summary: in which connor turns five and gets the best gift of his life
f l u ff
-unashamedly dumps fluff on all of you-
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"I'm five!" Connor whooped as he dashed down the stairs. "I'm five, everyone!"
Cynthia beamed. "My baby's all grown-up!"
Larry clapped him on the back as he sat down for breakfast. "Happy birthday, son!"
From the top of the stairs, Zoe appeared, still clad in her nightgown and with a hairbrush in her hand. "It's Connor birthday! Happy birthday to Connor! Happy birthday to you!" She sang, before rushing back to her room to get dressed.
Connor wriggled from excitement in his seat. "I'm five now!" he repeated happily. "Is that very big?"
"Yes! You're growing up to be such a big, strong, and handsome boy!" Cynthia said as she handed him a large plate of chocolate chip pancakes. "Do you want to bake a birthday cake later?"
"Ooh!" He exclaimed, his forkful of pancakes in midair. "Really? We can?"
She nodded. "Of course we can!"
"Can we make it chocolate cake?"
"Sure, if you want! It's your birthday after all," she replied indulgently.
"Can Zo-zo help too?"
"Do what?" Zoe asked, as she handed Cynthia a scrunchie to do her hair up.
"Bake a cake for Connor's birthday," Cynthia said, sweeping Zoe's hair up into a ponytail. "And yes, she can," she said, turning back to him.
"Oh fun!" Zoe giggled. "Will it be like baking on T.V.?" She asked, referring to the cooking shows Cynthia enjoyed watching.
Cynthia chuckled. "I don't think I'll be as good as the people on television, but we can try! And if it doesn't work out, we can always buy a cake, right?" They nodded.
Larry interrupted them as he cleared his plate into the kitchen. "See you later, Cynthia," he said, grabbing his car keys and heading out the door.
"Wait! Where is Daddy going?" Connor demanded.
"He has something to do," Cynthia replied. "He'll be back by lunchtime."
"But it's my birthday! I wanted him to stay home!" he exclaimed in disappointment
Cynthia patted the back of his head comfortingly. "Don't worry, Con, he'll be back really soon. Now, why don't you finish your breakfast so we can bake your cake?"
"Okay," he mumbled, a little more subdued as he pushed what was left of his pancakes around the plate.
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"I like cracking eggs," Connor giggled as he cracked another into the mixing bowl.
Cynthia pulled open a drawer to take out a whisk. "Now, who wants to help me mix the batter?"
"Me!"
"Me!"
"Okay, how about we take turns? Connor, you can go first, since you're the birthday boy." She handed him the whisk. "Oh, hold on." She muttered, using a fork to pick out a few tiny pieces of eggshells from the batter. "Don't want those in our cake."
"Can you eat eggshells?" Zoe wondered.
Connor began mixing the batter. "Wow! It's so hard to mix!"
Cynthia helped him to hold the bowl steady while he stirred, then turned back to Zoe. "Well, I don't think they'll taste very nice in our cake."
"What do they taste like?"
"Would you like to try?" Cynthia teased, holding out a broken piece of eggshell towards her.
"Ew! No!" Zoe laughed, pushing it away.
"Mummy, my arm is tired," Connor said, dropping the whisk back into the bowl.
"It's hard work, isn't it?" Cynthia commented, passing the bowl to Zoe. "Fortunately, I have two strong helpers!"
"Am I strong?" Connor asked, rolling up his sleeve to flex his arm proudly.
Cynthia laughed. "Yes, you are. You're a big strong five-year-old!"
"I'm strong too?" Zoe asked.
"Oh, yes you are," Cynthia assured her. "And you're going to be four soon!'
"Yay!"
Connor swiftly stuck a finger into the bowl to get a taste of the batter. "Hey!" Cynthia exclaimed as his eyes sparkled with mischief. "Don't do that! You'll get to lick the bowl later!"
"But I wanted to lick the bowl!" Zoe protested.
"Its Connor's birthday, honey. Let him lick it, alright? I'll give you the spoon to lick though, if you want," Cynthia said.
"Okay," she nodded, settling for the compromise.
"Now let's butter this pan," Cynthia said, peeling the wrapper off a stick of butter. She cut two squares out, "One piece each and try to keep it neat, please."
But of course, children and butter never result in anything neat, and by the time they had greased the baking pan, Connor and Zoe's faces were smeared with the butter and the countertop was covered in greasy fingerprints. Cynthia's heart sank a little at the mess she would have to clean up, but their grinning faces were worth it.
She carefully poured the batter into the pan and placed it in the oven. "Now we wait," she smiled.
"Can I lick the bowl?" Connor reminded her.
"Right, here you go," she handed them their respective bowl and spoon. They proceeded to lick them clean, laughing in delight and getting chocolate batter all over their face and hands.
"You two are a mess," Cynthia snorted when they were finished. She set down the sponge she had been using to clean up and dried her hands on the tea towel. "Now I need to clean you guys up before I can make the icing."
