Once again, RPF.
I seriously am in love with this one, I worked so hard on it, so I really hope you all like it. This is more Darren than Chris, really. And no, it's not CrissColfer.
I ship it, but I do not write it. At least, I didn't when I wrote this.
Anyway, here's some daddy Darren for you.
Disclaimer: I don't own Darren Criss, obviously, though I did come up with his wife and kids. Oh, and the whole Floozles thing? Yeah, came up with that.
It was a normal day at the Criss household. Darren and his wife, Sondra, woke up around six. As Sondra got ready for work, Darren fixed coffee and went out to get the morning paper, as he usually does. It was just a regular day in the life of Darren Criss and his family. A little over an hour later Sondra left for work, kissing Darren on the cheek before wishing him a good day.
Darren and Sondra Criss met eight years ago, and it was basically love at first sight. Within a year they were engaged, and a couple months after their wedding Sondra was pregnant with their first child, Johnathan. A year later they had their second child, Elizabeth. Sondra worked for a fashion company now, but Darren had taken a break from the big time to stay home with his family. He still had small parts here and there, but mainly he just stayed home with the kids while their mom was at work.
They had settled down in a small town, living in a nice house with a large backyard that stretched out into a grove of trees. On the weekends, the four of them would go out to the garden and plant some new flowers or pick vegetables that were fully grown. Sometimes Darren would take the kids outside during the day and let them help him water the plants. He had even built them a tree house not long ago. One Friday night, recently after it had been built, the four of them went up there and spent the night, playing with what toys the kids had taken up and snuggling up under blankets to watch old movies on a portable DVD player. Darren tried his hardest to give his children a memorable childhood everyday, and today would be no different.
After his wife left, Darren went to work on his plans for the day. It was his sons birthday, John was turning seven today, and Darren had big plans for his 'Birthday Adventure'. One hour, eight boxes, several stuffed animals and a box of dog treats later Darren had everything completely set up and began making breakfast. Just as he was setting the table he heard tiny footsteps running downstairs. His five year old daughter bolted into the kitchen, tiny stuffed bear in hand, and ran straight into his legs, wrapping her small arms around him. Darren chuckled, bending over to pick her up.
"Good morning, Elizabeth." He greeted, kissing her on the cheek. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug.
"Morning, daddy." She said quietly. A few minutes later her brother sauntered in, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Darren sat Elizabeth down in a chair as his son came towards them.
"And good morning, birthday boy." Darren grinned, ruffling John's hair. John smiled, climbing up into the chair beside his sister. Darren sat a plate full of chocolate chip pancakes down in front of the two kids, who's eyes lit up with delight. After helping them cut up their pancakes and pour their syrup and orange juice, Darren sat down across from the pair and put some pancakes on his own plate.
"I had the pony and we got to save the Floozles," Elizabeth said, taking her last bite of pancake. She had spent the majority of breakfast telling her brother and father her dream, in which she had been the Queen of a magical kingdom full of magic creatures called Floozles. Sadly the evil emperor from another kingdom had stolen the Floozles, luckily though her daddy and mommy bought her a pony and she was able to save the Floozles and restore order in the kingdom.
Darren shook his head, laughing lightly at his daughter's wide imagination. He turned to John.
"Did you have any interesting dreams?" He asked. John shook his head, looking almost sad.
"I didn't get a dream last night," he looked up at his dad, a worried look in his brown eyes. "What if I'm too old for dreams now? Do you still get dreams, Daddy?"
"Oh, John, don't worry," Darren said, standing up and gathering the plates. "You'll never be too old for dreams. Everyone dreams, maybe you were just too tired to dream last night." John pouted. Darren put their plates in the sink and turned to his children.
"Wipe that look off your face," Darren told him. "It's your birthday, be happy." Darren took a step forward, a confused look crossing his face when he heard a soft crunch. He lifted up his foot and looked down at the little brown crumbs left underneath. "Well, that's curious…" He said under his breath. This caught the attention of the two little kids and they both climbed down from their chairs, rushing over to their father.
