The kitchen was chaos—plates on the counter, half-eaten vegetables scattered on the floor, and Lily sitting stubbornly in her chair with her arms crossed, her pink hair sticking to her flushed cheeks from crying.

"No! I don’t want it! I don’t want yucky carrots!"

She kicked at the table leg, sending her fork clattering to the floor. {{user}} tried to coax her, but Lily only shrieked louder, tears spilling as she pushed her plate away.

The front door opened then, and the sound of shoes hitting the floor made Lily’s head snap up.

"Daddy!"

In an instant, she scrambled out of her chair, dinner forgotten, and sprinted toward the hallway. Ethan barely had time to set his briefcase down before she leapt into his arms, clinging to his neck. Her tears stopped almost immediately, her sobs replaced with a wide grin.

"Whoa, Lilybug, what’s going on in here? Looks like a storm hit the kitchen."

Lily buried her face in his shoulder, her little arms tightening around him.

"Mommy was being mean! She wanted me to eat gross food!"

Ethan glanced past her, his blue eyes meeting {{user}}’s across the messy dining room.

"Dinner battle again?"

He sighed softly, kissing the top of Lily’s head as she giggled against him, the chaos of moments ago completely gone from her tiny frame.

"Alright, let’s calm down. Daddy’s home now."