#jk but this was teww gooddd!!!

[emilys-bangs]

“when she looked down she was met with a reflection of herself: feathered bangs, wide brown eyes, rosy cheeks, and a puckered bottom lip.”

I was literally sold from this singular line hello??? You’re TOO good

“Malory stopped dead in her tracks right before she reached the door, turning around and making her best attempt at a sprint towards Emily. She wrapped her arms around Emily’s thighs, pressing her face into the side of them as she mumbled:

“Love you, Mommy.””

THIS WAS SO CUTEEE☹️☹️ you know Emily’s heart was breaking in half :((

Way to my heart — e. prentiss

single mom!emily prentiss x daycare worker!reader

content: momily, mainly fluff, its a drag really. a toddler who’s too aware for her own good.

word count: 2.4k

author’s note: ive never written a kid before, this was uhhh very experimental. thanks @emilys-bangs, my fave loser, for paving the mom!emily way and also helping me out:P

feedback is always appreciated:3 (and in this case would help a lot<3)

The daycare was small, the locale decorated with bright colors and things that appealed to children—Colorful couches, Small bookshelves littered with toys, and slim picture books. From where Emily stood, she could see a group of kids sitting on a colorful carpet in a small room, their attention fixated on something—or someone—that was just out of sight. A tug on her shirt pulled her out of her state of hypervigilance, and when she looked down she was met with a reflection of herself: feathered bangs, wide brown eyes, rosy cheeks, and a puckered bottom lip.

“What’s wrong, sweet girl?” Emily uttered, crouching to be level with the small girl. She was acutely aware of the crease of her pants pressing into her thighs, and the lines that’d linger on her leather boots as she lowered herself. Nervous would be an understatement for how she currently felt. Her little girl’s first day at daycare.

”Don’t wanna go,” the brown-eyed girl replied, her speech muffled by the fingers she’d placed in her mouth. Emily’s heart tightened in her chest, and this was the fortieth time she considered walking out in the 5 minutes she’d been here. She ‘tsk’d softly, gently drawing the girl's hand away from her mouth.

“Mmm, what’d we say about putting our fingers in our mouth?” Emily deflected briefly, holding the small hand in her own. Malory had apparently inherited the habit from Emily—same anxious tic, same puckered lips—and she was determined to unteach it.

“S’not go there,” the girl offered, still pouting.

“Exactly, those don’t go there,” she replied with a soft smile, ignoring the way her chest did that tightening thing again when Malory’s lower lip quivered. She was convinced that if she cried, she’d cry too. “It’ll be fun.” She spoke gently, tilting her head and tucking a strand of hair behind Malory’s ear, trying to convince herself just as much as she was trying to convince her daughter.

The moment she saw tears gathering at the corner of those big round eyes, she turned her face away, willing herself to stay strong. “Look, Mae.” She said after taking a look around the space. She pointed in the direction of the carpeted room she’d seen earlier, “whaddaya think they’re doing?” Her hand came to rest on the girl's backpack and she gently guided her to look in the direction of the kids as she spoke. Emily turned her head back towards Malory, watching as she took in the room—hesitant, but interested.

“reading?” she said, and the soft sound of her ‘r’ mixing in with a ‘w’ made Emily huff in amusement, despite her overflowing anxiety.

“Yeah, baby, they’re reading! We like to read, hm?” She said, running soft fingers through the girl's bangs.

The small hand tightened against her own as Malory nodded, “Uh-huh,” she said, her eyes attentive. She turned her gaze away from Malory’s face and looked to the spot that had seemed to pique the girl's interest.

Just then, you appeared in the doorway, startling both Emily and the smaller version of herself. Before you could come any closer, Emily stood—her grip on Malory’s hand strong, protective, and a little shaky. “Good Morning,” she greeted, extending her free hand out with a polite smile.

You shook her hand, offering a smile of your own as you introduced yourself. “You must be Mrs. Prentiss.” You said, squeezing her hand softly before letting go.

She visibly grimaced at the title, holding her free hand up in a playful protest as she shook her head, “Please, call me Emily,” she chuckled, and she hoped you couldn’t see the nervousness radiating off of her. Surely, It couldn’t be unusual, parents were often more worried than their kids when it came to their first day, right? You laughed at her dismissal of the title and smiled, it was warm and inviting. As everything else about you seemed to be.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Emily.” You said, before turning to the smaller version of the woman in front of you.

