Time-Out
[Xavier + Daughter ★ 503 words ★ Masterlist ★ Starlight Masterlist ★ Series Index ★ AO3]
Xavier will always side with his little princess.
A/N: I have like five fics I need to transfer over to a proper word document from my phone, and the motivation is just not there. :’) Here’s one.
Xavier was surprised when he walked into his apartment and saw his two-year-old daughter kneeling with her little arms raised in the air over her head as she faced the living room wall pouting. Next to her was a little pink bunny timer quietly ticking away by the seconds.
“Princess?” Xavier strode over and knelt down to his daughter’s eye-level, his voice full of concern as he spoke, “Why are you kneeling right here?”
“Time-out…” The little pig-tailed girl mumbled dishearteningly, giving her father the most pitiful look she could muster, “Mommy caught me sneaking into the pantry for snacks while she was making dinner…”
Xavier instantly melted at his daughter’s sad puppy eyes. He gave her a gentle pat on the head and a kiss on the cheek before he stood up, shaking his head in disapproval. “Daddy’s going to talk to Mommy,” he declared, not pleased to see his precious little girl being punished for such a thing as sneaking a treat, “Don’t worry, princess, Daddy will take care of this.”
The little girl turned her head back to the wall, hearing her father’s footsteps walking further and further away until he stepped into the kitchen. She could make out muffled tensed voices from both of her parents, and then she heard her father’s tone changing, sounding more pacifying. Meanwhile, she heard her mother’s voice remained tensed as more muffled words were exchanged. Suddenly, there was a few seconds of silence, piquing the little girl’s curiosity.
A minute later, Xavier walked depressingly back into the living room. The young girl looked up confused as Xavier knelt down next to her and raised his own arms overhead.
“Daddy?”
“Daddy’s in trouble with Mommy, too…”
The pig-tailed girl looked at her father sympathetically before both father and daughter turned to face the wall to carry out their respective punishment together. Between the two, the bunny timer continued to tick away. A minute passed before Xavier spoke up:
“Sweetie, how long is your punishment?”
“Ten minutes,” The girl responded sullenly.
Xavier instantly frowned and started protesting, turning in the direction of the kitchen where his wife was busy making dinner, “Hey, wait a minute, mine is one hour!”
Xavier startled when the bunny timer suddenly went off, signaling the little girl’s freedom. He watched in astonishment as his daughter happily hopped up and started to race for the living room couch and TV remote.
Xavier also started to get up, but his daughter noticed and turned around, staring him down disapprovingly. “Daddy, no!” She walked over and picked up the timer and turned it all the way around, chiding him sternly, “Daddy has to wait for Bun-Bun to ring! Daddy’s in time-out!”
She placed the timer in front of Xavier and then ran off to watch cartoons while her father gazed at her from across the room, feeling a strong sense of betrayal.
Xavier sighed and stared down at the ticking bunny timer with a slight pout on his face.
For the one anticipating
what the rest of the year might bring:
And if everything
does not fall into place
at the same time and pace,
that does not mean
the years you've waited
have somehow been a waste.
Keep planting, sowing,
living, and knowing
beautiful things
take time...
and that's okay.
