projectroxas | (no subject)

Cheated again and used one of the Writer's Choice slots on the

50_rps that I'm doing because I can, ohoho. And this takes place when A&B were around 11 & 9. Yep. Guessed on Damon's kid!personality but he was like... two years old so I just made him out as any other two year old haha.

49. Rain

Summer had finally come to a close and slowly the cooler, wetter weather started to settle in. Brianna was thankful for this fact, not really liking the sun as much as she liked the rain. Sure, she enjoyed basking in it in the spring, but anything hotter rendered Brianna unable to function properly. It was almost as if she were a flower that had to sit outside in the sun all day and ended up smoldering into nothing but wilted peddles, so when the first light rain started to drizzle upon the earth it was her cue to step outside and take it in.

After she was able to put both Liam and Nathan down for a nap, that is.

Nathan was rather difficult to persuade to take said naps, but only because he was fussy by that time and cried while making grabby hands up at Brianna (or Albert, if he were the one around.) He still wanted an ‘adult’ with him 24/7, clinging onto whoever was around at the time despite having his twin attached to his hip.

As for Liam, he just simply sat there calmly next to Nathan, entranced by the fact that he had fingers and toes. He was never as reluctant as long as Nathan was satisfied, which is why he was currently ignoring Brianna, distractedly half-flailing his arms when she tried to scoop him up.

“I will be back soon,” she tried to explain to Nathan when she finally got him to cooperate long enough, the child crying on the top of his lungs when she turned to walk outside of their nursery again.

Brianna blinked a few times and wandered back on over, bending over to peer into their large crib. A hand reached down to give Nathan something to latch onto, lip twitching upward slightly when he stopped his wailing and sucked on one of her fingers.

Since all was silent and she was sure that they would be asleep soon, Brianna began to hum a light lullaby for them, hoping that would ease them further into a deep slumber.

It didn’t take very long for her to have company; Albert poked his head from around the door, having been wandering around trying to find Brianna again after he was called in to the doctor’s study. He didn’t say anything, too entranced in her melody at the moment (it soothed and relaxed him without second thought) but he eventually stepped lightly inside, wandering in further to silently stand behind her.

“Hello, Albert,” she murmured underneath her breath, soft enough so that it would not disturb the now-sleeping children, but loud enough for her companion to hear.

As usual he jumped slightly, always taken back by surprise no matter how many times Brianna spoke to him without having to see him. How did she do that?

“Hi…” Albert finally said, taking a few more steps to stand beside her before looking down at what (who) had all of her attention. It was then that they both stood there silently and watched the boys sleep, Albert’s eyes averting to Brianna’s figure every now and then before returning to the crib.

It took her a while, but she finally pulled away (it was hard to for some reason) to turn and give all of her attention to Albert.

“I am going outside,” she announced, briefly glancing down at her dress to smooth it out. “Watch them?”

“Uh,” the boy faltered slightly in his insecurity and surprise, eyes averting over to the sleeping twins, “Y-yeah.”

All Brianna did was nod and walk away, not bothering to glance over her shoulder to see Albert crane his neck down towards the crib and make a face.

The stroll was nice and quiet, just like Brianna preferred. All she cared for was the calming tip-tapping of the rain upon her umbrella, content in the way that nobody was around and it seemed as if the world was completely empty.

After what seemed like forever she suddenly fell upon a very familiar figure crouching down upon the pavement, blinking a few times in surprise and curiosity. Half of her wondered if she should even bother approaching the child, knowing that watching from a distance was good enough for her, but… how in the world did Damon get outside in the first place? He was barely able to form complete sentences, let alone reach the doorknob. A mystery, as usual.

“… what are you doing?” she finally said after taking a few more steps forward, not close enough to touch him or disturb whatever it was he was trying to do.

“Froggie,” Damon said distractedly underneath his breath, too busy trying to poke (touch, but his little finger was bobbing up and down with the intent of making some contact) the tiny frog that sat in front of him to properly notice her entrance.

Brianna didn’t say anything as she watched him scoot a bit closer, his galoshes slushing in the puddle so that he could get a bit closer to the frog.

It was still somewhat to her surprise that the two year old in front of her was so easily able to draw in animals without really needing to try. Brianna did not like nor hate them, so she was unsure of how to go about maneuvering around Damon, as he currently had a kitten curled up around his feet (hiding under the bright yellow umbrella as to not get wet, she imagined) and a few ducklings settling into the bush to his right.

