I may not always know what's right, but I know I want you here tonight.

Croe was usually awake before everyone else, but Ángie almost always decided that it was Mallos who needed to get up and get her a drink in the morning.

He felt her stir next to him and briefly considered pretending to be in a deep sleep, before he heard her sweet little voice.

“Daddy?”

That question never went unanswered. With no small amount of effort, Mallos forced himself into an upright position, picked up his daughter, abandoned the warm bed and padded out of the room.

Since Ángela had become a part of his life, Mallos’ three-room, single-bed apartment in the Castle had become almost unrecognisable. The toybox in the corner of the office-living room had an infinite bottom so should technically be able to contain all of Ángie’s toys, but they always turned up all over the place anyway. He stepped on one in the bathroom when he went to refill her sippy cup and nearly sat on one when he went back into the living room to collapse on the sofa. His bookshelves, which had once contained several academic works in a variety of languages, were now filled with Dr Seuss and Percy the Park Keeper. His once minimalist walls now obligingly held blu-tacked toddler-drawn artwork. Ángela had a cot in the corner of the room, although she always found an excuse to come and sleep with her parents.

If he had to admit that Ángela had any flaws at all, he’d probably cite her clinginess. She stayed glued to his chest as he sat back on the sofa and offered her the sippy cup. She accepted, settled down onto his lap and leant against his chest while she sucked on the nib. Mallos, who had gotten fairly fantastic at doing things one-handed over the last few months, retrieved his phone with telekinesis and used his free hand to access his emails. Nothing of interest, except three words from Zed: Any thoughts yet?

Funny. Mallos hadn’t realised Zed knew how to use a computer.

Ángie hopped off his lap and toddled over to her toybox while Mallos hesitated over the reply button. He’d had plenty of thoughts on the issue; what he didn’t have was an answer.

There was a soft click as Ángela flipped the lid of her toybox open and leant inside, rummaging around. Mallos placed his phone neatly onto the coffee table just as the bedroom door opened again and Croe walked in. Ángie noticed immediately. She grabbed the first toy she could find from the box, abandoned it with the lid still up and made a beeline straight for her mother. Mallos took a second to stand up and stretch before following suit.

He’d gotten used to kissing Croe with the daughter wrapped around her legs, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating. Ángela hadn’t slept in her own bed for even one night for months now. There was always something… a nightmare, a scary noise, the monster under the bed. She had come to occupy their every sleeping moment as well as every waking one. Between that, the four walls of the apartment, the uncertainty over Zed’s question, the empty space on top of the filing cabinet where Sperantia used to sleep…

Mallos held Croe in the kiss for a little longer than usual, letting the world melt away for a moment. He pressed his forehead against hers, running his hand through her hair.

“Maybe we should drop someone at the Santiago,” he muttered quietly, “and see if your anklet stretches as far as Spain.”

Mallos
I've learned enough to know I'm never letting go