Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Holidays. A few times a year where families gather around and act as if they give an ounce of appreciation about one another. They’re all there just to save face and gossip about each other's children, just so they have something to post on Facebook about how their ‘little nephew is growing up so fast’ or how ‘auntie had the cutest dress on’. Once it’s over they return to shove one another into the mud. Why bother when you know it’s all just going to drink up not only your social battery, and your mental health, but also your hard-earned money. Sure, people say, “it’s not about the gifts, but the thought counts.” but as soon as you show up with a cheap twenty-dollar gift card to sonic or chick-fil-a, it’s, “Oh isn’t this a little too generic? You can give anyone this. There’s no thought into this present. You didn’t even wrap it.” Just be happy I decided to show up ok.
This year was going to be different. It just had to be different. Someone can’t possibly stand doing the same routine every year for who knows how long, with the same results. It’s almost like it’s a science experiment. See how long it takes for someone to finally give up after living the same way year after year. Wake up, go to school, go to work, go home, sleep, repeat. When holidays get thrown into the mix it becomes; Wake up, go to work, go to the store, go home, sleep, repeat, until you find a gift for each one of the uncared-for humans surrounding you for the rest of your life. Holidays. What fun.

“YN, Mom said to wake you up. You better get down there soon. She is still upset that you didn’t want to set up a tree with us. She might be angrier now that she knows you also didn’t put one up in your own house.” Your little brother explained as he stood in the doorway, hanging off the doorknob.

“How did you even get into my house? And why does it matter? It’s too much work.” You say as you rub your eye and pull up your tank top. While it may be freezing outside, you’d be surprised how hot it can get in your tiny apartment. Shifting in the bed caused the springs to groan in protest and steal the uneasy silence in the room. Stomping could be heard from the hallway as your mother made her way through the apartment.

"YN, the state of this house is unacceptable. You have no-'' Mom's words were cut off with a gasp, “Your room, It’s a mess! What in the world has gotten into you?” signing, you sat up and turned to have your legs dangling off the bed. Before you go to stand up to change out of your PJ’s you stretch back causing your back to pop and your chest to bulge outward. Another groan leaves your mouth as the pops travel up your lower back. Your little brother laughs as your mother mutters about the current state of your room. College level biology books lay in a contained, yet chaotic pattern of disarray. Typed papers lay atop one another as colorful pens lay to the side. Their use has been past due, and should have been put back, and would have been if not for your back pain from sitting hunched over on the floor trying to play catch up on not only past assignments but studying for the upcoming EOC. Mr. Webb should have started the review about a week prior to what he did, but no one is to blame but yourself for not starting earlier. Random muted music plays from your phone as it lays charging beside the stage on English homework completed the night before.

“It’s not even that bad. It is just piles of finished homework. Now leave so I can change.” An added mutter under your breath includes the fact she did not live there with you, nor did she pay your bills. With a displeased jaw clench, she grabbed the slide of the door and pulled it to. It tripped Kendal, who was still swinging on the door. Reaching into your folded clothes basket and grabbing a t-shirt and jeans and began running through the motions of getting ready. Change clothes, go pee, brush hair, slip on socks and shoes, head to the bathroom once again to brush teeth if you could, will yourself into completing the task. It wasn’t difficult, but sometimes it felt as if you just could be bothered. Those days you made sure to keep your mask on at all times during both school and work.

With an exaggerated inhale you puffed out your cheeks and went on your way to deal with your mother. “It may not be my house, but you can’t live in a pigsty. It reflects badly on me; do you want people to think I raised you to be a barn animal? What if your nanny saw the way you left your room, or the way you dress yourself? She would be so humiliated.” Nanny wouldn’t give a shit. She lived in her nightgown and walked around the store with her high beams showing. ‘Fuck the bra, it was made for people with little bits anyways,’ she’d say to all the chunkier girl in the family.

“Mom, me and you both know Nanny wouldn’t give a shit. And why bring -” your sentence was cut off with a huff.

“You have no right talking to me like that. I am your mother; you will not disrespect me in my own…” It seems her words began catching up to her, “You will not disrespect me. I gave you your life, and I can take it from you.” It took everything in you to not ask her to do it. At least you’d be seeing Nanny sooner than you thought. Forcing a smile caused her to return one and turn towards Kendal. “We are going to get your brother’s present, so we need you to watch him.”

“How long are you and Matt going to be out?”

"Matt is your stepdad, and you need to respect him. Kendal is your brother, if I need you to watch him, you’ll watch him. I wouldn’t leave him with you if I didn’t trust or need you to watch him. It shouldn’t take us long, at max four hours. We will see you soon sweetie.” And with that, she left you with a twelve-year-old boy. A twenty-year-old, sleep deprived, rage filled, college student with mommy issues babysitting their twelve-year-old brother, who was clearly the favorite child of the two. For stars sake, they still let him believe in Santa, while they ripped that dream from you once you reach seven and a half, because you had to be the ‘responsible older sibling’. You couldn’t place blame on him. He didn’t know any better.

“I know what mom is going to get me already. Why couldn’t she just let me go with her?”

“What do you mean little dude? There’s no way you know what she’s getting you.” you responded

“Yes, I do, she is getting me a dog or a bitty. Either way I know it's a pet. Why else would she leave me here with you?” There were obvious malice laces in his tone. Eclectic to ignore it, you continue to try to converse with him.

“What are you going to name it if it's a bitty?” Just try to sound the least bit interested. Maybe he won’t notice you eyeing the opened box of noodles you were going to ingest as soon as mom returned for him.

“No clue, but I want a papyrus type. They are always so energetic. But if I got a dog, I’d name him Matt.” Kendal said as he bounced on the balls of his feet. Is he talking about the tall, skinny ones?

“Want to play on the switch until mother gets home?”

“Hell, yeah I do! I’ll beat your fat ass in Mario kart!” Booting up the game led to about five completed game rounds, each having three sets of arenas, with three laps each. So, you went around forty-five laps by the time Kendal became bored. You were winning but decided it would be best to let him think he won. No need to start an unimportant argument between you and mom about you being selfish by winning. They act as if you didn’t give anything up for the kid.

You grew up without your bio-dad in the picture, at the age of seven became a live-in babysitter, and stars forbid the child that was supposed to be your brother started to cry. It became, “YN what did you do to him?” when all you did was walk into his room to see him in his crib. Other times it was, “Just get out of the way, you clearly don’t know what you're doing.” Of course, you didn’t. You were seven turning eight soon. Being pushed to the side became second nature, and well, it definitely did help get you used to the seclusion and isolation you put yourself through.

“What do you want to do now?”

“How much do you know about bitties YN?”

“The basic stuff like they are sentient, so they want everything a human does, but they need to be held at night or some time to recharge. Kind of like a battery. Some also have magic, why do you ask?” You asked as you looked him up and down.

“Just wanted to see if you can tell me anything about them.” Kendal seemed disinterested once again, so what do teen boys like to do with their half sibling? Bake? No, but twelve-year-old boys do like violence.

“Hey, you want to play GTA, while I make us some breakfast?”

“I guess, there is nothing better to do here.” Well, it’s your apartment, not a fun house for a twelve-year-old. Walking into the kitchen as he started the game felt so relieving. Somewhat alone in your apartment with small noises coming from the living room and the bustle from the open window above the sink. Wait.

“Hey Kendal, did you climb through my kitchen window?” You asked as you pulled out the items used to make bacon pancakes.

“Yeah, Mom said she left her keys to your house at home, and we needed to get in, so I just climbed through. Mom told me that it wasn’t illegal since we’re related.” He says as he makes his way over from the couch to the kitchen entrance.

“No, buddy. It’s still illegal. Please don’t do that. Call next time.” you say as you spray the pan with cooking butter.

“Mom tried calling you and knocking on the door as I was climbing through. You’re not going to press charges, are you?” Slight panic rose in his face as he leaned his head out of the opening to the kitchen. It was an arched doorway without the door.

“I’m not going to press charges on my baby bro. Calm down. Just call me next time. Not mom you. Mom’s number will not save in my phone, but I have yours. See.” you turned to grab your phone after laying the bacon wrapped in pancake on the pan to cook. Showing his contact with his number and the name ‘little weasel’. The little weasel puffed out his cheeks and grabbed your phone to change his name but turned it off in the process. “Put it down and go back to playing. I'll let you know when breakfast is finished.” placing the phone down, he returns back to the couch as you flip the bacon pancakes.

Once the six strips were done you plated them and brought them to the couch. Handing Kendal, the plate and sitting on the other side of the couch to watch him play made everything feel like it was frozen in time. Not needed to be side between the two of you and both seemed to be having a pleasant time sitting among the other. “Why did you leave?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said. Why did you leave? And don’t use school as an excuse again. I just want to know. Was it me?” Kendal asked as he lowered the controller but refused to remove his eyes from the television.

“Kendal, there were seven people living in a three-bedroom house including me. There isn’t much room to grow there. Grandma, her husband, and Valentine are going to be living there until Grandma passes. You know I can’t stay with all the people who would run in and out of my room or beat on the door when it was locked while I changed. You remember the fact we weren’t allowed to have guests over because when we did Val would invite their boyfriend. I couldn’t stay bubba. You know you’re welcome over here at any time with your friends.” You finish as you bump his leg with your foot. “You can even bring your dog or bitty or whatever you think you’re getting. I’ll happily let both of you stay. Just call me if you come over or when you bring a friend. I’ll bring out the two player games. Just make sure you bring the other controller I left you.”

“Yeah, next time."

“Hey there’s only room for one sad fuck in the family. You know I've been trying to steal it from auntie. I’m not going to compete with you too.” You say as you sit up straight only to lunge at Kendal to tickle him. Laughing as tears welled up in the brink of his eyes. A smile plastered across his face. “There we go,” A trained smile lays across your own, “keep smiling. You want to be a Youtuber right? They smile all the time, better start training. Hey! Finish eating. I put time into making you bacon pancakes and you’ve hardly even bit one.” He began trying to catch his breath as he leaned forward and grabbed the plate from the table.

Time speeds by as you both wait for mom to come by and pick him up. Plans have been made for him to come visit again sometime in the future week. As well as plans for an air hockey table to be sent here for him to play with the next he brings a friend. That will be his Christmas present this year. Mom came by and as they left told him about how he was getting this present at home early and that he had to wait to open the rest of the presents attached to it. There were thirteen days until Christmas, and he got to pick one each day to open until Christmas, where he would get to open his remaining ones.

Before mom left, she handed you a card and said to come by for your shit by the end of the week before she returned it. “Since you were so disrespectful, who’s to say Santa didn’t already take them back.” Guess you're picking up the gifts by next Sunday.

Chapter Text

Life can and does get in the way of plans. We all have had things come up at the last minute, causing plans to shift or drop completely. Getting your presents didn't happen. At least the presents with your name on them.

Monday, you had to work on a history final that left you very little time afterward. That same day, your bio professor told you about a pedigree project that is going to be worth fifteen percent of your grade. The fact it was due by the end of the week did not help your stress levels. English was simple since you just had to write two of your own poems. One tragic and one comedic. The next block was a free block until your officer decided to let you leave. This semester was pretty much over and with the biology EOC Friday, cramming was the main thing on your mind.

Tuesday rolled around and the day just got so much worse. Staying up all night was not the best option, but you had to get a good start of your final project in History. Getting most of the presentation done was not worth the pain of trying to stay awake until the end of school. In Biology, you were given time to work on your final. Instead you crammed a bit more random human bullshit in your brain. Thanks to the way this professor teaches, it doesn't stick.

He takes time out of his day to create PowerPoints that he doesn't give anyone access to, so if you miss a day or the first fifteen minutes of class, you're fucked. He also goes through the slides way too fast for you to write all the information down. He gives you at least three full assignments that would take just about three, maybe two days to complete daily, and then decides not to grade them. You get your grades from authentic tasks, and instead of rounding the grade up, no matter how high the grade, he rounds them down. You get a 85.7, your grade gets put in as an 85. You are passing his class deadass by manifesting the entire school year and cheating off your table mate. Speaking of the tables, they are just short enough to make the stools you sit on just high enough to squeeze your legs and makes it where you can't reach the ground. The class is just miserable.

Third block isn't any better. The teacher up and quit two weeks left in the second semester and you all got stuck with a sub. All of your class work is just busy work and if you're caught on your phone before finishing the assignment, you get treated as if you're a kindergartener and put in the hall. Given the fact she is a sub and most of the 'funny bois' don't respect her, the room is almost always filled with hostility. If you complete your assignment, without a doubt the three other kids sitting at your table as for the answers and spread them around.

The two boys in front of you, Safi and Cole, always talk about girls. They ask you to rate the girls one through ten and immediately brush you off if you answer. You've learned to just sit still. Giving the answers is the only thing these boys want you for anyways. Devin, who is in both your History and English class, and has yet to learn to ignore them. He's also very kind, but doesn’t understand that someday you really don't want to talk or be messed with. Tuesday they just kept asking for ways for Safi to get with a girl that clearly doesn't want him. If the bits and pieces you picked up from the two talking were enough to understand, Safi had called her terrible things causing her to stop talking to him. Give him a bullshit answer or give him a piece of your mind…. Let's be honest, this is the last week of school until winter break. Who gives a shit.

Signing as you closed your laptop. "Safi, I'm surprised she stayed with you as long as she did. You are a literal embodiment of a piece of shit. You are so rude to women. You treated her like shit and then tried to take it back, but that's not how this works. You called her names and now you think she will let you back in? No. She shouldn't and if she does, that goes to show you have to beat down women to make them hate themselves so you can get your way. You lie about just about everything and yesterday you sat there and told a sob story to Cole just for him to start talking shit about her too. And Cole holy fuck, your girlfriend is amazing, but you're an asshole. A fucking piece of bacteria gets more sex than you, and they reproduce asexually. You go on and on about how much ass you get, but the sub total of zero plus zero is still zero. You literally called me gay last week because I called a women a ten who you deemed unattractive. Both of you showed me and Devin porn less than ten minutes afterwards. Both of you are disgusting and I truly hope both of you get in some deep shit, no one can help you get out. It would serve you both right."

"YN, please meet me outside in the hallway." A hand lays itself on your shoulder. Nudging it off you stand and grab your shit. Devin looks up at you with pity laced in his eyes.

"There's no need. I'm perfectly capable of filing a report on my behavior by myself in Booker's office. Not like the school will look into this." Down the hall and take a left into Booker's office. Just a five to six minutes walk filled you with a range of emotion. Pissed you got pulled out, scared of what's going to happen to you since you started talking about how they showed you porn in class, glad you're away from the both of them as of now. Stopping in your tracks as a thought slammed itself in the forefront of your mind. Devin was left there alone with the two of them. The nearest seats were filled with kids who would side with Cole and Safi. The walk to Booker's office seemed to become quicker than normal.

The first thing out of this man's mouth was, "Are you upset he's talking about women in front of you?" Without a word you stand up and go to leave. "You know people at your age do this all the time," pausing as you wait for him to finish. "But I'll call Devin in here and ask him. Go back to class." Handing you a pass and waving you away was all he did. As you got out of eye sight you waited for him to call Devin in, if he calls Devin in. See as he's not and you're next block is a free period you opted to go home and spend the remaining school and most of the night working on the final in History. You had completed the thirty slide presentation, but you still needed to do the essay, which needed to be printed at the library and read over by a peer. Two and a half days left.

Wednesday could have started off better. Your body was cursing you for not only overworking yourself, but for only eating a thing of crackers for dinner. In History Devin just kept poking your arm to make you look at a meme, but you had a massive headache from all the screen time late at night. His loud voice just seemed to be causing more pain. As you suffered in a one way conversation your Chromebook decided it would be a great time to fuck up on you, so you just sat there with your head down as Devin droned on and on. You eventually just looked at him and made a shushing motion and he looked heart broken. Sleeping through history sounded amazing.

Webbs was a different story. This man acted very strange. He sat quietly at his desk and gave you time to complete the assignment. The odd part was he didn't walk around or say anything to the kids on their phones. He even gave some girl a five to get him a soda from the teacher lounge. It was just odd. The two plants he never let anyone touch were sitting at your desk. A purple flower with its vines tangled into the green flower's. Nudging the pot gently to lay your stuff down resulted in the purple one wrapping its vines around your pinky ever so slightly. Not thinking much of it, you removed it from your hand and got to work.

As time passes, the two flowers nudge their way closer and closer to you. Each time you noticed, you would inch them back into their spots. On the third attempt, the purple flower encased your right hand and opened an eye. Flinching back, you opened your mouth to speak, yet fell flat with nothing to say. "Stop, get to work." Was the only thing the flower said as it closed its eye.

"They can't work with your vines covering their hand."

"But they feel so warm and their arm has little grooves in it already." Not thinking much of what the flower was saying, or why Webbs head shot up at that, you shuffled your other hand in between your arm and the vines to pry them off.

"If you want to hold on to me you can do so by going around on my sleeve, and I'll need my full wrist flexibility to write. So please get situated quickly so I can get this done and go back to studying." The purple flower just looked you up and down and let out a huff. Complying to your list of requirements seemed easy enough for the green flower. They dragged its pot over to your paper only for you to pick them up and sit them by your left arm. As it followed the ground rules of holding on to you, the purple flower slowly followed suit. Both entwined their vines around the back of your neck as you continued your work. Webb walked over a few times and asked about you. Things about the work, the plants, and then he asked about the grooves. "The grooves?" You asked "What are the grooves?"

"Poppy said you already had grooves on your arm. Do you have little blossom bitties at home?"

"Uh, yeah. Their thorns have nitched me a few times." You say completely lying out of your ass to make him leave without having to say it like an ass.

"They haven't healed you after?" Said Poppy as his and the still unnamed green flower's leaves grew in size as a softer earthy green emitted from underneath them. Energy seemed to be forcing itself into your drained, unfed body.

"I found them at a shelter and have only had them for a few days." Trying not to make the lie complicated so you could easily get out of it was not helping your believably. Smiling and turning back to your studies finally cut off all conversations as it made it clear you were finished. Webb sighed and left you to work. Nothing happened in English besides the two boy's decided to move to another table and every time Devin would look at them, they would start mumbling something. They also kept taking photos of you, which started pissing you off when Safi turned his flash on. Keeping your cool was one of the hardest things to do when all you wanted to do was reach out and snap his phone in half. Afterwards, you returned to notice your home was completely trashed. All of your paperwork for the essay was ripped. The shredded papers littered all around the living room as well as colored pencils and crayons. Coloring pages had been ripped out of one of your adult coloring books and the markers seemed to have bled through. Not taking a step further inside you called the landlord of the apartment explaining the issue.

The landlord was a lovely old lady with a heart of gold, but would whoop the shit out of any man. She simply did not give a single fuck. She was born without the ability to, apparently. She pulled a small handle dagger out of her purse with a small smile. She went through all the rooms and checked all the hiding spacing a man or woman would hide. Who knows who would be after your fine ass. With a sign she took your hand and let you follow her to her own apartment in the complex for the night just so you could call the police without having to stay there to let them attempt to do their job. "I don't know. Maybe they've gotten better than they were in the 60's. Shouldn't be hard." She let you call the non-emergency line and took you inside.

Thursday was non-eventful, every class was boring. The police called you back during the first block. After going through the home and nothing seemed stolen, only the papers littering the kitchen table, living room floor, and the few things on the contern top, had been damaged, thrown, or just chewed on. The officers asked about any pets or friends that would pull a prank like this. Explaining you didn’t believe anyone but you, the landlord and your mother had a way to access the inside of the building. Leaving out the part where your mother was only able to access it if she used your brother to break in. Webb made the class sit outside in the garden to relax and made Poppy and Willow sit with you to, “... help heal the grooves from the ones at your home.” English was canceled so you took another trip to the library for a reprint of your History paper. What should have been a simple task, took longer than three hours. The librarian's tech was not one to rely on so heavily. The paper got jammed, the ink ran out, the whole printer decided now would be the absolute best time to restart. After the restart, a new carten of ink had to be put in. In the middle of finally printing again, someone tripped over the plug, unplugging it. Which caused a new paperjam and by the end of, resetting it again, waiting for the printer to print and having to reprint once again since the paper was tilted, causing the words run off the page, you had your fucking paper worth fifteen percent of your grade. If this shit wasn’t at least a ninty, this printer was going to get its ass whooped.

Very gentle forcing the paper into your binder to give to the teacher tomorrow felt like the world had lifted off your shoulders. History was done. All that was left was bio. At surface level the class wasn’t too bad. Had its fair share of kids who did and didn’t care. A teacher who cares maybe a little too much, and so much ungraded bullshit. Returning to your seat in the library, a little girl walked up to your booth and slapped a pretty hefty book down.”YN from room 324, I want, no need you to read this to me. Now. Before mom finds me.”

“Is there a reason I have to read it?”

“Yes.”

“And what is it?’

“Oh right, because I’m six and your neighbor. And mommy does not want me reading it myself. But even she won’t read it to me. I see you always have your nose in a book about this size,” She must be talking about one of your many textbooks, “so why not read one that TWO people want to read? You get to read a big book, and I get a story. Win win.” The book was fifty shades of gray.

“Maybe when you’re older, or ask your mom if I can. Because that book is truly boring. Worse than the books I read now. So long.”

It’s so boring that you won’t read it? Mom, you need to get better books.” Her mom stood there holding her hand to her mouth to help stiffel her laughter at the small six year old buying that excuse.

“That hurt Annie. Why are you so mean to mommy? So what if I like boring books? You like a little boy in your class. Jonathan was it?”

“MOM, Not in front of YN. They don’t know about him and I'm trying to look cool in front of them! You’re ruining my chances. Come on, let's go! No big, cool kids want to be around another kid's parents.” Annie said as she attempted to drag her mom away from me.

“What do you mean? I’m the coolest mommy, even YN thinks so, don't cha?”

Smiling, you decided to antagonize Annie. “I don’t know Annie, your mom does seem pretty cool,” leaning down to whisper to her, “Maybe even cooler than my mom.” It didn’t take much to be cooler than your mother or father for what it’s worth. Hell, the entire family must have been put on this earth to simply test the boundaries of abuse any child can withstand and still continue on into life. To say that the bar was low, Satan had a sign calling it a tripping hazard. Giggling Annie smiled up at her mother.

“I know,” she whispered back and began pulling on her mom again.

Friday was completely cleared for the EOC. Before Webbs, you popped into history to be labeled present and turn in the printed paper. Afterward, you walked to the testing hall and did your best. Once the first portion of the test was completed your body was begging for food. The night before you settled with some more crackers and a small tea, but your body was begging for something before it would shut down. At some point Webb had walked by and sat both Poppy and Willow beside you for them to heal your body. They knew better than to talk as they healed you as Webb continued his walk around the testing area. “You need something to eat. Hold on.” Poppy said and without a moment's breath shoved himself up on his vines and dropped himself on to the table to get Webbs attention. He stormed over them and grabbed Poppy, pulling him up to his face. The action caused you to reach out for Poppy, scared for him,but Webb just shot you an unreadable face as he turned and walked down to his desk. Placing Poppy back down caused you to jerk your head up and your arms reached for him. “Here you go, now continue before they start thinking Webbs picking favorites or helping you.” It was a granola bar, but it was best not to complain.

Saturday would have been work had it not been for leaving work around four hours later than you were supposed to for overtime, and then going home to find out the neighbor needed you to watch their two kids. It didn’t leave any time in the day to just relax. Annie wanted to just go go go, while her little bro Andy just wanted to sleep. He is only about a year old which means he wanted to be held as he drifted off. To compromise, you stood and made up a story as you held the fifty shades of gray book up as if reading from it. The baby had enough mobility thankfully to hold the bottle himself so he knocked out fast as you paced around the room and read to Annie. You and Annie both got tired of your story. Not everything made sense since it was being made up on the spot. You had to make it unique enough so she wouldn’t think it was a rip off of some other story, but it could not be gross, sad, or anything too creative . It had to be happy and about a princess. That’s what sells to little girls normally.

Once her brother was down, she wanted to play dress up. Your room became a much bigger mess afterward. The folded laundry that was once in baskets, were thrown around the room and the couch laid full of random unneeded things that sat on the floor, in Annie’s way of her runway. Around five, she was finally knocked out. She woke her brother up about four times and soon learned if she didn’t want your attention on the little man she had to be quiet. Their parents came back around ten minutes into her nap. Picking up their toys and the major items to make the room seem a bit more clear was all you were going to do tonight.

Your body started making noise around six so you just made two packs of noodles. Just enough to keep you going but not enough to put on weight. Trying not to think of if you should count the calories or if you even could. Sophie and Vivan brought you the box full of noodles, but the backs were scribbled through to keep you from counting the calories. Every time you three go out to eat they read you things off the menu to keep you from just looking at the calories. They mean well, but you were an adult. If you really were as bad as you used to be you would have a calorie counter pulled up and looking up how many calories everything was. You don’t even need to look up how many calories noodles were. That was known by heart. Trying not to calculate was hard, and was worse in front of your family. It started off to prove to the family you weren’t actually eating many calories, but then some days 3500 felt way too much. And then everyday. ‘Do you really need those?’ echoed through your mind. ‘Yes, you have been close or on empty for the past week.’ ‘Maybe, but what’s one more day? Mom might notice the shift in weight.’

Looking into the boiling pot full of noodles felt as if you had been defeated, but it was pointless to waste food. Curling up on the couch and eating made you feel worse.. ‘See, you’re full now, fatass. Clean your house. Mom said it looked horrible.’ The night continued this way until you got into the swing of cleaning. You only cleaned the living room and emptied a single basket, but small victories for now.

By Sunday, you forgot about the presents. Your Mom came over to pick you up to go with her, Matt, and your brother somewhere two hours away to look at lights and she didn’t bring your presents. She kept talking about them though and how it was rude that you hadn’t come over to get them since they were filling up space for Kendal's presents. “You have a car YN, you should be able to drive over and pick them up. It’s selfish that you haven't made time for your family. That’s what the holidays are all about. Isn’t that right baby?” Kendal hummed in agreement with her and she returned to berating you. Kendal had brought his little bitty. He looked clearly uncomfortable being held in this grip that was between squeezing the life out of him and relaxed.

“You want to hold him?” Kendal asked as he thrusted his hand holding the bitties who clearly did not want to be here. He looked between you and Kendal before you reached for him.

“Sure.” you say as you open your hands for the orange hooded bitties. The hoodie’s hood was covering the bitties skull and he was fiddling with the sleeves of it. Clearly nervous or getting stressed.

“You have to hold him tight or he will try and get away.” The bitty muttered something that wasn’t meant for you to catch but wasn’t hard once he was in your hands.

“You don’t need to squeeze me.” He was surprised as you whispered ‘okay’ at him and placed him on your lap. Your hands laid on your outer thighs as he sat on the inner portion. The entire trip was much quieter than you thought it was going to be. Every so often Kendal would glance over at you and the skeleton bitty.

Monday rolled back around and you finally had enough time to go by your mothers. Turns out she was serious and gave your presents back. “You shouldn’t have been so selfish. This is over your own doing YN. Manage your time better.” So not only did you waste your gas, it was your fault they were returned since you were focusing on college. Sound logic in my opinion. Deciding not to make the whole trip a waste you brought Kendal his presents and sent them under the tree. There was some for the bitties as well since the little dude seemed so unsettled here. As you were setting up your bro’s stuff the little bitty ran over and hid himself between some of the presents. “Where did that little shit go?” Mother asked in her sickeningly sweet tone that anyone could tell was fake and she was pissed. Eyeing the bitty you could tell he did not want to be doing this right now and was afraid you were going to rat him out.

“Uh, which little shit?”

“That fucking pet thing for your brother. Little piece of shit bite me.”

“Did you try picking him up forcefully or squeeze him? He didn’t bite me yesterday, but it’s clear he does not like being held.”

“I don’t give a shit, he’s in my house, and I bought him. He should know better than to bite me. I’ll teach him not to bite me or anyone once I break it’s fucking jaw.” Glancing back at the presents you saw the bitty trying his best not to look scared or cry. Hard to tell.

“Since he is so much trouble, why not let YN have him? Kendal has already lost interest in him anyways. He was a monster truck remote car now.” Matt said. He was trying to help the bitty knowing you would take better care of it just like you did with Demon after Kendal lost interest in the pup. “Give them all the bitty’s stuff too since it’s just going to clutter up the house if you don’t.” This was Matt’s way of getting the bitty out, you at least some presents, and a companion. The eyelights of the bitty had become pin picks at the suggestion. Sighing you retrieved the bitty presents you had sat down and got ready for a shit load of bitty stuff to pile up in your car.

Ace asked if he was allowed to visit to see Stretch and you just agreed to get out of there faster. Sadly, this just gave your mother another excuse to come over and mess with your shit while you were gone. The twenty or so minute drive home was mainly silent. The bitty sat next to you in the front seat, refusing the carseat in the back and just stared up at you as you drove the two of you home. Well this is going to be interesting. A college kid with little to no knowledge of bitties is now getting one dropped off on them. At least he won’t have to go without the essentials. Mother made sure to buy all the accessories for the bitty. A bath, a house, a full closet of clothes. Some that clearly didn’t fit his body type. “Just to let you know, I'm in the dark on bitty stuff. You’ll have to help me because I'm not believing the stuff on the internet.” The bitty turned his head to the floor board and nodded his head before returning to staring at you. “Good to know you can help.”

Chapter Text

“Hey once we get home, what do you want to do first? Do you want to explore or help me take everything inside?” You ask as you wait at the red light. The last one on your way to the apartment complex. From there on it is just a set of unwinding roads and deer crossing signs.  He doesn’t say anything, just continues to look out the window. “I’ll let you explore first, so that after you can tell me where you want your things. Okay?” Still doesn’t reply but at least this time you got a sigh from him. He pushes himself further into his hood and tries to lean against the door, only for the seatbelt strap to hold him in place. Reaching over you removed the chest portion and wrapped it around the headrest of the seat. The light changed color, and you were on your way once again. The ride was not awkward, just kinda something happening. You had no idea what this little guy's life was like before you took from your mother’s fear-inducing gaze. You as a child knew what it was like to look up at your mother, not by much of a height difference back then, but the stare was still something you were worried about to this day. Always a negative thing.

      The thought of being the size of a metal water bottle, give or take a few inches, and weighing roughly the same as a concert flute, being at the end of her stare and sometimes deafening voice, just seemed to worsen tenfold. A shiver ran down your back thinking about being the perfect size for her to wrap her hand around your body and squeeze. Had he not been a christmas gift, the little dude might have come to you with a bit more evidence of your mother's tantrums or your brothers rage filled nights. You have your own issues with anger, but at least you don’t try placing your fist through the drywall, or rip your eldest’s hair from their scalp. A memory lashes out into the forefront of your mind, but is quickly shoved aside as Stretch begins to mumble. 

       “Can’t hear ya shortstack. You’ll have to speak up a bit.”

      “How much further?” His voice was relaxed as if he was with an old friend, but his body language proved to be the opposite. He looked as if he was trying to force himself to appear calm but that just emulated his stiffness as well as his bated breath. It didn’t flow naturally, but who knows if he really needed the oxygen like you did. The drive was cut short as flashing lights went off in front of you. Pulling off to the right and letting out an annoying huff of air cause your little dude to suck on his own and shift his eyes to you. Not doing much to hide the terror racing through his mind.

      “Not much longer, hopefully this will not take long. After this we just have about another 5 miles. If you want something to preoccupy your mind with I have a math problem you can work out for me. If we are only 5 miles out, how long will it take us to get there if we stay at a consistent speed of 45 miles per hour?” Reaching for your glove box was stopped when you heard a familiar tapping on your window. Rolling down the passenger side window, someone spoke up.

   “Bitch break down again?” 

    “Yeah, I know the issue. It’s the oil, but I haven’t had the chance to change it out in this moving junk yard centerpiece.” Danni’s eyes travel down to Stretch and his hand begins reaching for him. “Eye’s up here buddy.” He pauses and you pop the hood. “Mind checking for me to make sure it is the oil?” Danni pulled his hand back and rolled his eyes, but made his way to the front of the Volkswagen beetle. “Be a dear and cross into the back seat while I stretch my legs. I don’t want him touching you. No clue when the last time he washed his hands was.” offering him a smile and giggling to yourself about your less than stellar dear joke seemed to calm Stretch down, even if it was only by a fraction. It was better than nothing. Stepping out you see Danni had begun walking back towards your car with some oil from his backseat.

   “ You need to pay more attention to your oil. When was the last time you or someone else changed it?” The thought had accrued to you that for the past six months, you had forgotten to change the oil out. “I’ll do a rough job, just enough to get you home, but you need to get a better car, or Bitch here will completely break down. And you ain't my third child. Haven’t gotten any tax deduction from your ass.”

    “Maybe because I’m not a child anymore?”

    “You’ll always be a kid to me, kid. No matter how grown you think you are, you ain’t. Haven’t seen enough of this hellscape to say ya are.” Smiling, you walk to see him hand you the oil after working whatever magic the man could. He always seemed to know how to fix everything. “You know how to do this right?” The question wasn’t meant to sound degrading, he just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t need to get scammed by some money hungry asshole since he wanted to be the asshole getting paid if you couldn’t. 

   “I’m sure someone on tiktok could teach me. I’ll call your house phone once I get through with the change. Thank you for the oil, I'll be sure to pay ya’ back.”  As you begin to get back in your car Danni grabs your arm.

   “Make sure to stay in your house tonight. Heard some dumb-asses were stealing little boys and using them in the ring. Make sure to keep your loved ones safe and close.” and with that he releases you into the wild with your itty bitty blue bug and new found fear of what tonight brings. He was always cryptic like that. Giving vague warnings about shit, but each and everyone of them had affected you. The first time he said anything to you was when you and Matt were driving over to the apartment with Mother and Kendal went house shopping for you. They bought the ugliest, yet comfiest green couch that stays in the living room.  That afternoon you and Matt stopped to see if the old man needed any help since he was pulled over on the side of the road, low and behold man said some cryptic shit about your apartment. Not thinking anything of it, you decided to sleep over there since it was already halfway moved into. Bad choice. The neighbors next door were drug addicts and the police broke into your house since they got the wrong number. Caught the people, but not without leaving you with the damages of a broken door and the added bonus of a broken foot. One of them stomped your foot hard enough to break it, but was polite enough to say sorry afterwards. Moving in took another two weeks since you could barely walk to the bathroom without crying. You learned to listen to Danni after that.

    As you sit waiting to start your car back up you see Danni pull off and disappear behind some trees. Moments later Stretch popped back up with a large honey bun half eaten and crawled his way back up into the front seat. "6 minutes and 36 seconds." It was said with such confidence you didn’t feel the need to check the answer. So what if he was wrong? It wasn’t like you could have done that math problem without a calculator and a piece of paper.  If it’s correct, yeah good job little bud, if not, good guess lil’ man. 

     Counting to ten like you normally do before driving after Danni, you continued the trip to your apartment. Never understood why the men had a screaming match with you over you following him too soon. Saying some random mumbo jumbo about you getting stuck at his place. Added to it by saying you wouldn’t be welcomed back to the ones with solid bodies, but you chalked that one up to the smell of alcohol that reeks off of him every time the two of you meet. Crazy old man. Stretch, after returning to his seat, buckled up and stared at the clock the entire ride home. The six minutes was correct, but there was no way of knowing if the seconds were exact.

 “Do you want me to carry you in or are you willing to catch a ride in the hood of my jacket?”

“Why can’t I just walk?'' muttered a voice to your right. 

“I don’t want a crotch goblin grabbing you or a little shit to step on you, since none of them have spatial awareness. Nor do the parents look after the assholes.” Stretch snickered at the names you called the neighbors kids  and made his way towards you.

“Hoodie please.” seconds later an undetermined expression crossed his face. With a shaky voice he started. “Want to know something funny?” A smile rose as you leaned down from him to crawl his way up your jacket. “I bought a jacket just like this one and it bursted into flames. No wonder they called it a blazer.”

“Nah, I think it's just cause you’re too hot to handle.” The comment rolled off your tongue before you thought about it, but Stretch had tensed and hints of orange lit up his face. “Sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I know you don’t like touch, but I don’t know where you stand with affectionate words. I’ll dial it back.” leaving all the bitty stuff piled into the somewhat non-existent trunk, the two of you walked to your apartment. It was on the third floor, room 324 and was most likely one of the cheapest on the lot.

It was a simple one bedroom one bath. You were pretty sure it was meant to be two bedrooms, but the second one had been turned into some sort of walk-in closet with a pole in the center. If you walked into home,  a small living room greeted you and to your left was a kitchen with enough room for one, maybe two human adults. Their backs could be pushed together to pass one another, but It was just you living here. Well now you and Stretch.The lead to a hallway with three doors. If you looked straight down the hallway, the door in front of you would be the bathroom. The one on the right would be your bedroom with a small closet and a window that looks out on the parking lot as well as the run-down little swing set that has a small yellow slide attached. Surprised none of the kids have gotten splinters from it, but word has spread about the Landlord's son coming over to remove it. No clue if they were going to install something new. Hopefully they do. Keeps the kids busy and it is further away from your windows.

The room to the left is the ‘walk-in closet’ You weren’t going to use it and from past research it showed some bitties enjoy their own space. You couldn’t trust the internet about the recharging at night thing because Stretch has shown his discomfort with physical touch. Maybe not all bitties need that? Plus when you were packing his stuff up he had his own bed on the opposite side of Kendal's room. You’d have to remove the pole and other leftover items from the previous occupants before you felt okay with putting stretch in there. For now he can sleep wherever else he wants to. That could be Stretch’s Christmas present. A room of his own.

Crutching down in front of the green couch you wait for Stretch to get down. “Alright. So. The only room you can’t go in is the room on the left down the hallway just because there's stuff in there that I don’t know how to dispose of. It’s not mine, but the landlord said she has been trying to reach the girl that lived here before us and to leave. Just please don’t go in there. The rest of the house is for you to explore.” You walked out and began bringing things from the car to the living room taking about a total of three trips. Each one causing the lower neighbors and their children to pause and watch you . It felt as if they were counting the sins crawling up your back. You put the bittie bath in the bathroom on the sink counter and wait for Stretch to find you as you played on your phone. 

It doesn’t take long for him to finish exploring, but once he does he blips up to the coffee table. “Am I allowed to pick where I want my stuff?”

“Of course. Your stuff, and it’s now our apartment. Just means you're going to have to  pay half the rent.” you say sending him a small wink. Lowering your phone the two of you discussed where to place everything. He could reach everything with “short-cuts'' previously called his blips. So his style plates, silverware, and bowls were placed with yours, and his closet that only held his pajamas was placed next to your closet in your bedroom. He put all the clothes that didn’t fit his body on hangers and hung them up in the closet while he left his lone pair of sleep shorts and tank top at the bottom. Not wanting to stay anything about it since it’s not your clothes, and not your closet. Not your place to say.  ‘Keep your nose out of others’ business. If they wanted your opinion, they’d ask.’ your mothers voice echoed. 

   Stretch backed up from rearranging his clothes and just stared in thought. Best leave him to it. ‘Don’t interrupt others’ thoughts. It’s the same as interrupting their words.’ You struggled when you left for the bitty house that was left in the living room. Where did he want it? "Just ask him."

"Ask who what?" A skeleton asked, clearly muffled by his face being shoved into a pillow on the couch. 

“Oh, uh, where do you want the bitty house at?” 

“You should probably just return it for money. It’s useless without Sans here to take up most of the space.” His voice wavered off towards the end.

“Who’s Sans?”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll never meet him, human.” He shoved his hands in his pocket and returned to pushing himself into the hood of hoodie.

“If it makes you feel better I will. Best we head to bed, yeah?” 

“What about food? I know I don’t really have any guts, but you can’t starve me down to the bone. Kinda heartless isn’t it?” Thoughts quickly filled your head as the word heartless spoke itself over and over again. First in your own voice, but that soon shifted into your mother’s and then grew in volume. ‘You truly are heartless.’ ‘Can’t believe you did that! Do you understand how heartless that makes you?’ ‘Are you trying to make people think I’m some heartless monster?’ 

