caninereg

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. . . guys I saw hozier & gigi perez last night live and gigi brought her little sister out for Sugar Water and I swear I will never recover from it . . . and then hozier bringing gigi out for work song </3 .

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< milk teeth au house moodboard >

layout here | general info/masterlist here

[caninereg]

milk teeth au basic info / masterlist . . .

info : an agere au where the girls get out of the wilderness after season 3 (with mari alive) and are able to settle down in a house together where they’re able to regress and heal from the trauma they’ve experienced. ! some changes from canon may come up !

status : requests open !

☆ mari food hc’s

☆ basic layout/floor plan

☆ house moodboard

[caninereg]

my own agere yj’s living together au - milk teeth au

< basic house layout >

ground floor / outside *

second floor

* ignore that i forgot to put a bed in laura lee’s room & the messed up hallway connected to the 1st bathroom. also there is a porch in the front of the house i just couldn’t add it properly in the website I was using, I tried my best with the back porch

- there is more details & personalized house hc’s coming I just wanted to post the floor plan first -

and ofc ofc inspo from @cryingatwindermerepeaks au & @faireyhouses au & @paramountinplace au - all gorgeously written au’s and I love the idea of the girls sharing a house I couldn’t resist dabbling myself :3

[caninereg]

maybe baby!nat and cg!lottie??

why does my skin start to burn?

little!nat , cg!lottie -> pre/no crash , nat's complex relationship with comfort & touch tw: this is focused on nat's trauma. there are no direct references to abuse, but it's heavily implied. word count: 1099

tag list: @yjdrabbles123 @faireyhouses

Nat's need for touch often felt like a hunger.

It was a pang in the back of her mind; constant and nagging. Each time she found herself small, her stomach would clench and her lungs would constrict - overwhelm filling her to the brim.

"You okay, bub?" Lottie would ask.

She'd smile, soft as ever and extend a tentative hand. Curled fingers would brush by Nat's cheek and stroke away tears that hadn't yet fallen. They were careful and gentle - just like Lottie in her entirety - and still, Nat would pull back.

"Oh..." Lottie would breathe, smile wavering only for a second. "It's alright. I won't touch you."

It was only then that Nat's tears really would spill over.

Because sitting on the floor in Lottie's bedroom, listening to her favorite story with the little brown bear Lottie had bought her secure in her lap - all Nat wanted was to be closer. She wanted to be held... wanted to be safe. She wanted it so badly that somewhere along the way, that hunger pain turned to starvation.

So Nat pushed it away.

She buried the childish desire so deep inside that the only way it could ever be rediscovered would be through autopsy. She forced herself to be content with existing side by side while she'd fiddle with her bear. She hugged Lottie's words as close to her chest as she could to protect herself the way she always did... the way she always had to.

And still, the hunger remained. 

It's the kind of hunger that creeps into your bones and sinks its talons into your soul, begging, wailing, for just a taste of what it might be like to be settled.

It kept Nat up at night, itching like bugs crawling beneath her skin as she resisted the urge to just pick up her phone and tell Lottie needed her. To do the thing that Lottie always told her she could. It haunted her with memories: good ones even more than bad.

The afternoons spent blowing bubbles on the soccer field after practice or walking the long way home from school to stop for popsicles at the stand by the corner.

Nat knew Lottie was safe. She knew it the way that she knew her favorite superhero was spiderman and that Van had the coolest DVD collection she'd ever seen. She knew just like she knew the cramping in her stomach and the ache in her chest.

But that’s the thing about hunger; it can only go on for so long before the body starts to reject the very thing it craves. 

—

They’re in Lottie’s room again with the lights dimmed and the TV running an episode of Blue's Clues. The volume is off but something about the visuals are soothing, so Lottie always keeps it on. Just in case. 

“Nat?” Lottie crouches next to her - a cup of goldfish in hand. “Here, I heard your stomach rumbling.” 

Nat curls in on herself and draws the bear close to her chest.

At home, a rumbling stomach was a nuisance. It was disrespectful, her mom always said. Nat had never understood the complaint - it wasn’t like she could control it. But she knew each time she felt the sensation, it was accompanied by her heart flipping in fear. 

As Nat reaches for the snack, she feels tears spring to her eyes. She wants to apologize the way that she knows she should. She doesn’t want to be rude… especially not with Lottie. But her throat is so tight and she can’t remember how to get it back to normal. 

Still, Lottie doesn’t seem to mind. She lowers herself to the ground and sits criss cross at Nat’s side. She leaves the bowl in her hand but doesn’t pressure her to eat. She never does. 

“Do you wanna read something?” Lottie asks. “Where The Wild Things Are?” 

Nat hesitates. The tears are starting to ache something fierce and her bottom lip is trembling. When Lottie looks at her - her wide brown eyes full of worry - it only makes things worse.

“What is it?” Lottie asks.

Nat shakes her head. She doesn’t know how to tell her it isn’t because she’s sad - it’s the opposite. It’s that Lottie wasn’t angry. It’s that goldfish are her favorite snack and Where The Wild Things Are is her favorite book. It’s that Lottie doesn’t think the ugly, scary creatures are all that evil, just like she doesn’t think the little boy who runs away is bad.

Nat sucks in a breath - the sound shaky and quiet. She wants to hug her so badly it hurts. It’s like her body is fighting itself - the muscles in her arms screaming so many things that Nat can never be sure which she’s supposed to listen to. 

Before Nat can stop it, a sob escapes her. The sound is broken and raspy and as it leaves her, she brings her hands up to her hairline. She tugs at clumps of the bleached strands - not hard enough to pull it out, but hard enough that it’ll sting. 

“Oh, baby…” Lottie coos. She reaches out and places her hands over Nat's wrists. Gently, she pries them away. “I know… I know. But I can’t let you hurt yourself.” 

Nat sniffs. She can feel snot pooling on her upper lip - sticky and cold. She wipes it messily on her sleeve before Lottie can do it for her. 

“It’s okay,” Lottie whispers. “It’s all okay.” 

The words don’t feel true right now, but if Lottie’s saying them, then they must be. 

So Nat lets herself crumble. She sinks backwards, falling slowly into Lottie’s steady frame. And when Lottie pulls her close, Nat lets herself be embraced. 

She lets herself nuzzle her face into the fabric of Lottie’s shirt. She lets herself breathe in the smell of strawberry shampoo and vanilla lotion. She lets herself wrap her arms, as shaky as they are, around Lottie’s neck so she can hug her too.

“I’ve got you,” Lottie says. She rubs her hand in a circle against Nat’s back. It’s a familiar yet foreign gesture - Nat’s seen the way mothers do it to crying children on the playground who’ve fallen over and scraped a knee. But she can’t remember the last time she’s felt it herself. If she’s felt it. 

The thought of it makes Nat cry even harder. She clings as tightly as she can to Lottie - as if loosening her grip might make her dissolve into nothingness. 

“I’ve got you,” Lottie says again. “It’s okay.” 

For the first time, Nat actually believes it.

[caninereg]

thinking about little!mari & little!jackie who go running to cg!nat in the winter cause all three of them loathe the cold and get to snuggle up together to try and get through it . . .

[caninereg]

— always big, never small (reg!mari)

Summary: When Mari starts acting out against the younger regressors, the cgs have to step in and figure out what's causing it.

Contents: cg!nat 𓈒 bullying as a form of projection 𓈒 big feelings surrounding regression 𓈒 crying 𓈒 mentions of hospital/wilderness related fears 𓈒 comfort 𓈒 braver than you believe au

WC: 2,100+

A/N: requested by @yjdrabbles123! Came out slightly different from your request but I still hope you enjoy, I've been loving making stuff for Mari and investigating her character, especially in this au ! (also sorry if it's jumbled or just not good, I wrote most of it while feeling ill and thought it seemed fine but looking back the pacing and stuff might be off :/)

— taglist: @wiserteriaoverbarefeet

“Jackie’s sucking her thumb!”

A few heads swivel as Mari points an accusing finger towards the girl across from her, whose bottom lip immediately starts to stick out.

Mari isn't quite sure why she felt like she should point the harmless action out, but before they had gone outside Tai had made sure everyone was regressed to an old enough age to play with one another, which meant older than a baby that needed to suck their thumbs.

So why should Jackie need to suck her thumb now? Especially when they were playing with sand that could get all over it and taste yucky in her mouth?

It wasn't like she was Mel, who when regressed young enough would purposely crunch on a handful of it, it simply wasn't right.

Which is why it annoys her when Misty butts in, per usual. “It doesn't matter.” She tells Jackie softly, reaching over to pat her shoulder.

But the action only seems to spur Mari on more as she shakes her head, standing from her side of the sandpit.

“Only baby's suck their thumbs.” She states matter of factly, but before she can continue educating on the matter she is rudely interrupted by Shauna who was sitting beside Gen in another corner of the pit.

“Shut up, Mari.” She growls in a tone that really should tell Mari it was time to stop, but instead she shoots a glare back, meeting Shauna eyes when she does.

However, Mari quickly takes a step back when Shauna stands and turns to her, an angry look brewing in her eyes as she starts to march towards her.

Apparently the movement had caught the attention of the caregivers lounging on the nearby patio, because suddenly Tai is between them, pushing them apart as she demands to know what was happening.

“Shauna told Mari to shut up.” Misty butts in before either of them can speak. “Tattle-tale.” Shauna snaps, but is quickly shushed with a harsh look.

“Did you say that, Shauna.” Tai prompts, but Shauna only glares back. “She called Jackie a baby for no reason!” Shauna angrily says, pointing to Jackie who still sat with her head down and her shoulders hunched.

Mari balls her fists, leaning forward. “She is a baby! A thumb-sucking baby!” she insists, but Tai only glares at the comment.

“It doesn't matter if Jackie sucks her thumb when she's big or little, she's comforting herself, Mari.” Tai starts to lecture, but before she can continue to scold there's a loud wail from the opposite side of the yard. Someone had fallen and scraped their knee in the middle of the ongoing dinosaur related game, and from the sound of it first aid might need to be involved.

Tai sighs, giving them all one final look before jogging over to the continued wailing, but as Mari turns to pick the game back up where they had left off she realizes both Shauna and Gen are crouched beside Jackie, whose soft sniffles only seem to prove Mari's point.

But she keeps that detail to herself as she huffs, turning on her heel to stomp back into the house.

She was a big girl, she didn't need to play with a bunch of babies.

The next day at lunch, Mari can't help but send a glare towards Misty as she plops her stupid stuffed unicorn on the table between them.

