#marriedtomold

[nothingbutmold]

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Ethan is no stranger to nightmares. Visions in his sleep reliving the hell of Dulvey, his encounters with the Bakers and the horrors he found there. They rouse him from his sleep often, eyes heavy with fagitue flittering open to the red numbers on the bedside. Glaring at him through the dark -- 3:33am this time.

The concerns of his dreams come second when he realizes the comforting weight on the other side of the bed is missing. An attempt is made to stifle the immediate panic bubbling up (and that urge will likely never go away), it at least prompts him to throw the blankets aside. Bare feet sluggishly yet briskly carry him to cling to the open door frame.

"Mia?" He calls out, and begins to broach the rest of the house in search of her.

[nothingbutmold]

There is a veritable breakfast feast laid out on the table when Ethan comes downstairs, an assortment of anything and everything the man could possibly enjoy for breakfast in spades. Mia grins, adjusts Rose's position on her hip and deftly takes the card (slightly soggy in one corner from teething) from the tight grip of the child. "Happy Father's Day!" Mia calls, accompanied by a chorus of squealing giggles from Rose at the sight of her father. Mia steps away, both to hand off the child and card to Ethan and to reveal the centerpiece of the table -- a brand new real and actual coffee maker, topped with a bow.

Ethan doesn't expect a few things. He doesn't expect to sleep in this morning, a loud yawn and heavy feet indication of a rested man descending the stairs. He doesn't expect the sight of a breakfast for eight to be the source of the smell that lured him out of bed, nor does he expect to be immediately greeted by a smiling wife filling his hands with a card and a laughing little girl.

He doesn't expect it to be Father's Day. It had completely slipped his mind, and the recollection shows when the words hit his ears and widen his eyes.

"Baby, you didn't have to do all of this." He tells her through a forming grin, cradling Rose into his arms in a way that lets him also read the card -- the damp corner only serving as a signature for a girl too young to wield a crayon. "Am I gonna have to worry about whatever you pulled to get that in our house?" Arms full, he tilts his head towards the coffee maker he'd been complaining about needing for years. "Thank you. I love you so much. Come here."

His arms embrace his family tightly, one kiss for each of them. Never wanting to let go, never wanting them to leave his reach again. The calm that settles over him in these moments makes everything else worth it.

Finally releasing Mia, the father begins a strut towards the dining room with an infant in tow. "Look at this, look at all of this -- all for me! None for Mom, none for you!" He speaks in that silly voice that only the three of them will ever witness, free hand wiggling fingers on top of a child's stomach and matching giggles to her own.

He gently places Rose in her high chair before motioning for her mother to join them.

[metalbound]

🧠 !

For Every 🧠 I Receive I Will Reveal One Fact About My Muse || accepting

🧠. Heisenberg hates coriander, it tastes like dish soap to him.

[nothingbutmold]

‘  is  it  freezing  to  you?  ’

question starters (accepting) | @marriedtomold

"This place is always freezing. You'd think the house was haunted, or something." Like Mia, he too has resorted to layering up in his own home in order to endure the cooler months. It's this time of the year where he really, really starts to miss the more familiar climate of the west US coast.

With a sudden clap of the hands, Ethan pushes off his knees and to a stand. "I think there's still hot cocoa left, how about I make some?" Popcorn, hot chocolate, maybe a movie -- they could turn a dull, chilly night into something bearable at the very least.

[nothingbutmold]

"someone had too much time on their hands."

b/lair witch starters (accepting) | @marriedtomold

Mia catches him gently setting the last vital piece, so focused he fails to notice the tongue peeking up from the corner of his mouth. "What, you don't like it?"

The evidence of his boredom assembled atop the coffee table, Ethan shoots a wide grin at her. His wife is about to learn the consequences of leaving a man to his own devices for too long.

"Look... it's a card house, in the middle of our house!"