ethan said, handing the kindergartener her backpack. Mabel took it and they made their way to the front door, keys jingling in Ethan's pocket.
"Daddy, that's not fair!" She exclaimed as they walked into the house. Ethan chuckled, lifting her up. She frowned at him as he sat her on the kitchen counter, house silent. "Daddy, put me down," She said, pointing to the ground, too afraid to jump.
"I don't know," He teased, opening the cabinet to grab a glass. "You can jump?" He asked. Mabel's eyes widened as she stared down at the floor.
"Daddy!" She yelled. Ethan laughed, pulling her off the counter and onto the floor. She frowned up at him, tugging on his sweats as he filled his glass under the sink. "I want some too," She said. Ethan drank his water, rinsing his glass before filling up a plastic mug for her.
"There you go," He said. She drank the water and Ethan waited for her to finish before washing the glass. "Where's everyone?" Ethan asked. Mabel shrugged and reached her hand up to him. He took it and they walked out of the kitchen, hand in hand.
"Mommy!" Mabel yelled as they walked down the hall, Ethan's strides significantly shorter so his angel could keep up with him. "Mommy!" She yelled. Ethan smiled as they headed towards the bedroom, y/n curled up in bed with Gray's 3 kids. Mable giggled, looking up at her daddy.
"They're having nap time," She told him. Ethan nodded and she reached up to pull on the door to close it. He helped her and she blew her cousins and mom a kiss before shutting it completely.
"How should we kill time before we pick up Kyle?" Ethan asked her. She thought for a second, hands on her hips. "You got any homework?" He asked, picking up her bag that she'd dropped on the floor. She watched him set it high up on a counter, opening it.
"I forgot," She said as Ethan pulled out her container of oranges. Ethan frowned, setting them on the table. "Whoops," She said, looking up at him to check if he was mad.
"Okay, let's start by finishing these, hm?" He asked. She nodded and Ethan picked her up, carrying her to the living room couch. "What do you wanna watch?" He asked as she turned on the tv while he pried open her container.
"Daddy and Uncle Gray," She said, pulling up their channel on youtube. Ethan smiled as he leaned back onto the couch, Mabel crawling into his lap. "My favorite," She said, leaning back into his chest.
One of the twins' older videos popped up, indeed her favorite. She watched Grayson planning to surprise her daddy with his dream motorcycle. "Ah?" Ethan asked, asking Mabel to open her mouth. Eyes on the screen, Mabel let Ethan feed her the oranges, chewing on the pieces slowly.
"Daddy, you're so sleepy!" She said. Ethan chuckled, putting a piece into his mouth. "I wanna bike like that," She told him, pointing to the screen.
"I don't think so, princess," Ethan said with a smile. She frowned at him. "You can ride your own bike, the one in the garage," Ethan told her. Mabel sighed.
"Uncle Gray didn't velcro his shoes," She said, shaking her head. "He's gonna trip and fall," She said. Ethan laughed, closing the container, last orange stuffed in his mouth.
"Alright princess, why don't you go hang out with your cousins?" He asked her. She frowned up at him as he turned off the tv. "It's raining outside, I don't want my angel getting sick," He said as he kissed her head.
"But I wanna come get Kyle too, daddy!" She yelled as Ethan pulled her off his lap. He shook his head. "Please?" She asked, running in between his legs, in attempt to stop him from getting up. He chuckled.
"No can do, princess," He said, standing up. She stumbled backwards, hands on her hips. "Go wake up your mommy and tell her I went to go get Kyle from detention, okay?" He asked. She shook her head.
"Nope," She said tugging on his hoodie. "Daddy please!" She yelled. Ethan crouch down to her level.
"C'mon princess, just go wake up your mommy, and start your homework, and daddy'll be home before you know it," He said, kissing her cheek. She sighed, following him to the door. "I promise I'll be back, maybe even with candy," He added with a wink.
"Pinky promise?" She asked him. He nodded, as she stuck out her finger. He wrapped his pinky in hers and looked at her.
"Pinky promise."
---
"So," Ethan started as Kyle climbed into the car. Kyle let out a sigh and Ethan shook his head. "Wanna tell me what's up?" He asked. Kyle shrugged.
"Nothing," The third-grader grumbled. Ethan sighed, looking next to him, the kid's arms crossed over his chest. Knowing y/n would get upset to see him in the passenger seat, Ethan started the car.
"Well, clearly something's up, bud," Ethan said, heading towards the nearest store, the sound of the rain hitting the roof of the car. "What's going on?" Ethan asked him again.
"There's-" Kyle cut himself short. Ethan raised his eyebrows, turning to look at him at a red light. "There's this girl," Kyle started. Ethan laughed, making Kyle roll his eyes.
