This one shot is for the awesome strawberry snicket as my March gift for the Gift Giving Extravaganza of 2020.

These are the prompts I used: Barebone family fic, sickfic (people taking care of others), together, porcelain, royal purple, Credence, Modesty, "I love you."/"No one's ever said that to me before."

This story takes place two years before the events of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them which makes Modesty six-years-old here.

Word Count (minus A/N): 1296

Credence frowned as he glanced around the dining hall. There were many children seated at the main dining table, all of whom were having soup and, of course, discussing the pamphlets. Chastity was the head of all the discussion and was going on and on about the dangers of witchcraft. Credence took another look around the room. He hadn't seen his youngest sister, six-year-old Modesty, all day and now she wasn't even here for lunch. Had something happened to her?

He cautiously approached his mother, who was talking to one of the poor boys who was a regular at their soup kitchen. Sometimes, when she was in a bad mood, it was best not to disturb her. "Ma?" He asked tentatively.

She turned around, a frown etching upon her face when she saw Credence. "Yes?" Her tone was irritated but not as annoyed as she usually sounded when speaking to her adopted son. Nevertheless, Credence shifted nervously before meeting his mother's eyes.

"Well, I just noticed that Modesty isn't here for dinner, and I haven't seen her all day...Is she alright?"

"She's fine. She has the flu, that's all. Nothing a few days of rest shouldn't fix. I just didn't want her to give it to everyone here so I made her stay upstairs." She turned back to the young boy before seemingly remembering something. Turning back around, she added, "Since you aren't doing anything useful, why don't you go bring your sister some soup. There are leftovers in the pot."

Credence walked over to the stove and started ladling soup in a bowl for Modesty. She hated being sick and Credence decided that he would keep her company. After all, she was the only person here who he was certain he loved. No one else ever seemed to care about him.

Heading up the stairs of the church, Credence made sure not to spill the bowl of soup, along with a chocolate kiss he stole from the kitchen. It was Modesty's favourite kind of candy and he knew that it would brighten her day.

When he reached her room he found that the door was slightly ajar. He poked his head in, grinning as he caught sight of his little sister.

"Credence!" She grinned and gestured for him to come inside. He placed the soup on her nightstand before sitting at the foot of her bed.

"Hey, Modesty. How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. "Better. But Ma says that I shouldn't come downstairs 'cause she doesn't want me getting all the other kids sick. But I'm so bored!"

He smiled and patted her head. "I know, but I have some good news for you."

Her eyes lit up. "What is it?"

"I'm spending the whole day with you. So we can do whatever we want here."

She squealed in delight before grabbing onto Credence's hand. "Yay! Can we talk?"

He laughed. "Sure, what else can we do anyway?"

Modesty bounced up and down on her bed, clapping her hands.

Glancing at the soup on the nightstand, Credence held it out to her. "But before we do anything fun, you've got to eat your lunch."

She pouted, her bottom lip sticking out at him. "Pea soup again? I don't even like soup."

"I know, neither do I. But it's the only lunch that you're going to get. You might as well enjoy it."

She sighed. "Okay, fine."

He gave her a smile. "I have something that may convince you."

As young kids do, she immediately asked, "What is it?" He pulled the chocolate kiss from his pocket and Modesty gasped. "I love those!"

"I know."

She frowned as she inspected the sweet further. "How did you get it? Ma would never let us have it without a special reason."

Credence bit his lip. "I may have taken it. I figured that since you were sick you may need something to brighten your day. Besides, Ma has a whole bag of these stashed away. One isn't going to do much harm."

Instead of calling him out on stealing, she simply smiled. "Thank you, Credence."

"No problem." He held out the soup to her. "You can have it after you finish your soup."

She looked at the soup in his hands before asking, "Can you feed me?"

Credence hesitated. He was never one for doing all the touchy-feely stuff that normal people did. But Modesty was different. She was this happy, little bundle of joy in his life. He might as well. "Alright, I'll feed you."

As he spoon-fed his little sister her soup, the two talked. At first, they talked about what they might do the next day and how Modesty was excited for school to start up again. Then, they talked about home in the church and what Chasity and Ma were doing at the moment. They both knew that Chastity had always been the favourite child. Then, the conversation drifted, as it always did, to Modesty's old family. Credence didn't mind; he liked hearing about his sister's old life, even though it made him wish he hadn't been adopted as a baby.

Having finished feeding Modesty her soup, Credence placed the empty bowl back on her nightstand as Modesty told him a story about her twin sister, Faith.

"One time, me and Faith got to go to the market. My mom and dad gave us some money and we got to buy one thing for both of us."

He smiled. "What did you get?"

Modesty reached under her bed, searching a bit until she held a porcelain bowl in her hands.

"That's very pretty."

She smiled and handed him the bowl. Up close he could see the beautiful pattern of royal purple flowers, stretching across the bowl. It was probably the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life.

"Modesty, it's beautiful."

Modesty smiled sadly and took the bowl from him, tracing the lines with her little fingers. "Faith got a matching bowl. We knew that our parents were going to give us up for adoption so we wanted something to remember each other by."

"What happened to her?"

She looked up, a single tear falling down her cheek. "She left a week before I did. I hope she has a good family, but I've never seen her since." Another tear rolled down the other side of her face. "I miss her."

Credence wrapped his arm around her. "I know, but I'm sure that wherever she is, she's happy."

She smiled and wiped away her tears. "I hope so. But I'm glad Ma adopted me."

"Why?"

She gave him a big hug. "Or else I never would have met you." He smiled as she squeezed him tightly. "I love you."

Credence froze, he had never heard those words uttered near him. His voice was so quiet when he spoke that for a moment, he thought that Modesty wouldn't hear his confession. "No one's ever said that to me before."

Modesty looked at him thoughtfully, "It's true. You're my most favourite person here."

"You are too." He handed her the chocolate kiss. "Here you go."

She grinned as she devoured the sweet. When she finished, she turned over her porcelain bowl in her hands. Then, as though struck by an idea, she held it out to Credence, who looked at it with confusion.

When he didn't move, Modesty laughed. "It's for you, silly. You are the reason I love it here and I think you should have it."

Credence felt tears, happy ones for once, sting at his eyes. He gingerly took the bowl from her, admiring the royal purple. He looked down at his little sister, this beacon of light in his life. "Thank you."

Modesty merely smiled. "Anything for my brother."