"Sorry, Forget you need to do that.” You say in a muttered voice.

"Don’t you need to eat too?” Electing to ignore his question you walk into the kitchen. Stretch short-cuts to the counter and crosses his legs at his ankle, grabbing them with one hand and leaning back on the other. The pose was relaxed and he seemed content with watching you cook noodles. If he continued speaking to you, it fell on deaf ears. ‘Just make enough for him. Who knows when the last he ate was.”

“Hey, what did they feed ya? Over at Mother’s place.” You asked, lifting an eye up from the boiling water. 

“Just gave me what would have been leftovers. Didn’t really give me my own plate after the second night. Said something about an extra unnecessary dish to clean.” He released his left leg and let it swing to and fore as he watched you work. “I don’t have a favored dish if that’s what you were asking. Your parents had some pretty bland taste.”

“Can’t promise I have anything better. Tonight you’re getting Ramen with teriyaki sauce and some unbreaded chicken. I need to go shopping for food soon as well as food for you to try. I am a college student, so if you want to learn to cook, go for it. For now you can watch. I’m not whisking you starting a fire.” You returned to the task at hand. 

Once you set the lid on the cooking chicken you felt an odd added pressure on your left shoulder and something gripping strands of your hair. Peering out of the side of your eye granted you a visual of Stretch sitting down with a hand wrapped in your hair. “Sorry, dinner’s taking forever. If you want to take another nap, I’ll wake you once it is ready to be plated.”He shook his head saying something about just wanting to watch you cook, but was interrupted halfway through with a yawn. You let him rest his eyes as you continued on. Thinking about if he just wanted the company or if he didn’t trust you kept you busy metally as the two of you waited.

As promised, once the food was ready you laid down his plate and gently moved your shoulder up and down to shake him awake. He seemed to yank himself up and you watched as his eyelights scanned the area. He seemed to be looking or waiting for someone. Watching silently, you noticed the dimming of his eyelights as he didn’t find what he was looking for. “Food’s ready if you want to try it. I’m not a chef but I think it turned out souper.” A sadden smile laid itself across his face. 

“Thanks.” He said as he began eating. You left for your room but was hailed at his next question. “Are you going to join me?”

“Do you want me to?”

“Just so I don’t feel bonely, yes please.” You thought about how odd it’d be if you sat down without a plate of your own, and the fact most of the food would go to waste if you didn’t eat some of it tonight. So you plated some for yourself and returned to the table. You sat next to him at the coffee table as the two of you watched TV to fill the void of silence. Neither of you spoke to the other as you ate. He was sitting on the table with his legs crossed and held his plate in one hand. The chicken was cut up into small sizes and his noodles were placed in a human bowl. You only got noodles, knowing they wouldn’t taste great being reheated unlike the chicken, and also not sure if he’d enjoy them with the sauce. You two just kept glancing at one another as you completed the meal, but you both decided to leave it up in the air as to why. You finished first and took your bowl into the kitchen, leaving Stretch in there alone. Small movements could be heard from the wall connecting the kitchen to your neighbors room. Shit, did you have rats? The apartment was cheap, but rats really? It would also explain the destruction of your essay for history the first time. That’s a problem for future YN to deal with. 

Stretch short-cutted next to the sink and drop in his dishes. “Go ahead and take a shower. It’s in the bathroom on the sink’s counter. Afterwards I’ll take mine and we can set down some ground rules tomorrow just so we don’t have to walk on glass around one another. I want you to be comfortable and not have to worry about me accidentally stepping over a boundary.” He nodded and left for the bedroom. Cleaning the dishes didn’t take long, but the sounds to your left began getting annoying. You turned to grab the remaining chicken that was left unlidded in case Stretch wanted more later, to find the container empty. “Maybe he grabbed more. There were only four pieces left. Not much of a loss.” Grabbing the container and adding it to the dishes in the sink busied you as the sound of a short cut was ignored. 

You finished your somewhat nightly routine and laid in your bed. Soft sounds of Stretch’s muttering and breathing filled the room. The light of the TV illuminated the room but the sound was muted for Stretch’s convenience. He had fallen asleep on his small bed as soon as you got comfortable on yours. Stretch’s soft muttering grew in volume, and it had become clear he was becoming distressed thanks to his dream. He began turning around and knocked the blanket off himself. Quickly switching off the fan fiction site, you pulled up the homesearch of your phone browser. ‘How.to help a bttty having a nightmare?’ was typed as quickly as possible, with left room for error. Articles stated to hold the bitty to your chest or to pet the bitty’s head. All said to hold or touch him, but he clearly didn’t want or like to be touched. ‘How to help a bitty who doesnt like touch during a nightmare?’ was the next search. 

The articles said to wake them up, or to ignore their no touch rule and hold them. Stretch began thrashing violently and calling out to someone named Sans. “Bro I’ll come back.” “Sans.” “Sans I promise I’ll get you.” 

“Sans must be your brother.” you say as you reach for Stretch’s sleeping form. “I’ll get you your brother.” You promised the bitty. As you lifted him to your chest the thrashing paused and his words returned to mutters. It might look a little weird if someone walked in and looked at the two of you. Both you and stretch in tank tops while he sleeps on your somewhat exposed chest. Cuddling into your chest didn’t help the image, but who gives a fuck. He needed the comfort. 

You had made a promise to the lil’ man. You were going to find his brother and bring him home. 

Chapter Text

You woke up before Stretch did, so you laid him down on his bed and tucked him back in. No need to cause a fight about you holding him without his permission. “What he doesn’t know won’t kill him.” You muttered to yourself as you walked away and closed your bedroom door. ‘You ate with him last night, you’ll be fine to skip.’ was repeating itself in your mind as you walked into the kitchen to set up things for Stretch’s breakfast. Not sure when the little dude would wake up, you settled on just some eggs, bacon, and honey covered blueberry pancakes. 

The action of pulling them out of the freezer was interrupted as your phone began ringing irritably on the counter. Letting a huff pass through your lips before you answer the unlisted number. “Oh so you can answer the damn phone. What could be so important you kept your own mother waiting. Your flesh and blood YN. What if I was being shot at, or this was my final goodbye? You would have let me lose hope and die?” It’s not. And even if it was she wouldn’t call you. She would want it to seem like you were the worst person for not checking in on her. For not falling to her feet like Matt does. He’s a good guy, just in the wrong crowd.

“Well, I don’t hear gunshots, nor are you out of breath from running or bleeding out. You also are not saying any type of goodbye, so I can guess my mother will be living for another day? Good, I’m glad.” a huff is heard on the other side of the phone. 

“You best remember saying that. One of these days I’m not going to be around for you to treat me like this. You are going to need me and I’m going to bring this up.” Shit she’s right. Thankfully that day just had to be today. You need to get the receipt for the bittie house, and if you were going to hold up your promise to Stretch, hoping it was the same place they bought him from. 

“Would the receipt have his Id number?” You muttered to yourself as you began picking at your nails with your thumb.

“What was that darling?” Matt had taken the phone from your mother. Muffled swear words came through as your mother began yelling at whomever had pissed her off.

“Do you still have the receipt for the bitty house?”

“Yeah, why do you want it?”

“I’m returning the bittie house since Stretch doesn’t want it, as well as buying his brother. I do have college to think about and a job. I just feel bad leaving him here without anyone to keep him company.” ‘ And last night I heard him calling for him, but I don’t want to sound creepy listening to him while he’s asleep.’ You thought, but didn’t voice the statement.

“That’s smart. I’ll leave the papers on the uh,” a pause left an awkward silence between everyone, “the um kitchen counter for you to take once you come over.” Matt waited a second. “I’m sure she loves you too.” You hadn’t said anything and he paused once again. “No, I’m taking her out today, find another day. Your grandmother will be here to let you in. I’m taking her somewhere special today.” A light gasp could be heard through the phone. Matt started once again, “No I can’t say she is in the room. We will be leaving him here though, so if you need any help with your papers they will be on the dres-counter, the counter in the kitchen.” He quickly corrected himself. Dumb ass, making everything hard on himself to help others. “Yes, we love you too, goodbye YN.” 

He hung up without letting you say it back.

The quick thinking of Matt's had you tasked with driving over to your mom’s, dealing with Kendal and your grandmother Cindy, who smells like a walking, talking cigarette, and finding the receipt without them asking why you were in their bedroom. Cindy already thought you were a thief, when in all honesty her cigarettes were being stolen by Val, and her food stamps were being used by them when she slept. Not hard to sneak in and out when the one you have to get past sleeps like a rock, and ignores your existions when it doesn’t benefit her wants or needs. You’ve grown used to the schedule the house kept when you lived there. Maybe they still kept it; “God lets hope so.” 

Cooking breakfast was quickly forgotten about as the phone call interrupted the processes of getting it out. Stretch had yet to come to, and it caused you to worry. You had to leave soon if you wanted to get to the house during one of Cindy's naps. You refused to leave him here alone, especially after the nightmare he had last night. His voice was laced with guilt and worry for his brother; the sadness never leaving as he called to the one not there. Grabbing a clean shirt and throwing on a pair of sweats, you began your routine of getting ready. You could hear movement coming from the other side of the room as you brushed the knots and tangled strands of hair. “Mornin’ sleeping beauty.” You called over your shoulder as the sounds of muffled groans and creaks from his tiny bed. “If you don’t mind getting dressed, we are going back to my mothers and getting the receipt for the bitty house to return it.” You felt Stretch’s eyes glare into your shoulder blades as you continued. “If they take it and give me cash back, I’m going to buy you something that you would enjoy much more than a house.” You turned your head over your right shoulder as your eyes locked onto Stretch’s. The glare he wore didn’t falter in the slightest.

Sending him a small grin and a soft wink you turned back around to continue the brushing. The slight orange that pushed its way onto his porcelain white face went unnoticed by you. The hope that lingered on stretch’s eyes quickly diminished as you turned, opening and closing your hand in a repeating grabbing motion to signal to Stretch to let you pick him up or catch a ride in your hood. He stood from the shelf his bed lays on and teleported to his closet to change from his pajama pants into his normal kaki shorts. You turned to give him his privacy, and walked to the door. “Hey, can I have a hint about the surprise? I’m pretty good at riddles since...” The rest of the sentence had died on his tongue.  

“I can’t really give you a hint. I don’t know your tracking or your ID number yet.” Fear shadowed Stretch’s face. Why would you need his tracking number for the surprise? “But I’m sure you will like it. If I find out how to get in touch.” The last part got mumbled under your breath as you pulled your hood back to convey you were ready, if he was, for him to hitch a ride. ‘ What if you can’t?’ ‘Isn’t it horrible for you to get his hopes up?’ ‘You haven’t even confirmed if you can find his brother.’ Your breath caught itself in your throat. You sat down so it would make it easier on him, and you feel safer, for when he wants to short cut into the hood. As you sat and pulled the hood away from your figure the weight of everything hit you. 

You were not always going to be home for them. You were now going to have to cook every meal for them. You now have to continue working, as well as your schooling, with the added stress of raising at least one boy. You wanted to make it two? You know pretty much nothing about them or their kind and you want to bring another one into your life? What if his brother was aggressive? What if he did not like it here and you are forcing him to stay with you since you now have his brother? Could you truly handle this? What is mom going to think if you bought his brother? What would Kendal do to Stetch’s brother? What if they didn’t think you were good enough or couldn’t care for them? What if they leave you too?

“What if they leave too?” Stretch looked into your eyes, but you didn’t see him. Nothing was registering in your vision as your breath quicked to an alarming rate. Your fingers clung to the hood as you started pulling it into your body and trying to put your face in between your knees. Stretch did not understand what was happening. You asked him something and then began trying to make yourself as small as you could. The shift happened as if he had tripped over a wire and it opened a compartment in the floor. You moved from the bed to the floor as you pressed your back into the side of the mattress. The beating in your chest had moved to your ears as your throat dried and the sense of touch was becoming unbearable. Everything was touching in the worst way and the once dormant asthma had reared its decrepit head in the wake of whatever was happening. Your shirt under the hoodie felt as if it was clinging to you and the neck of the hoodie was choking you as your shaky hands began gripping your hood to pull it up and over your head. The once welcoming, warm sun was blinding and burning to a boil on all areas of cover and uncovered skin. Tears welled into your water line as breathing turned from hard to impossible with the asthma attack on top of whatever else was going on. Your hands left your hood as you began clawing at the skin of your neck. 

Stretch walked over to you and against his own problem with touch, laid a hand on your cheek as he sat on your curled knees. “Breathe.” was all he spoke. His voice had completely cut through the blood rushing sound. Your mind was fuzzy but the possibility of calming down by breathing had grown into a slim to none chance. You had started gasping for air as you raised your arms above your head to help the flow of air. Making eye contact with him you began making a hand motion of pushing the top of an inhaler. You hoped he could get your message since you couldn’t speak with the lack of air in your collapsing lungs. At least that's what it was feeling like. His confusion made the panic worse as his non-existent brows knitted together. “What is that? What does it mean?”  

Stretch felt himself begin to panic as a pained look crossed your face and one word slipped out of your dried mouth. “Air” You continued gasping as you pointed to your dresser drawer that held your inhaler. You would have gotten it yourself if you had feeling in your legs and if they were not shaking as if they were maracas. He got off your knee and you just hoped he knew what you were meaning. Your vision seemed to decrease as the edges had filled in with black. Fainting now would be the worst time. ‘No no, not now. Why now?’ you thought to yourself. Today was the best day to get this done. Matt could only stall for so long. The schedule would be fucked and you would have to face Cindy if you did not leave soon. Something was shoved into your mouth and a wet, paint-thinner tasting puff of air was filling the confines of your mouth. ‘ Thank the gods, he found it.’ 

Something was muttered by Stretch, but the sounds and feels were slow to dissipate. You can’t even be sure he really said something. Your vision slowly returned to normal as you took the inhaler from the little bitty. He was staring at you and the look in his eyes was just pitiful. Worry was plastered all over his face as you scanned you for any other type of injury. “I’m okay," you said with a pained smile, “It happens.” You paused as you closed your eyes and began to consciously regulate your breathing. ‘In, two, three, four, out, two, three, four.’

“If you want to talk i'm all abone it”

“No, we need to get ready. I have a plan for today and we are already behind schedule and if we don't leave soon, I worry we might get stuck or we’ll run out of time.

“Well we could start a herb garden. So we’ll always have enough thyme.”

“We do not have the thyme to waste it.”

“I already used thyme, no repeats.”  

“Whatever. Bet you're even better at 6:30, hands down.”

“That's a bit of a stretch.”

“But you still understood what I was getting at. Took you no time at all. Anyways, we seriously need to hit the road, like a few minutes from now.” The conversation was put on hold as the two of you resumed to finish getting ready. Stretch reminded you of breakfast once he had made sure you were alright to drive.

He had taken upwards of ten minutes to get dressed since he couldn’t ‘reach his hoodie’ which was sitting about arm length away from him. You had grabbed it and tried to hand it to him, only for him to teleport away from you. You gave chase. In the beginning you were slow to follow since you leaned against the wall to help your shivering legs. After the five minute mark of the slow following him with his hoodie clutched in your slow shaking hand, you could tell why he was doing this. Signing you gave in to prove you were fine. Neither of you wanted to run. He didn't want you running anyways. You both smiled and once the two of you got to the kitchen he stopped and let you catch him. He asked about breakfast and you pulled out some frozen waffles from the freezer. 

‘Waffles only since we don’t have much time.’ 

Once you popped two on a frying pan, after covering the bottom of it with butter to keep the waffles from burning, you opened the fridge and was met with a disgusting sight. One of your plastic containers filled with a failed science experiment had been completely destroyed. Not fully sure what it was meant to be, but you just  hadn’t thrown it out yet. Did one of the rats get into it? There were claw marks and an odd shape of teeth left in the plastic. Some of the marks were completely flat while others were deeper and seemed to be in an indeterminable pattern compared to the other set. You held the lid of the once clear container closer to your face to examine the depth of the marks more clearly. There was a slight translucent yet semi-red colored substance left leaking across the lid. 

Stretch sat waiting for you to realize the fridge was still open and that you had left the waffles on the stove. Clearing his non-physical throat and short-cutting on to the counter space, caused him to catch a glimpse of what was taking you so long to turn around. “Oh shit.”

“It was probably rats? Not sure since the marks look as if most of the teeth were molars or central incisors.” You said to try and calm his worries, but it didn’t feel right saying it was rats. “I’ll call the front office and schedule a meeting to see if they can get pest control to clear the house.” 

“No need. I can get them to leave.” Stretch replied in a hurry. 

“Are bitties supposed to do that?” You asked. “Could you guys do that?”

“Totally.” Stretch said as he nodded his head to the stove, trying to get your attention to return to cooking. After a pause he continued, “Why else would we have magic?” 

You turned back to the waffles and after your own once over of his words you responded. “I’m going to be looking into that. I don’t want you getting hurt over something I can get management to do. I know you're smart enough to not go near the rat traps they put out.” 

Breakfast was a grab-and-go as the two of you grabbed your plate with a waffle each and headed to the car. Stretch had completely finished his waffle less than halfway into the drive and you asked him to rip a little bit off of yours to eat as you drove. The lack of syrup made it taste different than the ones you remembered mother making when you were little. A small, sweet memory of you, her, and one of your uncles living together and making you waffles out of one of those cartoon shaped irons. Daniel would drown yours in syrup for you and take the blame when mom asked how you got so sticky. 

Another memory pushed its way to the front of your mind about you, your mother, and her high school best friend. The three of you walked down to your grandmothers. Well, they let you ride on your bike that still had training wheels. They were talking about stuff and the look on mom's face showed it wasn’t pleasant, whatever it was. They refused to tell you during the ride and you never felt like asking what it was about as you grew older and realized the type of relationship the friend was living in. 

What changed? Had you done something to cause your mother to turn on you? When did it change? It wasn’t something that happened over night, but you can’t pinpoint a year or a date or when things just fell through. 

“Hey, you can have the rest of the waffle if you want. I don’t want it, and I haven’t bit into it, so it wouldn’t be like you were eating after me.” You said as the taste of waffles soured in your mouth. ‘ There goes another old comfort food.’ 

“You barely ate any of it. Why are you finished?” Stretch asked, beginning to toss smaller pieces into his mouth.

“It doesn’t taste the same without syrup. I'll let you try it next time with it if you want.”

“Would it make you actually eat?”

The rest of the drive was made in silence. You didn’t know how to respond to that and it felt too awkward to switch conversation topics. You didn’t know in the first 24 hours of him living with you, most of which the two of you were asleep, he would catch on to your habit. Friends you’ve had since high school didn’t notice, or if they did, they didn’t care. “It’s normal for high school kids to go through these things.” you heard your grandmother say to explain it away. Didn’t mean it was healthy. The two who you spilled about it to try and help but sometimes it feels as if you’re just eating to please them and combat their worries. 

Once you parked at the house you turned to Stretch and took a deep breath. “When we go in here, we are to be quiet, quick and not leave any evidence about us being here. I don’t want Mom complaining about us dodging her while she was out with Matt. We have about 20 minutes before Valentine gets home from school and blocks in the car. We go in, we look for the receipt and we get the fuck out of here. Can we both agree that we don’t like this house?” He gives a small head nodded almost immediately. Smiling, you continue. “If Cindy, the old hag that lived in the back room finds you, come to me as fast as you can. Do NOT let her grab you. She has a thing for taking things that do not belong to her, and I don’t trust her around you.” Stretch simply shrugs as a gesture back. “Let's get this shit done.”

The two of you get out of the car and you let Stretch shortcut into your hood. You walk around to the back of the house and set Stretch on the window seal to push the window open. The funniest thing Stretch had seen in his life was probably watching you climb the wall. You took a running start and jumped to grab the window seal. Once your hands were secure you slung your leg and tried to grapple the inside of the window with your knee. After the third try, you successfully made it into the window, just for you to use all of your strength to push using your leg and  pull yourself up and sit on the window area as if it was a horse. You were winded and your cheek slowly deepened in color as you watched Stretch laugh at you. “You know, I could have teleported in and unlocked the door?” 

“Asshole”

“Don’t have one.”

“I know because if you did, my foot would be up it. Dick-weed”

“What is that?” He asked as he pointed towards one of the long furby sitting among the unreasonable amount of plushies.

“Don’t ask questions you don't want the answer to.”

You looked around the room after you climbed off the window. It was the same as you left it. At least how you thought you left it. The bed made, the books litter around in a small circle type formation at the base of your bookshelf from quickly sneaking in to steal your hidden jar of money from behind the books and just never returning them in the rush. The nightstand covered in old notes and writings you never push past their rough draft. The plushies laid themselves in odd positions on your bed. Everything felt off as you looked across the layout again. This was your room, but it doesn’t feel as if it was truly yours. It felt empty and forgotten. 

A sigh brushed past your lips as you spotted Stretch lying against the long furby’s stomach area. You snapped to get his attention before he could close his eyes and fall into a nap. He jumped at the noise and yanked his head in your direction fast enough that if he had muscles, he would have pulled something. You placed your finger against your lips to make a shushing gesture. You opened the door to your old room and walked as quickly and quietly as you could. Making the length of the hallway wasn’t difficult, but the sounds of running water from the bathroom behind you had stopped. To your right was your mothers bedroom and to your left was the opening to the living room. You guessed you had about five minutes to get the receipt and get back to your room. 

‘Shit where did Matt say papers were?’ You stepped into their shared bedroom and pushed the door too. Just enough that the latch didn’t lock back into place and make a clicking sound. Obviously that wasn’t enough. Stretch popped into the room with you as you heard footsteps coming from the hallway. You checked your phone for the time as you slowed your breathing and walked to the opposite side of the bed just in case she had her head against the door to hear. The door squeaked open as a head popped in ‘Nosy bitch’ was thought as you laid flat on the floor and began inching under the bed for safety. ‘This feels way too familiar.’ 

She stepped into the room and looked around. Before she made it to the side of which you were hiding under, you noticed Stretch just standing there staring at her. He had completely froze in what you hoped was disgust and not fear. ‘If it’s fear I swear to whatever god she believes in. She’ll be seeing it soon.’ You grabbed Stretch and yanked him into you as she continued to make her way around. He started biting and trying to fight you from under the bed. The lights of his eyes were completely gone as your hand exploded in pain. ‘How many times has he had to protect himself like this?’ The pain in your hand proceeded to grow worse and worse as you refused to release him. The light of his magic would have been way more noticeable, had Cindy not turned on the light and the flap over the edge of the bed been kept up. You just had to watch as his eye light slowly reappeared as sharp, white bones puncture the skin on your hands. 

The lights shut off and the click of the door signaled that she had left the room. You released Stretch and cradled your bleeding hand with the other and slowly wiggled out from under the bed. They had a raised bed for the two of them to have extra storage, but Matt refused to use the extra space. Never told you mom why, but it was supposed to be used if someone came in the house when you were little for you to hide. It was then used for Kendal once you grew old enough to learn to use the pistol in the closet. Matt ignored Mom's wishes about it, saying it was only for an emergency. Now Kendal is around the age you were when you learned, and Matt wants you to teach him to have a bonding moment. 

‘Doubt I’m ever going to get the chance to show him how to use a gun, much less trust him or myself around one.’

Once you were out from under the bed you blinked away the unnoticed, yet steady stream of tears leaking from your eye, and walked to your mother’s connected bathroom. ‘All of this feels really familiar. déjà vu maybe?’  Running your hand under the cold tap of the sink caused a stinging feeling to engulf your palm. “How the hell do people in movies cut open the palm of their hands? There's a shit ton of nerves there.” You whisper to Stretch as he sits somewhat lifeless on the rim of the sink. Well lifeless as a living skeleton can look. “Hey it’s alright little man. You were scared, it happens.”

“It shouldn’t. I- why- but if-” you cut him off with your wet, and slightly less bloody hand. You hold it in front of him and move your fingers around.

“You did nothing major to it. It stings a little, but you hurt as much as a Pomeranian nibble. You weren’t trying to kill anything, just to get away. It comforts me to know you would fight if someone tried to grab you.” You smiled at him and let him examine your hand. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll let you help me heal it. Once we are back home that is. We don’t have time for that right now.” You wiped your hand with a paper towel and began your search for the papers.

After a few minutes of unsuccessful searching you and Stretch came to terms with the fact the paper just was not in the bedroom. “Did she take them?”

“She had some papers in her hand, but that's not a receipt. Why do you want those papers?”

“It has your ID and tracking numbers on it. I need it for something.”

“Why?”

“Just please trust me. Don’t jump to conclusions.” He signed as you gave him a simple smile and continued to think about where she would have taken them. ‘Maybe she left them on the kitchen counters? She always puts things down in there.’  Pausing at the door to see if you could hear any labored breathing on the other side was probably the best thing to listen for when trying to hear if Cindy was near. Chain smoking from the ages of twenty to fifty-six will do that to anyone. ‘ She sounds as if she is coughing up her lungs’   ‘It's because she continues the nasty habit.’ you replied to yourself. No boss battle music began playing as you made your way to the kitchen. The papers were laid spread out and face down as you ventured over to them. ‘Odd, but Matt did correct himself to counter on the phone’  

“Coming to return him?” Guess life isn’t a video game. No music plays when you are in a dangerous situation. Maybe it was because you didn’t pick the right settings?  Or the reader had their music turned down?

“No, I need the receipt for the bitty house.”

“They take the receipt. Why are you looking at his adoption papers? If you just need the receipt, leave the other papers.” Stretch had vanished and was nowhere to be seen. ‘Shit did I leave him in the bedroom?’ ‘He can leave on his own dumb ass. He can teleport.’  ‘What if valentine took him?’ ‘The kid can’t handle pain and he proved himself to be a fighter.’ Your brain continues to list off problems but countered each and every one with a factual statement your frontal lobe could make up. 

Your eyes follow your grandmother. She began coughing and showed no sign of covering her mouth. The smell of cigarettes invaded your nose as she walked closer and grabbed the receipt. “Here, now get the fuck out, Theft.“ You remained silent just to try and please her. “It explains why my newest pack is missing. I have a carton of twelve and one of them is missing.”

“I’m not going to argue with you but, need I remind you, I have asthma. You may believe I'm a thief because you don’t want to see the fact you sleep all the time, and if you're not smoking, using the bathroom, or simply stealing food from others, you decide it’s OK for you to invite Levy and her little kids over for whatever reason. Yet you nor her watch over them and they break and steal things. So it would not be very difficult for those little assholes to take them.”

“Watch the way you speak to me and about those kids, I am still your grandmother, and I’m not afraid to make you choke on your teeth. You have no right to disrespect her or her kids. They can’t help the situation they were born in” Stretch popped up on your shoulder closest to Cindy. Her eyes widen and stare at him. “You want his papers to return him. I knew you couldn’t take care of him.” You grabbed the receipt from her hand. “Why else would you want the papers? I knew you were nothing other than a money hungry dick. You’re always in it for the cash. You’ve always been stingy with it.”

“I was never stingy, I grew up and got tired of others stealing it.”

“So you hid it and refused to use it when we needed you too.”

“No, you are not going to try and manipulate this.” You said as you clenched your hand. “You wanted me to give you money when you had wasted yours on cigarettes and lottery tickets. You do nothing but waste money. That’s the original reason you three began living here. You wasted money on cigarettes, Val didn’t respect you, and Rusty worked his ass off and came home at night just to go hungry because you wouldn’t cook. You and Val both lived off fast food, or pizza.” her face turned red as you brought up her mistakes of the past that she has yet to correct. “The money I could and did save, is what I put towards my college funds. The skill of saving is what’s keeping me in my apartment. I’m working my ass off to get through school and maintain my job. No one did that for me. No one is giving me free handouts.” Stretch stared wide-eyed as you let words flow through your mouth as the small filter you had before, disintegrated with the venom of each and every word. 

She reached out to grab Stretch as she grew upset with you. “Just return the piece of shit to Kendal. You can’t take care of it anyways. Hence why you are returning him.” Before she reached him, you grabbed her arm.

“I’ve been kind to you by holding my tongue for the years you three have lived with me. I’m beyond pissed with you for trying to lie about my actions in the past while inside this hellscape with each and every one of you. You did nothing to help anyone but yourself. You reek of smoke and the fact my throat hasn’t collapsed from the smell alone is amazing. But you tried to grab him, and I can’t let that slide. You have no right to touch what does not belong to you, nor do you deserve to have the god complex you do. I don’t want you to infect him with your disgusting way of upkeep.” She twisted her arm so her nail could dig into your own.

“Get the fuck out of my house.”

“I have never, once in my life, seen you open a bill for this place, but it would be my pleasure.”

And with that, you yanked your arm from her nails and straightened your spine as you took the time to fix the papers and calmly walked out of the house. Adrenaline pumping through your veins as you walked to your car, softly placed stretch in the passenger seat and sat yourself down. About half way down the road you pull into an abandoned gas station. You looked at Stretch and turned off the car. You turned back to look out the windshield and let your body completely deflate. “Fucking hate having to deal with her. She just has her head up her ass constantly.”

“No wonder her hair is brown.” You laid the seat back and just stared out the windshield as cars passed the two of you on your left. 

“You know I'm not going to return you right? I might not have bought you, but I do care for you, so you mind telling me why you decided to attack my hand when I grabbed you to hide?” His shoulders visibly sagged at the mention of your hand. He kept his mouth shut, yet his eye lights refused to look anywhere but at the damage he caused. The pain had fizzled out and all that was left was the few deeper cuts and the marks Cindy left as she embedded her nails into your forearm. “I said I'd let you heal me to make yourself feel better about hurting me. There's monster candy in the glove box, hand me the one wrapped in the green wrapper please.” 

He worked quickly to open the glove box and unwrap the candy. Using magic, he popped it into your awaiting mouth. You bit into the candy to get the effect to start up faster, but less effectively, ‘should have asked for the gummies inside there instead’ You both watched as your hand and a few other places among your body began being encased in the neon green light of healing magic. Stretch stood on the center console and tapped your arms for him to inspect it.

“You scared me and I retaliated.” he continued his inspection up the underside of your arm. Since the candy is supposed to be sucked on for the best effects, it didn’t heal some of the nicks Poppy and Willow had given you less then a week ago. Stretch paused as he saw the marks. He let his hand fill with healing magic. “Sans was always better at this than me.”

Your filter apparently was still floating around in the puddle of acid because the words left your mouth without a single thought behind them. “That's why I needed your ID number. I need to know where you came from so I can steal your brother for you.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I'm stealing your brother. It’s my plan. I still have school and you need someone to be with you while I'm away. Plus it’s pretty shit being away from someone you love without a reason. Like what's stopping me from buying him?”

“Money?”

“Exactly. I’m returning the house, using the money to buy him, or at least distract the cashier while you kidnap him. Something like that. I haven’t planned it out.”

“YN, you're a dumb ass.”

“I know, but at least I’m trying. It was going to be your surprise, but I’m worried Cindy got in your head about me getting your papers. Nothings going to stop me.”

“Except the police.”

“Okay well, maybe. They’d have to catch me first.” You both smiled as you started up the car. “Want to go now?” You looked over and saw him uncharacteristically smiling as he clutched the wrapper in one hand to his chest while the other was still in his hoodie pocket. He looked down at the empty wrapper. Or maybe he was looking at his lap. It didn’t matter. “Yeah, we’ll go today”

Chapter Text

The car ride to the bitty center wasn’t anything like the journey to your parents place. You had handed Stretch your phone after putting the bitty center label on the receipt into google maps. The automated voice told you to turn left and soon the two of you were on your way. You showed him your app for music and let him look through the playlist to see which one his brother would enjoy listening to the most.

 Stretch began randomly clicking song titles and listening to the intro before skipping them, or asking for you to read out the title of the song. At a red light you show him how to create a playlist for him to add songs into. While it was slightly annoying to have a song you enjoy be changed before the chorus, you allowed him to continue his search.

After about forty-five minutes into the journey, your ears were ringing severely and your patience had eroded. Knowing Stretch was doing this out of excitement of reuniting with his brother did little to calm your nerves. Very few songs, if any, had been picked for the drive home with his brother. You had offered songs, which he requested you to type in the titles of, but those too were skipped through. Even though barely any music in your catalog caught Stretch’s attention and even few reached his standard to be submitted into his playlist, he seemed to be enjoying his time. He was nothing like this the entire time you had known him. A real smile was etched into his face as he held your phone close. Maybe if he had gone to a loving home first, or if you were quicker to his rescue he would have been like this at the start.

Once an hour of your travel was complete, your irritation had reached its climax. “Hey Stretch, can we let a few songs play in its entirety? I can’t keep listening to a few beats of a song before it gets ripped away. We have about thirty minutes before we get to your brother. Please.” You asked as you stared out of the windshield. Stretch apologised and quickly scrolled up to the most played song. 

As the rhythm begins playing through the speaker of the car, your frustration starts to seep away. As you hum to the music, Stretch looks at you with gaiety. He noticed your relaxed shoulders and soft eyes. This was Y/N, his Y/N. Yes, the same one who stood up for him in front of their grandmother less than two hours ago. The one who had a panic attack over getting a receipt. The one getting him his brother back. The one who is actively sitting through a green light, yelling words to a song as not a single car but their own sits on any of the corners of this four way traffic light. “Hey, the lights are green.” 

“Oh shit, sorry.”

“Don't be. You looked like you were enjoying yourself, just wanted to make sure you noticed the light.”

“Thank you for the head’s up.”

“Any more song recommendations?”

“For the playlist? Depends on what you are looking for.”

“Just music that he might like. He’s only really listened to the stuff in the store, which is either about the Satan Claws guy, or about a girl getting herself flowers.”

“Do you want music with lyrics, or do you want musicbox music?”

“Musicbox music?”

“Well, it’s music that is strictly instrumental. The difference between instrumental and music that's played from a music box is that a music box can only play bells-type sounds. Instrumental music can have guitars or drums and or many different kinds of instruments.”

At the next red light, with around twenty minutes left in the ride, Stretch gave you the phone to type in “music box” in the search bar. 

“Hey dude, might be an odd question, but can you read?” Stretch paused before answering with a no. “Do you want me to teach you? I can teach you phonics and the alphabet. Phonics sounds hard, but it's just sounding out each letter of the alphabet.”

“I know the alphabet.”

“Right, wasn’t discrediting you, but I don’t think y’all had a school in the bitty center.”

“We had the bitties that were brought back.”

“And how many of those bitties had books for you to practice your reading?”

Stretch huffed as he rolled his eyes. “None, but there are signs and tags all over the place.”

“I’m not making fun of you Stretch, but if you and your brother can’t read, I want to be able to help y’all. Reading is very important, especially if you get lost so you can read signs or if you need to read instructions or just for fun.” You pause your rant before adding, “Stretch, you need to be able to read lyrics or to be able to read titles of movies and games and books and songs. I guess I should also ask if you want me to teach you to read.”

Stretch signs before sliding down in the chair. “I don’t want to bum you out, but it is extremely difficult to traverse today's world without being able to read honey. If you don’t want to learn to read, I won’t force you, but it’s going to be difficult to function outside the store without being able to do so.” The rest of the car ride was filled with music as you spelled out titles and had him type them in.

You pulled into the closest parking spot without taking any of the handicapped spaces and began going over the plan with Stretch. “Okay, so, I’m going to head inside and see if I can return the bittie house, and hopefully get some cash back for it. Once I’m at the register, I’m going to ask to see your brother. If they let me see him, I’ll use the money I got from the bittie house and buy him. If they tell me I can’t, well were fucked. If they will not take the bittie house back, I am kinda fucked as well since we are kind of banking on it since I am broke.”

“Okay, and what do you want me to do?” Stretch asked. 

You hopped out of the car without hearing his questions due to the panic and blood pumping through your brain. You leaned down to smile at him outside the car before shutting the door and grabbing the house before heading into the store. 

Taking a deep breath, you pass the threshold of the automatic doors, house filling your hands. The size of the place amazed you as you glanced quickly across the store's layout. It is filled with clothes and toys and just about anything anyone would want or need. Walking in, there was a fenced area with a sign above it saying, “BITTY PLAYGROUND”. There were plenty of swing-sets, slides, training equipment, and what looked like chewy toys littering the area. Straight ahead, hidden by chest-high dressers which you assumed were full of bitty clothing, was an empty cashwrap desk. Shelves filled with toys and bitty-type specific accessories were scattered around the little bit of open area in the store.

Looking back at the bitty playground, you noticed a table-style screen next to the gate. It seemed this was for customers to scroll through all the information about the playground and its occupants. Information like which bitties would like what section of each place piece, and other information like their personalities and what their habits were. 

As you glanced around you noticed an employee leaning against the wall. Smiling, you inhaled to calm your nerves before setting your plan into action. “Excuse me sir, I hav-” The purple bunny huffed before looking at his wrist watch and unlatching a door in the wall. The door opened and a rush of what looked like watercolors spilled out into the playground. Bitties of all colors and types ran over to different play equipment and began playing with each other. 

The energetic blue ones seemed to enjoy playing on the swings, while a red one of the same size had pushed one off their swings to steal the seat for themselves yet wouldn’t swing. There was a tall skeleton that was using the dumbbells as he yelled at another tall skeleton in a purple hoodie that laid on the ground beside him as he “spotted” him. A bigger grin snuck its way onto your face as you noticed a sheep or goat type bitties fixed the cape of another as a yellow lizard apologized for stepping on it. These three bitties had obvious bracelets or accessories marking them, but none seemed distressed about the objects. The cape looked as if it was made out of an old wash cloth. A blue fish-type bitty rubbed the back of the lizard as she worried her hands and apologized. ‘They’re all so adorable!’

Looking down you noticed a short skeleton wearing a soft looking blue jacket, laying himself against your shoe as you stood outside the enclosure. “Why don't you go in? You look like you want to.” Taking a moment to observe the little creature you noticed the lack of an identification accessory for the small boney buddy. 

“Looking for my own skeley’s brother.”

“What type is he?”

“Not sure. My parents bought him for my lil bro, but he gave him to me since I go to college and live alone.” You left out some of the heavier details of the truth regarding the passing of Stretch to you.

“Well, all the little shits are out right now, so do you see your asshole?” Shifting your eyes to the wall you see the purple bunny leaning against the gate. Leaning around him to see, yet not lifting your foot to leave the skeleton snuggling against your shoe to snuggle in peace.

As you looked around you saw more and more bitties interacting. Two lizard-types, in what looks like a doctor outfit and one fish-type, also in a doctor outfit, seemed to be scheming against two fish-types in full battle armor and a lizard in similar armor. A bunny type seat on the floor with what looked like a dust bunny pet in their lap as they brushed out its fur. A skeleton in an orange hoodie locked eyes with you while wearing a pair of glasses and a mustache connected to a big nose. A choker hung loosely around his spine and dipped down to his clavicle, too tight to fit over his head, but it looked too big on him none the less. The sight caused you to giggle and almost drop the house.

“He is like the ones in the orange hoodies.” Some of the bitties matching the description snapped their heads towards you, as growls from others that matched erupted towards you. 

“Oh you have a swap papyrus. He is lazy, smokes, and tries to make jokes?”

“Yeah but he doesn’t smoke. At least we didn’t get him any cigarettes. I live in an apartment, so I’m not sure if the place will allow that. Y’know, with how nicotine sticks to everything.”

“Stars, you're stupid. They do not smoke Nic, they smoke the equivalent to peppermint stick bullshit. You need to buy him some or he will become restless with you.” Looking back into the enclosure some of the bittes wearing blue bandanas and armor had gone to their orange hooded brothers and stood in front of them, as if daring you to try and take one of them.

One out of the bunch stared you down as you mention not having cigarettes. You could practically see him spinning the gears in his head before trying to sneak to the bars of the enclosure. As you watched the growing irritation on the bunny monster’s face, you noticed out of the corner of your eye as the same blue armored bittie attempted to wiggle out of the fencing. The blue hoodie that was snuggling your shoe could see him struggling and short cutted himself back in the cage to pull him away from the fence.

