Fic: Bedtime 101
Title: Bedtime 101
Author: starrdust411
Fandom: Heroes
Pairing: Peter/Claude
Rating: G
Summary: For the peterandclaude Schmoop Bingo challenge Prompt: kidfic- bedtime (Words: 1,191) Sequel to Baby Steps
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.
Warnings: Fluff, Humor
"Okay little missy, time for bed."
"No."
"Nice try. Too bad saying 'no' doesn't change the time."
"No."
Peter laughed wearily as he scooped up the toddler and lifted her into his arms. When Natalie had first learned the word "no" it had been cute to say the least that she used it to respond to just about everything, but now that she was combining it with genuine indignation the word was quickly starting to lose its appeal. "No more 'no's'," he chided. "We're going to go straight to bed."
"No!" Natalie practically screamed the word, kicking the air furiously as tears poured down her reddening cheeks. "No, no, no!"
He groaned as he struggled to maintain his grasp on Natalie’s fidgeting body. These tantrums were getting more and more frequent and Claude was getting less and less helpful -- literally disappearing at the first sign of a fit -- leaving Peter to deal with Natalie's shifting moods on his own. In a way Peter supposed that he was getting exactly what he had wanted, more time to take care of Natalie on his own, he just wished that it didn't have to include so much fussing and crying.
"There's no use in arguing," he told her, patting her back soothingly, "you're going to sleep one way or the other."
"No," Natalie sniffed. Tears continued to pour down her face, but Natalie no longer bothered to kick or scream at him and Peter saw that as a small victory.
"Come on, let's get ready for bed," Peter sighed as he carried her into her bedroom.
He gently tugged off her socks before sliding her out of her pants and taking off her soft pink onesie. Natalie didn't fight, but she did squirm and pout miserably at both being undressed and redressed in her nightclothes.
The purple and white polka dotted footie pajamas slipped on easily, but once they were buttoned up and securely on the urge to fight that had been briefly extinguished inside the toddler was suddenly rekindled.
"No sleep!" Natalie protested. "No, no, no!"
"Well, I'm glad you decided to use another word besides ‘no,'" Peter joked as he lightly brushed her soft brown hair, "but you're not gonna talk your way out of this."
Natalie gave a loud sniff as she rubbed at her eyes with her tiny fists. Fresh tears once again began to pour down her cheeks and Peter actually felt his heart twist with the overwhelming desire to sooth and cuddle as her bottom lip began to quiver. "No," she whined pathetically. "No sleep."
"Claude!" Peter called weakly as he gathered the toddler into his arms. "Can I get some help here?"
"Softie," Claude sighed, entering the room and immediately taking Natalie out of Peter's arms. The toddler sniffed loudly as Claude adjusted her in his grasp, shifting Natalie so that she was balanced on his hip. "I know just how to put the pup to sleep."
Peter frowned at Claude’s tone. He absolutely hated it when Claude turned parenting into a competition. Most times Peter ended up feeling out matched since Claude still spent more time with Natalie than he did, but he had to remind himself that it didn't matter who was the "better parent" so long as Natalie was healthy and happy.
He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Alright then, what's your secret?"
"Tell her a bedtime story," Claude said simply as he ran a soothing hand over Natalie's head. "Once upon a time there was a naughty little girl who refused to stop crying and go to sleep. So one day a group of goblins came and took her away."
"Claude!" Peter would have been embarrassed by the way his voice raised several octaves if he weren't so busy being completely horrified by his partner's idea of an appropriate bedtime story.
"What? I tell her that one all the time. Calms her down, see?"
From what Peter could see Natalie wasn't so much calm as she was terrified. The toddler merely sat in Claude's arms, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape as she stared up at her parent. It would be a miracle if she ever slept again after that little fable.
"You know what Claude? I think I can handle things from here."
Claude didn't put up much of a fight as Peter grabbed Natalie and gently pried her from Claude's hold. He cradled her against his chest, rubbing soothing circles into her back as Claude rolled his eyes and gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine, do things your way. You're only coddling her. She's got you wrapped round her little finger and she can barely talk yet."
