guestsurprise, who owns Cassie and Gena, requested this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy!
I only own Rachel. All other characters belong to their respective owners.
Warning: small spoiler for the movie "Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens", which I do not own.
Family's Love Is Strong
"Cassie, I'm going to get you," Way Big said teasingly as he lifted up his pillow where the twelve-year-old had been hiding and she jumped up and started running, but he playfully tried to grab her, chuckling as she managed to dodge his attempts to grab her pretty well.
"Gotta catch me first!" she giggled out as she ran around the bed. The giant alien suddenly flopped on the bed, making it bounce and making Cassie soar in the air a bit before landing back on the bed. She squealed and giggled more as she tried to escape his hands and got away just in time before climbing up the other pillow and jumping to land on the giant alien's shoulder.
At least that was her target.
Cassie saw Way Big move his head as they heard Ultimate Way Big come in and she didn't have time to call out a warning as she landed hard on the frill on top of Way Big's head.
As she grabbed on so that she wouldn't fall off, she felt the white and red giant suddenly stiffen as he let out a pained sound. "Way Big? What's wrong?" Cassie asked, worry in her voice.
"Brother? Are you alright?" asked Ultimate Way Big.
"I…can't…move," Way Big grunted as his teeth clenched in reaction to the pain. Cassie immediately jumped to his shoulder as the taller To'kustar came up and began gently rubbing the frill on his brother's head, remembering that trick their father had taught them.
The twelve-year-old looked up at the white, blue, and red giant. "Ultimate Way Big, what happened?" she asked.
The giant turned to her while he tended to his brother. "He's alright, Cassie," he said reassuringly. "You just surprised him when you landed on his frill. It's the most sensitive part of a To'kustar's body, similar to an Achilles' heel for humans."
She looked shocked. "You mean, I hurt him when I landed on his head fin?" she asked, her face taking on a more worried look now.
"Not really," said Ultimate Way Big, still smiling gently at her as Way Big sat up, able to move again. "You just temporarily paralyzed him, that's all."
"I remember our father teaching us that trick about rubbing the frill after it's been hit to counteract the pain," said Way Big.
Cassie now felt terrible. While she hadn't meant to land on his frill and cause him pain, she still felt guilt eat at her and her face looked very sad. Way Big noticed. "Cassie, it's okay. It was just an accident," he said soothingly, but that didn't make her feel better.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice just a whisper as she jumped down from the bed and ran for the elevator.
"Cassie, wait!" Ultimate Way Big called to her, but she was already heading up to the mansion before they could stop her and she ran to her room and closed the door.
Rachel had just come home from work when she had seen Cassie looking sad and guilty and wondered what happened until the communications rang and she answered it and saw it was the To'kustar brothers. "Hey, guys," she said. "What's going on?"
"Is Cassie there?" asked Way Big.
"I just saw her go into her room, but she looked very sad and guilty. Did something happen?"
"We were messing around and she accidently landed on my head fin and temporarily paralyzed me," answered the white and red giant. "Thankfully, my brother remembered a trick our father taught us to counteract the effect."
"Cassie took off afterwards even though we called out to her," said Ultimate Way Big. "I guess she was scared we'd be angry at her."
Rachel nodded in agreement. "And possibly embarrassed because she hadn't meant to hurt you, Way Big," she said and then sighed. "Poor kid's been through a lot, and it's because of her past experience with family that anything, even a small accident, will make her afraid that we'll be upset with her."
"Rachel, do you think her prior family might have been emotionally abusive to her?" asked Way Big.
The owner of the Grant Mansion looked grim. "I don't know for sure," she admitted. "But judging how she reacts to some things, I'd say that's a possibility."
"And even though she's been with us for a while now, that fear is too deep set in her for her to let go of it so easily," said Ultimate Way Big quietly.
Rachel nodded. "She's suffered so much," she said with sympathy. "Hopefully, as more time passes, she'll be less afraid. Until then, we have to reassure her that we could never be angry at her."
Gena soon came in. "Be angry at who?" she asked, having caught the last of Rachel's sentence.
It didn't take long to catch her up on what had happened. "Oh, dear," said Gena. "She must feel terrible right now."
Rachel nodded. "Let her calm down and then we'll see what happens," she said and the other three agreed.
Later on, Way Big called Cassie on the communications and tried to coax her to join him and his brother for a movie, but she declined politely, but couldn't hide the fear and guilt she felt then. The same thing happened for the next two days as both Rachel and Gena tried to coax Cassie to go see the giant brothers, but she refused.
"I hurt Way Big," she said, tears in her eyes.
"Cassie, honey, that was just an accident," said Gena soothingly.
"Both they and we know you'd never purposely hurt anyone," Rachel said gently. "They aren't mad at you, sweetie."
But Cassie still refused to go visit them and Rachel and Gena had no idea how to get the young girl to do so. "What do we do, Rachel?" Gena asked.
The older woman shrugged. "I don't know, Gena," she said.
Just then, they saw Cassie head downstairs with her school bag as she hugged them before running down the hill to catch the bus to school. Not long after she left, the communications rang and Gena answered it and saw it was the To'kustar brothers, who knew immediately by the look on the young woman's face that she and Rachel had been unsuccessful in convincing Cassie to go see them.
