Chapter Text
It was hard to concentrate with the barking going on outside, you knew it wasn’t one of your precious fur babies as you’d let them inside an hour ago after it got dark, so it left only one option as to who it could be…
The pesky neighbor’s dog.
You were willing to bet that little annoying shit had dug its way out of its kennel again.
With a sigh you took off your headphones and placed your stylus carefully on your desk. You’d already had to replace the damned thing once and you didn’t like the idea of it getting chewed again once you caught that culprit, being a part time artist for a living wasn’t easy on you financially unfortunately and your neighbors never thanked you for capturing the little guy, so you doubted they’d reimburse you.
Curse your weakness for animals.
With an annoyed huff and a roll of your eyes you were up and dragging your coat on as you slowly opened your door. Oh wonderful, it was freezing outside no wonder the pup had gotten out again, it was probably trying to find some place warm. How many times had you told them a dog’s fur coat wasn’t always enough to keep them alive?
Quicker than you expected you located the fur ball after a simple click from the torch in your already trembling hands. The foxhound’s snout was shoved uncaringly between two garbage cans where it dug its claws into the cement in a digging motion.
“Chester! What are you doing outside?”
The dog let out a whine in response but then followed up with a bark as its tail raised, the fur on its back rising almost similarly to a cat’s. Clearly Chester had found something he was interested in and wasn’t going to come to you with a simple call of his name.
Your agitation only growing you ducked back into your house and reemerged with a leash.
Thankfully he didn’t protest as you hooked his collar on it, but the moment you tried to pull him away was when he decided to rebel. The sudden unexpected surge of his legs and subsequent drag against you almost caused you to lose your balance making the light you clenched tightly in your hand to fall with a loud clatter as you attempted to pinwheel your balance back under you. With a hiss of relief you just barely managed to plant both your feet securely back on the ground, but the feeling quickly gave way to anger as you eyed the dog that had almost killed you.
Chester seemed more frantic than ever to get at what was trapped between your trashcans.
“Fine, what’s the big deal you mutt?” Carefully you got to your knees and grabbed at your fallen torch again before brushing Chester out of the way with your body to peer in. At least the dog had some manners not to claw at your back while you hunched over against the cold cement.
Your eyes went wide.
Huddled in two balls of fast food papers was what looked like a bitty, surrounded by several empty ketchup packets scattered chaotically about the ground beside where it was currently shivering in torn and ragged clothing.
Its large glowing eyelights locked on you in a narrowed grimace beneath the torch’s light.
What was a bitty doing out here of all places? The little things were worth a mortgage at least, so it wasn’t heard of to see stray bitties often.
You squinted your eyes to get a better look at the poor thing and realized you weren’t able to make out what brand it was, though it was clearly from the Sansi line. The bitty didn’t have the sharp teeth of an Edgy, and its whole demeanor gave off a more alert impression than a regular Sansy would have, and its eyelights weren’t similar to that of a Blues.
Which meant it was potentially an exotic and rare edition breed meant for well off people, which only confused you more as why it was out here in the first place.
“Hey there fella,” its sockets widened. “you look dead and a half, would you like to come inside where its warm?” A bark from Chester drew a panicked flicker of its eyelights before it just as quickly rested them back on you.
“Oh he’s harmless. Why don’t you let me get him inside and I’ll come back for you huh?”
The bitty didn’t say anything but something in the way it looked at you came across contemplative. You’d heard bitties could be highly intelligent at times but that seemed like an understatement as you gave it a reassuring smile. It was like the bitty had a human sentience to it, which perturbed you.
These were supposed to be pets.
After a moment of it simply watching you, you pushed to your feet and hauled Chester back towards your house while ignoring the dog’s protests, making sure to keep him in a room separated from your own dogs, who were already whining at the newcomer’s scent, and clicked on your cellphone only to get Marggie’s voicemail. You said your usual message, too distracted trying to find a blanket in which you could bundle the bitty in for warmth to truly complain or bitch her out like you normally would’ve over Chester.
