#otay goodnight

[luridparty]

waait...i was cooking with this a little bit.. hello..

[foxceus]

🫶

[fawnandshadows]

The Night Before Christmas

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: None

AO3

Pairing: Elriel

Gifting this to my bestie @thefangirlofhp !!! I have loved getting to know you for over a year now (which is absolutely insane to me) and you always find a way to make me smile — even when you make me cry. I am constantly blown away by your talent and your win and your sense of humor. Also, feel free to consider this a bride for any season Azzine content my love 🫶🏻. Sequel to my fic Love In Every Stitch

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” Azriel exclaimed softly, closing the book after Sofia had her fill of the illustrations. His back leaned against her child’s purple wooden headboard, his dark curls rumpled and his reading glasses hung low on his nose — the dim glow of the bedside seashell-lamp gleamed off the metallic frames — and Sofia’s small, pajama clad form leaned against him.

Elain watched them silently from the doorway, having just come from brushing her teeth and was hoping to give her daughter a kiss goodnight before tucking her in, but she didn’t want to interrupt their time together. Azriel spent so much time at the hospital (and Graysen barely bothered to get to know his daughter, even less so than before) that Elain wanted to make sure Sofia got an ample amount of time with the only father figure in her life.

“Ash,” Sofia said, her voice heavy with sleep, shifting underneath her quilt to gaze up at her adoptive father. “Santa comes tonight?” A small fist raised to rub her eye.

“That’s right, pumpkin,” Azriel said, brushing some of her curls out of her face. “You left the cookies out? Milk? Carrots for the reindeer?” Elain watched as Sofia nodded her head, blonde curls bouncing with her movement. “Then the only thing left to do is sleep, sweetheart.”

“Otay,” Sofia said, burrowing further beneath her covers, shutting her eyes so tightly that little wrinkles formed around her eyes. “I’m sleeping.” She whispered loudly.

Azriel smiled down at her, kissing her forehead before sliding out of the bed. His eyes caught hers and he motioned for Elain to join them.

One honey-brown eye popped open as Elain sat on her daughter's bed.

“Did Santa come, Momma?” Sofia asked hopefully.

“Not yet,” Elain shook her head and brought the quilt up to Sofia’s heart shaped chin. “He only comes when you’re sleeping, remember?”

Sofia nodded and promptly closed her eyes again.

“Momma,” Sofia whispered with her eyes closed. “I’m too excited to sleep.”

“I know, honey,” Elain said softly and tucked a strand of hair behind her daughter's ear. “Would it help if I turned on the night light?”

Sofia nodded gently, already drifting off to dreamland. Without her even asking, Azriel walked over and switched the night light on, casting the entire room in a warm glow as it projected snowflakes onto the walls and ceiling. He then turned off the bedside lamp and walked to where she sat on the bed.

“Tanks,” Sofia said drowsily, her face softening and neck tilting to the side. Her small lips opening gently. “‘Night.”

“Good night, baby.” Elain placed a small kiss on her forehead before leaving with Azriel, both of them gazing fondly at sleeping Sofia before Elain closed the door.

“Thank you,” Elain smiled gratefully at him, wrapping her arms around his trim waist. “It means a lot that you spend so much time with her.”

One of his hands rested on her hip and the other between her shoulder blades. There was a slight hesitation, but it was something they were working through. Azriel had his own demons when it came to his self-image, especially around his scarred hands, and there was still a part of him that like felt he was undeserving of Elain — especially after learning he was a catalyst in her divorce from Graysen. So, Elain initiated most of their physical contact and Azriel slowly got better at accepting it.

They officially started dating this past fall. Azriel was prepared to wait what he deemed an “appropriate” amount of time, until Elain felt comfortable dating again, but she said that she had wasted enough time on Graysen and didn’t want to sacrifice anymore for his benefit. So, as soon as the contracts were signed, Elain showed up at his doorstep with Sofia and asked to cook him dinner. Now, he spent more time at her house than his apartment with his belongings almost migrating there completely. First it was his charger, then it was his toothbrush, and then his clothes wound up in her dresser and closet and it just made sense for him to start spending most of his nights here. And it was about 15 minutes closer to the hospital, which Elain always reminded him of whenever he hesitated in spending the night.