Once the bunny finished aggressively rubbing his face and eyes and pulled all your attention by saying, “Let's get this shit over with so you can leave.” His obvious irritation was oddly more welcoming than the passive aggressiveness you expected from a store clerk.

“Well actually I have a few questions. I’ve never owned a bitty and he kinda got thrown on me.”

At the mention of not knowing how to own a bitty, the one trying to escape began trying to slip out of the blue hooded skeleton’s hold. As you walked away you heard his struggling start to increase.

“Ok, a few questions and then I'll be out of your har-, I'll leave you alone.” Before you finished the pun one of the multiple blue jacketed skeletons belted out a laugh. “I am so sorry, but at least I didn’t fi-

“They’ll get out of your HARE!” The entire playplace erupted with giggles and growls and groans and sighs as the skeleton finished you accidently pun. Some of the more angerier bitties shouted threats to the ones laughing about how their humor was lacking or abhorrent. You tried your hardest to hide the grin behind the roof of the bitty house in your hands but it seemed the worker on shift noticed and grimaced. 

“Sorry about that, but um, can a bitty house be returned? My Swap hasn’t used it and I have the receipt if that helps.” You ask as the two of you begin looking through the bitty smoke sticks.

“Since he hasn’t, and you’re carrying it around like an idiot, I’ll let you return it.” He explained as he leaned against one of the stands holding multiple different types of smoke packs.

“Next question,” You placed the house on the floor and pulled out the receipt, “Can I get his brother in exchange for the house?” 

The bunny monster paused before laughing hysterically.

“You got the extra cash needed to pay for a bitty? Not only that, but you just announced that you know nothing about bitties. Why do you even have the passing thought that I would just let you buy another? What if he also gets neglected?”

  You had to think on your feet, which was never a good idea. “First of all, while Stretch was given to me without me having prior knowledge about bitties, I saved him from the shit my parents might have done. He is well taken care of even though I’m not an expert. I am still trying to learn.” Your rant about your current attempt to educate yourself on bitties, did not sway him slightly. Time to change tactics. 

“I hate to pull this bullshit, but you already seem to not enjoy your job. Letting me have the other brother to complete the pair would result in one less bitty you have to have to feed. One less bitty to clean up after, to pay attention to, to have your boss breathing down your neck to sell.” This straightforward tactic seems to work much better for the bunny currently keeping Stretch from his brother. “I’ve worked retail and I know you have a quota. Sell him to me and I’ll piss off. You’ll have a bump in your quota, I’ll leave a review, and when I inevitably come back for more supplies I will make sure to request you. We’ll have this little back and forth over and over, but you will continue to have bumps in your quota. If your boss is ever in here, I’ll praise you like a saint in order to help you get a raise. All I ask is for Stretch’s brother.” You explain with a dead expression. 

The bunny seems to think it over with a hand on his chin as he continues to scan you up and down. “How do I know you are trying to support a fighting ring?

“A fucking what?” You announced much louder than the store clerk was prepared for. He recoils and glares at you, but you simply stare into his green eyes. When he didn’t explain further you asked, “What the fuck did you just ask me?” Your voice made it clear that you were royally pissed at the accusation.

“I have to ask. You do randomly want a swap sans. You have no caregiving knowledge, and you show up a story that the original brother was not meant for you. I am selling a living creature, and you come in here asking for one with an unnecessary excuse on why you need the other.” Glancing down to his name tag, you see he is named Emrys. Taking the moment the two of your eyes are apart he offers a word of advice, “Stop over explaining yourself, it will get you in more trouble then it is worth in a world like this.”

Not wanting to look this man in the eyes due to his absence accusation, you look past his shoulder. He sighed before taking the receipt and starting the search for Stretch’s brother. “Are you this stubborn when it comes to your bitties?” He asks as he continues looking at his screen.

“Yeah, I’m pretty stubborn with most things when it comes to things I care about.” You offer an explanation. He stopped typing before letting out a groan and turned to fully face you.

“Says here the swap sans’ is already pre-order. You can’t buy him. If you want, you can just buy a different swap. We have a few that are already separated from their bros.” 

Feeling hopeless, you offered a smile that didn’t reach your eyes. Whether the clerk noticed or not he didn’t comment on it. “Alright. Give me a few minutes. How much can I get for the house?” 

“I’ll be here when you're ready for me.” You tightened your smile and softly nodded before turning away from the cashwrap and heading toward the car.

Once you returned to the car, you explained everything to Stretch; not mincing your words due to the importance of the situation at hand. Looking into his eyesocket, you noticed the limitless void that filled his sockets. His eyelight became smaller than pinpricks as he looked up at you. His breathing seemed labored and evidence of a panic attack was developing across his face and body. He was shaking in what you thought was anger and tears started to raise to the surface of his eyes. You reached out to him to hold him, but he pushed your hands away. 

“Stretch, I told you that I was going to get your brother back, and I meant it.” You offered in hopes that it would calm his increasing nerves. As you spoke you reached into the car and opened the glove compartment on the dash, pulling out a small blade, “I have a plan, but it might be highly illegal." He gave no inclination that he was listening so you tried to lower yourself closer to his height. 

When looking at the bitties, it was clear that each and everyone of them were wearing some kind of choker or collar around their necks or an identification bracelet. Some are more stylish than others, but all of the bitties have some sort of accessory around their neck or limbs.

“I don’t know if this is an accurate guess, but the only bitty in the build I saw that could blip was one without his ID accessory.”

Stretch explained further, “They are ID markers, but also magic suppresses. It’s hard to keep monsters that can short cut in a building.”

Having a slightly better understanding of the collars you realize that not only with this plan involves cutting the bracelet off, Stretch’s brother will need to trade codes so that someone else can be bought and the other one be given to the person that pre-ordered him. How are you going to fix two ID collars and distract Emrys?

Handing the blade to Stretch you explain the barebones of the bullet points of the plan. “I need to distract the clerk. You need to find your brother, cut off his ID thingy, find someone willing to trade places with him, cut their ID bracelet or necklace thing, and then fix both of them in order for me to buy your brother under the ID number of the other version of your brother.”

Stretch just stared at the small, in your eyes but comically large compared to his, blade as you explain. He slowly nodded before switching the blade to the out position. 

“You ever cut anything?”

“Not with a knife,” was his only response.

“Gotta learn some day. Come on, let's get your brother back.”

With the bare minimum required to call this a plan being met, you set it in motion. You walked back up to the counter watching the clerk as he scrolled on his phone as he leaned back in his computer chair with his feet on the desk. “Seems like you didn’t run away, mind explaining what took you so long?”

“Would that make the return go faster?”

“No, but you’ve been so inclined to overshare recently. Thought I’d ask.” 

“Have you finished the return?”

“Oh I canceled out of it thinking you ran away since you were told no.”

“You really must have something up your ass huh?”

“Only my partner,” was his snide remark as removed his feet from the desk and rolled his chair back in front of the computer screen.

“Yeah, well tell them that they clearly are leaving a stick up there and you need help fetching it out.”

He just softly chuckled as he began reentering the information on the receipt again. “Go look for a swap sans. They’re light blue and wear gloves and a scarf.” He glazed up at you to make sure you cataloged his description. “Also, based on the receipt, your family went all out on this house. Do you want to return the furniture inside it too?”

“If it is in the house, return it. I have no need for it. It’s just going to be used to buy the bitty.” With no further conversation, you walked away from the cashwrap and headed for the play area. By the time you returned to Stretch, he was talking to a swap sans as another, who you guess was his brother, was standing behind him with his shoulders up to his nonexistent ears. Not being close enough to hear what was being said, you saw the bitty begin to softly cry as he quickly squeezed Stretch and raced over to Blue to offer him his own hug.

The bitties in the surrounding area did nothing but watch as Stretch tried to cut the necklace wrapped around this bitty’s neck. No one did anything as Stretch very shakily cut through the plastic-looking material. ‘It looks as if it was made out of a ziptie.’ Picking up the pace in order to help Stretch seem to only cause panic as the sans below the knife jump and nicked the back of his skull on the knife. It caused no visible damage from where you could see, but he let out a scream in fear. No one seemed to be able to lift their eyes from the scene playing out in front of them. “That definitely alarmed the bunny, shit.” 

You turned toward him as his head snapped up. “Sorry, I stepped on one of their feet. It’s not broken, just scared both of us.” You turned to a random bitty and lifted him to your face. “So sorry, I didn’t mean to step on you.” if he would have gone with it, it would have been fine, but you picked up a red version of the bitty that had laid on your shoe earlier, and that bitch latched his teeth onto your nose.

“That’s what you get for stepping on him.” Said the clerk as he returned to paperwork. Your eyes began to blur as you sat yourself on your knees and leaned down to release him. Yet he didn’t unlatch himself until a sharper and more aggressive looking version of Stretch made him. 'He was just playing a part of it. Made everything more believable.’  Once he released you, you thanked him. He just grunted and walked off. 

Once Emrys was clearly back to scanning the items, you put your hands out to the bitty that screamed. “Hey, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” He looked up at you before looking back at Stretch. “Hey if you are still okay with this, do you want me to try instead. I have a steadier hand.”

“It’s also you, sized.” Stretch interjects. 

Ignoring his comment you smiled at the bitty, trying to comfort him in the only way you could. He crawled into your hand as you took the knife from Stretch, who seemed more than happy to be rid of the blade. 

Knowing the entire playground’s occupants were watching. The poor bitty shook in your hands as you slid the blade sharp side up, under his collar. With a quick yank the collar popped and the bitty gasped at the sensation. The bitties surrounding you all seemed to collectively gasp with him. He went wide eyed but didn’t move as you gently landed him on your lap. You reached out to Blue and followed the same steps to cut his choker as well.

Seeing that you had no solution to reattaching the ID accessories, you pocketed the knife and told the boys to wait here. This plan was clearly not well thought out. As you tried to look for a solution, you caught sight of a spider bitty off to the side, watching as she sipped tea with a flame monster beside her an idea sparked in your head. Looking down at the plastic material it was clearly flammable and depending on if either of the bitties would be willing to help, the three of you might be able to pull this off. 

“I hate to involve either of you, but would either of you be willing to help us?” 

The spider scoffed before taking a much longer and louder sip of her tea. “For a cost.”

“What would that cost be?” Asked Stretch’s brother.

“Well,” the spider started off, “I would like more porcelain for my tea set.”

The fire bitty stood up and made his way over to the group. His outfit speaking louder than he did. Blues and pinks covered this walking orange flame. His glasses had what looked like swirls, but that could be the trick of the light. “What do you need me to do?” He asked in a low whisper.

“I just need you to slightly melt one end of each collar for me to essentially glue it to itself.” He just nodded and assisted you in glueing the ID accessories back together. The spider bitty loudly exhaled her dissent.

Both swap sans had the others ID code yet, the stress of this did not relieve itself from your body. The plan had gone as best as it could with the limited planning and prep done beforehand. You lifted the swap sans that was to stay out of your lap and lightly kissed his head. “Thank you so much for being willing to help my family stay together. You’re a hero in my eyes.” The bitty just blushed and smiled as you returned him to the floor and turned to the little match stick that helped you succeed in this endeavor. You offered your hand for them to step aboard, but he shook his head before turning back to the tea party with the upset spider bitty. “Is there anything I can do to thank you for your kindness?”

“Get the lady her porcelain,” was his only comment he made before returning to his seat. Smiling at the silliness of the request, you agreed before standing up and offering a hand to both Blue and Stretch. They climbed upon your hand and you offered Stretch your hood to lay in. Once he was inside you waved at the group of witnesses and Blue followed suit. During the walk to the cashwrap Blue took a moment to observe his surroundings. This was the first time he was able to see the store from this advantage point. 

“Found the one you want?” Asked the clerk.

“Yeah, I got the one I wanted.”

“Well, let's get you checked out and get this done with.”

He handed you the receipt for you to sign the store's copy and handed you the customer's copy to keep. “The house will cover the cost of a swap sans. You will also get a few dollars in store credit as well. Is there anything you want before we finish?” 

You placed Blue on the counter to be scanned and you set off for a small tea set. Once both items were scanned and Blue was placed in a carrier, Emrys made a comment. “Glad your swap paps knew.” There was a slight hick in your step as you made your way to the door. “I might be an asshole, but I am not dumb. There’s cameras all over the place, and Trickster told on you when your Stretch brought a knife in. 

Turning back to the store clerk, the skeleton bitty that laid on your shoe earlier was currently asleep and snoring loudly on the bunny’s shoulder. 

“You going to call the cops?”

“Nah, it’s clear you are willing to go to jail for him and you were creative enough to find a work around. I really should, but I won’t. This could cost me my job letting you do this. But at the same time I understand how important it is for a caregiver to care, and you showed that by pulling this bullshit of a stunt.” As Emrys explained his reasoning you shifted your weight from side to side, stressing over the verdict. “And another thing, stop blurting shit out about how you have no information on any type of bitty. It’s going to lead to you losing them. One way or another.” After his commentary on your actions you nodded along and continued your way to the door, “Have a safe trip home dumbass. And come back soon. You seem like a fun person to fuck with dude.” 

Another misstep was taken at his unprofessional manor. The trip to the car was silent until you got inside and buckled up. Blue began to cry as he clung to his brother. Not wanting to interrupt his moment of vulnerability, you turned on soft background music. Stretch had gotten into the glove compartment and grabbed a monster candy to give to his brother. Blue wanted nothing to do with it. He just wanted Stretch, and had made it obvious by shoving the candy away and curled as far as he could into Stretch’s rib area. It looked as if he was trying to crawl into his brother’s ribcage. The playlist that Stretch made was forgotten for the first thirty minutes of the drive. He just sat and rocked his brother to the best of his abilities.  

After the first thirty minutes, you could see Blue had cried himself to sleep. "Will you please give him some of the monster candy? Just to be safe."

"He needs to be held." Stretch replied.

"You can still hold him, but please feed him some of the candy as well. I'll crush it while it's in its wrapper so you can just pick out small chunks and feed him. Emotional distress can not be healthy for someone so small. You said he's hyper and happy, but all I've seen so far is displeased and depressed." 

After that statement Stretch turned towards you and held out the hard caramel tasting candy. It didn't take much force for you to destroy the candy for him, but the sound of the wrapper popping made Blue's eye lights pop into existence as he looked around frantically for the object that created the sound.

"It was just a wrapper popping sweetie."

"Just a wrapper." Was all Blue replied with. 

"Yep, no need to panic. You're with your brother, and I'm here to take care of both of ya. You'll have to help me with certain things though. I don't know all that much. Just what Stretch here has let on to." You didn't know what was running through Blue's head when he heard the wrapper pop, or what he may be thinking as you spoke about what Stretch has told you. Both about bitties in general, and his bro.

"Well, now Papy and I are here to help you." He said as he stared into your eyes even as they focused on the road ahead. Stretch leaned up and took your phone from the side pocket of the car it was placed before the huge 'rescue mission' took place. He began the playlist and returned the phone to the cubby and repositioned his brother again. With his chosen music now filling the space, the car didn't feel as tense. Nor did it feel like they had to say something to help ease the unnecessary silence. "What is it like?"

You hummed to show you heard him over the beat playing through the speakers, "What do you mean?"

"What's the house like?" You gave the vague description of the house and told him, just like you told his brother to stay out of the room that was locked. 

When he asked why, you responded with,"Because there's items that belong to the previous tenant that have yet to come and reclaim them. Plus I don't want to touch the stuff they've used. Especially after knowing the videos they'd film in the room, as well as other activities and what they used for said activities in that room. It was locked by them and the landlord doesn't have a key. And as much as I'm a dumb college kid, I'm not willing to do something THAT dimwitted." The point was clear to Blue and Stretch seeing as he already knew what was in that room, as well as hearing that speech be preached before. 

The rest of the ride consists of you finishing the playlist and scaring the shit out of Blue a few times by your, "Stars-awful singing" as Stretch so kindly put it. "Trust me bro, they don't normally sound like a bird dying. They're trying to make you feel better around them." Stretch whispered to Blue as he tried to sneakily hide his ears.

Once you noticed Blue disliking towards your odd singing, you began dialing it back. "All I Want For Christmas Is You" played for the third time, but instead of screaming the words, you sang softly, and as on key as you could while driving. As if you were singing the lyrics to someone you truly wanted for Christmas. Slowly, Stretch helped Blue remove his hands from his ears and sat in peace while listening. Blue looked starstruck. “Human, why did you sing so horribly at first, when you can sing this good?” After verbalizing his thoughts, it hit him. “OH, WAS IT TO THROW ME OFF YOUR TRAIL?  WAS IT BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS COULDN’T HANDLE YOUR SIREN SINGING?” “Was that supposed to be a compliment?”

When he let out his booming voice, it took you off guard. “Will he always talk like that?” a small, internal voice began speaking “Inside voice little one, inside voice”  You sent a smile his way as you pulled into the apartment complex. Stretch began telling him the layout of the house again and as the two talked, handed Blue some of the crushed candy. It was true monster candy, so the bitties could have it, it just wasn’t in their size, so a whole might be too much.

“Hey Stretch, can you guys have an overflow of magic if you eat a full monster size candy or food? “

“Nope.”

“Huh?”

“No overflow, we’re low on it anyways.”

“But don’t you get magic from food?”

“Yep.”

“Why were you low on magic?”

silence…… 

Chapter Text

Living in a store isn’t so bad. He has his brother, free food, and a free living space. An easy life with little to nothing to do. His day consisted of watching Blue, cracking a few jokes here and there, and following the schedule the store had planned for the bitties. During their allotted time in the playarea, Stretch kept an eye out for a family to adopt the two of them.

At the beginning of the first recess session, a couple walked past the counter without looking at the bitties, which seemed off to Stretch. Even adults with bitties normally take the time to pause and look at the new additions to the group.

The pair continued their way to the counter where a Calico Cat monster sat, her spine straight as a stick. “We will take any of the Papyrus types you have on hand. Preferably one that is not loud, or obnoxious. He also can’t be rude.” Not thinking much of how that description would apply to him, he decided to ignore the rest of their conversation. Not saying he was obnoxious or loud, or rude, but he did have the knack for well timed pranks. He didn’t think to be on guard when the pair walked over to the play area. 

‘They’d have a much easier time with a classic if they want someone that would make that description.’ While he knew there would be a non-zero chance of him being picked, he also believed that the chances would be statistically low. Plus there were plenty of swap Papyrus’s that had been previously separated. They would be more likely to grab a dis-paired one then grab him. ‘Who would want to purposely separate brothers?’

A non-zero chance, no matter how low or a statistical wonder it may be, the chances of it happening are still something that should be accounted for.

As Stretch believed himself safe, a hand reached for him. Without much time to react and the collar seeping his magic from him, he couldn’t escape.

Blue had noticed the clerk taking his brother away and began to yell at her to “unhand” him as he jumped off the swing and raced towards the monster holding his brother hostage. His screams and pleas fell on dead as the calico cat stepped out of the play pin and closed the door behind her.

While Stretch wasn’t known for putting in much effort into anything other than a good pun, he put his all into thrashing to try and get out of the vice grip the store clerk had him in. The collar is doing its job in keeping him from teleporting away or using magic to escape. The food provided to them did not have much magic infused into it for many reasons. Stretch realised this had to be one of them.

As the clerk walked, she squeezed him tighter to make sure not to drop him due to his excessive movements. The fall would not kill him, but it could damage his spine depending on how he landed. He also believed that she knew that if he could make it back to the pin, there was no way in hell he would let himself get grabbed again. Stretch couldn’t understand why she decided to choose him, knowing there were bitties that were already separated, already wanting to be loved by humans, bitties wanting to leave this place since they didn’t have their other half. 

He began yelling things at his brother to stay put and how he will be back. The pressure ever increased as the calico continued to the counter. The last thing he heard was his brother screaming and begging for Stretch to be returned to him. 

The sound tore Stretch’s soul as he knew deep down that there was no guarantee he would return. Sometimes bitties did, other times only one came back when the group remembered them being bought as a pair. Those were always the hardest stories to listen to when a bitty returned missing their brother or girlfriend or husband. Stretch knew his brother wasn’t dumb. He knew his brother could hear it in his soul that he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise.

Stretch didn’t know how he fell asleep, he didn’t know how he slept through the entire drive to the new house. All he knew was that the small of his back had an aching pain in it. As he sat in the travel crate he lamented over not having the chance to memorise the route used to get from the bitty shop to wherever it is that he is currently at.

The small slivers of light that bled into the plexiglass and pinprick holes of the container had allowed for him to gaze outside his mobile prison. While the image of his environment was bending and contorting in odd ways, he wondered if this was to stop those with the ability to shortcut from getting out. ‘Can’t shortcut if you can’t see the ground around you’ The feeling of being lifted did not calm Stretch’s nerves as the swaying made him slightly motion sick.

The pinpricks were used for airflow, and the plexiglass was used for customers to check in on their new store bought bitties without having to open the top of the crate. 

‘How am I going to get back? Is there a way back? If they drove it must be too far to shortcut back.’

The unrhythmic swaying did not last long as the box was gently placed on the floor as those around him continued to talk before a thud was heard from the outside of the housing box. After what felt like forever, the outside of the box went dark as those that were talking had stopped.

“You can only open one of these. I’d suggest the box with holes.” Was spoken from a soft voice with a motherly tone. While Stretch never met his maker, he could understand the tone was used for little ones. He had heard it many times when mothers with children came into the shop. Or when one of the bitties got injured, the nurse would check up on them. He had heard it plenty of times from the different Kings and Queen bitties when they spoke to any Asirels. The tone made him uncomfortable, which made sense when it was directed at him, and the fact it was coming from those that had zero problem with dividing a family. Another issues with this tone was the fact it was coming from a disembodied voice. He had no face to connect the voice with. “No, Kendal, I really suggest you pick the one with the holes. Someone is waiting for you to open it.”

“But I want the one that says tits.” Replied a younger male voice. 

“It doesn’t say tits. It says Let It Snow. The first two and last three letters are cut off. Don’t think dirty.” replied the same voice from before.

“No, it would say tits. If it was missing the letters.” Stretch replied through the box. 

“See, even the box said to open the tits package. I’ll open the other one tomorrow.”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t open up the tits, but I want to see what's inside that bad boy too. So can you open my box first and see the tits tomorrow?”

 ‘They seriously wouldn’t keep me in this box overnight would they?’ Stretch rationalized. 

They would in fact leave him in the box. They did not open the box, nor provide him with food on his first night. All Stretch could do was watch the colors leak into his cell from the lights on the tree outside. The only thought that ran through his mind was his appreciation that Blue wasn’t here. At one point throughout the night, the box had gotten shoved closer to the lights which only caused his anger to increase. The sounds of children playing and running around the house did nothing to calm him as he was stuck in something people would compare to a disco prison, just without the music. The thought of trying to claw his way out or attempt to escape through the top had crossed his mind plenty of times, but the fear of not knowing who was outside the box or what they would do if he escaped caused him to remain caged. 

Sleeping had always been a comfort, napping throughout the day almost always resulted in Blue waking him up. Stretch would find the most ridiculous sleeping position for Blue to later find him in and wake him up. It was a comforting feeling that was slowly being ripped away from him. Instead of waking to his brother yelling or being dragged for his position, he was awoken by a throbbing feeling in his skull. The yelling and the stomping of the children that he soon found out were his new owners' cousins through eavesdropping, did nothing but hinder his ability to sleep, nor did it help his growing headache.

All too late in the evening, the room was getting hushed and the kids settled down for each to open one of their presents. Stretch’s box was kicked away from the glowing and swirling colors and stopped unkindly as the receiver stopped it by what he guessed was their knee. The box was ripped open, and his space invaded by a hand as it reached for him. He let himself get lifted and opened with his normal stick. He even got the (hair color) kid pretty good with the buzzier.

He had hoped to make the kids laugh. He'd hoped they would enjoy the joke and his company. He was adopted for this kid afterall. It did make the kids laugh, all but the child holding him. Those around had grins and giggles, but the boy’s gripped began to tighten around his upper pelvis and lower spine. A sharp pain spread across his body as the boy held him tighter and tighter over the joke. 

As if the pain in his spine wasn’t enough of a punishment, the child grabbed him with both hands and began to shake Stretch violently. Quickly Stretch teleported away and tried to rectify the situation. “Hey buddy, sorry if I hurt ya, but I didn’t like sleeping in the box last night.”

Looking around the crowd, Stretch noticed two older-ish old boys. The one he escaped from with (Hair/Color) hair and the other with a brown mop on top of his head. The brown haired boy looked disheveled and though Stretch didn’t have a nose, could clearly tell he needed a deep cleaning. There was another boy, but he was much younger than the other two and trying to hit another brown haired kid. This one was a young girl who sat and gently unwrapped the paper of her gift.

Another girl who couldn’t be no more than 5 was carrying a little boy no older than 2. He was trying to wiggle out of her arms since she wasn’t holding him properly. Stretch may not know how human children work, but he knew you were not supposed to hold it like that. “Hey isn’t that going to hurt the lil dude?” He asked as he speed walked towards the girl. She was holding him by his neck in a choke hold type grip. ‘Shit, would she hold me like that if I was hers?’ he rubbed his neck as he looked up to the little girl.

“You don’t know what you’re on about, Boney.”

“He’s not a doll, Willow. Let him go.” An adult had finally stepped in and removed the youngest boy from the girl's grip. She glared at the women who like she could be the mother of all the children. “Sad Y/N couldn’t make it. What were they up to again?” Asked the woman who took the little boy. The little girl turned and started to stare as menacingly at Stretch as a little girl could. Chills ran up his spine as he felt the weight of his sins on his back. Sin he, himself, didn’t commit to in this life, but sins his soul felt were his. “Willow, it’s rude to stare at other children's play things. And what have I told you about choking Caspian?”

‘Did she just call me a play-thing?’ was all Stretch thought as he continued looking at the girl called Willow.

“Not to, but momma I wasn’t tryin’ to.” responded Willow. Her voice did not interest shown in her eyes.

“Doesn’t matter. We can’t afford to have another investigation after you pushed Eli off the top bed bunk.” Stretch just stood there and listened to the short, big breasted woman talk about the things her family was dealing with. Willow, as she was just referred to as, huffed and turned to the front door and attempted to go outside before an older woman grabbed her. Wanting to know the layout of his house, he snuck away from the group to explore. 

It wasn’t hard as the children continued to bitter with one another over the presents that had gotten to open thus far. Stretch headed to the right of the group which caused him to end up in the connected kitchen. This was where the adults had gathered to talk about whatever as the group of kids remained in the open living room. The living room was connected to the dining area and kitchen. No wall blocked the three rooms from one another, but from his position in the kitchen he could see six other doors. Walking towards the one furthest to his left, he was quickly picked up and placed on his shoulder. “Heya, my name Ariel, what’s yours?”.

“Well, my bitty type is papyrus. Don’t gotta name just yet.”

“Well how do you get one?” She asked him as she shifted her body to head back to the group.

“How did you get yours?” Stretch asked as he continued to look around from the new vantage point.

“My mother gave it to me. I was her first girl, so I will always be her princess. Ariel is a mermaid, and a princess. And I guess it fits that I also have a tyrant father too.”

Concern quickly swept across Stretch’s face as he listened to the girl. “Oh, did someone tell you that?”

“Yes and no… My mother uses different descriptors, but you’ll never meet Todd.” Ariel explained. ‘Who the fuck tells their daughter that?’ crossed Stretch’s mind as he kept listening to her.

“Why will I never meet Todd?” Stretch asked. He was not equipped to handle a child with a missing or gone father. He was not a trained service bitty.

“well he only wanted to fuck my mom and thats how me and dom were born. Oh, Dom is the boy with the shitty brown mop for hair. I BET THAT EVEN WITHOUT A NOSE YOU CAN TELL HE SMELLS HORRIBLE!” She yelled towards her brother, who only responded by putting his tongue between his fingers while looking at her. “THAT’S DISGUSTING YOU PIG!”

“Dominic! Don’t do that!” Their mother screamed. 

“The lady yelling is my mother. Her name is Heather. The boy that you shocked is Kendal. We’re cousins. The little boy that was hitting me is Eli and the girl that you told to let Caspian go is Willow, but you probably could decipher that.” She explained, mumbling the last part as she pointed to each one. “The baby girl the (Hair/color) woman is holding is Jess, and the woman holding her is Christy. Her husband is Matt, and he is probably the most easy going guy you’ll ever have the pleasure to meet in your life. The two old people are our grandparents on my dad's side. Cindy and Rusty, but we call them nanny and Popa Rusty. They are Christy's parents too.“

 She paused and smiled before she looked him up and down and whispered, “Try to stay away from Nanny. You might not have lungs, or a nose, but the cigarette smoke clings to her enough that she can even give you lung cancer by walking by.” Saying that caused her to give herself a little snarky giggle, even made the bitty smile too.

“So do all of you live here?” Stretch asked. Confused on why everyone was here.

“No, but we come around often enough to. I can show you around so no one steps on you if you want.” She looked around before whispering again, “With your teleporting, you could even go into Y/N’s room.”

“If you're up to carrying this lazy bone around, who am I to object?” She smiled lightly and walked toward the door he was originally headed towards before she picked him up.

“This is Christy and Matt's room. You probably won’t ever need to come in here. We aren’t even allowed to be in here unless we’re going to the bathroom, but the other one has to be in use.” She explained as she stopped in front of the closed door. “Kendal is allowed in there, so if you get real curious ask him to take you in.” Walking to the next door, she knocked before swinging it open. “This is the bathroom, not sure if you will need to ever come in here besides brushing your teeth. Do you brush your teeth?”

“Yep, if I don’t they will hurt really bad. Do you brush yours?” Stretch asked

“Oh no, but I need to though. Human teeth fall out if they don’t. See,” was all she said before she opened her mouth for him to see all of her golden and silver toppers inside. “Thankfully, they were just baby teeth, so when my adult teeth come in, I'll take better care of them.” He shivered as he thought of his teeth falling out and regrowing. It happens, but only when they reach maturity. He had a while before he reached that age.

"Well if we skeleton bitties don't brush with this special toothpaste, our teeth will keep constantly growing and it can cause an overbite or uneven teeth, and we'll have extreme pain. So every night we brush our teeth."

“Oh like hamsters! They have to eat hard food to keep their teeth small or something like that. The room across from Christy’s is Y/N. They don’t live here anymore, but Matt refuses to let anyone in there and destroy the room.” Ariel divulges.  “Y/N just up and left one day, but they do come around some on holidays. I think they left because of everything everyone here did to them. They were very kind, second to Matt. They have offered for me to come over whenever I want, I just have to call and they will come pick me up.” 

Ariel began to worry her shirt as she kept going with her explanation. “They say they understand the stress of this family and what it can do to the ones inside of it. Not fully sure what they mean, but they enjoy reading and writing so they make a lot of philosophical comments. That's how you know they read a good book. They would always change their cadence of speech?  Like they would change the words they would say to match their favorite character of the story.” She smiled as she reminisced about her eldest cousin. 

“They your favorite?” Stretch asked. He too could go on and on about his brother much like Ariel is doing now.

“They just sound smart, and they always take the blame for shit I did. Never wanted Todd to be mad at me. He couldn’t hurt Y/N, Matt would be on his ass in ten seconds flat.” Closing the bathroom door as she brought the two of them, to the fourth door, “This is Kendal's room.” She said as she opened the door. 

It was definitely the room of a teen boy. Poster lined the wall, and video games were scattered across the top of a computer desk. Three different consoles to pick and choose from. The computer, the xbox, or a PS5, all hooked into the flat screen mounted to the wall. Clothes littered on the floor and the bed was unmade. The only clean thing in the entire room had to be the bookshelf. The books are lined in alphabetical order, and completely untouched. 

Arial just stepped in and sighed. Turning his head her way, he listened as she explained, “When we were younger, Kendal would blame his messy room on us, and only I would be forced to clean it up. Y/N would come in and help me clean up the boys’ mess. They’d lock the door and play some music as we cleaned and danced around the room. They helped, but they weren’t the best at cleaning. I’m sure their house is just as messy.” 

“You haven’t gone over to their house yet?”

“No, in all honesty I don’t want to. They are a college student and work in two different places. They wouldn’t have time to hang out with a twelve year old girl.”

“Well, tibia honest, I’m sure they wouldn’t. If they haven’t changed from the person who did all that for you, I'm sure they would love for you two, to plan something.” Stretch offered in kindness. She smiled at his words.

“Nice word play, but what's a tibia?” she asked as she tried to step out of the room without stepping on anything that was covering the floor. 

“It’s the shin bone.” She hummed in acknowledgement and closed Kendal’s door. 

“This is just another bathroom, and that room is Nanny’s and Popa Rusty’s. You won’t need to go in there, unless you want lung cancer.” That covered the whole house from the inside. Four bedrooms, two baths. Not too bad. “There’s also outside, but that’s where  Nanny just came from so the lingering smell of smoke and regret will still be sticking to everything she touched.”

The pair walked to the dining room table and Ariel was scolded for taking Kendal's toy. He didn’t even notice he was gone until Dominic asked if he would play with him, and ran and told his mother. Ariel placed him on the table as she explained she was showing him around as the boys watched TV. Her mother didn’t care as she told her that she was to sit in the corner in timeout until she apologized for stealing. Stretch tried to defend her, saying he was the one to ask her to take him through the house so he couldn’t get stepped on as he searched. It seemed to make it worse. “Oh so not only did you take him without asking, you're making him lie for you.” 

Ariel gave him pleading eyes and simply mouthed for him to “Hush.” His soul panged with pain as he saw Heather march up to her and grab her by her arm and drag her to the room she told him was the grandparents.  

Soon Christy took notice of him on the table and shoved him off. “Pets aren’t supposed to be standing where we place our food and eat.” was all she said. 

Before he could do anything he was grabbed by the youngest child. “This one is Jess, I can handle a baby.” He smiled and played with her hands as she giggled at him. Cooing at the baby before she was snatched away.  Looking up, he saw Willow was the one who took the baby from him and was once again holding a child in a choke hold type grip. Glaring at him, she turned away and began walking to her grandmother’s side as the youngest screamed and cried. She was hurting her. Quickly he grabbed Willow’s arm and tried to pry it off of the screaming child's neck. 

Children's flesh is thinner than he thought, and his phalanges scraped against Willow’s, causing her a small, simple flesh wound. She dropped Jess and began screeching. “You can't hold a baby like that! You’ll kill them.” Stretch tried to explain to her, but she was not willing to listen to reason. Heather stomped to the three of them.

“Did you cut her?!” Screamed Heather. From this, everyone turned in his direction, which caused him to stumble over his words.

“She was holding the baby by her neck. I was trying to make her release her. She was being choked.” Christy glared at Willow and him as she turned and told Kendal to take Stretch into his bedroom. Kendal grabbed Stretch in an uncomfortable grip and stomped the two into the child's messy room. “Does she do that often?”

“Shut up stupid. You got me in trouble dumbass. Next time, don’t try to play hero shit-for-brains.” 

“Are any of these my name?”

“No jackass. Me and Dom thought of calling you something cool, but since you’re so stretched out and stupid, your name needs to fit.” The young boy took a moment to pause before titling him, “Stretch.” 

‘Aaaannd he’s a dick. I knew it. Fucking ass-wipe.’ Stretch mimicked in his head.  ‘Calm down. Keep it together and think of a way to get back to sans.’

Stretch sighed at Kendal as the brat slammed himself down on his bed and began playing on his switch. With nothing to do, Stretch teleported himself onto the cleaned bookshelf.  Moving the books around a bit, and made himself an area for him to lay down. Grabbing one of the overly paid for, unread books, and laid down and began reading.  

Hours passed without the other taking notice of the time, nor did they care enough to talk to one another. The only indication of either was when Christy opened the door and explained dinner was ready for Kendal. Stretch stood up and stretched his bones before walking over to Kendal only for him to scoff and shut him in the room by himself. ‘This lil shit.’

Deciding against hanging out with the pissy teenager, Stretch went back to reading.  No longer than an hour passed before three teens walked into the room.  Ariel had a small plate of food for him, Dominic dragged in a red tote with a folding lid, and Kendal held a monster high doll. “Think they’ll fit on him?”

“It’s just bone, so yeah.”

“Dom, you have to ask first. Don’t try to force clothes on him. You don’t like when mom makes you wear long sleeves. He might not like the outfits.” Ariel says as she hands Stretch the plate. He laid the book down before digging into the small plate. The small amount of magic infused into the chopped steak and mash potatoes filled his near empty reservoirs. As he ate, he watched the boys remove the clothes from the dolls in the box. 

‘These kids are fucking weird. This family is going to be hell until I can find a way back to Blue.’ 

All too soon, the boys finished the undressing of the monster high dolls. It was clear that the majority of the outfits were pastel gothic type style. Honestly, he wouldn’t mind trying on some of the outfits, if only to crack jokes, or to make a pun about the original character’s monster type. The oddity of the human race making a show, for teen girls, about monsters, the year of the barrier breaking was something his mind pushed out. Almost as if he was programmed to not envision life as hellacious as the monster had underground. His skull throb when he thought about the fact he was the carbon copy of someone that went through hell just to live among humans. Yet he was made to depend on humans for life. Thats fucked up and many different levels.

“He’s my doll, so if I want to dress him up, I will.” Kendal explained.

 “Are you trying to jack-et my hoodie?” The response made Ariel smile. She seemed to be the only one who understood the pun.

“Here, put it on.” Dominic said as he chuckled at a pink corset top with a white petite coat type skirt at Stretch. 

“Well this sucks,” was all Stretch said before Ariel giggled at him. Smiling he continued, “Will I be joining your fang group by doing this?” She smiled at him and shook her head at him, causing him to press on, “Guess I am now forever 21? I hate peaches, but I could go for some neck-tarines. I’m vegan by the way. One stake could kill me. Dracu-”

Dominic had enough of the puns and his sister’s gut wrenching laugh. “Shut up!” he screamed into Stretch’s face. 

“At least I’m not one with bat breath.” Stretch spoke without thinking. That could, and most likely would get him hurt, or worse, in this house. Dominic reached for Stretch and gripped his skull within his palm. Squeezing the bone in his hand before he spoke.

“Another pun and I pop your head off your shoulders like a doll.” To emphasize how easy it was to do so, Kendal decapitated the pink body doll. 

“Don’t ruin the dolls!” Ariel screeched at the boys as she lunged for the broken doll. Tearing up she yanked it out of the boy's hand and tried to fix it. Tears were disrupting her vision and causing her to get frustrated at the failed attempt to fix what the boy broke. Dominic had released Stretch as he watched and laughed at his sister’s distress.

“Hand it here. Skinny hands make it easier to fix things, and I'm all bone, so they're the skinniest here. I'll fix it.” Taking the unclothed doll from her hand, he fixed the doll by popping the head back onto the ball joint the boy pulled it from. “Best to leave the girl’s play things alone. Don’t want to break it.” 

Taking the doll back, he began making himself a Pingfeng to change behind, out of the book he was reading before the boys invaded. Dressing himself in the pink dolls outfit was easy enough, and the skirt felt weird on his bones. He preferred his shorts and hoodie. Once he had it on, he walked out from behind the folding wall and waited as the boys laughed, took photos, and handed him the next outfit. Undressing, he placed the outfit on the wall for Ariel to grab and re-dress her dolls. This was only the second day of his never ending hell. 

Once the boys ran through the entire wardrobe, Ariel redressed all the dolls, and Stretch got his clothes back. By that time, they were told to get ready for bed. Sleep could not swallow him up fast enough. Completely forgetting to brush his teeth, just like he wanted to forget about today.

Halfway into the night, breaking glass was followed by yelling. The two boys threw open the door and dived for the bed, to act as if they were innocent to the mayhem they caused in the kitchen. A few seconds passed before the silence was interrupted by the stomping of someone through the house. “Do you think she’ll know we threw it?”

“Shut up dumbass. We’re asleep.” As if the women could hear the two whispering, she opened the door and began scolding the boy’s. Quick to keep the dirty brown haired boy from leaving Kendal’s room, to actually make the boys get some sleep, he shifted the blame to Stretch immediately. 