Honestly this was the fifth time this month.
Once that was finished you began to head back towards the door only to pause.
The bitty had been nearly swarmed with empty ketchup packets, was that its main source of food? Thinking on it those packets had looked kind of old too, when had it last eaten? Just in case it was hungry you went ahead and grabbed your ketchup bottle from the kitchen rack before heading back out.
“Hey buddy, I’m back.” You called as you approached the trashcans, not wanting to frighten or catch the thing off guard. You’d seen how nasty a bitty bite could be on television, you’d like to keep your fingers if you could. Getting down on your knees again with a slightly painful grimace you flicked on your torch light and were immediately disappointed to find the critter nowhere in sight.
Great, had it run off?
In this cold?
You sat back on your heels and panned down the pathway, worry building in your gut as you continued to see no evidence of it anywhere. It was so tiny, what if it got hit by a passing car or got found by an animal that wasn’t as kind as Chester could be—
You jolted as the ketchup bottle floated out of your hand.
Blinking, you watched it drift upwards where the bitty levitated, it's tiny bony hands comically gripping it.
It could fly?!
The bitty surprised you further with how expertly it was able to pop open the bottle’s cap before taking a swig of the condiment, its cheeks lighting up with a steller patterned and glowing multi-colored blush as it swallowed…and swallowed…continuing to guzzle it like a thirsty athlete that had just finished a 50k run. How hungry had the poor thing been?
Just as you were about to wonder if it was drowning itself it popped its mouth from the cap with a dopy grin, a look of bliss on its features as it looked down at you.
“Better?” You asked with a small chuckle.
It took another sip as its eyelights roamed you curiously till they seemed to lock onto the blanket in your arms. You stilled as it lazily drifted down to you, its tiny hand reaching out once to brush the thick mink blanket curiously. The bitty’s smile grew as it looked up at you before finally floating over and down to situate itself in the bundle with the bottle clutched tightly in its arms.
You blushed.
He was about as tall as a water bottle; the little guy was almost like a baby, nestled and content, in your arms as he was.
It was cute, If only you had a camera.
“Well, aren’t you sickeningly adorable?” He merely closed his sockets as he wiggled further into the blanket, seeming spurred on by your comment. You snickered and carefully rose to your feet in order not to jostle him before taking him into your home. Right away you heard a sound that was oddly much like a sigh escape him at the flood of heat your house offered, and then just as quickly a small snore.
You raised a brow as you glanced down at him to see his sockets shut contently, midnight blue bags standing out beneath them.
He had passed out? So quickly? Were all bitties naturally so trusting?
You were suddenly glad you were the one to have found him as you nestled his bundle on the unoccupied part of your desk. You stared at him a moment just taking in his tiny statue before tucking him in with the blanket’s edge and putting your headphones back on. Wondering if maybe you could learn something about why he was out there and where he came from when he woke up.
Maybe he had a tracker on him or something.
You saved the commission you’d been working on and decided to doodle your new pal.
*~*~*
When the bitty opened his sockets again you were sleeping, well more like drooling all over some device you’d been drawing on, the rod in your hand tilted in a lax position.
Yawning, he was happy to see the ketchup bottle still in his hands and took a big hearty gulp before levitating it to sit upright beside him on your desk. The blanket was so warm he almost didn’t want to leave it but he’d always been too curious for his own good, case in point why he’d been stranded outside for the last four months, and wanted to see what kind of place he’d wound up in now.
He already knew you were kind, your soul said as much with how it panged painfully at seeing him in his makeshift shelter but that didn’t mean he didn’t have anything to worry about. After all one of his previous humans had been kind, but his kids had been where the real issues were.
Seriously his limbs weren’t detachable just because he was a skeleton, and it was a bit racist to assume that they were if you asked him.
Yawning again he pushed free from his little alcove and floated down to the floor.
Right away he noticed the dog hair.
Nice, you kept bitty eaters as pets, why was he not surprised? He glanced back up at your snoozing form and gave a shrug. Maybe you trained them not to eat tiny magical skeletons. He severely doubted you’d have brought him into your home if that was a risk, not with how vibrant your soul was.
