A/N: Day 17, braids. It's not really Rayllum, but I love writing future fics. Couldn't resist this story!

Chapter Summary: There were some thing Callum could do as a father. Cook, clean, tell bedtime stories, you name it. But he also had his limits. Turns out braiding hair was one of them. Future Family AU

Word Count: 2,274

Appearance

"Hey Da?"

Callum rose up from his desk, dragging his attention away from his mountainous amount of paperwork and spellbooks. He turned over to the entrance of the office, and raised a brow at the young halfling stood before him. "Yes, Sweetie?"

Isha awkwardly rubbed her arm as she leaned against the doorframe. "Where's Mum?" she quietly asked.

Callum blinked in confusion. He thought the kids knew. "Oh, uh, there was an emergency meeting called in town today. Your mum just needs to hand in some papers is all," he easily explained. "She'll be back in the afternoon."

Isha's face seemed to into disappointment, to which she quickly corrected as she plastered on a smile. "Oh okay," she nodded, "uh, can ya let me know when she gets back?"

Callum's brows raised. "Um, sure. But uh, I can help you too," he smiled as he shifted in his seat. His daughter looked uncomfortable as the notion as she gazed out the window, as if she expected her mother to arrive at the very moment. Callum couldn't help but laugh. "Isha, c'mon," she looked to him, "whatever is, you can tell me. And, we'll handle it together."

Isha bit her lip as she pensively glanced outside once more. "I… I think I can wait…" she insisted. "Ya said she'd be back in the afternoon? I-I can wait!"

Callum frowned. Maybe she wasn't looking outside for Rayla. She was on a time crunch, and she noticed noon was fast approaching. His face contorted into contemplation as he recalled his daughter's schedule. She said she was just going to hang out with friends today. He didn't understand what the issue would be if it counted on waiting for her mother. Nevertheless, he didn't want his daughter to be late or whatever, so it was time he persisted.

"Isha, c'mon, I'm your dad," he proudly claimed, rising out of his seat. He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, kneeling down before the girl. "I'm all ears."

"Nah, really, Da, I-I can wait for mum," she awkwardly chuckled, backing away.

He sighed. "Issy, c'mon, I know you've got plans today," he pointed out, "do you really want to be late?"

Isha's face shifted into a hesitancy. She obviously was contemplating her predicament, weighing out her options before releasing a relenting sigh. "Okay…" she muttered.

Callum beamed. "Great! So," he leaned forward expectantly as he raised a brow at her, "what's the problem?"

Another exhaustive sigh released from his daughter as she glanced up at her father. She bit her lip as she met his gaze, clearly fighting against her instincts. She wanted to tell him something. But something was clearly eating up inside her. "I… I need my…" her voice dropped into a fit of mumbles.

Callum confusedly leaned forward. "What? What was that?"

"I… need my…" she muttered under her breath, "—ded…"

"What?"

Isha glared as she stomped her foot. "I need my hair braided!" she exclaimed.

Callum's brows raised. "Oh?" he uttered. Her daughter had never wanted to do anything with her hair. "Uh… huh… I…" he seethed as he rubbed the back of his head. "You need it braided or want it braided?" he smiled. When he was met with an unamused face, he cleared his throat. "I-I mean, what's the occasion?"

Isha bit her lip. "It's nothing Da… I just… I wanted to look nice for my friends."

Callum smiled. "Sweetie, your friends will love the way you look no matter what! You don't have to put on a face for them…"

She chuckled. "Da, I love your message and everythin', but… I want braids today." She smiled as she tilted her head up at him. "Can I do that?"

Callum took in a deep breath and smiled. "Of course Issy."

::::

In truth, Callum had no idea what he was doing at all. He had never braided hair before. Rayla never asked him to do it for her, as she rarely ever braided her hair. For formal occasions she'd chance the look, perhaps a small braid would do, but she claimed that the look as a whole didn't feel like her, and she liked her short hair the way it was. And Callum did too.

Isha also seemed to embody her mother's taste and kept her hair short and messy for most of her life. She seemed to argue with Rayla on the topic countless times, claiming that she liked her hair the way it was. She seemed to bask in the presence of her disheveled hair. Her split ends and parted frizz atop her scalp sold the idea that she just woke up from a deep slumber. And for a long time, his daughter seemed to love the look.