“He was the one who told us to. He told us he was bored!” 

“Fine then, I'll be taking him,” she said as she grabbed him from the shelf and tossed him out. 

Without letting him get the chance to run back inside, she closed the door swiftly and softly to keep from making any more unneeded noise. “Stay out of his room. Go sleep somewhere else pest.” Throwing his arms in the air would have pissed her off, so against his rising anger, and the ever rising voice in his head to throw attack after attack at the woman who physically removed him for the one safe area of that room, of the entirety of all the explored house, he nodded his head and began walking to the couch. “Don’t think about the couch vermin, Heather’s already sleeping on it and the air mattress is being used by her childs.” and with that the old hag began to have a coughing fit. Not once did she attempt to cover her mouth. The sound of coughing your lungs out would have been more pleasant to hear than the sounds emitting from this…woman….thing. 

“Just get somewhere to sleep. Focus on getting back.”  Not wanting to make a scene, he walked through the house to find somewhere to sleep. Ariel would most likely let him sleep near her to soothe the itch for any kind of human contact. Well, any pleasant human contact. She hadn’t stopped the boys, but what was she to do? “No, I need to find a place to hide in case.” 

“It doesn't matter if they don’t want me in here.” He walked to the door and inhaled heavily. “Fuck it.” Teleporting into the room was like he was dunked into a bucket of freezing water. 

This room was clearly loved, but felt suffocating. The bed was unmade and from the cracks in the spines, loved books laid scattered around a bookshelf. Both plump and flattened stuffed animals scattered across the room. Tapestries strung across the ceiling; one showing depictions of two skeletons kissing and holding the other in a loving embrace, another being a pastel covered hand reaching for the stars, and the final one was of two bone hands reaching for a sun with an eye, as two yellow butterflies tried to land on top of each hand. Stars lined the upper and outer rim as crystals and flowers line the bottom. 

Carpet grassed his shoes as he looked around the room. Teleporting on to the twin sized bed, only to jump sky high when he lands on a long furby.  Instead of teleporting away from it, he landed on all fours and hissed at the thing.

It took a minute before he realized how soft the bed had been. Glancing back and the furby just stared. “Fucking creep, what child would have this shit? Skeletons everywhere, books placed delicately, yet left on the floor, this fucking thing.”  He thinks as he kicks the long, black robot. Eyeing the door as he hears the boys whispering loudly behind it. He lays on the pillow as the scent of the room finally hits him. Dust and whoever slept on the bed before lingered on the sheets. The smell, though new, calmed his frayed nerves. The aesthetic was a little off putting as he looked up and was greeted by the two kissing skeletons. Turning to his side he was facing that fucking, never-blinking, robtic scary thing.

He preferred facing the bookshelf. 

Day three was odd. Kendal unboxed Stretch’s bed, placed it on the top of the bookshelf in his room without dusting the layers of dust caked on it, and left him to play his switch. Dominic chased Ariel around to get Stretch from her, after she offered to take him outside to play on the small wooden playground in the backyard. Eli grabbed him at one point and Kendal threw a fit quoting, “A baby shouldn’t be touching my toys!” before yanking Stretch out of Eli’s grip causing the boy to cry. 

Stretch had slept through breakfast, Ariel was not hungry during lunch so he missed lunch as well. By the time dinner had rolled around, his magic was finicky at best. All the human contact he has had so far was the passing between the children, the clutching of one of them, and the somewhat gentle holding Ariel had given him from time to time. Kendal gave Stretch a small plate of green beans, corn, and some off-white potatoes saying, “Valentine made them, so be careful. They’re not world-renowned chef.”

“Thank dude,” was all he said as Kendal handed him the plate. Halfway through, Kendal bumped the computer desk Stretch was sitting on as he ate. The food, as well as the plate, fall off into Kendal's lap and splat on the ground. The plate shattered against the ground and the sound scared the both of them. So after his father came in and asked what had happened. “I dropped i-”

“Stretch threw it.” Whipping his head over he stared at Kendal. Matt looked between the two boys and signed. He left the room and returned moments later to sweep up the shards from the floor. Kendal smiled as Matt cleaned up the mess. 

Stretch explained that Kendal bumped the desk, and it shook the plate from his grip. “Why were you not eating at the table?”

“I was handed the plate here, so I ate it. Too lazy to go to the kitchen. The potatoes were tater-ly delicious.“ Matt grinned as Kendal groaned.

“You like dad jokes?” Asked Matt as the two proceeded to make jokes at one another for the time Matt took to sweep the glass and Stretch used the magic he just regained to lift the smaller shards. 

As the night finally came to an end Stretch laid awake in his new bed, that sat on top of the bookshelf. Shuffling noises came from underneath him. He laid stiffly, waiting for the noise to stop, or for Kendal to ask him for something. “Psssh, psssh, PSSSH” The kid was becoming more annoying as he continued to pssh at. 

“What do you need, kid?” Smiling, Kendal asked for Stretch to come down and talk with him. Kendal explained he didn’t want to go to sleep. So Stretch did what he did best.

Distract. 

Once Kendal fell asleep, Stretch teleported to the outside of the door. The fact they had been forgetting to feed him worried him. They didn’t make Ariel come get food that day, nor did anyone wake him for breakfast. As he traveled to the kitchen he took notice of the walls. Four people in most photos. The typical nuclear family. A mother, a father, and two children. Christy, Matt, Kendal, and an unnamed child who he guessed was Y/N. 

The kid looked as if they were placed there. Distant from the rest of the family. Not physically in some of these photos, but those were the ones where their eyes were looking glazed. It was obvious to the viewer that they were dragging the teen around for these photos. The further back in the year the photos were taken, the happier the family seemed. The family seemed strained with the kid pulling away from them. 

“They were very sweet, just had some issues. Mentally. They were crazy.” Whipping around he looked up at Christy. Without moving her head down, she looked at him through her bottom lashes. What little magic he had gotten from dinner spiked through his bones as he created blue bone attacks around her feet. “Don’t attack me. You won’t like how easily I fight back.” She stepped on the bones and the sound of each one of them breaking under her foot caused the eyelights in Stretch’s eyes to dissipate. She gave him a grin and walked to her room. 

“They’re the crazy one?” 

Taking one last look at the photos, he continued to the kitchen. He began scavenging the snacks from every area of the kitchen. After fifteen minutes he only found two large party-sized chip bags, a box full of muffins for kids, and three granola bars. Not much magic was in any of them, but it would be enough that with at least one meal a day, he could last two weeks. Even that was being generous. “So glad Sans isn’t here.” Whether he thought that because he knew he’d be sharing his food with him, which would dewindel his resources much more, or because sans would be dealing with the same shit, Stretch couldn’t tell.

Dragging all of Stretch’s new found food to the abandoned door wasn’t easy. Every crunch the bag made terrified him. What would they do if they found him stealing? Cindy threw him out for the kids lying, Heather punished Ariel for being truthful, and neither of the two made sure he was fed when the other adults had left for work.

Day four opened with screaming. Last night he stole the food by dragging it to the door and teleported it in the room one go, which drained most of his limited magic. That caused him to crash on one of the many plushies among other things on the floor. Had you looked at the room from a higher perspective, he fit into the room perfectly. The screams were from Ariel as he could hear her sobbing. Looking around for a clock, he saw an open window. 

Save Ariel, or he could leave. He could leave and find a new family. One that wouldn’t forget to feed him. One that would bring him back to sans. One that would love the both of them. Stretch’s soul sank with guilt at the thought of leaving someone who he’d consider friendly in danger. Not like there was much he could save her from.

Teleporting into the kitchen he saw the boys picking on Ariel as Eli pulled her hair and Willow hit her with a doll. Quickly he went to Cindy’s door and began beating on it. She flung the door open just after he ran around the corner to hide from her view. He watched as she looked at the kids and just sighed. Walking out before slamming the door closed causing the kids to scatter.  She walked over to Ariel and yanked her off the ground. “If they’re fucking with you, fight back.” was all she said as she pulled her outside to go play. 

Christy walked out of her room and gave Kendal another present. He tore through the paper and pulled out a new switch game.  He ran off into his room, leaving the door cracked for any and all to watch and hear him play “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge”  Sighing, Stretch just climbed the edge of the counter to eat some of the cooked breakfast left by the rest of the family. ‘This is not how giftmas is supposed to work.’

For the first time he was left to eat however much he wanted. He had completely stuffed himself before leaving to brush his teeth. These past 4 days, he hadn’t once brushed his teeth. They felt gross and covered in plaque. Thankfully none had seemed to grow within those four days. He slowly climbed down the edge of the bed and wobbled to the bathroom between Christy and Y/N old room. Wanting to conserve as much magic as he could, he climbed and jumped until he reached the sink. 

Looking around for something to brush his teeth with he noticed that they didn’t even have their own toothpaste. He tried pulling the mirror and found this was where they put their medication. A ton of bottles had their lids removed and the few pills that were in the closed ones, seemed to be mixed. Quickly, he closed the mirror and returned to looking for any toothpaste. “Shit, at this point, I’ll use my finger to brush, I just need toothpaste.” Footsteps sounded from outside the door. He knew he found something he shouldn’t have. Jumping onto the tub lip and hiding between the curtains was all he managed to do before Cindy bumped into the bathroom. It was clear to him what the pills were used for just by looking at the lady.

He teleported to Y/N room and decided to skim the books that lay forgotten on the ground. All of them seemed interesting, but none seemed to catch his attention and hold it. Jokingly he grabbed the hungry games and began reading. Hours passed as he laid and read. It became harder the deeper into the night he progressed. Escaping this hell house had completely slipped his mind as he lost himself in the world of Katniss Everdeen and her fight to feed her own family.  

Once night had pressed onward to a point the words had become illegible, he went to find a light. With the book under his arm, he left the safety of the room and the feeling of hunger had made itself present. “After I find a light, I'll find food.”  He went into Kendal's room to ask if he had a book light, just to find the kid still up playing the game. Stretch couldn’t fault him. He was doing the same thing, just with a book instead of a screen. You couldn’t fault either since you are most likely doing the same with a screen AND book. Smiling, Stretch asked if Kendal had a light and for once in this teenager's life he wasn’t a bag of dicks. 

“Yeah, Y/N gave me some a while back. I have some that clips to your finger, ones that clip to the spin of a book and hang over, and a flashlight. Or if you want, you could stay in here with me with the lights on.” And despite his self-preservation skills, he stayed in the room. Even laid across Kendal's stomach as they both enjoyed separate activities to pass the time. 

Day five, hell returned in full swing. Eli picked him up and began throwing him around. Willow bit him, dropped a book on him, and kicked him at some points throughout the day. Ariel got grounded so he tried to hang out with her just for her to get screamed at by Heather or Cindy for “having a toy” when she wasn’t supposed to. Cindy physically kicked him out of the room when he tried to get some food, and shoved him off the couch to make room for herself and her feet. He, for once, talked back to the smoker. 

His screams echoed through the house as she broke his arm. It wasn't hard. He had very little magic from not getting food after finding a light, and the little being he’s been saving through the week. He laid in his own pile of tears as orange magic leaked from the crack in his arm. “Oh shut up, it’s only a fracture.  Didn’t even make it all the way through.” 

What felt like hours passed as his magic tried, and failed to heal the crack. Kendal races in to see why he was screaming and just began gagging. Dominic laughed, Ariel began crying as Eli grabbed his ears and tried to yell over Stretch’s screams. Willow and Jess just began crying as well as they didn’t like his screams. 

Once Matt entered the house, he was greeted by six crying children and a weeping skeleton. Scurrying over and dropping his bag, Matt looked at the only adult in the room. “Who did this?”

“He talked back.” Cindy responded.

“Did you hurt him?” Matt asked, as calm as a midnight sea. It’s hard to see the dangers laying ahead, when it’s impossible to see any further than ten feet away. He grabbed Stretch and carried him into Y/N’s old bedroom. Without a word he signed and began digging through the nightstand. Papers flew off and covered the already dirty floor. “You’ve been in here, haven't you?” Stretch’s mind wasn’t in the best place, and didn’t know if he could trust his voice. “It’s okay if you have. Y/N wouldn’t care. They’d probably taken better care of you. Pretty sure they stashed some monster candy in here. Y/N would eat them religiously instead of lunch or breakfast.” Stretch didn’t remain awake to hear the rest of the voice’s words.

Waking up on the bed he felt a hand around him. He was calm and comfortable. Just wanting to lay there. Warm and welcomed. Looking down he saw a white glowing light wrapped around him. Homely and hospitable. Everything was ok. He wasn’t in that room bleeding on the beds covers; he didn’t have a broken ulna, or missing his brother. Sitting up at the opposite edge of the bed, in front of him sat his brother. “-get up.”

“Hmm what was that lil bro?”

“-av to get up.” 

“Sans we’re safe and together. We don’t have to go anywhere.”

“Stretch, you have to get up.”

“But bro, the bed is cozy, this human cares, they’ll hold us both, come on.”

“Stretch, you have to get up.”

“Bro no. I don’t want to.”

“Stretch, you have to get up. Get up Stretch.”

“Sans, no.”

“Stretch, you have to get up. You have to get up. Get up Stretch. Stretch, listen to me, you have to get up. You have to actually meet them before you’re safe.”

Quickly Stretch’s body reacted and pulled himself up.  He was drenched in sweat and twitchy. Matt had turned on the ceiling fan and placed a box fan on a desk chair, facing him.  “At least one person cares. Even if just by a little.”

“Just rest. Your arm seems to be doing better. ” Matt closed the door and left the fans and lights on.  

A woman's voice could be heard in a one sided argument outside the door, but he just tried his best to ignore everyone. Knowing it was Cindy yelling, didn’t calm him. Beating on the door made him jump, but as soon as the door was opened, Matt grabbed the handle over Cindy’s hand and slammed it closed. She tried once again only for Matt to yank her hand off, put his inside the door, and lock Stretch in. The screaming was raised in volume as Stretch listened for Matt's reply.  Still with a calm voice did Matt respond to the women. Even though Stretch couldn’t see Matt's soul, he was sure it was Justice or Kindness. 

Knowing Matt was outside to protect Stretch helped lower his worries as he continued the book. It wasn’t a linear story, but the information was written in diary format. 

Day six was quiet. Matt kept everyone from entering the room and made sure Stretch was fed all three meals. It was Friday and Heather and her kids finally left for the weekend to spend time with their dad. Valentine came into the room to watch over Stretch once Matt left the house for work. Valentine, he soon learned, was way too odd. They wanted to know how much pressure it took to break any bitties bones. Wanted to know how long every kind of bitty could go without necessities like food and water. They had a notepad to write down each answer Stretch gave. 

At first they weren’t such odd questions, “How old do bitties live? How many can room together before they start arguing. Do they get physical during confrontations?” All of these things had been a reasonable question, since every time he asked why, they’d respond with, “My boyfriend and I want to adopt, but I’m not sure how many we could handle.”

Quickly he wised up and made fake yawning sounds and acted like he was going to sleep. After pretending to lay down for fifteen minutes, they finally left. He didn’t feel safe with them having a key, but there wasn’t much he could do.  

Hours later Matt had returned and asked Stretch to unlock the door. Once Matt came in, he locked the door back. “You want to get out?”

“What?”

“Do you want to leave?”

“I’m not following.”

“Do. You. Want. To. Leave? Y/N is coming with us tomorrow. Once you meet them, leave with them. You’ve been hurt; you need to leave with them. They’ll care too much and it can be suffocating but I'm sure if you explain they’ll understand. Plus it would make me feel better if they had someone to watch out for them.” Stretch just nodded. He promised to get back to sans, and he intended to keep it.

Day seven was okay. The family got in the car and drove to an apartment complex and waited for a few minutes before a human climbed in the car. Clearly the person was annoyed. On this two hour trip to go see lights, Christy kept going on and on about Y/N’s presents. She kept explaining how it was rude that they hadn’t come over for them. She kept talking in circles. As she continued with saying they had a car and it was up to them to get the presents. Going on and on about how it was selfish and how holidays are about family. Even going as far as to ask Kendal if she was right. He just agreed. This didn’t stop the constant berating.

Kendal began to squeeze and relax his grip on him as the trip continued. “You want to hold him?” Kendal asked as he thrusted his hand holding Stretch out towards Y/N. Stretch made a face showing how he did not want to be here for Y/N to see.

“Sure.” said the human as they held their hand out for the orange hooded bitty. The hoodie’s hood was covering his skull and he was fiddling with the sleeves of it. Clearly nervous or getting stressed.

“You have to hold him tight or he will try and get away.” Kendal said, causing Stretch to mutter about how they didn’t have to constantly squeeze him to death. An okay was whispered back at him as Y/N placed him on their lap. They removed their hands and laid them against their outer thighs. 

Since then, the trip went silent. For once he began checking everyone’s stats.

Kendal       CORRUPTED DEEP BLUE

LV: 1

Hp: 18/20 

AT: 6

DF: 10

Exp: 0

* You hurt him by being calm for his sibling *

“He can save his soul, he's young enough right?”

Matt         GREEN SOUL

LV: 5

Hp: 105/100

AT: 20

DF: 20

Exp: 0

* Happy and healed from seeing his step-kid again. Glad they are safe. *

Christy     CORRUPTED RED SOUL, HEADING TOWARDS NO RETURN

LV: 2

Hp: 200/200

AT: 35

DF: 15

Exp: 0

* Pissed they left. Hope they’re happy *

Y/N        UNKNOWN, UNCOMMON, PRETTY THOUGH

LV: 1

Hp: 6/10

AT: 5

DF: 5

Exp: 0

*Thinks you’re cute, knows you’re hurting.“The swirling of all the colors helps hide the damaged bits”*

The trip there and back was fine, but when they dropped Y/N off at the house, his soul wished to stay with them. Once the rest of them made it back, he explained to Matt he wanted to live with Y/N. So Matt helped devise a plan. Cause as much chaos as possible to make Christy give him up. Make her make him leave. They just couldn’t say he wanted to go with Y/N. 

Finally Monday had rolled around and around eight the plan was set into action. Stretch using the magic he had from the overflow from the candy, destroyed everything in the kitchen. Placed pots and pans on the floor, broke plates as everyone slept, but made sure to place healing magic on the edge of some of the glass so it wouldn’t cut them too badly. He just had to make sure Kendal stayed away. Couldn’t be too hard. At one point he thought about inviting Kendal to help destroy everything but opted not to because Stretch thought he was the one who deserved to do it. For all the hell Cindy put him through, he dusted a shit ton of her stuff.

Once the family awoke, Stretch waited for hell to consume this house whole. Christy had stepped on a shard of glass and screamed. It scared her more than it hurt and he knew that. Cindy just stared in horror as all her stuff was broken or water logged. 

Each cigarette was more soaked than the last and he watched with glee as her face change frantically. Her phone shattered along with the case and her shoes were pissed in. He just watched as the house of cards crumbled. Matt had continued to sleep through all of this. The sound of the front door open and shutting went unnoticed by Cindy as Christy walked over to go check out who was coming into the house. Talking could be heard, but was left alone as Cindy just stared at him. 

Christy walked into the kitchen and made eye contact with Stretch. “Come at me bitch, I fucking dare you.” Come at him she did. 

He bit her for that.

Being dropped he knew that if he was caught, he was dead. Sprinting off to the living room and dashing between the presents, he made eye contact with Y/N. “Shit, please don’t give me away.”  

“Where did that little shit go?”

“No where, I died. I’m dead. All bones. Wait”

“Uh, which little shit?”

“That fucking pet thing for your brother. Little piece of shit bit me.”

“Did you try picking him up forcefully or squeeze him? He didn’t bite me yesterday, but it’s clear he does not like being held.” Was Y/N’s only response.

“I don’t give a shit, he’s in my house, and I bought him. He should know better than to bite me. I’ll teach him not to bite me or anyone once I break it’s fucking jaw.” Stretch made eye contact with Y/N again as he tried to put on a brave face. 

“Since he is so much trouble, why not let Y/N have him? Kendal has already lost interest in him anyways. He wants a monster truck remote car now.” Matt said. He was trying to help the bitty.

“Yes that, thank you.”

“Give them all the bitty’s stuff too since it’s just going to clutter up the house if you don’t.”

“Oh man, you really are a lifesaver. I own you big time, big man.”

His eyes shrunk at the thought of you saying no to this. He really needed an out.  Signing, Y/N started to take presents back out from under the tree and place them in their bag. 

As the minutes passed Stretch ran and hid in Y/N’s old room as everyone loaded up his things. As he waited his teeth stung and felt sharper as he sucked on them with anticipation.  Once the car was loaded, he was ready to leave. Leave and never return. Too much shit, in too little time. Kendal asked if he was allowed to visit to see Stretch and Y/N agreed as they sat down in their driver seat. 

The twenty or so minute drive home was mainly silent. Stretch sat in the seat next to you since he refused to use the carseat in the back. Well this was going to be interesting. A bitty that had just gone through hell and back going to a place he had a fever dream about. “Just to let you know, I'm in the dark on bitty stuff. You’ll have to help me because I'm not believing the stuff on the internet.” Stretch turned his head to the floor board and nodded his head before returning to staring at you. “Good to know you can help.”

“Hey once we get home, what do you want to do first? Do you want to explore or help me take everything inside?” It was a simple question asked while both Stretch and Y/N were stopped at a red light. Not responding he just looked out the window as he tried to think of a way to get you to go get sans for him. “I’ll let you explore first, so that after you can tell me where you want your things. Okay?”

Y/N signed and Stretch just pushed himself further into his hood and tried to lean against the door, only for the seatbelt strap to hold him in place. Y/N reached over and removed his chest piece and wrapped it around the headrest of the seat. The light changed color, and the both of them returned to the journey home. Well, new home. The ride was not awkward, just kinda something happening. Neither of the pair knew anything personal about the other, but didn’t feel like opening up immediately.  Hell, he wasn’t sure he wanted to open up about the shit your family had done to him. 

Thinking to himself he began mumbling about getting to sans. If he would like it with them. “Can’t hear ya shortstack. You’ll have to speak up a bit.”

      “How much further?” He tried to relax as if he was with an old friend, but his body language proved to be the opposite. He looked as if he was trying to force himself to appear calm but that just emulated his stiffness as well as his bated breath. It didn’t flow naturally. Soon Y/N pulled the car over as flashing lights went off in front of their chest.  Their signing caused Stretch to suck on his own.

“Not much longer, hopefully this will not take long. After this we just have about another 5 miles. If you want something to preoccupy your mind with I have a math problem you can work out for me. If we are only 5 miles out, how long will it take us to get there if we stay at a consistent speed of 45 miles per hour?” 

“Why are you asking me that?” Well, the math problem was easy enough. All he had to do was two simple conversions. But without paper, how was he to remember the numbers? Y/N reached in front of him and his arm began hurting him again. “Shit, I need to heal it some more.” They began rolling down the window beside him.

“Bitch break down again?” 

    “Yeah, I know the issue. It’s the oil, but I haven’t had the chance to change it out in this moving junk yard centerpiece.”

“Shit, that's a human ghost. Why the fuck are they talking to it? Why is he looking at me? I have done everything. Leave. I just want to get home.”

“Eye’s up here buddy.” He pauses and Y/N pops the hood. “Mind checking for me to make sure it is the oil?” They turned their head to face him, “Be a dear and cross into the back seat while I stretch my legs. I don’t want him touching you. No clue when the last time he washed his hands was.” They smiled and giggled at what he thought was supposed to be a deer pun.

“Oh you, You’re going to be fun.” He did as told and watched you step out from the vehicle. “If I need to go 5 miles and I'm going 45 mpr…”

“Make sure to stay in your house tonight. Heard some dumbasses were stealing little boys and using them in the ring. Make sure to keep your loved ones safe and close.” was all Stretch heard as Y/N began to climb back into the car. Y/n seemed freaked out, but before Stretch could answer their riddle, he found a honeybun in the back floor board. 

“Fuck it.” He began to unwrap and eat the honeybun. "6 minutes and 36 seconds." Yn seemed to be thinking about it as they changed gears and waited for him to climb back through the seats and buckle up. Y/n began to breathe in and out, counting to ten before pulling back onto the road. The ride was exactly six minutes and 36 seconds. At least exactly when they pulled into the apartment complex,not when they parked.

“Do you want me to carry you in or are you willing to catch a ride in the hood of my jacket?”

“Why can’t I just walk?' asked. He didn’t want to sound needy, and he truly just didn’t want to be held.

“I don’t want a crotch goblin grabbing you or a little shit to step on you, since none of them have spatial awareness. Nor do the parents look after the assholes.” Stretch snickered at the names the neighborhood kids had no clue they were called.

“Hoodie please.” was all he responded with. “Want to know something funny?” He asked with a slightly shaky voice. “I bought a jacket just like this one and it burst into flames. No wonder they called it a blazer.” ‘please get the joke.’

“Nah, I think it's just cause you’re too hot to handle.” The comment rolled off with such perfection it was hard not to tense up and blush at the implications.

“They think I look good? That’s new” 

“Sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I know you don’t like touch, but I don’t know where you stand with affectionate words. I’ll dial it back.” leaving all the bitty stuff piled into the somewhat non-existent trunk, the two of them walked to the apartment. It was on the opposite side of the entrance to the complex. It was a one story, multiple-duplex style apartment. Theirs being on the first floor, room 314. 

Stretch was released to explore after Y/N explained not to go into one room. It was the first one he went into after YN left him to his own devices. They walked in and out as they placed his stuff around the house. Teleporting into the room what he found disturbed him.

Odd shaped toys remained on the floor of the room as two bitties with horribly disfigured faces, curled up in the far left corner, furthest from the door.  The weird support beam also stood between the three bitties. 

Fear ran through him fast, but the bitty with the caved in skull was faster. Pinning Stretch down on the floor he raised a razor edge bone at the taller bitties neck. “Four days…We’ve been here… You’re not fucking… this up for me and … papy.”

“Yep, you got it. Did, uh, did they do, um, this to ya?”

“No, the human didn’t touch us. They don’t know we’re here. We just need-”

“Shh papy he… doesn’t HAVE… to know.” And with that the papyrus type silenced himself and pushed his back further into the wall. If Stretch hadn’t seen him move there, or hear him speak, he wouldn’t have known he was there. Completely hidden among the shadows.

“You have my word. Not a peep about you.” The weapon was slightly tapped against his fractured arm, “OR your bro, just please let go and get off.” 

“They do that… to… you?” The question didn’t make sense until the broken bitty tapped his arm.

“No, their grandmother did. Not sure how they’re related to that family. They’re really nice.” How did he know that? Was he attached to you, or the fantasized idea of you from what Matt had told him? Walking back to his brother he sighed and relaxed into the space next to him. Once again, if Stretch didn’t watch him walk and sit there, he wouldn’t have noticed him there.

The tallest of the three bitty asked a very important question for the whole group, “Do you know when they’re gonna cook? They don’t always eat.”

Teleporting back out of the room, he explored the rest of the house. It was a simple one bedroom one bath. He was pretty sure it was meant to be two bedrooms, but the second one had been turned into some sort of walk-in closet with a pole in the center. It had a small living room and to the left was a kitchen with enough room for one, maybe two human adults. To the left was a hallway with three doors. If he looked straight down the hallway, the door in front of him would be the bathroom. The one on the right would be Y/N’s bedroom with a small closet and a window that looks out on the parking lot as well as the run-down little swing set that has a small yellow slide attached. The room to the left is the ‘walk-in closet’ “Wonder if they will be letting me sleep in there. Their last bed was amazing.”

“Am I allowed to pick where I want my stuff?”

“Of course. Your stuff, and it’s now our apartment. Just means you're going to have to pay half the rent.” Y/N said and then winked before lowering their phone. They discussed where to place everything. He could reach everything with “short-cuts''. So his style plates, silverware, and bowls were placed together. His closet that only held his pajamas was placed next to each other in the bedroom. He put all the clothes that didn’t fit his body on hangers and hung them up in the closet while he left his lone pair of sleep shorts and tank top at the bottom. Yn didn’t say anything and he was thankful for that. "Just ask him."

"Ask who what?" he asked, confused to Y/N’s mumbling.

“Oh, uh, where do you want the bitty house at?” 

“You should probably just return it for money. It’s useless without Sans here to take up most of the space.” His voice wavered off towards the end.

“Who’s Sans?”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll never meet him, human.” He shoved his hands in his pocket and returned to pushing himself into the hood of hoodie.

“If it makes you feel better I will. Best we head to bed, yeah?” 

“What about food? I know I don’t really have any guts, but you can’t starve me down to the bone. Kinda heartless isn’t it?”

"Sorry, Forgot you need to do that.” was muttered as Y/N walked into the kitchen.

 "Don’t you need to eat too?” The question was left unanswered. Stretch short-cuts to the counter and crosses his legs at his ankle, grabbing them with one hand and leaning back on the other. The pose was relaxed and he seemed content with watching 

 Y/N looked away from the boiling water to ask, “Hey, what did they feed ya? Over at Mother’s place.” 

“Just gave me what would have been leftovers. Didn’t really give me my own plate after the second night. Said something about an extra unnecessary dish to clean.” He released his left leg and let it swing to and fore as he watched you work. “I don’t have a favored dish if that’s what you were asking. Your parents had some pretty bland taste.”

 “Can’t promise I have anything better. Tonight you’re getting Ramen with teriyaki sauce and some unbreaded chicken. I need to go shopping for food soon as well as food for you to try. I am a college student, so if you want to learn to cook, go for it. For now you can watch. I’m not whisking you starting a fire.”

Stretch had a difficult time actually watching them cook, so he teleported onto Y/N’s shoulder. They looked to the left as he took a few pieces of hair to hold as a safe precaution. “Sorry, dinner’s taking forever. If you want to take another nap, I’ll wake you once it is ready to be plated.”  He shook his head saying something about just wanting to watch, but was interrupted halfway through with a yawn. After a while he began nodding off on their shoulder as they worked.

All too soon, his place of napping was disturbed with what felt like an earthquake. A voice began explaining why he was being awoken. “Food’s ready if you want to try it. I’m not a chef but I think it turned out souper.” A sadden smile laid itself across his face. 

“Thanks.” He said as he began eating. Y/N went to leave the room, but in an act of desperation for any human contact he asked, “Are you going to join me?”

“Do you want me to?” was their response.

“Just so I don’t feel bonely, yes please.” They put some on their own plate and sat down next to Stretch. They both sat and watched TV in silence. He was sitting on the table with his legs crossed and held his plate in one hand. The chicken was cut up into small sizes and his noodles were placed in a human bowl. He was loving the way all of this was tasting. A human who cared, and was willing to sit with him, even cooked for him and let him watch. Looking over he kept meeting Y/N’s gaze, but both decided to leave it up in the air as to why. Y/N finished first and took the bowl to the kitchen, leaving Stretch alone. He glanced over and teleported into the room and told the other bitties that Y/N had cooked. Even went as far as letting them try the rest of what was in his bowl. They both smiled at him before he left to return to his seat.

Stretch short-cutted next to the sink and drop in his dishes. “Go ahead and take a shower. It’s in the bathroom on the sink’s counter. Afterwards I’ll take mine and we can set down some ground rules tomorrow just so we don’t have to walk on glass around one another. I want you to be comfortable and not have to worry about me accidentally stepping over a boundary.” He nodded and left for the bedroom. Showering was uneventful. The water felt amazing, and he finally got to brush his teeth. The feeling of relieved pain made him groan in appreciation for the fact you had some sort of hygiene routine. His arm was mostly healed and the crack wasn’t noticeable. 

The pair traded the bathroom and he laid in bed. Quickly, sleep overtook him. A repeat of that dream played in his mind, yet Sans was crying. Both happy and sad tears for Stretch. He “Found his forever home.” while Sans was stuck at the bitty center. He called out to his brother.

“Bro I’ll come back. Sans, Sans I promise I’ll get you.” Soon as the nightmare started, the glowing hand returned. Except this time the colors were in the shades of Y/N’s soul.  His soul calmed as the hand held him to a body and began walking towards Sans. 

“I’ll get you your brother.” was grumbled by the body as it chased Sans.

His dream faded from his mind as someone called out to him.“Mornin’ sleeping beauty.” He turned onto his stomach and groaned into his pillow, both to acknowledge YN and to fully wake up. “If you don’t mind getting dressed, we are going back to my mothers and getting the receipt for the bitty house to return it.” 

“Why the fuck would they want to take me back into hell?!  All for a fucking useless house??”

 “If they take it and give me cash back, I’m going to buy you something that you would enjoy much more than a house.” Stretch just glared at them as they turned and continued to pull something through their hair. The rhythm of the brushing and the hum of their soul did calm his anger. They turned around and blinked at him. A wave of nurturing and protection flooded over him as continued to watch. 

The slight orange that pushed its way onto his porcelain white face went unnoticed, so he stood from the shelf his bed was placed on and teleported to his closet to change from his pajama pants into his normal khaki shorts.  “Hey, can I have a hint about the surprise? I’m pretty good at riddles since...” The rest of the sentence had died on his tongue.  He didn’t have a plan yet. Y/N was taking him to his center, could he steal him?

“I can’t really give you a hint. I don’t know your tracking or your ID number yet.” Fear shadowed Stretch’s face. Why would they need his tracking number for the surprise? Something was mumbling under their breath, but it was too quiet for him to decipher. Y/N pulled their hoodie away from their body to tell stretch to hope on when he was ready. Hopefully they’d be keeping him close. They even sat done so the jump wouldn’t be any bigger than it needed to be.

Before he got in the hood, Y/N had asked, “What if they leave too?” Stretch looked into their eyes, but could tell they were not registering him. He could feel the panic both in the pacing of their quickly shortening breath, and their soul. It was scaring him. Their souls pace begins doubling, and then tripling. Stretch did not understand what was happening. The shift happened as if he had tripped over a wire and it opened a compartment in the floor. They moved from the bed to the floor and pressed their back into the frame holding the mattress. Their breath became short gasps as they pulled their hood into their neck. Was this from thinking about going back?

“The hell they do to ya kid?”  Their wheezing became panting gasps as their breath was clearly becoming laboring. His eyes widened as he understood the implication of no oxygen for them.

Stretch walked over to you and against his own problem with touch, laid a hand on their cheek as he sat on your curled knees. “Breathe.” He knew it probably didn’t help telling them the obvious, but it was all he could do. They raised their hand and pushed their middle finger inwards towards their thumb, but didn’t touch the two. “What is that? What does it mean?” 

Stretch felt himself begin to panic as a pained look crossed your face and one word slipped out of your dried mouth. “Air” 

“Shit, that's a lot of pressure babes. How do I get you air?” They continued to gasp as they pointed at a dresser drawer. He got off their knees and teleported to the broken bitties. “They need help breathing? I don't know, they’re struggling to.”

“Oh, their…puffer is in… the dresser.”

“Dude I'll own you dinner if you help me get it.” Smiling, he grabbed Stretch’s arm and told his brother to stay put. As the pair teleported into the room and the broken sans just glanced over at Y/N.

“What’d… you do?”

“I don’t know.” He truly didn’t. The other bitty just sighed and dug into the dresser filled with papers and lighters. He pulled out an “L” shaped object and shoved it into Stretch’s hands.

“Put in mouth… push top… inhale. Don’t let… them die.” and with that he left the bitty to fix it.  Quickly the bitty returned to your knee and shoved it in your mouth. He pushed down the top and just hoped Y/N took it from him to help themselves. 

“I’m not a service bitty. Sans would be better at this.” Relief made itself present as their soul cried out in happiness.“ This kid is going to get me killed. I need to thank him.” was mumbled out of his mouth as he waited for Y/N.

“I’m okay, it happens.” They said he couldn’t tell if it was to calm him or themselves, but neither happened. They both just sat there waiting to see what was going to happen next.

“If you want to talk i'm all abone it”

“No, we need to get ready. I have a plan for today and we are already behind schedule and if we don't leave soon, I worry we might get stuck or we’ll run out of time.

 “Well we could start a herb garden. So we’ll always have enough thyme.”

“We do not have the thyme to waste it.”

“I already used thyme, no repeats.”  

“Whatever. Bet you're even better at 6:30, hands down.”

“That's a bit of a stretch.”

“But you still understood what I was getting at. Took you no time at all. Anyways, we seriously need to hit the road, like a few minutes from now.” The conversation was put on hold as the two of them resumed getting ready. 

He had taken upwards of ten minutes to get dressed since he couldn’t ‘reach his hoodie’ which was sitting about arm length away from him. Y/N had grabbed it and tried to hand it to him, only for him to teleport away. They gave chase. In the beginning they were slow to follow since they leaned against the wall to help their shivering legs. After a few minutes of the slow following, he was sure they could tell why he was doing this. They gave in to prove they were fine. Neither wanted to run. He didn't want them running anyways. Both smiled and once the two of them got to the kitchen, he stopped and let Y/N catch him. He asked about breakfast and they pulled out some off yellow colored circles.

They stared into the fridge as the waffles cooked on the stove. Clearing his non-physical throat and short-cutting on to the counter space, caused him to catch a glimpse of what was taking them so long to turn around. “Oh shit.”

“It was probably rats? Not sure since the marks look as if most of the teeth were molars or central incisors.”

“Did they really try eating the plastic?

 “I’ll call the front office and schedule a meeting to see if they can get pest control to clear the house.” 

“No need. I can get them to leave.” Stretch replied in a hurry. 

“Are bitties supposed to do that? Could you guys do that?”

“Totally.” Stretch said as he nodded his head to the stove, trying to get their attention to return to cooking. After a pause he continued, “Why else would we have magic?” 

“I’m going to be looking into that. I don’t want you getting hurt over something I can get management to do. I know you're smart enough to not go near the rat traps they put out.”  The food was finished soon after and the two of them piled into the car. Stretch finished his and soon after Y/N told him he could have theirs. That they didn’t want it.

“You barely ate any of it. Why are you finished?” Stretch asked, beginning to toss smaller pieces into his mouth.

“It doesn’t taste the same without syrup. I'll let you try it next time with it if you want.”

 “Would it make you actually eat?”

The rest of the drive was made in silence.

Once they parked, Y/N turned to Stretch and took a deep breath. “When we go in here, we are to be quiet, quick and not leave any evidence about us being here. I don’t want Mom complaining about us dodging her while she was out with Matt. We have about 20 minutes before Valentine gets home from school and blocks in the car. We go in, we look for the receipt and we get the fuck out of here. Can we both agree that we don’t like this house?” He gives a small head nodded almost immediately. Smiling, they continue. “If Cindy, the old hag that lived in the back room finds you, come to me as fast as you can. Do NOT let her grab you. She has a thing for taking things that do not belong to her, and I don’t trust her around you.” Not wanting to comment on her breaking his arm, he simply shrugged as a gesture back, “Let's get this shit done.”

“Like I'm letting that cunt get a hold of me.”

They got out of the car and Stretch had shortcut to Y/Ns hood. They walked around the back of the house and it took a few tries, but the pair did get into the house. “Wish I recorded that. All of that.” 

 “You know, I could have teleported in and unlocked the door?” 

“Asshole”

“Don’t have one.”

“I know because if you did, my foot would be up to it. Dick-weed”

“What is that?” He asked as he pointed towards one of the long furby sitting among the unreasonable amount of plushies.

“Don’t ask questions you don't want the answer to.” And he didn’t. He stopped questioning it. Even laid on top of it. Soon a sigh escaped their lips and they snapped to get Stretch’s attention. It caused him to jump and yank his head toward them. Y/N placed their fingers against their lips and opened the door. 

 The pair walked into Christy's and Matt's room. As footsteps were heard behind them. The door opened and he saw Y/N laying on the floor. Stretch didn’t move, Just stared at the bitch that walked into the room. Something grabbed him and pulled him into a dark space. Without thinking he made multiple bone attacks at the hand encasing him.

All too soon reality set in as Y/N clutched their bleeding hand. “How the hell do people in movies cut open the palm of their hands? There's a shit ton of nerves there.” was whispered to Stretch as he sits somewhat lifeless on the rim of the sink. “Hey it’s alright little man. You were scared, it happens.”