Continuing his scouting of the house he began to learn quite a few things about you.
For one, you dealt with kids regularly, maybe as a job of some kind because you had children’s drawings on your fridge but no kids toys or anything around your house to give the impression that you had children.
Two, you liked to eat healthy as evidenced by all the natural and organic food in said fridge though he was pleased to find a half-eaten fast food burger wrapped up, which meant you weren’t uptight about what you ate.
Three, you did have a penchant for sweets—Okay so he was learning a lot from your fridge, but could you blame him for trying to raid it for food? Finishing off the last of the burger he floated up to the counter where he spotted a clean bowl sitting in your sink, it looked as if you’d washed it but hadn’t had the energy to put it away.
The thought made him slightly uncomfortable.
Oh well, it was convenient for a bath at least.
He used the scant amount of magic he had recovered to turn on the faucet and to move the bowl beneath it, deciding to leave the water running as he bathed and cleaned his clothing, his hands working to scrub the stains and grim from his ratty sweater and torn shorts as he floated in the makeshift pool submerged up to his nasal socket. He was almost finished getting the last bit of a mysterious black smudge out, to whose origins even he didn’t want to question, when he heard a small tired sigh of surprise.
You had woken up sooner than he’d expected.
The sound of a chair scrapping made his eyelights flicker over to the kitchen’s entryway.
*~*~*
You had been shocked at first to see the bitty had vanished, and in your tired haze had thought that maybe he had somehow gotten outside before you could offer him food or anything. The sound of running water had quickly dashed the thought though.
Curiously you’d pushed to your wobbly feet and widened your eyes as you took in the sight of the bitty eyeing you from where you could see it partially hidden by the salad bowl you’d left out.
Something about the fact that he’d already made himself at home left a warmth in your chest.
…Was that the wrapper from the burger you’d been saving?
“Nice to see you eat more than ketchup.” You commented before frowning as you watched his cheeks flush a peculiar gradient of purple and blue.
Was he blushing? It had seemed that way when he’d done it outside but you weren’t honestly sure.
You took a moment to wonder at the sight, the soft blending of hues across it’s small skull mesmerizing you with how they shimmered in the light, before realizing if he truly had more intelligence than you’d initially thought he was probably embarrassed.
With a blush flaring your own cheeks it finally clicked that he was bathing.
“Oh! Sorry! Sorry!” You shouted with a squeak as you turned and quickly sauntered back out of the kitchen, only to freeze in place.
Wait he was a skeleton, why were you reacting that way? Then again how he had looked at you…
Fun, this was going to be fun trying to figure out bitty dynamics. The sound of the running faucet shut off and you turned curiously only to have your wet sink cloth slap wetly against your eyes. You didn’t move as it slowly slid down and plopped rather comically onto the floor, revealing the bitty standing a few feet away, redressed in his wet clothing and snickering at you.
“I suppose I deserved that.” You murmured before staring at him contemplatively. “Are you uh…going to be okay in wet clothing?”
The bitty stopped his laughter to tilt his head curiously at you before giving a shrug.
A shiver ran down your spine. He understood you clearly, just like a human would’ve. It really gave a darker impression to bitty shops in your mind now.
“Well uh, I can make you something if you want?” He looked almost curious at that, his eyelights brightening and going wide in a flare of white before shrinking back down, his grin turning lazy as he gave a casual shrug, whatever that reaction meant. You were just going to take that as him giving you the go ahead to do so.
In a few strides and a bit of rattling from your desk you had needles and yarn in your hands within moments, your hands already starting to sketch out a brief template before you set to work tracing the design onto bits of cloth with charcoal.
You’d made doll clothes at one point for commissions and so the habit was old and familiar, calming, as you sank into it.
“I don’t know what your style is or anything but you might look cute in blue…maybe yellow.” A small scraping sound had you turning your head to see the bitty had made it to the top of your desk, he'd probably done more levitating to accomplish that, and had his eyelights focused on the differently colored material you had out.
