Work Text:
Evangeline never could figure out what her dream was supposed to be. She assumed that having a dream must be important from the way everyone always talked about them, but she just couldn’t put her finger on what hers was.
Her mother had dreamed about her restaurant from the time that she was a little girl, and she’d managed to make that dream come true once she accepted a little bit of help, and made room for more than just hard work in her life.
Her father had dreamed of living the good life, even if he didn’t figure out just what that was for quite some time. His dream came true, too.
As for Aunt Lottie, she’d always dreamed of marrying a prince. Sure; Jasper Edwards was no prince, but he treated her like a princess so much that he may as well be. You could say he dream came true by default.
But Evangeline; the four year old little girl had no idea what her dream was supposed to be.
“Mama?” she asked one day as Tiana cooked breakfast, tugging on the skirt of her yellow dress. “What’s my dream?”
Pausing in whisking the pancake batter, Tiana had peered curiously down at her young daughter, giving her a gentle smile. “Well, sweetie, I don’t know. A dream is something you decide, not your mama.”
“But your daddy helped you with your dream, didn’t he?” Evangeline asked, and Tiana placed the bowl of batter down on the counter, bending down to her daughter’s level.
“He did,” she agreed with a nod. “But he didn’t tell me that had to be my dream. He just helped me find what I loved to do. What do you love to do, honeybunch?”
Chewing uncertainly on her small fingers, Evangeline rocked back and forth on her heels. “I like to make pictures,” she stated with a nod, and Tiana smiled.
“You like to make pictures? Or you love to make pictures?”
Grinning a bit, the young girl removed her fingers and bounced with excitement. “I love to make pictures!”
“How about you become an artist, then?” Tiana suggested, and Evangeline nodded rapidly, rushing out of the room to go find her crayons.
“Thank you, Mama!” she called back, bumping straight into Naveen’s legs in her moment of distraction as he walked toward the kitchen.
“Careful, my little tadpole,” he said with a gentle smile, bending down to lift the little girl into his arms and twirl her around, earning himself a small giggle from her lips. “Where are you off to in such a hurry, hmm?”
“I’m gonna be an artist, Daddy!” she proclaimed happily, wiggling in his arms to get free. “I gotta go find my crayons and make some pictures!”
Chuckling at her eagerness, he set her on her feet and watched her hurry off down the hall. “No running on the stairs!” he called, cautioning her, and hearing a call of, “Yes, Daddy!” as he continued toward the kitchen, grinning when he caught sight of his wife making blueberry pancakes.
“We have a little artist, do we?” he asked her, playfully tickling her sides as he walked up behind her. Squealing, Tiana wriggled away, shaking her head with a grin of her own.
“Don’t!” she objected, tutting with disapproval. “I’m ticklish.”
“Isn’t that the point of tickling someone?” he asked with an arched eyebrow, and she shook her head, returning to the pancakes sizzling in the frying pan.
“Not if you want breakfast, it isn’t. You’re going to make me make a mess.”
Smirking, Naveen crossed over to the table to take a seat, looking up when the sound of pattering footsteps approached and Evangeline hurried into the room again, crayons and paper in hand.
“I’m ready to be an artist!” she stated proudly, and Tiana grinned with her back to the two of them.
“It’s not that easy, baby,” she explained, glancing over her shoulder at Evangeline. “It takes a lot of hard work and persistence to make your dream come true.”
Grinning, Naveen leaned across the table, passing his daughter her green crayon when it began to roll away. “And sometimes it takes a bit of magic, too,” he whispered to her with a wink, and her eyes widened as she accepted the crayon.
“Magic?” she asked, listening intently to her father, “Like in Mama’s stories?”
Stealing a quick glance over at Tiana, Naveen grinned and nodded his head. “Exactly like your mama’s stories.”
“But magic and wishing isn’t all it takes,” Tiana reminded them both, placing plates of hotcakes and syrup in front of them both. However, Evangeline ignored the food and continued to draw away on her paper.
“She is right,” Naveen agreed with a sigh. “Hard work is important. But you can’t lose sight of what’s truly important.”
Pausing in getting her own pancakes, Tiana’s ears rang with her father’s words, and she gave a small smile, nodding as she turned to face her small family, wiping her hands on her apron.
“Love,” she and Naveen both chimed and the same time, and they smiled at each other for a long moment, only breaking eye-contact when Evangeline spoke up.
“Mama! Daddy! Look at my picture!”
Crossing the room, Tiana stood behind Naveen and placed her hands on his shoulders, a soft smile tugging at her lips at the sight of her daughter’s work of art.
“It’s the froggies from your story,” the little girl explained, holding her picture up for them to see. “They fell in love, and lived happily ever after in their froggy castle.”
“They certainly did,” Naveen remarked with a warm smile, bringing a hand up to squeeze on of Tiana’s. “It’s beautiful, Evangeline. You’re going to be a wonderful artist one day.”
“You really think so?” she asked with bright, happy eyes, and Naveen nodded with certainty.
“I know so. You are your mother’s daughter, after all, no?”
Tiana watched with a fond smile at their exchange, unable to help thinking of her own father. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if he were still here; if he’d be proud of her and the success of the restaurant, what he’d think of Naveen, and how much he’d love Evangeline…
I did it, Daddy, she thought to herself, glancing upward with a small smile, hoping somehow he’d hear her. I made my dreams come true. Even the ones I didn’t know I had.