"I'm sorry, guys," said Gena.
"It's okay, Gena," said Ultimate Way Big. "But Way Big and I have an idea, if you and Rachel will agree to it."
"What is it?" asked Rachel.
"Does Cassie know about the slide in the living room?"
The owner of the Grant Mansion immediately caught on. "No, she doesn't," she said.
After being told the idea, both Rachel and Gena agreed to it and as they had business that would take a bit in town, it was the perfect opportunity.
Cassie came home from school wondering where everyone was and saw a note from Rachel and Gena that told her there was something for her and that it was located in the living room underneath the chair and rug. Curious, she followed the instructions and pressed the button on the control panel she found and then slipped into the shallow hole, finding another note there that told her to brace herself.
As she wondered what it meant, the hole above her closed, trapping her as the floor under her opened up and she fell down the tunnels, screaming loudly as she slid down the tunnels and getting a bad feeling she knew where they led.
Sure enough, she landed on the huge bed in the To'kustar brother's quarters. "There she is," said Ultimate Way Big with a smile.
Cassie, feeling afraid, immediately jumped down from the bed and ran for the elevator, but Way Big blocked her escape route as she ran around the room with both brothers blocking off any escape routes as they tried to catch her, but she was proving to be tough to catch.
Cassie felt herself slowing down and then tripped, falling down and curling up, tears running down her face as Way Big reached under the bed where she was and gently picked her up, feeling her tremble. "Cassie, it's alright, little one," he cooed softly. "Come on, kiddo. You know we won't hurt you."
She didn't move, but her shaking went down and both brothers waited patiently until she finally uncurled because her back was feeling sore from being curled up. When she did, she felt them gently rub her back and her head.
"Cassie, talk to us, kiddo," said Ultimate Way Big, his tone coaxing and gentle.
She looked up at them as some tears were still falling down her face and felt them gently wipe away her tears. "Cassie," said Way Big. "It's okay. We're not angry at you at all."
She looked at him. "But…I hurt you," she said, her voice still a bit shaky.
"That was just an accident," he responded. "You didn't know beforehand, kiddo. And besides, I'm alright now."
"Accidents happen, kiddo," said Ultimate Way Big. "It's just part of everyday life."
Cassie looked up at them. "How can you guys be so understanding?" she asked and they knew why she asked that.
"Because you're young and like we said before, you didn't know," said Way Big. "Not only that, you're part of our family, kiddo."
She looked a bit more hopeful and Ultimate Way Big gently stroked her head with one finger. "We'll never be mad at you," he promised. "Now come on, can we get a smile?"
As he said that, he gently poked her side, making her giggle before she felt Way Big gently wiggle a finger into her stomach, making her squeak and laugh a little.
"Come on, kiddo. You can do a better smile than that," Ultimate Way Big teased as he gently brushed the tip of his finger over her neck, making her scrunch up her neck to protect it as she laughed.
Way Big then got a very evil idea and motioned for his brother to hold Cassie. Catching on, Ultimate Way Big gently set Cassie on the bed and then pinned her arms down very gently. She couldn't get free as Way Big gently moved her shirt up to the bottom of her ribcage and leaned down. Cassie had a feeling she knew what he was going to do and she tried to struggle, but giggled when she felt his lips on her stomach.
But nothing could have prepared her for the huge tickling sensation she felt when Way Big began humming against her stomach. Unable to fight against it, Cassie squealed loudly and laughed.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THAT TICKLES! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she laughed out.
Ultimate Way Big chuckled. "Then you better brace yourself, cause there's more tickles coming," he teased as he gently pinned her arms down with his pinky fingers and used his pointer fingers to gently tickle Cassie's underarms and ribs. The tickles, along with Way Big's playful humming, made Cassie's laughter explode out of her.
Finally, seeing her cheeks taking on a dark red hue and tears running down her face, both brothers stopped, letting the young girl recover for a bit before she sat up, looking up at the two brothers while she wiped away the tears on her face and smiling at them.
"There's that pretty smile," said Way Big. "You okay, kiddo?"
She nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Thanks. Sorry about before."
Both of them smiled. "Just remember you never have to be afraid of us, Cassie," said Ultimate Way Big. "You're our family and that won't change, no matter what."
She nodded and felt him pick her up and gently hug her and she hugged him back too before he handed her to Way Big and he hugged her as well, rocking her gently as she snuggled into him and they all sat together and watched a favorite movie.
That evening, Rachel and Gena came down the slide and the scene made them stop and smile. Cassie was curled up near Way Big's neck and both of them were sound asleep as Ultimate Way Big quietly moved about to make sure things were secure before going to bed. He spotted the two girls and noticed the question on their faces. "Cassie's okay," he said softly and they immediately looked relieved and a bit tired, he noticed. "Looks like you two are ready to crash too."
They nodded. "Yeah," said Rachel. "Um…is it okay if we crash with you?"
The taller giant smiled and scooped them up in his hand, climbing into bed and setting them on his chest. Both girls instantly fell asleep and he soon joined them as the five of them slept peacefully, enjoying the strong love of family.
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GoldGuardian2418