You honestly couldn’t help asking. “How do you do that?”
He looked up at you with a…raised brow? Huh bitty faces were so expressive.
“Fly, float, whatever that is that you do.”
He blinked slowly as if surprised by your ignorance before letting out a devious smirk.
You furrowed your brows and opened your mouth to say something but a yelp, high and shrill, burst from your lungs instead as you and your chair were suddenly jostled and lifted a few feet into the air. You clutched the arms in a panic, your heart thundering from the unexpected loss of gravity, and slowly looked down at the bitty whose grin was still as mischievous and playful as it had been but a moment before, only now tightened with obvious strain.
You swallowed as you were slowly lowered back down and managed to hold in your flinch when you dropped the last inch to the ground with a resounding thud. The sound of your dogs and Chester both going off in the background went ignored as you stared mystified at the bitty, his tiny hand passing across his suddenly sweat coated skull.
That had just happened.
“You’re a little shit aren’t you?” The bitty looked stunned for a moment and you wondered briefly if you’d offended him until his eyelights shockingly morphed into tiny inverted hearts, the display vanishing back into his round orbs with a blink before he slowly chuckled.
Your cheeks stung as a voice that was so deep, and decidedly not meant for such a tiny being, echoed out from him. You couldn’t even bring yourself to speak as magical tears gathered in the corners of his sockets in his humor, that rich and surprising baritone making butterflies in your stomach.
Best not to think too hard on that.
Looking away with a pout you focused back on what you’d been doing, your voice coming out a thin and vexed whisper as you tried your best to ignore his continuing laughter. “It wasn’t that funny.”
Slowly the laughter died out into small fitful gasps and still you kept your eyes locked on your new project, and habitually forced your shoulders stiff as your fingers worked. Silence stretched to the point you were about to glance back over to check on him, only to lock in place as you felt something climb the length of your arm and nestle on your shoulder.
Tentivaely you glanced from the corner of your eye and your breathing nearly stopped at how content the bitty looked as he lounged, long and stretched with his chin in a bony palm, and with eyelights taking in what you were doing as a gentle haze formed around the edges.
You didn’t realize you’d stopped and were staring until his eyelights abruptly shifted and looked up, their luminescent orbs sliding along the bottoms of his half-mooned sockets and tracing up their sides, as their ethereal glows locked on you.
You snapped your eyes away and let out an uncomfortable hiss as you returned to cutting out the shape of a coat, the whole time feeling as if he was still staring at you.
You knew bitties required human companionship, their magic only recharged efficiently due to the exchange of energy from prolonged contact, so really why you were so hyper aware and self-conscious about him being on your shoulder confused you. He only needed the contact to recover, who knew how long he’d been without it.
But he was so intelligent, so human almost in his movements and reactions, and you had never been good at interactions with other people, let alone casual contact.
Not with someone you’d just met at least.
Geez you didn’t even know the little guy’s name…did he even have one?
Determined to not look at him again in the fear he’d see just how much the unexpected proximity was affecting you, you swallowed thickly and gritted your teeth before speaking in a bit of a rush, your hands already beginning to sew the jacket outline together in shaky jerks.
“D-do you have a name?” You fought not to cringe at your open stutter. Predictably you didn’t get an answer and only just remembered that bitties didn’t speak. With a feeling of shame at having forgotten something so crucial you looked over at him to see if he had a response to give you.
His eyelights were pulsing and his sockets wide as he observed you silently, the grin he’d been wearing replaced with a thin line that hid the wide stretch of his teeth.
And you were stunned as his mouth opened, the glimpse of a deep timbre you’d received doing nothing to prepare you for just how thick and low his tone came from between bony ridge like lips, “sidus.”
You both were quiet, appraising each other, his eyelights searching your reaction as you stared.
“…what kind of name is sidus?”
