A memory from the Warner's time with the Fleischer's. This is kind of the stepping stone in their relationship. Just a short piece a few days after the tiny trio have moved in with Joe and Charles.

*Early March 1929*

Joe adjusted his glasses and half-listened to the rhythmic tune of Bessie Smith in the background. Empty Bed Blues, a classic in his opinion, and in Dot's too it seemed. She sat on the floor looking up at the radio and reaching up to try and swipe it from the table. Her brothers sat not far from her, bouncing a ball between them. Joe noticed that all the while, Yakko had his tail coiled firmly around his sisters to prevent her from scuttling away. Over the past few days, the children; for he refused to call them anything other than what they were; had settled in better than expected.

As the youngest, Dot was by far the easiest to adapt, she loved having the two grown ups and her eldest brother fussing over her. She liked it here, it was warm, and things were soft instead of the old place where she had to sleep on her brothers laps to keep warm. Yes, she was happy. Wakko was at his best here. Food was always open to him, and unlike the big-guys in the old place these new people didn't give scary looks when he took a nibble out of something or if he was a little boisterous here and there. They found it funny, 'a growing scamp' they called him. But he didn't let his content show too much, Yakko wouldn't like it. Yakko still wasn't sure. He'd seen what big-guys could do and he didn't want to have it happen again. So although he thought this place was a far better improvement, he still refused to get comfortable. Any day now they'd be separated again, and put back there… Sure, those two seemed like they wanted to help, but it wasn't enough. Yet.

Joe smiled down at the girl and pulled out the album cover for the singer and laying on the floor, "Bessie Smith, you like her?"

Dot pawed the picture of the woman in interest. She had feathers and flowers laced in her hair, a long dress that looked like it could shimmer if able to move and face bright with a smile. The infant tapped one of the flowers in awe, frustrated that she couldn't pick it up. Joe shook his head in amusement. This little one was turning into a real princess. Attention and fuss were hers to pick and chose from; and in truth Joe didn't mind a bit. It was unclear of how long they'd be staying with them, so it made sense to make every moment count. And if that meant giving more attention than normal for a child her age, so be it. Besides, it wasn't that they were normal children anyway, so why start sticking to the rules now?

"I'll see what I can do for you, alright little princess?" he said with a little playful scoff.

Her inky eyes brightened and she nodded. For someone who was still unable to talk or walk, she was incredibly intelligent in her understandings, they all were. Sometimes it was like they were at least five years older mentally than they were physically. It was amazing to think that some simple scribbles would have amounted to all of this. Sure, on the page, they had blinked, moved a little, and that would have been near impossible enough to believe, but the fact that they were still here in the flesh was something other worldly. And yes, he had grown rather attached to them.

Dot pushed the cover away and turned to her brothers, still engrossed in their simple game. She tilted her head and smiled, leaning over to grab at a rattle that had been brought with them from the studio. She looked at where Yakko's tail was looped around hers. She carefully pulled her own, sliding the rattle in its place, her brother seemingly none the wiser. With a little smile, she started crawling off to her freedom to where the other records were stacked, examining each one intensively and often copying facial features as if singing herself.

Yakko caught the ball and was about to toss it back, when he stopped, something wasn't right. He turned his head and saw his sibling on the other side of the room; scowling irritably at the security he was giving a toy instead of her. He flicked it aside and bent his tail into a curved hook and threw it outwards. Joe watched in awe as the black fur stretched impossibly far right across the room and looped around the infants tummy and gently dragged her back to her brothers side.

"Nice try." He smiled, tickling her.

She babbled and tried to push him away but didn't get far. Wakko pouted at having his game forgotten, cap slipping over his eyes again. "You sound happy like the Bessith song…" Yakko muttered.

Joe smirked a little at that, Bessie Smith, Bessith… It wasn't that far off. Wakko thought back to the song on the radio and pulled a face. That didn't sound happy at all, although the singer was cheery, the trumpets had been dull and slow. And from his perspective, it was just loud blows of boring. At the look of his brother's face, Yakko nodded.

"Exactly."

"Ball again?" Wakko asked.

By this point Dot has swiped said ball and was dropping it on the floor to watch it bounce before repeating the process. Hearing the request of a game, she smiled and rolled the ball over to her brother. Yakko picked up Dot and sat her on his crossed legs, guiding her arms to continue the game as a trio. Joe watched in silence, admiring the moment. He felt a strange sense of pride in them. Like the kind he felt when he watched his nieces and nephews. But this was somewhat different, he just couldn't put a finger on it.

"Good game?" he asked, feeling it too quiet.

Yakko gave him a cautious look, and shrugged slightly, secretly wishing to make it more interesting but not daring to complain. Complaining was just asking for trouble. Wakko nodded enthusiastically, pushing up the cap that had slipped over his eyes once again. Even with it twisted so that the peak was behind his head it still was too big for him, and every now and again he would be pulling at his ears which became bunched up in the fabric.

"Pass that thing here, I've got an idea." Joe stated with a soft smile. Wakko removed the item, but looked at his brother for guidance. In response, Yakko took it from him and slowly passed it to Joe himself. He nodded, "Thank you."

"Is this a bad idea?" Yakko asked quietly so that his siblings didn't hear, "Big-guys have a lot of them."

"And how." Joe agreed, "But this time it's a good one."

He arched an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder at his siblings, already engrossed in a new game, "What is it?" To answer, Joe put the cap on his own head and held his fingers to it to mimic the toons ears sticking out. Yakko caught on and ducked his head to hide a half smile. No one wanted to do things for them, it wasn't how big-guys worked; but this sounded fun, "Need help?"

Well that was a first. Joe dropped the hat on the boys head and nodded, "Sure thing."

