"Daddy… Daddy… Daaaaddyyyyyyyy!"

Desmond Sycamore raised his gaze from his book as he became aware of his daughter's insistent calling. "Yes, dear?"

"I'm bored! Play with me?" she begged, her bright blue eyes shining. "Pleeeeeease?"

"I'm in the middle of something right now, sweetie… Maybe later?" he smiled—he couldn't help but smile at his precious daughter. Desiree definitely took after her mother in looks, with those eyes and that beautiful blonde hair. She was still young, only about six years old, but Desmond could already imagine how her beauty would blossom as she matured. Just as his lovely Jean's had. Those two gave meaning to his life, a chance to be happy in spite of what had happened.

"But Daddyyyyyyy!" the little girl protested. "You're always busy, and you never play with me!"

He could feel his already-weak resolve crumbling as she pouted at him. She was normally such a quiet child, but when she had her mind set on something... He never could resist that face. "Oh, alright. I suppose this can wait," he capitulated. "What are we playing?"

Desiree beamed, "We're gonna dress up!"

=^w^=

"And I'm the princess… Why, exactly?"

The blue-eyed child giggled as she explained again, "I'm going to be the hero that saves the princess, so I need a princess to save!" She said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Desmond inquired, "Saving the princess from whom?"

"That would be…" Desiree trailed off with a puzzled expression. "Um… I guess we need a villain, too!"

"Perhaps I could be the villain. Your mother would make a much better princess," he suggested.

She slowly nodded before dashing off to find her mother, calling, "Mommy, come play with us!"

Desiree returned a short time later, pulling a laughing Jean by the hand. "Mommy, you're gonna be a princess, and Daddy's gonna be a villain, and he's gonna kidnap you and I'll come save you!"

"Is that so? Are you sure Daddy's cut out to be a villain? I think he'd be a much better princess," Jean teased.

"Jean…!" Desmond's cheeks turned pink, causing his wife to laugh even harder.

"Okay, okay, I get it, I'm the princess. I'd better get dressed to look the part, hm?"

Her husband almost said that she already looked like a princess, casual though her attire was, but she had already disappeared. Meanwhile, his daughter stared at him, appearing to be deep in thought, before exclaiming, "Aha!" and running to find something. What that "something" was, he would find out very soon.

When his daughter reappeared, she was dragging a wooden trunk that was almost as big as she was. As Desmond jumped up in alarm, intending to help her, she decided that she had moved it far enough and plopped down on top of it, panting. After she caught her breath, she pried open the lid and began rummaging around inside. The first thing she removed was a brown and grey cape, which she handed to her father, saying, "Here, try this on!" This was followed by a black tricorn hat and a white mask, which she insisted on putting on him herself as he knelt on the floor, amused.

Desiree stepped back to admire her handiwork and mumbled, "Hm… Something's missing…" She returned to the chest and found a white feather boa, which she slung around Desmond's neck. "There! Perfect!"

He personally thought the boa looked a bit silly, but if it made his daughter happy, what did it matter?

"How do I look?" Jean's voice asked from the doorway. Desmond's breath caught in his throat; she had donned a fancy pink gown, and she was absolutely breathtaking.

"Like true royalty," he murmured. Getting into character, he announced, "And your crown will be mine!" He darted to her, grabbed her arm and dragged her with him, pretending to ignore her feigned squeak of terror.

"Oh no! Not the princess!" Desiree shouted, "I'll save you!" She chased after her parents, brandishing a toy sword.

"It's too late! She's mine now!" Desmond did his best attempt at an evil laugh.

"Noooo! Please, help me, brave knight!" Jean cried.

"Stop there, villain!"

Desmond, having managed to get stuck in a dead end, slowly turned to face his pursuer. He barely had time to blink before the tip of the fake sword was at his chest, and he growled, "You may have bested me this time, but I'll be back!" He released his "prisoner" and threw himself sideways to make his escape.

"Thank you for saving me!" Princess Jean smiled, "As a reward, I'll grant you any reward you desire."

"Cake?" Desiree chirped hopefully.

Jean laughed, "The best cake you've ever tasted."

"... Does the villain get some cake, too?" Desmond chuckled.

"I'm sure that could be arranged," his wife smiled.

Yes, the Sycamore family was full of happiness and life. It was only a shame that it couldn't last.

A/N: I'm not sure why I feel like I'm a terrible person for writing this. Hehe. I kinda like this one, actually.

Dang, did I seriously just write five PL oneshots in five days? *throws confetti* Party time~! Let's celebrate my sudden burst of writing, even if it's still nothing amazing~!

I'd like to thank everyone for reading this and the other four, especially these lovely people who may or may not see this but it's the thought that counts, right?

Descole'sApprentice

The Mocking J

Mireldis

Louise (guest)

NeverCompliments (guest)

just. a. guest (guest)

James Birdsong (guest)

These wonderful people have either reviewed or favorited at least one of my little fics in the past few days and are probably in part what inspired me to keep writing. So thank you all~

Review please? I'll give you virtual cookies~!