Gavi rembered what had happened that morning, and he sighed in defeat once again.
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Earlier that morning...
Gavi flailed his legs in the air as he was lifted off the bed, both his hands held firmly. He was still in his pajamas, his eyes heavy with drowsiness.
Kicking his legs and whining, he cried, "Uncle Dante! I want to sleep more~ Please, please! My sleep isn’t complete yet! I was having such a good dream! I was swimming in a pool of chocolate chips! Huhuhu~ I want to go back to bed!"
The little boy wailed dramatically, his eyes still stubbornly shut.
Dante, holding the child effortlessly, sighed as he watched him throw a tantrum. Gavi’s small body dangled in the air, yet the boy remained adamant about not waking up.
Pursing his lips, Dante asked, "And who was the one who asked last night—thirty-one tis, mind you—to wake him up for morning exercise, even if he didn’t want to get up?"
The little boy, still refusing to open his eyes, turned his head in another direction and huffed. "Hmph! I never said that!" he declared boldly, completely denying his words from the previous night.
Dante blinked in surprise. Was this the sa child who had practically begged him yesterday? Now, he was straight-up denying everything!
"Are you already giving up after just one day of exercising? How frail," Dante teased, hoping to rile him up from his sleep.
As expected, Gavi imdiately pouted. "Humph! Who’s frail?! But I have sothing way more important to do right now! I’ll exercise tomorrow!"
And yet, despite all his declarations, Gavi still hadn’t opened his eyes once. Such dedication... to sleeping! Dante looked at the boy in awe.
Raising an eyebrow at the stubborn and fickle little child, Dante sighed. "Oh? And what’s more important than your exercise? Dreaming about your chocolate chip-filled pool?"
"Yes!" Gavi answered instantly, his lips smacking together as if savoring the imaginary chocolate.
Dante stared at him, blinking once, then twice. Was this little munchkin now half-asleep, half-dreaming in midair?
And then, as if making an important declaration, Gavi spoke again, his eyes still shut. "Uncle Dante, fine! If you won’t put back in bed, then I’ll just continue sleeping like this!"
Dante was rendered speechless. Such unwavering dedication!
Such dedication, he was surely his child after all!
Shaking his head, he sighed. "And what happened to what you said yesterday? Soone was making big promises last night!"
Uncle Dante! You have to wake up tomorrow morning too, alright?
Even if I don’t want to, you have to kick my butt up!
I want to be strong like you! I want muscles like yours as soon as possible! You can’t let slack off, alright?
Promise ? Promise ? You have to promise !
Dante smirked. "And you made promise you too. So now what am I supposed to do? I keep my promises, Gavi."
Before the little boy could even react, or think of an answer , SPLASH!
Gavi was unceremoniously dunked into a bathtub filled with cold water.
"AYYY!!! Cold! Cold! Chocolate chips don’t drown !" he shrieked, eyes snapping open in shock.
Dripping wet, he turned his head sharply, glaring at Dante in absolute disbelief, who stood near the bathtub with his arms folded, looking completely unbothered.
While Gavi had stubbornly kept his eyes shut, Dante had carried him straight into the bathroom and dropped him into the cold water, instantly washing away all his sleepiness.
Glancing at his smartwatch, Dante looked back at the boy, who was still staring at him in disbelief. "You already had a full nine hours of sleep—more than enough. Now let’s go finish our exercise, or else we’ll be late for school," he said, tapping his watch.
Gavi pouted but begrudgingly stepped out of the tub. Dante grabbed a towel and began drying his damp hair before handing him his exercise clothes.
"I can do it myself!" Gavi declared, insisting on dressing alone, though it took him twice as long as necessary.
Once he was almost done, Gavi pouted again and grumbled, "Uncle Dante, this is not fair. You ruined such a beautiful dream! That’s so rude! You’re turning into a anie!"
Chuckling, Dante ruffled the boy’s still-damp hair. "What can we do, Gavi? Promises are ant to be kept. I keep my promise to exercise you, and you keep your promise to exercise."
Dante was absolutely sure that even though Gavi was whining now, if he had let him sleep in, the boy would have woken up later in the day and blad him for not waking him up. He would have claid, "Uncle Dante! I told you to wake up! You should have even kicked my butt if I didn’t get up! Why did you let sleep?!"
Thinking of that, Dante chuckled to himself.
As they descended the stairs, they ca across Elder Sterling, who was walking out of his room with the help of a cane. The mont the old man saw them, his eyes brightened.
"Oh, I see that Gavi is up early today to exercise with Uncle Dante again?" Elder Sterling said with a pleased smile.
In an instant, Gavi sprinted toward him, all his previous grumbling forgotten. Giggling, he declared proudly, "Of course, Great-Grandpa! Exercising is so important! I’ve made up my mind to do it every day! Of course, I’m going to wake up early! Ain’t I a good boy?"
And Senior Sterling nodded his head, both of them engaging in a sweet talk.
Dante raised an eyebrow, amused at how quickly the boy’s stance had changed. Just monts ago, he had been crying about wanting more sleep, and now he was proudly proclaiming his dedication to daily exercise.
Elder Sterling chuckled. "That’s the spirit, my boy! Keep it up! A strong body makes a strong mind!"
Gavi bead, basking in the praise. anwhile, Dante shook his head in amusent.
Such a fickle little kid.
But at least, one way or another, Gavi was up and ready to go.
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