“I love Sofia, Elain,” Azriel said, his hands rubbing circles on her back. “You don’t have to thank me for spending time with her.”

She sniffed and Azriel felt it chip away at his heart like an ice pick.

“It’s just that Graysen never spent time with her, and I-I see how much she loves you and how much you make her smile and I just wish you were her dad,” Elain fought to keep her voice under control — Azriel cooed into her ear to help calm her. “Which isn’t fair to you. And if you ever left she’d be devastated—”

“Elain, hey,” Azriel cut her off in a rush, pulling his face out of her hair to gaze down at her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Another sniff.

“I know,” Elain said, her small fingers pressing into him. “It’s just that Graysen lost interest in me after we had Sofia a-and you — you’re so good to her, but it seems too good to be true. Like one day you’ll realize we’re too much work and you’ll come home later and later and then I’ll wake up one day and you’ll be gone from our lives and—”

“Elain—”

“I know it’s not fair to put this on you since we’ve only been together for a few months and we’ve been moving so quickly—”

“Elai—”

“So, I just want her to get as much time with you as possible. It’s important for a young girl to have a father—”

“El—”

“Which is unfair to you because you never asked—”

His lips crushed hers, and Elain’s teary eyes opened wide in surprise. The kiss was borderline harsh, but it was exactly what Elain needed.

“I want to be with you Elain,” Azriel said earnestly, her lovely face between his hands. “And if time is the only thing that will prove it to you, then so be it. I’ll be here for you.”

Elain relaxed into him and sighed.

“I’m sorry.” Elain whispered, trying to brush away the embarrassment that was eating at her insides.

“Don’t apologize, Lain,” Azriel said, his thumbs brushing over her warm cheeks. “We both have shit to work through, and we’ll do it together, right?”

She nodded, taking a deep breath to steady herself.

“Together,” She repeated and pressed her lips against his. After a moment of just enjoying his embrace, she pulled back and mouthed the word, “Gifts?” In case Sofia was somehow still awake, and Azriel nodded along.

The two of them padded across the wooden floor and down the steps, putting in the last minute effort to make a little magic for the child sleeping upstairs.

— —

The living room had torn wrapping paper and ribbon scattered everywhere, and Elain wasn’t even bothered to see her hours of work ripped to shreds in a matter of minutes. It was all worth it to see Sofia smiling and hear her laughing. Hopped up on the joy of gifts and a sugary breakfast.

“Ash,” Sofia asked, tucked into his side, a half eaten cinnamon roll held in her small, sticky hand. “If you married Momma would you be my Papa?”

Elain watched Azriel tense at the question, unsure of how to proceed. The small child had no clue she just dropped a question-bomb on him as she nibbled on her breakfast. Azriel looked at her over Sofia’s head and Elain nodded at his unasked question.

“Yes, sweetheart, I would be,” Azriel replied, and Sofia simply nodded in response and focused on her cinnamon roll. He didn’t meet her gaze over her daughter's head. “I think it’s time for your momma to open a present.” He gently placed the child on her mothers lap.

“Momma,” Sofia whispered loudly, not knowing that Azriel could hear her as he dug around for a present. “I think you should marry him,” She crawled further onto her mothers lap, one small leg on each side of her hip, and her cheek pressed into her chest as her arms wrapped around her tightly. “I want him as my Papa.”

“I think I should too,” Elain replied, in the same loud whisper. “He makes a really good papa, huh?”

Sofia nodded and finished her cinnamon roll.

“Found it,” Azriel said, a touch too loudly. Elain smiled as she watched him crawling out from under the tree, brushing needles off of his blue flannel pajamas. He slowly approached her, his cheeks rosy and flushed, and held out a thin, rectangular, beautifully wrapped present.