Charles closed the door behind him from a trip to the store. Those toons were eating them out of house and home. But that was a little price to pay. Heck he was having a blast with those scamps. Sure the eldest was a little wary but he was easing up one step at a time. Never know, by the end of the month they might actually come to like the place. That is if they're staying that long. With that studio, he didn't know what they were thinking, but for now at least they were away from it.

"Hello-oh…" He walked into the living room and paused at the sight if Joe and Yakko sitting side by side as they stitched up the newly made holes in the red cap, "Oh?"

Yakko smirked, "Hellooooo." He repeated.

Wakko chuckled and waved at his brother, "Hellooooo!"

"Hellooooo!" he answered.

They both waved at their giggling sister and waved in unison, "Hellooooo!"

"What have you started?" Joe asked.

"They're kids, thing like that don't stick." Charles waved his hand passively, "So, uh, what's going on here?"

"Lookit." Yakko answered, taking the hat and adjusting it on his brothers head, threading his ears through the holes in the fabric, "Good idea, huh?"

"Very, yours?" Charles asked.

He grinned, "Big-guys only have bad ideas anyway."

"What am I, part of the furniture?" Joe asked playfully.

Despite their answer, the toons nodded to contrast it, Dot simply giggling, "No."

"Smart-alecs."

That night, the trio had been fed and put to bed. Joe and Charles sat down at the dining table and took long needed sips of their coffee. Joe was quiet, thinking about how the day had gone. It was strange looking back to that first night when they could barely get one sentence out of any of them. Now they had been playing, talking, asking to be involved. In a matter of days, it was like having completely different kids.

"So big kid is coming around?" Charles commented.

"Yeah, he's gonna be a real gum-flapper they rate he's going." Joe sighed with a smile, "You know he used a toon trick today."

"No kidding, that's a good sign right?"

"I hope. No doubt it's been drummed into their heads that they use it and that leads to tests. It's balled up big time."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Charles shrugged, "But are we going to be alright if they get more used to using it? Don't get me wrong it's amazing to watch, and if they're feeling more like themselves, how they're supposed to, then I'm all for it. But…"

"But how are we going to keep a lid on it?"

"Yeah."

"Honestly, I have no idea. But, you know, if we let them grow on it now…"

"They'll pick up when to cross the line on their own?"

"Yeah."

"Worth a shot." There was a pause before Charles cleared his throat, "You think the studio will take them away again soon?"

The question hurt Joe, and it hurt Charles to ask it, neither really understood why, "No doubt, but when? I don't know."

"You know what I say? I say it ain't fair on them, they're toons and they should do what toons were drawn to do. I say when those shmucks come knocking, we make sure those kids are the biggest bunch of tearaways they've ever seen!" he grinned wickedly.

Joe laughed at the idea, "Agreed. First thing they need to learn is how to run, the studio won't take kindly to anything too wild."

"Tough."

"You're a bad influence on them."

"Oh dry up, you're my brother not my wife!"

The pair smirked and laughed into their coffee. With any luck the studio would let it slide as an accident and try to cover up the toons by leaving them here, but things weren't that simple. But for now, it was a nice thought. Suddenly, as things fell quiet, they could hear the muffled whimpering and occasional sobs coming from the toons bedroom. The brothers looked at one another. They had taken it I turns to attend to bedtime since the three had arrived. And this night, it was Charles' turn. He got up and made his way across the hall and into the room.

Wakko was sound asleep in the bed that the three insisted on sharing. But curled in the corner, Yakko was cradling his sister, her little form quivering where she was crying and blinking in unease. The boy was trying to sooth her by swaying from side to side, letting her chew on his pyjama sleeve in hopes of quieting the sobs as not to wake Wakko. This had been happening even before they'd moved in. It was as if as soon as everything was quiet, she became scared. The quiet reminded them of the empty studio after closing time, deathly quiet. Charles noticed some dark circles under Yakko's eyes. Poor kid.

"What's up?" he asked softly.

Yakko looked as though he blamed him, "Big guys in her head again."

"A nightmare?" he clarified, "Tell you what, you get some shut-eye and I'll get her to sleep. You look worn out."

"My sibs, don't touch."

So much for coming around, "I know, I know. But you're tired, right? And you can't be the big tough kid and take care of them if you're staying up all night."

Yakko looked at the bed longingly, "No, she wants me."

"Then she can have you, but you still need to sleep. I'll make a deal with you. Give her to me and you can climb into bed, but I won't leave this room, you can lay right there and keep an eye on us, deal?"

Not wanting to let her go, but the childish exhaustion was getting to him, "You won't take her out?"

Of course, if one was taken out of the room before, it was usually for tests or observation… Charles braved reaching out and gently tousling the boys head, "I promise."

After some thought, Yakko gently passed his sister over to the man. She was so tiny in his arms, barely matching the distance between his wrist and elbow. She squirmed in mild discomfort at the new handler, but settled calmly, still letting out small tears between blinks. Yakko kept eyes firmly on them as he clambered in beside his brother, looping an arm under him and leaving his spare arm to reach for Dot in necessary. Charles perched on the foot of the bed and rocked the infant from side to side, smoothing her brow with his thumb. Both children's eyes started to droop, the weight of sleep bearing down on them. And within minutes, both were snoring lightly, the very image of comfort.

And when the morning light peeked into the room the next morning, Yakko was both pleased and surprised to find that both siblings were tucked in either side of him, still asleep and unharmed. He arched an eyebrow; big-guys didn't lie? Maybe, not all big-guys are bad? Maybe…?

A/N:

Just some little fluff XD Hope you guys liked it, and also found the reference to where the 'Hellooooo' came from, lol, poor guys. Well that's kind of where the trust is starting to build, and the trio are coming out of their shells a little. Hope you liked it and I'll upload more on my other works asap, I promise! XD