 “It shouldn’t. I- why- but if-” He was cut off with a wet, still bleeding hand. 

“You did nothing major to it. It stings a little, but you hurt as much as a pomeranian’s nibble. You weren’t trying to kill anything, just to get away. It comforts me to know you would fight if someone tried to grab you.” He was smiled at as he examined the hand. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll let you help me heal it. Once we are back home that is. We don’t have time for that right now.” 

“Did she take them?”

 “She had some papers in her hand, but that's not a receipt. Why do you want those papers?”

“It has your ID and tracking numbers on it. I need it for something.”

 “Why?”

“Just please trust me. Don’t jump to conclusions.” Sighing, he just waited for the plan to continue.  The two walked into the kitchen where they ran into Cindy.

“Coming to return him?”

“No, I need the receipt for the bitty house.”

“They take the receipt. Why are you looking at his adoption papers? If you just need the receipt, leave the other papers.” Stretch had vanished and was nowhere to be seen.

“Here, now get the fuck out, Theft.“ without a responce she kept talking, “It explains why my newest pack is missing. I have a carton of twelve and one of them is missing.”

“I’m not going to argue with you but, need I remind you, I have asthma. You may believe I'm a thief because you don’t want to see the fact you sleep all the time, and if you're not smoking, using the bathroom, or simply stealing food from others, you decide it’s OK for you to invite Heather and her little kids over for whatever reason. Yet you nor her watch over them and they break and steal things. So it would not be very difficult for those little assholes to take them.”

“Watch the way you speak to me and about those kids, I am still your grandmother, and I’m not afraid to make you choke on your teeth. You have no right to disrespect her or her kids. They can’t help the situation they were born in.” Stretch popped up, placing himself on your shoulder to make a statement that he was here for you.  “You want his papers to return him. I knew you couldn’t take care of him.” Y/N grabbed the receipt from her hand. “Why else would you want the papers? I knew you were nothing other than a money hungry dick. You’re always in it for the cash. You’ve always been stingy with it.”

 “I was never stingy, I grew up and got tired of others stealing it.”

“So you hid it and refused to use it when we needed you too.”

“No, you are not going to try and manipulate this.” Y/N stated as they clenched their hands. “You wanted me to give you money when you had wasted all of your’s on cigarettes and lottery tickets. You did nothing but waste money. That’s the original reason you three began living here. You wasted money on cigarettes, Val didn’t respect you, and Rusty would come home at night just to go hungry because you wouldn’t cook. You and Val both lived off fast food, or pizza.” Her face turned red as her mistakes were thrown in her face. All actions of the past that she has yet to correct. “The money I could and did save, is what I put towards my college funds. The skill of saving is what’s keeping me in my apartment. I’m working my ass off to get through school and maintain my jobs. No one did that for me. No one is giving me free handouts.” Stretch stared wide-eyed as words flowed through their mouth. Venom coated each and every word. 

She reached out to grab Stretch as she grew upset, “Just return the piece of shit to Kendal. You can’t take care of it anyways. Hence why you are returning him.” Before she reached him, they grabbed her arm.

 “I’ve been kind to you by holding my tongue for the years you’ve three have lived with me. I’m beyond pissed with you for trying to lie about my actions in the past while inside this hellscape with each and every one of you. You did nothing to help anyone but yourself. You reek of smoke and the fact my throat hasn’t collapsed from the smell alone is amazing. But you tried to grab him, and I can’t let that slide. You have no right to touch what does not belong to you, nor do you deserve to have the god complex you do. I don’t want you to infect him with your disgusting way of upkeep.” Cindy twisted her arm so her nail could dig into YN’s arm.

“Get the fuck out of my house.”

“I have never, once in my life, seen you open a bill for this place, but it would be my pleasure.” Soon they both made it back to the car and drove off. “Fucking hate having to deal with her. She just has her head up her ass constantly.” 

 By the time Stretch spoke the duo was parked at an abandoned gas station, just watching the cars pass by. “No wonder her hair is brown.” 

“You know I'm not going to return you right? I might not have bought you, but I do care for you, so you mind telling me why you decided to attack my hand when I grabbed you to hide?” He froze up and kept his mouth shut. His eye lights refused to look anywhere but at the damage he caused. “I said I'd let you heal me to make yourself feel better about hurting me. There's monster candy in the glove box, hand me the one wrapped in the green wrapper please.” He worked quickly to open the glove box and unwrap the candy. Using magic, he popped it into their awaiting mouth. Many of the smaller cuts had healed and Stretch stood on the center console and tapped their arm for him to inspect it.

 Finally he explained himself. “You scared me and I retaliated.” as he tried to heal the other cuts he let it slip that, “Sans was always better at this than me.”

“That's why I needed your ID number. I need to know where you came from so I can steal your brother for you. 

“What?”

“Yeah, I'm stealing your brother. It’s my plan. I still have school and you need someone to be with you while I'm away. Plus it’s pretty shit being away from someone you love without a reason. Like what's stopping me from buying him?”

 “Money?”

“Exactly. I’m returning the house, using the money to buy him, or at least distract the cashier while you kidnap him. Something like that. I haven’t planned it out.”

 “Y/N, you're a dumb ass.”

 “I know, but at least I’m trying. It was going to be your surprise, but I’m worried Cindy got in your head about me getting your papers. Nothing's going to stop me.”

“Except the police.”

“Okay well, maybe. They’d have to catch me first.”The pair smiled at each other, “Want to go now?” The words did not register as Stretch just clutched the wrapper. He was staring down at his lap as he thought. All his worries would be solved. You were willing to do it for him, He didn’t have to beg for it. “Yeah, we’ll go today”

The ride to the bitty center wasn't anything like the ride to Christy's. He was given a phone to make a music playlist. Every now and then, a sound would be interrupted by an automated voice telling them where to go. At a red light, Y/n showed him how to create his own playlist and how to add each song to it. So he wouldn’t have to remember the song titles or chorus in order to look them up later. He wanted something upbeat and exciting for the drive to their forever home. He clicked through about what felt like thirty songs before they were even ten minutes into the hour and a half drive. After forty-five minutes of searching for appropriate songs, Y/N piped up, “Hey Stretch, can we let a few songs play in its entirety? I can’t keep listening to a few beats of a song before it gets ripped away. We have about thirty minutes before we get to your brother. Please.” Realizing his mistake he apologised and quickly scrolled up to the most played song.

As the rhythm played through the car, Y/n’s body relaxed. Their shoulders and eyes seem to soften as they continue humming along to the music. This was the same person who went toe-to-toe with their grandmother and stood up for him less than two hours ago. The same one that had a panic attack over realizing they would have to return to their mothers in order to get the receipt needed to purchase his brother. This was the same person sitting through a green light as they yell the lyrics to a song as not a single car sits on any corner of this four way traffic light.

“Hey, the lights are green.” He stated as he continued watching the driver.

“Oh shit, sorry.”

“do not be. You look like you were enjoying yourself. Just wanted to make sure you noticed the light.”

“Thank you for the head’s up.”

“Any more song recommendations?”

“For the playlist? Depends on what you are looking for.”

“Just music that he might like. He’s only really listened to the stuff in the store, which is either about the Satan Claws guy, or about a girl getting herself flowers.”

“Do you want music with lyrics, or do you want musicbox music?”

“Musicbox music?”

“Well, it’s music that is strictly instrumental. The difference between instrumental and music that's played from a music box is that a music box can only play bells-type sounds. Instrumental music can have guitars or drums and or many different kinds of instruments.”

At the next red light, with around twenty minutes left in the ride, Stretch handed over the phone and peeked over to try and see what was being typed into the search bar. While he knew he couldn’t read, he knew the alphabet and could spell out the word. “M U S I C B O X”

“Hey dude, might be an odd question, but can you read?” Stretch paused before answering with a soft-spoken no. “Do you want me to teach you? I can teach you phonics and the alphabet. Phonics sounds hard, but it's just sounding out each letter of the alphabet.”

“I know the alphabet.”

“Right, wasn’t discrediting you, but I don’t think y’all had a school in the bitty center.”

“We had the bitties that were brought back.”

“And how many of those bitties had books for you to practice your reading?”

Stretch huffed as he rolled his eyes. “None, but there are signs and tags all over the place.”

“I’m not making fun of you Stretch, but if you and your brother can’t read, I want to be able to help y’all. Reading is very important, especially if you get lost so you can read signs or if you need to read instructions or just for fun.” There was a pause before they continued their rant, “Stretch, you need to be able to read lyrics or to be able to read titles of movies and games and books and songs. I guess I should also ask if you want me to teach you to read.”

With a sign Stretch slid down in the chair. He never thought about needing to read or write. He was a pet that people just played with. He knew there was no reason to learn how to read if there was no material for him to do so with. “I don’t want to bum you out, but it is extremely difficult to traverse today's world without being able to read honey. If you don’t want to learn to read, I won’t force you, but it’s going to be difficult to function outside the store without being able to do so.” 

Taking into account how much care he is currently receiving after escaping that hell house, he knew there was a high likelihood that he and his brother would be receiving material soon that would change his literacy skills. Without much to say, the rest of the car ride was filled with music as he had some recommended titles spelled out and he had to type them in.

Quicker than expected, the duo parked and Y/N turned to face him as well as offer their rendition of a plan. “Okay, so, I’m going to head inside and see if I can return the bittie house, and hopefully get some cash back for it. Once I’m at the register, I’m going to ask to see your brother. If they let me see him, I’ll use the money I got from the bittie house and buy him. If they tell me I can’t, well were fucked. If they will not take the bittie house back, I am kinda fucked as well since we are kind of banking on it since I am broke.”

“Okay, and what do you want me to do?” Stretch asked. 

Before his question was answered, the driver door was shut and locked. Realizing he had nothing to do in this car, he stuck to staying seated. The phone was left in the car with him and he had nothing else to do, and it was already opened, so he started scrolling. Having access to all of the internet, he just goes through your music playlist. 

Each one having their own little descriptors and titles that he couldn’t read. Each playlist was different and had their own emotion. He knew he could teleport out and into the store, but the thought of returning there where he was taken away from his brother made him uneasy. His chest felt heavy thinking about entering and not finding his brother. 

“It’s best to stay put.” He voiced to no one but himself. “No reason to stress. I’m chill. Chill to the bone.” The pun didn’t land even to himself. He was alone in this car, not knowing what to do but to sit here idly. Would it be better to find out sooner if his brother is gone? How was Y/N supposed to know which one was his brother. They’ve never seen Blue before. What if they grab the wrong bitty? What if he was in there and they didn’t get the right brother and he was just sitting here waiting for an accident to happen. He was so close to Blue, but what if he was just getting his hopes up? It had been over a week and this store was constantly crowded. 

His thoughts were interrupted as a tight lipped smile came into view. The door was opened and quickly shut as the chill of winter nipped at the pair as Y/N climbed in. As soon as Y/N had sat down, they began explaining the interaction they had with the bunny, and how his brother was on pre-order. 

Stretch could feel his eyes shrinking as his breathing became more forceful. He wanted to curl up as the previous thoughts weren’t being drowned out by the music anymore. Is he too late, what is going to happen to Blue, Is there a way to go around the pre-order? Who was trying to buy a separated pair? Why would you pre-order just one? All the past pre-orders always kept the brothers in pairs. Hell, that's why there are so many separated brothers still in the stores.

A hand came into his view, but he quickly pushed it away in favor of holding himself. A muffled voice tried to pierce through his chaotic thoughts, but was unsuccessful. A blade coming into view stilled his mind, ‘Are they going to kill the shop keep?’

Alarm spread across his face as his vision was filled with human skin. “I don’t know if this is an accurate guess, but the only bitty in the build I saw that could blip was one without his ID accessory.”

“They are ID markers, but also magic suppresses. It’s hard to keep monsters that can short cut in a building.” Stretch explained, trying to see what their Identification collars had to do with the blade currently being held. 

The knife was passed to Stretch as a look of confusion swept across his face. “I need to distract the clerk. You need to find your brother, cut off his ID thingy, find someone willing to trade places with him, cut their ID bracelet or necklace thing, and then fix both of them in order for me to buy your brother under the ID number of the other version of your brother.” explained Y/N. 

‘There is no way in hell this crazy bitch just gave me a knife the size of me.’

As the plan was being explained, Stretch nodded along, hoping the with enough bravery and stupidity the plan would work.

“You ever cut anything?”

“Not with a knife,” was his only response.

“Gotta learn some day. Come on, let's get your brother back.”

With the bare minimum required to call this a plan being met, it was set in motion. As Y/N walked to the counter he headed towards the playground. If Sky was still around, he knew he would agree immediately. He was the first bitty returned to this store due to being a "nuisense". When asked he would just say the family couldn’t handle him. Stars, what would he say to Sky once they met again? Stretch never thought to ask what happened to his brother. They were bought as a pair. 

Seeing his brother for the first time in over a week caused both brothers to tear up. Blue rushed to him for a hug and flooded him with questions, “You returned! Were you returned? Why do you have that? How did you get away from them? Did they leave you in the vehicle?! In the winter?! Did you walk?!!”

“Bro calm down, we really don’t have much time to talk about this. Where is Sky?”

“Oh, um. Why?” Blue asked, tilting his head as he stared up at his brother while holding him in the hug.

“I got a proposal for him. It will let him leave here.” Stretch explained. 

Without much searching and asking follow bitties, Sky was quickly located and had the situation explained. With zero hassle, he agreed to the plan and teared up before hugging Stretch. “You don’t know how much this means to me. You are helping me find my brother again.” Without time to comment, Sky left Stretch and raced over to Blue hugging him as well. 

After the hug, Sky turned to face the crowd of bitties, all watching as Stretch tried to cut the necklace wrapped around this bitty’s neck. No one did anything as Stretch very shakily cut through the plastic-looking material. A knife is such an awkward object to hold, much less used to cut something when it is half of your size. 

Footsteps began approaching which caused Sky to panic and try to look back at Stretch for reassurance. The movement caused Stretch to nick the back of his skull before dropping the knife. This caused Sky to let out a high pitch scream in fear. With a quick CHECK of the soul, there was zero damage done to him. Stretch also checked his skull before letting out a sigh of relief when there was no visible damage was done either. 

“That definitely alarmed the bunny, shit.” Without much thought put behind it, Y/N explained, “Sorry, I stepped on one of their feet. It’s not broken, just scared both of us.” Yn turned to a random bitty and lifted him to their face. “So sorry, I didn’t mean to step on you.” if he would have gone with it, it would have been fine, but they picked up a fell sans, and that bitch latched his teeth onto their nose.

“That’s what you get for stepping on him.” Said the bunny as he returned to paperwork. Their eyes teared up as they sat themselves on their knees to try to get the Fell sans to unlatch from their nose. From the looks of it, it was Rot that had bit them. Faul, Rot’s brother, had to unlatch him before he snatched Rot by the hand and dragged him away, muttering something about humans.

After thanking the bitties, Y/N had turned to the group trying to cut off Sky’s ID collar. 

“Hey, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Sky looked up at them before looking back at Stretch. “Hey if you are still okay with this, do you want me to try instead. I have a steadier hand.” 

“It’s also you sized.” Stretch interjects, trying to lighten the mode of the group before returning the knife to you.

Without a response, Stretch and the other playground occupants watched as Sky was lifted and the collar was cut free from his neck. When Sky let out a gasp, the onlooker did as well. No one joked or made comments as they watched the human with skilled hands handle a blade around the bitties neck. Some hid behind play structure scared and confused on why this was transpiring before them. Others slowly drifted closer before being stopped by one another. 

Sky was laid gently into the lap of the human before they reached out to Blue and cut his tag in the same manner. Now all that was felt was the problem of reacting the ID’s in the correct way. After a moment of group contemplation and inactions, Y/N seemed to formulate another have cocked plan. 

They had turned and leaned further down where their chest hovered above the ground and began asking a Grillby and a Muffet for help. “I hate to involve either of you, but would either of you be willing to help us?” 

The spider scoffed before taking a much longer and louder sip of her tea. “For a cost.”

“What would that cost be?” Asked Stretch’s brother.

“Well,” the spider started off, “I would like more porcelain for my tea set.”

The fire bitty stood up and made his way over to the group. “What do you need me to do?” He asked in a low whisper.

“I just need you to slightly melt one end of each collar for me to essentially glue it to itself.” He just nodded and assisted with glueing the ID accessories back together. The spider bitty loudly exhaled her dissent.

After the swap of the ID’s Y/N thanked the Grillby for his help and thanked Sky for being a more than willing participant. All that was asked for in return was a tea set. Before standing, a hand was offered to both bitties who climbed on and Stretch quickly made his way to the hoodie to hide. Before leaving the play area he smiled and waved at the onlookers before giggling and ducking down.

“Found the one you want?” Asked the clerk.

“Yeah, I got the one I wanted.”

“Well, let's get you checked out and get this done with.” There was some shuffling before the clerk continued, “The house will cover the cost of a swap sans. You will also get a few dollars in store credit as well. Is there anything you want before we finish?” More beeping and rustling was made before the statement of, “Glad your swap paps knew.” was made. While the Clerk couldn’t see Stretch, Stretch felt as if his eyes were burning a hole through his chest and into his soul.

The hoodie jostled before his next comment. “I” might be an asshole, but I am not dumb. There’s cameras all over the place, and Trickster told on you when your Stretch brought a knife in.

‘Fuck, shit, damnit.’ Every cuss word in the sun was running through this man's head. 

“You going to call the cops?”

“Nah, it’s clear you are willing to go to jail for him and you were creative enough to find a work around. I really should, but I won’t. This could cost me my job letting you do this. But at the same time I understand how important it is for a caregiver to care, and you showed that by pulling this bullshit of a stunt.” Instead of continuing to move toward the door, the trio waited as Y/N took in the information provided. 

“And another thing, stop blurting shit out about how you have no information on any type of bitty. It’s going to lead to you losing them. One way or another.”

‘Please just get us out of here. I’m sweating my coccyx off’ Stretch thought to himself.

“Have a safe trip home dumbass. And come back soon. You seem like a fun person to fuck with dude.” At the final comment, another stumbled before the group made it to the car. After the clerk finished his spill, the trip to the car was silent. After everyone got to their seats and buckled, Blue began to cry as he clung to Stretch. Not wanting to interrupt his moment of vulnerability, Y/N turned on soft background music. Stretch had gotten into the glove compartment and grabbed a monster candy to give to his brother. Blue wanted nothing to do with it. He just wanted Stretch, and had made it obvious by shoving the candy away and curled as far as he could into Stretch’s rib area. It looked as if he was trying to crawl into his brother’s ribcage. The playlist that Stretch made was forgotten for the first thirty minutes of the drive. He just sat and rocked his brother to the best of his abilities.  

Will you please give him some of the monster candy? Just to be safe."

"He needs to be held." Stretch replied.

"You can still hold your bro, but please feed him some of the candy as well. I'll crush it while it's in its wrapper so you can just pick out small chunks and feed him. Emotional distress can not be healthy for someone so small. You said he's hyper and happy, but all I've seen so far is displeased and depressed."

After that statement Stretch turned towards YN and held out the hard caramel tasting candy. It didn't take much force to destroy the candy, but the sound of the wrapper popping made Blue's eye lights pop into existence as he looked around frantically for the object that created the sound.

"It was just a wrapper popping sweetie."

"Just a wrapper." Was all Blue replied with. 

"Yep, no need to panic. You're with your brother, and I'm here to take care of both of ya. You'll have to help me with certain things though. I don't know all that much. Just what Stretch here has let on to." Stretch scratched his neck at the realization that he hadn’t explained anything at all to his caregiver. 

“Well, now Papy and I are here to help you." He said as he stared into their eyes even as they focused on the road ahead. Stretch leaned up and took your phone from the side pocket of the car it was placed before the huge 'rescue mission' took place.  He began the playlist and returned the phone to the cubby and repositioned his brother again. With his chosen music now filling the space, the car didn't feel as tense. Nor did it feel like they had to say something to help ease the unnecessary silence. "What is it like?"

"What do you mean?" Y/n asked

"What's the house like?"Blue clarified. He was granted a vague description of the house. It was also explained that he had to stay out of one room. When Blue asked why, he was met with the response of,"Because there's items that belong to the previous tenant that have yet to come and reclaim them. Plus I don't want to touch the stuff they've used. Especially after knowing the videos they'd film in the room, as well as other activities and what they used for said activities in that room. It was locked by them and the landlord doesn't have a key. And as much as I'm a dumb college kid, I'm not willing to do something THAT dimwitted." The point was clear to Blue and Stretch seeing as he already knew what was in that room, as well as hearing that speech be preached before. 

The rest of the ride consists of listening to the playlist and scaring the shit out of Blue a few times by the, "Stars-awful singing" as Stretch so kindly put it. "Trust me bro, they don't normally sound like a bird dying. They're trying to make you feel better around them." Stretch whispered to Blue as he tried to sneakily hide his ears. Soon enough, Yn caught on to the disliking of the singing and dialed it back.

"All I Want For Christmas Is You" played for the third time, but instead of screaming the words, they sang softly. Slowly, Stretch helped Blue remove his hands from his ears and sat in peace while listening. Blue looked starstruck. “Human, why did you sing so horribly at first, when you can sing this good?” After verbalizing his thoughts, it hit him. “OH, WAS IT TO THROW ME OFF YOUR TRAIL?  WAS IT BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT I, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS COULDN’T HANDLE YOUR SIREN SINGING?” 

“Inside voice little one, inside voice.” was all Y/N said as they smiled and pulled into the apartment complex.

Stretch had leaned down to whisper in Blue’s ear as the new trio pulled into their assigned parking space. “We need to work on your compliments, Blue.” All Blue did was cock his head at Stretch who did not further his commentary. Stretch returned to telling him the layout of the house again and as the two talked, handed Blue some of the crushed candy. It was true monster candy, so the bitties could have it, it just wasn’t in their size, so a whole might be too much.

“Hey stretch, can you guys have an overflow of magic if you eat a full monster size candy or food? “

“Nope.”

“Huh?”

“No overflow, we’re low on it anyways.”

“But don’t you get magic from food?”

“Yep.”

“Why were you low on magic?”

silence……

Chapter Text

The ride home was full of noise. You hummed along to the music as Blue and Stretch chatted with one another. When asked about his magic he would just blow you off and continue talking to Blue, or he gave you a bullshit answer about it. Letting it go felt wrong, but that's all you could do for the time being.  “Human bitties are naturally low in magic when they are still in the store.  It’s to keep us from fighting too much or trying to teleport out of our pins. He’s probably this low from teleporting and he’s been out what? A week? Don’t worry. He has a deeper reservoir of magic, so it takes longer.” It was clear that Blue felt bad for leaving you in the dark but wasn’t going to say much else.  

Seeing that you were not going to get anywhere with the boys as of this point and released a sigh before turning the volume up slightly to ignore the conversation.  They turned and looked at you before returning to their two way conversation. 

“Get ready for them to ask to leave. Stretch has his brother, he doesn’t need you.”  The voice in your head was taking the infiltrating tempo and chords of the slowed and reverbed cover of Holy Mary by Ghost played in the background. The sound quickly began to overstimulate you as your grip of the steering wheel was tightening and the speed began picking up. Stretch quickly grabbed the phone and changed the sound as he saw the signs of discomfort showed. The chorus played and the sound was quickly switched to the normal cover. Stretch directed blue to turn the volume down and stood on the arm rest waiting. You hit a red light as the drums decrescendo and the song left the priest only with one guitar. 

Muttering the lyrics was met with Blue tapping your arm and pointing to the newly turned green light. Breathing, you replaced Blue in the seat and began driving once more. “Sorry the reverb was messing with me.  I normally can handle it.”

“The song seems pretty. What’s it about?”

“I’m not really sure.” 

Stretch butted in and asked, “Give your best interpretation.”

“Well…” The remainder of the ride was busy with a song being played, only for the boys to pause and ask the story the song was telling or what you thought this lyric meant. They asked about the song “MILF Money” and well, you had to deep dive for the boys to understand what a milf was, and how, because you now take care of them, does not, in fact, make you a milf. No matter what you tried to tell them, Stretch laughed and called you one. He must have not understood the sexual implication of the word since he continued to use it. 

Much later the three of you turned up at the house. Breathing in deep and quickly shoving it out as you turned to Blue seemed to confuse him as he did the same and turned to face you as well. Stretch just let out a long sigh as you began to explain to Blue the same run down of the rules of the house you gave Stretch on the first day of his stay. Blue seemed to be fine with all the rules to the point he stood and exclaimed, “DO NOT WORRY HUMAN. I’LL FOLLOW EACH AND EVERY ONE SO WELL! I’LL EVEN MAKE SURE MY BROTHER FOLLOWS EACH ONE TO THE LETTER.” 

Nothing much was left to say as you offered your hands to the boys. Blue took you up on the offer, only for Stretch to teleport to your shoulder and wait for the ride to begin. You cupped Blue with both hands as you walked. It was cute to watch as he stood and slightly hopped in your palm as you traveled and waited. His eye lights were stars as he saw the doors open and looked at himself in the reflection of the window.

As you continued your way to the room, Annie stepped out of her room and came barreling down the hallway. “YNNNNN!! MOMMA WANTS ME TO-” and that was all that was spoken before Christian, a teen boy grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and yanked her back, effectively choking her. 

“Sorry Y/N, you know how she can be.”

“Not that I'm not up for choking kids, don’t hurt her. She is excitable. Please be more careful.” placing Blue in your hood, you tapped your shoulder Stretch sat on, and pointed into the hood. He seemed to get the message before you leaned down and helped her off the floor and checked her neck for bruising and asked if she felt ok. She seemed to forget the incident after glaring at Christian and tried to climb your front to see into your hood.

“Who’s in there?”

“WELL SMALL HUMAN, IT IS I, THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE.” Before you could request for Blue not to yell in your ear as he laid belly down across your shoulder, Annie began yelling herself.

“I WANT HIM, GIVE ME!” Before anyone could react, you closed your hand around her arm and lifted it away from you and the boys.

“Annie, Do Not Touch.” She just snarled and reached for him again.  Stretch teleported to your other shoulder and snapped at her to keep her hands to herself as you grabbed her other hand just as she lifted it. As you held her away from you at arms length, you scolded her. “You know better. You do not reach for anyone, and he is not a play thing. “ Before you could get another word in, she interrupted you with her saying he was. And that even the TV says so. 

“I have one at home anyways.” Anger began to seep out of you as she continued to fight your grip and began to pull at your hair to get to Blue. Soon you felt the weight of the boys disappear as you saw a flash of orange appear near your door and then a second flash of a mixture color as the boys left to head into the house. Releasing her was the best thing to do as she finally took notice of Blue's vanishing act. “Millie can’t do that! How can he do that? All Millie can do is bake and help mom with sewing.”

“I Didn’t know you got a bittie.”

 “Yeah the little spider is a fox. Acts all sweet, and then BOOM! Backhand comment after backhand comment after giggle. She’s really sweet, but the bugger has 5 eyes. Needs to be squashed, real nasty shit.” Christain commented.

“Do not be rude. She might run away or come live with me, and I'll never let you near her.” Annie started to over the fact you were threatening to take her bitty from her. “Then protect her. Don’t little Christian be mean to her. And if you ever want to come see the boys, just ask, don’t grab at them. Now, where were you two running off?”

“The playground outside.” Doing the awkward lip tuck, you let the two return to their own journey. 

By the time you entered the house, the boys were busying themselves with the introduction to all the rooms and where the equipment the boy needed was placed. “Where’s the brushing paste? Or the tooth scrubbers?” The what?

“They haven’t got any yet in our size, but they have really big ones that haven't even been unwrapped yet bro. Shit’s as tall as me. They’ll get some if we ask m’sure.”

“You haven’t asked yet?”

“Nope.”

“Have you been brushing?”

“I’ve been a bit preoccupied.”

“Stretch,” and the conversation between the two died.

“This is the room where we’ll all sleep,” was the last thing you heard before walking off to the kitchen.

“Just cook something small enough to fill them up. Your body has enough fat on it to survive. Disgusting pi-” Before the words could finish, Blue appeared in front of you, 

“HUMAN, I KNOW WE, well I, HAVEN’T BEEN HERE THAT LONG, AND WEll, I WAS WONDERING IF MAYbe you wouldn’t mind buying-us-tooth-scrubbers.” Smiling at his quieting voice as he continued his request and the rapid increase in speed brought a soft smile on his own. 

He hasn’t been here more than an hour, and is already asking for things. Stretch didn’t, no still won't, ask for basic things. “Yeah, I’ll even let the two of you pick out the colors. We’ll order them tonight. C’mon.”  As if on cue, the phone rang.

“Hey girlie, it's Sophs. We need some help here at the store. Can you come in? I know you have this week off, but it would count as over time. I’ll even take you out for sushi. Just please. Viv isn’t here because she’s sick, and Bratty and Catty are getting off in like an hour. Please don’t leave me here alone. You know I hate the dark.”

“Will you be spending the night at my place or do I need to drive you home?”

“Home please. I have kittens to feed.”

“Alright. I have to cook the boys dinner and I’ll be on the way.”

“Boys?” You hung up before she could ask any more questions. You’ll be seeing her in a few anyway. 

“Hey Stretch, mind coming here for a second!” you asked through the house.  He took a second. A second turned into a minute, a minute turned into two. “Hey Stretch, where are you? I need to tell you something.” You turned to Blue who shrugged.

“NO NEED TO WORRY Y/N, HE’S PROBABLY SLEEPING. STRETCH COME HERE.” After a pause, Stretch appeared rubbing his eye sockets.

“What's up?” you looked down at him and smiled softly.

“I have to go to work tonight. I’ll cook and then leave straight after. Please don’t get hurt while I'm out. And I know y’all have stuff to catch up on. “

“You going to eat at work?” was all that was asked. Not where you worked, not when you were coming back, just if you were going to eat tonight.  Did he care? Why would he?

“No, I was going to cook here and eat some and leave.”

“WHERE DO YOU WORK AT?” Blue asked.

“The library downtown. It’s about a fifteen minute drive.”

“WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO BE RETURNING HOME?”

“Ill say around ten tonight. I’ll be quiet if you guys are going to be sleeping. I need to start cooking if I’m going to be able to leave in an hour.” You turned around and began mumbling about what to cook. Something fast and filling…tacos will be good enough. Hopefully. They could add whatever they wanted and the meat would take too long to cook. 

You grabbed the necessary ingredients and began cooking. “DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE HUMAN Y/N?” 

“If you want to, I'd gladly let you help.” You looked to Stretch to see if you made the right decision on letting Blue help, and to see if he wanted to help as well, but was greeted with the sight of him laid out inside the coffee pot. “And just call me Y/N. If you want of course, human Y/N is just a lot. Unless there's a monster named Y/N. then use human Y/N i guess.”

“ALRIGHT Y/N.” 

Cooking this was an experience. Blue wanted to add glitter, at some point he got a good portion of sauce on his face because he fell into the mixture. You had to go to the neighbor to ask for shredded cheese because Stretch was eat handfuls of it, and Blue pulled it away from his brother, and run back over to the counter, leaving a trail of cheese across the floor and by the time he reached the top of the counter, the cheese was in piles on the floor. Stretch laughed, and then began to make cheese angels making jokes that any elementary school boy would as his brother yelled at him to stop. You could see how close Blue was to laughing at his brother's antics. 

They were both clearly happy to be in the other presence. At times your mind would start berating you for getting into their way, but each time Blue or Stretch would interrupt your train of thought and it began feeling like the three of you were meant to find each other. 

You had five tacos. Two from each brother, made of their own concoction for you to try, and one that you made yourself so they could watch how to make and eat one without making a huge mess. You felt stuffed and the boys thought it was alright to let you leave now that you’ve eaten. 

“Alright, I’m heading out the door. I’ll be back around ten, if you need anything, c’mere.” You walked over to your chromebook used for school and personal interests. “The password is “083005” if you need anything text me on here.” You showed them the basics of the computer before Blue explained he didn’t know how to spell. Then you explain how to use speech to text for both of them. “We need to fix that illiteracy. I’ll grab a children's book and help teach the two of you. Remember 10ish. Wait till 11 before going to the neighbors for a missing persons report. Bye guys love ya.” it didn’t register what you said to the boys as you hurried out the door and to your car. 

“Want to go meet the rats?”

“THE WHO?”

The ride to the library was fine. Meeting Sophie in the front was all good. Placing books where they go and listening to the music playing in your headphones was totally ok. The creepy feeling of being watched wasn’t. The constant nagging in the back of your head about the stomping of feet didn’t have a pleasant feeling, nor did getting grabbed by the hair help matters.

“Where the fuck is he, you skank?!” You knew the voice, and the smell of alcohol proved who it was even before the image of the poorly dyed red hair embedded itself in the frames of your sight. The yanking didn’t hurt all too much  but to appease her ego you leaned with it. Months of living between her and her new boyfriend made you grow used to this. Ryna never was that strong, but it was better to let her think she was to keep out of the way of Hercules. 

Mother fucker was build like him anyways. Out of all the Greek gods, he acted like Zeus the most. “Fuck anything that could move, with or without consent,” seemed to be his motto. Never was told no out of fear or out of lust. You did a while back, and so he took a liking to you. Wanted to break you down until you gave into him. Ryna never liked that, and so they “took a break”. The entire time Coran tried to get into your pants. Never happened, but he went around saying it did. You eventually started to snap back saying how small and horrible in bed he was and since then he’s wanted to hate fuck you. “Show you how you were wrong,” and all that jazz.

You two didn’t even date, but everyone just seemed to agree you did. You had moved in with them at the beginning of college because Ryna wanted to introduce you into their relationship to become a threesome, and you guessed they told everyone you agreed. You were never aware of this plan since they never brought it up, and you were a physical touch type person. You hugged your friends bye, even kissed some behind the ear. All platonic, on your side at least. Some people can and will twist anything to make themselves look much better to the general populous.

You had hugged Ryna a lot, but never once would lay a hand on or even near Coran, because you knew they were dating. Plus he definitely was the kind of person not to wash his ass when showering because it would make him gay. 

“Sorry Ryna, haven’t seen him since, hmm your thirteenth break. He still wants to get into my pants? Maybe he needs to learn what no means. You know you could do better than that sex addicted alcoholic. You’re pretty, and if you stopped drinking away your feelings you could lay down with a good man, Hell even some hot chicks would want you. You have a perfect body!”

One you, yourself could have if you stopped eating like a pig. 

How else did she get so lucky with her waist and weight?

“I know you want him! Don’t lie. Everyone wants my Coran. You’d have to be stupid not to.”

“I must be stupid girl, because I don’t like him. He freaks me out and clearly peaked in high school. If you leave him, you could bed anyone. You're sexy, chickadee.” You grabbed her arm and lightly helped her remove her hand from your hair. She was a crazy bitch, but a crazy bitch you knew how to evade if done properly. One that helped you out of a very similar situation. It’s funny how the ones that help others out of things normally wind up in the spot they help the other out of.  She wasn’t used to being complemented and Coran constantly tore her down every chance he got. He was always like that. 

She blinked in her drunk state and it seemed easier to talk her down from her drunken rage. Sophie was seen out of the corner of your eyes with two police officers. You walked Ryna to a nearby table and explained the situation to the pigs. They rolled their eyes and wrote it down. You know nothing was going to come from this. They most likely thought this was a simple cat fight.   

Just looking at her pissed you off. She had the perfect body, yet she wastes it on that piece of shit. Slim neck and waist. Her arms didn’t have extra fat on the sides, her stomach didn’t have rolls and her back didn’t have divots. There is much more to go on about. How her hair always looked perfect even when messed with. Her smile was cute and you were sure her thighs didn’t chaff and she wasn’t winded when running. Looking at her showed there was negativity in beauty, but all your eyes saw was what you weren’t. You didn’t care. Most of your problems would be solved if you looked like her. 

You didn’t have anyone to interrupt your thoughts, but there was nothing to be done as your eyes teared up. The cops wouldn’t do anything between the two of you as was evident by the way they stared at her body. They didn’t care that she was a shell. Stuck in a place that was empty and in a repeating cycle of abuse. Everyone is out for only themselves. 

Sophie smiled and asked for her to be driven home.  There was still about a half hour left in your shift when you got a message from the boys. “HELLO Y/N, THE IS BLUE SPEECHIGN TO THE BIG CUBE INTERNET TO LET YOU KNOW WE ARE GOING TO BED” Smiling you sent back a simple thank you and let them know there was an hour before you got back. 

After a few minutes you realized they could not read if they couldn’t write, and the computer wasn’t commanded to read them aloud for the boys to understand. 

Soon another message came through.  “WE CAN'T READ THAT BUT STAY SAFE, AND WE WILL BE WAITING FOR YOUR RETURN. GOODNIGHT.” it seemed that even the computer understood to capitalize his comments. Maybe the caps lock was pressed, or they couldn’t read the words. Imagining the boys wearing glasses was both cute and made you giggle.  The rest of work passed quick enough with conversations between Soph about your eating habits and explaining the boys. You offered to let her meet them sometime, and she seemed ecstatic about it. By the end of the night, you checked out a bitty book and grabbed a children's book to help the boys learn. It would give them something to do while you were away, and you wouldn’t have to worry about spending money on the books. They were smart enough to understand not to damage them. 

The drive to Soph’s wasn’t too long. Sophie was going on and on about how she couldn’t wait to meet the boys, and even said that once the summer rolls around that the three of you should come over and swim. You held your tongue when it came to explaining how little you knew of the boys. Sophie didn’t question it when you grabbed the book before close, so that was a blessing. She went on and on about how she wanted a bitty, but her dorm room didn’t allow them, and she wasn’t going to rely on her mother remembering to feed it. “How cute are they?”

You went to say you’d show her a photo, only to realize, you’ve never had any done with your family, nor did you take any of the boys. Bring this up to Sophie, her first idea was to get a few Christmas photos done of you and the boys. Thinking of the clothes you could stuff them in, and the idea of presents for the boys filled the car as the both of you made your way into Sophie's driveway. “Be safe bitch.”

“No fucker. See you next week-ish.” 

“On the 6th?” You agreed and before driving off you noticed the time. You had thirty minutes until eleven. 

“Driving from here to Walmart is about ten minutes. Walmart is about ten minutes from the house. Theoretically, I could make it, and have ten minutes to look around for something for the boys. But, what would they even want?” Pushing the idea to the back of your mind was all you could do for the time being. 

Once you made it home, you were greeted with the tacos being completely eaten, the cabinets and the lights being turned off and left open. The only light was from the kitchen and when leaning through the doorway you noticed it was coming from the fridge. Blue was starting into the light of the fridge and while he looked cute most of the time, this shit gave you chills. His eyelights were missing. “Hey, sweetie?” Slowly he turned his head to face you and a red stain made itself visible. “Oh sweetie, come here.” You leaned down and picked him up and began to wet a paper towel. Nothing is said when Stretch comes back and has the same stains littering his clothes. 

You finish wiping off Blues face and turn to Stretch. “Shower.” You started the kitchen sink, and switched the nozzle for a spray instead of the stream. Stretch took off his hoodie and threw it on the opposite side of the sink. Covering your eyes for his privacy, and snatching the clothes to clean them. Blue refused to leave your side and even as you hand washed Stretch’s hoodie and cargo shorts. You made it to your room after you used the blow dryer to quicken the process of his clothes air drying. Once inside, you grabbed him a pair of sleeping shorts and a tank top.

“You mind giving him these? He might need them to sleep tonight.”

“Yeah.” Blue wasn’t loud or energetic, and it slightly unnerved you, Even if it was late, and that would excuse his volume, the imagine of his eyeless sockets staring into the fridge. Maybe something happened while you were out? It took a few, but Blue gave Stretch the items and he quickly scampered back to your shoulder. Stretch just waited for the both of you to let him finish drying off before he used both sets of claws to climb you like a tree. You let the boys use you as a source of transportation and brought them both to your bed. 