"What're those?" John asked, pointing to the dog treats on the floor.
"They look like paw prints." Elizabeth gasped. "Did you get John a puppy for his birthday?" Elizabeth and John looked up at Darren with wide, hopeful eyes.
"I don't know, why don't we follow them and go see?" Darren suggested, reaching for their hands. They each took a hand and the three of them followed the trail of treats out into the backyard.
"LOOK! Up in the tree house!" John gasped, pointing. Darren and Elizabeth both looked up, surprised to see one of Elizabeth's stuffed monkeys hanging from the window of the tree house.
"Oh no! Not Moogle!" Elizabeth looked terrified for her little monkey, apparently named 'Moogle'. "Daddy, we have to save her!"
Darren nodded, starting forward to save his daughter's monkey. John grabbed his hand though, stopping him.
"Daddy, no! You can't go unprotected, you'll get hurt!" He told him. Darren looked down at John, looking confused.
"Hurt by what?"
"The Floozles!" Elizabeth shouted suddenly. "They've turned bad. They stole Moogle! We have to stop them, Daddy."
"But we need swords first," John said. "Swords and shields."
"I know just the place to find those." Darren grinned. "Come on, follow me." He led his kids back into the house, pulling something out of a cabinet. He handed a cardboard sword to each of them, followed by two neon yellow shields. They both smiled at the weapons, using them on each other as practice.
"What are you going to use, Daddy?" John asked, dodging a hit from his sister. He swung his sword at her, but she blocked it with her shield. Darren smiled.
"I have something special. You two stay here and don't let any Floozles into the house, I'll be right back." Darren sprinted out of the room and upstairs. He dug through his closet for a couple minutes before he found a medium-sized shoe box that had been painted with blue finger paint. He pulled the lid off and picked up the long, brown and gold wand sitting on top of the black robes. He grinned as he pulled out the rest of the contents, putting on the black robes and pocketing the wand before going back downstairs.
Elizabeth and John both looked confused when their father returned.
"You two didn't let any Floozles in, did you?" Darren asked warningly. Elizabeth shook her head.
"What are you wearing?" John asked, pulling at Darren's wizard robes. Darren knelt down beside of them, lowering his voice.
"There's something I haven't told you two," he whispered. "And you can't tell anyone else about this, alright?" Elizabeth and John both nodded with wide, brown eyes. "You have to promise me." Darren said, holding up his hands with pinkies extended. Elizabeth and John each locked fingers with their dad, promising not to tell anyone.
"I'm a wizard." He told them quietly. Elizabeth and John looked at him in shock.
"Really?" John asked. Darren nodded, pulling out his wand as proof.
"Now, let's go save Moogle before the Floozles do something bad." Darren said, standing back up and rushing to the back door. Elizabeth and John followed close behind and the adventure began.
Darren had set up random boxes here and there as tunnels and things to hide behind. The three of them spent the day fighting off various stuffed animals and invisible Floozles until they finally saved Moogle. At one point Darren ended up falling into a bush, ripping the sleeve of his robe and cutting up his arm.
Once the monkey was safe they headed back into the house for lunch. John helped his little sister make PB&J sandwiches while Darren cleaned up his arm. Just as he was about to sit down to enjoy the sandwich his kids had made for him there was a knock on the door. Darren, still in his robes, walked into the living room to answer it. And he was happily surprised.
"Chris, what're you doing here?" Darren asked, pulling his friend into a hug. Chris and Darren were still close, even to this day, but they hardly got to see each other. Chris smiled, looking Darren up and down and trying not to laugh.
"I heard it was Johnathan's birthday, and since I was in the neighborhood, I decided to drop by." Chris tilted his head. "What are you wearing?"
