Sorry I forgot to update it yesterday! Hope you enjoy the cute chapter~
~CWA
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
A Few Days Later
Tadashi Hamada
According to Danny, the only reason he has Ellie with him right now is because his sister is going to a conference in Washington D.C…. It's also why he's staying with me, Hiro and Aunt Cass until Ellie leaves. I'm still not sure how I feel about that. It's not exactly a good idea for Danny and I to share a room after kinda confessing to each other and establishing a relationship.
The mere thought of that causes a large blush to spread across my cheeks. It's kinda hard to believe. Danny and I are actually dating. As in we're officially a couple now- not that the gang really knows yet since Danny and I have been rather busy this past weekend.
But there's no tension that lingers between us. No dirty secrets. No dancing around each other. We're just an honest-to-God couple. That does actual couple things like holding hands, occasionally a quick kiss on the cheek, cuddling with each other in some way, shape or form whenever we get the chance. Granted, we're a bit different than other couples- and not just because of our gender or height different. He has a daughter. An actual daughter that seems to be a tiny bit shy with strangers and doesn't seem to talk that much unless it's to Danny. A daughter that apparently loves tutus and warriors and swords and ghosts and puppies. A daughter that is actually squirming her way into my heart.
I know I have to be careful with her, and Danny for that matter. If I say something or do something wrong, then it's game over. If Ellie doesn't like me, it's game over… If I end up moving too quickly it's game over. If I end up feeling too strongly, too quickly, then it may just be game over….
I glance slightly to the girl in question. I can see the resemblance between her and Danny. She has that same mischievous blue eyes. The same smile. Her hair is a bit more raven than actual black like his and her nose is curved a bit different as well, but that's the only hints that she even gets something from her mother. Said mother is his dead ex-girlfriend…. Sometimes I feel like I've walked into some ectoplasmic soap opera… ectoplasmic. God, he's rubbing off on me even more than I thought.
"'Dashi," Ellie excitedly squeals at my side as she grips my hand tightly, looking up at me with sparkling eyes- my other hand is occupied by Danny's own hand.
Danny and I have decided that since Ellie is going to be leaving soon, our first date can be a bit more kid-friendly. A trip to the zoo seems rather perfect and feels a bit like a family outing with Ellie at my side and Hiro sticking close to Danny. I have to admit that it still impresses me how fast Hiro latched onto Danny as if he is his brother. Though, from how Danny looks at me and Ellie, I think he's impressed at how quick Ellie has latched onto me.
"She's taken quite the liking to you," Danny comments in amusement, "I don't think I've ever seen her seen her so friendly with someone so quickly before. What's your secret?"
He nudges me jokingly, a grin on his face. I can't help but notice the faint limp in his walk, but I don't question it. Knowing Danny, he'd brush it off anyway. Hiro walks close to the other side of Danny, curiously watching the two of us in a way that almost makes me self-conscious of my actions. I almost remove my hand from Danny's, briefly even wondering if Hiro may be embarrassed or ashamed of us, but Danny gives me a reassuring squeeze of the hand as if he somehow knows what I'm thinking. I flush slightly and Danny rolls his eyes good heartily at my lack of a vocal answer.
Ellie stops suddenly before we even make it that far into the zoo. I know a few people passing by give as looks, but at this point, I doubt I could care any less. Ellie's eyes are focused directly on the big map they have to show all the habitats and before I can stop her, she's let go of my hand and runs straight to the sign, pressing her hands and face against it. I can hear Danny's laughter as I run after her frantically.
Her starry eyes are glued firmly on the little logo showing a tiny bat.
"Bats," she whispers in awe, before looking at me, ""Dashi- bats!"
She stresses the word firmly as she points to the little logo causing me to smile slightly. I kneel down at her level and very gently put my hand on her shoulder.
"We can go see the bats, I swear, but you have to stay close to me, okay sweetie?"
Her eyes take on a whole new gleam when I saw I swear. Her lips part slightly in an awe expression as she looks up at me with so much admiration.
"...King 'Dashi," she whispers slightly before she lets out an excited squeel.
I furrow my brows slightly at the name, briefly turning toward Danny. Despite apparently being in a deep conversation about ghosts with Hiro, Danny still seemed to have heard Ellie as he turns to be briefly with an it's best not to ask expression paired with a small shrug. Huh. I guess maybe it's just something she calls people? I think she's called Danny, King Daddy a few times if memory serves me right. Maybe it's part of her fantasy world? Kids tend to play make believe a lot after all.