This was Blue’s first night out of the shop. Would he want to sleep with his brother or near you for a bigger amount of soul restoration?  “Where are you guys wanting to sleep?” 

“Bed.” The one word responses were irking you.

“Well yeah, but mine or your own? Well, Stretch’s bed.”

“Your’s please” responded Stretch.  Nodding, you laid down on the daybed and let the two of them find themselves a perch. Stretch found himself displayed across your stomach to sleep and Blue made himself comfortable in the nook between your shoulder and neck. Whispering goodnight you felt the boys steer and resettle. Slowly the feeling of comfort blanketed you as the boys helped you find sleep.

Chapter Text

Blue’s point of view.

The car ride was full of noise. My brother held my hand as we talked. The monster candy had caused me to have an influx of magic, and my well was not too happy with the overflow, but I, the magnificent Sans, can handle anything. Harmless blue magic had begun leaking from my palms, but my magnificent teal gloves did their best to hold the magic. It was causing my hands to go numb, so when Stretch noticed the increase in magic density, and the soft glow of the gloves, he took a hold of my hand to try and drain some of it out. I wonder how the human would react to our magic. Why is Stretch trying to hide the extra?

Actually, they haven’t been paying attention to us since the motor vehicle began its odd purring. Even the human was purring. The music coming from the doors seemed to match their purring. Did the car react to them? Do all cars do that? “Brother, the transportation is purring with the human. Is that normal?”

“Not sure but, I have a feline that only furrari’s are the only type of cars that will purr.”

“Brother, I, the magnificent Blue, will strangle you.”

“After all they 've been through to get you, you’d strangle me? Might end up a cat-astrophe.”

“I hate you.”

“Aw, I love you too, big bro. You know I'm just yanking your tail. I’m sure you find my puns, Hiss-tarical.” As the puns progressed,  a smile creeped its way onto my face. “Your smiling bro.”

“I know, and I hate it.

“What are the two of you talking about?” asked the driving human. Their eyes shifted to the two of us as they spoke. Stretch just waved them off and went back to asking about the shop while he was gone. Nothing of interest happened.

“The first day you were gone, I kept bugging the cat lady. She eventually put me in solitaire for three days. I had no one to talk to, and was bored out of my mind. I couldn’t do any of my training regiment.”

“You were getting fed right?” 

“I was only in there for three days. Nothing too bad. The worst was sleeping alone. But the MAGNIFICENT sans could handle it.” Talking in hushed voices was a bit annoying, but understandable. Every now and then, my voice would peak just for Stretch to make a shushing motion with his hand. It seemed he did not want the human to know what happened at the shop.”Everything was alright. The Alligator was the one who let me back out.”

“That fucking cat shouldn’t be working there if she cant do her fucking job properly.”

“HEY, WATCH YOUR MOUTH.” 

 “What’s going on over there?”

“Nothing Y/N, don't worry about it.”

“Kinda hard not to worry when I don’t know if I'm accidentally overdosing you.”

“Human, bitties are naturally low in magic when they are still in the store. It’s to keep us from fighting too much or trying to teleport out of our pins. He’s probably this low from teleporting and he’s been out what? A week? Don’t worry. He has a deeper reservoir of magic, so it takes longer.” I couldn’t stand looking at them as I lied. I had no way of backing up what I was saying. 

With a sigh, they leaned forward and twisted a nob. It made the voices in the door grow in volume. Both me and Stretch looked over at them before returning to our discussion about the shop. Instead of trying to speak over the music. We spoke down our brother-bond. It felt like it had been forever since I was able to do this with him. It was the only one-hundred percent sure way that our conversions were not being listened to by outsiders. His voice echoed and bounced around in my head as I waited for him to stop speaking his peace about the store we’re leaving from. “There is no need to worry about that place anymore. We’re gone. We most likely will not be returning.”

“No we won’t. They seem to enjoy my company, and even said they were doing this for me. They can’t return us anyways. Legally I’m their brother’s, so we’d be given to him.”

“You’re their brother’s. I’m theirs.” Stretch and I both turned to look over at the human. Their grip on the spinning wheel had increased drastically and their body language was going into a fight or flight sense. Stretch jumped into action as I waited to assess the situation. He pointed at me and then the knob as he instructed how to lower the volume by using it through the bond. He turned on their phone and changed the music quickly as I lowered the volume. Stretch and I stood on the arm rest and waited for Y/N to calm down. They muttered the same words as the voices did before inhaling a deep breath. They move both Me and Stretch before apologizing and continuing the drive.

“Sorry the reverb was messing with me.  I normally can handle it.”

“The song seems pretty. What’s it about?”

 “I’m not really sure.” 

Stretch butted in and asked, “Give your best interpretation.”

“Well…” The rest of the drive home was filled with songs and explaining the stories behind them. Mary on a Cross was definitely beautiful, and disgusting all the same. Beautifully-disgusting. That’s a thing right?

Something called m.i.l.f. money played,”Hey, Y/N, what does milf mean?”

“You mean milf? It’s something you shouldn’t repeat in public. It's a slang term about wanting someone's mother.”

 “So, you're our milf? Technically you are our mother now.” It seemed by the blush they didn’t see themselves as our mother.

“I can’t be your mother.” They replied with.

“It doesn’t matter if you have a dick or a vagnia, or completely bare down there, you’re still our milf.” Stretch said.

“Not what I meant. I can’t be a milf. I don’t think… You don’t understand the connotation of the word.”

“I mean me and my brother clearly want you. Why else would we stay? Y/N, you're our mother.“ I told them. The car ride continued with the bantering of the word and asked what the songs were talking about. 

Much later, the three of us arrived home. Well, to Stretch’s and the human’s home. Soon to be my home. The human took a deep breath in and quickly exhaled.  I mimicked and turned to face them. Maybe this was a routine of the house? Because soon after Stretch let out a long and overly dramatic sigh. The human started to explain the rules of the house and Stretch just looked out the window as we talked. As soon as they finished I jumped into a standing position and exclaimed, “DO NOT WORRY HUMAN. I’LL FOLLOW EACH AND EVERY ONE SO WELL! I’LL EVEN MAKE SURE MY BROTHER FOLLOWS EACH ONE TO THE LETTER.” afterwards they smiled and placed their hand out in front of me. Seeing this as a sign to climb aboard. My lazy bone brother just teleported to the top of their shoulder and waited. 

Before I could comment on how the human might not want him to be on their shoulder, hence why they lowered their hand, the other hand was soon brought together to hold me carefully. “Am I that heavy?” “Duh from all my magnificent muscles!”  I wanted to see over their fingers, so I slowly clung to one as I quickly and easily put myself up. The world looked so different from above. As I looked around I began to wonder what their house looked like. Do they own this huge building? Do they need many rooms? What room does what? Not sure of where we were going I continued to glance around. A little girl popped out of her room and startled me. She came running down the hallway.

““YNNNNN!! MOMMA WANTS ME TO-” and that was all that was spoken before a teen boy grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and yanked her back, effectively choking her. 

“Sorry Y/N, you know how she can be.”

“Not that I'm not up for choking kids, don’t hurt her. She is excitable. Please be more careful.” As they spoke they brought me up to their hood. Getting the gist of what they were telling me to do, I jumped in the hood. Soon after Stretch joined me since Y/N signal for him to get in as well.

 The hood  moved awkwardly as they leaned down to help the young girl off the floor. They checked her for bruising and it seemed as if she had forgotten the incident all together as she tried to climb Y/N like a tree to see us.

To get a better look at the girl I popped up from the hood. Stretch had tried to pull me down by the shoulder plate, but I wanted to see the girl. “Who’s in there?” She asked a question and I shall answer the dear maiden. 

“WELL SMALL HUMAN, IT IS I, THE MAGNIFICENT BLUE.” I yelled as I draped myself over my human shoulder. The young maiden responded in her own screeching tone.

“I WANT HIM, GIVE ME!” Before anyone could react, Y/N closed their hand around her arm and lifted it away from me and my brother.

“Annie, Do Not Touch.” She just snarled and reached for me again. Stretch teleported to our human’s other shoulder and snapped at the maiden called Annie to keep her hands to herself as Y/N grabbed her other hand just as she lifted it. As they held her away from themself at arms length, they began to scold her. “You know better. You do not reach for anyone, and he is not a plaything. “ Before Y/N could get another word in, Annie interrupted saying that I was. Her only source of evidence was that “that even the TV says so,”.  It slightly hurt my feeling that Annie thought nothing more of them. As if they were only for play. Like him and his brother was just for her entertainment when requested.

“I have one at home anyways.” Anger began seeping off Y/N at that statement. “What is going on in that head of theirs? Why are they getting so mad?” It was clear Y/N was getting riled up at the little girl. Their grip seemed to tighten ever so slightly as Annie kept fighting in her grip. Even began yanking their hair by the ends as Stretch pushed me and himself back into the hood. From there Stretch teleported himself and me away from the bickering and it seemed like they noticed the lack of weight since they looked straight at Stretch as he  teleported the both of us to the door. Soon I helped Stretch teleport us the rest of the way. Letting him guide the magic as we went.

 The little girl’s yelling could still be heard from inside the house, just more muffled and distant. “So this is the house. I'll show you around later, but I need you to meet some really unnerving guests.” Brother took my hand and walked me over to the door to the left. “Don’t freak out, and DO NOT tell Y/N. We need to ease them into meeting these boys.” I shook my head as Stretch used his magic to unlock the door. Before opening the door it seemed he knocked a secret code of some sort. 

“Well, this is not what I was expecting.”

 “WHAT IN THE STARS ABOVE ARE YOU DOING??!!”

“Human wasn’t home…  Got hungry.”

“AND THAT JUSTIFIED EATING A RAT???”

 “...Yes” 

“IT REALLY SHOULDN’T. “

“You both know you can go get food from the fridge right? Oh also Blue, this is Marz,” he said as he pointed to the bitty with a hole in his head,” and this,” he gestures to the tall and bonely thin skeleton bitty, “is Jupiter.” 

 “The human doesn’t know about them?” I ask with a deadpan expression. “ You guys didn’t think to ask the human that you are hiding from for medication, or food?”

“Do you think they’d be willing to take care of us?” Jupiter asked with a broken voice.

“We’re nothing but… damaged goods. If they took us … to the vet…” Marz started.

“They’d have us “put down” Jupiter finished. 

“I doubt they would, but they’re dead set on not telling Y/N about themselves. “Stretch tried to explain.

“But they were willing to find me just because you wanted me. They're full of kindness, I’m sure they’re fully willing to try and help you both.”

“No.. not chancing… it.”

“Marz is right, we don't know how they’ll react. Better safe than sorry.”

 “Yeah Blue, let's wait. I’ve only known them for a week, you’ve only seen them for at most 6 hours.” Stretch commented.

“But their actions!”

“Mean nothing without something to relate it to.” Stretch replies.

“Humans always… want something. They’re selfish.” Marz states

“Y/N hasn’t shown that once! Why do you think they’re so bad?”

“Why do you think we're like this?” Jupiter interjects. 

 “They didn’t… Did they?”

 “No, but humans don’t care.”

“They love you… and leave…Don’t…find…someone who… cares” Marz was trying to say something. It became obvious something was going through his mind as he tried to. It was also obvious that I was not going to win this argument. They‘re stubborn but I, the Magnificent Sans, will find a way to help them. “I’ll prove they’re different.”

“Yeah bro, you can do it.” Stretch comments.

“Thank you Brother, for now, let's get you two something to eat.  You're both guests in this house.” As I left the room I realized I didn’t know where the kitchen was. My brother quickly noticed that I don’t know where I’m going and took the lead. We passed the couch and Stretch pointed straight ahead. 

“Go ahead and help them. I’ma lock the door back.”

“Why was it locked?”

“That’s the room Y/N asks us not to go into. Not sure why.”

 “Do they know of our hungry guests?”

“No they do not.” Jupiter says as he and his brother pressed their bodies against the wall. Both carrying an utterly empty and saggy bag

 “Don’t worry guys. Y/N isn’t in the house right now. They’re dealing with an insolent child.” Stretch said as he threw an arm over my shoulder pads. He was steering me in the direction of the kitchen, but was trying to make it as inconspicuous as possible.  

Making our way through the living room and into the kitchen wasn’t difficult.  Getting the two boys to stop trying from eating us out of house and home was.  Marz saw the cooked and packaged crab meat and immediately started to divide it among him and his brother. After they both had two pieces, Jupiter repackaged the rezippable item and threw it into his bag.

Me and Stretch thought nothing of it at first until the boys started grabbing big items. I’m sure I wouldn't mind a package of crabmeat missing when there were two left. But the thought of them ignoring the chunk of the uncooked steak missing was very out there. The boys were stuffing their bags full each as they looked around inside the fridge. Marz’s single eyelight had expanded to completely edge the bone of his eye socket. I’d say it was cute had he not been trying to steal enough food to feed a family of twelve our size.  “CALM DOWN GUYS, LEAVE SOME FOR TOMORROW.” I announced to the two thieves.

“Oh blue, we're not going to eat all of it tonight silly.”

“Need to make.… sure… we’re good for… a while.” 

“We don’t like coming out of that room. “

“Me and the boys have an agreement of sorts. I keep the human distracted so they can get food, and they leave us alone.”

“STRETCH, THAT SOUNDS HORRIBLE.” My brother grabbed me and pulled me into a position where he could whisper into my ear.

“It’s just until they warm up to the idea of helping them bro.” It didn’t sit right in my stomach. I had already lied to them once. Should I really do it again? 

“It’s to help them. And it’s just until Y/N moves them in. It’s not bad if you help the majority. It’s two vs. one. Just have to do it one more time. What could it hurt?”

“Fine, I won’t say anything, but you can’t just steal ALL the food. They’ll notice.”

 “He’s right ya’know.'' The two looked at each other and returned some of the food. Not nearly enough for it to look normal. Y/N’s boys tried their best to reason with the two as they refused to replace some of their food. “You said it yourself, they don’t eat much. Do not steal this much. They’ll notice and start looking.” Stretch was trying his best to keep a level head. Marz and Jupiter looked at him to show they heard him, but as Jupiter opened his mouth to respond Marz just grumbled and grabbed his brother.

Without assessing the situation, or thinking of all the outcomes, I grabbed the bag on Jupiter. “Please. Take one bag only. We’ll bring you some of the dinner they cook tonight.”

“If…they cook..tonight.” Marz cuts in.

“You haven’t been here that long. They don’t eat at times. They’ve gone days skipping meals after staring at the bathroom reflector on the door. They choose to make themselves go hungry. We’re looking out for ourselves.” Jupiter said as he pulled away from me.

“They choose to be hungry? No one chooses to be hungry. Why would they?” 

The door could be heard opening, and all the boys scattered. Well sort of. Jupiter grabbed on to me probably thinking I was Marz and started to panic as I didn’t teleport away. Seeing him look around looking for Marz broke my heart, but I don’t safely know the house well enough to teleport him and me both. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the cupboard. “Shhhh they won’t find us if you remain calm. They won’t touch you, breathe.” I was trying my best to calm him, but it was clear he needed his brother. I might look like a more handsome version of Marz, but I’m not him, and he is not I.

I waited and tried my best to use my impeccable hearing to listen to the human. “ It’s just like the stealth game the bunny goes on and on about. Gear solid metal or something like that. I wonder if Y/N has a game like that. Wait, why am I hide from them?” Turning back to see the somehow thinner skeleton pull himself into a ball and cover his mouth with his rat mauled glove. “Right.” 

“Can we please just leave now?” His voice was breaking my heart. What if my baby brother sounded like this?  “Blue please. I need…Marz” He started to cling to my arm. He was shaking and sobbing. He was doing an oddly good job at this. 

“Please don’t tell me this is a normal thing. Please tell me he just does not cry loud. Please let him naturally be quiet.”  I inhaled and silently begged the stars to take us to the room. 

I was never very good at teleporting. 

 It was always my brother's strong suit. 

Falling through the void was always freezing, and the dropping through the air always took my breath away. The sounds and feeling of whatever was in the void terrified me. 

We were in the room thankfully, or at least I think we’re in the room. We landed inside a box on a pink rubber thing. Jupiter stood slowly with shaky legs and tried to run to Marz. He collapsed and Marz came running over. I just laid on the pink thing. There were bumps and a button, but before I could press it, or continue to feel around the box, orange magic encased me. “Don’t touch that.”

“Even… the rats…won’t.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t ask.”

“Alright. I see you two truly are not ready to meet Y/N, so Brother,” I turned to look at Stretch.” Ready to continue the house tour?” He just nodded and we went on our way. Before leaving the room, we checked the locks and teleported to the bathroom. The first thing I noticed was the bathtub on the sink. “Where's the cleaning supplies?”  “Where’s the brushing paste? Or the tooth scrubbers?” 

“They haven’t got any yet in our size, but they have really big ones that haven't even been unwrapped yet bro. Shits as tall as me. They’ll get some if we ask m’sure.”

“You haven’t asked yet?”

“Nope.”

“Have you been brushing?”

“I’ve been a bit preoccupied.”

 “Stretch,” was all I got out. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it.  It made it very clear that while I was gone, something happened. He stopped brushing for some reason. We haven’t eaten yet, so I could not tell how soft his teeth have grown. This is not good. Before I was set on asking more, I thought about it. “No reason to push if he wasn’t going to open up now.”

We left and I was excited to see the rest of this housing unit. This was where me and my brother were to live. “This is the room where we’ll all sleep,” Stretch says.

“Where's our beds?”

“We only have the one, but ‘m sure they won’t mind if we sleep on the couch. We can ask for another bed soon.” 

“I’M GOING TO GO ASK NOW.” and with that, I leave to go talk to the human. They seemed to be in thought, so I waited for as long as my impatiens would let me.

“HUMAN, I KNOW WE, well I HAVEN'T BEEN HERE THAT LONG, AND WEll, I WAS WONDERING IF MAYbe you wouldn’t mind buying-us-tooth-scrubbers.” I started off the question with confidence, but they were just staring with unblinking eyes as I spoke. Clearly still stuck in their head. They blink after a second passed and tilted their head as they smiled. “Were they mad that I started asking questions so soon? Was it because I wanted things? Was I starting things off on the wrong foot? Was it impolite to ask a milf for these kinds of things?”  

“Yeah, I’ll even let the two of you pick out the colors. We’ll order them tonight. C’mon.”  As if on cue, the phone rang. They turned to their phone and began listening to a girl talk. As she spoke, Y/N faces turned into a knowing look. It was showing that this was a somewhat normal thing to happen to them.

 “Will you be spending the night at my place or do I need to drive you home?” Oh we’re already going to have company over?  A few words were stated before Y/N spoke again, “Alright. I have to cook the boys dinner and I’ll be on the way.”

Only one clear word had made its way through the device as Y/N pulled it from their ear. “Boys?” It sounded like she, the phone girl, had been hung up on. Guess it was important since Y/N said that they will be leaving right after dinner. Were they going to stay and eat with us? It’d be the polite thing to do after all.

“Hey Stretch, mind coming here for a second!” Y/N asked through the house. He took a second. A second turned into a minute, a minute turned into two. “Hey Stretch, where are you? I need to tell you something.” Y/N then looked at me and all I could do was shrug. I didn’t know what he was up to.

“NO NEED TO WORRY YN, HE’S PROBABLY SLEEPING. STRETCH COME HERE.” 

After a pause, Stretch appeared rubbing his eye sockets.

“What's up?” you looked down at him and smiled softly.

“I have to go to work tonight. I’ll cook and then leave straight after. Please don’t get hurt while I'm out. And I know y’all have stuff to catch up on. “

“You going to eat at work?” was all that was asked.

“No, I was going to cook here and eat some and leave.”

“WHERE DO YOU WORK AT?” I asked.

They responded with, “The library downtown. It’s about a fifteen minute drive.”

“WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO BE RETURNING HOME?”

“I'll say around ten tonight. I’ll be quiet if you guys are going to be sleeping. I need to start cooking if I’m going to be able to leave in an hour.”  And with that, they turned around and began mumbling about what to cook. After a short debate with themself, I asked, “DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE HUMAN Y/N?”  As soon as I asked, they began pulling out metal bowls with handles.

“If you want to, I'd gladly let you help.” They turned to my brother, probably about to ask if he wanted to join, but he had placed himself into the warm water the coffee pot was holding. “And just call me Y/N. If you want of course, human Y/N is just a lot. Unless there's a monster named Y/N. Then use human Y/N I guess.”

“ALRIGHT Y/N.” 

Cooking this was an experience. There was a shimmery substance that Y/N called glitter that I was trying to add. I am one hundred percent sure it would not only make it look cooler, like me, but also taste ten times better.  I had successfully added a few splashes into the meat, but as I tried to make my daring escape unnoticed, I tripped over the handle and landed face first into some sort of red sauce mixture.

During one point Y/N left me in charge as they went next door to get some cheese since my brother was eating handfuls of it. I didn’t want him to get sick from just eating cheese, but when I tried grabbing it from him, I spilled it all over the counter. It left a trail in my wake, and I do have to say, my speed is unmatched. Some even got on the floor and Stretch laughed at me as we cleaned up the mess. Before we got it all cleaned up, he was already in the process of making cheesy jokes and at one point even had time to make a cheese angel. Y/N giggled as I scolded my brother.

This is what I missed while he was away. I wonder what all Y/N let him get away with. By the time the cheese was finally cleaned, the food was done and ready to be plated. Y/N had to show us how to make these ‘tacos’, and these are star sent. The most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten. Just to make sure they ate, me and my brother both made them two tacos each. After making them try their concoctions, and having to make one for the boys to find out how to, I felt like it was enough for them to be ok. “If they get hungry, they could just make another.” 

“Alright, I’m heading out the door. I’ll be back around ten, if you need anything, c’mere.” Y/N walked over to their chromebook used for school and personal interests. “The password is “083005” if you need anything text me on here.”  

“How do you text?”

“You type in what you want me to know.”

“What if someone, say Stretch, doesn’t know how to spell?”

“There is a voice messaging feature. And this is something someone should ask me to help them with. For now, I’ll show you how to use speech to text, and how to send a normal voice recording in case someone forgets how to do one way or the other. We need to fix that illiteracy. I’ll grab a children's book and help teach the two of you. Remember 10ish. Wait till 11 before going to the neighbors for a missing persons report. Bye guys love ya.” 

“Did they say they love us?”

“Want to go meet the rats?”

“THE WHO?” The door had shut fully before Stretch continued.

“The rats next door. Annie has a bittie named Millie, and she has pet rats.” 

“Oh, I thought you were being mean.”

“Nope, normal rats.”  

After about an hour of playing with the rats, I began getting bored of them. They were cute, but they bite. And it hurts. So, me and Stretch returned home to find Marz and Jupiter eating behind the couch. Without thinking much of it, Stretch tells them you’ll be back home soon, so to keep their end of the bargain up, he would let them eat some of the tacos. “You just can’t eat all of them. They'll ask why so much is missing.” 

“I’ll let them know we’re heading off to bed soon.”

“Alright.”

“They’ll… be out… for how much… longer?”

“We have an hour and a half left.” Stretch then began showing Marz and Jupiter how to package and fold their tacos.

I walked over to the big cube thing and began typing. I didn’t know what I was spelling, but I was trying to sound it out. The screen read, “Helo YG, the is bluspeeeeccing.” When the computer tried to re-correct me for the third time, I'll admit , I was over it. I deleted the entire message and pressed the speech button. 

“HELLO YN, THE IS BLUE SPEECHIGN TO THE BIG CUBE INTERNET TO LET YOU KNOW WE ARE GOING TO BED”  seconds after guessing it was right, I sent it. Minutes after a text was sent as a response….I couldn’t read it. I called all three of the boys over to try and figure out how to make it read it out to us, but eventually gave up. “WE CAN'T READ THAT BUT STAY SAFE, AND WE WILL BE WAITING FOR YOUR RETURN. GOODNIGHT.”  Jupiter said he knew a little bit of writing, but this seemed to be in another language. 

Stretch thought he knew how to read, but we only knew the words on the signs in the store since people were saying them over and over again. This was an embarrassing revelation. I tried my best, but even someone as magnificent as I couldn't guess. 

“Thank you for letting me know” seemed to be taunting me.  What did they say? Were they in danger? “THEY WOULD NOT TEXT US, THEY WOULD CALL THE POLICE.”

Marz didn’t want to try. He left for the kitchen as soon as we told him food was in there. After the second text was fully sent, I walked off and headed into the kitchen. The sight was a bit odd.

Marz was devouring the meat from the tacos, Jupiter was nibbling on a tortilla, and Stretch was in the middle of zipping the bag of shredded cheese back up with his bare hands. The lettuce had a few pieces being torn off for the boys by Stretch’s magic. “Why is Stretch trying to clean up?”  

I quickly jumped into action and began helping him clean the remaining food left out. Soon after Stretch had closed the plastic bag holding the lettuce, and started on cleaning up the meat and sauce, something in Marz switched. A sound emitted from him, and he charged at Stretch.

The glow of his eyes proved he had murder on his mind. Y/N wasn’t going to be home for who knows how long. I might not be able to read, but they said when the clock had the first red light on the stove had a straight line down, and the second red light made a circle. They said that was a ten before they left.  

Looking at the stove’s red lines reminded me of Marz’s eyelight. The maroon shade… blood red. “Focus Blue!”

Turning back to the topic at hand, Marz had his shoulders squared and backed growling at Stretch, hackles raised. Something had pissed this man off. Like an animal circling its prey, Marz kept his stance wide and hunkered low. It was obvious this bitty had to fight others before this. Stretch, having never been in an actual bitty fight, stood perpendicular to the counter, not thinking twice about his center of gravity. 

The bond had begun to vibrate. Voices echoed through the chamber of my brain. “ Blue, don’t make a move. Watch Jupiter. Make sure he stays put.” 

“You never fought brother, I can take him.”  I wasn’t actually sure I could, but I know I would be able to live with seeing him turn to dust. I believe neither of us could.

“I just need time to descalate the si-shit!”  Marz had summoned a single sharp, jagged edged bone, and launched it straight for Stretch’s eye. He took off right after it. Stretch teleported away for the way from the bone, just to realize Marz had launched a second one directly after he noticed that Stretch had evaded the first. A wall of white bone surrounded Stretch, and the sound of bones snapped could be heard all around the kitchen. Probably the house too.

The bone Marz had thrown for the second thankfully wasn’t motion charged. With that much power behind his throw, he would have possibly dusted my brother. I couldn’t move, nor take my eyes off the battle as the two of them fought. The fluid movement coming from a trained manic man was a stark contrast from the ridged, awkward, panicked movement of my brother. It was clear who the more experienced fighter was. 

Stretch lowered the walls and instead of trapping himself in the cage of bones again for protection, he caged the beast Marz had become and glanced at me. I looked back to the much calmer brother of the pair. Jupiter had his body contoured and placed his head between his knees as he cried.

  I take back the calmer comment.

 I walked over and placed my hand on his back. This caused him to jump and begin sobbing. He truly didn’t like seeing his brother fighting. I didn’t either. “ Stretch, finish this quickly.” 

 “Aye Aye sir.” Stretch said and gave Blue a salute. Marz was at least there enough to understand it was a pussy shot to attack while Stretch was talking to his brother. Blue gave him a look and responded.

“Don’t get snippy with me. Jup’s crying.” Guessing the two were conversing through a bond, Marz kept up his flurry of attacks. He had drained himself of the majority of his magic with the constant bones to throw. Having just enough left to materialize a soul weapon if needed.

“You already gave him a nickname?” Stretch asked as he jumped out of Marz’s way., only for Marz to teleport in front of Stretch. They were both trying their best not to fall to the floor, or make a mess of the food. 

“Yeah, because we are going to be friends. Or at least housemates. I would like to be given a nickname; so I’m going to create one for each of them.”

 “Murder sounds like a good one for him.”

“NO! THAT’S MEAN. HE’S JUST GOING THROUGH SOMETHING!”

 “Yeah, he’s trying to go through my skull. I don’t want to match mr. hole over there.”

“YOU ARE BEING SO MEAN BROTHER!”

“Blue, HE’S TRYIN’ TA KILL ME! OF COURSE I'M GOING TO BE MEAN!”

 “Well, that’s not very nice of you.”

 “Neither is being murdered.” Marz had paused and Stretch took this as a change to hit him with some motion charged magic bones. Marz’s already low hp had dipped largely, and Jupiter started to panic. He began begging us not to kill him, how he didn’t mean to hurt us. He was going on and on about how Marz didn’t mean anything by what he did. 

“We weren’t going to kill anyone. Just needed him to calm down. Do you know what triggered this reaction?”

“Stretch was taking it away”

“I was putting it up so it doesn’t all get wasted.”

“It wouldn’t have gotten wasted, I would have finished it.” Marz grumbled. Stretch had him hog tied with his own hoodie and was sitting on him. Both knew if Marz truly wanted or had the energy to get up, he could. Marz was strong, and came by it honestly. He began to wiggle underneath Stretch, just to rock the boat a bit, but caused all the food he ate to start to wiggle around also. The sound of a skeleton's stomach gurgling is quite unpleasant. To give some context, there's no stomach muscles there, so you can hear the magic picking at the substance. It's very quiet, and makes a popping and sizzling sound. When the method is disturbed, the sound grows in volume, and the popping becomes violent and the sizzling becomes hissing. The resulting vomit covered the counter.

 The gragalling of puke is unpleasant as well, but the coughing and wheezing proved he wasn’t dead.  With Stretch sitting on top of him, he couldn’t get any space between him and the counter.  His shirt was drenched with the chewed and acid covered taco meat. The stuff was draining out of every open hole in his head. With him laying down and turned where the jagged side was against the floor, it seeped out from there too. I was gagging and walked over to try and help him. 

 Marz had stopped moving and was clearly in pain. I took one look at my gloves and started scooping out the meat. “STARS THIS IS DISGUSTING.”

“You’re the one touching it.”

“Thank you for helping.”

“ Pretend it's pumpkin guts. The chunky bits are just the stringy bits of the pumpkins and the-”

“SHUT UP, I’M TRYING NOT TO GAG.” 

Stretch had begun cleaning up the mess as I tried to make the vomit-covered mess take a shower in the sink. Right after, Marz and Jupiter had finally begun to make their way to the door of their room. Stretch had his shirt stained with vomit, but decided to continue to wear it so the mess wouldn’t get on another shirt. The lights in the kitchen had been turned off, and the cabinets had been left open, but Stretch just wanted to go take a long hot bath. 

I walked to the door as Jupiter carried the exhausted Marz with him. The two paused before me as Jupiter released Marz from his arms. He sat Marz against the door and walked back to me. “Thank you.” 

Marz, leaning on the door said something that put me on edge. “You better watch… that human… they’re fucking stupid.”

“Did he just lick me?” “Stretch, Jupiter licked me.”

“Nice. You get salvia, and I get vomit. These brothers are something else.” I made my way to the kitchen to finish cleaning up the rest of the food, and to make sure everything was the way it was when Y/N was here last. When I was packing what remained of the food and placing it into the tall, cold, metal box, the door had opened. I sat in the light of the metal box as someone stared down at me. My spine felt like it was being clawed with hands as my eyelights left. 

 “What if Y/N finds the boys, or gets mad at how much food is missing? What do I say when they start asking questions?”

  I looked over and saw it was Y/N when they called me. “Hey, sweetie?” their eyes glanced to the side of my cheek before they continued,  “Oh sweetie, come here.” They leaned down and picked me up and began to wet a paper towel. Nothing was said when Stretch had caught Y/N’s attention, they glanced at the stains littering his clothes. They continued to whip off my face and told Stretch to shower.

 They started the kitchen sink and turned the nozzle from a stream to a spray as Stretch took off his hoodie and tossed it on the opposite side of the sink. Y/N covered their eyes for Stretch privacy and snatched the clothes to clean them.  With Marz’s comment, I didn’t want to leave Y/N by themself. They hand washed the vomit out of Stretch’s hoodie and cargo shorts, and afterwards made it to our shared room and used the blow dryer to quicken the process of his clothes air drying. Once inside, Y/N grabbed him a pair of sleeping shorts and a tank top. “You mind giving him these? He might need them to sleep tonight.”

“Yeah.” Following all that's happened tonight, I wasn't energetic, and it made sense why it unnerved Y/N.  I was quick to give Stretch his items. For one, because he was naked, and the other was because Y/N would have been alone for far too long. As soon as I made it back to Y/N, I climbed them and sat among their hair, and on their shoulders. 

We wait for Stretch to finish drying before letting him join me on Y/N shoulders. They waited for us to get situated before walking to the bedroom. “This is my first night out of the store, and I don’t have a bed. Where am I going to sleep? Y/N would help my energy level much more than Stretch, but Stretch is my brother.”

“Where are you guys wanting to sleep?” 

“Bed.” 

“Well yeah, but mine or your own? Well, Stretch’s bed.”

“Your’s please” responded Stretch. Y/N nodded and proceeded to their bed. Stretch took a spot laying against their stomach, while I found an amazingly comfortable nook between their shoulder and their neck. All three of us shared a good night whisper, and Y/N physically relaxed after feeling us settle. Comfort blanketed all of us as we slowly fell into a restful night.

Chapter Text

The boys remained sleeping on you as you stared up at the ceiling. Headphones hardly stayed on your ear as you listened to music through one side. No one else was home, but old habits die hard. Never knowing when someone would walk in or start knocking on your door. Or if someone wanted to confess their undying love for you by throwing rocks at your window and singing to you once you noticed them. Yeah, the latter hasn’t happened, this isn’t a Romeo/Juliet story.

Blue hadn’t woken up when you reached to fix your fallen headset. He seemed to be really drained from yesterday, and if the jarring red lights on the bookshelf were correct, it was a little after four in the morning now. No one would be up without a reasonable purpose. 

Would yours count as reasonable? 

Sunlight hadn’t broken through the blinds covering the window glass yet, so no need to worry over them; both knew how to take care of themselves. Their breathing could be felt ever so slightly. The push back from your own breathing proved Stretch was doing fine while the warm air blowing on your neck showed Blue was doing great. 

Spotify was just cycling through songs as you laid awake. You were waiting for something. For what you were unsure of. Your body refused to rest as you stayed awake contemplating. Something was going to happen today. While your body knew and was readying itself, the connection and conversation to your brain seemed to be severed. You had no clue why or what you were preparing for, so mentally you were cycling through as many scenarios as possible. One of them had to be correct. 

The room was still and the sounds of the neighbors were absent. With the window shut, you had no way of listening to the wind whispering to you. Some nights a cold breeze would help relax and defuse the intense feelings your family harbored in the house. Nanny used to tell you an icy breeze would freeze the negativity in a room. She explained that the reason we celebrate Christmas in winter is because of this theory. It made Christmas have more of a scientific reason compared to a tall, fat man who gave out presents because he was omnipotent, yet not a god.

Christmas was coming up soon. Three days to be exact. Oh shit. “Family photos. Fuck.” You mumbled to yourself. Blue being wedged between your cheek and neck grumbled as you moved your jaw. His foot twitched from the movement coming from your mouth as you mumbled. His way of strangling you in his sleep reminded you of a cat.

Annually your family went to a mall Santa stop and took photos. Nanny started the tradition, and your mom kept it alive, but each year the same issue arises; outfits. Glancing to the left of your bed you looked into your closet. Stretch’s closest sat off to the left of it. Actually looked kinda like a fun house with the size difference. His closet doors were left open too. Maybe that’s why you couldn’t sleep. Not the slowly growing nervousness of this bullshit you know you're going to be going through. “The boys need sweaters.” 

You needed to move Stretch and Blue before you could leave the bed. Last you remembered, he was sleeping on your stomach, but you know he moves around while he sleeps. As you steady your breathing, you lifted Blue away from your neck and onto your pillow. Once he was safely placed, you leaned up and saw Stretch sprawled out with his feet laying against the side of your stomach. His arms were spread wide and his soft snorting finally reached your ears as the headphones finally fell off your head.

Either the bounce of the headset woke Blue or when the headphones hit him on the side with their second landing.

He snapped into a standing position and glared around the room. Not making any sudden movements seemed like the best idea you’ve had since stealing him. It was cute watching this tiny man glare at each corner of the dark, quiet room. Not so cute was his battle stance. He was making it obvious he was ready to fight.

Why is he so ready to fight?

The only light helping you was the street light from outside peeking through the cracks between the curtain and window. Without the light of the lamp outside, there would be no way you would have seen him inching into your lap. He had yet to let his guard down or say a word. “Your brother is safe,” you whispered softly. The tension left his bones for a moment only for him to glance toward you. Smiling and nodding before continuing. “You’re safe, and so is your brother.” 

After you spoke he began moving into your lap, and after finishing his search, apparently not finding what he was looking for, calmed down.

“You ok there Blue?” You were met with silence as he hopped down and searched under the bed. Looking back to Stretch to find him cuddling against your thigh. His arm was thrown over it and his head laid against the top portion of your knee. Completely unaware of Blue’s search. 

It took a few moments, probably because of all the stuff underneath it, but after Blue finished searching under the bed, and along the floor, he teleported back onto the bed.

“WE’RE ALL GOOD. NO ONE NEW IS IN THE HOUSE.”

“Wait, you searched the entire house?” Maybe it was because he was searching the house like he was in a horror movie.

“WELL YES. IT’S BEST TO SEARCH EVERYWHERE JUST IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPENED DURING THE NIGHT.”

“That doesn’t sound creepy at all.” You reached down for him to climb onto your hands, “Thank you.” you say as you lifted him to his cheek and nuzzled against his face. The feeling of bone rubbing against your cheek felt like chilled porcelain as you thanked the bitty. 

“YOU’RE MY HUMAN, I’M GOING TO PROTECT YOU, JUST AS I DO WITH MY BROTHER,” he said after you finished nuzzling him. “WHY ARE YOU AWAKE THIS EARLY? OR IS IT LATE? WERE YOU HAVING A NIGHTMARE?”

“Nah, I just couldn’t sleep. We need to go out and buy you both some sweaters for a family gathering I’m about to be dragged into.” He looked confused so you clarified. “Every year, a few days before Christmas, my family makes all of us take family photos with a mall Santa Claus and then a few more with everyone in front of our tree. So, how heavily does Stretch sleep?”

“OH, I CAN JUST CARRY HIM,” Blue says as he walked to his brother and pulled him over his back. Stretch was still asleep as Blue wrapped Stretch’s arms around his cervical spine. Watching a skeleton rag doll was odd, but Blue seemed to know what he was doing. The sleeping boy had rolled his head into Blue’s exposed neck bones. Blue huffed and reached for his brother’s limp and stretched-out legs. You helped Blue to link his hands under Stretch’s knees. “Let’s head out.” he said before teleporting himself and his brother to the door.

Not even bothering to change, other than grabbing a jacket, all three of you headed to your car. Blue continued to hold Stretch as you walked. It took a few minutes for you to reach it since he didn’t want to take the chance of his brother waking up, tangled in the hood. 

Both the boys made it to the car with only one or two hang-ups. One being that they were almost stepped on when one of the tenants came sprinting down the hall. Seems like he was running from someone. Didn’t even drop off his trash, just left it by the door. Odd, but people can be weird. Maybe that’s his normal.

The trip was quiet for Stretch’s sleeping comfort. Blue didn’t ask any questions, and you kept the stereo down. Trees quickly dispersed and more and more of the city came into view. You were just heading to the supercenter Walmart, so being in pj’s is normal. And the fact it was like 4:24 in the morning. You were going to buy a sweater there anyways. The fleece pants were already covered with Christmas lights with the words, “I’ll deck your halls” Maybe not the cutest, but they were warm and at this point, you didn’t care. Life is short, and comfort is worth this. Plus pissing off any of the family will be funny. 

You pulled into a parking spot and glanced around the lot. Walmart was pretty empty. Probably had something to do with it once again being 4:24 in the morning. The few here were probably here for late-night shopping for gifts. “The boys need presents. Do I have the other kid’s gifts? Haven’t been around to know what they like. Plus the store is probably wiped out anyways.” Blue takes a moment to grab Stretch again and teleport out of the car.

