June woke up very early; or, at least, she thought it was early. The toddler lacked the inherent knowledge about time that her father had always possessed, so she had no way of knowing just what time of day it , considering the silence that hung in the air, it probably was safe to assume that it was very early in the morning.

After all, while her mother would tend to sleep in more often than not, it was a rare day indeed that her father was not awake exactly one hour after the sun had risen. And while he was usually fairly quiet as he performed his morning routine, there was always at least a bit of noise to indicate that someone was up and about.

There was a bit of light shining through the window and into her room, so she was almost certain that the sun was up, but she had no way of telling how much time had actually passed between the sun rising and her waking up. Which meant there was no way of knowing how long she would have to wait in her cot before someone came to let her out.

Then again...maybe she didn't have to wait at all.

It had been over three months since her first birthday - three months, two weeks, and five days to be exact; maybe she was old enough now to let herself out of the cot. There was only one way to find out for sure.

June grasped the bars of the cot tightly, using the grip to help steady herself as she got into a standing position. Once her feet were flat on the mattress, she took one hand off the bar and placed it upon the railing, taking hold of that instead. Her other hand followed shortly after. So far, everything was going according to plan. But, of course, she had yet to get to the difficult part of the operation - actually getting her legs, and by extension, the rest of her body, over the railing.

She hesitated for a moment, trying to be as quiet as she could, to see if she could hear any indication that her father (or even her mother, since there were times when they switched up who woke up first) was coming to let her out.

Hearing nothing, June decided to go back to her task.

Still holding tightly to the railing of the crib, she lifted her leg, attempting to move it up to and over the railing. Unfortunately, before she was able to get one leg up high enough, she lost her balance and tumbled back onto the mattress with a small thump.

So much for that plan. Oh, well, that just meant she had to go back to her first idea for getting out of the cot.

Still sitting on the mattress, she opened her mouth and let out a small "Meh" followed shortly after by the same noise, just slightly louder. She waited for a second and looked at the door, wondering if perhaps those noises had been enough to rouse and summon at least one of her parents. When the door showed no sign of opening, June simply began to scream, repeating the same sound over and over again, her voice becoming louder and more high-pitched with every utterance, until the sound coming from the toddler's mouth was comparable to the ringing of a very loud and very annoying alarm clock.

Despite the volume of her cries, within a few seconds, she was able to hear the sound of somebody moving around outside, even occasionally hearing that same person muttering somewhat irritably under their breath. Even though she knew now that somebody was coming to get her, June did not cease her crying until she actually heard her bedroom door swing open. As soon as she heard that sound, she instantly stopped crying.

"Daddy" she said cheerfully, reaching her arms up in a silent demand to be picked up and held. Tony sighed heavily, rubbing the remaining sleep out of his eyes as he walked over to the cot. He picked up the young toddler and held her close.

"Now, June" he began, making sure that she was looking at him before continuing to speak, "could you really not have waited a few more moments for me to wake up on my own?"

June simply stared at him for a few seconds, sticking the tip of her finger into her mouth as she blinked her large, scarlet-colored eyes, seeming to consider what her father had just said. After a moment of thought, she simply smiled and shook her head, which caused Tony to sigh once again.

"You really are too much like your mother" he said, sounding slightly exasperated, though he was unable to keep the corners of his mouth from turning upwards ever so slightly.

The toddler simply smiled in response, resting her head against the man's shoulder as he carried her out of her bedroom.

"We really should go out tonight. It's been too long since we've had a chance to have some fun together…just the two of us" Paige said off-handedly to Tony as they sat in the kitchen of their flat. She didn't even look up at him as she spoke, focusing instead on the sketchbook she held her in hands, which currently held a half-finished drawing of…something on the front page.

Despite knowing she wasn't looking at him, the time-keeper immediately turned his attention to her when she spoke to him.

"The last time we had a night out together was just over two weeks ago" he pointed out to her, briefly looking away as he handed the bottle of grey liquid to the fussing toddler in the highchair, who instantly calmed and began to drink. "I think whether that's 'too long' can be debated, Paige."

Tony grabbed his mug of nearly-black coffee and took a seat next to the woman, taking a sip of the steaming liquid before adding to his statement.

"More importantly, if we were to decide to go out tonight, we would have to take the baby along with us, which would obviously be detrimental to whatever you seem to have planned. Unless you know of somebody who would be able to watch over her with no warning whatsoever?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the corners of her lips turn up in a grin; at that moment, he knew immediately what she was thinking before she even had the chance to open her mouth.

"I'm sure they'll be happy to watch her for a few hours. After all, it's not as if they really do all that much in their free time. It'll give them something to keep them from getting too bored." she said, keeping her attention on the drawing she was working on even as she spoke.

Tony was about to respond, but a sudden squeal interrupted him before he had the chance. The sound was enough to get both of their attentions, and they turned their heads to look at the source.

Apparently finished with her bottle for the time being, June had placed the half-filled bottle on the tray in front of her, and was now looking at her parents with an almost excited expression on her face; almost as though she understood exactly what – and more importantly, who – they were talking about. She let out another excited sound, practically beaming as she turned her head to look specifically at Tony, her expression changing from excited to hopeful.

"See?" Paige questioned, her own eyes glittering as though they were actually made of silver, "June wants to spend a little time with those three, too. And, really, do you want to disappoint her?"

Tony scowled a bit, already knowing that he was going to be unable to refuse. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend some "quality time" with his partner; he just didn't enjoy the rescheduling that always came along with her last-minute suggestions. He voiced his issues to her, receiving a shrug in response. "If changing your schedule really bothers you that much, then I can help you after we get back home," Paige promised, reaching over to run her fingers over his jaw in an affectionate gesture. Tony couldn't help but smile slightly at both the offer and the gesture, even though he knew Paige would be able to offer little assistance when it came to rearranging his schedule for the rest of the week.

"Well, I suppose I can't deny that it would be nice to go out for a few hours" he admitted. "However, perhaps it would be best if we take an hour or so to prepare, before we go."

Paige stood up then, smiling at his acceptance of her last-minute plans.

"Sounds like a plan" she said, leaning down slightly to kiss him on the cheek, leaving a dark lipstick mark that he was quick to wipe away with a tissue, to her slight chagrin.

However, as she knew that arguing would only risk the chance of him changing his mind about the two of them having a night out together, she decided not to say anything about it. Instead, she walked over to June and lifted the baby out of her highchair.

"Come on, sweetie," she said to the red-haired toddler as she picked her up. "Let's go and play while your daddy finishes getting ready."

Tony couldn't help but shoot her a glare at the implication that she wasn't going to be preparing as well, receiving an almost playful smirk and shrug for his trouble.

After the two girls had left the kitchen, Tony finished his mug of coffee before going off to complete both the preparations for that night and his new schedule for the rest of the week.

Disclaimer: "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared" and all characters from it are owned by Joseph Pelling, Becky Sloan, Blink Industries, and the THIS IS IT COLLECTIVE, not by me. I do own the character of June the Calendar (or, at least, I own this particular version of the character), and the idea for this story, however.

This is part one of two of a little two-shot request/gift fic for my good friend Kashimalin. Next chapter is where we'll be meeting up with our favorite puppet students: Red, Art, and Dennis. How are they going to manage taking care of June while Paige and Tony go out and have some fun? Let's just wait and see what happens in part two.