The wrapping paper was a deep red and a decorative silver bow was placed on top of it. He must have snuck it into their gift pile when Elain wasn’t looking.

“What is it?” Elain asked, a giddy feeling fluttering in her chest.

“If only there was a way for you to find out.” Azriel teased, grinning shyly at her.

Excitedly, Elain ripped off the wrapping paper and unveiled a fine leather box. When she cracked it open her breath escaped her lungs as she saw pink pearls all strung together, with a mosaic rose pendant dangling from the strand. A necklace.

“Beautiful,” Elain breathed, her fingers barely touching the smooth pearls. “Put it on me?”

Azriel sat next to her, not having to pull her hair off of her neck since she had it piled on top of her head with one of those claw clips that he thought looked uncomfortable.

Elain could feel his breath ghosting across the skin of her neck and shivered.

“How does it look?” Elain asked.

“Pretty,” Sofia said, awestruck. “I have a pretty Momma.” Her small fingers gently floated over the pearls.

“The prettiest.” Azriel confirmed, dipping his head to kiss her cheek — but Elain had shifted to look at him more fully, and their lips collided.

“Oooooh,” Sofia cooed playfully, and Elain laughed at her child, turning her head to see Sofia gazing at them with a face-splitting grin. Azriel never moved his head, so his lips ended up on her cheek. Their original destination. “Ash loves Momma.”

Sofia laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

“It’s true.” Azriel whispered against her cheek.

“He loves you too, honey.” Elain said in a loud, fake whisper.

Sofia shyly looked at Azriel, her face tucking into her mothers chest.

“Really?” Sofia asked, and Elain knew her daughter's mind was working overtime.

“Of course I love you, pumpkin.”

“Enough to be my Papa?” Her sticky fingers played with buttons on her pajamas.

“Yes.” Azriel replied in a thick, emotional voice. His large hand came forward to rest on Sofia’s small back, gently rubbing circles to soothe her.

Elain could see the whites of his eyes start to turn red.

“So, I can call you Papa? Papa Ash?”

It broke Elain’s heart to hear the hesitation in her daughter's voice.

“I would love that.” Azriel said, and Sofia leaned forward to wrap her arms around Azriel’s neck. And Elain gently handed her daughter off to Azriel, tucking her into his side before gently getting off the couch.

“Do you want another cinnamon roll, Sof?” Elain asked her daughter and watched as she nodded her small head. Her eyes met Azriel’s bright hazel ones over blonde curls. “More coffee?” Elain asked, and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips after he nodded.

“Merry Christmas.” Elain mumble into his lips before grabbing his empty mug from the coffee table.

“The merriest.” Azriel said, smiling as his fingers smoothed some of Sofia’s blonde curls.

Tagging: @thefangirlofhp @sakurakittypeach @nikethestatue @tswaney17 @impossiblescissorspeachpaper @feyredarlinq @alwayssara @nyxreads @rinadragomir @secretpuppyflower @captainbrucebanner @ultadverb @irisesforelain @shedoessoshedoes  @magnolia-blossom87 @sheena-beene @nivem565 @casuallivi @rhysiedarling @elain99 @athena-85 @swankii-art-teacher @reverie-tales @jujugirlfrombookstore @shadowflorecita @shy-violet-soul @thisloveseternal

[imabunnyyy]

╔═.·:·.✧ Oliver's Intro ✧.·:·.═╗

I'm 17!

My birthday is August 14

I use he/him/his pronouns (I'm ftm!)

I'm pan and poly!

DM for vent blog

EST/GMT-5

Little age: 6 Months-4 Years

Pet spaces: Puppy, bunny, kitty

I have a platonic mama, but I'm always open to carers on my blog, interacting, and messaging!

