Lars swallowed back the slight tremble in his voice. He knocks on your door and waits for your “come in” to peek into the room.

You looked busy doing something and his palms started to sweat. He didn’t want to bother you or be a disturbance. He really really didn’t. He had known you quite literally since you were born. His little niece. You were the only baby he had ever actually held, but other than that he had kept a bit of a distance.

At first; you had been a very fussy baby. Gus had complained about his lack of sleep often during the first few months of you being a newborn, Lars remembered that well. He had stayed as far away as possible, your loud, young shrieks and cries were far too overwhelming for him.

“Do…Do you want to play Scrabble?” His voice was soft, hesitant, and quiet, his eyes darting to the ground instead of meeting yours.

One thing he couldn’t remember is when that had stopped, when you became a sweet little child that was always up for a game of scrabble.