Prompt 52: "Just hold my hand, please."

Fandom: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Pairing(s): none

Tags & warnings: family fluff, hurt/comfort, a bit of character study

This was requested by skiddy-noddlez!! It was soooo cute, and you're right Straizdad and Elizababy do need more recognition T_T I had a bit of trouble writing this at first, but then inspo struck and ta-daaa xD (I still suck at titles tho ;_;) Hope you'll like it!! ^^

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The clock strikes one. Sighing, Straizo looks up from the papers strewn on his desk, raising a hand to pinch his nose bridge. All this reading and research is giving him a headache, and he wishes he could just push it all aside, call it a day and go to bed — but ever since he took over for Tonpetty, moments of rest have been few and far between. It doesn't help, either, now that he is taking care of the baby Erina saved on that ship. To say he has learned to appreciate his parents would be an understatement; at times, Straizo is genuinely awed by the sheer amount of effort one has to put into caring for a child. Dirty diapers, temper tantrums, midnight tears... he's surprised he still has the energy to get up in the morning, sometimes. But despite it all, Straizo can't deny how much he adores Elizabeth: her ecstatic giggle each time he lifts her way up into the air; her wide, shining stare whenever he's telling her about one of his "adventures;" even her snores, breathy and soft once he finally gets her to fall asleep. Moments like these are the ones that convince him it's all worth it, especially during long nights with seemingly infinite documents to plow through like this one.

As if on cue, the door to his office creaks open. Straizo turns around, expecting to see a groggy Elizabeth demanding to know why he's still awake — but to his surprise and concern, his little girl shuffles in with tears streaming down her face:

"Papa... can I sit with you for a little bit?"

"Of course!" Straizo opens his arms wide, suppressing a sigh as Elizabeth immediately runs toward him and crashes into his embrace, her tiny frame shaking with each sob. "What's wrong, darling?"

"I... I had that dream again, Papa." Elizabeth chokes out, her hands clinging onto the fabric of Straizo's shirt as if for dear life. "I... I was on a ship, in the sea, and everything was so nice and pretty.... But then... then came this really evil man, and there was fire everywhere, and the ship was about to e-explode! But I couldn't move... I couldn't run at all. And you weren't there either, Papa... I couldn't find you anywhere.... I was s-so scared...."

"Liza... hey. Look at me, dear." Straizo coaxes, but Elizabeth has already buried her face into his chest, refusing to move even an inch. "You've got nothing to worry about, alright? I'm still here. You're safe. We're both safe. There's no ship, there's no fire... we're safe, darling. It's okay."

"But it felt so real, Papa...."

"I know. I know." Frowning, Straizo begins to rub circles onto his little girl's back. He'll have to tell her one day — but not right now, when she's so young, and definitely never through shitty nightmares like this. He has been looking for ways to temporarily chase these dreams away with Hamon, but so far nothing has come up. "But you're safe now, Liza. I promise."

Elizabeth is quiet. She has stopped crying, and for a moment just remained inside her father's embrace, neither moving nor speaking. Straizo wonders if she has fallen asleep due to exhaustion, and is just about to stand up and carry her back to bed, when he hears a tiny request:

"Papa... just hold my hand, please."

"You wanna stay here?" He asks, surprised. Elizabeth sounds so sleepy she could be snoring in the next second. "But I still have work to do, dear."

"That's okay, Papa. I can sleep with the lights on." Elizabeth shifts, making herself comfortable against his chest. Her gaze — as she extends a tiny hand towards his and wriggles her fingers expectantly — almost makes him melt. "Please?"

Straizo can't find it in himself to refuse, so he takes hold of Elizabeth's hand and watches as she rests her head against his shoulder and sighs contentedly, before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. Smiling, Straizo turns back to his documents, the fog of exhaustion temporarily cleared from his mind.

"How about I wrap this up quickly, so we can both get a good night's sleep, hmm?"

——

Turns out, recently, neither of them could sleep very well. When he isn't kept up by work, Straizo finds himself tossing and turning in bed, sometimes till one, sometimes later. Often, he doesn't dare get up for fear of disturbing Elizabeth — who is now big enough to not need to sleep in a crib anymore — but the thought of lying awake uselessly in bed like some lethargic grandpa greatly bothers him. He wishes he can be more productive, get more work done, or maybe even squeeze in a little training... but deep down, Straizo knows laziness is not his issue. It's just that he becomes tired, gets into bed... and then can't sleep. Makes him wonder if it's an old age thing.