I like stuffies, tea parties, sippies, coloring, music, and diapers

I don't like meanies, being big, or icky textures

DNI

If I can't interact with your posts/ I'm on your DNI

If your blog is 18+/NSFW

If you're r@cist, big0ted, able!st, etc

Antisem!tic/non accepting

Commissions Post:

My Little Speak Guide!:

•Biggie - Non-Little

•Tiny - Little

•Mhm/Mhms - Yes

• Nu - No

• Pwease/pease - Please

• Tankies/fankies - Thank you/ Thanks

• Otay - Okay

• Nini - Goodnight/Sleep

• Uppies - Pick me up

• M/Mes - Me

• Oos - You

• Wuv - Love

•Jooc/Joos/Joose - Juice

•Appie - Apple

•Fwen - Friend

•Sippy - Sippy Cup

•Baba - Bottle

•Also replace R's and L's with W

PFP Picrew:

Tags to Block Post:

[littlekittenfairychubbybunny]

Babie! Rohan Kishibe headcanons

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For starters I think he’d be a bit bratty, from Thus Spoken Rohan Kishibe there’s a scene where one of the characters say that she thinks Rohan acts like he’s better than everyone, and I think that’s why he’d be a bit bratty

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*Rohan currently drawing a couple of puppies* “pubbieess” Rohan babbles out

“Wow baby! Such cute little doggies! Just like you! But I’m sorry times up kiddo” Goes his CG (imagine this as anyone you want sorry)

“nooooooo..!” whines Rohan “don’ wanaaaaa!”

“Come on baby, it’s almost bed time and I told you to get ready for bed ages ago!” CG says

“No! No! No! I don wana! I do wha I wan!” Rohan whines out, CG sighs and says “Alright, alright, if you get ready for bed I’ll let you draw a little bit more before bed” “Otay!” Rohan says before running out the room to start brushing his teeth. “My goodness… What will a do with him?..” CG chuckles out.

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Next, he’d obviously have any sort of craft or art toy. Like the washable markers from crayola or I think he’d especially have the bathroom crayons. And honestly he’d have the invisible paint that like only appears on paper if anyone remembers when that came out.

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I don’t really know much about rohan but I’d assume his favorite color would be green or maybe any cool color (blue, purple, like that) and that’d lead to him having maybe a green paci, sippy, etc etc. And maybe even a little frog stuffie he brings with him everywhere and when I say everywhere I mean EVERYWHERE.

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“Alright Rohan! Come on hurry up we have to go!” CG yells out looking for their little one.

Meanwhile Rohan’s trying to look for Hoppers, “Ughhh! Where is he!!” Rohan starts throwing his blankie off his bed and messing up the room for his frog stuffie Hoppers. CG walks in and look around in disbelief. “Rohan! What do you think your doing?!” CG grabs Rohan from behind and holds him up. Rohan starts flailing around with tears in his eyes “I can’t find Hoppers!” Rohan says in a wobbly tone. “Then tell me baby, don’t start tearing up the room” CG says with a soft look in their eyes, as they put Rohan down “Where did you last see him honey?” Rohan catches his breath in order to calm down, “I had him when I was eeping an an now he not here!” Rohan says panicked “Well then let’s check underneath the bed then, maybe he hopped out of bed” CG says as they get down to check, “There he is! Rohan look!” Rohan walks over and gets down to see what his CG was looking at. He lets out a gasp “Hopper!” He says excitedly as he grabs Hopper from underneath the bed and hugs him tightly. “I thought you were missing!” CG smiles “Alright kiddo, let’s go now we’re about to be late!” As CG grabs him by the hand and starts walking out of the house.

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Hi! I hope you guys liked these headcanons, hopefully they’re not ooc by that much! Have a goodnight/day xoxo - Espurr <3

(sorry for any misspelling or any of the sort)

[linesfromzaun]

Baba (Dad!Silco x Mom!Reader x Baby!Jinx)

Rating: G

Tags: fluff, crack, swearing, implied stuff but it’s not severe at all

A/N: posting this bc I’m having a horrible 24 hours and need to feel better this is inspired by this tiktok

“Okay honey, you gotta go to bed now.” You cradled the toddler in your arms and she gives a little pout, her chubby cheeks creating dimples. “Oh, I know, but if you sleep: Daddy and I will have a special gift for you!” Her eyes light up and arms instantly grab towards Silco. You catch the glint in his eyes that says “I’m her favorite.”

