Gordon was standing at the door of John's room, peering in with a smirk on his face. Alarms bells went off in Alan's head as he headed over to investigate. Peeking over his brother's shoulder, his eyes fell on the subject of Gordon's curiosity. Knelt on the floor, in a sea of beauty products, was their nephew with Selene's hand mirror lying before him. The child was staring into it with a purple pencil gripped in his hand. He glanced up at them and waved happily.
"Alan!"
Alan's mouth dropped.
"It gets better every time he looks up."
Gordon grinned while fighting to suppress his laughter, which might distract their nephew from his work. The boy turned back to his reflection, before dropping the pencil and picking up three more. Selene was not going to be happy if she saw this mess.
"Should we do something?"
"You mean beside laugh?"
"Selene's going to be mad."
Gordon strode boldly into the room and slipped his phone from his pocket. Crouching, he lowered the phone to the child's level. Their nephew, seeing the camera, leant back and posed. He had a big proud smile that Gordon eagerly captured from various angles. He flicked through them quickly to confirm they were in focus, knowing he would show them to his nephew when he was older, before tapping on the messenger app and pulling up his chat with Selene.
Gordon: You might want to check your room sometime soon.
"She'll be mad, alright," Gordon confirmed with a smile, "but not with us. Scott has a LOT of grovelling to do."
Alan just stared as Gordon casually retreated, leaving their nephew to continue. Hurried footsteps sounded behind them caused Alan to turn. Worry plastered his eldest brother's face and Alan felt sorry for the man.
"Have you seen-"
Gordon strode out of John's room, interrupting Scott and throwing his thumb over his shoulder.
"He's in there."
Scott rushed into the room only to halt at the sight of his son. The fear that had filled him when he'd first noticed his son missing was replaced with complete shock.
"Oh no."
"Oh yes," Gordon jeered from the door, not wanting to miss a second.
Scott would have glared at Gordon if he was able to tear his eyes away from his son. Kneeling down by the dresser, which the boy had somehow managed to climb, he reached forward and gently turned the child's head to get a better look.
"Daddy!"
"What have you done?"
"I like Selene."
The innocence of the response made Scott close his eyes and take a breath. He adored his son but sometimes it was hard. The child was a mess. It appeared he'd tried to replicate Selene getting all glammed up for a date, only without any of the skill needed to do so. What Scott suspected was mascara had been brushed through his eyebrows and across half his forehead. Red lipstick, which currently lay crushed on the floor, was plastered around his mouth, with a red streak on his front tooth. To top it all off, there were thick blue and purple smudges on his cheeks with large purple whiskers cutting across his face under his eyes. Then there was the mess on the floor. The child had managed to get hold of Selene's makeup bag and up end it. Half the stuff had been opened, from three lipsticks, one destroyed and two with small fingerprints on, multiple pencils were scattered about, their colourful leads probably shattered inside. Palettes of powders were scattered, the colours blended with nail scratches in them. Those same powders dusted the floor, along with various other colourful streaks, made by the grubby fumbling fingers. There were very few items that had survived unscathed from the toddler's eager hands. Scott didn't know where to start. There was no way he could hide this from Selene, but maybe he could at least salvage something and clean up the floor before she found out. A cough from the door made him turn. He swallowed. The witch was standing at the door between his two brothers, hands on her hips.
"I can explain."
Her eyebrow rose. Scott stood, ready to try and salvage the situation with a dimpled smile and some pleading, when his bottom knocked the dresser. Even his speedy reflexes were no match against gravity. One of the perfume bottles toppled, having been knocked to the edge by his son, and shattered against the floor filling the room with its floral scent.
"Uh oh," chimed his son as Scott put his head in his hands, his heart beating fast at the thought of creating not just a mess but a hazard for his boy. He sighed, turning his blue eyes on the witch.
"I'm so sorry, Selene."
Eyes on the floor, Scott quickly used his shoe to drag all the pieces of glass towards him and out of reach of his son. Glancing at the dresser, he moved a second perfume bottle away from the edge before crouching down and collecting up the shards in his hand. Footsteps walked around them, before returning with a sigh. A small binbag was held open before him and Scott carefully dropped the glass in before taking it so he could drop the smaller pieces in as he went. The whole time he'd had half an eye on his boy, who had paused with the change of atmosphere in the room. The perfume pooled on the wooden floor had become a new target of interest and his hand went straight into it. With glass in his own hands, Scott was powerless to stop it. Arms scooped up the child. Scott turned to see Selene balancing the boy on her hip and taking in the child's face.
