Disclaimer: I don't own it. If I did, this all would be CANNON, not fannon, okay :)
Charlie
scooped Eva up and planted a kiss on her mouse-brown hair. "Happy
Birthday Eva Maerie," he said smiling widely. She pouted prettily at
him.
"You tell Papa, Eva say NO DRESS!" she put her head on his shoulder and tears fell off of her long lashes onto his bare skin.
"Eva, don't you want to look pretty for your party," he asked gently.
"Noooooooooo," she wailed, burying her face in his neck.
"What in the WORLD is wrong, Eva," Sev asked, stepping into the room.
"Papa,
no dress," she sobbed out, face still planted in her Daddy's neck. Sev
reached out for her. She cried harder and clung to Charlie. "Daddy,
nooooooooo! No DRESS! TELL HIM NO!" Sev sighed.
"Eva Maerie Snape,"
he said gruffly. "I believe that is QUITE enough of this tantrum. Papa
will let you wear shorts under your dress if you just. Stop.
Caterwauling. Now." She blinked the tears from her eyes and looked up
with him, beaming.
"Meow?" she asked, voice still watery from tears.
It
took every ounce of strength for him to hold back a laugh. He watched
Charlie face the same struggle as he placed Eva down on the floor to
play and kissed her on the top of the head again. He excused himself,
and Sev could tell he was biting the inside of his cheeks to stop from
laughing. His eyes sparkled as he dashed off. Sev was amused to hear
the bathroom door close and then the sound of muffled laughter. He
caught his own laugh that was trying to rise up. He was doing admirably
until Eva grabbed her dolls and looked at them seriously.
"Meow,
meow, mew mew mew meow," she meowed at them. Sev lost all sense of
control and fell into peals of laughter. He laughed for long minutes.
Eva watched him curiously.
"Okay, my little kitten," he said,
finally able to breathe, "Daddy is going to come back and get you
dressed in a few minutes. Can you play quietly until then?" She nodded
up at him, grinning cheekily.
"Papa silly," she said, smiling. He chuckled.
"Eva's sillier," he said, kissing her quickly and moving to the bathroom to speak to Charlie.
Charlie
was sitting on the loo, face buried in a towel, still snorting. He
looked up at the towering form of his husband. "Meow," he cackled.
"She's a cheeky little thing, indeed," Sev drawled. Charlie nodded.
"Wonder where she learned that," Charlie said mildly. Sev leaned to kiss him gently.
"I can't imagine, my love," he half growled, before capturing Charlie's mouth again.
oooooooooooooo
"Aleksandra
Belladonna Snape, you come here this instant," Charlie growled, chasing
the five-year-old through their guests. Draco turned and grabbed the
raven-haired child as she tried to dart past. Charlie grabbed the
still-struggling girl and mouthed "Thank, Mate." He turned Aleksandra
to face him. "Honestly Aleks, you'd think I had asked you to drink one
of your Papa's potions instead of asking you to help me serve the
juice," he muttered to her. "Now look," he pointed at Severus, who
looked ready to murder them both, "Papa's mad at us"
He moved back
to the juice, and focused on pouring for a few moments. Sev walked
behind him and turned him toward the bedroom without a word. He dropped
his head and walked quickly. As they past Ginny, she grinned.
"I'll mind the juice, love," she said quietly.
Charlie
nodded almost imperceptibly. Once in the bedroom he stood at the foot
of the bed, head bowed and hands clasped behind his back, waiting for a
command. He heard the door close, then locking charms. He heard Sev
move toward him and willed himself not to fall pleading at his feet.
The older man moved in front of him and raised his chin with a long,
thin finger under his chin.
"Charlie, have I taught you nothing of
decorum in all this time?" he asked with a sigh. Charlie looked into
his eyes, and was pained by the disappointment he saw there. His breath
caught. "Answer, pet," Sev said quietly.
"You have taught me all I
know of decorum, Sir," he said, "but I failed to put my training into
practice." He dropped his eyes. "I'm sorry, Master, I'll do better, I
swear." He started to weep.
"Ah, Charlie, my sensitive soul. I'm
glad you have the sense to realize your own failings, but this time I
honestly believe it is a failing for us both. I'm sorry, my love. You
aren't in trouble. Come kiss me." Charlie lifted his head for the
kisses. The kisses grew hungrier as they went on.
Charlie reached his hand down to the front of Sev's pants, but the black-haired man pulled away.
"No,
pet," he whispered, "consider it a punishment for us both for our
failings." He pulled Charlie close again and pulled him fully again.
