Third Floor Common Room

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

Liir was making pancakes.

He'd wanted pancakes, he'd thought Andrew might like pancakes, and it just seemed like a morning for, well... pancakes. As such pancakes (as well as a pan with eggs over easy and some sausage) were what he was making.

Plenty of, of course, since food invariably made other people hungry.

[ooc: open like a common room, especially if any 'budding families' would like breakfast]

Comments

[cleanedupgreen.livejournal.com]

Suffice to say, he was probably not expecting a leg glomp.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

...no, he really really wasn't.

He put his spatula down and wrapped his fingers around the knob; if this was some new sort of weirdness that would require a bit of time to wrap around, he didn't want to burn anything. Especially not the eggs as they smelled horrible burned.

Then he looked down.

"What--"

And froze.

[cleanedupgreen.livejournal.com]

Trindle looked up, confused. Usually Papa was happy to see her. He'd lift her up in his arms and kiss her cheeks and make her something sweet for breakfast.

"Papa?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

....Papa?!?

He was the child's--

She--

He--

What?!

It was a singularly disturbing situation, where he literally couldn't think long enough to even be horrified. He just stood there, a tiny conscious part of his brain glad that he'd turned the gas off, wondering why there was a little girl clinging to him calling him her father.

The green was there, in the back of his mind, but it wasn't quite there. The connotations hadn't hit yet.

Which was really for the best.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew was still mostly asleep, at least as far as he was concerned, when he shuffled into the common room. He glanced at Liir, completely missed the the wee one, and flopped onto a couch.

"Smells good," he mumbled. He had flopped out of reach of the television remote, so he would just wait a bit, build up his awakeness, before getting up to grab it.

[cleanedupgreen.livejournal.com]

But Trindle heard her Daddy!

The little sprite gave her Papa another squeeze before scampering around to the couch and pouncing.

"Daddy, Papa's acting weeeeeeeeird. Like he's got brainworms orra gremlin bite."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

Liir hadn't... actually moved yet. He was still working on that thinking thing.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew's eyes flew open at the pouncing. "Brainworms?" Andrew looked concerned. "Liir, are you okay? Have any worms crawled into your ears?"

That particular Galaxy Quest movie moment would never not disturb him. "Because that can't be good."

He frowned at the little girl. "And, um, who is your friend?"

[cleanedupgreen.livejournal.com]

She loved that movie. She watched it with Daddy all the time. She would settle in his arms and watch all kinds of nifty things.

"Daddy, are you being silly too?" she asked, telling him with very familiar eyes that it wasn't funny. Hers were black, but the expression was the same.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"No. Brain--no. No wo-- no."

The one thing that was very unfortunate about having a self that sort of ran on manual as opposed to automatic was just how difficult it could be to get the parts into drive.

It didn't help that he was especially bad with suprise.

"She called me Papa."

It came out just a little strangled.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

There was a lot of blinking and some eye-rubbing, as though maybe this whole moment was the result of a wayward eyelash. "Sweetie," Andrew was addressing the little girl. "Are you lost? Are your parents around here somewhere?"

A tiny light bulb. "Oh! Are you a student? Maybe instead of turning into an animal someone turned into this, um, adorable little girl..."

Who was eerily familiar in a way.

[cleanedupgreen.livejournal.com]

"My parents are you and Papa," she said, very firmly. She was very well-spoken and level-headed for a seven year old. "I'm not lost. I'm not a student here and I didn't turn into anything."

Then she gave them both a suspicious look.

"Is this a game? Cause it's not a good game. This isn't teaching me anything."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He finally got his legs to move.

Things quite turned off, he made his way to the couch to look at Andrew. And at--

"Andrew..."

He had a daughter.

He had a green daughter.

Oh Nameless Name. Oh Ozma.

Oh Kumbricia herself couldn't be worse.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew frowned, sat up, and studied the girl. Little things stood out to him: her dark wavy hair, the shape of her eyes, the little quirking at the edge of her lips...

"Liir, is there, um, something you've forgotten to tell me?"

Andrew suddenly felt very worried, and oddly, just a touch violated.

[cleanedupgreen.livejournal.com]

Trindle sighed. They were being very silly. Exceedingly, ridiculously silly.

"Papa told you everything when he got back."

She'd been very little, but she could remember that. Papa remembered it so she could when she had to. She liked the present better, though.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He almost snapped something out in answer, something angry and surprised and angry and nasty and angry.

He didn't, though. He bit his own tongue. No fair making Andrew pay for his stresses.

"Andrew, I know no more than you do."

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"So Liir is your Papa," he said slowly. He could see the evidence of that.

He reached out to take the little girl's hand, her small green hand, and had a rare moment of clarity -- an intuitive recognition.

"You're green," he said. "Quite a lovely shade."

He smiled at the girl, but glanced back at his boyfriend, realizing that he must be thinking the same thing. Was this going to be a welcome validation?

[cleanedupgreen.livejournal.com]

"And you're my Daddy!" she said, since it seemed to be State the Obvious Day. She moved to crawl up into his lap and give him a kiss to the cheek.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

Liir stared at her, his eyes wide and still in shock. Finally, though, he met Andrew's eyes.

"Yes," he finally said, "she is. Pretty. Our daughter."

Because he'd sensed some of Andrew's misgivings. And it was obvious enough that he and Andrew were raising the child together regardless of how she'd actually come to be born.

"And green."

Sweet Oz.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

Andrew was momentarily speechless. He simply wrapped his arms around the little girl in his lap and held her tight.

It was very comfortable, very right, and very much like a dream.

He found himself blinking rapidly again, but for a very different reason.

[cleanedupgreen.livejournal.com]

She ensconced herself happily in Andrew's arms and kissed his cheek. There things went, making sense again. That was better. She reached out a hand to tug Papa to sit with them.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

Liir, breakfast well and truly forgotten, let her grab him and sat next to Andrew. He moved to put his arm around Andrew in return.

"Careful the tears don't touch her skin."

He said it softly, since he didn't want to upset Andrew, but it might burn her, for all he knew.

[cleanedupgreen.livejournal.com]

The little one rolled her eyes.

"M'not Gramma."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

...well, hell.

[wannabe-pan.livejournal.com]

"I'm not crying," Andrew said with mock defensiveness. "It's an eyelash," he lied.

He gave the little girl in his arms a gentle squeeze. "So," he said carefully, "do you, um, do you know how to spell your name?"

Asking her what it was outright just seemed wrong.