When he finally touched the frog’s head it merely let out a “ribbit” and hopped off in another direction, not bothering to stay for very long. As if he were stunned that the frog would do such a thing, Damon openly pouted and kept in his squatting position, not taking notice of Brianna standing directly behind him.

“Froggie…” he said again in a disappointed tone and hugged his knees, though he craned his head up when he finally felt the presence of his elder sister looming above him.

Brianna tilted her head down at Damon, her face straight and unreadable, as usual. “I am sorry. He probably left because of me.”

“S’okay,” the young boy said, wobbling a little bit as he stood on his own two feet and tried to hold up the umbrella further so that Brianna had a place under it despite the fact that she was holding one to begin with.

A smile tugged on her lips for the briefest of moments before she bent down and lifted Damon up into her arms, shifting him around carefully so that she could both close his umbrella and balance her own on her shoulder. When she was content with their position she began to walk back towards the mansion, feeling warm and content with the way Damon clung onto her like a lifeline.

“Would you like some hot chocolate?”

Damon nuzzled his head further into her shoulder, a tiny fist clenching at her shirt. “Yes.”

“Alright,” Brianna shifted him once more when he slid slightly from her arms, holding on to him tighter, “I will make some for you when we return.”

“Kitty!”

The outburst startled her enough to pause in her steps, turning half-way around to peer down at the cat that was following them. It looked like it wanted Damon’s attention and Damon looked as if he was welcoming it openly, his little arms flailing towards the ground as if he would be able to reach it if he tried hard enough.

Brianna thought about something to herself in private (could we keep it?) then let the thought drift away, knowing quite well that pets were not allowed inside of the mansion. Sure, she wasn’t usually one to follow the rules (did not see any reason to when it deterred the doctor’s annoyance towards her and not the others) but she was not stupid; if anything happened to the kitten then Damon would be upset. She did not like that thought (was unsure as to why), so she continued her trek while pointedly focusing on her task at hand once she was back at home.

Not to her surprise Damon seemed to whine and wiggle a little bit, giving up once they arrived at the mansion’s door and was carried inside.

It didn’t take her very long to make the hot chocolate and be extra sure that it was in a cup he was able to hold (not too hot either, just a lukewarm so that he would not burn himself.) Their next destination was the fireplace room, Brianna’s instincts telling her that Albert would be there.

Her eyes settled upon Damon’s when they made their way towards said room. “Would you like to go back to your room?”

“No,” he said as he shuffled his feet alongside her, holding on to the cup with both of his hands. “I stay.”

With a short nod she ceased in speaking, eventually making it to their destination, though she automatically paused in her steps when her eyes landed on Albert’s form.

The sight she saw would forever be branded in her mind, feeling a number of things that she could not decipher at that moment in time. He looked flustered, face red and uncertain, but there was something else there in his eyes as he looked down at Nathan’s sleeping form, a hand gently stroking the patch of black hair atop his head.

As usual she was quiet with her entrance, knowing Damon had fallen behind a handful of steps as he tried to walk and drink his hot chocolate at the same time.

“Is he finally asleep?” she asked, tone lighter and quieter than usual as to not disturb either of them.

Her attempt at subtlety was done in vain as Albert jerked slightly, head moving quickly to stare up at her with wide eyes. When he noticed that it was Brianna who spoke he calmed himself, making a face as he nodded in silence.

Brianna tilted her head down at them and moved to take a seat on the couch, instinctively reaching over to Damon when he arrived to place him on her lap.

“You are still the only one who can make him sleep peacefully,” the young girl murmured, fingers gently smoothing back Damon’s hair without having to think about it.

“Y-yeah,” Albert replied, still embarrassed. Yet he still gave a shy, almost unnoticeable smile, leaning back a little bit into the couch as Nathan continued to sleep soundlessly in his arms.

Green eyes circled on over to the other child that laid upon a bundle of blankets on Albert’s right side; Liam was sleeping as hard as Nathan, face pressed against the pillow that seemed to be a barrier between him and the edge of the couch.

For a long moment Brianna basked in them all being in the same room together, gaze eventually returning forward to stare at the crackling fire before them. With a small tilt of her body she leaned against Albert lightly, eyes closing and arms wrapping around Damon’s middle in contentment. Her chest felt warm and she couldn’t deny the welding of happiness rise inside her chest, knowing yet not responding to Albert’s confused gaze, too engrossed in the calm atmosphere surrounding them.

Today had been a good day.