Little boy savior
On his wobbly feet, the small toddler walked over to Sprite. She wondered if she should catch the boy if he fell or just like- let him learn his lesson or something. She didn’t get to decide when a small hand grabbed and yanked on the edge of her coat.
“Woah! Aren’t you way too strong for a little boy?” She leaned over to the side following little Jack’s wishes.
She drew the line when he started reaching for her hair. “Okay, yeah no. Let’s go over to the couch.”
She gingerly picked him up. Because her arms weren't strong enough to hold him on their own, she had to hold him close to her chest. She carefully moved the two of them over to the couch, looking over Jack's shoulder to ensure she didn't trip and fall.
Dropping him on the couch – gently, of course, she wasn’t a monster – she looked around for some toy that she could give him. After looking around the living room looking for toys that she couldn’t find – Phastos was still very organized it seemed. Considering he had an energetic little boy.
She paced around the room and onto the next. Softly muttering. “Toys. Toys. Hmm, where would the toys be?”
After a while, she gave up and remembered the boy she had left alone on the couch.
“Oh, shit.” She sprinted back towards the living room, which luckily was only a doorway away.
Little Jack sat comfortably, holding a colorful slip of paper in his hands.
“Huh. Where did you get that from?” She sighed and plopped down beside him. “Well, little guy, I got no toys for you. Your dad says I shouldn’t use my powers around you but it would be fun if I did.”
She took a peek out of the corner of her eyes and was met with unblinking eyes.
“Okay fine! A few mini fireworks wouldn’t hurt anybody.” She opened up her palms to project colorful illusions but was stopped by a small palm fitting itself in her hold.
She looked confusedly at the toddler. “You… don’t want fireworks??”
The toddler babbled a string of words that she assumed were made-up slurred words. But she lacked the patience to figure them out.
He gave Sprite a piece of paper with his other hand. “What do you want me to do with this???”
Sprite waited – more likely out of curiosity than patience – as Jack went to the other end of the couch and returned with what seemed to be a crumpled paper airplane.
“You want me to make paper airplanes when I can just show you the real thing??”
He slapped the paper that was on Sprite’s hand in frustration – which she admitted was kind of cute – and pointed to one of the walls. She looked towards it and gasped with understanding s she saw a collage of some kind made from paper airplanes. It looked messy and didn’t really make a picture but it looked properly loved. As if it was made with care.
She looked down. “Did you make that with your dads?”
Somehow understanding her, Jack nodded and clapped his hands. It must be one of those family activities that Phastos talked about. Although if it was, then she wasn’t sure if she should add her own touch or part to it.
She sat on the floor and laid her head on the seat of the couch so that now she was looking up at Jack. “You sure you don’t want to make these with your dads little guy?”
The more amount of paper being dropped in front of her face was answer enough.
Laughing out loud with Jack, and making a mess, she lost track of time.
The door swung open, both she and Jack froze. Although Jack immediately cried out in happiness when he saw his father.
Looking at the many paper airplanes scattered around the living room and Phastos’s unreadable expression, she thought she had made a big mistake.
“Sorry about the planes, to be fair, your son chose them over my amazing illusions.”
Phastos waved her off and pointed a finger at her. “This,” he gestured at the living room “ is fine. I would’ve been angrier if you had used your powers.”
She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She mocked cooed at the boy now in Phastos’s arms. “Then thank you very much, my little savior.”
Her job was finished now that Phastos was back at home. She hastily gathered her stuff and prepared to leave.
One call from Phastos and she stopped.
“Hey Sprite, thank you for watching over Jack.” She nodded.
The seemingly awkward silence that followed was broken by Jack’s rumbling stomach. She couldn’t help but burst into laughter when she looked at Jack’s unphased face. To her surprise, Phastos was laughing with her.
This feels nice.
And it got even better when Phastos asked her if she’d like to stay for lunch.
“I’d like that a lot.”