𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

nail polish + kiddos

wholesome - family
aged up
words; 1209
unedited
——

the smell of pasta filled the living room as i finished preparing dinner. it was the fall/winter months, and the holidays were approaching; ruels, and my favorite time of the year. as i finished mixing the soup. i felt ruels arms gently snake around my waist and he placed a delicate kiss to my neck.

"hi, lovey," i whispered turning to face him. before he had the chance to place a kiss to my lips our 4 year old daughter ran in, her little shirt inside out and one pant leg out. i busted into laughter, "luna, what happened?"

"daddy, told me that i could dress myself," she giggled. "do you like it daddy?" she asked, running up to ruel and i, wrapping her arms around his legs and looking up with her brown, soft eyes. "i love it so much princess. you look beautiful," he whispered, squatting down to her level and placing a kiss on her forehead. "thank you, daddy," she giggled again, running towards her play kitchen.

i gave ruel a questioning look, cocking my eyebrow as he laughed lightly and shrugged. "let the girl live."

i laughed as he went to play with luna. watching the two try and replicate your actual family dinner for the night. as i wrapped up dinner, i noticed the two of them decided to throw a dance party. i placed the food on the dinning room table and walked over to join them, songs from her favorite cartoon shows playing as she spun in circles. ruel watching her intently, making sure she doesn't fall, and placing his hands behind her head when she gets dizzy.

as she spun, not paying attention to her parents, i walked up to ruel. "babe, where's khai?" i questioned, referring to our 7 year old son. "he's in his room, taking a nap, i think," he responded, his hand instinctively catching luna right before she fell. he was now on the floor, holding the shaken little girl. "i'm going to go check on him," i expressed, patting his shoulder gently, and maneuvering around the sofa.

i lightly walked up the stairs, finally reaching the top on and walking down the hall, filled with our family photos and the kids artwork. i knocked lightly, hearing no sound afterward, so i peeked in the door to see him sleeping. "hey kiddo," i whispered softly, sitting on his bed. khai's face turned to meet mine, and his cheeks had been stained with tears. "bub, what's wrong," i pondered, my heart slightly shattering at the sight.

yawning, he sat up, and whispered in my ear. "the kids at school, they ... um .. they made fun of me because i said i like," he paused, shaking a little, as i rubbed his back to calm him down, "um ... nail polish," he finished, his voice wavering.

"oh honey," i whispered, pulling him into a hug, rocking him side to side. "baby, why were you whispering?"

"because i don't want d-daddy to here. he-he wouldn't like that — you know — i like nail polish," he whispered, a tear falling down his rosy cheeks. "baby no, daddy loves nail polish, and so do i. if you want to wear nail polish than wear nail polish. you'll look great. please never be afraid to wear what you want or do what you want. okay kiddo? there will always be meanies, but it's okay. because there will also be buddies. and people who encourage you, like me and daddy. okay?"

khai nodded, still listening. "daddy would never judge you okay, and you can do whatever you want, as long as your not hurting anyone, you know that right?"
he nodded again, moving to sit on my lap as i openly embraced him. "i love you so much kiddo. you know that?"

"yes, mommy," he whispered, his head lifting from my chest. i wiped the tears off of his face, looking down at him. "okay, buddie. how about we go to the bathroom?"

he nodded again as i stood up, grabbing his hand and leading him to the bathroom. i grabbed some of luna's dora the explorer baby wipes and wiped khai's face. "alright, now you don't have to if you don't want to.  but if you do, i have some nail polish you can wear."

khai's face lightened up, a grin showing his few missing teeth. "yes please!" he cheered, jumping around. "alrighty!" i responded, chuckling at the kids  response. i painted on some purple fast drying nail polish and blowed on his finger lightly. the polish dried quickly, and when it did, khai went fishing down the stairs. i laughed, following him as i reached the last stair. khai was standing next to ruel, his fingers tucked carefully behind his back as he rocked back and forth nervously. "go head and show him buddie," i cheered, heading over to the kitchen while watching the interaction simultaneously.

khai swung his hands out from behind his back, sticking his fingers up as far as they could go. ruel's face lightened up just like khai's did, mine as well. "buddy they look great!" ruel cheered, picking up his son and spinning around. "t-thank you, daddy!"

"i thought you wouldn't like them, and the meanies mad fun of me. but now i'm happy!" khai cheered affirmatively as luna ran and stood next to her dinning room chair. "great, buddy, i love you!" ruel responded lovingly as the whole family sat down at the dinner table, beginning the final meal of the day.

as dinner concluded, and the kids finally took their baths and went to bed, ruel and i enters our bedroom, preparing for bed. "what happened with khai? he questioned, walking to his side of the bed, closing the blinds. "the kids at school bullied him for wanting to wear nail polish," i answered, walking into the adjacent bathroom, already in my night clothes, "and he thought you wouldn't approve of it, or like it."

i could tell ruel was saddened by the small sigh that broke the rooms silence. i finished washing my face and doing my skincare routine, i walked out of the bathroom, turning off the bathroom light. ruel has already stripped down to his boxers and plopped into bed, as i followed. we both turned our lights off, and i rested my head on him chest. "so, you asked him if he wanted to put on nail polish?" ruel questioned again, still trying to gauge the scenario. "yeah, he was crying before he took the nap, and then when i woke him up and he told me what happened, he started crying again. i consoled him, and then asked if he wanted to. he was so enthusiastic, and i painted them. i think he's doing better now," i summarized, tracing my fingers around ruel's bare abdomen. "you're a great mother, you know that?" ruel responded lovingly.

"thank you, baby," i responded back, as he kissed my forehead. "i love you, darling," he spoke, breaking the silence. "i love you more, mr. van dijk."

"and shit," he chuckled. "what?" i asked. "remember, i love you and shit," he chuckled again, referring to our love terms from our teenage years. i laughed, admiring how he remembered. "and shit," i giggles, interlacing my legs with his and drifting into the abyss of sleep.

KAYS THOUGHTS 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
hola!
updating two days in a row! who is she?
y'all seem to like longer and sappy imagines so i decided to write longer this time 😁
normalize boys wearing nail polish 🥺
love y'all & stay safe !! ❤️❤️