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parvulous-writings · 3 years

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An Idyllic Life is Nothing short of Splendid

Request: Hey! May I ask for some Ethan x Vanessa (from Penny Dreadful,of course) fluff? Something involving their children,maybe? For the Ethan x Vanessa request: I’d like the fic to be set in a modern au, but I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to keep the original victorian setting anyway! Besides this - and the children (or just one of them) being babies - nothing else. Thank you!

Submitted by: @ecasen

Genre: Modern!Penny Dreadful AU- Fluff

Warnings: Brief mention of nursing (not too explicit), crying child.

Summary: Ethan Chandler and Vanessa Chandler (nee Ives) go on a small outing with their growing family.

Words: 2.1k (2,152) Notes: I am so so sorry for how long this took, I have had a lot of work recently. I also apologise that this doesn’t really go anywhere. Don’t ask why the title is a little odd, I don’t know.

Saturdays were the day that the entire Chandler household always looked forward to, no matter how slow, rough and teeth-grinding the rest of their week had been. It was Saturdays when Vanessa didn’t have to work, when she could spend a proper amount of bonding time with her steadily growing family, without the next week looming over all their heads like a menacing and treacherous beast, ready to devour their souls and morale.This particular Saturday was going to be a very pleasant one, Vanessa could just tell- she always could. Call it a mother’s intuition, or just plain intuition- but she could always tell whether a day was going to go well, or end in total and utter disaster.

Ethan had woken up around half past seven in the morning on that particular Saturday. He had a plan, one he had been formulating for the last three days or so, a surprise for his darling Vanessa, his four year old girl Florence, and two month old Arabella. He valued his wife, and his children above all else- part of the reason he was the parent who stayed at home. He didn’t overly mind it,he enjoyed it actually, it was a nice life. Though, perhaps nice didn’t encapsulate all that he felt for his loved ones, idyllic, pure and perfect seemed to fit the bill much better. Despite it being half past seven, a perfectly suitable time for his family to start their day, he still tip-toed around their home, carefully stepping over the few stray floorboards that creaked under any shadow of pressure.

A single, full night of peaceful and undisturbed sleep was increasingly hard to come by in the Chandler family dwelling most Saturdays. Well, almost every day if anyone residing within was completely frank about the subject.So it didn’t weigh on Ethan’s conscience one bit that he was the only one up and about. He didn’t need as much sleep as the rest of his family unit, despite what Vanessa often tried to convince him. He knew that out of the pair of them, Vanessa was the one who needed much more rest- though she would never admit that to anyone, not even her darling husband. In the clear and bright beams of the morning light, Ethan set about completing his task- making a special tailored lunch for each member of his family. Well, as much of a lunch as he could, it was more for Florence and Vanessa if he was completely honest. The young and infantile Arabella was not yet of the age where she could properly savour great foods and homemade meals like the other three could. She would in time, he could just tell. Not in the same way Vanessa could, but he just knew. He hoped that this- not grand, but certainly sweet, unique and special- gesture would just remind the three of them of Ethan’s profound and undying passion, love and admiration for them all. It was something he often said and told them about, yet he hardly ever managed to find the time to show them, to prove that the words he spoke were true, as true as their very existence.

Ethan started off with preparing Florence’s lunch. Cute little square sandwiches, varying between cheese and cucumber fillings, they were her favourite in the summer time, she could hardly get enough of them. He placed them gently into a little plastic tupperware container, being careful so that they didn’t fall to pieces. He put a bunch of grapes in there too, little Florence had developed a slight craving for them in past weeks. He then moved on to make his wife’s sandwiches. He filled them with salad and cucumber again, something he knew he could keep cool, even in the summer’s heat on their outing. They were at least twice the size of Florence’s, naturally, and Ethan put them in their own little box before making himself his own sandwiches with sliced meat. Whatever the weather when it came to food, if meat was an option, Ethan would take it without any hesitaion, barely batting an eye at the other delectable options available to him.

It took him perhaps a quarter of an hour to fix up everything they needed and place them into two different canvas bags. One for himself, Vanessa and Florence, the other for baby Arabella, her feeding necessities and a couple of her toys which she had taken much fancy to. It was then, when had finally had everything squared away and prepared for their little family adventure at noon, that he heard the little pitter patter of bare feet against the carpet in the hall. He turned to look over his shoulder, and was met with the brilliant emerald green hues of Florence’s curious orbs. The same bright green that her mother had. Ethan often spoke of how the young child had been blessed with her mother’s eyes, and though Vanessa often tried to play it off as a joke or some playful comment, Ethan meant it. He thought carefully when he spoke of his family, meaning each and every word that flowed from his tongue and unto the ears of whomever chose to listen to his love-induced ramblings. When Ethan brought himself back to the present from his thoughts of admiration and closeness of his family, Florence was giving him a wide and beaming smile- one of the widest smiles he had ever seen on a child. He gave a gentle chuckle, turning round to face her fully.

“And what are you doing up so early?” He questioned with a quirk of his brow, his tone playful and teasing, as it often was with both of his children. Florence just started to giggle at him, not yet answering his question. “It’s not early, dadad!” She announced to him, pointing up at the clock mounted on the kitchen wall. “See? The big hand’s on the nine, and the little hand is on the seven! It’s not early!” She repeated, seeming a lot firmer in her tone, as if she were protesting and defending her point. Ethan couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled past his lips, and he pretended to try and figure out what the clock’s face read. “Well, well, well... I think you may be right!” He exclaimed, turning to look at her once more. “What a clever and observant young lady you are!” He praised, replying to Florence’s toothy grin with one of his own.