Shrugging it off as just something a kid does, I gently take Ellie's hand with a smile, causing her to beam up at me. I smile at her as I lead her back to Danny and Hiro. Danny eyes Ellie and I with a grin before he takes my free hand in his own.
"I take it she wants to go see the bats," he comments and at my nod, he continues, "Figures."
Somehow or another, Danny and Hiro gets separated from Ellie and I. I'm almost sure that they did it on purpose- it sounds like something they'd do to mess with me or to sneak off to get ice cream or something. It's hard to be mad, however, when I have a little girl excitedly pulling me from habitat to habitat. She has a particular fondness of any creature of the night or anything that looks a bit on the creepy side- owls, ravens, crows, bats, and strangely enough cockroaches. I think I'll have nightmares of those things for years to come. But we have seen plenty of other things too. Giraffes, elephants, rhinos, hippos, tigers, and even polar bears and penguins.
It's a good thing I have my camera on me so I can at least photograph her at the different places and on different statues because I doubt that Danny wants to miss this. Though I have to admit, it's almost...nice… knowing that he trusts me this much with his daughter- to place so much trust in me to keep her safe and look after her is a lot for any parent. And it's no secret that Danny is more protective than most parents. It's almost concerning how protective he can be sometimes. It makes me wonder if something did happen or almost happen her that would make him that way, but I shake that thought out of my head rather easily, dismissing it as nothing more than just him being, well, a parent.
I know he can contact me if he's really concerned about her- even if he hasn't exactly answered my texts about asking where he was- so I plan on taking her to the aquarium section next to check out some of the cool fish, stingrays, crabs, seals and dolphins.
"'Dashi," Ellie calls, "'Dashi! Look!"
I turn my attention back to the little girl as she excitedly climbs onto yet another statue. This time it's a statue of a gorilla. She sits proudly on it and bangs her chest just like a little gorilla would. I chuckle a bit and quickly snap a picture of her, before I speak up.
"Be careful, Ellie," I warn her.
She, the small like what- six year old at the most- girl, actually has the nerve to scoff at me. As if I, the perfectly capable somewhat adult, is laughable. As if she can't possibly get hurt. I crinkle my nose a bit at the somewhat smug attitude of hers, but considering her father is Danny, I should have expected this. I dare to hope that in the future, she won't learn to use her cuteness to her advantage like her father.
I quickly head over to the statue and have to almost drag her down (safely) in order to get her off without hurting her. Man she's stubborn. Just like her dad. I'm in the middle of practically wrestling her off when I hear a familiar voice speak up.
"Pft, next time just offer her cookies or something and she'll come down."
I turn just in time to see Danny and Hiro standing there. Though Danny looks like he just ran a marathon since his voice is so breathy and his face is a bit red. But when I furrow my brows with concern, he just gives me a look that says to not question it. Then my attention goes to what both he and Hiro are holding. Both have ice cream cones in their hands- Hiro, however, is using his free hand to snap pictures of me on the statue. Danny is holding what seems to be two ice cream cones and a part of me pouts when I realize no one has a second ice cream cone for me. The sight of ice cream causes Ellie to light up and just like that, she's off the statue in a blink of an eye as I'm still struggling to keep my balance.
"Just like that," Hiro calls up at me, "...Perfect."
I see another flash go off from his phone and I just know that he's going to be using it for blackmail in the future. I grumble a bit under my breath as I carefully make my off the statue. Ellie is already clinging to Danny as she happily eats up an ice cream cone that's given to her. Hiro is already half way through his and Danny is absently licking at the one in his hand to keep it from dripping too much.
I swallow a bit, my throat suddenly craving some of the ice cream and I wonder if maybe I can steal a few bites off of Hiro's. Seeing my look, Danny rolls his eyes with a small smile before I find myself being handing his ice cream cone.
"-Don't give me that look," Danny scolds me lightly, "I don't really like ice cream- this one is for you."
Hesitantly, I take a few testing bites of the ice cream. It doesn't taste suspicious so I doubt he's done anything to it- knowing Danny has a thing for pranks, it doesn't hurt to be cautious. Though my face tinges with shades of pink as I briefly think about the fact that just seconds ago, he was biting and sucking on this same ice cream cone. It's a bit juvenille- childish even- to think of the indirect kiss, but with Danny, even something as simple as holding hands makes me flustered.
Hiro snorts and gives a sideways look to Danny,
"….Didn't you eat like three or four bites of it?"
Danny's face turns a bright red, stuttering a bit as he waves his hands around, trying to find the words before he finally just huffs and crosses his hands across his chest.
"-That was to keep it from melting."
