Team8s and Counting Onwards

228. We Can All Learn

"It wasn't at you." Thread reassured her. "It was at Dimey for being annoying."

Sprinkle chuckled a little bit, while Sack looked concerned.

Coiny looked up at the ceiling, processing what he just did. "I just yelled at him..." he thought to himself.

"Uncle Coiny, are you okay?" Sack asked him innocently.

Coiny sighed. "Yeah...it's just...look, I'm kinda tired. I need to take a nap upstairs, Saw and Gaty should be home soon. I need some quiet time, only come up if it's an emergency."

Coiny hobbled over to his room, slumped over and trying not to cry in front of the kids. He closed the door gently behind him and sat on the edge of the bed, sitting slouched over with his legs in front of him.

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Around an hour and a half later, Pin and Needle arrived home, walking into the sight of Saw and Gaty playing with all the kids. Usually, Coiny would be downstairs to greet them, but he was nowhere to be found.

Gaty smiled up at the two of them. "Welcome home, guys."

Pin looked around a little more, but still couldn't find him. "Where's Coiny?"

Saw sighed. "Taking a nap. The kids said he sent Dimey to his room for the afternoon, and I think he's just tired from the day."

"A nap, you say?" Needle questioned. Without hesitation, Needle quietly walked upstairs to their room.

"Where are you heading?" Pin asked. Let Coiny get some sleep, he's been working hard."

"I just wanna peek in for a second." Needle insisted. She gently opened the door and saw just what she was suspecting: Coiny, sitting slouched over with his legs straight out. She knew instantly that this wasn't an 'afternoon nap'.

"Coiny?" Needle whispered. "Are you okay."

No response from him.

Needle gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "You know...I'm here if you wanna talk-"

"I MESSED UP NEEDLE!"

"Gah!" Needle stepped back, slightly startled.

Coiny sighed. "Sorry Needle. It's just...I yelled at Dimey today. He was being annoying about not being able to have his pudding and snapped. Now he's in his room, and rightfully mad at me to."

Needle rolled her eyes. "What's the big whoop? It's called being a parent, how else are they gonna learn without discipline?"

Just then, Pin made her way upstairs, hearing Coiny and Needle's voices. "What's going on?"

Needle shrugged. "Coiny yelled at Dimey and now he's upset about it, and I'm trying to tell him that it's part of parenting."

Pin stepped into the room and looked at Coiny with a softness that Needle didn't quite carry. "Okay, but it's also part of parenting to feel bad when something doesn't sit right," she said gently. "Coiny, what happened exactly?"

Coiny shook his head, his voice quieter now. "He was upset. Everyone got a snack but him because we ran out of pudding. I offered him other options, but he just kept pushing and pushing, and I snapped. I yelled—really yelled. It wasn't calm or helpful. It was... harsh."

Pin came to sit beside him. "Do you think he's still mad at you?"

"Honestly? I don't know. But I know I scared him," Coiny admitted. "I didn't want to do that. I just wanted him to stop yelling, and instead I made everything worse."

Needle crossed her arms. "You didn't make everything worse, Coiny. Now he knows not to do it again!"

Pin gave Needle a sideways glance before turning back to Coiny. "There's a difference between learning from a mistake and feeling afraid of someone you love. Dimey's sensitive. That kind of yelling... it probably hit him harder than you meant it to."

"I know," Coiny muttered, running a hand over his face. "I hate that I scared him. I hate that I saw that look in his eyes right before he ran off. It just wasn't right."

Needle's expression softened slightly. "Okay... maybe it wasn't the best moment. But you still care. That counts."

"It only counts if I make it right," Coiny replied.

Pin nodded. "Then go talk to him. It doesn't have to be a big apology speech. Just... be real with him."

Coiny hesitated, then slowly stood up. "You're right. I can't leave it like this."

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The hallway outside Dimey's room was quiet. Coiny knocked gently. "Dimey? It's Dad."

There was a long pause. Then, a muffled, "What."

"Can I come in?"

Another pause. Then the door clicked open, just a crack.

Coiny carefully stepped inside. Dimey was curled up in bed, facing the wall.

"Hey, kiddo," Coiny said softly. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled like that."

Dimey didn't turn around, but he sniffled. "You were really mad."

"I was. But not at you, not really. I was tired and frustrated, and I let it out the wrong way. That wasn't fair to you."

"You scared me," Dimey said, voice trembling. "You've never yelled like that before."

Coiny's heart sank. He slowly sat on the edge of the bed. "I know, and I hate that I made you feel that way. I love you, Dimey. Nothing's more important to me than you feeling safe."

Dimey finally rolled over to look at him, eyes still wet. "I just wanted pudding..."

"I know, buddy. And I promise we'll make sure there's enough next time. But even when things don't go your way, it's okay to be upset—but it's not okay to scream or slam things. And it's not okay for me to yell, either. We both need to work on that, okay?"

Dimey slowly nodded.

"Can I have a hug?" Coiny asked gently.

Dimey sat up and threw his arms around him. "Yeah."

They stayed there like that for a while, the tension melting away as they embraced each other.

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I feel like Coiny, Pin, and Needle have very differnt parenting styles. Coiny tries to be gentle and make everyone happy (although he sometimes snaps), Pin tries to be protective of the kids, and Needle does what I like to call "zero bullshit parenting". 

Anyways, so BFDIA 21 is out now...(Spoilers below)

10 years. I've waited for the Leafy and Pin episode for ten whole years. Was it worth it? Fuck yes. The way Leafy was able to make Pin realize if she doesn't apologize to Coiny that she'll end up like her...damn that hit harder then it should have. If this is Pin's last episode...I can say she went out strong! Also liked that despite Needle usually coming off a little cold...she does have a softer side that she lets out, and I really liked her interactions with Coiny, it was cute how she cared about him. Super minor detail but I like how Book canonically has reading glasses, very high chance I'm gonna reference it in this book at some point. 

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, see you in the next one!

- Sunny