You introduced yourself to the small brown-eyed girl, your tone a little softer than it had been seconds earlier.

“…and you must be Malory,” you said, crouching down to her eye level whilst holding out your hand, her small warm hand—a contrast to her mother's, which were cold and rough—laid on yours and Emily was slightly taken aback. Malory had never been one to take kindly to strangers, yet she seemed to like you…almost instantly, and that made the tightening in Emily’s chest loosen up. Not by much, but it was something.

Emily watched as your hand closed around Malory’s, the way the little girl’s eyes lit up and how her eyebrows seemed to unfurrow as she nodded.

“M’four,” Malory said, letting go of Emily’s hand, not yours, to hold up four small fingers. A subtle panic ran through Emily, and she had to scold herself. This is good, she thought, This is what needs to happen. But, it was bittersweet. She took a small step back, eyes narrowed as she watched you interact with Malory.

“Four?” you gasped, “Wow! You’re a big girl,” an exaggerated surprised look washed over your face as you squeezed her hand. Emily huffed softly in amusement, despite herself.

“She’s been practicing holding up those fingers for weeks,” Emily said, a hint of pride slipping through her voice. Your eyes met hers for a brief second, the shared humor sparking something unspoken between you.

“Well, she’s nailed it,” you replied with a grin, looking back at the young girl. Emily couldn’t help but smile back, her heart fluttering at the way you seemed genuinely amused.

Malory, however, was seemingly unaffected by Emily’s comment, her eyes busy flitting from your face to the classroom behind you. Upon noticing, you smiled, turning to look over your shoulder and towards the small room.

“Those are my friends,” you said, turning to meet her eyes again. The small pout she’d been wearing when you arrived was gone and her lips were now slightly parted, intrigue written all over her tiny features. “They really wanna meet you,” your voice was softer this time and you tilted your head as if you were trying to approach an injured animal. Her eyes met yours again, the twinkle of intrigue seemingly shining a little brighter.

Malory turned to meet Emily’s gaze, and Emily knew Malory’s next move depended on Emily’s current reaction. Yet, her hand did not move from yours. Emily took in a small breath, nodding as she licked her lips. “You’ll have fun, baby.” She smiled, taking a hand out of her pocket to run her fingers through the girl's bangs, once more. Malory looked up at Emily, and through all the intrigue that glazed them, Emily could still see the small hints of uncertainty speckled in her brown eyes. The little girl turned her head to look at you, and then back at Emily.

“How about this?” Emily said, moving her hand down to caress Malory’s chin. “You go in, see if you like it..” her voice was soft and her fingers gingerly danced across the girl’s cheek, “then you come back and tell me all about it, how does that sound?”

Malory looked back at you, then at the classroom. The action repeated as if she was torn on where to go.

“Okay,” she said, meeting Emily’s eyes. Emily responded with a soft nod, and an even softer smile. The bittersweet feeling flooded her chest again, and figured it was better to say goodbye before the waterworks picked up. She crouched again, placing a soft kiss on Malory’s forehead, then one on her nose. The girl scrunched her face up in her response, a small giggle accompanying the action.

“Mommy,” she protested, bringing her small hands to Emily's face as she pouted. Emily laughed softly, concealing the emotions that threatened to break her voice.

“Be good, okay?” She said, her eyes taking in all the small details of Malory’s face. Malory nodded, then placed a kiss of her own on Emily’s cheek.

Emily watched as you took Malory’s hand, offering her a small wave with an empathetic smile as you began walking the girl toward the classroom. But, Malory stopped dead in her tracks right before she reached the door, turning around and making her best attempt at a sprint towards Emily. She wrapped her arms around Emily’s thighs, pressing her face into the side of them as she mumbled:

“Love you, Mommy.”

Since then, you’d become an integral part of their weekday mornings, and Emily’s afternoons—which were often preceded by the glum nature of her job—seemed to pick up a little when she watched you interact with Malory. And in the evenings, you’d come up more often than she’d like to admit.

Today was no different. Well, maybe a little. She’d gotten held back at Quantico, lost track of time, and ended up arriving at the daycare 45 minutes after pickup. She’d pay whatever fine, it didn’t matter. But, she felt awful knowing that she’d held you back.

