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magicknightrayearthTitle: Just a Little Break
Rating: G
Length: 1300 words
Content notes: Kid!fic fluff
Author notes: This is nonsense that I got stuck in my head probably about an hour after I posted the prompt yesterday.
Summary: Clef takes a break from work when his daughter decides she doesn't want to take a nap.
Clef was on the verge of tearing his hair out over the Mage Guild mid-year report. There was just so much going on and - he sighed and shoved the papers aside and reached for the pot of tea on the tray precariously balanced on the corner of his desk, hoping it still had something in it.
Mid-pour, a little voice called to him from the doorway. "Baba Clef?"
Ami was standing just inside the door staring at him. Clef blinked at his two-year-old daughter wondering how she had managed to wander in without triggering any of the monitoring spells on her bedroom.
"Why are you up, sweetheart?" he asked. "You're supposed to be asleep."
"No sleep." Ami shook her head, with an expression so like her mother when she was annoyed that Clef had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "I don't like it."
"Little one, you need to have a nap."
"No naps. Naps bad."
His child had, of course, inherited his terrible sleeping habits. Clef rubbed his forehead before standing up.
Ami backed up but didn't leave the room. "No nap!"
Clef glanced at the desk and the report he needed to have done by the next few days then back up at his daughter. "Okay, you don't have to nap, but Baba needs to work."
"Ami help?" She walked further into the room
"Fine." Clef pushed his chair back a little ways from the desk and pat his knee. "You might make more sense of this than me."
Bolting across the room, Ami clambered into his lap. "Pen?" She shuffled through the papers and picked up the first pen she found. "Not Ami's pen," she said and set it aside. "Where Ami's pen?"
Clef reached around her to open the side drawer and pulled out the little worn blue pen that he'd started letting her use while she was lurking in his study with him. She happily grabbed it out of his hands and unscrewed the lid, before reaching out for the nearest stack of paper. "Ami work!"
Removing Skoda's financial report from her hand, Clef found a few bits of scrap paper for her to use. "Are you going to take notes for me, then?"
"Mm." Ami scribbled a long series of loops.　
"The arumi crop is doing well this year. It looks like they will make well beyond the quota needed for the outstanding orders."
"No orders. No arumi."
"You don't want arumi?" Clef laughed. "But last time Mama wore it, you said it was pretty."
"When Mama home?"
"Later. I told you she'd be home after your nap, but you aren't napping, so I guess she won't be home today."
"Baba Clef mean." Ami thumped him on the arm with her pen, leaving a streak of ink on his robes. "No lie to Ami. Mama home soon."
"Yes, Mama will be home soon." Clef looked over at the clock. "In a few hours." He picked up one of the other financial reports and set it down a little ways from Ami's papers. "Are you helping or are you doing your own work?"
"Hush now! Ami work!" She set down the pen and reached for the pile of papers in front of her. Picking up the top page - a local report on schools - and wrinkled her nose at it before setting it down next to her paper and scribbling more on her 'notes'. For the next few minutes, Ami continued to riffle through paperwork and intently write. Sometimes she managed something that looked almost like a recognisable letter or two, then it just devolved back into the deliberate scrawl of nonsense - that certainly didn't seem to be nonsense to her.
Clef may have spent more time just watching her than he should have. She just had the same hunch of the shoulders and intense concentration her mother had when she was studying. With the way Ami carried herself and her colouring so much like Umi's - even if her hair had the unfortunate untameable nature of Clef's - she was almost a miniature version of her.
After a while he looked over at Clef's untouched she and tapped it with her pen. "Baba Clef work. Work more. Work good."
Oh yes, just what this family needed was yet another workaholic.
Pulling the pen out of her hand, Clef set it down on the desk and turned her toward him. "Ami, sweetheart, why don't you go down and play."
"Baby Clef play too?"
"No, sweetheart, Baba can't play right now. Baba needs to work on these reports."
With a serious nod, she turned around and settled more firmly onto his knee, fiercely taking back up her pen. "Work first. Play later."
