#I can't stop writing brettsey with kids now asjnewfueifh--

[sylvies-chen]

Prompt 70 for Brettsey 😍

If you can I would love a story involving Brett and Casey with one of their kids !!

Can't wait to read this

You're in luck because I'm in a big Brettsey + kids mood today (although let's be real, when am I not?) Also sidenote: I'm lowkey terrible at naming character's kids but let me know if it fits!

70. “I can’t do this on my own.”

"Daddy!"

Matt hears his daughter's frustrated call for her dad from the first floor and immediately stops what he's doing. Sure enough, when he gets to the stairwell, he sees Eleanor Casey, huddled over and fussing with her shoelaces.

Oh boy. He already knows where this is going.

Ellie's eight now and still doesn't know how to tie her shoelaces. Matt doesn't think it's that big of a deal-- getting the hang of it takes a little time, something she has plenty of since she's so young. But Ellie, for the past few weeks, has been letting it get to her more than usual. He and Sylvie have both been trying to guide her through it, to somehow make the steps simpler for her, but their daughter is as stubborn as she is kind. She gets that from both him and Sylvie, Matt thinks.

"What's wrong, do you need a hand?"

Ellie pouts, sticking out her trembling bottom lip as she crosses her arms. "My shoelaces won't do the thing," she explains defeatedly, her shoulders slumped. "This sucks."

Matt has to fight back a little chuckle at that. It's funny to him but he sometimes forgets that for Ellie, that's big language.

"Woah, now don't get so down on yourself quite yet, sweetie," Matt soothes her. "It'll be okay."

"No, it wont," she whines frustratedly. "Harper can tie her own shoelaces, and all the other kids in my class can too."

"Well Harper's a year older than you," he points out. "Auntie Stella and Uncle Sev taught her extra good."

"Well why can't you and Mommy teach me extra good? I can't do this on my own," she pouts again.

"We are teaching you," he promises her. "It just takes a little time to get the hang of it, El."

"Mommy lost her keys and can't help me right now, will you tie them for me instead?"

The young girl looks up at him with big, pleading eyes. She's mastered the same puppy dog eyes that Sylvie gets when she wants something. When it's matched with his daughter's tiny blonde braids and rosy cheeks, it makes for a pretty irresistible sight.

Well, almost irresistible.

"Why don't I help you figure it out? That way, you can do it yourself next time without help from Mommy or Daddy," he tells her gently, moving to the bottom of the stairs and getting on one knee. Ellie sits on the second step and even then, she just barely meets Matt's eye as she extends her left foot and shows him her bright pink, sparkly Sketcher shoe.

"Ok," she nods vigorously. "What do we do first?"

"We're going to take both laces," he starts, his hands guiding hers towards both end of the lace as she picks them up, "and now we're going to make a little X shape."

His hands stay hovering over hers, always guiding her gently as she follows his steps. Her shoulders relax slightly and stop slumping with each second he helps her with it.

"Now, we're going to put that guy under and pull. Think we can do that?"

"Well duh," she giggles amusedly, her teeth clenching her tongue gently as she flashes him a cheeky look. Their hands keep moving through the motions, pulling the lace through. "We did it!"

"We did, you're right," he beams. "Now we're going to make two little bunny ears and do the same thing with those. Okay?"

"Okay," she nods, her brows furrowing in concentration as their four hands keep moving. He makes one as she makes the other but after he hands her the second bunny ear, he gradually moves his hands away. She doesn't seem to notice, just keeps going by herself.

One of the loops is pulled down and under the other, then she yanks it tight and stares at her shoe in victory. Ellie's eyes go wide with excitement as she looks up at Matt with the biggest smile on her face. "We did it, Daddy! We really did it!"

"You did it, kiddo," he tells her. "I let go after the bunny ears were made."

"You wh--" Ellie looks down at her shoe, then back up at her Dad. For a minute, he thinks she's going to be upset, but a smile spreads over her face again. "Oh my gosh! Daddy, I did it on my own!"

Matt laughs at that, a true and joyful laugh that's pretty much only able to be caused by Eleanor, Sylvie, and on occasion, Severide. He might be extremely biased, but Ellie really is the sweetest thing out there. His and Sylvie's lives have become a million times better the day their daughter was born.

"Did what on your own?" Matt hears his wife's voice coming from the side of the stairs as she peeks at Matt and Ellie over the bars of the railing.

Ellie lights up and smiles at her mom. "I tied my shoelaces on my own, Mommy! Well, Daddy helped me with the first part, but then I did the little bunny ears all by myself," she explains happily.

"Wow! That's amazing, I'm so proud of you, little lamb," she coos, moving around the railing to sit next to her daughter. She grabs one of her braids playfully, then moves to tickle at her sides. Ellie giggles at the gesture, retreating back amusedly. She notices Ellie's other untied shoe though and points at it. "You've got a second foot though, silly. Think you can do that one all by yourself? Show Daddy just how strong you are?"

"Uh-huh," Ellie nods excitedly, moving to switch legs and extend her right foot. This time, Matt stands back and lets her do her thing.

He should have known before that she'd learn like this. Ellie's tough and smart beyond compare for a kid her age, but sometimes she gets too flustered and down on herself to see straight. That, Matt knows for a fact she gets from her mother. But Matt and Sylvie took vows to lift each other up, to support each other no matter what and help each other be the best versions of themselves. That applies to their daughter now too, so he's not surprised that all it took was a little confidence boost for Ellie to learn something new.

She goes at the second shoe, quietly mumbling the steps to herself as she goes through them and then sitting back in victory when she looks at the finished product. "There you go, Daddy. I did the second shoe," she announces, standing up on the step and showing him her ties shoes.

"I can see that. They look nice, you did a good job, Ellie," he beams. "If you're lucky, we might even take you to get some ice cream after school to celebrate."

"Really?" Her face lights up as she raises her eyebrows expectantly.

"You'll have to wait and see! Now come on, we need to get you to school. And Mommy can drive now that she's found her keys," Sylvie chuckles.

Ellie nods and Matt moves to pick her up. He lets out a soft grunt as her arms fly up and accept the embrace, slinging over his shoulder. He just forgets that she's growing up so fast sometimes, and that she doesn't weigh ten pounds like she did when she was just a baby.

Ellie giggles in his arms as he bops her nose once with his finger. He moves over to Sylvie though, who's already smiling joyously. It's sort of a momentous occasion for them; Ellie's been trying to tie her shoes for weeks now and the slight weight of the moment isn't lost on them.

Matt takes the opportunity of Ellie being slung over his shoulder to lean over and kiss Sylvie. Her lips drag against his slightly, and she exhales sweetly after they pull away from the kiss.

"Gross!" Ellie squeals from over his shoulder, wiggling in his arms. Sylvie chuckles, running a hand over his cheek to caress it once more before moving behind Matt to face Ellie.

"Who are you calling gross, little lamb?" Sylvie moves to tickle their daughter, who squirms in Matt's arms even more and laughs hysterically.

Matt lets them goof around for a little more before moving to the car. He knows they're going to make Eleanor late for school if they keep it up for too long but he doesn't care.

He's gotten a happy ending with the woman he loves, with their daughter. And that merits a million late slips in his mind. It's a small price to pay for a happy family.