His small skull lit up in that blush of undulating colors that you were quickly coming to admire as more loud and breathless laughter left him. You couldn’t help it and reluctantly joined him with weak chuckles that eventually grew just as boisterous as his. He recovered first, a tiny finger brushing away a false tear as he smiled gamely, only giving a shrug as he looked at you.
With a small shake of your head you relaxed. “Well, Sidus, mind telling me why you’re homeless? Have to admit I haven’t seen your…type before. So I can imagine you’re a rare one.”
His eyelights dimmed for the briefest moment, so quick you thought you’d imagined it, as he gave another answerless shrug. You waited but at how still he was it was plain to see he wasn’t going to elaborate.
“Fine, we can talk about it later.” You dismissed as you shook out the jacket you’d more than half finished.
“How’s this looking?” Sidus eyed you for a moment before looking at the jacket softly, his nod all the reassurance you needed to finish it.
You secretly hoped you hadn’t pushed him into silence again by asking what you had, that you hadn’t pushed too far.
His voice had sounded beautiful.
*~*~*
Over the course of a month you and Sidus fell into a pattern, a comfortable rhythm from day to day; you working on your art and him watching you or the television while you did so. He’d even play with your dogs on occasion, levitating and floating their toys with him through the air, after what had been admittedly a very tense first meeting where you’d worried he’d dust just from seeing them alone.
It amazed you, filled you with warmth, at how easily he had slid in and fit into your life like a puzzle piece, like he belonged. You often begun to wonder if he felt the same way you did, as his gaze sometimes caught yours, causing a blush rivaling the aura borealis to break out across his skull just as your own formed the intensity at which you both watched each other.
Before he’d inevitably ruin the moment in some form, ranging from a bit of balled paper flinging at you from nowhere to a packet of some condiment in your seat that appeared at the last second before your rear met cushion.
Still you never missed how his eyelights would shape into those endearing upside down hearts whenever you cursed at him or called him names in annoyance. And still he’d merely snicker before resting on your shoulder for hours after, bathing in your irritation like it was the best feeling in the world.
…You began to accept that those frustrating moments were just his form of affection.
It wasn’t till the day you’d had a really horrible day at work; your mind spiraling from the stress, and your thoughts reaching dangerous levels of dour and odium, as you’d weakly pushed in the door to your house that Sidus showed you another side you didn’t expect from him.
You felt empty, and shivered at how utterly soulless and bitter a wave of nausea flitted through your body as you numbly dropped your purse and keys beside the door carelessly. Sidus had been on the couch watching some show on cake making when he turned to look at you, and right away his eyelights shrunk to pinpricks, sweat permeating his skull as his gaze appeared to burn in his sockets.
Normally such a sight would’ve concerned you, prompted you to ask about it and be reassuring, but you were just so worn out and tired.
Nothing was said as Sidus stood up and slowly floated into the air, gently approached you and even gentler raised a tiny hand to carefully rest against your cheek. Other times it would’ve been adorable how he attempted to cup it, other times you’d be flustered, but it’d felt like a weight had been placed against your skin, not a tiny bony hand exuding warmth.
Something passed in his expression, dangerously close to understanding, before he decided to rest on your shoulder like he’d taken to doing.
The gesture mildly irritated you at first as you frowned down at him only to still as you felt him lean in and brush against you. The feeling, close to that of the blunted end of a needle rubbed against your chin lightly, stroking and curving the shape of a heart into your dried tear stained skin. Agonizingly tender warmth uncurled in your chest, the feeling of support and love chasing away the rancor and sorrow that had turned you hollow, into nothing but a husk under the cruelties of the world.
You sniffled as renewed tears began to pour down from fluttering eyelids, a hand coming up to cover your eyes, as you tilted your head the slightest bit into him seeking his reassurance. Sidus’s sockets lidded as he pressed another nuzzle into you, making you shake and tremble from how comforting it felt and stroked the warmth in your chest.
“lay down with me.” He whispered.