It shouldn't be such a big deal, the unicorn is small and Mari still has plenty of room, and yet Mari still finds herself letting out a comment akin to the one yesterday while outside.

“Do you really need him at the table?” she grumbles, her voice low enough that only Misty can hear it.

The girl turns to her, a slightly confused look on her face. “Yeah, he's my friend!” she says cheerfully, turning the unicorn so that it's facing Mari and beaming.

But there's something about the stupid unicorn looking at her and Misty’s comment that makes her forge ahead once again instead of dropping it.

“He's just a stupid stuffed animal.” She insists coldly, unsure of why she suddenly feels so strongly about the matter. “Plus, only babies have stuffed animals.” She adds after a moment, shooting the blond next to her a look.

Out of all the kids, maybe besides Lottie who was literally too small to eat with them at the moment and Mel who cried when she stepped on a bug last week, Mari considered Misty the most baby out of all of them, so it should be fine for her to be carrying the stupid unicorn toy around.

But nobody else had their stuffie out on the table while they were trying to eat, even Laura Lee had left Leonard on the couch while she ate her sandwich, so in her mind Misty was just being a baby yet again.

But when Mari opens her mouth to say just that, she realizes Misty had already picked up the unicorn, pulling it close to her face as tears softly fell down her cheeks.

Despite the tears being silent, Nat who was sitting at the end of the table with Van notices them, a look of worry appearing on her face.

“Misty, what's wrong?” She gently asks, but the acknowledgement of her tears only serves to make her cry more, and Nat turns to look at Mari for an answer.

“I just told her to not put her unicorn on the table!” She says, crossing her arms defiantly. Nat raises an eyebrow, the comment seeming too normal to bring tears to Misty eyes.

She gently rubs the crying girls back, murmuring soothingly until she had claimed enough for her to speak. “Is that what Mari said, Misty?” She gently asks and Misty screws her face up slightly.

“She called him stupid.” She mumbles, “and said only babies carried stuffed animals around.” Nat's frown deepens at the comment, and as she turns to scold the other girl she's slightly annoyed to see that Mari had already stood up and disappeared somewhere else, probably well aware that it would take a while to calm Misty down completely.

But that wasn't even the end of it, later that night Mari snaps at Lottie after she whines about the lights being turned off for movie time, and before Nat can scold her she's once again disappearing off to her room without being told.

And once again, the upset kid in her arms keeps her from investigating any further.

It takes until the next day during nap time for someone to eventually bring it up, Akilah surprisingly being the one to do so when she comes into the kitchen where the other non-regressed caregivers were taking a break, calling their attention to her when she softly asks “Have you guys noticed Mari being a little… meaner lately?”

There's a pause as they all glance at each other, but Nat is the first to speak. “You mean like her making Lottie upset last night? Or when she made Misty cry yesterday at lunch?” she asks with a tinge of annoyance in her voice, in both occasions she had to be the one to calm the upset kiddos.

Akilah nods, turning to look at Tai when she pipes up, “She was making fun of Jackie the other day too, her and Shauna almost got into it when she was making fun of her for sucking her thumb.”

Tai cringes at the memory, she had been prepared to have to treat a few bite marks from Shauna based on the way she had been looking at Mari when she had intervened.

There's a moment of silence as Nat crosses her arms, tilting her head. “She called Lottie a baby last night. Same with Misty. Do we think that's part of it?”

‘Baby’ wasn't a rare insult thrown around by the older kids, Mari and Shauna especially loved to use it against each other, but the fact that Mari was using it in such a way towards other, younger kids just didn't sit right.

Especially in such a short amount of time with such frequency, she'd already made three kids cry in just two days, and if she kept going there was palpable worry that she could somehow bring all of the kiddos to tears over seemingly such small things.

“Maybe? I can talk to her about it after nap time.” Tai offers, and Nat gently shakes her head. “I can do it, Van's gonna want you.” It was true, she had cried when being put down for a nap, asking for Tai when she had been out running errands.

And so Tai agrees to it, and once the girls all start trailing downstairs to play in the living room after naps, Nat ventures in and scans the room for the girl in question.

“Mari?” She gently asks, “Can you come here for a second?” The other kiddos turn to look at her as she stands, their eyes following her as she walks over to where Nat was.

Nat can tell Shauna is about to let out an ‘ooo Mari's in trouble’, so she shoots her a look that makes her duck her head back down to focus on her Legos.

“Let's go outside.” She says as Mari looks at her quizzically, guiding her out the back door and onto the back porch where she takes a seat on the stairs leading to the grass.

She pats the step beside her, and after a moment of hesitation Mari takes a seat, looking at her out of the corner of her eyes.

“Am I in trouble?” She asks softly, and Nat sits back, tilting her head to look down on her. “I don't know, do you think you should be?”

Mari turns away from her, feeling her cheeks start to tint red as she chews the inside of her cheek. “I dunno.” She meekly mumbles after a moment.

Nat sighs softly, and Mari raises her eyes to look at her, albeit not fully. “You were mean to Lottie the other day.” She softly says, and Mari bites her lip. “And to Misty and Jackie earlier this week. You made them all cry, Mari.”

Mari takes in a soft breath, a feeling of shame starting to bubble up inside her. “I didn't mean to.” She says after a moment, “They were just being babies and I- I-” she stumbles as she feels tears start to sting her eyes, turning back away. “I'm sorry.”

Nat's slightly taken aback by the response, having expected at least one snarky comment, not tears and a not forced, genuine sounding sorry. “Mari.” She says after a pause, moving to lightly rub her back.

Mari sniffles, leaning into the touch slightly and Nat slowly realizes that the girl was much smaller than she had been when they came outside, something she isn't sure she's seen since the initial hospital after the crash.

And now that she thinks about it, maybe that's why. It's not really a secret that Mari doesn't like hospitals in general, but especially when talking about the ones they'd been at for a while after being rescued.

Really none of the girls enjoyed them, but Mari's fear and hatred were different. And those feelings had probably been keeping her from fully regressing, from needing so much help and being so out of control again.

It made Nat's heart ache for the little girl sniffling into her side. “You've been very big and helpful lately,” She eventually says, “but maybe you need, or want, some small time too.” she's careful with her words, making sure to both say them loud enough to hear but also keeping them vague and pleasing, like offering a reward for being good.

“And it's okay if you do.” She continues when she notices Mari's sniffles have slowly waned. “You don't have to be big all the time, Mari. I'm not, no one is, even Tai. And no one will judge you for it.” She makes sure to tack on the last reassurance, knowing that even if the girls did tease each other for a lot of things, some things were quietly acknowledged as needed and off limits, like Misty’s padding or Lottie’s pacifier.

Mari's sniffles have nearly stopped, and she has finally lifted her head, her feet swinging slightly on the steps as she nervously glances around. “Do you want to go back inside and play?” Nat asks, immediately noting the hesitation and slight hunch of the girl's shoulders. “Or, you and I can do something else, something easy.”

“Cuddle on the couch?” Maei softly requests after a moment and Nat smiles gently. “Sure, but first how about we apologize to the girls first?”

Mari hesitates, but when Nat stands and offers her a hand she does take it, allowing herself to be guided back inside as she plans out her apologies in her head.

[caninereg]

my little fucking babies....

[caninereg]

I’ve been reading through your fics recently and LOVE how you characterize mari, especially when she’s at odds with shauna - but I was thinking what about a fic where mari is clingy to shauna?

maybe she has a nightmare about the wilderness and in her little brain, she goes searching for someone who’s the “strongest” and ends up landing on shauna. At first shauna is all confused firstly at how quiet and shy mari seems but then at how clingy she’s being. Not leaving shauna’s side, cuddling her at any chance, not even really talking, just wanting to be with shauna at all times. Maybe mari slips a bit younger then she normally would and not only is shauna lost on what to do, so are the cg’s around. Like mari straight up asking for a bottle but wanting shauna to feed her which has never happened before, or her needing constant padding like lottie would when small, or not being able to get dressed herself which mari always prided herself on for being “big” for it, even tugging along her stuffie everywhere she goes etc etc

I’m thinking cg!taivan and maybe laura lee & lottie but anyone would work!

ofc no pressure to write this I just thought it was cute and a lil angsty but in a good way yk

- 🌊

This Many Good - Little!Mari, CG!Shauna

Summary: As seen above! Sorry for the wait, anon! I wrote another fic that's sort of similar to this a while ago if you're interested in that also!

Opening her door and immediately stumbling over a warm lump huddled on the floor honestly wasn't the strangest way that Shauna had ever started a day. The strange bit was who was curled up under a blanket outside her bedroom door. Crouching down, she eased a bit of blanket off the part of the lump she was pretty sure was the person's head and was mildly surprised to see that it was Mari. She put a hand on her shoulder and shook gently.

"Mari," she murmured. Realizing why the girl might be asleep on the floor cradling her teddy like that, she adjusted her tone. "Mari, honey."

Mari blinked awake slowly, fussing for a moment before settling as her eyes landed on Shauna.

"What are you doing out here?"

She didn't reply, teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she reached out, hands scrabbling lightly at one of Shauna's sleeves. Shauna pulled her gently upright, letting Mari settle against the crook of her neck.

"Did you have a nightmare, kiddo?"

She felt Mari nod and hummed, rocking them back and forth slightly. They sat there on the floor for a little while longer, Shauna waiting to see if Mari was going to find her voice. When Mari didn't seem any more inclined to talking after a while of sitting on the floor, Shauna guided her upright and brought her downstairs.

It was still pretty early in the morning, so instead of going right to the kitchen for breakfast, Shauna got Mari settled on the couch. As she tried to walk away, she felt a Mari grab at her hand, giving it a small tug. She turned back, face softening.

"Mar, what's goin' with you?" She murmured, abandoning her plan to get the girl some juice in favor of sitting down next to her so that Mari could cuddle into her side. Mari made a little hum in response, seeming content just to sit there quietly. With Mari warm against her side and the weak morning light filtering in through the windows, Shauna felt herself dozing lightly. She was half-asleep by the time she heard other people start clambering down the stairs. Footsteps sounded lightly against the carpet and Shauna felt the couch dip beside her, another body settling against her other side.

"Aw, hey, Mel," she murmured as she wrenched her eyes open to a shock of blonde hair.

"Why's you awake so early?" Mel asked quietly. She leaned over Shauna to squint at Mari, who turned her face against Shauna's sweater to hide. "What's wrong with Mari?"

"Nothing, bud," Shauna replied, smoothing a hand over Mari's back. Truth be told, she was a little perplexed at Mari's behavior, but she figured it was the time of morning that had her sleepy and clingy.

