First Day

Summary: It’s little Leila’s first day of kindergarten, and she’s a little sad about leaving her daddy for the day.

A/N: I was craving more Warner + Warnette daughter fics, and I’m in a Shatter Me groupchat on Twitter, and we’ve discussed a lot of Warnette kid headcanons, and that’s what inspired this one. Hope you like it :)

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WARNER’S POV

“Mommy says to be nice to all the girls, but to ignore all the boys because boys are mean—“

I chuckle as I run a brush through my daughter’s blonde locks, gathering her hair into sections to French-braid it into pigtails—her favorite hairstyle.

She sits in front of the mirror in her bedroom, and I am seated on the floor behind her as I style her hair, taking notice of her outfit; a black and white striped shirt and overalls. Juliette definitely dressed her. Never would I allow a child of mine to leave the house wearing…overalls.

“Mommy was just kidding, darling,” I say, “be nice to everyone. But don’t you dare let a boy push you around. Or anyone.” I nudge her shoulder so she knows I’m serious.

Leila flickers her bright blue-green eyes—a perfect combination of mine and Juliette’s eye colors—up at me in the mirror. Smiles.

I smile back as my fingers continue to work the French braids into her golden hair, and she continues to be occupied by the stuffed elephant she got as gift from Kenji when she was born—she loves that thing.

“Do you think I’ll make friends, Daddy?” she asks me once I’m done with her hair. She sits in front of me, attempting to tie her shoes by herself.

“Of course, love,” I respond quickly, my eyebrows furrowed, “why wouldn’t you?”

She shrugs, and she frustratedly throws her hands in fists and slams them on the pink-carpeted floors as she struggles at tying her shoes.

“Remember the bunny ears, love,” I remind her, encouraging her to try again.

Leila’s eyes meet mine again, and I nod my head, telling her to try again. “Now tell me,” I say, “why do you think you won’t make any friends?”

She shrugs again, keeping her eyes on her feet. I can sense she is avoiding my gaze. Her emotions are never difficult to read, especially when she is hiding something. She will never look at me when she’s hiding something.

“Leila, love,” I murmur. She finishes tying her shoes—pink converse—and stands. She is quite small for her age, which is something I assume she gets from Juliette, who has always been smaller than average. Leila will be six in just a few months, and she looks as if she’s just turned four.

I stand as well, but before I’m completely up, I hoist my daughter into my arms, and she squeals in surprise, and I nuzzle my face into her hair before walking over to her bed, sitting on the edge and setting her on my lap.

“Now, tell me what’s wrong, my love,” I urge. I lift my hand to her face and run the back of my fingers over her cheek. “You can talk to me.”

Leila’s eyes fill with tears and suddenly her face in buried in my shoulder and she’s wrapped her arms completely around my neck. She clings to me as if I’ll disappear if she eases her grip.

I press a soft kiss to her cheek as she cries quietly into my shoulder. “Leila,” I whisper, “what’s the matter?”

She lifts her head, hiccuping, her eyes red and puffy. “I don’t want to be away from you all day, Daddy.”

I frown, my heart breaking.

I’m about to respond, but Leila keeps talking.

“You’re my best friend, Daddy,” she continues, my heart falling at every word that leaves her mouth, “I don’t want you to make a new best friend while I’m at school.”

I feel all her fear, her sadness, her anxiousness hitting me like bricks. Her emotions wash over me in waves as I sense them each one by one.

She lowers her head and begins playing the end of one of her braids nervously. “And what if nobody wants to be friends with me?” she asks.

I run my thumb over her cheekbone, and she looks up at me. “Why wouldn’t they want to be friends with you?” I reply. “You have such a big heart. You are so lovable, sometimes Uncle Kenji and Aunt Nazeera argue over who loves you more. And I promise you’re always going to be my best friend, my love. I won’t forget about you.”

Leila pouts, extending her pinky out to me. “Pinky promise?”

I smile, linking my pinky around hers. “Pinky promise.”

She smiles and happily buries her face in my neck, hugging herself to me as close as possible.

A knock on the door is what makes her head perk up. It’s Juliette.

“Are you ready, sweetheart?” she says.

Leila nods eagerly, sliding off my lap, but holding on to my hand as we walk out of her bedroom. Juliette lingers behind me, and I hear her whisper: “I’m not your best friend?”

I laugh out loud and look back at her.

“You’re my favorite friend.”

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AHHHH!!!! I LOVED WRITING THIS!! I WAS CRAVING MORE WARNER AND LEILA CONTENT SO I WROTE THIS ONE WOW I MADE MYSELF CRY

also yes nazeera was mentioned in this because in my head this is post-restore me but let’s pretend that for this fanfic the events at the end of restore me didn’t happen ok