"Shhh!" Peter frowned pointedly at Claude as he carried Natalie over to the rocking chair set next to her crib. He sat down carefully before leaning back slowly and allowing the momentum to slowly propel them forward. "Come on, Natalie," he soothed, patting her back gently. "Time to go to sleep."
"No sleep," Natalie said softly.
"What a surprise, askin' her nicely didn't work," Claude muttered sarcastically. "Hope you've got something better up your sleeve, Pete."
He didn't bother to respond this time, instead deciding it would be best to focus his energy on Natalie. She squirmed in his arms, but he could tell from the way that her eyes were drooping and her breathing evening out that the toddler was slowly losing the battle against sleep. Peter smiled, deciding to jump start the process by humming the first lullaby that popped into his head.
"Are you humming the song from Bambi?" Claude whispered, his voice dripping with disbelief.
This time Peter did turn to frown, before whispering, "It's from Dumbo, now shhh!"
Peter continued to rock and hum softly, periodically adding a gentle pat on the back for good measure. Within seconds, Natalie was had drifted off into a peaceful slumber, her pink lips parted ever so slightly in a silent sigh and her eye lids fluttering gently as she dreamed. Peter flashed Claude a triumphant smile as he stood up slowly before tenderly laying the sleeping girl in her crib. He breathed a long sigh as he tucked her blanket under her chin, ready to go off to bed himself.
"You do realize you just made a critical mistake, don't you Poodle?" Claude whispered just as Peter began to gently brush the tips of his fingers against Natalie's cheek.
Peter frowned, cocking his head curiously, too paranoid about waking the toddler to actually verbalize his question.
"You let her fall asleep in your arms," Claude pointed out. "She's gonna wake up in a few hours wondering where you went then she'll be cryin' her head off."
Peter was embarrassed and angry at the realization that he had never even thought of that. He felt his eyebrow tick and his jaw clench together so tightly that his teeth hurt. "You just can't let me have this can you Claude?"
Claude smiled as he wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulders, leading him out of the nursery. "Not ever," he said, flicking off the lights and sending the room into peaceful darkness.
Author: starrdust411
Fandom: Heroes
Pairing: Peter/Claude
Rating: G
Summary: For the peterandclaude Schmoop Bingo challenge Prompt: kidfic- bedtime (Words: 1,191) Sequel to Baby Steps
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.
Warnings: Fluff, Humor
"Okay little missy, time for bed."
"No."
"Nice try. Too bad saying 'no' doesn't change the time."
"No."
Peter laughed wearily as he scooped up the toddler and lifted her into his arms. When Natalie had first learned the word "no" it had been cute to say the least that she used it to respond to just about everything, but now that she was combining it with genuine indignation the word was quickly starting to lose its appeal. "No more 'no's'," he chided. "We're going to go straight to bed."
"No!" Natalie practically screamed the word, kicking the air furiously as tears poured down her reddening cheeks. "No, no, no!"
He groaned as he struggled to maintain his grasp on Natalie’s fidgeting body. These tantrums were getting more and more frequent and Claude was getting less and less helpful -- literally disappearing at the first sign of a fit -- leaving Peter to deal with Natalie's shifting moods on his own. In a way Peter supposed that he was getting exactly what he had wanted, more time to take care of Natalie on his own, he just wished that it didn't have to include so much fussing and crying.
"There's no use in arguing," he told her, patting her back soothingly, "you're going to sleep one way or the other."
"No," Natalie sniffed. Tears continued to pour down her face, but Natalie no longer bothered to kick or scream at him and Peter saw that as a small victory.
"Come on, let's get ready for bed," Peter sighed as he carried her into her bedroom.
He gently tugged off her socks before sliding her out of her pants and taking off her soft pink onesie. Natalie didn't fight, but she did squirm and pout miserably at both being undressed and redressed in her nightclothes.
The purple and white polka dotted footie pajamas slipped on easily, but once they were buttoned up and securely on the urge to fight that had been briefly extinguished inside the toddler was suddenly rekindled.
"No sleep!" Natalie protested. "No, no, no!"