Her hypothesis was quickly disproven as Mari's behavior persisted through breakfast. She clung to Shauna's side as she moved around the kitchen getting food and poked absently at her cereal, not really eating it.

"Mar, you not hungry?" Van asked, brushing her cheek against Mari's forehead to check for a fever. She pulled away looking more perplexed than before. "You don't feel warm."

"Is it your stomach, kiddo?" Tai followed up.

Mari didn't reply, slumping against Shauna's side. She was mouthing at the collar of her shirt.

"Hey, Tai, could you grab one of Lot's fruit pouches instead?" She asked.

Tai tossed it over from the fridge and Shauna reached up and caught it with one hand, deftly unscrewing it. She started to pass it over to Mari to hold before thinking better of it and offering it up herself.

"Has she been like this all morning?" Van asked softly, rummaging through the dish drain for something.

"She was asleep outside my door when I woke up," Shauna explained. "I don't—I'm not really sure what's going on."

"Well, she's not crying, so that's a plus," Tai mused. Shauna nodded slowly, pulling the fruit pouch away from Mari as she finished. Mari settled back against her side, seeming content to just sit there so long as Shauna was nearby. Normally, she was a ball of energy after breakfast, begging to go to the park or play a game.

After a bit more discussion, they decided to just go about things as normal and let Mari be. She didn't seem overly distressed, even if she did start to whine whenever Shauna drew too far away from her. Shauna took her upstairs to get ready for the day and picked out some clothes, setting them on the bed beside Mari and going to leave so that she could change.

When Mari didn't move, she faltered.

"Not feeling like doing this yourself this morning?" She asked softly, picking up the shirt she'd grabbed.

Mari lifted her arms obediently so that Shauna could help her change. She didn't protest once as Shauna got her dressed, not even about the fact that the yellow shirt she was wearing didn't quite match her green shorts, where she usually would have pitched a bit of a fit.

She didn't seem interesting in going to play with Akilah and Gen when they got back downstairs, preferring instead to stay snuggled up against Shauna's side. Van just shrugged when Shauna looked at her helplessly.

"I really think it's alright to let her be," Van said. "She's just having a bit of a day."

"She couldn't have a bit of a day latched onto someone else?" Shauna asked. She wasn't really annoyed with Mari, moreso confused. She had a bit of work to get done as well, which she was considering the logistics of doing with a little attached to her side.

Mari pulled back from her a little at the comment, eyes going glossy and Shauna bit back a groan, hand coming up quickly to pat soothingly at Mari's back.

"I didn't mean it like that, honey," she assured, pulling Mari closer again. "I like having you around, it's alright."

The comment seemed to perk Mari back up again. She was content to play at Shauna's feet as she sat down in the study to get her work done, occasionally taking a quick break to scoot closer and rest her head against Shauna's knee for a moment. She wasn't quite playing in the way Shanua had come to expect from Mari—she'd just shrugged when asked for the latest hot gossip about her Barbies and held up one of the dolls for Shauna to grab.

She played Mari's game for a few minutes, which seemed to consist mostly of toddling the Barbies around so that they could pick up a plastic puppy out of a small cardboard box and then bring it back to what Shauna assumed was the Barbie's house. Then, the doll took care of the plastic puppy for a while before the whole thing repeated.

By midday, Shauna had gotten pretty used to having Mari clinging to her. It barely phased her as she helped prep lunch for everyone and she didn't blink twice when Mari barely nibbled at her own lunch before requesting a bottle of milk in the baby sign language Lottie sometimes used. She was more surprised that Mari had picked up on that considering she almost never cared for Lottie and wasn't always keen to stuff like that when she was small.

Van intervened with the others before anyone could make a comment about Shauna slipping out of the kitchen with Mari and a warm bottle of milk, and Tai just shrugged when Gen asked what was the deal with Mari today?

Upstairs, Shauna had just finished giving a very sleepy Mari her milk when the door creaked open and Mel was standing there shyly.

"Can I come say hi to the baby?" She asked quietly.

"She's not—" Shauna started to correct Mel before she realized the blonde might not actually be too far off, especially not since Mari hadn't even bothered to correct her. She was basically asleep, but that usually never stopped her from defending her big kid honor. "I suppose so, bud, yeah."

Mel padded over and climbed onto Mari's bed. Shauna had her in her lap, cradled carefully in one arm, and Mel reached out to brush a finger down the bridge of Mari's nose gently. Mari's eyes fluttered shut and she made a little sound as Shauna readjusted her into a better position for a nap.

"Gonna sleep?" Mel asked, watching as they settled down against the pillows.

"I think so," Shauna said. "You feeling sleepy?"

Mel shrugged, but crawled up the bed so that she could lay on Shauna's other side. She stared across her at Mari, who was well on her way to sleep, the collar of her shirt tucked in her mouth.

"Did something happen to her?" Mel whispered, looking worried.

"Well," Shauna started, "nothing, really. The going theory is a nightmare."

"Akilah said she heard Mari cryin'," Mel admitted softly.

"A nightmare would make sense then, huh?"

Mel was quiet for a long moment before she tugged at Shauna's shirt to get her attention again.

"Yeah, bud?"

"Why'd she go to you?"

It wasn't an unreasonable question. It was a little odd that Mari had chosen Shauna over Van or Tai, or even Lottie. Shauna herself wasn't quite sure what was going through Mari's head. She wasn't quite as gentle as Van or soothing as Tai.

"I'm not sure, pal," she murmured. Mari had drifted fully to sleep, head lolling against Shauna's shoulder. She had one hand curled into the fabric of Shauna's shirt, right by her heart.

Mel nestled a little closer, patting Shauna's side.

"I think I know," she stated.

"Oh yeah?"

"It's 'cause you're strong," Mel breathed. "Like a bear."

Shauna chuckled a little, disbelieving.

"A bear?"

"Yeah huh," Mel affirmed, nodding.

She didn't seem overly inclined to keep talking, so Shauna let it drop even though she was still a little confused. Mari did have a penchant for seeking out the caregiver who she felt was best suited to her needs at the moment. It was something she was scarily good at.

When they woke up from their nap (impromptu on Shauna's part), Mari seemed a bit more like her usual self again. She'd started talking a little more and was willing to go off and play with Mel on her own, even if she did drift back to hug Shauna or show her something much more than she usually might.

Shauna made sure to sit by Mari at dinner, even though she didn't overtly ask for it, because she had a feeling that was the best choice. She was proven correct when Mari pitched a small fit over her potatoes being in too big pieces and wouldn't let anyone else try to cut them up except for Shauna.

"Gonna do it wrong," she grumbled, pulling the plate away from Lottie who just chuckled and raised her hands in defeat. She let Shauna cut them up and then proceeded to barely eat them, but she'd stopped fussing, which Shauna counted as a win. She coaxed some strawberry yogurt into Mari after dinner because she'd hardly eaten and then hefted her onto a hip to take her upstairs for an early bed.

As they drew closer to Mari's room, she started to wiggle, protesting softly. Shauna grunted as she tried to keep a grip, nearly dropping Mari onto her bed instead of putting her down gently.

"Mar, what is it?"

"No sleep," Mari announced pleadingly, crossing her arms.

"Honey, you've had a long day," Shauna tried reasoning, pulling a pajama set out of the closet. Mari shook her head again, tears welling up and spilling over before she could get her next argument out. Shauna hurried over, pulling her close. "Hey, what's all this?"

"Don't wanna," Mari whined, nuzzling into Shauna's shoulder.

"Why not?"

"'S scary," she mumbled, sniffling.

"Aw, Mar. Did you have some scary dreams last night?" Shauna asked, smoothing a hand over dark hair. Mari nodded, pointing out the window towards a copse of trees that swayed outside. "The woods?"

Mari nodded again and Shauna sighed, leaning down to rest her cheek against the top of Mari's head.

"I'm sorry, kiddo," she murmured.

It took a few minutes for Mari's tears to slow, but by the time they had, Shauna had come up with an idea. She pulled away, wiping at Mari's cheeks with her thumbs.

"I've got a preposition for you," she began. "If it's alright with Akilah, I'll sleep on your floor tonight—and tonight, only—so that if you have any scary dreams, you don't have go out into the dark to find me."

Mari's face collapsed in relief and she launched herself at Shauna, wrapping her arms tightly around her neck.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Shauna chuckled.

Getting ready for bed went much smoother after that and Mari was curled up under her covers in record time. Shauna had snuck downstairs while Mari was in the bathroom to check with Akilah that it was alright if she slept on the floor, which the other girl had agreed to easily (for Mari's sake).

She got herself set up with a few pillows and blankets, trying to ignore the lingering worry that her back would be wrecked by the morning, which got a whole lot easier when Mari leaned down to whisper her thanks to Shauna.

"You're, um, you're this many good," Mari informed her, spreading her arms wide. Shauna smiled, chest warm.

"Thanks, kiddo. And I think you're this many sleepy," she replied, opening her arms wide too. Mari squealed and launched herself off the bed into Shauna's arms.

"Got you," she giggled, nestling down into Shauna's lap. Shauna couldn't help but laugh.

"You sure did," she agreed. "Back up into bed now, c'mon."

After a bit of finagling, she finally got Mari settled by reaching up to hold her hand from the floor. She knew it was going to do a number on her shoulder, but Mari's peaceful face as she slipped off into sleep almost made it feel worth it. Shauna could take it. She was strong, she reminded herself as she started to doze off as well. Like a bear.

I think I accidentally gave myself the hc that people start calling Shauna 'Shauna-bear' when she's smaller. It's 50/50 on whether she doesn't care or she wrinkles her nose in annoyance.

[caninereg]

unfair

little!jackie , aunt/uncle taivan -> chronically ill + hoh jackie word count: 1606 ao3 link

notes: nat isn't in this fic but she's mentioned as jackie's cg - so i'm including this in my "jackienat nyc au" universe. the full masterlist is here

Jackie huffs, her arms folded over her chest as she sinks back against the door.

She’d thought having a day with Tai and Van would be fun. She’d spent all weekend looking forward to it after Nat told her the plans. They were going to go to the Bronx zoo, see the camels, get snow cones and then stop at the gift shop before leaving. Jackie was so excited she’d stayed up for two hours the night before counting her pocket change to make sure she had enough to buy herself a treat.

But now, as she folds in on herself with her brow furrowed and lips pursed in irritation - all she wants is for Nat to pick her up. She wants to get out of the stupid bathroom she’s been hiding in and to go back to her bedroom with her Sylvanian Families and her favorite blanket. She wants to call Nat’s boss and tell him it’s an emergency and that she needs her to come back right away. And most of all, she wants to march right back up to Tai and tell her she’s not apologizing because she was not wrong and she should not have to say sorry for stating the feelings she knows are correct. 