"I like you Selene."
A smile crossed Selene's lips. "I like you too."
"I think he means 'I look like you'."
John stepped into the room, having assessed the scene from the doorway. He ignored the glare his wife sent his way. Glancing down at his brother's guilty face confirmed it really had been just an accident. Though the presence of his youngest two brothers, and the smirk on Gordon's face, suggested they hadn't done anything to stop, or help, the matter. John slipped into the en-suite and grabbed a fresh roll of toilet paper and the makeup wipes. He passed the wipes to Selene, who took them and fell back onto the bed with the child. Expertly slipping a wipe out one-handedly, she started attacking the boy's hands to stop him spreading the mess further. Ripping the roll open, John spiralled a load around his hand, before tearing it off and dropping it onto the pool of perfume. As much as it would evaporate away, he'd rather help it along, the smell already filling the room. Scott wiped up the boards with the tissue, throwing the sodden lumps on top of the glass when finished.
With the floor dry and clear of glass, John watched his brother tie the bag and dump it in the bin. John made a mental note to discard it immediately. A grunt from the bed had John turn around. Selene was now wiping their nephew's face, who was very upset about it. John's heart softened at his pleading, even though the child was the cause of all this, it was hard to be mad at him. Instead, John turned to the toddler's father. He made the most of the extra few inches he had on his brother with a downwards stare. He held out his hand to the man.
"Phone."
Scott sighed, slipping his mobile out of his pocket and placing it in his brother's palm. Right now, he had to do everything to avoid John freezing all his accounts in revenge. His mobile was passed to Selene.
"I believe you know the access code for this. Order everything you need. Replacements for all that has been damaged as well as anything that takes your fancy, Scott owes you."
Scott scooped up his son as Selene tapped the screen and immediately got to work.
"Come on, mister. Let's finish cleaning you up. Order more wipes and remover, Selene. I'm going to need plenty to get all this muck off."
"Already done."
The witch didn't even glance up. Carrying his son into his brother's bathroom, he perused the various bottles on the side. He selected a bottle that appeared promising before plonking his son on the toilet seat. Selene had gotten the worst off, though there were still some faint whiskers from where the liner had been applied extra thick. Popping the lid off the bottle, Scott squeezed the cream onto a cotton pad and rubbed it against his son's face. Hands pushed against his arms as distressed cries of 'no' filled the small room, the child really not happy that his hard work was being erased. Rubbing the pad along the black lines of mascara, it thankfully began to fade. The pad became darker with each wipe, and Scott relaxed slightly as he carefully scrubbed his toddler's skin. After a few minutes he sat back and surveyed his son. The child was pouting but appeared clean. Rummaging in a drawer, Scott retrieved a clean flannel and dampened it with soapy water. One last wash for good measure and Scott was satisfied. He rung out the cloth, stepped out the bathroom and lobbed it into the laundry basket. Scott ignored John's eyeroll, though the scattered makeup had been picked up and floor cleaned in Scott's absence. He was going to be John's least favourite brother for a while. Turning back to his son, who was just as grumpy as his uncle, Scott wanted to start the day again. Retrieving his son, he hoped the strop would be short-lived.
"Okay sweetie. Next time you want to look like Aunt Selene, you have to come and ask me, okay?"
The toddler nodded, excitement sparkling in his blue eyes. He was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, clutching a bag containing the ruined makeup. Selene turned to her best friend, who was perched on the table before her.
"We shall start with nails. Scott, I want my toes painted purple."
Stretching out her leg, she unceremoniously plonked her foot in his lap. Selene watched the commander of International Rescue route around in her box of polish for all the shades of purple, before presenting them to her. She pondered for a moment.
"The deep purple with glitter."