She hustled them into the bathroom and helped them to wash their faces clean. By the time she had gotten them all cleaned up, the cake was ready. Pulling on some oven mitts, she took it out of the oven and placed it on the counter to cool.
"Wow," Connor and Zoe breathed, gathering around. "It looks so yummy."
"We'll let it cool, and then we'll decorate it, does that sound good?" They nodded.
The front door opened and closed. "Daddy's home!" Zoe exclaimed.
"Connor, someone here to see you," Larry called from the doorway.
"Who?" Connor asked, turning towards Cynthia.
She smiled mysteriously. "Well, why don't you take a look?"
Connor headed out to the front door and stopped short at the sight. Larry was standing there, and in his arms was the most adorable puppy Connor had ever seen.
"Are you going to stand there gawking?" Larry laughed. "Or are you going to come here and say hello to your dog?"
Almost gingerly, Connor stepped forward and Larry carefully placed the black Labrador puppy in his arms. Connor sat on the floor and buried his face in its silky fur, a sniffle escaping him.
"Connor, are you crying?" Larry asked, a little concerned.
"Yeah," he laughed slightly shakily, as he wiped at his eyes. "But it's 'cause I'm happy! Thank you, Daddy!"
Larry ruffled his hair affectionately. "I'm glad you like her. Happy birthday, son."
"Oh, it's a girl?" Connor asked, giving the dog a scratch behind her ears. She licked his hand and he giggled.
Larry nodded. "Yup, black female Labrador Retriever, just over nine weeks old."
"Who is it?" Zoe inquired loudly from the kitchen. "Who came to see Connor?"
"Come here and look!" Connor beamed, holding out the puppy towards her.
"Oh my goodness!" she squealed, dashing forward. "Can I pat him?"
"It's a girl," he informed her, handing the dog to her.
"She's so cute!" She cooed, as the dog looked back a Connor and let out a whine.
"She wants Connor!" Larry laughed as Zoe reluctantly handed her back to Connor. He made a beeline for the kitchen.
Cynthia looked up from the cake with a smile. "How do you like your birthday surprise, Connor?"
"It's the bestest best!" He exclaimed, hugging the puppy tightly to his chest.
"Oh, be careful, Connor," Cynthia warned. "She's not a teddy bear, you need to be gentle with her. Also, have you picked a name for her yet?"
He thought for a while. "Can I name her from somebody in Star Wars?"
"After somebody in Star Wars," she corrected. "And of course you can, she's your dog."
He set the dog down on the floor, and watched her explore the kitchen, sniffing at the cupboards and in the corners before returning back to him. "Skywalker?" He tried at last. She barked in reply. "Skywalker? Do you like that?" He repeated, squatting down to pat her head. She barked again. "Okay!" he announced. "Her name is Skywalker!"
"That's a great name," Larry said approvingly. "Why don't you take Skywalker out of the kitchen so that Mummy can finish making your birthday cake?"
"Okay," he scooped her up and carried her to the backyard. Larry followed and the two of them spent the next hour playing with Skywalker, as Cynthia and Zoe decorated the birthday cake.
"Guys, come in and we'll cut the cake!" Cynthia finally called from the kitchen.
"What about lunch?" asked Connor, rubbing his stomach. "I'm hungry!"
"We're having cake for lunch! Don't you want that?" she winked. "You get to break all the rules on your birthday, wow!"
"Oh yes!" he scrambled back into the house, Skywalker hurrying right behind.
They sang the birthday song and he made a wish before blowing out the five candles. Larry cut each of them a slice of cake as Connor asked, "Can Skywalker have some, too?"
Larry shook his head emphatically. "No, chocolate is poisonous for dogs."
Connor's eyes widened in horror. "Really? Why?"
"They digest food differently from humans, so some of our foods are dangerous for them."
"That's so sad, because this cake is super good!" Connor said, giving Cynthia a thumbs up.
She beamed, "It was a team effort, wasn't it?" she said, giving him and Zoe a high-five.
After dinner at a restaurant and ice-cream and more cake at home, Connor got ready for bed, Skywalker still at his heels. Finally, he crawled into his bed, and she snuggled up against his chest.
"Ready for bed?" Cynthia asked when she came into his room to tuck him in.
"Yes, and Skye is sleeping with me tonight," he said as she drew the covers over them.
She smiled at the dog's nickname. "Did you have a good birthday?"
"Yes, it was a really really good one," he said with a yawn.
Cynthia thought she had never seen him so happy and contented before, and it made her heart melt a little. "That's awesome," she murmured, kissing him goodnight before turning out the lights.
In the dark, Skywalker whined and licked Connor's face. They snuggled closer before drifting off to sleep.
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eyy so i took a one week hiatus because christmas and guests and family and STAR WARS and everything was kinda overwhelming but i also had a pretty great time overall. i apologize for not posting a chapter last week but i was really just so busy i couldn't get online long enough to post. but after this i'll hopefully be back on schedule!
AND YES I GAVE CONNOR A DOG
as usual, like, comment, subscribe, whatever. i love you all :D