Jackie kicks the ground at the notion. The impact isn’t hard enough to hurt herself, but hard enough that it’ll make a sound. When her sneaker thunks against the tile, Jackie smiles. 

Good, she thinks. They better hear that. 

But a moment passes without a response - serving as a cruel reminder that even if they did hear it, neither of them care. Jackie slumps further into the door at the thought. She scrunches up her face and resists the urge to pull her hair and scream because maybe she’s being dramatic, but God - the whole thing is so unfair.

Special days with her pretend Aunt and Uncle are supposed to be fun days. Plans are supposed to be maintained and rules are supposed to be followed. If they can all be thrown away at the last second - what’s the point of making them to begin with? 

There is none, Jackie thinks. They’re there for a reason. 

She’d tried to say that to Van. She’d wanted to explain that if they could just deal with their stomach ache the way Jackie always has to - they could be at the zoo right now. They could be eating snow cones and watching the camels and having the special day they’d intended on having.

But no, Van just had to tap out before they could even leave the house - claiming they needed to take some Tums and lay down.

Jackie had scoffed and said womp womp, which - according to Taissa, was not the correct response. 

“You’re being very rude right now, Jackie,” she’d reprimanded. Her arms were folded and stern in the way that normally, would make Jackie want to cry. For once, though, it only fueled the fire beneath her - urging her to fight back even harder. 

“Nuh-uh,” Jackie had responded - mirroring Tai’s stance to show she wasn’t afraid. “‘s jus’ a tummy ache. I’ve got one every single day and I still do what I’m a-pposta do.” 

The statement, Jackie knew, wasn’t the whole truth. There were many mornings where the pain made it impossible to even get out of bed - much less leave the apartment. But that was different. Because the burning within her - made up of unfiltered acid and excess air twisting through her unwashed system wasn’t just a stomach ache. It wasn’t Tums and a nap to hit the reset button. It wasn’t temporary. And it certainly wasn’t isolated. 

As Jackie mulls over the conversation once more, she wishes she could’ve said that. She wishes they could’ve tried to understand the way that Nat does. But even Nat doesn’t seem to get that when Jackie’s head hurts, it means her stomach is doing backflips too - or that sometimes the reason she can’t eat isn’t because of her tummy, but because of the ringing in her remaining ear.

She tries, Jackie thinks. She knows Nat tries. But listening to it isn’t the same as living it; nothing is.

—

When Jackie feels the door shift behind her spine, indicating a knock, she lifts her head. Her hand reaches instinctively for the doorknob but she stops herself before she can twist it - remembering she’s still supposed to be angry. 

“Jackie?” The voice on the other side is muffled and distant. “It’s Taissa.” 

Oh.

Jackie pulls her hand back and folds her arms even tighter across her chest. She can feel her face getting hot as unwanted tears spring to her eyes. They prickle within her while she tries to will the other girl away.

“I know…. upset but… not mad.”

The words are  jumbled and foggy. They’re hard for  Jackie to catch - making her strain as hard as she can to register even a few.

As she pulls her legs up into her chest, Jackie rests her chin on her knee. Tai’s still speaking behind her and the effort to understand her is making her head throb. If Nat were here, she’d tell Jackie to be brave and open the door. That would make it easier to hear. But she isn’t here and Jackie isn’t brave, so she stays planted on the ground. 

“Jax? -f… talk… -onsider snow cones?” 

Jackie lifts her head, attention piqued. She doesn’t want to talk but she does like the idea of a snow cone. So she sucks in a breath, holds it in her chest, and opens the door. 

—

“Do you wanna tell me what happened?” Tai asks as they take their seats on the sofa. “Why were you so mean about Van feeling sick?” 

Jackie shrugs.  She pulls her fingertips one by one until all her knuckles have popped - needing them to be even again before she can stop.

“‘It’s not fair,” she says.

“What’s not fair? That we couldn’t go to the zoo?” 

Jackie shakes her head. Her stomach is twisting even angrier than usual. It wants to gag her as she struggles to swallow the lump rising in her throat. Jackie exhales at the effort. All she wants is to hold her stuffed bunny to calm down; it always makes her feel stronger. But she’d packed it in her bag when she still thought they were going to leave. 

“It’s not fair that Van was complaining,” Jackie says. The confession is mumbled and soft. She stares down at her lap as it escapes her - unwilling to meet Taissa’s eyes. “Made me mad.” 

“I know it did,” Tai says. The gentleness in her tone catches Jackie off guard. Even more so when she feels something touch her knee - only to realize a second later, that Tai’s hand is now there. “But why?” 

“‘Cause my stomach always hurts,” Jackie explains. “And my head and my ear sometimes. It’s always hurting all the time and Nat’s the only one that ever cares.” 

“Jackie, that’s…” 

Jackie rolls her eyes. She knows where this is going - the reassurance that it isn’t true, they do care, she just doesn’t see it. It’s nice in theory and maybe a few months ago, it would’ve made her feel better. But right now, it just feels like another kick in the gut. 

With a steep inhale, Jackie slowly pulls away from Tai’s touch. She pulls her knees into her chest and shrinks herself into the corner of the sofa - trying to make herself as small as possible. 

“Jackie…” Taissa sighs. She looks over at her, expression warm and soft - so unlike the angry one she’d held this morning. “I’m sorry.” 

What?

Jackie lifts her head.

“I’m sorry we haven’t done a better job of showing you that we care. Because we do - I promise. But I can imagine that doesn’t really mean anything if it still seems like we don’t, huh?” 

“Yeah,” Jackie says, her voice hardly above a whisper. “It doesn’t feel good.”

“Yeah.” Taissa pauses for a moment, then asks, “Do you remember… back in high school, how I always used to be so stressed about everything? My grades and college applications and all our exams and just - all of it?” 

Jackie nods, unsure of where this is going. 

“Well, there was one day where Lottie came to practice and she was freaking out over a geometry test and everyone immediately flocked to her.” 

Drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, Jackie watches the way Tai keeps herself from fidgeting. It’s weird, she thinks. She remembers that day too. Lottie had been worried nearly to tears and they all ended up being late to run drills because they were so busy in the locker room trying to calm her down. All of them except Tai. 

“I was so mad at you guys for that,” Tai says, chuckling sadly. “Because everyone cared that Lottie was so anxious, but not that I felt it all the time.” 

She pauses once more before looking back at Jackie and adding: “I’m sorry I did the same thing to you.”

Jackie swallows. She wants to say it’s okay. It’s instinctive and easy. But before the words can leave her, she remembers what Nat has been telling her about being allowed to acknowledge when she’s feeling bad. 

“Thank you,” Jackie says instead. 

Tai smiles and gives a small nod. 

“Now… we can’t still go to the zoo, but if you apologize to Van, I can still take you to get a snow cone from the ice cream truck. Does that sound fair?” 

Jackie nods, quickly sprouting upright. 

“Yeah - I can ‘pologize right now!” 

[caninereg]

Hi I loved your eating habits headcanon and would love for you to expand on Mari being scared of getting sick from foods!

< agere mari food hc’s >

a/n : I might start my own ‘all the yj’s live together’ au atp cause I have so many ideas…

tags : food talk!, little!mari, cg!lottie, bad eating habits, mentioned canon events, post rescue

☆ — after what happened in the wilderness with the mushroom incident, having to eat cooked bugs/prepare those bugs, etc - she’s very wary of food that could cause her to feel ill as lots of time in the wilderness she spent with unspoken stomachaches that she assumed everyone else were also experiencing

☆ — it wasn’t til after rescue and living in their shared house that mari shared her annoyance at the past stomachaches and the others had to tell her that wasn’t normal for them the way it was for her

☆ — despite growing up in a house that favored freshly made food to frozen or packaged, mari prefers the latter after rescue

☆ — to her- the packaging ensures there’s no bugs in it, she’s able to check the expiration dates easily to be sure it’s still safe, it’s easier to store in her room (if it’s not frozen) for whenever she needs, and frozen foods are usually very simple to prepare which she likes because after cooking for so long in the wilderness she avoids it at all costs now

☆ — she hoards a lot of foods like fruit snacks, single serving chip bags, even juice boxes in a secret box in her room in fear that one day she’ll get in trouble and won’t be able to eat or they’ll run out of food — the cg’s aren’t aware of this stash or this fear and she’s Very determined to keep it that way

☆ — mealtimes are very hard for mari if the dish is something new and sadly for her, that happens quite often. lottie likes to try out new recipes and nobody quite likes to cook as much as her aside from maybe shauna if she’s big enough so lot’s in charge of meals many days

☆ — if it’s a particularly bad day - nat or van will step in and get mari a different plate of food to eat just to be sure she does actually eat something. mari feels so much guilt over not eating lottie’s new foods she spent so long preparing but at the same time so much relief at not being forced to, it can be quite a whirlwind of emotions for her

☆ — mari dreads being called down for dinner or to lunch. she drags her feet on the floor, takes each step slower, and hesitates before she steps into the kitchen almost every night. It’s to the point that sometimes a cg will tell mari dinner is five minutes earlier than it actually is so she’s there right on time if they’re on a time crunch for something

☆ — she often leaves mealtimes feeling drained and stressed out. it’s common for mari to retreat to her room after dinner and appear an hour later when she feels better, or she’ll curl up on the couch for a bit before returning to playing with the other little’s. everyone in the house is aware of this habit by now and act accordingly, even shanua is more gentle with mari during/after meals as mari can be very prone to becoming more emotional

☆ — breakfast is her favorite meal and the easiest for her. It’s acceptable for her to eat packaged foods like cereal, pop tarts, granola bars, etc etc. she does prefer a bowl of dry cereal to eat with her hands but will eat it with milk if a cg insists (usually to try and up her liquid intake as she struggles with that as well)

[caninereg]

< yj’s agere eating habits > yj’s included: mari, van, mel, akilah, laura lee, tai, shauna

based on @paramountinplace au !! hope you don’t mind <3

tags : food talk!, mentions of the wilderness

☆ Mari — prefers snacks/processed foods that are shelf stable. she struggles a lot with worrying about getting sick from the food she eats. the one time she doesn’t put up a fuss or get anxious about fresh food is when it’s a recipe from her childhood or a safe food that she’s had enough times to feel comfortable with. when she’s feeling extra young she can struggle with solid/hard foods which can cause a lot of stress for her as she’s always trying to come off as “bigger” than the other little’s - she runs off to nat, van or tai when this happens as they’re fully willing to be discreet about getting her a bottle or whatever she may need ー☆

