Sebastian's POV
I was reading through the quarterly reports, nursing a quiet moment with a scotch in hand, when the front door burst open like a damn hurricane had been let loose.
"DAD!!" Sky yelled, voice shrill and thrilled at once. Her heels clacked wildly against the marble floor, and then—
Thud.
She tripped. Again.
"Baby girl—" I was halfway up when I saw her scramble back up, hair flying like a cape behind her, her cheeks flushed, eyes gleaming.
"I HAVE A BOYFRIEND!" she announced, launching herself at me with the kind of momentum that could break a rib. I caught her with an oof.
"What?" I asked flatly, already regretting breathing this morning.
"Day. He's my boyfriend now. I told him I like him, he said it back, so boom—taken." She beamed. "Like, officially. So no assassinating him. Promise?"
I blinked. "I did not say I wouldn't assassinate him."
"Daaaad," she whined, smooshing her cheek against mine. "He's sweet. He caught me when I tripped. Twice. That's love."
"That's reflex," I muttered.
She kissed my face with a loud mwah, then started yapping about how cute he looked in today's tie and how he handed her a water bottle before gym because she forgot hers—again—and how he called her hair 'a lot but... nice.' (His actual words, apparently.)
"I can feel my blood pressure rising," I said to no one.
"Same," Kai muttered from the hall.
Sky turned, eyes lighting up like she just remembered air. "Kai! Come help me pick a Facetime filter, I'm calling him now!"
I sighed. Deeply. Existentially.
---
Later – Sky's Room
Day's POV
The screen lights up with her name before the call even connects.
I brace myself.
It's only been twenty-three minutes since I left her house.
"Day!" she says the second she appears on screen. She's curled up in bed, wearing an oversized hoodie—mine, apparently—and her hair is still damp from a shower, messy and wild, half-dried like she towel-danced instead of properly drying it.
"You survived the night without tripping down a flight of stairs?" I ask.
She grins. "Barely. I hit the doorframe while twirling."
Of course she did.
"Did you tell your dad?" I ask cautiously.
Her eyes go wide. "Oh. I did."
"…And?"
"He looked like he wanted to throw you off a roof."
"Which roof?"
"Probably the one with the sharpest edge."
I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. "Great."
Sky giggles and flips onto her stomach, chin on her hands, kicking her feet behind her like she's starring in a teenage dream.
"You looked really cute today, by the way," she says softly.
I blink. "You say that every day."
"That's because you are cute every day." Her tone is matter-of-fact, like she's announcing the weather.
I glance away from the screen, but I don't hang up.
"I like seeing your face, you know?" she adds. "Even when you're not smiling."
"I do smile."
"Only internally," she teases.
She shifts again, pulling the blanket around her shoulders. "You're gonna stay on call till I fall asleep, right?"
I hesitate. "Why?"
"So I can listen to your boring voice and pretend you're here."
"…My voice isn't boring."
"It is. But it's my boring now."
I can't help the small smile that tugs at my lips. She sees it, of course. Her gasp is loud and triumphant.
"You almost smiled!"
"I did not."
"You so did!"
She yawns, blinking slowly, voice turning drowsy. "Don't hang up, okay? Just talk. About anything. Read your boring books out loud if you want."
I open my mouth to argue, but she's already halfway asleep. Her face softens, lips parted, hair sprawled over her pillow like a storm cloud.
I watch her.
Just for a minute.
Then I lean back, open my book, and start reading softly into the phone—because somehow, I've become the kind of guy who reads Shakespeare to a girl who paints flowers on her shoes and declares love like she breathes.
And I think I'd do it forever.