Scott put the rest back before shaking up the selected bottle. The polish had been a gift from a friend. The deep indigo paint contained a conservative amount of glitter, so it appeared like stars on her nails. It reminded her of a night sky. After unscrewing the cap, he placed his fingers around her ankle and carefully started to brush along her nails. His face was a picture of concentration. Happy he was going to do his best, Selene turned to her nephew. She held up the small selection of child safe nail polish John had ordered the previous month, after seeing the boy's interest in hers. Gods, her man was amazing. Her nephew's eyes widened as he reached out to touch the colourful bottles. His eyes flicked back to his father.
"Which colour do you want on your toes?"
"Like Selene."
"You want purple too?"
He nodded, his eyes smiling up into hers. Selene singled out the lilac one in her hands and presented it to the boy.
"How about this purple?"
The child paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. He could see it wasn't the same one she was having applied. Flicking between the two colours, he finally agreed with a nod.
"Perfect. Now, I'm going to need you to hold very still now. Your toes are small."
She grabbed his ankles and pulled his feet onto her lap, forcing him to lie back in the process. He giggled as his head landed in John's lap. Slipping off his shoes and socks, Selene could hold his foot in one hand. His nails were tiny, but she was skilled. After a quick shake of the bottle, she offered her other foot to Scott, before getting to work on her nephew. With a steady hand, she gave each nail a coat of colour.
"Keep your feet still while they dry, and I'll do a rainbow on your fingers."
With the boy's feet held in her lap, she made the most of the colours that came in the set. His thumbs were painted red, then his fingers were orange, yellow, green and finally blue. The only colour that hadn't been used was pink.
"How about we paint your Daddy's nails with this one?"
Her nephew turned to Scott, uncertain glee in his eyes. A nod from Scott had the child giving her a dimpled grin. The man had no choice and offered his hands out in sacrifice. A quick check of the child's nails confirmed they were dry. Slipping her nephew onto her lap and cuddling him close, she offered him the bottle.
"How about we do it together?"
"Please don't," groaned Scott, "if I have to have pink nails, at least make sure they are neat."
"You don't have a say in this," John stated, not even glancing up from his tablet. Scott's death stare bounced straight off her man.
Selene passed the brush to her nephew and encased his hand in hers. She guided it towards his father's thumb. Chuckles bubbled out the child as they stroked the pink polish over the nail. It wasn't easy, Selene had to push against her nephew at times, but it was fun. The uneven edges and accidental coating of the skin around the nail made it all the better. Once finished, Scott scrutinised his fingertips while slipping off his shoes.
"You might as well do my feet too."
A socked foot landed in their lap. Her nephew screwed up his face.
"Ew. Smelly."
Selene threw her head back, laughing at the betrayal as John sniggered beside them.
"Traitor."
Her nephew stuck his tongue out at his father as he yanked off the sock. Scott's feet didn't actually smell that bad, and it wasn't long until he had a complete set of badly painted toes. Giving the child a squeeze, she shifted him round to face her.
"Ready to look like me?"
"Just what we need, a mini-Selene."
Selene shot her husband a glare, only to be softened by the affection held in those stunning emerald eyes. Damn. Dragging her eyes back to her nephew, she unzipped the bag of damaged makeup and retrieved an eyeshadow palette. John had done a marvellous job of cleaning them up and salvaging what he could. Within the slim case was an array of purple shades, with black and silver to the side. There were large gouges in the silver and darkest purple where little nails had gotten in. Selecting a light purple, she started dolling up the boy. He fidgeted, eyes screwing up each time she brushed his eyelids, but she managed to give them a reasonably even coat. A second palette contained shades of red, which she used as a blush on his cheeks. There was no way she was going to be able to line his eyes, so used the black eyeliner pencil to shape his eyebrows instead. Finally, she retrieved the bright red lipstick that was now half the length it had been that morning. A few gentle strokes against his soft lips and he was complete.
"Perfect!"
Reaching over, Selene stole John's tablet and brought up the camera app. Her nephew smiled; his dimples enhanced by his rosy cheeks. She snapped a few photos before passing it back.
"Same colour again on your hands?"
"If you please, Scott."
Selene held out her hands as her nephew crawled off her and over to John, who scooped him up into his own lap. Fingers prodded the tablet and whatever John had been doing was put to the side, as sound of a game came from the device. The kiss John planted into his nephew's hair as he watched what the child was doing proved he didn't mind the disruption. Selene knew how much the child meant to John, as well as every other Tracy on the Island.