��� Van — similar to mari where she loves snacks and frozen meals but isn’t as picky as mari can be when it comes to fresher food. when she’s small her appetite grows and she’s usually not one to fight about what’s being served for meal time as long as it’s easy for her to eat on her own (ie. cut up, cooled down enough, given the right utensils for her age etc etc) ー☆

☆ Mel — will eat just about anything put in front of her but loves red meat and fruit. a good burger with some watermelon on the side? she’s going IN on that. she does snack some but usually likes sweeter things like fruit snacks or yogurt rather than chips or something salty. she always shares her snacks with van (or anyone who may ask) ー☆

☆ Akilah & Laura Lee ー they have very similar eating habits where neither eat meat and don’t even like to cook it no matter their headspace. though laura lee will prepare it if there’s nobody else around to do it and someone is asking for it specifically. akilah prefers vegetables whereas laura lee leans towards fruits but both are very good healthy eaters and don’t struggle with mealtime ー☆

☆ Tai — she doesn’t eat meat for a long while after rescue but eventually moves onto eating sea food and white meat. such a sucker for shrimp and a good marina. like mel, she has a wide range of food preferences and doesn’t really care what she’s served or what’s requested for dinner as it’ll be good for her almost no matter what ー☆

☆ Shauna — loves meat!! it shows more when she’s a little older in headspace but she always asks for things like jerky, turkey sticks, chicken nuggets, etc etc. she’s also always looking for something salt like pretzels or fast food french fries! she isn’t too fussy but does get upset if she requests something specific and it gets denied or is unable to be made right that instant ー☆

[caninereg]

Hiya!! I just read your fic abt Mel breaking her arm (it was incredible AIAUDHSHSHD)

and now my brain is thinking up a possible part two based off of a headcanon I distantly remember reading from I think your blog abt Mari(? My memory is so bad so I may have read this on a bother blog or gotten some details confused) getting really antsy and worried whenever people get hurt or sick? And now I’m wondering how that would play out with Mel’s broken arm (and also maybe seeing some of the recovery process that goes along with that injury?)

It’s okay if you don’t have time or whatever, focus on yourself first! Thanks for doing what you do :)

- 💫

Hello! I'm so happy you liked it! My memory is pretty rough too, but I think you're right about that being on my blog xD If not, someone correct me though. Here's a part 2 of that fic exploring some of the stuff you mentioned!

If It Ain't Broke... - pt. 2 (Little!Mel, Little!Mari)

Summary: As seen above! Mari's antsy about Mel's time in the hospital and when she finally gets home, she's got questions.

The moment Van and Tai were out the door with a teary, half-delirious Mel, Mari was running into the kitchen to latch onto Shauna's side.

"Hey, Mar," she murmured, trying to gather her wits. She was still reeling a bit from the chaos that had been realizing something was seriously wrong with Mel's arm. Van had clocked it instantly, almost too fast, now that Shauna was thinking back on it. She wondered how many similar injuries Van must've witnessed or suffered herself to recognize the signs of a broken limb that quickly.

"What's wrong with Mel?" Mari asked. She was trying to sound casual, but there was a shake to her voice that betrayed her anxiety over the situation.

"She's got a bit of an ouchie," Shauna replied. "She's okay, honey. They're gonna take care of it at the hospital."

"She's goin' to the hospital?"

Mari's thumb had made its way into her mouth. Shauna winced as she remembered the effect that doctors appointments and various other trips to the hospital tended to have on Mari.

"Yeah, honey," she murmured. "She's gonna be okay though, I promise. They'll be home before bedtime."

Mari didn't reply, pressing closer to Shauna's side, turning her face into her shirt with another sniffle. Laura Lee came into the kitchen, face softening when she saw Mari clinging to Shauna.

"Mari, I'm gonna give Tai a call soon to check in," she said. "Would you like to talk to her when I do so you can hear what's going on?"

She nodded, pulling away from Shauna a little to grab onto Laura Lee's sleeve.

"Talk to Mel?"

"We'll have to see," Laura Lee replied softly. "Why don't we put on a movie until then?"

They got her set up in front of the television. Nat frowned when she saw Mari and climbed over Lottie to sit by her, offering a hand for Mari to hold, which she accepted without protest.

The rest of the evening was spent in quiet tension. Mari's anxiety was radiating off of her and she was much more subdued than normal. Her phone call with Tai had helped some, but she still came up to Laura Lee or Shauna every so often to ask when they were getting home from the hospital or if Mel was going to have to stay the night or if Van was going to get sick from being in the hospital for so long. Shauna eventually took Mari and sat down with her in front of their shared computer in the study, pulling the girl onto her lap so she could see the screen too.

"We're going to do some research, Mar," she said.

Mari grumbled, leaning back against Shauna's chest.

"That sounds boring."

"I think it's gonna help us out," Shauna continued. "We're going to look up what happens when someone breaks their arm, okay?"

Mari hesitated for a long moment before nodding. She dropped her head against Shauna's shoulder, closing her eyes against the brightness of the computer screen. The soft sound of Shauna typing and clicking around went on for a while before she started speaking again.

"So, Tai told us Mel had some small fractures in her arm. You know what a fracture is, Mar?"

She shrugged noncommittally.

"It can be anything from a little crack to a full break," Shauna explained gently. "Mel has some of the littler ones, but she's still gonna have to get a cast to help heal them."

"So she doesn't move it around?" Mari asked.

"Exactly. The bones should be able to heal themselves because it wasn't too bad of a break and in a couple of months, she'll be able to have her cast off and it'll be all healed up."

"Months?"

Her voice shook a little and Shauna hummed, rubbing a hand over her back.

"Yeah, months. But she's gonna be at home the whole time, kid. She doesn't have to do much different from normal once she's got the cast on. We're just gonna have to be a little more careful with her."

"No touching?" Mari was squinting, obviously thinking hard. It was something she'd asked every time anyone had to go to the hospital. She was trying to connect her experiences with her younger cousin to the current ones, and she remembered very vividly that her touching him had been a concern because him getting a cold or a stomach virus would've been bad.

"You can touch her if she's okay with that," Shauna explained. "It's just her arm we have to be careful with."

Mari nodded, feeling a little bit better about the whole situation. "When is she gonna be home?"

"Actually," Shauna said, leaning back to catch a glimpse of the clock on the wall, "right about now."

They went into the kitchen to wait, Mari hovering nervously by the garage door until Laura Lee came and gently tugged her over to sit at the table. She popped up to her feet again when the door swung open, restrained from running over only by Shauna's hand grabbing the back of her shirt.

Tai entered first, holding a sheaf of papers, and Van with Mel tucked into her side behind her. The blonde was obviously drowsy, blinking against the lights of the kitchen as she scrubbed at her eyes with a closed fist.

"Hey guys," Tai greeted, flopping into a chair next to Shauna.

"Welcome home," Shauna drawled lowly. "Mel, bud, how's the arm?"

Mel held up her new cast for them to see, letting Van stoop to untie her shoes off for her. Shauna let go of Mari's shirt, allowing her to run up to Mel's side. She bent in close, examining the cast.

"Does it hurt?"

Mel nodded. Van was already rummaging around in the cabinets for some painkillers, crushing them up to combine with a cup of juice for her.

"Was it scary?" Mari continued her questioning, bending over the paperwork had discarded on the counter.

"Um, kinda," Mel said hoarsely, accepting the juice Van handed her. She flushed a little at the lid on the cup, but drank it obediently, cuddling back up to the redhead's side when she was done. "They painted my arm."

"Shauna said," Mari replied knowingly.

"We had a little research session," Shauna clarified at Tai's confused look.

They let Mari pepper Mel with a few more questions before Van declared it was time for bed and that they could keep talking about their hospital escapades in the morning.

"Feelin' a little better?" Shauna asked as she guided Mari upstairs behind Mel and Van, waving to Mel as they passed her room. Mari nodded slowly.

"Yeah," she murmured, loose-limbed and pliant as Shauna sat her down on the bed and grabbed a pajama set out of the closet for her.

"Get changed, alright? I'll be back in a second," she instructed, waiting for Mari's nod before she left the room.

She knocked lightly on Mel's door before poking her head in. Van had gotten her changed in record time despite the cast and they were sitting together on the floor while the redhead spoke softly about how Mel was going to have to shower in the morning.

"Plastic bags?" Shauna piped up curiously.

Van glanced up, nodding. Mel patted the spot beside her when she saw Shauna and scooted closer to Van to make room, prompting the other girl to come take a seat on her other side.

"She can't get it wet," Van confirmed.

"Gnarly," Shauna snorted, poking at Mel's side. "You're gonna be stinky."

Mel giggled, wriggling away from her hands and further into Van's side. She seemed to be in an okay mood, if not a little drained from the day.

"Oh, Mel, I remembered I wanted to tell you something," Shauna said. "You did real good taking care of everyone today."

Van nodded emphatically. "Really good. I'm sorry we left so quick, but I'm proud of you, kiddo."

Mel flushed, ducking her head self-consciously. The door creaked again and Mari poked her head through. Van beckoned her over too, and she plopped herself in Shauna's lap, turning so that she could curl up facing Mel, who'd wriggled her way into Van's.

They chatted for a while longer about Mel's arm. Mari was mostly alert to it, but the blonde started to doze almost immediately after she'd found a comfortable position with her new bulky cast. Van detailed the hospital trip to them while Shauna explained the story they'd gotten out of Gen about what had happened to cause Mel to get injured.

"Ah, man," Van breathed as Shauna concluded the explanation. "Has anyone checked on her?"

"I think Tai's with her now, yeah. She was feeling pretty guilty about it, but Laura Lee was handling it while I was with this one," Shauna said, giving Mari a little bounce.

"I'll have to poke my head in at some point," Van murmured, smoothing a hand over Mel's head. "She's gotta sleep with that thing propped up and she moves around so much I'm kinda worried about it."

"You could try what I've done with Jackie," Shauna offered. "Pillows on both sides so she won't wiggle too much and tuck the blanket real tight."

Van nodded. "Duly noted. Thanks."

"Yup."

Mari had nodded off against Shauna's shoulder when they stopped talking about Mel, so they sat there on the floor for a little while longer before standing up with their respective kiddos to tuck them into bed.

Mel fussed a little as Van arranged pillows and teddies around her strategically, but she calmed quickly when her most favorite moose teddy was tucked into her good arm, chin falling against her shoulder.

"Night, Mel," Van whispered.