“Alright now, you be good and let Daddy read to you, okay?”

“Otay.” Your heart melts at her little babble talk and she turns to look at Silco. “Baba?”

“No, dove, you already had your bottle, time to sleep.” His soft voice is barely heard when he closes the door. You can her her cutely asking for “baba” and Silco nicely stands his ground.

You’re in a daze, until you hear it.

“Gimme my fuckin’ baba, Daddy,” repeated in a flat tone over and over.

“Goodnight, darling.” You hear a slight chuckle in his voice. The door opens and closes behind him, and he kneels over in laughter.

“S-Silco stop laughing!” You’ve joined in with him, his laugh being utterly contagious. “Laug-hing makes her d-do it more!”

Silco rights himself and stands, wiping his face with one hand. “I tried to keep a straight face but I had to exit quickly, if I stayed she would have heard me.” He sighs and places a hand on your shoulder. “I’m sorry, dove, we’ll teach her it’s not good to say it tomorrow.” You roll your eyes and hug him.

“I’m pretty sure she learned it from me though, you only say “fuck” when in bed.” Silco laughs once more and kisses your forehead.

“Perhaps I should teach you some manners as well.” You laugh and push him lightly.

“Oh, shut up.” You kiss him as you hear no sound besides Jinx’s sound machine lulling her to sleep.

[pafl-confessions]

its me sanya kazarina here to say that NOBODY in the fandom understands my beautiful bisexual bpd brain. thank you goodnight

otay

[marchtomydrums]

Our Friend Ally

Cordelia Goode x Mina Venable x Ally Mayfair x Reader(daughter)

“Mommy, what we doing?” You asked looking up at your mother as she got dressed.

“We’re getting ready so you can meet a special friend of mine and Momma’s.”

“Friend?”

“Yes, baby friend. Her name is Ally. She’ll be here soon.” Cordelia says.

“Is she nice?” You asked.

“Yes, she is. Momma and I really like her.”

“You do?”

“We do,” Mina says from the bedroom door. She smiles softly at you as she walks over taking a seat on the bed beside you.

“Which is why you will be a good girl tonight right little one?”

You nodded your head “Yes Momma I a good girl.”

Cordelia smiles “We know you are baby.” She says bending down to kiss your forehead just as the doorbell rings.

“That’s Ally.” Cordelia smiles.

“I’ll let her in. Baby, you want to walk with Momma?” She asked.

“Otay.” You said happily taking Mina’s hand in yours.

Cordelia is down the stairs first opening the door for Ally and sneaking a quick kiss before she enters the academy.

“Hello, my love,” Ally says with a smile.

“Hi,” Cordelia says as her cheeks turn pink.

Ally sends her a quick wink as turns her attention to Mina and you coming down the stairs.

“Hey, Ally.” Mina welcomes her giving her a hug.

“Hey, Venny,” Ally smirks. The brunette woman looks down to see you hiding your face in Mina’s leg.

Crouching down to your level, she smiles. “Hi, my name is Ally. You must be y/n.”

“Hi.” You whispered shyly.

“Your mommies told me you like elephants is that true?” She asked.

You nod your head “Yes ma’am.”

Ally smiles as she pulls out a small light grey elephant stuffed animal.

“Well you’re in luck sweetie I found this little guy at the store and he was awfully sad.”

“Why he sad?” You asked moving closer to Ally.

“He’s sad because he doesn’t have a home yet. But I told him I know a little girl who would love to give him a home.”

“Me?” You gasped.

Ally chuckles “Yes you. You think you can give him a home?”

“He stay with me. Right Momma?” You asked looking up at Mina.

She nods “Of course, he can honey.”

“Yay.” You cheered taking the elephant from Ally.

“Thank you, Ally.” You said smiling at her.

