han_solo | (no subject)

Of course it's the only. Though that might break the heart of Hana, who is sitting right smack damn in the middle of the kitchen door, attempting to transfer mango from a plastic bowl to her mouth.

It's mostly on her face and the floor, but there are small victories.

Dean's sad-sulky-why-is-Sam-off-with-Leah-on-adventures-I'm-not-invited-to face is a good face, damn it. He works hard on that face.

It gives way only grudgingly, with twists and lip-quirks, to the damn-that-kid-is-cute face.

"Hey, kid. You're messy," he observes, hunkering down a few steps in front of the door. "That taste good?"

"Es," Hana says, and forces a handful of wet sticky goo towards Dean. There's still a pale orange string of something sticky coming from the handful to her mouth. Tempting, isn't it?

(Behind her at the kitchen table, a dyed head looks up from cleaning her sister's mango-ey face to watch, and smirk.)

Dean looks set to refuse, until he glances over her head and spots the watcher.

That smirk looks like a challenge.

Dean's grin widens a little bit and he reaches for the mango, solemnly. "Is that for me? That's so sweet."

Oh that smirk's a challenge alright. Not an easily impressed one. You lose all stigma about sharing mouth food when you're a mother of two year old twins.

Hana is delighted that he's taking it, and pushes it further towards his mouth.

"Good eat," she insists.

Dean looks at the kid judgingly.

She looks pretty clean. Cute. Well-fed. Currently messy, but not actually dirty - just ... mango-y.

Plus, the mom's hot. This makes a difference.

He braces himself and opens his mouth, holding out his hand. Yeah, bitchezz, he can totally do this!

"Yum yum yum!"

Smirk widens. Hana cheers. And scoops up another handful. Mango is good! And soft, and sticky.

"Yum nom," she says solemnly.

Loo has had enough being cleaned. She pushes Mel's hands away. "Done."

"K," Mel concedes, pulling her onto her lap. "Good girl."

So now all she has to do is watch Dean eat baby drooly mango.

If he ignores the texture and the drool, it tastes OK.

Dean smirks back at Mel, with a mouthful of mango. "Okay, yum. Hey, why don't you eat some of my food too? I got ... uh, Twinkies."

"Uh uh," Mel says quickly. No child of hers is having twinkies! "Hey, Han, you finished with Mango?"

Hana considers this, and stuffs one last handful against her face. When she says "Es," she loses what part of that had actually made it in her mouth.

And she reaches sticky hands to the nearest big person, Dean. "Up peez."

...

Well, he can always wash his clothes. He does take his leather jacket off carefully and throw it back towards the Imp before picking the little ball of goop up, only slightly awkward. "You," he informs her, "are gross."

It's a compliment though. In Dean-language.

O RLY?

Hana happily grabs Dean's arm. Messily. "You gross!" They can be gross together!

Loo, sitting on Mel's lap and having her hair brushes back into a ponytail, smiles to see Hana so happy. This makes Mel smile wider, because Loo doesn't smile much these days.

"Clean you up before bed, Tiny?" she offers.

Dean holds Hana out at arms' length to Mel, grinning at her.

"All the cool kids are gross," he agrees.

Loo, who is not gross, is placed on the table next to her Mom, where she sits close, instantly starting to suck her thumb. Mel pulls Hana over against her protests, and pulls a moistened towel from the pack that she'll always be grateful to Nathan for sourcing for her.

"Always one who'd rather throw food than eat it," she remarks to Dean, eyes on her struggling work.

"Sure I don't know anyone like that," Dean remarks, Completely Innocent.

He winks at Hana though.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Fun!" the wriggly Hana agrees, over the moon with the wink. Mel's smile belays any attempts she has at being stern.

"Yeah, 'cause Tiny needed another bad influence in her life. Com'on, Han, you ready for bed?"

Loo is. She's curled up against Mel, smiling around a thumb. She's happy when Mel is, and Hana's making Mel happy.

"They have naps?" Dean asks, grinning at both little girls. "How d'you manage that? ... Okay, that one looks easier than this gross one."

"Catper!" The gross one explains, while the quiet clean one is bundled up into an arm, where she clings to Mel, still sucking her thumb.

"It involves caterpillers," Mel clarifies, putting an arm out to Hana. She's unsuccessful, because Hana clearly wants to be carried by Dean, which just makes Mel look confused.

"How are you with kid's lit?"

Dean takes a little while to realise what Hana wants, but then he grins and shrugs, scooping her up to sit her on his shoulders.

"Uh ... I can read it?" he ventures, not sure this is the correct answer.

"Then you're recruited."

It's still not without a puzzled look at Hana, who is far too giggly and happy onhis shoulders. He might as well be Steph, or Sokka, for her to be that comfortable.

(Hana wonders if Dean's head makes a drumming noise when you hit it)

Gathering up some of the baby paraphrenalia lying around the kitchen, Mel jerks her head and leads the way out towards the bunker. "You can eat later. Storytime first."

"Priorities, huh?" Dean asks Hana, trailing along. His head does indeed make a drumming noise! Hana is in luck!

He eyes the caterpillar book rather dubiously when they get into the bunker and Hana gets set down in her crib. "This is catper?"

"It's a work of literary genius," Mel says, utterly deadpan.

"I'm so rutting sick of it you wouldn't believe."

Loo doesn't really care much about it. Hana is struggling to stand up and grab the book for herself.

Dean thinks the whole thing is funny, sharing a grin with Hana. He flips the book open and eyes it.

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar," he announces. "It's green and ... hungry. Does it eat people or something? What's the attraction?"

"No!" Hana objects, pawing at the book. "Apple!"

Mel, making sure Loo has her purple teddy close to hand, goes very suddenly very, very white. She wisely doesn't interfere with storytime.

"An apple, huh? I don't think a caterpillar could eat an apple," Dean says, doubtfully. "Not unless it was a huge caterpillar."

It's possible he's not the best at bedtime stories.

"Or I guess a hungry one, right?"

"Ver' hungy," Hana informs him. She grabs at the pages again, trying to get to the apple page, then turning it again.

"Look! Pear!"