She left the door open a crack so that she could hear if Mel woke in the night and made her rounds, poking her head in to say goodnight to various others, finally sitting with Tai in their as she finished reading Gen a chapter of her latest book.

"Mel asleep?" Tai asked as she ushered Gen to her feet.

"Out like a light."

"We'll be quiet anyhow, right, hon?"

Gen nodded, eyes big and earnest as she did.

When Tai got back, she fell face-first onto the bed with a groan.

"Long day," she said, muffled by the blankets. Van snorted, falling onto her back beside her.

"That's for sure."

[caninereg]

Love how you write Van and Mel!

Had a fic idea about how CG!Melissa breaks her arm while playing with Gen and Akilah. She pretends it's nothing while trying to not regress (in the meantime everyone wants something). She hides her pain all day, and has to take care for most of the little ones (which is unusual and an emergency, but she volunteered when the others had to do something important, and didn't want to disappoint Tai who looked so relieved and proud when she did), so she doesn't tell anyone. When Van comes back home, she eventually finds out and takes care of her when Mari accidentally hits her arm and she bursts out crying and yelling in immense pain.

At least she gets a cool cast after waiting in the hospital for so long.

If It Ain't Broke... - Cg!Mel (+ Little!Mel)

Summary: As requested above! A game in the yard ends poorly for Mel, who finds that she has to keep it together a little longer as they wait for the others to return home.

"And you'll be the troll," Gen declared, pointing at Mel.

She put a hand to her chest in faux-offense.

"The troll?"

Akilah giggled, nodding in agreement.

"You chase us since we're the magic fairies and you want to steal our magic for yourself," she informed Mel, spinning to show her the construction paper wings that had been haphazardly attached to her shirt with cello tape.

"Well okay..." Mel drawled, slowly pushing herself to her feet. "But you better run quick!"

Gen and Akilah screeched, giggling madly as they turned to run away from Mel, who starting taking exaggerated steps across the yard as she did her best to imitate a burly troll. The girls split apart from each other and she zeroed in on Akilah, who was slightly closer. With a few quick steps, she was able to grab her around the waist, roaring playfully and giving her a spin.

"I'll save you!" Gen hollered, picking up the plastic wiffle ball bat that had been abandoned in the grass earlier that day, waving it in the air as she charged at them.

"Don't hit me with that," Mel warned, letting Akilah back down onto her feet. The other girl was still laughing happily, which seemed to deter Gen from actually using the bat on Mel. They took off again, throwing vaguely fairy-related taunts over their shoulders as they went.

Mel started to chase them again, but she was mildly distracted by trying to figure out what Gen possibly could have meant when she yelled that she was going to steal the troll's floozle horn for a pinkberry stew. So distracted was she by the perplexing comment that she forgot to watch where she was going and her sneaker came down unexpectedly on the plastic bat that Gen had apparently abandoned in her fervor to escape the troll.

A yelp escaped her as the bat rolled beneath her foot and she pitched forward, sticking out an arm to break her fall.

Bad idea.

Mel couldn't quite muffle the shout that escaped her when she felt an odd crunching feeling in her arm, quickly morphing into a stabbing pain. She curled around the arm, hugging it to her chest instinctively. She could hear Gen and Akilah coming up behind her, voices worried, but she ignored them as she forcibly sucked in a few deep breaths, trying to stay calm.

The haze in her vision started to abate the longer she breathed and eventually, she managed to push herself upright with the non-injured arm, keeping the other cradled against her body.

"Mel?" Akilah sounded like she was about to cry, hovering over the blonde like she wanted to touch her but was too scared.

"I'm good, hon," Mel gritted, smiling tightly. "Just a little spill."

"I'm sorry!" Gen blurted, eyes glassy as she looked back and forth between Mel and the plastic bat. Mel shook her head, climbing carefully to her feet. She used her good hand to pull Gen against her non-injured side, rubbing her shoulder.

"It's okay," she soothed. "Let's get the yard cleaned up and head inside now, though, alright?"

Gen nodded frantically, wiping at her cheeks as she guiltily started tidying the yard. Between her and Akilah, they got it done pretty quickly, by which point Mel was becoming aware of the intense ache that was radiating up from her forearm.

She chewed on her lip as she herded the girls inside, trying not to let tears well up in front of them. She sent them upstairs to change out of their grass-stained clothing before going into the sitting room to check on a few of the others. Nat and Lottie were still cozied up on the couch in front of a movie where she'd left them, Mari half-paying attention as she flipped through a graphic novel on the other end of the couch. Jackie was playing quietly with her little animal figurines in the corner, talking to herself as she moved them around.

Mel counted off in her head, making sure she'd accounted for everyone. Van, Tai, Shauna, and Laura Lee had gone out earlier to take care of Something Very Important, which meant she was in charge of the house.

Van and Laura Lee had already been fully out the door when Tai had caught Mel by the shoulder and asked if she was feeling up to watching over the littles that day, because it would be such a big help and it wouldn't be for too long. Not wanting to disappoint Tai, she'd agreed easily, but she was starting to wish that she hadn't as Lottie raised her arms when she caught sight of Mel, silently asking for a cuddle.

"I'll be right back, Lot, I gotta check on something real quick," she said apologetically. Lottie pouted, but it quickly dissolved when Nat scooted closer, pulling Lottie against her side.

Mel backed out of the room, satisfied that no one was at immediate risk of injury or illness and made a beeline for one of their many flip-phones that got passed around as needed. She was relieved when the screen blinked with a message.

Hang tite. Home in 20 - V

She could do twenty minutes.

Gen and Akilah came back downstairs, finding Mel in the kitchen quickly. Akilah was still eyeing Mel's arm anxiously, noting the way the blonde kept it pressed up against her chest, avoiding moving it.

"Snack time?" Mel asked, giving them a weak smile.

It got them excited enough to stop staring at her like she was about to break apart and she let them each pick a bagged snack from the pantry, realizing belatedly that she should probably offer one to the girls in the other room as well.

She regretted it almost instantly when Nat held up her bag of Goldfish to Mel, quietly asking for help tearing it open.

"Sure, bud," she replied, wracking her brain wildly as she took it. Mari, of all people, came to her rescue as she leaped up from her spot, nearly sending her own back of snacks flying.

"I can do it!" She cried, always eager for an opportunity to prove how strong and grown-up she was. Mel forked the bag over and was relieved when Mari managed to get the snack open without spilling any and passed it back to Nat with a triumphant grin.

The snacks took up about a half an hour, but the others still weren't home. Mel single-handedly dug the phone out of her back pocket where she'd stowed it and bit back a groan at the message.

Traffic. U ok? - V

She fumbled with the phone for a minute, trying to type out a response, but her hand was a little shaky and she had to give up after hitting the wrong button so many times that her one-word response was somehow unreadable.

Lottie really needed to go down for a nap soon and by the looks of it, both Nat and Akilah could use one too. Maybe even Jackie, Mel mused as she watched her tuck all her figurines into little beds made craftily from tissues.

She could do that single-handedly. Probably.

Her arm twinged something fierce when she tried to wiggle her fingers and she winced.

After mulling it over for another minute, she decided against it. She'd just get everyone down for a nap on the couches, pretending it was a fun kind of sleepover game.

She announced her idea, which resulted in everyone wanting to participate, even Mari.

"Okay, everyone grab a blanket then," she called, pulling their basket of various blankets and soft things out from under the coffee table. The girls flocked over, each picking out their favored blanket. Nat snatched a purple one for Lottie while Gen and Akilah bickered over a flower-print one for a long moment before opting to just share it, saving Mel the trouble of breaking them up.

She fetched a soother for Lottie and lied about being out of juice to the others so she wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up any accidents. She flipped on the sound machine in the corner of the room to the universally agreed upon brown noise and dimmed the lights, breathing out a sigh of relief when the room went quiet and stayed that way.

She eased herself down to the ground, tipping her head back against the armrest of the couch, praying that the others would be home soon.

Her prayers were answered in what felt like seconds, but she realized must've been longer as she blinked awake to Van kneeling in front of her.

"Mel," she was saying, quietly so as not to wake the others. "We're home."

"Hi," she mumbled, confused as to why something felt off. She went to push herself upright a little more and oh, there it was. White-hot pain shot through her arm as she tried to pick it up off her chest and she gasped, eyes watering as she slammed them shut again, her other arm coming up to steady herself.

"Woah, hey," Van murmured.

Mel opened her eyes. "I'm fine."

"Mel—"

"I'm fine," she repeated, slowly shifting to use her good hand to stand up. Van followed her out of the sitting room and into the kitchen, eyes still heavy with concern.

"Hey, nice job getting everyone to sleep," Tai praised as she came into the room, clapping Mel on the back good-naturedly. She wanted to thank Tai, but the motion had jostled her arm painfully and Mel was rapidly reaching her pain tolerance threshold. Van's eyes boring into her, still warm and concerned, were her last straw and she felt the sob bubbling up in her chest more than she heard it.

"Okay, hey," Van's voice sounded in her ear suddenly, an arm sliding around her waist to support her, careful to avoid knocking her arm. "I gotcha, Mel."

"Shit, what the hell?" Shauna was speaking from somewhere over Mel's shoulder, but her world had become a haze of pain and tears and she couldn't pinpoint exactly where. Another sob rocketed out of her.

"Her arm." Van again, close by her ear. She tried to lean into her, yelping when her own movement pressed her arm against her chest painfully and she felt a hand close around the back of her neck gently. "She's guarding it."

The sound of keys jingling and she was being guided forward, someone's hands on her feet as they slid them into a pair of shoes. A jacket was draped over her shoulders.

"I'll drive," Tai said.

Drive where? Mel wondered vaguely, sniffling as the hand on her neck directed her into the backseat of a car. She felt Van pull away from her side and whined in protest, throwing her good arm out to try and catch her. She hit something warm and solid.

"Oof, careful, bud," Van murmured, suddenly back by her side. She slid an arm around Mel's shoulders carefully once she'd gotten the blonde buckled, allowing her to rest her head against her shoulder. "Mel, you with us?"

"Uh-huh," she replied, sniffling. The world was starting to feel a little more stable again, now that the pain in her arm had faded to a dull throb and not a dizzying ache.

"We're going to the hospital, kiddo," Van explained, shushing Mel when she whined in protest. "I know, I know. It's okay."

The drive to the hospital felt all too short for Mel, who wanted to be anywhere but there. She tried to pull herself together as they walked inside, drying her tears on her sleeve as she let Van do the talking to the lady at the desk.

Van handed the paperwork off to Tai, who sat down on Mel's other side as they found seats in the corner of the waiting area, half-hidden by a huge fake plant. Mel dropped her head back down against Van's shoulder, clenching her fist in her lap so she wouldn't bring it up to her mouth.

