bestdadinamestris | (Not so) Scary bedtime stories

"Daddy! Tell me a story before bed?" Elicia's eyes light up as she looks up at her dad while the man tucks her into bed late one night.

"Of course, sweetie." He smiles softly at his daughter and then kneels next to her bed, 'hmm'ing thoughtfully as tries to pick a story he hasn't told her for a while. "Okay. Once upon a time, there was a little princess who--"

"Daddy," the little girl says sharply. "Not that kind of story. I want a scary one!"

He frowns up at his daughter. "Your mother won't be very happy if I do that..."

"I won't tell her if you don't."

...damn she'd learned well already. And on top of that, he has a hard time saying 'no' to that adorable little face pretty much ever. He digs deep and tries to find something in his mind that will appease his daughter and that he can make a little less scary for his wife's sake. "Okay, okay, let's see. Have I told you the story of Little Red Riding Hood?"

Excited by the prospect of a new story, Elicia shakes her head and draws the covers up nice and high. "No!" she whispers in an excited voice. "Tell me all about her. How old is she? Is she bigger than me? What did she do? Did she go somewhere scary? Did she meet scary people?" As if there were any doubt that Elicia is Hughes' child, this line of questioning would seal it for anyone.

"She was a little older than you," he starts slowly, shifting to a more comfortable seated position next to the bed. "And her mother had packed a big basket full of treats to take to her grandmother's house. But to get there, she had to walk through the scaaaary woods." He leans forward to emphasize the point, causing Elicia to giggle before he continues. "She started off early in the morning and walked all day through the woods. Critters of all sizes followed after her, hoping she would drop one of the treats for them, but the only one brave enough to get close was the big bad wolf."

"Oooooh!" Elicia squealed with delight. "How big and how bad was he, Daddy?!"

"Bigger than me!" he exaggerates the statement with a wide sweep of his arms. "And the baddest there ever was! He came up behind Little Red, hoping to scare her into dropping her basket, but Little Red turned around and bopped him on the nose real hard with the baseball bat her mother had sent her into the woods with and then continued on through the woods until she reached the other side and her grandmother's house and--"

"Daddy. That's not scary at all. Come on, tell me how it got scary!"

"I think that's scary enough for you, young lady." Gracia's voice is soft and stern as she steps up behind Hughes and gives Elicia a disapproving look. "You should already be asleep."

"But I wanted a story," the little girl says with a frown. "A scary one."

Gracia shakes her head as she steps over and pulls the covers up to her daughter's chin. "Let's hold off on the scary stories until you're a little older, all right?" She leans forward and kisses Elicia's forehead gently. "Maybe by then your father will be better at them."

Hughes sneaks a quick kiss to Elicia's cheek before standing, throwing Gracia an apologetic smile. "I'll, uh, try a little harder next time, I promise." Not that he thinks Gracia will really let him try again anytime soon, but that gives him time to practice right?