Work Text:
Zoé, four years old, two blond pigtails, a teddy bear under the arm, is extremely serious while dad Max helps her to put on her little cook kit: chef's hat
and colored and personalized apron with a cheerful lion printed on the bib.
Daddy Max had a proud smile when he came home holding another trophy under his arm to add to the living room display case.
Papa Pierre, on the other hand, had a tired smile and a hand pressed to the side of his belly that seemed to hurt him a lot.
Papa Pierre said to Zoé an affectionate:"I had a little tum-tum, Ma petite Perle !" and it was Papa Max who read her the bedtime story and tucked her up.
This morning, Max gives up his usual hour of jogging without too much guilt: yesterday his victory quickly faded into the background when, after the race, his only priority was being with Pierre in the medical center while the doctors tried to soothe his pain to allow him at least to travel home.
Max gives a light kiss on his husband's frowning forehead, then tiptoes out of their bedroom: after yesterday's bad day and the sleepless night mitigated only by the high painkillers and fatigue that have plunged him into a chemical sleep, Pierre should enjoy some well-deserved rest.
Little Zoé enthusiastically accepted when Max offered to help him prepare a special breakfast with which "they will take care of Papa Pierre."
So, now, father and daughter wander around the kitchen with the air of conspirators and begin to knead, taste, have fun, occasionally bringing their finger to their lips to imitate the universal sign of Harpocrates for silence.
Pierre is awakened by a noise which he mistakenly mistakes in half-sleep for the sound of thunder. At the second thud his senses are amplified and the good smell of freshly baked food awakens him completely.
His stomach is still upset but yesterday's intense pain has subsided into little more than manageable and tolerable physical discomfort.
His half-closed eyes open wide in surprise and pure love that fills his heart as he watches Zoé standing on a stool and Max bending over the cookie dough as he helps their little girl use the molds to create cute little animals.
The kitchen is a mess and there are suspicious footprints of bare feet in the flour strewn across the floor.
" Quel gâchis ici! "
Pierre comments, nevertheless tilting his head with an amused smile.
Zoé leaps off the stool like a little fury.
"Ugh Papa! Go back to bed! This must be a surprise!"
And she practically shoves her father out of the kitchen while Max struggles to hold back the laughter at their daughter's naive determination.
A quarter of an hour later, Zoé's big blue eyes shine with satisfaction as, aided by dad Max, she brings a tray full of goodies to her parents' bedroom.
Too bad that Papa Pierre will not be able to taste everything!
Pierre starts mixing his protein shake and bites into one of the panda-shaped dry biscuits and gives Zoé permission to snuggle into the bed next to him.
"Put a band-aid on the booboo."
Zoé says, pulling a band-aid out of her toy doctor's case and lifting Pierre's shirt to his hip.
"Kiss my owie, and I'll be fine!"
Her father smiles, while the other dad stands aside to enjoy the scene with a tender smile.
"Daddy Max are you coming to have breakfast in bed too?"
Pierre draws Zoé against his chest in a soft hug, then gives Max a sly smile.
"Daddy Max will be joining us soon, ma petite Perle. First he has to go and tidy up the kitchen and then, as a reward, we will give him cuddles all day!"