Tai coaxed a few answers for the paperwork out of her, but was mostly able to fill it out by herself, clicking the pen shut when she was done and handing the clipboard to Van.

They waited for what felt like forever. Mel flipped confusingly between being incredibly bored and almost unbearably anxious, which did little to help her frazzled brain settle. Van told her story after story, making up silly backstories for some of the people they saw walking past them. She let Mel doodle on her arm with the pen for a while and then made her close her eyes and guess the words she traced into Mel's palm with a finger, which Mel got a little kick out of. She tried to do it back to Van, but Van wasn't so great at spelling and got it wrong every time, which made Mel giggle. She was pretty sure Van was doing it on purpose after a while, because it would be super hard to mistake the word apple for the word fart.

Finally, Mel heard her name being called by a nurse and she stood up before hesitating, thinking she was going to have to go back alone. She was seconds away from bursting into tears when she realized Van had stood up too and had placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her towards the nurse.

"We're cousins," Van told the nurse matter-of-factly, which Mel supposed was believable enough because the nurse allowed the redhead to go back with her, much to her relief.

They were left alone in a different room for a while before a man came in to take Mel down the hall. She was given a heavy apron to wear and had to bite back her pained groans when he moved her injured arm to get a good X-ray. He talked all the way through it, which she tried to nod along to to make it seem like she was listening, but she was much more focused on how much her arm hurt and how much she wished Van were with her.

She finally got to go back to the room where Van was waiting and collapsed into the chair beside her.

"It hurts," she whimpered once they were alone again and Van nodded sympathetically.

"I'm sure. You're being so brave, though," she replied, squeezing Mel's knee.

She didn't have time to linger on it much longer because the door swung open again and a different woman came in wielding a few sheets of glossy paper. She pointed at the papers and talked at them for a while. Most of what she said flew right over Mel's head, but she knew Van was paying attention, so she just kept nodding along and humming in what seemed like the right places.

The lady left again and Van turned to her.

"You fractured your arm in two places, buddy," she explained, sounding sad as she brushed some hair away from Mel's face. "You're gonna get a cast to help fix it, okay?"

She very staunchly did not cry when two nurses came in with a bunch of stuff on a cart and made her straighten her arm out. They made conversation with Van as they worked on Mel's arm, which she was glad for, because the sound of Van's voice kept her from breaking down in tears as she felt the icky feeling of plaster drying against her skin.

"—color you want?"

One of the nurses was talking to her, she realized, and she prayed her voice would come out normal when she tried it.

"Uh, green, please."

Van flashed her a double-thumbs up and she relaxed a little as more fabric was wound around her arm, brushed over again with the weird goo that was supposed to keep it all together. She kinda zoned out as the nurses finished up, distracted by the now strangely-rhythmic pulses of pain that went through her arm. Before she knew it, she was being prompted up out of her chair and her jacket was being draped around her shoulders again as Van led her down the too-white hallway.

She was relieved when they exited into the waiting room instead of more doctor-y looking places and went to stand with Tai as Van did something at a different desk.

"Cool cast, sweetie," Tai murmured.

Mel held it up so she could get a better look.

"It's green."

"I see that," Tai chuckled, straightening her jacket where it slipped off Mel's shoulder. "We'll have to get some markers so everyone can sign it."

Van rejoined them and they trooped back out to the car. It was dark now, which made Mel feel very sleepy and she was glad she didn't even have to ask for Van to sit in the backseat with her on the ride home. The redhead just climbed in beside her like she could read her mind. She relaxed against Van's side, her eyes feeling heavy as Tai started the car. They were talking and she tried to pay attention to their conversation, just in case it was about her.

"—do ibuprofen and acetaminophen for the pain, but showering will be a bit of a hassle," Van was saying,

"It must've happened pretty soon after we left," Tai replied.

Mel let out a hum of agreement and felt Van's hand stroke over her hair in response.

"We'll have to ask one of the others. I'm sure someone knows."

She wondered vaguely if Gen would say it was her fault. She hoped she wouldn't, but if she did, Mel would be able to set the record straight.

"—poor kiddo."

She tuned back in just in time to catch the end of whatever Tai had been saying.

"You did so good though, huh?" Van asked, and Mel was pretty sure that she was talking to her, so she tried to nod against Van's shoulder in reply.

"She out?" Tai again.

"I think mostly," Van responded.

Mel felt herself being shifted a little as Van moved and she whined in protest, relaxing again when the movement stopped.

"Not quite all the way there." Van sounded amused and Mel wished they'd all just stop talking so she could stop listening and just go to sleep.

Tai was saying something else, but she decided she didn't quite have the energy to figure out what it was, especially not with Van running her hand over the top of her head like that.

The motion of the car aided Mel's slow descent into sleep and before she knew it, she'd dozed off completely, conked out before they'd even gotten halfway home.

I'm not sure why I decided they don't have anything past early 2000s tech, but that's what we're rocking with. I hope you enjoyed!

[caninereg]

Could you write something about Mari having a nightmare and waking up finding out she had wet the bed and goes downstairs to wash her sheets and sees Jackie and Shauna and starts to panic cause she’s thinking Shauna is gonna make fun of her and Jackie not think she’s cool anymore more and not wanna play with her anymore but luckily their both big and help her clean up and calm down. No rush of course

And I'd Do It For You Too - Little!Mari

Summary: As seen above! Mari wakes to find she's had an accident. Luckily (or unluckily, in her mind) Shauna and Jackie are still up to give her a hand. I hope you enjoy, anon!

"Look, Shauna, because he's gonna—"

"Shush," Shauna laughed, reaching over to clap her hand over Jackie's mouth. "Don't spoil it."

"I just don't want you to miss it," Jackie replied, grabbing Shauna's hand off her face as she pointed emphatically at the television. They were curled up together on the couch, watching a movie that Jackie had been trying to show Shauna for ages. It was late, maybe a little too late to be watching a thriller, of all things, but it was the only downtime they'd managed to get recently.

Shauna choked on her laugh as the movie continued unfolding in front of them, taking a decidedly unexpected turn.

"I thought you said this was supposed to be scary," she teased, flicking a finger out at Jackie's ear. The other girl squawked in protest.

"Well, I happen to find his lack of commitment to his girlfriend horrifying," she drawled. "And it's not a murder flick, I told you that. It's just meant to be suspenseful."

"I'm on the edge of my seat," Shauna muttered, mostly joking. They settled again, quieting to focus on the movie. After a few minutes, Shauna sat up slightly, tilting her head. "You hear that?"

"I think the movie's getting to you," Jackie replied, mouth twisting into a small smile. Shauna shook her head, brows furrowing and Jackie leaned forward to lower the volume of the movie, cocking her head to listen.

There was a shuffle in the hallway and the sound of a door being eased open, the one to the laundry room if Shauna's guess was correct. She stood up off the couch slowly, beckoning for Jackie to follow as she crept into the kitchen. Jackie forwent the sneaky approach, walking normally and shrugging when Shauna shot her a look at the creak of the floorboards.

The light in the laundry room was on and Shauna knocked on the door gently before pushing it open, Jackie close behind her.

"Mari?"

The girl stood stricken in front of the washing machine with an armload of sheets, panic flashing across her face as she registered who was standing in front of her. Her face was already wet with tears, hair mussed like she'd been tossing and turning. Jackie recognized them as the signs of a nightmare.

"Um, it—I—my water," she stammered, biting her lip anxiously. She dropped the sheets into the machine, face flushing a furious shade of red as she continued to try to explain.

"Hey," Jackie stepped forward, holding her hands up placatingly. "Mar, it's okay, honey."

"I didn't—" A sob tumbled out of her mouth, shoulders hunching forward defeatedly. Jackie realized Mari was still in the pajamas she'd been put to bed in, which meant she was probably still wet from the accident she was trying to desperately to cover up.

"You're okay, Mar," she murmured, taking a few more careful steps forward, trying not to spook her. She pressed a few buttons on the machine to get it running, feeling Shauna's eyes on her back as she did. She tossed her a look over her shoulder, raising her brow pointedly. Don't just stand there.

"Oh, um, yeah, Mar," Shauna stumbled, voice softening as she watched the way Mari flinched back like she was expecting insults to be hurled her way. "It's no big deal. It happens to everyone."

"But, I didn't," Mari whined, tears spilling over her cheeks. Jackie hummed, sliding an arm over her shoulders.

"Alright, alright," she soothed. "Nothing happened, Mar. Right, Shauna?"

Shauna nodded emphatically.

"What are you even talking about, Jax?"

Mari sniffled, thumb tracing over her lips as she watched them. She seemed to calm down a little when she realized that neither of them were going to make fun of her. She let her head fall against Jackie's shoulder, eyes huge as she stared up at Shauna.

"Now, I don't know about you, but whenever I wake up at night, I like to have a quick rinse before I head back to bed," Jackie continued, rubbing her hand over Mari's arm.

Shauna bobbed her head in agreement. "Oh, yeah, me too. It's, um, good for the soul, you know?"

Jackie had to hold back a giggle at Shauna's slightly frantic look. She was trying so hard not upset Mari any further.

"Right. The soul," she repeated, biting down hard on her bottom lip to keep from grinning as Shauna shot her a look. "C'mon, Mar, let's head back upstairs."

They shuffled back upstairs together, Mari glued to Jackie's side as they went, still sniffling every so often as she tried to calm down fully. Over her head, Jackie and Shauna had a silent conversation outside the bathroom door.

Someone has to get the new sheets.

I don't want to wake Akilah.

Take the shower then!

Jackie recognized the lightbulb look that flashed across Shauna's face as she had an idea, brows lifting as she bent over a little to look Mari in the eyes.

"Mar, you never finished telling me about what happened with your Barbie and her dirty cheating husband," she said.

Jackie wasn't quite able to muffle the laugh that bubbled up in her throat and she turned it into her fist. It seemed to perk Mari up a bit and she straightened, one hand reaching out to grasp at the sleeve of Shauna's shirt excitedly.

"There's more," she whispered conspiratorially.

Shauna nodded eagerly. "Why don't you hop in the shower and I'll grab you a towel and then you can tell me all about it while you wash up?"

Mari seemed agreeable enough, turning into Jackie's side for one last hug before pulling away and disappearing into the bathroom.

"Crisis averted?" Shauna asked hesitantly, going to open the hall closet. Jackie shrugged, pulling down a set of her own sheets to put on Mari's bed.

"Seems like it. Just be gentle getting her changed, okay? I'll drop off some clothes when I'm done with this."

