-Disclaimer-
-This chapter contains references of alcohol and child abuse-
The sharp edges of the browning dead grass grazed his bare ankles. It stung a bit, but the boy had no reaction whatsoever. His eyes continued to stare forward meaninglessly, only blinking when a bug or two buzzed past.
"Shshshshsh?" He turned his head, blinking at the figure slowly making their way towards him. Their mouth upturned into a small smile as they offered the metal platter towards him, "I made you some lemonade." The boy stared at it, then lifted his head to smile back at the figure. His face felt like it was cracking in two at the effort, but he knew that it'd make them happy.
"Thank you." he replied in a chipper tone, reaching a hand out to take one of the small glasses.
"What do you think you're doing?" came the heated snap as the cool cup was immediately smacked away from him. He fumbled to catch it but ended up having to watch the cold drink spill across the dirt. Ahead of him stood another figure, arms folded dangerously across their chest. They spat on the ground, roughly grabbing the one who'd given the drink by the scalp, "What the hell are you giving to your son?"
They struggled to keep the platter stable, gritting their teeth as another one of the cups tilted over, "He's going through a tough time," they snapped heatedly, pushing the other parent off, "alright? Give him a break."
"Give him anything and he'll become even worse of a failure than he already is," they retorted harshly. They glared down at the boy who was tracing small circles in the wet dirt, "Lookit that." They clicked their tongue and rose their voice, "Shshshshsh, get up and go take out the trash." Startling at the sound of his name on those rough lips, he stood and bowed his head in apology.
"Y-Yes, understood."
*-~-*
"Shshshshshsh?" Once again, those gentle words brushed through the air. He turned his head from the dishes he was scrubbing, ears perking up just a teeny little bit. From the doorway was the gentle figure from before, this time carrying a few snacks on a small plate instead. They smiled warmly as they approached, placing the plate on the counter. He eyed the jiggling colorful jellies but turned away almost immediately and continued scrubbing at the sauce stain. Anxious, the figure ruffled up his wine red hair playfully, "Don't worry about all of the things that were said okay?" They tried to smile, "We've just caught em in a bad mood."
Pausing in the scrubbing, the boy blinked slowly. His eyes followed the water as it splashed against a few of the dirty plates still resting in the sink.
"Shshshshsh?"
"Okay," he responded dimly. What else was there to say? "Okay."
"I'm sure those words weren't meant," they continued to ramble, trying to comfort him if he had to guess, "So... So don't be sad, okay buddy?" He was silent for a while, itching the surface of the sponge with his fingertips.
"Okay, dad." Chuckling with a breath of relief, his old man ruffled up his hair again.
"That's the spirit." With a hand, he pushed the platter of jellies forward, "I know you like the red and the peach ones so I ate all of the lime ones for you." Blinking, he tilted his head in surprise.
"You didn't have to."
"Awww, but of course I did."
*-~-*
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Service Elite
FanfictionWhat happens when a protection service you're unknowingly relying on suddenly stops doing their job? Nothing at first, at least for Inkopolis it was. The Plankton cup was on its way to the big stage, teams were gathering up, cheers were passed, and...