If that was what he sounded like lately, Ferio was probably right that he needed to take another break. Maybe he should see if Umi was still interested in trying to take that family holiday in Japan. Ami was probably capable of holding on for a translocation spell, especially if they both clung firmly to her, and she did enjoy visits from her grandparents. It was probably about time Clef saw more of where Umi came from. He'd only traveled with her once or twice since Ami had been born, and never very far nor for very long - a night or two at most.
Clef found another mostly blank piece of paper and started making a list of what he absolutely needed to do before they could go on holiday, then he went shuffling through the stack of papers to check what the current Academy term dates were. It felt like they should be having a break from lessons soon.
"Hey, do you want to see your grandparents soon?" he asked.
"Obabachan!" She practically squealed with delight as she turned to look at him. "Obabachan visit?"
"We can go see her and your grandfather, if Mama and Baba can sort things out."
"Obabachan…" Ami looked at him thoughtfully, tapping her pen against her chin like he did - more often than he realised according to Umi - before holding it up and declaring. "Present! For Obabachan!"
Clef hissed in a breath and probably pulled a face because Ami pinched her mouth together in annoyance.
"Why no?" she asked.
Opening his mouth once or twice, Clef debated on trying to explain the whole not being able to take things from Cephiro to Tokyo, but he wasn't sure if she wouldn't try to argue that he was wrong, since she was always able to take things with her when they went back and forth between the home and the Castle. There might be something from Tokyo he could convince her would be a good present. She had that book of drawings and colouring pencils that her grandmother had brought her their last visit.
"It will have to be a very special present."
Ami nodded and yawned wide.
"And now, it is time for little people to sleep." Take the pen back again, Clef set it aside and gathered her up into his arms.
"No sleep," she mumbled, curling closer even as she complained.
Yes, very like her mother.
Clef carried her down the corridor to her bedroom. The monitoring spells still hummed softly as they walked through the door. Completely useless for knowing if Ami were awake if she wasn't distressed. Perhaps he should fix that flaw. Then again, he didn't need to know all the times she was awake unless she needed him or Umi, especially if she was going to remain as bad at sleeping as he was.
Tucking her back into her bed, Clef picked up the storybook off the bedside table and sat down, leaning back against the headboard as he started to read.
And that's where Umi found them hours later, both sound asleep.
Rating: G
Length: 1300 words
Content notes: Kid!fic fluff
Author notes: This is nonsense that I got stuck in my head probably about an hour after I posted the prompt yesterday.
Summary: Clef takes a break from work when his daughter decides she doesn't want to take a nap.
Clef was on the verge of tearing his hair out over the Mage Guild mid-year report. There was just so much going on and - he sighed and shoved the papers aside and reached for the pot of tea on the tray precariously balanced on the corner of his desk, hoping it still had something in it.
Mid-pour, a little voice called to him from the doorway. "Baba Clef?"
Ami was standing just inside the door staring at him. Clef blinked at his two-year-old daughter wondering how she had managed to wander in without triggering any of the monitoring spells on her bedroom.
"Why are you up, sweetheart?" he asked. "You're supposed to be asleep."
"No sleep." Ami shook her head, with an expression so like her mother when she was annoyed that Clef had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "I don't like it."
"Little one, you need to have a nap."
"No naps. Naps bad."
His child had, of course, inherited his terrible sleeping habits. Clef rubbed his forehead before standing up.
Ami backed up but didn't leave the room. "No nap!"
Clef glanced at the desk and the report he needed to have done by the next few days then back up at his daughter. "Okay, you don't have to nap, but Baba needs to work."
"Ami help?" She walked further into the room
"Fine." Clef pushed his chair back a little ways from the desk and pat his knee. "You might make more sense of this than me."
Bolting across the room, Ami clambered into his lap. "Pen?" She shuffled through the papers and picked up the first pen she found. "Not Ami's pen," she said and set it aside. "Where Ami's pen?"
Clef reached around her to open the side drawer and pulled out the little worn blue pen that he'd started letting her use while she was lurking in his study with him. She happily grabbed it out of his hands and unscrewed the lid, before reaching out for the nearest stack of paper. "Ami work!"
Removing Skoda's financial report from her hand, Clef found a few bits of scrap paper for her to use. "Are you going to take notes for me, then?"
"Mm." Ami scribbled a long series of loops.　