“You’re very welcome sweet girl.” She smiles looking back at your mothers.

Once you warmed up to Ally, all bets were off. Anytime she showed an ounce of attention to your mothers you were quick to get her back. You sat directly beside her at dinner and once that was over you sat in her lap in the living room.

While your mothers and Ally talked you felt your eyes getting heavy. Turning in your seat you snuggled deeper into Ally’s chest as you held onto your elephant.

“I can take her if you want,” Cordelia says motioning towards you.

“She’s fine. I’m just happy she likes me.” Ally chuckles.

“She already adores you, Al.” Cordelia smiles.

“Yeah, that elephant really helped.” Mina jokes.

“Hey, you’re the one that said she likes them. I just wanted to give her something nice.” Ally says.

“I know that. And I really appreciate it. It means a lot.” Mina says with a smile.

“So I did good?” Ally asked looking between the two women.

Mina and Cordelia chuckled “I would say so she’s been clinging to you all night.” Mina says.

“Well how about I put her to bed and then the three of us can cling to each other for the rest of the night?” Cordelia says suggestively.

“I like the sound of that,” Ally smirks. But before she hands you over to Cordelia, she kisses your temple softly.

“Goodnight sweet girl.” She whispers as Cordelia takes you into her arms. Cordelia then leans over so that Mina can do the same.

“Good night little one. I love you.” Mina whispered as she kissed your cheek.

“I’ll be right back,” Cordelia says winking at the two women.

She wakes upstairs with you in her arms carefully getting you settled into your bed. Once she got you all tucked in she leans down to kiss your cheek.

“Goodnight baby. Mommy loves you.” She says with a smile as she watches you sleep peacefully holding tightly to your elephant.

[cannibal-auntie]

... Mhm.. Otay, Wosie..

*Falls asleep, thumb in mouth*

Ni'ni..

Goodnight, little one.. I hope you feel better

*Gently rocks you*

[strawb3rry-cloudz]

otay guysth i go nini now..

see u fwendos im da mownig :]

(please look at my post from a couple reblogs down!!)

~Dreamy 🌙 ♦️👑

[translation: “okay guys i go nini (goodnight/sleep) now..” “see you friendos in the morning”

[loverboy-ish]

otay. goodnight ^_^

[rirismommyspace]

yay taws!! 🌟 otay ga ge weddy fo bedby tym... nini riri!! hav goo seeps peese! ☺️🤗

˚₊✩‧₊ goodnight Little Angel !! Sleep well and have sweet dreams <3 (I'll be heading to bed now too!) (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

[daddyssafespace]

Is otay poppop :) I gotta go ninis :')

But I wan you to member you is bootiful, an kind, an special, an I think you is awesome an wonderful an I'm happy you is here! It's really cool that we get to watch bluey in the same time space together 💛 I hope you feel better soon poppop don't forget to care for you, cause I like seeing ya here Kay 💛

Ninight sleep tight don't let the noodle bugs bite :)

Goodnight honey! I appreciate the positive comments. I don’t get told that a lot 🥺

Nighty night hon ❤️😴

[mamabear32]

otay ni ni ʕꈍ⁠ᴥ⁠ꈍ⁠ʔ💤

Goodnight sweetheart 💕💕

[mxrshaldillon]

(💥) Here’s an excerpt from my Gunsmoke story, A Surprise in the Night, featuring a two-year-old Jesse and an exhausted Matt.

Enjoy!

Chester had gone up to Doc's and asked Kitty for permission for Jesse to sleep at the office; she'd said yes, of course, and was pleasantly surprised to hear that Matt had said yes, too.

Chester, Matt and Jesse had spent the evening talking about Jesse's favorite things, such as how he loved the color blue, but hated pink.

Now it was almost eight in the evening; Chester and Matt were playing cards while Jesse sat on the floor beside the Marshal, playing with his toy horses.

Chester won, and as he set his cards down, grinning, Matt smirked. "Well, you win this time, Chester. But you won't be so lucky next time."

