Ice Cream?
TW: none, other than vague mention of the lab/doctors.
Delusion is trying to be a good dad.
If Dream has learned anything from adopting the clones from the lab, it's that fatherhood is very difficult. Or maybe having nine kids, varying from teenage to toddler just amplified the normal challenges. Including doctors' appointments, from making sure everyone was ready and out the door on time to splitting his focus between the children who were being seen and the ones who were waiting for this to be over.
Somehow, he managed to keep them all behaved and the doctors' appointments went more or less without a hitch. All of the children got a clean bill of health, the same as they had when they were first rescued. Dream couldn't help but feel relieved as he gathered the children and did a quick headcount; yes, all nine were there. He hadn't lost one. Good.
While he was new to fatherhood, he'd done a decent amount of research into the subject, asking the people running the orphanage for advice. They'd almost unanimously told him that good behavior should be rewarded.
"Now then," he said, making seven heads snap up to look at him. None quite met his eyes, and Patch and Mal didn't look up from the floor at all, as he'd learned to expect. "You've all done very well today, and I think you deserve a treat. Who wants some ice cream?"
To the average child, that would have been a very exciting offer. Dream's kids just stared blankly. As always, Somnus was the one who broke the confused silence. "What is 'ice cream?'"
Dream's heart skipped a beat, and he fought down a grimace at the sensation. Of course these children had never heard of ice cream. Of course. Taking a deep breath, he explained carefully. "It's a sort of sweet. There's a lot of different flavors. I can give you some to try."
The children exchanged glances, and Delusion knew there was information passing in a way he'd never understand. When the lab had told them to stay quiet, the children had developed a series of signals. He could catch a bit, in the flick of a wing or the tilt of a head, but he couldn't make sense of it, and none of the children seemed eager to share a translation with him.
After they seemed to come to some sort of agreement, Somnus drew himself up to his full height again. "We'll try it."
"Good," Dream said, almost to himself, as he corralled the children out of the doctors' office and directed them in the correct direction. "It's only a short walk." When Malcolm made a face at the mention of walking, Dream gently scooped him up. To his relief, this time he was not bitten. He would have tried to lift Ganymede as well, but they just hovered at Somnus' side like a shadow, and it was more work to separate them than it was worth.
Was it a smart idea to bring nine children who had been through the horrors of that lab only a few short months ago to some random ice cream shop by JR? Probably not. But Dream wasn't going to let these kids grow up without tasting ice cream. And when he'd searched for places close by that had good ice cream the night before, this place had the most consistent good reviews.
The bell on the shop door dinged softly as the children filed in, with Puzzle stopping to hold the door for Six (Dream shuddered every time he used that name, but Six had looked so distressed at the mention of changing it that he couldn't bring himself to make them. At least, not yet). Dream watched them look around at the bright pastels in wonder. Somnus' eyes were darting over the handful of other customers, one wing draped around Ganymede's shoulder, holding them close. Dream mentally cheered at the sight; such open affection (even as nonchalant as this) wasn't common from Somnus.
A few people looked up at them when they entered, and Dream could feel stares. He wasn't bothered, but he could see the children starting to fidget. "Come on," he said, keeping his voice gentle. "You can go sit, and I'll get some for you."
The children shuffled off to a table in the corner, still looking around anxiously at the civilians. Once they were settling in, Dream made his way to the counter and struck up conversation with a disconcerted looking employee. After about ten minutes, he was returning to his children with a collection of bowls with large scoops of various ice cream flavors. "Here we are," he said lightly. "I've got a few options, and you're all free to try as many as you like."
With that, he started walking through what he'd gotten: vanilla, strawberry, cookies and cream, and caramel. The kids looked mystified by the ice cream, looking at it with wide eyes. "… It's for us?" Puzzle asked hesitantly, leaning over the table to inspect the ice cream closer. As if Dream hadn't told them it was for them when he brought them here.
"Yes, Puzzle," Dream said, keeping his voice gentle. "You can try whatever you like, and if you don't like it, you don't have to have more." As he spoke, he handed out spoons.
Slowly, the kids moved to try the ice cream. Somnus took the first bite, a small spoonful of vanilla, and Dream saw his eyes light up for a brief moment before Somnus schooled his expression back to calm. "It's alright," he said with a shrug that Dream knew wasn't as nonchalant as he wanted it to be, and the rest of the children descended upon the sweet treat.
The ice cream was gone in twenty minutes, and the children's eager chatter had descended into blessed quiet. Ganymede had crawled into Somnus' lap, Sunny was leaning against Percy, and Puzzle had pulled Mal into his arms when the littler child started to droop. Patch had laid his arm on the table and rested his chin on it, runnning his fingers over the embossed design on his bowl. Dream figured it was probably time to go home, but the peace of the children made him hold his silence.
Puzzle spoke up, voice quiet. "Can we… do this more often, sir?" Dream didn't need to remove the magic suppressor to see his contentment, the hope the child rarely dared to have.
He didn't hesitate. "Of course."
"Every day?" Freddy perked up a little.
Dream laughed. "Maybe not quite that often. How does once a week sound? Or after important things, like the doctor?"
The kids murmured agreements.
