Colton chuckled as he turned the stove off and opened a cabinet door to take out two mugs.
"Bullying you? Who's bullying you? I'll beat him up." He asked her as he poured the hot chocolate into the mugs.
"You are!" Her pout swayed a bit when he offered her a mug.
"No. I'm not. George was a bully to you. That's why I slammed him on the floor the other day during the meeting. He's lucky you wanted him to simply be arrested. But me? I'm just a big brother fulfilling his job of teasing his little sister." He finished saying as he placed the pot into the sink to clean later.
'True.' She thought.
Just as he had prevented George from reaching her in that conference room, he had been protecting her from hurtful people all of her life. Nobody would get the chance of touching a single hair on her head as long as Colton was breathing. Not if they had bad intentions anyway.
For those with good intentions, he knew they wouldn't get much of a chance either thanks to Claire's reluctance to let people in.
'Not that I could blame her though. I'm not much better at it either.' He thought to himself as she stuck out her tongue in defeat.
"Now, are you going to keep her waiting? I'm sure you know that she's the one who had me slave over the stove to make this. It's her 'finally beat the cold monster' reward." He told her as he gestured towards the pink unicorn shaped mug in his hand.
"Guessed as much." Claire answered as she chuckled.
Hopping of the counter top she followed him out of the kitchen and into the tv room. As they stepped in, they could hear a small adorable giggle come from underneath the coffee table in the middle of the room. One of her favorite hiding spots.
After looking at each other and grinning, they both made their way to the couch and sat down.
"Oh my Cece! It looks like she isn't here. What should I do? I made her favorite hot chocolate and even planned on watching her favorite princess movie." Colton said as he placed the mug on top of the coffee table.
"Well how about we drink it for her and watch the movie by ourselves? I've been dying to see that one!" Just as she finished answering him, the little person under the table quickly crawled out and lunged herself towards Claire. Making both Claire and Colton laugh.
Catching her, she snuggled her in her embrace. "What a silly Lily. You know we would never do that." Claire told her as the little person in her arms lifted her head to face her.
Lily was adorable. Her cheeks were like fresh steamed buns and her nose was as cute as a button. Her eyes were a shade lighter than theirs, but nonetheless a beautiful jade like color. The wavy long hair that covered her head was strawberry red just like Claire's. It was like seeing a miniature version of herself.
Lily looked up and studied Claire's face. She then pulled her arms from the hug and sat in between them.
'Promise?' Her little eyes shimmered as she asked. She asked her in sign language
"Of course I do. We both do." Claire answered gesturing to Colton who was already smiling and offering her the unicorn mug.
'Promise Uncle?' Lily asked Colton also in sign language.
"Of course. After all your my favorite little kiddo." He winked at her while he answered.
Taking the mug she smiled at both of them and proceeded to get comfortable on the couch between the two to watch the movie.
-----------------
It was dark outside by the time the movie ended. Both girls were fast asleep cuddling each other as Colton turned off the tv. He shook Claire a bit in order to wake her up.
"Hey sleepy head. You should go to bed." He said whispering to her as he picked up the little red head in his arms. "I'm gonna take her up. You coming?"
Claire groggily nodded her head and followed behind them. She went to her room to shower as Colton took Lily to her own. After getting into her cute giraffe print pajamas, she found herself knocking on Colton's bedroom door.
"Come in." She heard him say and opened the door.
"Aren't you too old for slumber parties?" Colton asked her as he dried his hair with a towel.
"And aren't you tired of asking me that?" She stuck her tongue out to him as she got into his bed and made herself comfortable. "Besides, you've been out for a while now. And since I don't know when your going to be out again, I have to take what I can get."
She would miss her brother when he was away for too long. She knew it was a necessary part of his job, but that didn't make it any less lonely for her.
"Just don't take up all the bed." He told her as he got in the bed and turned on his side to face her. "Now tell me. What are you gonna wear for your date with that Villan dude?"
"How did you know it was Mr. Villan I was going out with?" Claire immediately started to blush. She felt as if she were caught red handed, although she hadn't done or hid anything.
"Are you kidding me? You do know that I was in your security detail today right? I could practically see the guy drool over you through my scope. Plus, he's totally your type. That's the only reason your blushing so hard." He chuckled as he saw her getting redder by the second.
"See him drooling!? What are you even talking about!? You know damn well that glass was one sided. How could you even...." Claire sat up as soon as realization hit her. "Colton Collins! Did you have a mic on me again!? What the hell were you thinking?! If he had found out I could have been killed on the spot!"
"Oh please. You know my stuff is military grade. And even if he did notice, he wouldn't have been able to touch a hair on your head and you know it. Not that he seemed liked he would anyway. Now stop trying to change the topic." He flicked her forehead as he finished his argument.
She grunted in frustration since she knew he was right. Falling back into the bed she sighed.
"I don't know what I'm gonna wear. I just know I really don't want to go. He looks at me as if he can read my thoughts. It's unsettling."
Colton was indeed over protective of his two girls. But that didn't mean he didn't want for his little sister to find somebody she could trust and love. It was only fair he thought. She had sacrificed so much while keeping so little for herself. And although she couldn't see it, she deserved the world. Something he knew he couldn't give her.
'Maybe he can.' He thought to himself as he patted her head.
"Don't get so caught up in your head. Just take it as it goes. You know you can't avoid him forever since you're gonna be using each other's resources so just let it be. I mean there's nothing you can't handle right?"
Claire looked at her brother and relaxed. Feeling reassured she turned to her side to face him and smiled.
"Right. There's nothing one of the Collins brother's can't handle." She grinned at him as she answered.
"See? Now go to sleep. You've got a big date tomorrow." He said while chuckling and turning on his back to go to sleep.
"Idiot." Claire mumbled as she closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her.