Little Star
[ONESHOT] Little StarHenry lay on his side, eyes fixated on the lovely being fast asleep next to him.
He swept her hair out of her eyes to reveal the thick set of eyelashes, which fanned out across her cheeks, and pondered whoever did she inherit her long eyelashes from. A finger reached out to trace her small nose and drew a circle around her lips, ending with a light tap on her pout.
She squirmed and he came to a halt, a hand hovering over her as he waited for the moment to pass. After a lazy yawn with her eyes still shut, she moved again then stopped. When he remembered to breath, his hand settled gently on her and he resisted the urge to caress her fluffy cheeks.
He could not believe how small and delicate she looked. The image of her curled up into a ball sent a wave of protectiveness over him and the need to shield her from all the harm in the world.
He remembered the moment they shared their first gaze. Her unrelenting stare whose curious big brown eyes bored into his, trying to figure him out only to break out in a giggle seconds later, eyes twinkling in delight when he uttered her name and nuzzled her tummy.
He had only met her two weeks ago but he was already smitten. He never thought he would fall in love again. That was until he met this little star. In his mind, he believed that she was a star that had fallen out of the sky and into his life. His little star.
“I see that I’ve lost your attention to her.”
Henry looked up to find his wife standing by the doorway and loving smile graced his lips before his head fell back on the pillow. “It’s hard to tear my gaze away,” he mumbled, finally reaching out to those cheeks he yearned to touch so badly, which felt so soft under his calloused fingers.
“I’ll have you know that it was a hard nine months,” she climbed onto the bed just behind her baby daughter, “and honestly, I’m glad she’s finally out,” his wife chuckled.
“Amber,” he clucked his tongue playfully, “I shall let her know of her mother’s true thoughts,” he said sternly, though it was far from intimidating since a smile was struggling to escape the corner of his lips.
“She’ll understand when she has kids of her own one day.”
“That isn’t going to happen.”
Amber caught herself before she burst out laughing and stretched a leg over to give him a light kick. “You’re turning into one of those dads, those who eye their daughter’s boyfriend with distrust and celebrate the moment they break up,” she said. He shrugged and noticed a tired yawn forming behind his wife’s hand. A glance at the clock told him midnight would be here soon.
Henry got to his knees and cradled their daughter into his arms and carried her over to her cot next to their bed. After tucking her in, he leaned down to give her a swift peck and returned to his wife who was already in bed, watching him with a weary smile and an outstretched hand calling him to her side.
“I know the pregnancy was tough on you,” Henry commented, wrapping his hand around hers, whose skin was as smooth as his daughter’s cheek, and climbed in next to her. Of course, it was difficult for her. Heck. He cannot imagine coping with the regular face-down trips to the toilet or the sore backaches or even the disappearance of his own two feet and whatever that comes with bringing a new life into the world. Social media never told the truth behind the rosy picture of motherhood.
“And it’ll get tougher from now on.” He reached under his pillow and presented her with a plain brown box. “So this is something to help you to get through it.” He handed it to her.
Amber lifted the cover and found herself staring into a box of colourful paper cuttings of different sizes. She squinted at the chicken scrawl (“remind me not to let you be in charge of writing”, she grumbled) and read, “Diaper change duty.” She picked another cutting.
“Play with Ava. Cook dinner. Mommy day out with friends. What are these?” she questioned, sifting through the box.
“They’re coupons. Husband coupons.” Henry beamed at his work. It took him days to come up with all the various offers, from big ticket ones to menial tasks. “I’ll do whatever it says on the paper and there’s enough for when we have our next child,” he teased.
A quick glare in his direction told him it would not happen anytime soon and also how ridiculous an idea it was when they have not even gotten the hang of being parents for the first time. But his attempts to cheer her up and offered help did not go unnoticed.
She left a chaste kiss on his lips and buried her face in the crook of his neck, melting into his warm embrace as his arms naturally circled around her.
“I thought we decided not to get each other presents,” her voice muffled by his neck, “so I didn’t get you any.”
“It’s alright, I've already gotten mine from you - our baby, Ava.” Her lips moved against his skin and without even looking, he knew she was smiling and he was too.
A faint chiming of the clock from outside their bedroom pierced the silence of the night. His eyes came to a close and tightened his arms around her.
“Merry Christmas,” he whispered.
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