"I am gentle," Shauna murmured, looking genuinely distressed at the implication otherwise and Jackie softened, squeezing her shoulder.

"You're doing good, hon," she assured. "Good idea with the hot goss."

Shauna nodded to herself, accepting the hooded unicorn towel that Jackie pushed into her hands.

"Now go listen to the story," Jackie nudged, smiling as she watched Shauna tap gently on the door before Mari's little voice welcomed her in.

She eased the door open to Mari and Akilah's room as gently as she could, breathing out in relief when the girl didn't stir. The noise machine at the corner of the room mostly muffled her movements as she made quick work of the new set of sheets, carefully arranging Mari's teddies on the pillow when she was done. She grabbed a new pair of pajamas that sitting at the top of a folded basket of laundry, grateful for Mari's chronic avoidance of doing her chores as it meant she wouldn't have to spent time rummaging around in the closet.

The bathroom door was slightly cracked when she returned, a sliver of warm light spilling out into the hallway. She hovered outside the door for a long moment, listening to the conversation that was going on inside.

"—And then he took the dog with him, which was rude because he didn't even pay for it, even though he named it," Mari was saying, voice sounding much steadier than before.

"That bastard," Shauna gasped.

Mari's giggles echoed off the walls, blending with the sound of water falling against the floor.

"Bastard," she repeated, slightly hushed because she knew she wasn't really supposed to be saying that word. "Yeah and then he tried to get the cats, too."

"Not the cats!" Shauna exclaimed.

"Uh-huh! But then, Petunia took him to court. And, and guess who was the judge?"

"Who?"

"Petunia's best friend Patty," Mari replied, dissolving into more giggles at Shauna's dramatic spluttering.

"Well, how was he meant to present his case to a biased judge?"

"Uh, dunno," Mari replied. The shower switched off and the curtain rasped. "But anyway—"

Jackie pushed through the door gently, smiling at the sight of Mari wrapped in her towel, the hood flopping over her eyes as Shauna rubbed at her hair to dry it.

"Here's some clothes," she said, holding up the bundle. She'd sandwiched a pull-up between the pants and the shirt, hoping Mari would just put it on silently if no one acknowledged it.

"Excellent stuff," Shauna nodded, giving Mari's head one last scrub with the towel. It had a little more playful force behind it than strictly necessary, but Mari was giggling so hard that Jackie didn't intervene. "Get changed, Mar, and then it's bedtime again."

She closed the door gently behind them, a fond smile on her lips. Jackie leaned against her shoulder as they waited for Mari, who emerged within a few minutes clad in her new pajamas. She was less riled up than she had been, yawning and rubbing at her eyes with closed fists.

"I'll get her down," Shauna said softly, reaching a hand out to grasp Mari's. Jackie nodded, peeling off to go into her own room as they walked down the hall. She lingered in the doorway, listening to the hushed whispers of the other two until they died down. Just as she was about to shut her door, she remembered that her and Shauna had left the movie playing downstairs. She hurried down to turn it off, switching Mari's laundry into the dryer after she did, before heading back upstairs.

As she passed Mari and Akilah's room, the door slightly cracked, she poked a head in and smiled at the nightlight-lit scene she was met with.

Shauna was sitting on the ground by the head of Mari's bed, one hand extended up so that Mari could grasp it in one of her own. Her head was tipped back against the mattress, eyes shut and legs splayed out in front of her. Mari was fast asleep too, one hand locked around her teddy and the other latched onto Shauna's.

She weighed the options of waking Shauna and potentially waking Mari again or just leaving them be and dealing with Shauna's sore back in the morning. A brief internal debate had her closing the door softly, opting to just leave them be.

Shauna could survive a night on the floor for Mari's sake.

[caninereg]

< agere nat moodboard . . . >

made for @cryingatwindermerepeaks safe and sound au - she actually means so much to me but esp in this au it’s wild yall

[caninereg]

— annoying (reg!jackie + cg!nat)

Contents: hoh!jackie 𓈒 hoh!nat 𓈒 worrying about being a burden 𓈒 negative self-thoughts 𓈒 comfort & reassurances 𓈒 based on personal experiences lol

WC: 1,300+

A/N: personal agere yj au + sorry the ending is a little rushed, I got tired and wanted to get this finished, but I still like it and hope you guys do as well!

“Jackie!”

Jackie jumps in her seat, her green crayon veering up and into the already blue sky as her hand jerks in surprise.

Van is standing nearly right beside her, her head bent down as she looks at her with an expecting look.

Jackie frowns slightly, tilting her own head in confusion. “I've been calling your name for like thirty minutes, do you want to come play castle with us?”

Jackie knows she's exaggerating the time, the rest of the kids currently at home had scattered from the table not even ten minutes ago to find a new game to play, but her shoulders do slump at the thought of her having not heard her name being called for any more than two times.

Jackie hates when things like that happen, when she makes others have to repeat themselves or speak louder than the usual just so she can understand.

The others are never mean to her about it outside of sighs and the occasional eye roll when she misses the instructions for games, but she knows it's annoying.

Tai had stepped in a few times when someone (usually Mari) had complained about it, but that really just made Jackie feel worse, felt like she was being babied even when she wasn't that small, or feeling responsible for someone getting scolded.

And although Van is looking at her hopefully, she lightly shakes her head no, knowing how complex and intense playing castle can get, she doesn't want to break the immersion of the dragon battles and princess rescues when she inevitably misses a key detail or peice of lore.

She pretends to not see the sad slump of Van's shoulders as she mumbles and okay, picking her crayon back up as the ginger retreats back to the game starting to unfold in the living room.

Jackie stays focused on her crayon scribbles, not even looking up when she feels someone settle into the seat beside her, continuing to drag the blue crayon over the green smear in an attempt to fix her sky, but she does lightly tilt her good ear towards them, hoping to prevent another incident like the one earlier.

No noises come though, and when she finally lifts her head she breaks into a wide smile when she sees Nat looking at her.

She'd been sad when Nat had just dropped Shauna, Akilah and Mari off earlier, having to take Misty to therapy.

But now that she's there Jackie happily leans over to hug her.

Nat hugs her back, lightly ruffling her hair as well. Jackie proudly presents her drawing to her, a simple garden and sky with yellow and pink flowers dotted around it.

Nat oohs and ahhs at it, not even mentioning the green streak ruining the bright blue sky as she studies the scribbled petals and blades of grass.

She lets Jackie continue to color for a bit before she breaks the silence again.

“Hey.” Jackie lifts her head quickly, not wanting Nat to think she was ignoring her. “Why aren't you playing with the others, huh?”

Jackie frowns, glancing down at her fingers now messing with the edge of her paper. “I think they're playing castles, you like that game, right?”

Jackie does like castles, it's one of her favorite imaginary games they play, and yet, she feels like her inclusion would ruin the fun for everyone else.

So instead she shrugs, picking her crayon back up and returning to her spreading of the colorful wax across the paper.

There's a pause as Nat studies her, before she tilts her head, reaching out a hand to gently tap the table between them, once again drawing Jackie’s full attention upwards.

“Were they mean?” She asks seriously, her hands automatically moving to sign the words as they leave her mouth.

Jackie shakes her head, her eyes following her hand movements as her own fingers starting to pick at the wrapping around the crayon.

“Did they ask you to play?” Nat continues, and Jackie bobs her hand up and down in confirmation.

There's a pause before Nat continues, Jackie’s eyes carefully flicking between her mouth and hands as she tries to translate her confusion into words as well as matching signs. “But you said no?”

Jackie doesn't respond, her eyes flicking down towards the now stripped crayon in her hands.

“Did you want to play?”

Jackie shrugs, but she can feel tears start to prick at the corners of her eyes. “Jackie.” Nat says softly, a hand raising to gently rub her shoulder.

Jackie sniffles, hunching her shoulders more as she wipes at her face with the large sleeve of her sweatshirt. “What's wrong then, sweetie?”

Jackie really starts to cry then, her shoulders gently shake as she lets out soft sniffles and Nat leans over to pull her into a hug again, her arms wrapping around her shoulders as she lets her get her frustrations out.

Jackie feels stupid as she pulls back, taking deep breaths like she had been taught too when she was feeling overwhelmed.

Nat lets her, scooting over a few inches to give her some space as she regulates herself, counting in her head until her brain feels less foggy and the tears start to dry.

She doesn't want to talk, so instead she clumsily starts to move her hands, sliding them together repeatedly as she forces her closed left hand against her right in her own version of annoy.

Nat frowns, moving her own hands towards her head, you're annoyed?

No. Jackie’s fingers snap before she repeats her sign from earlier, adding a gesture towards herself for more emphasis. Jackie’s annoying.

There's a heavy pause as Jackie turns her head away, fighting back tears as she chews on her lip.

Nat watches her, her heart feeling heavy as she eyes the young girl's hands twisting in her lap, fingers curling in ghostly versions of self-soothing words.

She shifts, clasping her own hands as Jackie glances back towards her, a slightly defeated look in her eyes.

“Am I annoying?” Nat finally prompts, and Jackie frantically shakes her head, turning to look at her with wide eyes. “But sometimes I don't hear things.” Nat continues, tilting her head, “and I need things to be repeated.”

Jackie frowns, shaking her head again.

Yes, Nat struggled with hearing things sometimes, she had been firing a shotgun with no ear protection day after day for months out in the woods, but that was different!

Wasn't it? Physically, yes. But they both needed the same things, right? She frowns again, and as if reading her mind Nat gently curls an arm around her, pulling her closer again. “That doesn't make us annoying, Jackie. We just need things done in a special way sometimes.”

“Like how sometimes Lottie needs things to be extra quiet, and Laura Lee needs Leo to help her get things.” She continues, making sure to name the two girls she knows Jackie looks up to the most.

“They're not annoying, and neither are you.” She lightly pokes her, earning a small smile that she tries to hide. “And if anyone ever does make you feel annoying, tell me, okay? That's why I'm here.”

Jackie doesn't respond immediately, but Nat doesn't look away until she gets a soft okay, squeezing her tightly once more before she glances back towards the living room, where she can still hear the game going on.

“Now, I think the girls in there need a real princess to save, so how about you go climb up on that tower?” Jackie excitedly nods, scooting out of her seat.

She pauses briefly as she smooths down her shirt, turning back towards Nat and shyly sticking a hand out. “Play too?” She softly asks and Nat nods, moving to stand as well.

“Of course. Every princess needs a pretty pony to ride, right?” That earns some more giggles, and once she takes her hand Jackie leads her towards the sounds of the other kids playing, her head held a little higher than before.