“CAN WE GET ONE OF THOSE FOUR-WHEELERS?”

“Do you mean a cart? Yeah. I’ll also take off my jacket and we can let Stretch lay down in the baby-carrying portion of it.” 

“PERFECT! MY BABY BROTHER CAN BE A BIT HEAVY WHEN HE BECOMES DEAD WEIGHT.” You say nothing as Blue seemed to catch on to what he said. “DO NOT LAUGH, THAT ONE WAS TOO EASY. I CAN’T BELIEVE I SNOOPED TO HIS LEVEL.” A few giggles escaped your mouth as Stretch lifted his head.

“Well, it seems like I’m down to yours.” 

“STRETCH I WILL DROP YOU. DO NOT TEST ME.” Stretch just shifted closer to Blue. Maybe it was so he wouldn’t drop him, but you don’t think he would. At least not on the concrete or in the middle of the crosswalk.  Or maybe he would depending on how Stretch acted since the brother in question refrained from any further puns. 

It felt weird walking into the store. You hadn’t been here in who knows how long, even though it’s only twenty-ish minutes away. The store’s layout was close to the same. The sweaters were in the center of the store, but finding something for the boys might be a bit more difficult. 

Grabbing a cart after Blue led the three of you inside. You laid the jacket flat in the baby carrier after taking it off. It being the middle of December and the crack-ass of the morning, it felt like Jack Frost’s  domain had been expanded into the confines of the store. “Shit are the boys cold? Stretch does have a hoodie but Blue… I’ll buy him a few long sleeves to go under his shoulder pads and bandana. Don’t want him freezing to death.”

You leaned over and picked Blue up to place him and Stretch both in the cart. “HUMAN Y/N, I CAN WALK NEXT TO YOU,” Blue announced. “I DO NOT REQUIRE YOU TO PUSH ME AROUND. I’m not a baby bones.” His cheekbones flushed a very light shade of blue. 

“I know you’re not. But I don’t want to kill someone for stepping on you. I’ll be in jail before noon.” You say as you begin the journey through the clothing isles. 

Nothing memorable caught your eye at first glance like the chibi Halloween sweater they had. It was a ghost giving a bat a Christmas present saying, “Time for some holiday fear.” It was a cute and fuzzy sweater. The black would somewhat match the red of your “I’ll deck your halls” pants, but it is adorable. The boys didn’t seem too enthusiastic to be here, but you knew Blue didn’t want to be sitting in the cart, and Stretch would rather be in your bed. 

“Time to find something to fit you guys.” Stretch let out a groan. 

“We’ve been here for over ten minutes trying to find you a sweater, I already have a hoodie. Only Blue needs one.”

“I’LL BE FINE WITHOUT ONE.”

“Nah, I’m dragging y’all into these photos. I’ve suffered annually during these. You can handle one. Plus this will get my mom off our backs until hopefully around Valentine's day. Hopefully this year we will only be taking the ones in front of our tree since it is so late in the year.” 

“What did you say about my day?” Asked a voice off to the left. You were leaning against the cart to be closer to Blue as the two of you talked, so when you turned your head, you were blocking him from your view.

“Hey Val, what are you and,” there was a small group of teenagers surrounding her, “the other four doing here?” This kid had a new boyfriend weekly and made friends like it was a fishing catch-and-release pond. The newest addition to the group was a small, skinny blonde boy. They were holding hands so using context clues, and the lipstick smudges along his neck, this was her state-of-the-art boy toy.

“Oh this is Frank,” she said as she pulled him along. You tuned her out as she explained who was who. It didn’t matter when the group would disband in less than a month because Frank was a cheater, or Jenny kissed Eliza, or Jordan said something to someone and everyone left her for another less depressed kid. 

If Wattpad readers had a physical form, it would be Val. Her life was a ten-year-old written Wattpad story. Shit parents, shit friend groups, and multiple horrible exes. Add some singing scenes, and you have Val. While their life seemed bleak, they had the opportunity to move out of the house and into your apartment as a roommate. When granted the offer, they shot it down due to the fact they were going to have to pay rent. They would rather, “Pay with their mental health then pay with their check.”

She was still talking about her friends when you interrupted, “Are we taking photos in front of the tree this year?” She huffed before replying.

“What happened to my cousin who used to listen to me ramble about life? I miss that one.” Girlypop we’re in the middle of Walmart, and I’m in pj’s. Also, it's four in the morning and while hanging out with teenages that reek of weed sounds all fine and dandy, the bed was calling your name like a siren luring sailors to their doom. 

“I’m not your cousin. You’re my aunt.”

“Oh, does that make you my…” She paused. No one answered as you stared at her waiting so she just shrugged it off. “Yeah. Sissy was going to call you, but since I ran into you might as well tell you about it.” Her newest plaything seemed to be uncomfortable staying put. “Sweater of course. Pants obviously. Can’t have Frank here seeing you like that. I mean that’s how I lost my last boyfriend.” That is not how you lost your last one, “Nothing vulgar, you can’t bring your boyfriend,” oh but you can? “And please, for the love of Christmas, keep yourself off the computer. I know it’s hard for someone like you, but seriously, enjoy Christmas this year.” What the fuck was she trying to insinuate? 

No need to get upset. “I enjoy my time online. You know Christy drags me everywhere.”

“Christy is your mother. Call her by her title,” she paused as she glanced through the corner of her eyes, trying to look at her friends. “This is why she doesn’t like you.” they continued.  Her friends attempted to not to look like they were invested, but they were acting like this was a train on fire.  “Oh wait, you guys don’t know yet.” She turned fully to her friends and started talking about family drama. You softly pushed the cart away from you.

You turned to Blue and whispered to him, “Push the cart hard, jump on the bottom and I’m going to act as if it rolled away. Watch out for my feet ok.” You waited for him to nod and you leaned down to mess with your shoe. The sudden falling motion of you caught Frank’s eye. 

The cart's motion went unnoticed since Val began talking to the kid. Wait for just a second more. Frank went to respond and you slinked away from the group. After a few steps you reached the cart and quickly pushed it into the kids toy aisle. You paused and let Blue climb up the outer part of the metal cart. You didn’t explain to the boys why you asked such a weird request from Blue, nor why you wanted to get out of dodge. 

“Blue, do you like cooking?”

“YES I DO, WHY?” 

“No reason.” It was clear Stretch enjoyed his naps. 

“WHY ARE YOU ASKING SUCH ODD REQUESTS?” 

“For Christmas. Oh well, monsters call it gyftmas, so I’m not sure which one you’d prefer it to be called. The idea is relatively the same, I think. I’m trying to come up with gifts for the two of you.”

“AWW, Y/N YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GET US ANYTHING. HOW WOULD WE BE ABLE TO REPAY THE OFFER?” You just smile at him.

“I’m sure you’ll both think of something. I mean two smart and handsome bone boys should be quite capable.” Blue became bonnet blue and proudly presented his smile after your comment. 

Cooking. He liked to cook. Something small that he could use… easy. Blue’s gift is done. You grabbed an Easy Bake Oven and slid it into the cart. “WHAT’S THAT?”

“Ariel’s gift.”

“WHO’S ARIEL?” Stretch piped up for the first time in a few minutes. 

Why was he shutting down around Val?

“Ariel was the little brown hair girl I told you about.”

“THE ONE THAT LET HER BROTHER AND COUSIN DRESS YOU IN DOLL CLOTHES?”

“Wait, they did what?”

‘I guess they do make sweaters for dolls. I could try and find something for them there. Wait, fuck would Stretch be okay with that?’

The boys continued to argue about something as you pushed through the aisle. There was an entire cooking set with a mini microwave, whisk, bowl, pots, pans, and everything that anyone would need to cook a full meal. The box had labels explaining that it was magically fused, meaning the items could be used for what the adult version could do if someone of magic origin used them. Since it was a cooking set, you supposed that if Blue used it, it would make real food. 

I need to find an aisle of magic-based items. You could always take a detour after work and return to the bitty center, but that's an extra 30 minutes past your work at the bar. ‘I’ll just have to make a day out of it. If I ever get a moment to myself before Christmas.’

You set the cooking set into the cart and continued onward. Blue hadn’t asked but it was clear he wanted to know how this could be for. It should be obvious you couldn’t do magic since you were oblivious to how their magic worked. 

You still needed to get something for Kendal, Stretch, Dom, Val, Cindy- scratch that, give her a ten for cigarettes- Rusty, Mom, and Matt. 

Stretch could get a hammock so he could have a nap whenever. 

Kendal could use a new switch case

Dom…. hmm maybe get him a race car toy? What do boys like?

Val can kiss my ass and get a new pair of fake earrings from here. Maybe a nail kit too since both are small.

Rusty - definitely new noise-canceling headphones for that house or for his work. He needs to start protecting his already depleting hearing.

Mom can get a glass rose. 

Matt wouldn’t want anything, but I’ll get him a mug with a dump dad joke on it.

“Easy.” 

“What’s easy?” Stretch asked. Blue had moved into the larger part of the cart and examined the two toys so far. Most of the gifts would be located around this store. Christmas prices are going to kick your ass, but it’s Christmas. 

“I have everyone's presents in mind.”

“Hints?”

“Sure. I’m getting yours, your brother’s, my brother’s, and all my cousin’s gifts. As well as Val, and all the adults in the house. Minus big Heather. I’m buying her kids' shit, not her.” Stretch just nodded and watched his brother. 

The walk went on and as you got to the doll section. The look for the sweaters began. Blue’s long sleeve shirts were easy to find, and you just got eight. One for each day of the week, and a wash day. 

Blue and Stretch watched as you moved with purpose. You grabbed two sweaters. One with honey bees dancing around a honey bear bottle covered with Christmas lights. The other was picked out by Blue himself. It was of Optimus Prime holding lights over his head with the words, “Autobots, light up” underneath him. A few of the well-known transformers in their car form were on the back with their headlights on. Blue didn’t know who these characters were but said he ‘liked the powerful stance’ Optimus was standing in.

“Sweaters-done.” was mumbled from your lips as Blue tried on the sweater. Stretch sat silently and rubbed the fabric of his. “If you want, I can cut out the image of the bees and lights and make it into a blanket after the photos, if you wear it.” Stretch just nodded and went back to rubbing the fabric.

You passed after seeing an American Girl Scout camping set. Came full with a hammock, tent, sleeping bag, and a camper. 

If I could find someone to make the RV magic fuse…

You placed it in the cart and Blue gave you a confused face. “Don’t worry about it, hon.” You said as you smiled. Stretch clearly was thinking about your family since the set was clearly a feminine toy.

“You said you got Ariel’s gift already right?” 

“Yep.” Stretch didn’t ask anything else for the time being. 

At the edge of the row hung the fake nail kits. Grabbing the cheapest one, you throw it in the baby area. The earrings were towards the front, but you didn’t care at the moment. “Remind me to grab a five pack of earrings please.”

“FOR WHO?”

“Aww, come on Blue, I just need to remember.”

“BUT YOU AND MY BROTHER ARE PLAYING A RIDDLE GAME. I’M GOING TO NEGOTIATE WHERE I CAN.”

“I’ll take my chances with remembering.” Blue pouted at your stubbornness, but with the few days you’ve known him, you knew he wasn’t going to give up. You just smiled and kept going. 

Passing the boys' aisle, you grabbed a race car and just shrugged at the bitties as they looked at you. 

Going into the electronics, you grabbed a Legend of Zelda case and placed it into the cart. Both boys started conspiring with one another about the toys. The toys that will make you broke. You also snagged the noise-canceling headphones for Rusty. 

As you made your way up to the front you ran back into Val. The group returned to following you and the boys. The teens tried to not make it known they were watching, but with how many murder mysteries and horror stories you’ve been subjected to, you know to check your surroundings at all times.

You grabbed a pack of earrings and headed for the front. Walking past the mugs, you grabbed one saying, “I keep my dad jokes in a dad-a-base.” 

There were a total of fifteen-ish items. Twenty-five ninety-nine for the easy bake, thirty-five for the camping set, ten for all eight of the sweaters, five for the five-pack of earrings, seven for the nails, and ten for the remote-controlled car, blue’s magic cooking set was seventy-five, but it was magically infused so that's understandable. The mug was just five straight.

The checkout felt like it was breaking the bank. Almost every holiday did this to you. “We can get the rest online. Let’s get the fuck out of here.” You say as you push the buggy faster as the teens follow. “We do need to get home and get ready for Mother’s bullshit.”

You pushed the buggy outside and the boys tried to help move some of the lighter bags into the trunk. Stretch being slightly clumsy, fell into the trunk and just laid down as you and Blue finished pilling bags and boxes into it. Every now and then, Blue would lift him with magic to set something down underneath the taller of the duo. After you finished, Blue closed his brother in the trunk and walked off. “Hey, Blue!”

He turned as you reopened the lid of the trunk. “You’re so mean to me.” was all Stretch said as you picked him up and walked to the doors. “See, Y/N loves me,” He said as he rubbed his skull into your cheek, “They’re nice to me.” You both hopped in the car as Blue rolled his eyes.

He climbed into the car with only an eye light roll and you started the journey home.

The ride was consistent with you humming songs coming from your head as Stretch told Blue about the house he lived in before yours. It was short and quicker even though it was just about five in the morning. Less cars on the road compared to normal definitely had been a positive on the ride home. 

Once home, you carried the boys up to the apartment and departed ways as you gathered clothes for a short, hot shower. 

The sting of the water felt pleasant as the cold melted from your skin. You hadn’t sat in the shower for quite some time, but with the stress of the upcoming party and overthinking how fucked this afternoon was going to be, no one would blame you. 

“Hey Y/N,” said a voice outside the door before a knock came, “Do you know the time the party starts?” 

“Probably noon ‘til like around three. We won’t be staying that long though. Just enough to drop by for photos and give presents.” Stretch could be seen through the sheer material of the curtain, meaning he could see you if he was looking.

“You okay? You know we don’t have to go,” he said as he hopped onto the lip of the tub, turning his back to you. “Just.. lie. Say one of us is sick.” from the way he said the word lie, you could tell he disliked the thought of it. “I know you’re sick of your family's bullshit. So not really a lie, guess more like bending the truth.”

“Valentine already saw me, and you boys. Doubt the family would believe the bent truth.” He just shrugged. 

“You want me to leave so you can finish up?” He asked as his head tilted, silently nudging towards the door.

“Yeah, I need to get out and dry my hair anyways.”

“Just know, if you really want us to help get you out of the house, I’ll make Blue puke.”

“Don’t do that to your brother.” He snickered and hopped down, and out the door turning to head into your shared bedroom. You finished washing and stepped out to towel dry. Grabbing the clothes you were wearing before and wrapping yourself in a towel, you headed to the living room where a few unfolded baskets lay. Picking up a clean set of underwear and heading back to the bathroom to finish change was interrupted by Blue and his gasp. 

“Y/N! ARE YOU GOING TO PUT DIRTY CLOTHES BACK ON AFTER CLEANING YOURSELF IN THE SHOWER?”

You paused as the thought set in that, this was exactly what you were doing. “...Yes.”

“BUT THE CLOTHES ARE DIRTY?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re still going to wear them?”

“...” the silence dragged on a beat longer, “...yes.” He just gave a look of disgust and shivered before walking off. 

After changing and feeling bad about redressing in the pants you slept in and the new shirt, you helped the boys into their sweaters before rushing to wrap the presents. Each slapped with a post-it note to remember each goes with each kid. With Stretch and Blue’s help, the wrapping did take longer than expected, but the duo worked themselves into a rhyme pretty quickly. Stretch would hold the paper that Blue folded as Blue was run over to the tape dispenser and snatch a piece when you weren’t using it to bring back to Stretch for him to tape the paper down. Much more tape and paper was used then probably needed, but Blue’s excitement and joy made the wasted materials worth it. Soon after all the gifts were wrapped, the journey to mother’s began.

Each of you had their own expectations about how this night was going to go. You knew how this was going to go based off the last few years attending this shindig. Walk in, get your feelings hurt. Tough it out til an hour passes, rush presents and dip. Maybe, hopefully, with the boys there, the party will go by much faster. 

The driveway, filled with cars, felt like you were signing your soul away to the rulers of hell and watch as they cage it. Each step closer to the door was like seeing the caged being of yourself be lifted higher and higher as if your steps were a part of the machine pulling the rope. Opening the door gave the same feeling as dropping the key into an abyss of used needles and being told to search for it gloveless and blindfolded. 

The room was filled with children's screams and adult banter. The only sensations you could focus on were the tightening grips Stretch gave the fabric of your sweater and the light patting Blue gave your clavicle by swinging his feet.

Ariel ran up to you first and began tugging at your sweater, showing you where to place the few gifts you could bring in and still have a hand few. It only took a few more trips to bring in everything. “Oh so you can show up on time.” Cindy said she looked you up and down.

“Y/N IS ACTUALLY VERY PUNC-” Blue began before he was glared at, and a hand came up to shush him. His eyes widened at you and your action as you smiled back at Cindy.

“I wasn’t busy and Val came to remind me this morning. Say, has she come back yet?”

Cindy just sneered at you as you smiled back at her. It became second nature to let the hag make faces. Maybe one of them would get stuck that way. She scanned you once more before the face seemed to cement.

“What are you wearing, and why is there a short, fat one on your shoulder? The skinny one was trouble enough.” You rolled your shoulders and popped your neck. No sense in getting heated this soon. This was a dance she created, solely for this family, yet you grew up being taught it. You knew each and every step the same as she, if not better. 

“I’m wearing the outfit for the photos I was told about,” You said as you looked around, “you might want to get ready for them. Y’know, needing to cover up your face to hide the monstrosity your mother cursed the earth with.” She paused and a flash of insecurity crossed her face before turning and walking off. 

 “Y/N that was not kind. Why would you say something like that?” Blue questioned in a hushed tone.

Guilt ate at your body, but you knew you had to stand your ground. This is nothing compared to the shit they pulled last year.

Blue seemed like he wanted to confront you, yet at the same time, wanted to comfort you. Stretch patted your cheek and popped over to Blue. “We’re going to go visit Ariel. She’s watching over the baby.” 

“Go on, but when I call for you, please come quick. It’ll be time for us to leave or to watch everyone do presents.”

“AS YOU WISH,” was all Blue responded with. The boy blipped away and you walked over to Kendal. 

“Hey, your lil’ bro is with his big bro and Ariel, if you want to go see and meet him.” Kendal looked up from his switch and looked to where Ariel was sitting, chatting with the boys.

“The short Blue one?”

“Yep,” was all that was said before he placed the switch on the floor and got up to head toward the younger girl. You picked up the switch and placed it on the charger before calling out to him saying where you placed it. 

You sat on the couch with your headphones in and watched the world burn around you. Children screamed and ran through the house. Adults walked in front of you, mute to you as music raged on in your ears. As the songs changed your body and mind just ran through the motions. 

Christmas was in three days, and this was the best you were going to get. Sitting silently as the world passed around you. None the wiser to your mute state. None cared as your mind fell through the holes this household has created through your life. 

Pressure appeared on your shoulder as a small, boney hand found your cheek. “Time to present.”

No words came from you as you shifted your eyes to look at him. He smiled and your body dropped. Tension seeped slowly out as you stood up and walked to the tree. 

All the adults rounded up the children and began setting up the camera for the photo. Being one of the adults, you were tasked with holding the shoulders of the kids to keep them in position. You remember the feeling of pissing someone off and them clucking onto you as a way to let you know that if you act out again, they will beat your ass.

Ariel had stood before you with both the boys. Before taking the picture, Christy noticed the boys. “Who told you to bring that biting thing back to my house?” 

“Can we just take the photo and get the presents?” Cindy had walked towards your mother and by the whispering between the two explained your actions from earlier.

“Why do you think you can come in here and be rude to your grandmother? You always rush to get away, and act like we abused you. You never want anything to do with us. Come on, we weren't that bad. Hell we could have been worse! I never hit you-"

"No but you've tried dragging me into your room by my hair to beat my ass after I was sick and called you a bitch." 

"Because it's disrespectful to reference your mother in such a way." Your grandmother piped in.

The kids were getting anxious and Ariel moved to stand behind you. Eyelights from both boys followed the conversation. As you spoke they looked at you. When your mother utters anything, their eyes would snap to her. Honestly it would be funny had the conversation not held the tension it did.

Blue seemed to be getting anxious as well by the way he began wiggling to get out of Ariel's grip. Had it not been for Stretch clicking his tongue and shaking his head, Blue would have gotten out. 

"I do not remember that happening."

"Of course you don't." The others just continue getting ready for the photoshoot. Your screaming matches seem to be commonplace for these children. A piece of your heart breaks at this reveal. Though it shouldn’t have. You were in their place once. Watching your mother and father screaming from across the room at each other. Being in between their constant tug-of-war to see who could hurt the other worse than the last time. 

Her eyes widened and shifted into a glare. "What is that supposed to mean?" Her arms crossed over her chest and the glare hadn't weakened as time passed.

Everyone stilled as you waited. Neither wanting to give in.

 "Y/N?" Blue tried. 

 You made no move to show you heard him.

Stretch tried next, "Hey Y/N?"

 Once again nothing.

 Ariel pulled them closer and the movement caught the eye of Cindy.

 "Ariel, give them to me now." A chill fan up your spine at the comment.

 Ariel looked at you then the boys. Blue looked to Stretch and then to Cindy. Stretch made no move as the eye lights vanished from his sockets. Clearly not a good sign.

 "She said to give them to her. Do it." Kendal said as he nudged her. She looked to you for guidance. Tears welled in her tear ducts as panic filled her. It was sick to see the fear and distress filling her small form. Once again an adult pulling a child in an aggravated conversation just to try to make a point.

 "Oh for god sake," Christy said as she shoved you aside and reached for the boys. Ariel breath caught in her throat as she released the hold on the boys, letting them fall.

Blue snapped into action before his feet even hit the floor. Mid-air he reached for Stretch, and took off as soon as he touched ground. Stretch was slightly dead to the world. Only when your mother attempted to stomp them did he come back. 

You didn't know the technicalities behind teleporting, but something tells you the smells of rotten oranges and burnt flowers seemed to convey something negative. 

"Where those little shits go," her eyes snap to you, "find your fucking pests and get the hell out." 

Something seemed to snap into place. Your restraint helped you hold your voice. There was no reasoning with these people.

"There's children." Was your only retort.

"What no photos?" Valentine asked as she appeared in the kitchen.

 Cindy stepped in before your mother advanced towards you. The intent to hurt was clear in her eye as she refused to hold her tongue. 

"Your behavior is worse than your mother's."

Chapter Text

"Your behavior is worse than your mother's." 

The time from the comment being made to making it home was a blur. You don't know how you got home or when you placed yourself back into bed. 

The boys had taken to lying against your sides. Stretch to your left, facing the door, and Blue to the right. Blue had his head lying on you and turned to stare up at you. Both were still in their sweaters from the party bullshit. Your grandmother truly didn’t know how much this messed with your mind and mood. You wanted nothing more than to just be something that had the blood of that vile woman. 

Your body remained motionless as time passed. The light that had once filled the room slowly seeped away, and this was the first time in a while that you allowed yourself to watch the color shift. 

The warm, honey yellow flowing into the room from the sun changed into a sickly pink. The sliver the curtains let in was the only way time was proved to be passing. 

The pressure from your left side had slowly eased off before returning to add additional weight to your stomach. Something had been placed on your chest before Blue crawled up onto your stomach and sat on his heels. His boney knees sunk into the area below your ribs uncomfortably but you made no move to change his sitting arrangement.

"The phone," Blue stated.

"The phone is ringing," Stretch replied. The reference to Wonder Pets was not lost on you, but the fact the house phone was ringing was. It never had a reason to. You had your cell phone at all times.

It took an embarrassing amount of time and effort to get yourself out of the bed. The pillows sang a soft, siren lullaby, and the bed kept its motherly embrace as you tried to leave. Your body and mind wanted nothing more than to ignore the ringing and return to your place of malice. Your thoughts were a continuous stream of negativity. Each passed fast enough to hear the cynical voice weep into your mind, but none stayed long enough to be thought through.

"You're just like your mother."

"Worse than actually."

"You didn't think about the effects this will have on those kids."

"What if your grandma was just having a bad day?"

“People have off days all the time, she is no exception.”

"She doesn't have that much time left, and you did this is her?"

"You ruined those children's day."

“You couldn’t stick it out for those kids, wonder how they view you now.”

“Such a weak, disgusting, unworthy-”

The boys had not seen you act like this before. They did not know how to react. Was this a normal human thing? "Have they done this around you before?"

"No. At least not this bad…" Stretch's voice was quickly drowned out by the noise of the house phone. His voice sounded as if he was gargling water.

The walk to the phone hooked up in the kitchen pushed the numbness to the sole of your feet with each step. The house phone can only be rung by the landlord or other tenets of the apartments. “It was a surefire way to get people to answer even if they don’t want to,” explained Mrs. Beoa when you first toured the apartment. 

Coming face to face with the ringing made the sense of monachopsis worse. Everything felt wrong and out of place. You stood there staring at the phone as your vision blurred. The edges collapse into the void. Both hands clasped in front of you as you tried to pop your knuckles in the uncomfortableness filling your space, hoping it would disburse the sensation. 

Soon nothing but the phone was visible as you waited, silently begging for the ringing to stop. 

With a shaky exhale, you reached for the phone. The feeling of your heartbeat could be traced through your fingertips when they made contact with the vibrating plastic. Closing your eyes and yanking the phone to your ear was all you did before hearing a crying woman hiccup into the receiver.

“Hello?” she asked before another soft inhale was quickly taken in. Something wasn’t right. This was not okay. 

“Hello, you’ve reached the resident of 324. How may I help you?” You asked. 

“Don’t give any personal information away.”

“Someone might be trying to find out where you live to kill you stupid.”

The female on the other line took a few more minutes to try and calm herself. “Hun, take the time you need to calm down.” You suggested, “I’m not going anywhere.” You couldn’t tell if you were saying this for her comfort or your own.

“Are you a-a,” there was a pause as a slam of something falling sounded from upstairs, “fuck, are you a b-bitty house?” You cast your eyes down and saw Blue looking up at you as Stretch stood awkwardly to the side of his brother, not looking up at you. You wanted to point out he was missing a shoe but didn’t want to keep the girl waiting longer than she already had. 

“No, I’m not a bitty shop,” you replied. “I have two bitties, but I’m not a vet kinda place. I don’t know one other, I’m sorry.” Keeping the shake from your tone happened naturally in these situations. Something learned from rigorous teaching

A new voice came through over the phone. “That’s not what she fucking asked you,” The voice caught you by surprise and stunted you into silence, “she asked if you were the bitty House, not a stupid vet, dumbass.” 

“Once again dickweed, I’m not the bitty house. I don’t even know what the hell that is. Do me a favor and put the girl back on before I hang up. I don’t have time for jackasses who get off on yelling at others.”  The shake seemed gone as you know how to deal with people like him. This was safe, this was normal.

He said a few more remarks yet you waited since the voice of the girl came over the phone before he continued. 

The boys stood there and could probably hear what was going on over the phone since the couple wasn’t quiet. Now and then the group upstairs would interrupt the yelling you were hearing over the phone. Blue wanted to say something, but you held up your finger to your lips and rolled your eyes. 

Blue looked to Stretch and pointed to the floor before jumping down. Stretch looked at you and shrugged before taking off after his brother. Feeling tired from the slowing tension from the dread of the calling and the numbness from earlier, you hopped up onto the countertop. Kicking off your shoes and pulling your legs up with you to get situated on the counter. A slamming door vibrated from your neighbors down the hall as you listened to the girl speak again, “You still there?”

“Yes, I am. Are you okay?” You asked. You don’t know the situation and did not want to get pulled into this couple's drama, but the feeling of your loneliness and embarrassment of being in a similar situation earlier in life made you ask. This was familiar; this was safe.

“Yeah, he just gets like this sometimes.” 

“Did he hurt you?”

“He would never. He-I,” there was yet another gap in her speech, “We love each other. Just haven’t found a middle ground in this argument yet. He’ll understand and things will be okay.” 

You wanted to so desperately tell her that she was wrong. Past experiences proved that someone would worsen and someone would get hurt. It was your turn to sign and comment, “Well you know my number. We may not know each other but I’ll be your masked savior any day. Only one call away.”

“So are the police.”

“Yeah, but they don’t live in your apartment complex somewhere and are on their way to owning a tooth bat.”

“A what?”

You snickered, “Don’t worry about it. Sorry I couldn’t help further. I need to go see what these boys are up to before someone or something gets destroyed.”

“Hey, one last thing.”

“Yeah, was up?” you asked.

“How much do you know about hurt skeleton bitties?”

“...Not much.” you slowly replied. “Why?” Red flags popped up around that question. She asked if you were a bitty house and now asked if you knew how to care for hurt skeleton bitties. 

“ Was she going to hurt the boys?”

“Would you try to heal or save a hurt bitty?” she clarified

“Girlypop what the fuck?” you spoke as you stared daggers into your fridge. Why the fuck is she asking you that? The more important question is, did she hurt one of them?

“I ju-ust wanted to know if you’d try.”

“I’m not answering that, what the actual fuck? Did you hurt one of them?” 

“I didn’t,” was all she whispered before hanging up. “Well, that was very fucking weird, and not at all creepy,” you say to no one in particular. Both boys weren’t in sight as you made your comment, so it was truly to no one, for no one. This is the kinda stuff that insane people do. Shaking your head you replaced the landline on the hook it was removed from and sat in thought.

She asked if you were a vet-wait no, not a vet. A bitty house? “What’s a bitty house?”  Well to the computer you go.  Thank the stars google can google. Oh, the shit you would be in if you couldn’t look up anything at any time.

Taking one leg and swinging it over the edge of the counter you began wiggling off. Before your feet had come in contact with the ground, fatigue encompassed your body.  Your arms gave out and you had nothing to stop yourself from crumbling to the floor. Your eyes rolled as your body fell forward. Arms feel too thick and as if made of jello to protect you from the downward descent. 

Your knees slammed into the tile and your chin caught on the edge of the fake marble cabinet. Your body ricocheted and your head swam in a lake of agony as you began crying. Blood pooled in your mouth and slipped through the edge of your now-busted lip. 

“ Don’t make a sound. You’ll get in more trouble if you cry.”

You did your best to remain quiet, but the boys seemed to hear you anyway. “Human?” came an unrecognizable voice. You looked to the boys and only found Blue and Stretch. Maybe they said it and your brains are a bit scrambled right now. You did hit your chin pretty hard. 

You placed your left hand under your chin and used your right to steady yourself. There have been worse accidents. Breathe. You watched as Blue climbed the cabinet and wet a paper towel. You moved to lean your back against the cabinets you had wiggled off of as Blue took the towel and wiped your mouth. Stretch opened the freezer and looked for something you could hold to your chin. “Ice helps with swelling right?”

“NO BROTHER, ICE DOES NOT REDUCE INFLAMMATION. IT WOULD MAKE IT WORSE BY CREATING A BACK-FLOW OF FLUID IN THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM.” Blue said.

“How do you know about the lymphatic system in humans?” Stretch asked. 

Blue seemed embarrassed at his brother’s call out. “I’m just repeating what Ms. Courtness told me while you were gone.”

“Ms. Courtness?"

“OH BROTHER, DON’T TELL ME YOU FORGOT MS. COURTNESS. THE TORIEL BITTY THAT WAS BROUGHT BACK?”

“Didn’t know her name was Ms. Courtness.”

You just leaned your head back and closed your eyes as you let the boys talk. Blue and purple specks danced under your eyelids as you sat there, willing the pain to dull. Your chin was softly tapped as Blue helped dabbed the blood away. “I’m okay Blue, no need to worry,” you spoke. It felt weird. Your tongue felt heavy and your mouth tasted copper, but you wanted to make sure neither boy worried. “I still need to make you guys dinner.”

“After that fall, we better leaf the cooking to the unharmed,” Stretch commented. He already had your phone in his grasp as he walked over to the two of you. 

“Well, I guess one-night buying takeout wouldn’t be too bad, but I’m driving to get it if we do. I really don’t have the cash to tip an uber eats driver.” 

“That’s Not Good Either. You Don’t Need To Be Behind A Wheel, Or Over A Hot Stove.” Blue retorted, “Maybe We Can Ask The Neighbors?”

“Good idea bro, I’ll go check out Annie’s mother, and see if she’s cookin’ tonight,” Stretch replied before quickly making his exit. Both knew you were going to say something about asking the neighbors.

“She has kids, guys. She doesn’t need to cook for us too.” You mumbled, knowing Stretch had already left to go talk to Jana. “I don’t know if I want her to help or not.”

“What Do You Mean?”

“She has two kids. She needs to take care of them, so adding three random people to her meal plan was not something she should have to do tonight.”

“Who Would You Rather Us Ask?” Blue questioned.

“No one. I’m twenty, an adult in the eyes of everyone. I shouldn’t be asking someone who is not that much older than me. She’s like what, sixteen years older, she has a life of her own.”

“Yn, That’s. You- It’s…It’s Okay To Ask For Help Yn.”

“But then I own her.” The conversation ended there.

“Yn, are you okay? The orange one tried to explain, but once he said you had a fall I rushed over.”

“I’m okay Jana. Just took a tumble and my boys are worried about me cooking or driving.” You went to stand up, but not wanting to knock Blue off or even over, you just tilted your head up to talk to her. 

“Oh sweetie,” She started as she knelt down, her dress mushrooming out as she did so, “You’re poor pretty face.” Was all she said as she took the napkin from Blue. She addressed him quickly after taking it, “Hello blue one, do me a favor and find a washcloth instead of this paper.”

He was quick to nod and take off on his search. “His name is Blue, and the orange one is Stretch.” You told her as she looked around the room to try and find something. What wasn’t clear? 

Jana invited the three of you over to share her cooking. Andy was standing in his crib, seeming to jam to his sister's singing of “Gimme! Gimme! 

Gimme!” cover by Annapantsu on Youtube. Andy bobbed up and down using his newfound ability. He was only around nine months old and he had taken his time to learn how to stand. Jana worried for her boy. Her mother-in-law used to tell her he showed the same traits his father did. It was her way of freaking out the now single mother, trying to make her stay with the asshat of a man. Andy wasn’t old enough to show signs anyways. 

Annie was dancing around in her pajamas with a purple something on her shoulder as she sang. Every now and then a quiet voice would join her before she overpowered it with her own. “ Guessing that’s Millie?”

The boys stood at your feet as you all stood awkwardly. Jana continued mixing her pot, and the sudden realization of her not only leaving her two kids at home alone but the fact she also left them here with the stove still on.

“You made her leave her kids. What if Annie going hurt by playing near the stove? What if Andy fell over and Annie didn’t know what to do?” 

Your head began filling with worried comments. Each filled with resentment towards yourself. 

Jana lightly tapped your shoulder as she smiled up at you. “Don’t worry. I turned it all off before leaving, and,” She pulled a walky-talky type object from the pocket of her dress, “I had the baby monitor on me.” Jana truly was a magnificent mother. “I’ve been doing this for six years. Almost a year by myself. I’ll be ok.” She moved to hold both of your shoulders as she resumed her commentary, “We’ll be okay. You have your boys to help you Yn. And I'll always be here. Beoa definitely loves you like you're one of her grandchildren.” Annie stopped singing and started getting the now yelling Andy out of the crib as Jana comforted you.

“Mom, Andy won’t shut up,” Annie said as she tried shoving the boy between you and Jana.

“Can you hold him for a minute? I need to make both of your plates.” 

“I got him, Annie. Go get the bitties and tell ‘em dinner is ready.” You said as the girl tried to cradle the boy. She knew how to take care of him, but she was only six.

You were only eight.

Andy stopped crying suddenly as he looked at you. Babies were always weird. You felt like they saw things that others could. Like yeah, kids can see ghosts and things, and with the resurgence of the monster population, ghosts were proven to be real, but babies… could he feel the emotion? Past trauma? Is that how they knew? 

Dinner passed quickly and Andy didn’t make another sound as you held him. Both his mother and sister stared as he remained silent. Stretch, Blue, and Millie all ate at a bitty-sized table at the opposite head of the kitchen table. Even with it being somewhat close, you couldn’t hear what they were saying.  Millie even stared you down as you fed Andy. Which in return both Blue and Stretch glared and bore their eyes into her. 

“He’s never been this calm after a meltdown in forever,” Annie said. “He even lets them feed him. Mom, this is not fair.” Annie whined. You just smiled and finished feeding Andy.

Being so small and young, it was odd to hold him and eat. He let you eat with no fuse. Let him feed you without making a mess. Memories of Mother asking you to hold Kendal as you ate tried to shove their way into your mind, but Andy looked nothing like Kendal did. 

Andy had a full set of hair as red as the Beauty and The Beast rose, Kendal was gifted with strawberry blonde when he was first born. Andy was just small, just barely making it to six pounds, but Kendal was a ten-pound fat baby. 

As the night winded down, Annie was sent to bed after brushing her teeth and saying goodnight to everyone. Both boys and who you guessed was Millie followed her. No one said her name during the entire exchange, so you were just making assumptions. The boys went home and grabbed their toothbrushes to brush their own teeth with the girls. As for you, you were still thanking Jana for allowing the three of you to come over and share the meal.

“You’re always welcomed over YN, and I mean, you would do the same for me,” was Jana’s comment every time you spoke on the matter.

“Still, you don’t know how much this means to me.”

“Just remember to ice your chin.” 

“Yes ma’am.”

“Yn,” she started, “Never call me ma’am again.”

“As you wish, madam.”

“No.” 

“Find. miss.”

“Just, just stop. You’re getting worse.’

“Alrighty. I’ll quit.” You said as you helped her clean the dishes. 

Once the dishes were clean, and the table was wiped, you gathered your boys and gave Andy a kiss goodnight. Stretch popped onto your shoulder and Blue climbed his way up and the spider bitty gave Jana Annie’s water cup. “We never got to formally introduce ourselves,” the purple bitties greeted, “Ich heiße Millie.”

“Oh, I haven’t had German since ninth grade. I can’t really remember much of it. My name’s YN.” you told her. It seemed to have surprised her that you caught her switching to german.

“Sorry. She has a problem with-”

“There is no issue. It’s a side effect of being bilingual.” 

“I could always help you brush up on your skills.” Millie interrupted. 

“It would be pretty cool to relearn, but with how much I’ve been going, I won’t have much time. But maybe the next time I’m over, we can relearn a few things.” 

The three of you had begun your walk back to your own apartment before realizing you had left the door unlocked. Slowly, you opened the door and leaned in the doorway to try to examine the room.

“Yn, what are you doing?” The question caused you to jump and turn around to the voice. Stretch’s left eye began glowing and Blue had a hammer with what looked like a dog skull biting down on the head of it. Both looked as if they were ready to kill. 

A guy from upstairs was watching you from where he stood in the hallway. He was a creepy-looking guy. Maybe it was because he knew your name without the two of you interacting more than sharing the elevator, or the obvious stare he gave your calves. Ass, understandable. Thighs, me too, but calves? To each their own I guess. 

Taking the thought of a murderer rooming with you felt safer than staying in the hallway with him.

“Oh hey, Jam-y-s? Jay? Sorry, hey Jay. Feeling a little freaked out.”

“Oh, why is that?”

Shit, don’t come near me. I don’t want you to come to my house.

The boys could feel your raise in fear and started talking for you, “We came from Jana’s place after watching a scary movie.” Stretch commented 

Blue tried to help save you from the man offering to check out the house with you by saying, “AND WE JUST SAW A HUGE RAT RUN ACROSS THE LIVING ROOM FLOOR. I SUGGEST CHECKING YOUR LIVING SPACE FOR RODENTS TOO. YN, I THINK WE SHOULD GO TALK TO MS. BEOA ABOUT THE RODENT.” 

“Yeah, come on, let’s go talk to Beoa."

“I can ride down with you because with you living under me, I don’t want any rats in my house. Disgust creatures.”

“Hey, Yn, shouldn’t we tell Jana about them too? She has two kids and all.” Jay began freezing up. 