He sits up in bed and sighs. He's been counting the grandfather clock's chimes, and if he's not mistaken it should be about two in the morning right now. Perhaps some water would help? He swings his legs off of the bed, and then, slowly as not to wake his daughter, stands and goes downstairs to the kitchen.

Everything is dark. The only source of light Straizo has to help him find the cups and fill one is the moonlight. As he gulps the water down, the pale silver stirs up something melancholic inside him, fragments of memories from the past that are so faded he can no longer put them together. The only thing he knows is that, once, there was a time when moonlight wasn't for showing the way around the kitchen. Once, there was a time when it wasn't for looking at the passing time on a clock. Once, there was a time when its glowing light meant adventure, nights around the campfire, friendly banter about weapons and new techniques while they got ready to face whatever danger tomorrow might bring. And he knows that he misses those times very, very much.

"Papa?"

A soft voice pulls him out of his reverie. Whipping his head around, he stifles a wince when he sees Elizabeth walk in, one hand rubbing at her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, dear. I just wanted some water." Straizo places the cup into the sink, then bends down to meet his little girl's gaze. Elizabeth is still rubbing her eyes when she asks, but those blue orbs seem to be sharper than he thinks:

"You can't sleep again?"

Straizo presses his lips together, opens then to reply, then clamps them shut again. Elizabeth looks at him expectantly, one hand resting on his shoulder as if to take some weight off of her pudgy legs. Once again unable to ignore her questions, Straizo sighs:

"Yes."

"Why? But you have so much work. Aren't you tired?"

"I am. But... it's not your kind of tired, Liza. It's...." Agh, where is he even going with this explanation? He should be putting Elizabeth back to bed right now. She doesn't need to burden herself with his health. "It's... old-people-tired, I guess."

"What's old-people-tired?" Elizabeth cocks an eyebrow — she's learned to do that now, and it messes up her facial features in the most adorable way. "And anyhow, Papa, you're not old."

"Yes, I am." Straizo exhales a smile. As he pushes back the velvety dark locks that have fallen into Elizabeth's face, he can't help but compare them to his own graying hair. "I'm a whole twenty-five years older than you, did you know that?"

"I know, Papa." Elizabeth pouts indignantly, as if she's just taken a blow to her intelligence. "But to me, you're not old at all. You're the strongest and most handsome man in the world!"

"Who told you that?" Chuckling, Straizo lifts his daughter up and begins to carry her back to their bedroom. It takes a bit of effort — after all, she's grown, and he has too. Elizabeth wraps one arm around his neck, and with the other pats Straizo's chest reassuringly:

"No one, Papa. I just know it. In myself. You know?"

"Know what?" Straizo smiles, humoring his little girl as he sets her down into bed, then climbs in beside her. Elizabeth turns to him, eyes shining despite her wide yawn:

"That you're young, Papa. Like me. Sometimes you can't sleep, but sometimes I can't sleep too. It's normal. And you can play with me, and the things I find funny you find funny, so you must be just as young as me."

"Really now?"

"Yes!" Elizabeth grins, before yawning again, her chubby cheeks stretching in the process. "Don't worry, Papa. You're not old. You're young, and strong, and you're gonna live for a long time. And I'll be there with you too."

"Thank you, Liza." Straizo's voice is not much louder than a murmur. Hearing her father's silence, Elizabeth becomes satisfied; she nuzzles into her pillow and closes her eyes once again. One of her hands are curled, tucked underneath her chin, while the other reaches out to wrap around her father's. As he watches his little girl fall back asleep, Straizo is surprised to find his eyes growing heavy as well. Silently wishing Elizabeth goodnight, he finally shuts them and drifts off into sleep — a grateful smile still pulling at the corners of his lips.

The grandfather clock chimes again somewhere, but only the soft moonlight is there to hear it.

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Hope I delivered <333

There's still 1 open slot left for a request, if anyone wants to claim it!! ;3 Fyi, AvPol and Tiziano x Squalo (WHAT is their ship name???? if anyone deserves one it's them ToT) have been requested.