You let out a ragged sigh; you had never slept or even cuddled with him before, usually leaving him to the couch in the living room while you took to your bed. It had been his decision, for what you were sure was both of your comforts, and from what you’d researched so long as he sat on your shoulder like he tended to do he wouldn’t suffer from not resting with you, so you’d never protested.
However now at his offer there sparked a small fit of nervousness, but you ignored it and obeyed him, your feet shuffling heavily to your couch where you hesitantly sat as Sidus left your shoulder to hover, and you went prone.
Your eyes locked on the television as you felt him drift down and land in the center of your chest, a blush furiously erupting over your face as he settled in the valley of your breasts and proceeded to use the swell of one as a pillow as he faced the show again.
Heat; encompassing and secure in its presence spread out from where he lay like a blanket as it surged through your body, reaching to the crown of your head and the tips of your toes. A sigh pulled from your lips at the sensation and you where hyper aware of how Sidus momentarily shuddered, his gaze adamantly still locked on the bizarrely decorated pink cake the woman was making.
“What is this?” You asked in confusion.
His answer was casual, “resting.”
It took you a second but you finally frowned. This was resting? This was what it felt like to sleep with a bitty so they could recharge? It felt…strangely intimate and so abnormal.
A feeling of disquiet hit you.
“Sidus…why were you homeless?”
Silence.
And then—
“not everyone’s kind.”
You felt something inside of you quiver with dread. Sidus though, snickered as the contestant dropped her cake, and like he hadn’t just admitted something horrific and insinuating to you that it made you want to curl around him protectively. Instead you raised a hand and meekly, like someone daring to touch fire, ran a finger over the top of his skull, curved the heart shape he had done for you into the smooth and pleasantly surprising suppleness of his crown.
The sigh of content he let out made your heart skip, how he subtly leaned into your touch sending a feeling of happy euphoria through you that was miniscule in how you felt as you looked at him with sympathy. He seemed to know what to do, how to calm and reassure with barely a thought and it left you wondering just what kind of bitty was he for the hundreth time.
You lifted your eyes to the show and let out a chuckle the same time he did as another contestant ranted about how their cake, with its over extensive wiring and iced glass, deserved more than second place much to the judge’s dubious looks.
It didn’t take long for Sidus to pass out, the quickest you’d ever seen him do so actually, before you finally found the confidence to pull out your phone.
You did your best not to jar him awake as you turned your phone to silent and typed in one handedly, ‘rare bitties’.
A list of no more than ten popped up, excluding the ones that were now defunct and no longer produced lines.
Your eyes scrolled in amazement as you passed images and names; one Sansi type with wings called a Glimmer, a Goopy type called an Oozy, Papyri type called Chomper, and you even laughed silently at a Sansi type called Teddy with an under bite so huge it was almost endearing.
Each bitty as you went surprised you at their rarity and uses, you couldn’t even fathom why some would no longer be produced in the first place given their usefulness.
Your thumb locked as you reached the second to last on the list.
There staring at you was an image so identical to Sidus it had to be the type he was. You bit your lip as you read the description, only the vague notion that this might be violating his privacy and trust passing your mind in a blur before becoming deadly silent at what you read.
Sansi line: Cryptic
A Cryptic is known for their mischievous and playful nature much like their original counterpart a Sansy, however they have a few more abilities than what was allowed with the previous breed. Able to levitate for extended periods of time as well as lift others and objects up to twenty times their mass they are the preferred bitties when it comes to helping out with emergency responders, able to help in situations such as landslides and the aftermath of earthquakes.
Your eyes widened as you looked down at Sidus before looking back at the article.
Among other skills a Cryptic with their naturally disarming auras and charming natures are also best suited to the role of a therapy bitty. Similar to a support animal they are capable of reading their owners emotional states as well as soul brightness—the level of one’s wellbeing—with a glance. Due to this, obtaining one might be difficult as civilians are required to have a professional prescribe one to them, due to their scant production and high demand.
The screen of your phone faded out as your mind worked over what it had just learned.
