Chapter Text
“Are you ready to see your new room, Kimmy?”
“Yea! Can I open my eyes now?”
“Soon! You gotta be patient, okay?”
Remodeling the attic had taken a lot of time, effort, and money- but it had all been well worth it. Sure, he’d had to move a lot of stuff around, but he eventually found places for everything. He had sorted through all of the boxes, hanging up pictures around the house- pictures that brought back many fond memories with them, save for one or two that got thrown away. He had also managed to haul the safe out and tucked it away in one of the closets in his bedroom instead, he hung up the old paintings around the house, and the stack of board games had found a new home on the brand new shelves he had gotten. And the little plastic plant he found was now sitting on the little nightstand next to her bed. The only thing that couldn’t be moved was the AC unit of course, but he had made sure to put edge guards around all the edges just to be safe. He’d just have to make sure she knew never to climb on top of it.
There was that and much, much more of course. The flooring, the walls, the lights, the furniture; every ounce of work put into it had been done for the sake of his dear daughter, Kim- a little six-year-old who was practically bouncing with excitement as she kept her hands over her eyes like her father had told her to.
Nick opened the door and carefully led her daughter through the doorway, a fond smile on his face as she saw how excited she was. He stopped her once they were inside, shutting the door behind them. “Okay, we’re inside.”
“Can I open now??” Kim asked impatiently, which got a chuckle from the man.
“Yes, sweetheart. You can look now!”
Kim uncovered her eyes and opened them, gasping at the sight. It was beautiful. Most everything was made to be in her favorite colors, purple and blue. Nick had painted the walls himself. There were two sets of shelves- one for books, and the other for board games and other toys and such -and the bed was nice and plush with soft, warm sheets and blankets carefully made over it. She had her own little desk and chair- with a little cat clock sitting on it, to match the rest in the house -her own closet, brand new curtains for her window, and she had plenty of space on her rug-covered floor to do anything she wanted.
“Soooo,” Nick prompted as he took a moment to look around the room, admiring his work, “What do you think, Kim?”
“I LOVE IT!!” She squealed happily, jumping up and down. “I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT!!”
Nick couldn’t help beaming at the sight of his happy daughter. “I’m glad you do, sweetheart. It makes me happy that y- oh!”
He cut himself off as Kim suddenly ran smack into his legs, throwing her arms around them and hugging tightly. “Thank you, Papa.”
Nick crouched down to her level, returning the hug. “You’re welcome. I love you, Kimmy.”
“I love you too, Papa.”
“Oh! I almost forgot- I got you a friend to stay with you in your room!”
“You did?!”
“I did! He’s sitting on your bed right now!”
Kim ran over to her bed, gasping again when she saw what the “friend” was. “A teddy bear?!”
“Yep!” Nick said with a smile. “His name is Teddy, and he’s been Daddy’s best friend for a really long time. Now he’s yours.”
“Mine?” Kim questioned, picking him up to look at him. He had the cutest little blue hat on his head, and a little white bow tied around his neck. “He gets to be my best friend, too?”
“He does! And I bet he already likes you.”
Kim smiled widely, hugging the stuffed bear to her chest. “I like you too, Teddy.” She then climbed up onto her bed to sit, bouncing a little bit on her new mattress.
Nick took a glance at the cat clock on the desk to check the time. Ah. It’s that time already? “Well, Kimmy- Daddy’s gotta get down to his office ‘cause he’s got work to do soon. You remember where the office is, right?”
“Yea! First door next to the front one!”
“Good! If you need me for anything just come down to get me, alright? And if there’s an emergency of any kind, just yell for me and I’ll come running. Okay?”
“Yes, Papa.”
“Great. Enjoy your room, sweetheart.”
-
The objects in the housedom had been rather surprised when they first learned that a child would be accompanying the homeowner when he moved in, and the reception to this news was quite the mixed bag of opinions. After all, there was no telling exactly how she’d act- or, to be more accurate, how she would treat the objects. Children- particularly younger ones -could be a cause for concern to many in the house. But so far, from what some had been able to see, Kim seemed to be rather well behaved.
“She seems very sweet,” Florence said sweetly, as she observed the girl and her father from Celia’s office. “I think she’ll be a great addition to the house.”
“I hope she will be.” Celia stood by Florence’s side, watching them as well. “You know how unpredictable ones of her age are capable of being. …She does seem kind, though. She’s much like her father in that regard.” A tiny smile formed on her face.
“Yes,” Florence agreed with a nod, “He put a lot of care into fixing up that room, you can see it. And I’m sure Tony enjoyed being part of the process.” She chuckled lightly, and then paused, frowning a little. “Oh, I hope the ones that got moved around are okay with where they are now… it was a little sudden…” She tugged nervously at the sleeves of her shawl.
“It will just be a matter of getting used to the changes.” Celia stated reassuringly, and matter-of-factly. “After all, it’s not like the attic is going back to the way it was anytime soon. Whatever the case, it’s nothing that can’t be handled, I’m sure.” The tall woman smoothed out the skirt of her dress. “Now, let us get back to business. I have meetings coming up.”
Nick had headed down to the office, leaving Kim alone in her room for the time being. She had gone through her things to find her crayons and paper, and seated herself down at her desk to draw out a picture- a picture of her new room, because she loved it so much. She scribbled and scribbled away until she was satisfied, holding it out in front of her to admire it. The next thought that popped into her head was to show off the drawing to her father, so she hopped up from her chair doing a little run over to her door to open it-
-and upon seeing somebody standing in front of said door, she stopped, peering up at the stranger with surprised but curious eyes. He was tall. Really tall, dressed in some kind of suit, and he had a necklace of keys around his neck.
“...Oh! Hi, mister.”
Dorian’s brows furrowed in confusion as he heard a voice, and he looked downwards- his confusion furthered when he saw the young human girl looking at him. “...Are you speaking to me?”
“Yeah! Hi.” She waved a little hand up at him. “What’s your name?”
“Huh.” Dorian’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Odd. She shouldn’t be able to see me. “It’s Dorian. Pleased to meet you, little one.”
“Dorian!” Kim repeated, “Do-ri-an. Do-ri… Dory!” She giggled to herself, and waved up at him again. “Hi! I’m Kim. Why are you in my room…?” Her head tilted a little in curiosity.
“I’m the door. The door to your bedroom.” Dorian replied simply.
“Woaaaaah… you’re my door?”
“I am.”
“That's so cool!”
“I’m glad you think so.”
Kim leaned to the side, as though trying to peer around him. Then she looked back up at him. “Can I leave my room? I gotta show something to my Papa. Pretty please…?”
“Well, since you asked so very nicely; certainly.” The corners of Dorian’s mouth curved up into a small smile. He opened the door for her, sidestepping so she could make her way through. “There you are, little love. Off you go.”
“Thank you Mister Dory!” Kim said politely, before dashing through the doorway to make her way down the stairs, waving at him as she went.
Dorian gave a little wave back, watching her go until she was out of sight, and then he shut the door again. He tugged a hand through his brown hair with a sigh. “How strange. I’ll have to inform the Mayor about this…”