Florence responded to his compliment with a gentle little giggle, before squeezing past his form to get to one of the cupboards. Ethan just managed to stop her before she could get her tiny little hands on the breakable bowls that he and Vanessa used for a variety of things. “How about I help you with that?” He offered, knowing that she was trying to prepare her own breakfast. A cute little action, to be sure, but one that would most likely end in a mess that engulfed the entire kitchen. With a look of great reluctance, Florence took a small step back, allowing her paternal guardian to make her morning meal. It didn’t take him all that long, and he moved with her through to the living room, sitting her down and placing a plate with jam on toast beside her. He pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head, before going to make himself some of his own breakfast.

“Florence, darling, have you managed to get your shoes on the right feet?” Vanessa’s voice was sweet as she called through to the living room, conversing with her eldest child. Florence gave a loud hum in reply- indeed she had done, with some help from her father of course. Vanessa came through, baby Arabella strapped into the baby carrier around her shoulders. Ethan had already put the bags by the door, and was just making some last checks before they were to leave their home for the day. “Well done, sweetheart,” Vanessa praised, kissing the top of her head gently as Ethan gathered the bags and pushed out the front door. Florence was hot on his trail, with Vanessa bringing up the rear, closing and locking the door behind them all.

The walk didn’t take them all that far from their family home- Ethan didn’t exactly want to drive when he had planned the day, and he knew both Florence and Vanessa wouldn’t be able to walk for miles and miles, Vanessa being mostly too tired and Florence being too young- her legs too short to wander as far as her father could in the same amount of time.

It took them about forty-five minutes to get to the secluded clearing in the small and idyllic woods behind their home- mostly because Florence kept getting distracted by brightly coloured flower blooms and lagging behind just a little bit. Neither Ethan or Vanessa minded though, so long as she didn’t get hurt, her curiosity was something they allowed her to satisfy, especially in this sort of scenario. They soon found a nice little spot to have their lunch, nestled between a few tall and curving trees, on a patch of soft and inviting grass. The midday sun trickled through the canopy and down to the floor where they began to set up their picnic blanket in soft little rays- speckling their surroundings and their faces as they moved. Ethan started to unpack their food and snacks whilst Vanessa went to nurse a now fussing Arabella, with Florence attempting feebly to climb one of the many slender trees that surrounded them. Vanessa looked up from the babe latched to her chest to check on her eldest daughter, and worry briefly flashed across her visage, as Florence managed to get herself onto a precarious looking branch. For an older child, the height of the branch would be high enough for exhilaration, yet low enough that they wouldn’t get too hurt should they fall, but for Florence there was the exhilaration and the added danger of getting more seriously hurt. How she had even gotten up there was beyond Vanessa- the last time she had checked on her she could barely reach the branch with her slightly chubby hands, now she was sitting and barely balancing on the spindly limb.

“Florence, be careful!” Vanessa chastised, an edge of panic to her voice. She would have gotten up, but with Arabella still suckling, she could not. Ethan, ever the attentive patriarch, immediately recognised the tone of his wife’s voice, and his head snapped up. He saw Florence with almost heart stopping clarity as she began to lose her balance, and he dropped the tupperware in his hands, taking off at a sprint towards his daughter, starting to slide as she finally lost her balance completely, falling backwards off of her makeshift seat and starting towards the ground. Time seemed to slow for both Ethan and Vanessa, as the former dived to try and catch his daughter before she hit the rocky dirt which had been beneath her. He just managed to, cradling her head in his palm as she landed with a jolt. She was unharmed, but she was still shocked. After a second or so to take in what had just occurred, she began to sniffle. A panting Ethan held her close, bringing her to his chest in a warm bear hug. “You okay, sweetheart?” He asked her in a hushed voice. Florence began to nod, her hands grabbing at his flannel shirt as tears welled in her eyes. Though she had said she was fine- and she was thanks to her father- the floodgates had been opened, and she burst into tears, her wails muffled slightly by the fabric of her father’s attire.

Ethan pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, slowly getting up from his knees and padding back over to the other half of the familial unit. He carefully sat down again, giving Vanessa a reassuring look to say that Florence was in actual fact perfectly fine, even if her tears of shock tried to convince her mother otherwise. Ethan carefully reached over to Florence’s lunch, opening the box and taking out a handful of grapes as a sort of peace offering for the young girl in his lap. He held one up to her, and she shakily took it from him, eating it in one swift bite. “There now...” Ethan cooed softly, rocking her back and forth ever so slightly in his gentle embrace. “Is that a little better?” He asked, to which he got a gentle nod as a reply. He hummed softly, showing that he saw she had replied, before looking to Vanessa with a soft smile. She returned the gesture, before starting to chuckle lightly. “Now that was an eventful start to this afternoon...” She mused, and Ethan joined in quite merrily with her laughter.

#penny dreadful #canon x canon #modern au #fluff #requests open #please request #vanessa ives #ethan chandler #fluffy scenario #requested #gothic imagine #gothic #gothic tv show #tv series #tv series imagine

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