“Shit, you’re right-”

“I’m sure her kids are already asleep, no need to wake them,” Jay said as he tried to redirect you to the elevator. Knowing there’s no choice, you got in the elevator and prayed the descent to the ground floor would feel like a descent into hell.

Jay tried to make small talk, and you tried your best to appear tired as all four of you walked to Beoa’s office. She normally stayed up late unlike most people her age and made sure all her kids and grandkids were in bed before her. She calls each one every night to tell them how much she loves and misses them. It’s honestly really sweet.

“What are the two of you doing up and about down here?” Asked Beoa after Jay ushered you into the door he opened without knocking. You tried to start before Jay interrupted and made an ass of himself, but it seems the world was not so kind. 

“Listen here old hag, this pretty college kid found a rat in their house. What the hell are you going to do about that? Kids live here, I live here. What kinda shit show are you trying to hide from our eyes?” Nice job about throwing the kids into this. At least it was before you made a narcissistic comment about how you live here. Clearly, you do, or else life would be so much easier.

“I will speak to Yn privately on the matter then.”

“What if I saw a rat in my place huh? Would you still speak to them privately?”

“I would speak to both of you individually. And I wouldn’t be a bitch to YN like I’m going to be with you.”

“What was that, you old piece of shit?”

“Jay-” you started

“Jay John Michaels, get the fuck out of my face before I call my son.” Jay went slightly white in the face. “He doesn’t take too kindly to someone insulting his dear mother.” He looked at you before trying to stand his ground. You just shook your head and he punched the wall before leaving her office as she told him. 

Blue and Stretch had yet to once lower their weapons. It was like they knew something you didn’t.

Were they like animals that could sense danger?

Beoa asked and you explained that you had left the door unlocked and Jay didn’t seem to want to leave you alone. “Then tell him you don’t want him near you.”

“But what if-”

“There is no but, he has no ass. Do not let someone you don’t like try and dictate your life. Men suck,” she says, not thinking about you and the boys are, well the two boys and whatever you identify as. “Those boys,” she says pointing to the two on your shoulders, “are good boys. Keep them close.”

You nodded and gently grazed your cheek back and forth on both boys before making your way out. Jay had stood waiting for you and tried to make a move.

“OUR HUMAN DOES NOT WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOU. THEY HAD A VERY LONG DAY AND NEED TO RELAX.”

“Away from you preferably.” You didn’t look back or even think to correct their behavior as you walked on. Jay was not happy.

He reached for Blue and before he could grab him, or Blue could attack him, or even before Stretch could stand up, you grabbed his arm. “Don’t touch them.” Was all you said as flung his arm back down by his side and continued onward. Onward to the elevator, into your hallway, and passing the doorway before calming your raging heart. “Why in the world do they think they can grab y’all? Who in the fuck thinks it’s okay to touch other people without asking? People need to leave me and my family alone for god sake.” 

“Your family?”

“You See Us As Family?”

Your eyes widen as you hear these boys. Do they not see me as a family? Do they not want to be seen as my family?

“Would You Learn To Care For Traumatized Bitties?” 

“Excuse me? Why are you asking this?” Your mind was just too full at the moment to grasp anything other than the fact this was a very worrying question. “I would do everything in my power to help, either of you.”

Stretch looked at his brother and seemed to understand where this was heading. “What if they were mentally and physically in need of help?”

“Would You Be There To Assist?”

“I would try my best. Do you know some bitties that need help? If you do, we need to get to them quickly.”

“No, just wonderin’”

“This felt like an interrogation.”  You reply.

Why in the world would they want to know this unless they knew someone was hurt? But why would they leave them without help? They would tell me, right?

Chapter Text

“Don’t overthink it,” Stretch replied as he blipped off your shoulder. Everyone seemed all good to go to bed. Except for Blue. He seemed reluctant to let you cocoon yourself in your blankets. He asked for a cup of water. Asked if you could turn on a light. Asked for you to sing to him. Asked pretty much anything he could so that you would be required to get out of bed or make you remain awake for a few minutes. Some of the requests were very redundant for a skeleton bitty like himself to ask for. It was kind of annoying, but you understood why he was asking so much. That doesn’t mean you would not feel like death at work tomorrow.

“Is it because I fell?” You asked. Blue was sitting criss-cross in your palm with his hands placed between his legs to reach your skin. His palm pressed into yours and soft green magic emitted from the space in between. The magic had an odd feeling. It was soft and welcoming, warm even, yet the warmth that was there was little. So small that it barely heated your palm. It was an odd detail to point out, but it was the first thing that came to mind as you let Blue work his magic. Not much physical warmth, but warmth. 

Blue didn’t want to admit that he was worried for you. “You Hit Your Skull YN. Of Course, I’m Going To Be Worried.” He spoke after some drawn-out silence. 

“Thank you for worrying about me. Honestly, it’s refreshing for someone to go out of their way to care, but I got this. I’m strong. So is my face apparently.” The small joke did not seem to make Blue laugh as you had hoped, but he did seem to relax, even if it was only a small amount. “What can I do to make you feel better?” Blue took a moment before responding.

“Can I Feel Your Forehead; Where You Got Hit?” Blue asked. You saw no issue with it and lifted Blue. He gently placed his hands on your head and the warmth from before slowly encased the area around the bruise. “It’s Healing Magic,” Blue said, “It Uses SOUL Energy To Heal Others. I Haven’t Tried Healing Flesh Before, But If-”

“Blue, you don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

“I’m Saying I Don’t Know If It Will Heal You The Way I Want It To.”

“It will be okay,” you say as you make your eyes cross to look at him, “If your soul magic stuff doesn’t work, it will be okay. It is just a bruise; time will heal it.”

“But I Want It Healed Now. It Scares Me. There Are So Many Possibilities, What If You Don’t Wake Up? What Would We Do? What Would-”

“How about we both stay up and cook something?” You blurted out as a way to get Blue to stop. It seems like he gives a play-by-play of what was going on in his head when he’s stressed. “You can see that I’m fine. It was just a bump on the head. And I can teach you some basics of cooking.”

At least he has a tell. 

“Oh, Okay. THE GREAT AND MAGNIFICENT SANS WILL-”

“Shh, you gotta be a little quieter. We are in an apartment.” He nodded and turned to face away from you. He seemed to enjoy riding, facing the direction you were heading. “Hey Blue,” you start, “do you prefer riding on my hands or shoulder?” Blue, before answering your question, seems to be thinking it over in heavy detail. 

“Both Have Their Advantages. From Your Hands, I Can Jump Down Easier. Oh And I Can See All Around Me. Your Head Isn’t In The Way.” He answered.

“So, my hands are the preferred way of travel?” 

“Well, No. On Your Shoulder, I Can See Further Out. And With Me Right Next To Your Head, People Will See Me. Oh, And If It Is Loud, You Can Still Hear Me Without Me Having To Yell.” Blue corrected, “I Think I Prefer…” He began tapping his finger to his chin, “Your Hands. I Prefer Your Hands. I Can Get Out Easier And It Makes Me Have To Work My Core To Balance Myself. Your Shoulder Has More Surface Area, So It’s Not The Best Place For Core Strength Training.” Blue finally stated.

The two of you made it to the kitchen with no trouble. Once you opened the fridge you took stock of all that was left in there. “We could make….” Your voice petered off as you scanned the items. “We really need to go grocery shopping, umm.” 

“Might as well play roulette.” Reaching in, you closed your eyes and grabbed the first thing your hand landed on. Giving a little tug, you realized it was the fridge shelf. Blue giggled and told you to raise your hand up. “Up And To The Left….Left…. Still lef-STOP.”

“Hey, no yelling.”

“Well, You Were Going To Pass It.” Rolling your eyes under their lids always felt odd, but you were sure Blue could see it. Grabbing the plastic box and pulling it from the fridge. 

Strawberries, what can we make out of strawberries? Something quiet but quick, and without us needing anything. Something that will also give us a reason to get to bed at a reasonable time, maybe? 

“Do you want to make strawberry pudding? I’m used to making banana pudding, so it can’t be that much different.” 

“Sure, What Do We Need To Do?”

“We need to get vanilla pudding, and a bowl to mix it in. Also need to cut up the strawberries. We don’t have the wafers that Momma taught me to use, but maybe it will taste okay without them.”

Baking with Blue was… Different. He wanted to stir the batter and pour the milk, both in the measuring cup and into the dry ingredients. And at some point, he found your craft items and tried to glue things to the measuring cup because he was bored of waiting for you to cut the berries. The argument that was evoked because you didn’t let him use your knife to cut the strawberries was very funny in hindsight.

After making the pudding and placing the strawberries inside the mixture, you returned with Blue to the couch. “Okay, now we wait.”

“Wait For What?” Blue asked. 

“For the pudding to solidify instead of being a liquid mess. The fridge will cool it and cause it to set into a gel-type substance. We’ll just have to wait for a bit.”

“How Long Is A Bit?”

“My mom used to make banana pudding the night before Thanksgiving and Christmas so it stiffens overnight. We’d sleep right through the long wait.”

“Does Sleep Help The Process?”

“It just causes time to go by faster. That might be why Stretch sleeps so much.”

“But Why Would He Want To Make Time Pass By So Much?”

“I don’t know. You’d have to ask him.” Blue nods before speaking again.

“We can do that tomorrow. For now, we need to head to bed. I do have work tomorrow.” You said as you started reclining onto the couch.

“But What About-” You interrupted him before he could let his mind wander. 

“Here,” you said before lifting up and removing your shirt. Chest covered only with the blanket off the couch’s back, “I'll keep you as close as possible to my chest. Can you feel my heartbeat?” You asked as you snuggled under the thin fabric. 

Blue didn’t comment on anything and turned his head when he noticed you removing your top. With how small his eyes are, you weren’t sure if he could see you with how he turned his head. “If you need to, you can lay your head against me to hear it better. If you hear my heartbeat slow any further after I’m asleep for thirty minutes, wake me.” 

Blue laid his head down and after chatting a few minutes began drifting off to sleep himself. Your hand rubbed his skull as the two of you laid there. Sleep was pulling at your eyes but something was keeping you from falling asleep. You gently wrapped a hand around Blue's back and neck to support him as you slowly made your way off the couch.

You turned toward the bedroom door and tried your best to keep your upper body still. It felt as if something was tugging you toward the room from your chest as you walked closer. Four white dots were staring at you as you began walking to the now shared bedroom. As you approached the dark hiding the dots, you squinted. Unsure what was hiding in there, and definitely not dumb enough to go in alone. The dots moved to the door where all the last owner's stuff still remained. With a harsh blink the dots disappear. "It's from the lack of sleep… just a lack of sleep." You mumble to yourself. “The creature was silent and had four eyes, it seemed. There's no way it was a spider or a rat. A rat would have run away immediately upon seeing you and a spider has eight eyes. Beoa said she was going to lay out some mice traps, but Stretch also said he was going to check it out before she laid out the traps. Maybe Blue would want to join him? He seems to be the more energetic of the two.“ 

As you thought to yourself about what that thing could have been you noticed Stretch sitting up on the bed. “Hey, you okay?” you asked. 

“Yeah, I was about to go find you and Blue. Where is your shirt?”

“I took it off because Blue was freaking out about my head.”

“That does not make any sense.”

“I offered to let him as close to my soul as possible. I’m very tired at the moment and not all of my decisions make the most sense. At the moment it made sense to me, and if he was uncomfortable I doubt he would have curled up with me.”

“Blue doesn’t always know how to say no.”

“Oh fuck, now I feel like shit.”

“Don’t, just keep it in mind.”

“I’m sorry. I will definitely keep it in mind.” You placed Blue next to Stretch, “But that might be something we work on in the future.” you say as you crawl into the bed, “Goodnight Stretch.” 

“Goodnight.” He said as he turned and threw an arm over Blue. 

Your phone rang from the living room in the middle of the night. With a groan you shuffled out of bed carefully and started for your phone. “Why didn’t I just grab in when I left? What if something happened to one of the kids?” That thought was what made you progress forward for it. “Hello?” you answer grogally. 

“How quick can you get to the Sunny-Side-Sewer?”

“What?”

“I asked you how quick you can make it for a shift at Sunny-Side-Sewer?”

“Why? It’s-” you turned to glance at the digital clock on your phone, “4:24 in the morning. My shift is tomorrow.”

“Monica’s water just broke, and I need someone I know who can take over my shift at the bar here now!”

“I’ll be there in ten. You go ahead and leave. Tell Sam I’ll be the-” the sound of the phones disconnecting rang in your ear. “Guess I’m going in early.” 

You quickly dug through your clothes for your bar uniform and ran out the door. As you threw yourself into the car you began shooting a text to the home computer for the boys. A trunk honk blew behind you and Danni’s trunk appeared in your rearview mirror. You put your phone down and waved at the truck. He honked again and pulled up next to you at the red light. 

“You’re smarter than that. Don’t text ‘n’ drive.”

“Sorry Danni, there was an emergence at the bar and I’m trying to get there and I didn’t tell my boys where I was going or for how long I’ll be out.”

‘It seems like you care for ‘em. Arrive alive so you can make it back to ‘em,” was all he said as he drove off. You didn’t finish the message until after you parked in the lot of the bar. 

“Hey guys, I just made it to my job, I won’t be back home for a while since I had to go in early. Blue and I made strawberry pudding last night, and hopefully by the time you are awake it will be solid. If not, use youtube on the computer to learn how to heat up frozen waffles in the microwave or toaster if Stretch remembers how I did it the other day. Once again, I am sorry for leaving you with no notice and so early in the morning. I wouldn’t have left if it was for the emergency my coworker is going through. His wife Monica is having a baby. There is a lot of information in the text, so if you need to relisten to it, do so.”

“Also Blue before you ask, yes I made it to work safe. Love yall and please be safe”

With the text sent, you entered the bar. People were everywhere. Sam came sprinting up to you and began spewing words at you. Without understanding any of them, you briskly walked to the back and clocked in. 

There wasn’t a message for a while as you worked. People came in, got drunk, and took a date home. Some stayed and cried, others decided to talk your ear off as they did so. Drinking wasn’t something you enjoyed, but you knew some people needed something to help them. Bartenders aren’t therapists, but some pour their hearts out to you. 

Your lunch break wasn’t really a break. You didn’t even have the chance to clock out properly before Sam rushed you into the back. It wasn’t the first time you’ve taken a break without legally taking it. “Coran’s here.”

“Fuck him.” 

“Well, you did. At some point,” Sunny piped in.

“It wasn’t good enough for him to keep coming back.”

“Maybe your ass is just that addicting.” 

“How’d you know I take it in the ass?”

“Okay, I don’t need your sex life. I don’t want another fight in the bar between the two of you,” Sam butted in. Sunny slapped a hand over their mouth as Sam pointed at them.

“Hey, I help the bitches I pimp. I gotta keep my hoes in line.” 

“And Sunny, I’d absolutely love it if you’d go back to the front to cover Y/N.” 

“You got it, money-man,” Sunny comments as they finger gun him and stand up, “And fair warning, he starts asking for them, I’m jumping the bar-counter.” The joy in their voice left. Their brown eyes refused to leave Sam’s green one. The breeze from the AC caused their half-shaved mullet to lightly sway. Their face held a blank stare and the golden helix-type earring shimmered in the bright, blinding light of the backroom. Punk-rock pimp was the first thing you told them when you met in this bar. It seemed like nothing has changed in the time you’ve worked together.

“He starts it, then fine. But you can’t wear the rings during the fight. And try to make it look fair.”

“When a man is a bitch, it is kinda hard to make a fight LOOK fair.”

“Just,” Sam interrupted himself with a sigh and rubbed a hand down his face, “No blood, No weapons, and please for the love of the stars, you break it, rake his face in it.”

“But that would cut his face?” You commented. Sam just smiled and opened the door for Sunny.

“Y/n, since you didn’t technically clock out-”

“You didn’t let me.”

“-I’ll let you take two fifteens. Play on your phone and relax for a bit. You came in early. Think of this as a thank you. Plus you can fix the stock in here.”

“You just want someone to clean up back here.”

“Yep, and this is a great excuse, love ya little imp,” Sam explained.

“No you don’t, but let you be delirious for a little bit.” Sam just smiles and Sunny waves as they leave the back. The CCTVs showed the front of the bar, the hallway into the bathroom, the door -both inside and out- the bar counter and the- 

“Holy fuck,” Coran eyes were locked on to the camera. Work just couldn’t end soon enough.

Nothing happened between Sunny and Coran sadly. You could see that everytime Sunny made eye contact with Coran, Ryna would walk to them and leave quickly after.

“You flirting with her?”

y/n 7:43am

“Oh you know it Gotta extend my reach These hoes aint gonna pimp themselves”

Sunny 7:43am

“You paying for her STD treatments?”

y/n 7:44am

“That’s facts. I’d be losing income using her. My rep would be on the line, only the best babes.”

Sunny 7:44am

“That’s why I’m your one and only <333”

y/n 7:44am

“Forever and always slut.”

“Til death do we part bitch <333”

Sunny 7:45am

“Death is to scared to come after us.”

y/n 7:45am

With a glance at the time, you realized your break time should be over, but Sam and Sunny both told you to stay put. Sam was the one writing your checks so it was best to listen. Guess for the rest of the time back here you could clean.

Coran didn’t leave. He didn’t get a drink either. “I would have been fine.” you sigh. Sunny escorted you through the emergence exit in the back and to your car. You shot a text to the boys about you heading back home. Nothing had been sent to you the entire time you had been working. It was two in the afternoon so maybe they were finding something to eat. “Are they a meal type family? Or are they an ingredients household? I’m an ingredients household.”

Opening the door to find trash all over the floor. Pink mush was littered all over the table and small boney hand prints cover the lower areas of the walls. Blue was trying to wipe off the pudding Stretch and seemed to be in a panicked rush to do so. Stretch appeared from behind the couch chasing after a red blue? “What the fuck?” Everyone paused.

All four of the bitties vanished. “Where the fuck y’all going?”

Chapter Text

Confusion was evident on your face as you stared at the now deserted area. It looked like there were two of each bitty. “Guys?” you asked as you remained rooted in your doorway. “Guys?” you asked louder. One of the two taller bitties was covered head to toe in what you guessed was the strawberry pudding Blue and you made. “Was the pudding really that good?” you questioned yet got no vocal statement in response. Honestly, you weren’t truly looking for one. 

A quiet snicker could be heard, but instead of trying to follow it, you began finishing what Blue set out to do. “Whichever one of you is covered in the yassified version of the Ooze from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, please get in the shower. I don’t mind where you came from, but I really don’t want that on my carpet.” You could hear the tell-tell sound of water running, but it was way too close to be the bitty shower. Stretch, out of his orange hoodie, was using water to rise off his strawberry-covered arms. 

“You willin’ to tell me what happened?” He shook his head at the comment. “Did you guys enjoy the pudding?” He wiggled his head in a so-so motion. It wasn’t a yes but it also wasn’t a no. “Did you get any?” He nodded but he still refused to meet your eyes. Signing you laid your arms on the counter and placed your chest against them. One foot was further back than the other as you turned your head to look out of the kitchen window. “Anyone hurt? You guys have that goo everywhere. Wouldn’t surprise me if someone got the pudding in their eyes.” Stretch paused as he let the warm water finish washing the gunk off his radius and ulna and in between. This made you worry.

“Stretch if someone is hurt I need to know to either take them to the vet or try my best to help them.”

“You keep saying, “them,”.

“I know there's more than just you and your brother in this house.” The sound of water dripping on tile could be heard as someone entered the kitchen. The noise of bone on tile followed. You fought the urge to look at who. “If someone is hurt, I need to know so I can do my best to help them.” 

Stretch looked to the doorway, but you kept yourself from glancing, no matter how much it ate at you. “They don’t want to meet you yet.” He sounded sheepish as he explained it. Like it was something he himself didn’t want to believe. Someone started pulling on your pants leg as you continued to look at Stretch.

“Do you know why they don’t want to meet me?” Was it you? Did they see you as unfit? What if the boys thought the same way? What if they were going to run away like these bitties did?

“Not really. They explained it, but it didn’t make sense. At least it didn’t to me.” The pulling at your leg continued as you talked to Stretch. Your eyes shifted down to see Blue. He was clean of the mess but was oddly quiet. You quickly lifted off the counter to let Blue climb into your hand.

“Sorry, we didn’t tell you,” Blue mumbled as you lifted him to meet his brother at the counter. Stretch at this point was drying his arms of the remaining droplets of water. “They asked us not to. Made us promise. If they hadn’t I would have told you about the two immediately. They don’t want to put more stress on you as is. You haven’t had the two of us that long and we don’t want to make things harder by adding two others. More food would need to be cooked and more money would need to be spent to help, and-” 

“Blue,” you interrupted. “Breathe. It’s okay. I’m not mad, “ you said smiling at him as you placed him on the counter so you could continue standing in a position that took the weight off one of your feet, “I’m glad you both kept your promises. And money is not an issue. I have savings for a reason. And I mean, I can’t take it with me when I die. Better to spend it on those that matter to me.” Both boys stopped. You couldn’t see nor hear either of them breathing and their eyelights seemed to be fluctuating. Growing large rapidly and shirking slowly only to expand again. It was like they were trying to wrap their heads around what you just said. 

“It won’t happen any time soon.” You looked between the two as you sighed and offered a hand rag to Stretch to dry with. “No need to stress over something that is years away.”

“Promise?” Blue asked. You knew you couldn’t keep that promise. You could get hit by a bus or die from a robber. Hell, the common cold could take you out if given the space to do so.

“I promise Blue.” The words felt fake on your tongue. Like lies others speak to appease others. I promise I will not be the reason for my own demise. You swore to him though saying it aloud may make him want to make a broader promise. You couldn't promise to never die, that’s just not human. The boys would also know you couldn’t keep that from happening in the future. “I promise to always come home to you both. I promise nothing will keep me from making the two of you happy. And I will try my best to keep the newly yet still unknown guests happy as well.” You seem to make a lot of promises to these boys.

Stretch wrapped up his “shower” and patted himself dry with a hand rag. He reached for his pudding-covered hoodie. “Nuh-uh, nope,” you commented, “This needs to be washed.” You grabbed the hoodie before Stretch could, and examined it. The poor thing looked like someone dragged him through the pudding by his hood. There were pin-prick holes on the inner portion of his hood. “What happened?” you asked as you flipped his hoodie inside out, “Someone grab you?”

“Somethin’ like that.” More holes followed the seams along the sleeve of the hoodie.

“Did…Did someone… Were you bit?” The holes looked like multiple canines pierced through the fabric.

“Yeah, kinda. It just ripped up the sleeve a little, it’s fine. I got too close when they were eating.” Stretch explained. 

“Are the holes in the hood also from someone's teeth?”

Blue piped, “He didn’t get bit. Mars grabbed his hood with his teeth so Stretch wouldn’t fall on the burning stove eye.”

“Why didn’t they use their hands?” You asked as you pocketed the name in the back of your mind.

“His hands were full of the pudding and when he bit into Stretch’s hoodie, his teeth got caught. He didn’t mean to rip the hood.”

You closed your eyes and softly shook your head, “But he did mean to bite Stretch when he got too close while they were eating?”

“He got too close to his brother,” Blue explained.

Completely ignoring the name drop you just signed and nodded. “I’ll wash this, then attempt to stitch up the holes.”

“They’re just small holes, I'll be fine wearing it.”

“Either way, this thing is getting washed. I doubt you want saliva in the fabric of your hoodie. At least that’s what I am hoping the red substance is.” Stretch didn’t object but grimaced at the thought. “I could sew the holes after washing this. Plus the other two need a bath. They were also covered in slime. It will keep me busy while the two of you help them get cleaned up. So please help our guests get bathed.” 

As you finish asking the boys for their help, the sound of breaking glass echoes from the bathroom. “Please go check on them. Don’t touch the glass, I'll clean it up with a broom once I finish with washing the hoodie. I'll fix the holes after sweeping up the glass. Just please get them washed. I do not need pudding smashed into the carpet.” 

“What if there is already some smushed into it?” Stretch asked as he wrapped his hands around his forearms. It was clear he wasn’t used to being in just a tank top. 

“I'll just ask Jana if I can borrow her carpet cleaner. No big deal.” You say as you take a spoon out of the drawer and begin scooping copious amounts of pudding off the hood. “I’m sure she won’t mind letting me borrow it if I also watch Annie and Andy again. She honestly needs a break. Poor girl,” 

Blue waves before blipping out of vision, presumingly to check up and help the other two who are amiss in the apartment. Stretch awkwardly attempts to climb out of the wet sink before you offer a hand to help him escape. 

He thanked you before drying his feet on the hand towel and apologizing for the mess. “We didn’t mean to get it everywhere. They were just so hungry and Blue said he knew where some fresh pudding was. I didn’t see a problem letting them have a couple of bites before you got home.”

“There is nothing wrong with feeding friends.” You interjected.

“But they were so hungry. They began shoving their faces into it and crawling into the pan trying to get more. The younger of the two began crying and I wanted to comfort him, but I got too close and now my hoodie is torn to shreds. Might as well let it play lead guitar.”

“I’ll get it fixed honey. Trust me, I am not biting off more than I cashew.” You said with a smile. He returned it with his own before heading off to help Blue and clean up the slime-coated guests. 

You remained in the kitchen, scooping off pudding and turning the hoodie inside out to try and rinse out some of the stains. This was gonna have to be hand-washed and stitched due to the size of the garment. “I might have some orange fabric from an old blanket.” 

After a couple of minutes of rinsing and scrubbing dawn dish soap into the stains, they lightened and you slipped a large silicone stirring spoon through the sleeves to allow it to air dry over the sink. You grabbed the broom from the small alcove by the laundry area of the apartment before making your way to the bathroom on the other side of it. The glass had been scattered across the floor and it didn’t take long to clean. It was just the pretty tinted-glass cup that housed the three toothbrushes for the household. “I’ll need to make a trip to the store to buy five new ones. I also need to buy the boys some gifts for Christmas.”

After a quick sweep of the floor and disposal of the glass as well as the dirty toothbrushes, you returned to the kitchen to begin dinner. Nothing fancy, just homemade chili from what was left in the pantry and freezer. Blue came in asking to help and you helped him help you open the can of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Both of which you had to ask Jana to use after promising to pick up her grocery order the next time she put one in. He also tried to dice an onion and poured it in by himself which made a small mess. Stretch sat on the counter beside the stove, on the opposite side of the hot eye, as the two of you cooked. At one point Blue attempted to add something that Stretch quickly removed once Blue turned back around. 

Realizing you didn’t have chili powder or garlic powder, you went back to Jana who decided to join you for dinner after joking that most of was made of her condiments.  Blue loved chatting with Annie who just kept scream-laughing at everything the adults snickered about. Millie, the spider bittie of Annie’s, helped distribute the bowls and you made sure to leave an extra human bowl with two bittie spoons out by the stove for the two hidden guests. 

Seeing Jana smile and enjoy her time with Annie hurt. You wished your mother would comfort you when you burnt your tongue or accidentally bit down on it. Or smile down at you like she did with Andy, rock you like she did when you begin crying over a terrifying world. 

“Are you okay?” Annie asked.

“Yeah just burnt my tongue,” 

“See, even as an adult you need to be cared for,” Jana said as she smiled at you. 

Why could your own mother love you like Jana loved her children? 

Tears went unnoticed until Blue placed his hand on your arm. He was looking up at you as tears littered your eyes. “I am going to get some milk, I think I really got it good. Give me a moment guys.”

“I am not a guy! I am a girl!” Annie screamed as you walked away.

You didn’t respond to her since you were staring wide-eyed at a skeleton with a gaping hole in its head.

Chapter Text

The hole seemed to capture your gaze the most. Not the tall, lanky skeleton halfway diving into the bowl of chili, likely licking the walls of the said bowl clean, or the short one with a chili-stained outfit that was wielding a slobber-covered spoon as a weapon. No, the hole in the short one's head held your gaze. The jagged bones emptied into a void-like inky blackness, only broken by the vibrant, incandescent glow of his eyelight. Thoughts of your mother vanished as every humane part of you wanted to help him. 

Before you could do or say anything, the one with the hole grabbed the other and they vanished. ‘They seem to be getting less and less worried about being seen.’ ‘ Could it be like when rats get confident with their surroundings, they don’t hide as much?’ ‘That is horrible to compare them to rats.’ As you continued to have a mental squabble with yourself, he reappeared and glared at you. Without saying a word he grabbed the half-eaten bowl and disappeared again.

Blinking at the now open space, you simply asked, “What the fuck,” as you begin opening the fridge. Attempting to ignore the two extra bitties and their odd behaviors. ‘Could have something to do with the gaping hole in his head’ As you search the fridge you realize more than just the lack of milk in the fridge. ‘I really need to go to the store soon. Like in the next couple of days.’

Your train of thought was once again intercepted by someone much shorter than you. Annie quickly slid past you as she headed for the small pantry. Her socks made her slide past the door before she grabbed the handle and pulled herself back by the knob. The old wooden door creaked in protest as she pulled herself on it. She opened the door and began rummaging through it. “Looking for something?” 

“Yeah, Mom is asking me to go get some square salt crackers,” She explained as she carried on with digging through the space and moving what little you had in the small food closet. “Why is it so empty in here?”

“Haven’t gone shopping yet.”

“You really need to. There is nothing in here. What do you eat? Where are your snacks?” more and more questions spouted from her as she kept looking through what little was there.

“I don’t really have much in the pantry, but there’s stuff in the freezer. Also, the crackers are in my bedroom.”

“Why would you keep them in your room? Mom doesn’t let me eat in my room because I leave things in there. You shouldn’t eat in your room either if you are going to leave things in there. Mom said that's how rats are made.”

“I have them in there for a few reasons. The main one being they stop my stomach from hurting when I don’t-” You cut yourself off and looked at Annie. 

She blinked up at you, “When you don’t what?” 

Signing you quickly attempted to create a conversable lie. There is no need to talk about a diet with a child, much less a little girl who does not need to think shamefully about herself. ‘Clearly you do, I mean your mother would still love you if you were that small.’

“When I don’t want to cook, but I’m still hungry. Y’know, they’re my version of your Gusters.”

“If I had gusters in my room, there wouldn’t be any left to share with Andy.” Think this is where the conversation, or like interrogation, would end: you began making your way to your room to retrieve the crackers for Jana. You should know not to hope for a moment of peace in this house. 

Annie followed you as you left the kitchen, “What did you get me for Christmas?” Jana quickly attempted to interject by telling her daughter that it was rude to expect presents from friends. 

“She’s just excited, Christmas is in like two, three days?” You offer as a way to downplay Annie's excitement, “She is only six after all.”

Jana shakes her head at your failed peace offering. “Either way, she needs to wait, “ she turns to Annie before continuing, “patiently. Or else Santa might skip our apartment.”

“It is hard so make sure you hit every apartment when the numbers on our doors seem to make no sense.”

Annie began making an indescribable whining sound. Panicking at the thought of being overlooked by the fat, jolly man. “He can’t pass our house! I’ve been good all year! We have to make him a sign!” Quickly this dissolved into Annie racing around attempting to find anything to craft into a sign.

“Annie! You can’t go through their cabinets!”

Smiling at the child’s antics, you continued to your room. You didn’t hear the rest of the conversation as you entered your room to search for the open box of crackers. Blue and Stretch were eating in the dinner area of the living room while Jana chased Annie and Andy, Jana’s youngest, slept on the jumbo play mat on the floor of the living room. He was such a small, calm baby. Jana used to fight tooth and nail to hold him while he slept and she attempted to eat. It would end with him waking up and her not being able to finish eating, or her struggling to eat so she didn’t wake him. The first time she left both him and Annie with you was when she visited her ex’s house to get what she could while he was at work. She was absolutely livid when she returned and Andy was sleeping on the play mat while Annie slept on the couch. She didn’t give you a schedule due to how quickly she needed to go and you had only known her less than two weeks. 

She still hasn’t told you what happened between the two of them. It’s none of your business really, but you crave to know since she virtually left her children with a strange 20-year-old next door neighbor. Clearly it had to be something horrible for a mother this loving, caring, and most importantly a mother this careful and alert to do something this reckless.

 ‘I don’t think I’d leave my dog with someone I just met less than a month before.’  ‘You also aren’t in her situation. Maybe she doesn’t have family in town or someone close enough to go to. Do not judge a mother who is struggling.’ 

You grab the crackers, see that there are one full pack and a half eaten one left, and you return to the table. Sitting back down you see Jana eyeing you up and down before signing. “Hey, Y/N. What do you think about having more family style dinners?” The hair on your neck bristles at her question. “It is nice to have another adult to talk to. It is also easier since Annie normally stays on her best behavior for you. I am pretty sure she looks up to you.”

You gave a smiled, albeit a crooked one, at her comment. “I don’t mind helping and having company, but with school and two jobs it is kinda hard to cook for more than just the three of us here.”

She gave you a smile in return, “We can take turns cooking. Just once or twice a month or something like that.”

Stretch and Blue say nothing as they allow this back and forth between the adults. Their eyes shifting between the two of you. “We will have to see, I don’t know when the best time for that will be with Christmas coming and my obligations in school and trying to keep the house from falling apart.” Blue gave a slightly disappointed look to his brother at the excuses you were making. Stretch’s face did not contort in the slightest as he listened to you plead your case.

Jana crushed the crackers into her chili as she listened to you. Guilt began gnawing at you at her expression. She didn’t show that she was upset, but the overwhelming feeling of turning someone down always got your anxiety on the fritz. It was hard to tell if she just wanted help by watching her children or if she wanted a break from juggling cooking on top of her other duties as a mother. 

‘The least you can do is give her a break.’ 
‘You’ve only lived here for less than three months, you do not owe anyone anything.’ 
‘But she needs the help.’ 
‘You have your own responsibilities.’

 “I am not outright shooting it down, I just do not think I have the time to cook. Most of the things we eat here are quick or microwaveable.” You offer trying to please both a needing mother, but also your own desire to not be involved with more people in your house.

“All the more reason to have us over.” She says with a soft grin, “It will give you a break from school and work and, well, I could really use the help too.” you can’t tell if she is trying to be manipulative. It took years and mountains of evidence being thrown in your face by multiple friends when you recounted the stories that your mother house was not a good environment and that everyone in it was out to step on everyone else. 

Taking a breath you tried to quickly weigh the pros and cons. 

Pros; you help a needy mother, the boys will have more enrichment, um.

Cons; How will the other boys react? More shopping trips, How will Millie interact with the other boys? What will happen if they are discovered? What will happen if they attack Andy like they did Stretch? What about Annie? More planning around meals, Harder to restrict. 

“I hate to interrupt your train of thought, but do you have any shredded cheese?” Jana asks.

“Ah, no. I really need to go shopping. The last time I remember having cheese, the bag got ripped up and cheese ended up everywhere.” you explained.

“Was it by the rats?” Annie asked. At this point she had stolen an old paper syllabus given to you by one of your professors this past semester, and had gotten into the junk cabinet to find a marker. 

“Rats?” Jana asked with a hint of alarm. She quickly looked at Andy sleeping peacefully on the jumbo play mat laid on the floor.

“Yeah, Y/N has rats. The crackers were in their bedroom and you told me that’s where rats come from.” Annie explained as she kept drawing her sign.

Jana sighed and her body deflated. “I don’t have rats, I just have a messy room and I’m too lazy to clean it right now. Overwork and underpaid, all that jazz,” you clarified. 

As the conversation drifted away from rats and dinner, the room filled with a calm and cozy feeling. Stretch and Blue finished their bowls and took them to the sink with MIllie following quickly behind them. 

“We are going to introduce Millie to the house.” Stretch comments as the trio moved past the dining table. Knowing there was more to the statement that was left unsaid you told them to have fun and to let you know if there was anything out of the ordinary. 

Jana told Annie to eat and that she will hang the sign on the door to make sure Santa sees it once she finishes her bowl. Andy had woken up slightly fussy and she excused herself to feed the nine-month-old. You had finished your own bowl but had remained seated as to both watch Annie and to keep her company.

“Does Santa deliver to bitties?” Annie questioned as she moved the beans in her chili around. 

“I’m not sure, this is the first year Santa is going to be visiting me at this house, much less the first year he will be visiting my boys. But I think so. As long as the bitties are well behaved, I don’t see why he would overlook them.” Annie nodded along at your explanation, seeming to agree or at least acknowledge the view point provided to her. 

Annie finished her bowl of chili and scooted the seat back before hopping off and racing off to the couch. She climbed over the arm of the couch and grabbed the remote from the table and began searching for something to watch. 

The feeling of melancholy and gloom creeped up and quickly sucked the calm out of the room. Begin left alone at once filled table and looking into the empty bowls left about is not helping the feeling of sadness crawling up your back and peer over your shoulder. The noise of life was filling the apartment but the feeling of being alone would not release you from its tightening grip. How can someone be so lonely in a room filled with joy?

Looking around you realise nothing in the house feels like Christmas. There was no tree nor presents under it. There were no lights or decorations to make the place feel like the holiday was less than a week away. 

Taking a deep breath, you lifted yourself from the table and started to carry the bowls to the sink, cleaning out the leftover reminisce of food before filling each bowl with some hot water and soap. Hand washing the dishes used for the meal was both cathartic and annoying. It gave a reason to step and stay away from the body of the house for a few minutes. 

The window in front of the sink seemed to lead to an inky black, the same inky blackness that filled that poor skeleton’s head. Images of the poor bitty filled your mind. Only a short glimpse of the wounded little guy and now his condition is haunting your mind, crafting a worse and worse theory of what had happened to him to cause such an enormous injury. How was he still standing, much less walking in such a state? How do skeleton bitties work in the first place? ‘You are the caregiver of four skeleton bitties and you have zero knowledge about them, superstar caregiver right here.’

Just as the list of responsibilities seemed to grow in your mind, you were once again interrupted by someone else. 

Something white and hard slammed against your window. The noise alone caused you to jump but the look of the creature did not help either. Sharp teeth and red eyes stared into yours as you dropped the plastic bowl you were working on back into the sudsy water. Anger was as evident as his claws as he slammed them against your window. Not knowing what to do, you froze. The voice in your head remained silent as you stared at this creature. Him being another skeleton bitty was clear, but this one is covered in what looks like dirt and grim. The plain white t-shirt he was wearing was covered in some red substance and he looked angry.

“Quiet fucking staring and get yer ass out here!” He screamed. As you stared, his anger seemed to boil over. “I’m going to crawl my way in there and rip your inners to shreds if you don’t get your ass out here!” 

He continued screaming profanities as you turned and dashed out of the room, not fully knowing what to do but to leave the area. 

Once stepping back into the living room area you noticed Blue and Stretch sitting on the table as they watched the movie Annie had picked out for the night. “The Muppets Christmas Carol” was playing as the little girl laid on her stomach and watched with her arms propping her head up. 

She did not notice your frantic movement as you redirected to the boys on the table. “Stretch, Blue, can I borrow the two of you? It’s something really, extremely important,” you asked. Mumbling, “and I do not know what to do in this situation.” as you turned back to the kitchen.

Quick on their feet the two boys blipped on the counter of the kitchen. The bitty from before continuing his tirade and bashing on the window. He had begun headbutting the glass as if trying to break in. His shouting quickly resumed once he noticed you had brought in his words, “back up”.

“Where is his jacket?” Blue asked, not giving the bitty a moment of attention due to the current outburst they are having. 

“I don’t know, he just showed up like that. Telling me he was going to rip my internals out or something.”

Stretch, ignoring the two of you, blipped outside and began talking to the bitty. He grabbed Stretch by the collar and pulled the both of them off the window sill. Seeing this, Blue stopped conversing and immediately followed after the skeleton who just kidnapped his brother. Stretch was clearly taller than the other, but Stretch’s face showed genuine fear as the bitty grabbed him. Orange droplets slid down his face before he had been forcibly removed from the premises. 

Fuck, you had just lost both of your boys tonight, and you are standing in the kitchen like a fucking dumbass as they have stars knows what happen to them.