"Well, I'm glad you decided to use another word besides ‘no,'" Peter joked as he lightly brushed her soft brown hair, "but you're not gonna talk your way out of this."
Natalie gave a loud sniff as she rubbed at her eyes with her tiny fists. Fresh tears once again began to pour down her cheeks and Peter actually felt his heart twist with the overwhelming desire to sooth and cuddle as her bottom lip began to quiver. "No," she whined pathetically. "No sleep."
"Claude!" Peter called weakly as he gathered the toddler into his arms. "Can I get some help here?"
"Softie," Claude sighed, entering the room and immediately taking Natalie out of Peter's arms. The toddler sniffed loudly as Claude adjusted her in his grasp, shifting Natalie so that she was balanced on his hip. "I know just how to put the pup to sleep."
Peter frowned at Claude’s tone. He absolutely hated it when Claude turned parenting into a competition. Most times Peter ended up feeling out matched since Claude still spent more time with Natalie than he did, but he had to remind himself that it didn't matter who was the "better parent" so long as Natalie was healthy and happy.
He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Alright then, what's your secret?"
"Tell her a bedtime story," Claude said simply as he ran a soothing hand over Natalie's head. "Once upon a time there was a naughty little girl who refused to stop crying and go to sleep. So one day a group of goblins came and took her away."
"Claude!" Peter would have been embarrassed by the way his voice raised several octaves if he weren't so busy being completely horrified by his partner's idea of an appropriate bedtime story.
"What? I tell her that one all the time. Calms her down, see?"
From what Peter could see Natalie wasn't so much calm as she was terrified. The toddler merely sat in Claude's arms, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape as she stared up at her parent. It would be a miracle if she ever slept again after that little fable.
"You know what Claude? I think I can handle things from here."
Claude didn't put up much of a fight as Peter grabbed Natalie and gently pried her from Claude's hold. He cradled her against his chest, rubbing soothing circles into her back as Claude rolled his eyes and gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine, do things your way. You're only coddling her. She's got you wrapped round her little finger and she can barely talk yet."
"Shhh!" Peter frowned pointedly at Claude as he carried Natalie over to the rocking chair set next to her crib. He sat down carefully before leaning back slowly and allowing the momentum to slowly propel them forward. "Come on, Natalie," he soothed, patting her back gently. "Time to go to sleep."
"No sleep," Natalie said softly.
"What a surprise, askin' her nicely didn't work," Claude muttered sarcastically. "Hope you've got something better up your sleeve, Pete."
He didn't bother to respond this time, instead deciding it would be best to focus his energy on Natalie. She squirmed in his arms, but he could tell from the way that her eyes were drooping and her breathing evening out that the toddler was slowly losing the battle against sleep. Peter smiled, deciding to jump start the process by humming the first lullaby that popped into his head.
"Are you humming the song from Bambi?" Claude whispered, his voice dripping with disbelief.
This time Peter did turn to frown, before whispering, "It's from Dumbo, now shhh!"
Peter continued to rock and hum softly, periodically adding a gentle pat on the back for good measure. Within seconds, Natalie was had drifted off into a peaceful slumber, her pink lips parted ever so slightly in a silent sigh and her eye lids fluttering gently as she dreamed. Peter flashed Claude a triumphant smile as he stood up slowly before tenderly laying the sleeping girl in her crib. He breathed a long sigh as he tucked her blanket under her chin, ready to go off to bed himself.
"You do realize you just made a critical mistake, don't you Poodle?" Claude whispered just as Peter began to gently brush the tips of his fingers against Natalie's cheek.
Peter frowned, cocking his head curiously, too paranoid about waking the toddler to actually verbalize his question.
"You let her fall asleep in your arms," Claude pointed out. "She's gonna wake up in a few hours wondering where you went then she'll be cryin' her head off."
Peter was embarrassed and angry at the realization that he had never even thought of that. He felt his eyebrow tick and his jaw clench together so tightly that his teeth hurt. "You just can't let me have this can you Claude?"
Claude smiled as he wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulders, leading him out of the nursery. "Not ever," he said, flicking off the lights and sending the room into peaceful darkness.