"Brook, hit the lights, will you?" Pete asked the small dark haired girl. He raised his arm so the child could escape from under the blankets.
The girl scurried across the room, flipped the switch she was barely tall enough to reach, and hurried back to the warmth of the blanket. Myka leaned her head into Pete's shoulder and smiled at their daughter when she burrowed underneath the covers and onto their laps.
"Start the movie, Momma!" The small voice insisted.
Pete fished the remote out from underneath himself and started the movie. Brook reached her hand into the popcorn bowl and took a handful that only amounted to a few pieces. Just as Brook was about to put a piece in her mouth, Pete stole it out of her hand, mocking the girl's surprised expression, and popped it into his own mouth.
"Daddy." The girl rolled her eyes.
"Did you mom teach you that?" He asked as he shot a cheeky grin at his wife, who met his expression with one identical to their daughter's.
Brook ignored Pete and redirected her attention to the movie. The sound of drums and zheng music played as the stylized oriental painting unfurled on the screen. The girl couldn't help but jump slightly when Shan-yu appeared suddenly on the screen. She had seen the film 25 times, but to her parent's amusement, it still made her jump.
The drafty bed and breakfast was particularly chilly that night. Pete made an exaggerated yawn and put his arm around Myka- to which she quirked an eyebrow, but cuddled into anyway.
Brook's favorite song, "I'll make a man out of you", was about to begin, and the child beamed excitedly at her mother. Shang's voice filled the living room. "Let's get down to business!"
Claudia peeked her head around the corner, "To defeat-" she leapt into the room dramatically. "THE HUNS!"
Pete carried on enthusiastically, waving his fist in time with the syllables. "Did they send me daughters, when I asked-"
"FOR SONS!" Brooked chimed in. Pete motioned for Myka to continue the song, but she merely smiled and laughed, shaking her head as she did.
Pete and Brook sang together, "Somehow I'll... make a man... out of YOUUUU!" The girl put a tiny finger to his broad chest and wrinkled up her face as she belted out the last note. Brook clapped and bounced up and down with delight.
"Hands down, coolest Disney princess ever!" Claudia declared as she sauntered into the room. The redhead grabbed a handful of popcorn and collapsed into the smooshy armchair.
Brook wriggled out from Pete and Myka's laps and went over to Claudia. The 3 year old climbed up the armchair and next to Claudia with ease.
"She likes me better!" Claudia mouthed to the two on the sofa.
Brook tried to imitate Claudia's position on the armchair- sideways, knees bent over the front arm, and head resting on the back arm. Her little feet stuck up on top of the arm, and her head was barely tall enough to see over them.
"I thought you were playing at open mic night, tonight?" Pete asked.
"Meh, I-" "SSHH!" The tiny voice commanded. "-am apparently supposed to be quiet!" Claudia chuckled and ruffled Brook's hair.
The next 45 minutes passed with only mild disturbances like the occasional clearing of a throat or crunching of popcorn. Brook had climbed into Claudia's lap, and was watching the movie intently when she suddenly leapt up and announced she had to pee.
"Do you need any help?" Myka called after her daughter and started to get up.
"No thank you!" The girl called from half way down the hall.
"That's good." Myka said quietly with a guilty smile. "Because it's way too cold to get up!"
"I think I am actually going to head over to open mic night. Steve's being lame, and Artie isn't exactly great company. See you guys later. You kids have fun!" She smirked playfully as she exited the room.
Shortly thereafter, Brook returned. A puzzled look washed over her face as she realized her "big sister" was no longer in the room.
"Claude went out to play guitar honey." Myka reassured.
The little one nodded and hurried back to the warmth of the covers. Once everyone was settled back down, Pete resumed the movie.
"Don't we have Mulan's sword in the wa- museum?" Myka commented, not thinking about the fact the Brooke thought her parents were museum curators.
The child turned around with a serious expression. "No talking!" She insisted.
Both Myka and Pete had to stifle a laugh. Her mother raised her hands innocently and shook her head, "Ok, ok!"
With about 20 minutes left in the film, Brook drifted off to sleep. It was only 8:30, but she was already up well past her bedtime.
"Do you want to finish it?" Myka whispered.
"Yeah, might as well, and let her sleep." Pete assented. "Plus we haven't got to my favorite line yet. Grandma is my favorite!"
Myka turned down the volume and shifted Brook so that she was stretched across their laps.
Claudia returned home at around 9:30. She quietly opened the door and crept inside. When she closed the door, however, it knocked into her guitar case. The redhead cringed instinctively, but relaxed when she realized nobody heard it.
The sound of the repetitive DVD menu and Pete's snores emanated from the living room. Claudia gently laid her guitar case on the floor and took off her boots. She padded over to the living room to find Pete asleep on the sofa and Myka curled up next to him, her head resting on his chest and his arm wrapped tightly around her. Brook had cocooned herself in the blanket and was in the space between Pete and the sofa arm.
Claudia gingerly took the remote off of Myka's lap and turned off the DVD. She slid her phone from her back pocket and opened the camera to snap a picture of the 3 all cuddled up. "Yup, I'm totally saving this for future blackmail."
Ok, So I wrote this for my friend when she was having a bad day. It's like really sickeningly sweet... but she needed it. Hope you all enjoyed :)