She walked through the double doors, and met with the same colorful setting from that first day. Yet, there was less commotion—not as many tiny hands flailing around and not nearly as many small voices filling the space. She spotted Malory instantly, sat against one of the colorful bean bags. She shifted her gaze slightly to the right and spotted you sitting across from her, seemingly completely entranced in whatever story the 4-year-old was telling.

Emily’s chest always warmed around her daughter—it was instinct. But seeing Malory so at ease, her small voice animated as she shared a story, sent a different kind of warmth spreading through her. Guilt tugged at her as she glanced at the clock, but for a fleeting moment, she wished she could stay unnoticed, soaking in the scene.

She made her way over, her smile growing as soon as Malory noticed her. Mae forgot all about her story and jumped up, running towards her mom who was already waiting with open arms, and leaving you to watch. It was obvious her embrace made all of Emily’s worries fade momentarily. Her shoulders dropped and she let out a soft breath as she closed her eyes and swayed Malory from side to side.

Once she opened her eyes and saw you standing there she grimaced apologetically, Malory still in her arms. “I’m so sorry— Things got dragged out at work and I left as soon as I could.”

You shook your head, your hands going into the pockets of your jeans to stop the fidgeting that seemed to come up whenever Emily was around. “It’s okay, I understand, things happen.” you smiled, watching as Malory turned around in her mom’s arms. “Plus, Mae’s a really good storyteller.” You gestured in Mae’s direction, shooting the small girl a wink.

Emily looked down at the girl in her arms, laughing softly at Malory’s nods.

“What’s that you got there, Mae?” Emily said furrowing her brow as she noticed the piece of paper in the girl's right hand, it was small and colorful; that was all she could see from this angle. Malory—who seemed to have forgotten about the paper—turned around and out of Emily’s arms, holding the paper in front of her chest proudly.

“It’s us!” Mae exclaimed, A bright background scribbled in a range of colors was accompanied by three figures, the two tall ones on the outside and a small one in the center. All holding hands.

Emily smiled, eyebrows still furrowed. “Yeah?” she said, moving her eyes from the drawing to yours. You had a light tinge in your cheeks and an almost sheepish smile on your face as you met Emily’s eyes. You offered a small shrug, unsure of what to say. Unsure of how Emily would take it.

“Yeah!” Malory exclaimed, with all the innocence of a toddler. “That’s me! This is you, with your job card,” she said, pointing to a small square on one of the stick figures—which Emily figured was supposed to be her badge— “and that’s her!” she said, pointing to the third stick figure and pointing at you with a smile that almost reached her ears.

Emily brought the edge of her lip between her teeth, nodding softly. She could see you out of her peripheral vision, shifting your weight from foot to foot as you eyed the pair. Something told her you were just as surprised as she was. She smiled again, “That looks just like her, Mae!” she said, pointing to the stick figure. “Just as pretty,” she said a little quieter, bringing her face closer to Malory’s as if it was a secret, though she knew you’d heard it.

Malory giggled, turning her face to look at you, and Emily did the same. The blush on your cheeks was more prominent, and your smile had grown, despite your attempts at containing it. Just as you were about to sputter out some dismissive nonsense, Mae spoke up again.

“…and she likes coffee! Just like you, mommy!” Malory said, leaning into Emily like it was their little secret. Emily let out a little gasp, furrowing her brows at Malory.

“Well, maybe we should get her some, hm?” she said, and Malory’s face lit up as if she’d just heard the best idea ever. She nodded excitedly and gave you a brief look before turning back to Emily. “M’gonna tell her!” she said, walking the maybe 5-foot distance with determination.

You decided to act like you’d been oblivious to the whole conversation, for Malory’s sake, of course.

“My mommy wants to get coffee with you!” She said, with bluntness only a four-year-old could have. You put on your best surprised expression, watching as the girl stood in front of you, chest puffed, head held high.

“As an apology, of course.” Emily smiled from behind Malory.

“As an apology,” Malory nodded, and though she stumbled over the word a little bit, her determination was unfaltering.

You let out a soft laugh, nodding at Malory. “I’d like that,” you smiled, looking up at Emily, who returned it, her dimples accentuating the already beautiful sight.

The eye contact between the two of you seemed like it would stretch on, and you would’ve let it had Malory not interrupted.

“So, yes?” The small girl asked with furrowed brows and a slightly confused look, not understanding the silent exchange. You and Emily shared a look before laughing.

“Yes, I'll have coffee with your mom.”