"You're 8, kiddo, what girl?" He asked. Kyle sighed, sinking down in his seat. "Okay, I'm sorry, continue," Ethan said, shaking his head, smile on his face, relieved at how small this matter really was.
"Well the girl, she, I like her and she likes funny guys so I was tryna be funny dad," Kyle said as Ethan parked. Ethan smiled, shaking his head. "What?"
"Getting detention isn't the way to do it, kiddo," Ethan said, pulling his hood up and motioning for Kyle to do the same.
"But she laughed!" Kyle exclaimed as they got out of the car, Ethan locking it behind him. "Are we running?" Kyle asked him. Ethan nodded and they laughed, running down the street and into the store, trying not to get wet.
"Crap," Ethan said, shaking off his hoodie as he pulled his hood down. Kyle laughed and did the same as his dad. "Okay but, getting in trouble isn't the only way to be funny," Ethan said. Kyle shrugged, following him into the store.
"Well I don't know how else to do it," Kyle said as Ethan headed to the candy section. "What're we doing here anyway?" Kyle asked, running his fingers through his hair.
"Mabel wanted some," Ethan said. Kyle rolled his eyes and leaned against the shelf as Ethan crouched down to check out the candy.
"And so yeah, it's fine, it's only detention," Kyle said, shrugging it off. Ethan shook his head, standing up, bag of Fuzzy Peaches in his hand.
"You're gonna get suspended if you keep this up," Ethan said. Kyle rolled his eyes. "Yes you are, gum in your teacher's hair, really man?" Ethan asked as they headed towards self-checkout.
"Well how else am I supposed to be funny?" Kyle asked as Ethan swiped his card. Ethan looked down at him. "Dad."
"Make a fool out of yourself," Ethan said. Kyle rolled his eyes. "Girls love that."
"How do you know?" Kyle asked as they pulled their hood up, heading towards the store entrance. Ethan smirked, as they got ready to run.
"I got your mom, didn't I?"
---
"Daddy," Mabel whispered, shaking on her dad's arm. She shook harder and his grip on y/n loosened, making him wake up.
"Mabel?" He asked, eyes opening. He sat up on the bed, where he and y/n had fallen asleep after tucking their kids, as well as Gray's, into bed. "What's wrong, angel?" He asked, voice raspy. He looked up to check the time: 1:30 in the morning.
"Daddy," She began, voice cracking as she started to cry. Ethan sighed, standing up as a yawn escaped him.
"Did you have a bad dream, princess?" He asked as she led him to her room. "Princess?" He asked.
"I-" She cried as Ethan turned her light on, an evident wet spot on her baby pink sheets.
"Oh, princess," Ethan said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Mabel started crying all over again as she stared down at the mess she'd made on accident. Ethan sighed. "It's okay, princess, it's okay."
"I'm sorry," She cried. Ethan shook his head, crouching down to pull her into him. "It was an accident, I pinky promise!" She exclaimed. Ethan smiled and shook his head.
"It's okay, princess, it happens," He said, wrapping his pinky around her's anyway. She nodded, hiccupping as he wiped her tears away. "How 'bout you go to the bathroom and then change into some clean pajamas, and daddy'll figure this out?" He asked. She nodded. Ethan kissed her head, brushing down her messy hair before she walked off towards the bathroom she shared with her brother.
Ethan stared at the mess before taking off her sheets, throwing them into a pile on the floor, blanket joining. Once noticing that the mess had seeped through to her mattress, Ethan sighed, knowing she'd have to sleep with them tonight.
He tossed the sheets into the washer downstairs, making a mental note to wash them in the morning and headed back upstairs, Mabel all dressed, frowning at the wet mattress.
"I ruined it," She whispered. Ethan shook his head as she started crying all over again. Ethan sighed, lifting her up, turning the lights off as they left her room.
"It's okay, princess, don't worry about it," He whispered, kneeling on the bed he shared with y/n, careful not to wake her up. "Go sleep with mommy, I'll be right back," He whispered, watching her crawl under the covers.
Ethan checked on the others before making his way back, only to find, y/n sitting up, rubbing her eyes. He sighed, crawling in next to Mabel, now curled up into her mother's side. "What happened?" She asked, voice barely above a whisper. Ethan shook his head, helping her back down.
"Don't worry about it," He whispered, as she layed back in bed. "I'll tell you in the morning," He continued as she nodded.
"Okay," Y/N replied before falling right back to sleep. He kissed her on the head before laying down himself. Ethan turned to the child laying next to him, all curled, mouth open as soft breaths left her.
"Sweet dreams princess."