Sidus was a support bitty? With how often he pranked you and purposefully annoyed you it was almost hard to believe that was the case at all. But how he’d taken one look at you, had stared with eyelights so small it hurt your heart to think about, you couldn’t deny how it lined up with what the article claimed of the Cryptic line.
And then another thought struck you, how he’d refused to elaborate about his loneliness and the way his tone had gone so soft and reserved when asked. He’d been nothing but kind and supportive, despite his actions, that you were more than sure he’d been abused for it.
Why else would he have willingly chosen homelessness, in a world that craved the breed he was like pure gold at their fingertips?
It was so dangerous and risky to be a Cryptic, and out on the loose for just anyone to grab—
You stopped breathing.
Would…the one he ran from be looking for him?
Was it illegal to have a Cryptic without something as stupid as a Doctor’s note?
You felt so drained, and stared off to the side unseeing as the implications and rules about the world when it came to bitties clashed with something twisted inside of you. You had for the longest time thought of them like pets, so similar to a dog or cat, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. How many people treated them poorly all because they considered them property, uncaring about how they were affected, thinking they were less intelligent then them?
Your mind was yanked back as you felt Sidus stir, readjust and nuzzle into your breast in a way you had to bite your tongue to keep from yelping as he let out a deep sleepy sigh.
Your heart raced as you stared down at him.
He knew how to joke, and was so very careful with his words when he wasn’t playfully harassing you, it often felt strategic what he said.
You clicked you phone back on, intending to dismiss the page, and peered at a small disclaimer at the bottom of the description you’d missed.
As of 9/12/20XX a recall of the line was implemented due to unforeseen complications. Any bitties still found are requested returned to Bitty Inc. until a new line is produced with corrections that won’t interfere with day to day life.
Letting out a breath you didn’t know you’d been holding, you slipped you phone back into your pocket and relaxed fully, keeping your eyes on the small rise and fall of his side as your own eyes begun to droop heavily.
Well, reading that might mean that he wasn’t being looked for…
Your eyes fluttered as sleep began to creep in, wondering what complications they could be referring to, and dreaming of how it had felt to have Sidus nuzzle your cheek as you passed out.
…vaguely feeling that, maybe, he did feel the same as you after all.
*~*~*
When you woke the next morning it was to a mild bout of panic as you felt how light your chest was, the tiny weight of Sidus’s body missing from where you last remembered it, and the heat your skin had gotten used to replaced with a chill in its absence.
You shot up and looked around, your eyes searching every square inch of space it could find.
“Sidus?” You called, throat dry and chest heaving.
A small popping noise made you whip your head around to find him once more on your shoulder, tiny hand again on your cheek as he nuzzled you again, more forcefully than he had yesterday but still tenderly.
Instant calm washed over you.
“Sorry.” You murmured as you took a deep breath.
He let out a chuckle that lit your cheeks up, shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal that you’d almost had a heart attack over him pulling a disappearing act, and simply pointed to the kitchen. Frowning suspiciously at the exaggeratedly innocent grin on his face you pushed to your feet and yawned as you walked where he directed. It was like a slap to the face as a sweet aroma hit you, making your stomach growl the closer you got to the kitchen.
Blinking, you pulled up short.
A mountain, a literal mountain of pancakes, was on your dining table with dozens of paper plates spread out under its girth both supporting and failing to keep your table free from the colossal mound of tooth aching indulgence. Dragging your eyes up you felt one instinctually twitch at the flood of flour and splattered dough across your walls and counters, a few stalactites of the sticky mess dripping from the ceiling morbidly, turning your kitchen into the perfect picture of what the Pillsbury Doughboy’s house would look like if it was a cave.
Sidus had made you breakfast and had destroyed the sanctity of your kitchen, but it smelled so tantalizing. You didn’t know rather to punt him out a window or kiss his skull.
Through gritted teeth that made him snicker, “Gee…Thank you…”
Sidus hummed in reply and draped himself over your shoulder, chin in palm as he looked at you expectantly. Oh right, he probably wanted you to eat some of it.