"Yeah, maybe, but we'll just see about that, Mr. Dillon!" Chester stood up. "I'd better get goin'- I'm mighty tired."

Jesse looked up at him. "Bye-bye, Chester!"

Chester smiled and rubbed the boy's head. "G'night, Jesse. Sleep tight!"

"An' don't-… let the bed-bugs... bite!" Jesse replied, waving as Chester walked out.

"Goodnight, Chester," Matt said, nodding to him.

The door closed. Matt put the playing cards away, stood up, and removed his hat.

"Well, Jesse, I think it's time for you to get some rest," he announced, putting his hands on his hips.

Jesse stood up. "But it's-… still bright out ‘dere!"

"That's because it's June," Matt told him.

He helped the boy put on his nightclothes, and once Jesse was dressed, Matt set him on the bed. "Ok... I'll be right around the corner doing some paperwork, ok? Just go to sleep, and I'll join you later on."

Jesse laid on his back and pulled the blanket up to reach his mid-torso. "Otay," he said, slightly mispronouncing the word.

So Matt nodded and went over to his desk. It was just dim enough to light a candle, as he'd shut the curtains for Jesse's sake. He dipped his pencil in ink and began to write on the first paper.

It didn't take long for Jesse to start tossing and turning; Matt glanced up towards the corner, but he didn't say anything.

Then he heard the bed creak, and Jesse came walking up to him.

Matt raised his eyebrows, about to ask why Jesse was out of bed, but before he could, the toddler climbed up and into his lap.

"Uh..." Matt looked down at him. "What're you doing, Jesse?"

"I can't sleep," he was promptly informed.

The little boy rested the side of his head against Matt's arm. "...what's... paperwork?"

Matt was a little touched, but he sighed and picked Jesse up under the arms. He set him down on the floor and guided him back to bed. "Come on..."

Jesse crawled onto the bed and flopped onto his back. He didn't even look the least bit tired.

"Listen, Jesse," Matt said, "you're, uh, a big boy now, so you're gonna need to get some sleep."

"Otay..."

The marshal returned to his desk and sat down. He had only written three more words when he heard Jesse say, "I gotta go potty."

He looked up and saw the boy standing in front of him.

Jesse blinked expectantly, saying no more.

Matt lowered his head for just a second and rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright... let's go."

When the two returned, Matt tucked Jesse back in, rubbing one his eyes. "Mmm... go to sleep, now, alright?"

Matt sat back down. He finished the first sheet of paperwork out of four and brushed it aside to start on the next.

It had been about five minutes since he'd taken Jesse outside; Matt paused to listen for any sounds from the boy, but heard nothing and nodded, clearing his throat and beginning to write again.

"...Matt...?"

Matt decided to just give up on work for the night. It could wait until tomorrow.

"Yes, Jesse?"

He heard Jesse sit up. "How come you's th' Marshal?"

Matt put his pencil down and blew out his candle. Standing and letting out a long yawn, he took his boots off, hung his gun belt up, and sat down on the bed.

"Well... because the people of Dodge needed one, and I was available," he replied.

As Matt laid down on his back, Jesse crawled up to his side, but stayed sitting up. "What's... avail-ble mean?"

Matt rubbed his eyes with both fists. "Look, uh, Jesse, it’s… time to get some rest- for both of us."

Jesse nodded, and Matt shut his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly through his nose.

He truly didn't expect Jesse to put his little hands on his stomach, lay on top of him, and rest his head on his chest.

Rather surprised, Matt blinked his eyes open and glanced down at the child. "...Jesse...?"

The toddler didn't reply right away; instead, he snuggled his head against Matt's chest. "G’night, Matt," he said. "...sleep tight..."

A gentle smile grew on Matt's face.

One that displayed nothing but love.

"...don't let the bed-bugs bite."

Matt tugged the blanket over Jesse's back, resting his hand there.

There was no going back now.

Matt really loved this little kid.

[sockiesock]

Otay goodnight world eek