Until now that is.

Callum had no idea what was the cause for her sudden want in an appearance change. But it certainly set off a few alarms in his head. There was a reason, sure, but he wasn't going to fight his daughter on this because it was clear as a wind spell that she really wanted it. And by all means, he was happy to oblige. The only issue was that the occupants of their household didn't exactly have braiding skills.

Unless Lian or Zeusia had some hidden talents he didn't know about.

"Uhh, Da," Isha spoke up, meeting his concentrated gaze through the reflection of the mirror, "Are ya sure ya know what ya're doing?"

Callum smiled back at his daughter as he ran a comb through her hair. "Yes, Sweetie, I'm sure," he confidently lied. Of course he had no idea what to do. But this was urgent, and if there was one thing Callum's learned over his years of travelling an adventuring, his best self is revealed in times of stress and conflict. Right now his conflict was how much stress this put him under, so it balanced out.

The first thing Callum obviously knew, was to comb his daughter's hair. He'd seen Rayla do it once before. By that, he meant he watched her comb her hair, left the room, then saw her leave with braided hair. So, he was positive the first step was combing. As he ran his fingers through, stroking the comb through her white strands, he smiled. This felt nice.

He hadn't realized his daughter's hair had grown out to her shoulders. But the length seemed suitable enough for a braid, enough for a big one at least. As he combed through, he could feel his daughter's unease, which made him laugh. "Issy, relax, you don't need to be so tense."

Her breath finally released. "Right, right… sorry," she hastily replied. "I guess I'm just nervous."

Callum smirked as he ran the comb through once more. "But not about me, of course," he stated, "probably about who you're doing this for?" his tone peaked into a high suggestive pitch. Once his little halfling realized what he was implying, her eyes widened in shock as she stared at his reflection. Callum merely waggled his brows and smirked.

"How'd ya know!" she asked.

Callum laughed. "Sweetie, nothing makes someone want to do something like this if it wasn't for someone else." He sighed, smiling in content as he put aside her comb. "Now, wanna tell me who this boy is?"

Isha seemed flinch at his words, causing Callum to raise a brow. "I-I already talked to mum 'bout this," she explained, "Ya can ask her."

He cocked his head and chuckled, grabbing his daughter's hair. "What? You don't want your old man to know?"

She rolled her eyes. "Da, it's not that…" she muttered. "Can ya just…"

He nodded. "Fine, fine, I'll drop it," he relented. As he held a handful of her hair, he paused, biting his lip in contemplation. Now, if memory served right, braids had some sort of twisting design. He turned his head, parting his daughter's hair into two sections. Did he just need to twist them together?

::::

"Ow!" Isha shrieked, holding her head, "Da, stop!"

"Hang on, hang on," Callum replied. "I… I got this!" he insisted, twirling her hair into another twist for what felt like the umpteenth time. He swore he had, but now her hair somehow managed to knot into itself. He wasn't sure how in the name of Xadia he made this happen, but somewhere along the way he lost himself in all the hair and now it just became a Gordian Knot. He tugged at her hair, gently of course, one last time and sighed. He was stuck. "Ugh… I can't… oh my goodness…"

Isha's frown faded as her eyes widened. "Is your hand stuck?"

Callum froze. "No."

"Then move it," she pleaded, "it's uncomfortable."

"No, I'm not done," he shot back.

"Da, it's fine, I'll do a braid another time—" she moved her head, wincing as she was met with a rough force. "Argh, just let me go!" she whined.

Callum seethed. "But, uh, I-I can do this!"

Her resisting seized as she narrowed her brows at the mirror. "Ya are stuck, aren't ya?"

Her father gasped. "Isha, how dare you! I am perfectly capable of handling this, I would never align myself with such a foolish scenario!" he claimed, standing high and proud.

Isha blinked at him. "Then step away from my hair."

"I… can't."

"I knew it!" Isha exclaimed, "I should've waited for mum!"

"Aww, c'mon, I can…" he pulled and was met with a wail of pain and annoyance. "We'll have to cut it."

"What! No! I can't let—I can't be seen practically half bald."

"Wait, wait, can't let who?"