Stiffly you walked over to the mount doom of pancakes and raised a brow as you spotted a fork already stabbed into the top of it. Snorting you lifted the utensil and the food it already offered, shooting Sidus a weary glance that he returned with a growing blush and widening show of his teeth. Maintaining eye contact you took a slow and deliberate bite, watching as his eyelights flared and nearly sparkled as you chewed.
You stopped and swallowed roughly like you were trying to get down sand paper.
“Ketchup flavor huh?”
His sockets ovaled and another pancake levitated over to him, his teeth ripping a giant bite out of it as he winked at you before responding. “innit great?”
Butterflies, wild and countless fluttered in your stomach.
You were just never going to get used to hearing that voice were you? You pointedly looked away and took another bite, deciding to not have let your kitchen died in vein as you sacrificed your sensitive palette.
Completely missing the way Sidus’s eyelights flickered to your chest and how his blush deepened knowingly as he continued to eat alongside you.
After enough breakfast to have potentially induced a coma and cleaning Sidus’ mess (The little shit had been purposefully dirtying the surfaces you cleaned whenever you turned your back until you’d threatened to throw out the rest of the food) you cleared your throat and smiled victoriously. “If you’re done torturing me now, I have work to get to.”
His cheeky smirk abruptly dropped, and you knew right away what he was asking as he tilted his head with a cocked eyebrow from where he floated beside you.
“Yes, I have to go.” You huffed humorously.
Slowly he drifted down to the counter and looked up at you, his hands shoved into the pockets of the blue and yellow coat you’d made him as his sockets creased with scrutiny. He raised a brow at you before he was speaking again, his eyelights hazing at the edges in a way that made you keenly aware of him.
“stay home with me today.”
That tone…was oddly alluring.
No, you were imagining it.
You hadn’t had real genuine interaction with another person outside of work in a long time and the new perspective you’d adopted about bitties was just getting to you, digging at the repressed part of your mind that craved affection and companionship more than the self-isolation you’d accidently put yourself into.
You were going to have to correct this; you refused to do anything to accidently hurt him or to break his trust after what he’d possibly gone through, and what better way was there to do that than to project an attraction on him?
He was a bitty!
You had to fix this.
Immediately.
“I can’t, they need me there for parent conferences today.”
Both his sockets lidded in a doubtful stare that made you shuffle in place awkwardly. “It’s true!”
Sidus narrowed his sockets at your chest and your hand automatically came up to cover it.
You froze as he stiffened at the gesture.
Oh crap, you had just given yourself away. He knew you’d known next to nothing about bitties let alone the type he was, he’d refused to tell you, and the fact you just tried to hide your soul from him was damning. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up as his eyelights slowly panned up, the scorching touch of their judgmental glow piercing your chest painfully as his tone came out dulled and dismissive, hurt.
“fine.”
The air was tense suddenly; suffocating in all the things you desperately wanted to say but didn’t even know how to word properly. You looked down shamefully as the fact you didn’t have the time to figure it out irked you.
The only word you could focus on though you said.
“Sorry.”
Sidus’s frown turned into an uncertain grin, his eyelights going soft as he once more glanced at the hand you’d fisted over your chest, and lazily shrugged.
“later.”
Your heart skipped, as you caught the meaning in his response. You were both going to talk after you got home…that was almost never a good thing, not after you and the other person usually sat stewing on the issue for a while.
At least it had never been a good thing in the past.
A pit formed in your gut as you forced a smile and waved at him. You didn’t even bother to change, the anxiety you suddenly felt urging you to practically run as you hurried over to the coat rack by your door. The pit grew wider and deeper as you felt his eyelights follow you, the force of them unwavering as you grabbed your purse and keys.
The thoughts suddenly swarmed in.
Did you really want to know his horrors, his potentially traumatizing past? Would you even be able to offer him the solace he offered you so easily?
Did you want him to know your aches and hurt?
You had a feeling that you wouldn’t be getting any work done today, and you were too intimidated by the forceful pounding in your chest as the door opened and shut behind you to look back, a blush simply refusing to leave your face.