"The arumi crop is doing well this year. It looks like they will make well beyond the quota needed for the outstanding orders."
"No orders. No arumi."
"You don't want arumi?" Clef laughed. "But last time Mama wore it, you said it was pretty."
"When Mama home?"
"Later. I told you she'd be home after your nap, but you aren't napping, so I guess she won't be home today."
"Baba Clef mean." Ami thumped him on the arm with her pen, leaving a streak of ink on his robes. "No lie to Ami. Mama home soon."
"Yes, Mama will be home soon." Clef looked over at the clock. "In a few hours." He picked up one of the other financial reports and set it down a little ways from Ami's papers. "Are you helping or are you doing your own work?"
"Hush now! Ami work!" She set down the pen and reached for the pile of papers in front of her. Picking up the top page - a local report on schools - and wrinkled her nose at it before setting it down next to her paper and scribbling more on her 'notes'. For the next few minutes, Ami continued to riffle through paperwork and intently write. Sometimes she managed something that looked almost like a recognisable letter or two, then it just devolved back into the deliberate scrawl of nonsense - that certainly didn't seem to be nonsense to her.
Clef may have spent more time just watching her than he should have. She just had the same hunch of the shoulders and intense concentration her mother had when she was studying. With the way Ami carried herself and her colouring so much like Umi's - even if her hair had the unfortunate untameable nature of Clef's - she was almost a miniature version of her.
After a while he looked over at Clef's untouched she and tapped it with her pen. "Baba Clef work. Work more. Work good."
Oh yes, just what this family needed was yet another workaholic.
Pulling the pen out of her hand, Clef set it down on the desk and turned her toward him. "Ami, sweetheart, why don't you go down and play."
"Baby Clef play too?"
"No, sweetheart, Baba can't play right now. Baba needs to work on these reports."
With a serious nod, she turned around and settled more firmly onto his knee, fiercely taking back up her pen. "Work first. Play later."
If that was what he sounded like lately, Ferio was probably right that he needed to take another break. Maybe he should see if Umi was still interested in trying to take that family holiday in Japan. Ami was probably capable of holding on for a translocation spell, especially if they both clung firmly to her, and she did enjoy visits from her grandparents. It was probably about time Clef saw more of where Umi came from. He'd only traveled with her once or twice since Ami had been born, and never very far nor for very long - a night or two at most.
Clef found another mostly blank piece of paper and started making a list of what he absolutely needed to do before they could go on holiday, then he went shuffling through the stack of papers to check what the current Academy term dates were. It felt like they should be having a break from lessons soon.
"Hey, do you want to see your grandparents soon?" he asked.
"Obabachan!" She practically squealed with delight as she turned to look at him. "Obabachan visit?"
"We can go see her and your grandfather, if Mama and Baba can sort things out."
"Obabachan…" Ami looked at him thoughtfully, tapping her pen against her chin like he did - more often than he realised according to Umi - before holding it up and declaring. "Present! For Obabachan!"
Clef hissed in a breath and probably pulled a face because Ami pinched her mouth together in annoyance.
"Why no?" she asked.
Opening his mouth once or twice, Clef debated on trying to explain the whole not being able to take things from Cephiro to Tokyo, but he wasn't sure if she wouldn't try to argue that he was wrong, since she was always able to take things with her when they went back and forth between the home and the Castle. There might be something from Tokyo he could convince her would be a good present. She had that book of drawings and colouring pencils that her grandmother had brought her their last visit.
"It will have to be a very special present."
Ami nodded and yawned wide.
"And now, it is time for little people to sleep." Take the pen back again, Clef set it aside and gathered her up into his arms.
"No sleep," she mumbled, curling closer even as she complained.
Yes, very like her mother.
Clef carried her down the corridor to her bedroom. The monitoring spells still hummed softly as they walked through the door. Completely useless for knowing if Ami were awake if she wasn't distressed. Perhaps he should fix that flaw. Then again, he didn't need to know all the times she was awake unless she needed him or Umi, especially if she was going to remain as bad at sleeping as he was.
Tucking her back into her bed, Clef picked up the storybook off the bedside table and sat down, leaning back against the headboard as he started to read.
And that's where Umi found them hours later, both sound asleep.