"That's the concern now Da? Get your hand outta my hair!"

"I'm trying!"

"Try harder!"

"Ugh, sketching braids is so much easier—"

"Ahem." The two stopped all bickering and motions as the new voice's presence echoed across the room. They turned and stared, silence holding their mouths shut as Rayla leaned up against the doorframe, arms crossed at the two. "What… I… do I even want to know what's going on?" she tiredly asked, raising a lazy brow.

The two exchanged a glance in the mirror. "I'm…" Callum spoke up, "braiding our daughter's hair?"

Rayla sighed. "Of course ya are," she muttered under her breath. "Callum," she pinched the bridge of her nose, "why are ya tryin' to braid our daughter's hair when ya've never braided hair before?"

"What!" Isha shrieked, startling Rayla and causing Callum to wince. "Ya've never done this before?" her daughter asked, "Then why would ya do it for me?"

"Because you looked like you really wanted it!"

"Which is why I would've waited for mum!"

"But you were in such a hurry to meet whoever this boy you like!"

Rayla's brows raised. "Wait, ya haven't told your da yet?" she pointed at Callum, staring at her daughter in confusion.

"How is that important now?" Isha bewilderedly asked. "I'm stuck here? Like, my hair is literally tied up right now!" she screamed, pointing furiously at her head. Callum seemed to flinch more at her claims, which were fairly brought up.

Rayla sighed as she walked over. "Alright, alright, I'll get ya out of this," she muttered.

"Please don't cut my hair," Isha pleaded.

"Relax, Issy, unlike your father, I know what I'm doing." Rayla assured her. A few minutes passed and Rayla managed to free the Archmage's hand and began fixing up her daughter's hair with a comb. "Now, Sweetie, why don't ya really tell your father who this is for?"

Isha took a deep breath as her mother ran her comb through her hair. She looked in the reflection and noticed her father, just over her mother's shoulder, smiling at her. "Farha likes braids. And… she's always sayin' she'd love to see my hair in a braid for once…"

Callum's brows raised. "Farha? Isn't that Ellis' daughter?" he recalled. She was about the same age as Isha. Ellis had gotten pregnant at a young age, but that didn't diminish her resolve when it came to parenting. Farha was a nice young girl from what Callum had remembered from their interactions, she was a great influence on their daughter. "But what does she have to do with this?"

Rayla let out a brief sigh. "Callum," she lightly stressed.

His gaze flew down to his daughter, where he noticed her small blush. The puzzle pieces finally connected, and his eyes went wide. "Oh," he softly uttered. He could tell his daughter had been aching this interaction, as her sudden tensing at his momentary pause. He smiled, "Well, braids or not, I'm sure Farha would love your hair whatever way it looks." He walked over to his daughter and knelt beside her. "Don't feel like you gotta change your looks because someone might like it. Do what makes you feel comfortable," he advised, gently nudging his elbow against his daughter's.

She smiled at his response, with an obvious wave a relief washing over her. "Thanks Da," she said back, "I'll… I'll keep that in mind. But," she pointed to her head, "I do wanna try the braids."

Callum smiled with a nod. "Sure thing Sweetie," he winked. "I bet you'll still rock 'em not matter what." As he rose up to his feet, he noticed his wife's appreciative smile. So maybe he wasn't good at braiding his daughter's hair, but he knew how to comfort her. He'd take that as win in his book any day.

::::

"Ya're never touching our children's hair again."

"But—"

"Not even the fur on Zeusia's head."

"Ray—"

"Never."

"Yes ma'am."

A/N: Yeah, again, not really Rayllum, but I really wanted to write more with the kids. If any of you watch ML and are familiar with my work, you know I love writing future fics for the Adrienette pairing in Miraculous. Future fics are fun because you get to take the experience of the characters we all know and love, and place them with the responsibility of parenting! Its's a nice atmosphere to work with and never gets old for me. Plus, I've been meaning to write more Isha! Which, I realized I haven't stated yet, her name is pronounced as Is-ha. Like the word Is, and Ha, combined. And same for Farha. I know, I'm super creative.

I have no idea how to name fantasy characters, pls forgive me.

Anyways, next prompt is childhood! A new AU!

Until next time,

- Bleh