Family Fluff

(For character descriptions, click here) (But I still have some description in here)

Federal Way, Washington, 1990s — Heather Robinson hummed to herself while she flipped the pancakes on the griddle. A pair of arms snaked around her waist a few seconds later and she tilted her head up, sea-green eyes meeting her husband’s amber ones.

“Good morning, soldier,” she said.

“Not a soldier anymore, hon,” Ethan replied groggily as he kissed her forehead.

Heather smiled. “You’ll always be one to me.”

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face and he shifted so he could kiss her lips. “You know, I’m surprised Maddie isn’t awake yet,” he said. “She’s usually the first one up.”

“Well, not today, handsome,” she said. She brushed a hand through his red hair, which had now reached about a few inches in length, save for stopping at the nape of his neck. Her hand moved to his cheek and she smirked playfully. “Maybe you need a little trim.”

“Yeah, no,” Ethan said. “Absolutely n-”

The baby monitor crackled to life with their daughter’s cries.

“I’ll get her,” Ethan said before Heather could make a move. He left and after taking the pancakes off the griddle and turning the stove off, she secretly followed.

“Hi, baby girl,” she heard as she approached the nursery. “How are you?”

Maddie’s cries started to dwindle and soon turned into giggles. Heather peeked around the doorframe and watched as Ethan gently ‘flew’ the nine-month-old in the air.

“We’re gonna fly to the moon!” he said. Maddie’s giggles grew louder as he started moving around the room. “Wheee!”

Heather was seconds away from grabbing the camera when a burning smell wafted into the hallway and under her nose.

The pancakes!

She bolted back to the kitchen, the fire alarm now going off, and took the now-burnt pancakes off the stove. “Just my luck,” she muttered. On the other hand, she now had that sweet picture of her husband and daughter to keep in her memories.

The alarm went off, followed closely by, “You okay, hon?”

She turned to see Ethan and Maddie coming over. “Fine, but I can’t say the same for these,” she said, gesturing to the burnt breakfast.

Maddie reached out towards her. Ethan wrinkled his nose. “Traitor,” he mumbled under his breath.

Heather giggled and took Maddie from him, saying, “Good morning, sweetie.” She started bouncing their daughter on her hip, eliciting more giggles.

“She’s like the queen of giggles or something,” Ethan remarked. He grabbed the measuring cup and poured more batter onto the griddle.

Heather kissed Maddie’s head and then tickled her.

Ethan smiled and slightly turned from the stove to catch them both in a hug that lasted long enough for the second batch of pancakes to start burning and set off the fire alarm again.

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©H.S. Kylian 2019

(Critiques are welcome and appreciated!)