"Daddy helped us save Moogle!" Elizabeth exclaimed, coming into the room, holding up her stuffed monkey. John came in behind her, a wide grin on his face when he saw the wrapped box in Chris's hands. Chris looked up at Darren with an amused smile.
"Oh come on, don't act like you never had adventures on your birthdays…" Darren said. "Though, these adventures seem to get more dangerous the older you get." He held up his bandaged arm.
"What happened?" Chris asked, looking concerned.
"A Floozle pushed him into a bush." Elizabeth said. "But he fought the Floozle off and now he's alright, 'cause Daddy's really brave." She hugged her father's leg. Darren smiled, ruffling her hair.
"A Floozle?" Chris asked, acting surprised. "Oh no, I heard those can be really scary. There aren't anymore around here are there?"
Elizabeth shook her head, giggling. "No, me, Daddy, and John got rid of them all!"
Chris chuckled and Darren pulled him into the house, closing the door.
"It sounds like you've had an eventful birthday," Chris said to John. John smiled, nodding. Chris sat the box down on the coffee table and looked at John and Elizabeth. "So you haven't seen me in nearly a year and I don't even get a hug when I pop in?" This was all the initiative Elizabeth needed before she rushed into Chris's arms. Chris tried to see them as often as he could, it seemed appropriate since Darren and Sondra had named him their godfather. Elizabeth seemed to be the closest to Chris out of the two, they just had this bond since the day they saw each other. Chris had loved her as if she were his ever since he held her in the hospital.
Darren watched as Chris pulled John into a hug, wishing him a happy birthday and commenting on how big they've gotten. Chris sat down on the couch, pulling Elizabeth into his lap and John beside him.
"I got you something I'm sure you'll love," he said, grinning. He handed the box to John, who immediately ripped the paper off. Darren stepped closer to see what it was.
"You got me… books?" John asked, looking up at Chris, confused. Chris was still smiling, and Darren's eyes lit up when he saw the box set of books sitting on his son's lap.
"Those are more than just books, John." Darren said, sitting on his knees in front of his son. "These are legend."
"What are they?" John questioned, picking up the first one and examining the cover.
"Harry Potter, probably one of the best book series' ever written." Chris said.
"They're about wizards," Darren informed him. John looked excited by this.
"Wizards? Like, real wizards like you?" John asked excitedly. Darren nodded.
"Real wizards, famous wizards." Darren's eyes were shining as he told John all about Harry Potter and his friends. Chris and Darren tried to tell the two kids as much as possible without spoiling anything from the books, just enough to get them interested.
Chris stayed for the rest of the evening, enjoying a nice lunch and dinner with the Criss's. Once Sondra got home they had cake and ice cream while John and Elizabeth excitedly told her the events of the day.
"I'm beat, I do believe it's time for bed," Sondra announced, standing up.
"But Mommy, you just got home." John whined. Sondra frowned, running a hand through his curly brown hair.
"I'm sorry, baby," she said sadly. "But tomorrow's my day off, so you can have me all day." John looked happier at hearing this. He stood in his chair, wrapping his arms around his mom's neck in a tight hug. Sondra smiled, kissing his cheek. She did the same to Darren and Elizabeth before heading off to bed. Chris, too, stood up.
"I should probably go, I have an audition tomorrow." He said, hugging Elizabeth and John. Darren stood and hugged him, patting him on the back.
"It was great seeing you, feel free to stop by anytime." He said. Chris nodded.
After they finished up the dishes, Darren, John, and Elizabeth all went to the couch. John and Elizabeth sat on either side of Darren as he cracked open the first book of the Harry Potter series and began reading it to them. Halfway through chapter two Darren noticed that they had dozed off. Smiling to himself, he sat the book down and picked his two kids up, carrying them upstairs to their respective beds.
It had been quite an eventful day, and Darren had to admit he was rather tired from all the adventures. He smiled, feeling successful at giving his son a memorable birthday, and already making plans for his daughter's.