((sorry it's late, been playing Guild Wars 2, which I got for Christmas))
Chasing a four year old around the house was not the way
that Eva particularly wanted to spend her evening, considering she was still a
little bruised from the fight she’d been involved in earlier in the day, but if
she wanted to get her adopted son to take a bath tonight it was a necessary
evil.
“Need a hand?” Nale chuckled as the messy haired child
darted underneath his legs and ran down the corridor, wearing only his boxer
shorts.
“That would be nice.” Eva growled, pushing past her friend
and following the giggling.
Nale smirked and followed, it was always entertaining to
watch the immortal bargain with her son.
According to Jin the boy had actually had a bath willingly
yesterday, but only because he’d been helping her in the garden and if Eva had
managed to teach him anything it was ‘if you’re covered in mud, you have to wash
before dinner’.
The day before yesterday it had taken the promise of an ice
cream to get him to take a bath, after which the four year old had required
another bath, just to get the ice cream out of all the interesting places it
had managed to get. Nale had never seen anyone get ice cream in their ears
before…
“Now where did he go?” Eva muttered, looking at all the open
doors and starting towards the most obvious one, her son’s bedroom.
“I believe this is yours.” Orion stepped out of the study
with a rather put out looking four year old in his arms, looking a little
exasperated.
“You’d be right.” Eva snorted, amused by both Orion and her
son, “Harry, how many times have I told you not to disturb Orion while he’s
working?” She tutted at the boy, taking him from Orion and giving the huge man
an apologetic look before heading back towards the bathroom.
“He wun’t working!” Harry protested.
“Wasn’t not wun’t, Harry.” Eva gently chided, “He wasn’t
using his computer was he?”
“No.” Harry looked scornful for just a second, realised
where she was heading and tried to squirm out of her grip.
“For…” Eva bit off what she was going to say, thoroughly
sick of arguing with her son every day about the dreaded b word, but not
willing to swear at a child, “Harry, remember what I told you about baths?”
“If I didn’t have a bath every day, a monster would come and
eat me.” Harry nodded.
“So why won’t you have a bath?”
“Because you and Auntie Jin beat monsters up.” Harry
explained patiently, in the exact tone of voice she’d often heard Jin using on
her during one of her denser moments.
Ok, so while the fact Harry had seen the pair of them taking
down a triad of monstrous creatures this morning, all of whom had been unlike
anything Eva had seen before, and likely having originated from the home of the
‘Lord of Darkness’ that Eva had taken down on the behest of her Boss around
lunch time (hence the bruising), had effectively ruined that strategy of
getting Harry to bathe, it had been rather therapeutic, considering that it had
been a while since Eva had been able to pound on anything without having to
worry about holding back and motherhood was stressful.
“Fine, if you don’t take baths every day, I’ll stop buying
chocolate milkshake.” Eva threatened.
“Uh uh.” Harry shook his head, “Auntie Jin makes the
shopping list.”
“I’ll tell Auntie Jin not to put it on.” Eva warned the boy,
who watched Nale pretend to sulk, and giggled, only to cause Eva to shut the
bathroom door, effectively trapping in the bathroom and stopping Nale from
continuing to be a bad influence.
For now at least.
“I don’t wanna bath.” Harry glowered. “I don’t, I don’t, I
don’t…” The four year old trailed off at the look on his mother’s face, knowing
the look all to well.
“Bath
or no milkshake before bed.”
“But…” Harry sulked.
“No buts.”
“Fine.” And now Harry sounded like Nale when Jin dragged him
off to help her with the shopping, as he finally got into the bath. “But it had
better be a big one.”
Eva chuckled, causing her son to give her an indignant look,
“You’ll get the same size milkshake as you always do. Now close your eyes, I’m
gonna wash your hair.”
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