Madelline entered the cozy dinner just a few blocks from their house, where her father has been waiting. He asked her to join him since as she quotes, "I'm too lazy to cook anything. Join me here," and of course, who was she to deny free food?
"Hey," Madelline called out as soon as she neared him. She leaned down to plant a peck on his cheek before sitting down in front of him. "Sorry, I'm late."
"No, you weren't that late. I also ordered you already six pieces of chicken wings and a garlic rice," he told her. A sound of approval escaped her lips as she gave him a thumbs up.
"Is there a side of sweet and sour flavored fries and coke?" She asked, hope lacing her voice.
"Duh, of course. I know your favorite."
"Oh my gosh, you're God-sent dad. Thank you!"
Elijah couldn't help but chuckle at how ironic her statement was. "Oh Madelline, if you only knew," he thought.
"How was school?" He asked.
"School's fine as usual. Actually, my grades for this quarter were really great, especially history and literature," she answered, a proud smile etched on her lips.
Elijah smirked proudly at his daughter and gave an approving nod. He didn't doubt that his daughter would get high grades, knowing how smart she was as it was one of the things she picked up on his late-wife. However, grades did not really matter to him that much as long as his daughter was okay.
"That's amazing! We got to drink on that," he winked discreetly at her, causing her to laugh out loud.
"You're really supporting me? Drinking?"
Elijah snorted and took a sip of his water before he looked back at her. "You got to learn somehow, and it's better that you learn it with me and not with someone else. Drinking is inevitable. Also, you can only drink underage with me, not with someone else." He pointed his index finger at her as a warning.
She raised her hands up in mock surrender but not before sending her father a teasing look and wiggled her eyebrows at him. Elijah couldn't help but shake at his daughter's cheekiness and chuckle just in time for the food to come.
The two immediately took a bite, both of them letting out sounds of delight and shared a look. They soon engaged into a conversation where they caught up one another with work, school, people they hate, and where they plan on having their summer soon.
"Hold up, I have a question." Elijah narrowed his eyes at her as he brings down the fork and knife on his plate. "What's the deal with you and Jasper? Are you like... together or what?" He casually asked as he took a sip of his drink.
Madelline's eyes narrowed at his question, swallowing her food down. "Real smooth, dad. Real smooth."
"Oh come on," he whined. "I need gossips or some love problems because your father ain't have one," he huffed as he propped his chin on top of his hands.
Madelline chuckled at her father and took a sip of her coke before she looked back at him. Elijah was the type of father that approves of his children having a boyfriend or girlfriend as long as they don't forget their academics. He sometimes acts like a best friend and in Madelline's case, both a mother and best friend, which isn't something new to her. She was, indeed, a lucky daughter for having him as Elijah wasn't like any others.
Elijah looked at his daughter with his eyebrows raised in expectations, waiting for her to speak up about her love life to him.
"We're doing good. We established already that we like each other and decided to take everything slow and chill."
"Please tell eme that you kissed after confessing."
"Dad!"
"Come on, tell me," he whined.
People around them started to look at him with ridicule upon hearing his voice; nevertheless, Madelline and Elijah ignored their looks as they continued on with their topic.
"Yes, we kissed. Seriously? This is so hard to talk with you because it's awkward," Madelline pouted as her cheeks started heating up in embarrassment and shyness, causing Elijah to laugh.
"I'm happy for you, really, and I'm glad it's with Jasper. I know I'm acting really weird because I easily approved of this Jasper kid, but I think Jasper is a really nice kid and knows what his limits are, which some kids lack nowadays," he said.
"Also, I'm happy that he's not rushing you into anything. You've like known each other for months now and he's been consistent and nice. He gains brownie points too for calling me a doctor and Mr. even though I hate when he calls me the latter because I feel so old, but I appreciate him being formal and polite," he added.
(a/n consent is everything 📢)
"Oh wow," she breathed out. She doesn't know what to say after he finished. Elijah wasn't much of an open person, so when he expressed his thoughts about Jasper, her heart couldn't help but swell at his words.
"But, don't try anything," he gave her a knowing look. "There's a lot of time for that and I know you know what I'm talking about."
"Of course, dad."
"On the other hand, are you okay? Like physically and mentally okay? You're not stressing and overworking yourself with your studies? Am I giving you too much of a hard time?"
Madelline couldn't help but chuckle at his continuous question, yet grateful that he checks up on her despite his busy schedule. " I'm alright, dad. I know how to take a break to prevent myself from burning out and you're not giving me a hard time. You're amazing," she answered as she gave him a soft smile.
He sighed in relief and returned her the smile. "Let me know if you need anything, okay? Don't hesitate to talk to me. I'll be your father and mother at the same, heck even a best friend and a sibling!"
"Oh dad... thank you so much."
The two shared a look only they could decipher. It could be about their emotions and thoughts they couldn't articulate, but with just one look, they already know. Some words were better left unspoken and, even if they couldn't say it, they were always a firm believer of 'actions are better than words.'
They weren't the type of people who tends to open up to one another every time and since they were the only ones in their family, it has the tendency to feel lonely but they got hold of it soon enough. What matters now was that they have one another.
So, when times like this does happen, where they show their vulnerability to one another just for once—they cherish it. The words. The place. The foods. The ambiance—everything. It was and would always be a special moment for them. You know what they say, right? Family were always and forever.
♡
hi! so i removed the madelline and jasper scene because i want to focus on their father-daughter bonding because i think i lacked on showing their relationship to each other.
about the quarter thing though, idk how school system works outside of philippines but in here, there's four quarters in one school year so i based it on that.
that's it! please enjoy the chapter and stay safe always 💓