They both moaned when the kiss ended, and Sev quickly moved to the
door, as if to get away from the temptation of his pet. "Come along,
love, we've a birthday party to host."
oooooooooooooo
"Aleks, your Aunt asked you a question," Charlie said quietly.
"Hmph,"
the little witch tossed her long black hair and clamped her mouth shut.
Severus watched the scene from a few feet away. He moved closer as the
raven hair tossed again. Liza tried again.
"Aleks, why did you hit Katie?" Aleks kicked her right foot up toward her Aunt, but it was caught in the deft hand of her Papa.
"Aleksandra,"
he said coldly, "you have two choices. Both of them begins with telling
your Aunt Liza why you hit your cousin. One of the choices ends with an
apology, the other with a spaking. Which do you choose"
"LET GO," she shrieked, pulling her leg, trying to free herself from his grip. Her Papa held her firmly.
"Aleksandra,
this goes NO further," he said. "I apologize. I was mistaken. One of
the choices both begins and ends with a spanking." He pulled the still
shreiking and kicking child onto his lap and spanked her twice. She
sobbed, pride wounded. Every cousin had stopped and watched her Papa
punish her.
"I don't LOVE YOU," she cried out, pushing away from her Papa. He raised his eyebrow.
"Well,
I'm not overly fond of your behavior, Aleksandra, so I guess we are
both discontent. Now, are you prepared to tell your Aunt Liza why you
hit Katie, or are you going to bed?" Aleks stayed silent, tears falling
down her face. "Bed it is then," he said and picked her up. "I'm sorry
Liza." Aleks kicked and screamed at him, slapping at him with her tiny
hands as he carried her to her room. When the door closed the room was
silent.
"Who wants to play Pin the Snitch on the Seeker?" Molly called to her grandchildren, and the game started with much laughter.
oooooooooooooo
Aleks' door opened, letting a wail escape, along
with a disheveled looking Sev. His eyes caught Charlie's for a moment,
and Charlie was shocked to see tears in the onyx depths. Sev turned
toward the bathroom. The door closed with a soft click. Charlie glanced
about, making for sure that no one else had noticed. They were all
still engaged in the game, so he made his way down the short hall and
knocked on the bathroom door.
"Sev, love, it's me," he said quietly.
"Come
in, pet," he heard from the other side of the door. He opened it
slowly, peering in. Severus' face was red, though dry. Charlie moved
behind him, wrapping his arms around the older man's waist.
"What happened, love?" he asked, pressing his face into Sev's back. Sev laughed bitterly.
"Oh, the normal child arguments. She yelled about not loving me, said she hated me, wished me dead. Nothing too exciting"
Charlie's
mouth dropped open. He drew back and walked out of the bathroom and
straight into Aleks' room. She glared up at him as he came through the
door.
"Aleksandra, the things you said to your Papa were absolutely
unforgivable," he said, sitting on the floor beside her bed. "You
intentionally said things you knew would hurt him. Papa loves you more
than anything in the whole world, and you told him you hated him and
wanted him to die." Her lower lip trembled slightly. "Why would you do
that, baby?" She burst into tears.
"Papa spanked me in front of EVERYONE," she wailed, "They all SAW! They all WATCHED"
"Aleks,"
he sighted, "you misbehaved in front of EVERYONE. AND you were going to
kick your Aunt Liza. What if you had accidentally kicked her in the
stomach and hurt the baby? You could have stopped being punished at any
time if you had just told her what Katie did to you to make you so
mad." The dark blue eyes of his daughter met his brown ones. She cried
harder. Charlie pulled her onto his lap, rocking her gently.
"Papa HATES ME now," she sobbed. Charlie rubbed her back gently.
"Oh,
lovey, Papa could never ever hate you. He's very disappointed with how
you acted. He's sad about what you said. But you could kill someone and
Papa would still love you"
"Is everyone mad at me?" she whispered.
He shook his head no at her. "Do you think if I apologized to Papa he
would let me go back to the party"
"I'm sure he would," Sev's voice came from the doorway. Aleks dashed to him and scrambled into his arms.
"I didn't mean it Papa. I don't hate you! PLEASE forgive me?" she said, hugging him.
He
nodded his head and kissed her tear-streaked cheek. "Promise you will
tell Aunt Liza what made you so angry?" She nodded. He put her down and
wiped her face. "Go on, Aleksandra. Have fun," he said. She ran to the
front room, calling "AUNTIE LIZA.
Charlie sat, thoughtfully staring
at the floor. He startled out of his thoughts when Sev's legs appeared
in front of him. he glanced up with a small smile, and was rewarded
with one in return.
"Thank you, beloved," Sev said, running his
hands through Charlie's long red hair. Charlie leaned his head against
the thin legs and sighed, contented.
