Sibling rivalries

June 7 1988

"Come on Dottie, you can do it"!

Yakko's sister giggled happily as he held onto her hands, leading her around the living room. He was trying to teach her how to walk. She was learning quickly, her movements were becoming more fluid by the day. Though, she still needed her older brother to hold onto her hands, so she wouldn't fall over.

He was proud that Dot was getting better at walking. Pretty soon, she wouldn't need someone to hold onto her hands, she would be able to manage completely on her own.

Yakko was patient with his sister. If she lost her balance and fell down, he'd laugh it off before helping her up, telling her she could try again. His strategy was to give Dot lots of encouragement, never getting mad when she didn't do it right. He found it fun watching his sister get better day by day. Yakko would always get excited when his sister took a few more steps then she did the previous day.

It was clear to him that Dot enjoyed doing this. She was always at her happiest when she practiced walking with him, always smiling and laughing. Yakko was having just as much fun. He got so much joy out of watching his sister get better, it was making his heart melt inside.

Needless to say, he was beyond excited for the day that Dot took her first steps on her own. It would probably be just as exciting, if not more exciting, than when Wakko took his first steps when he was her age.

As he led his little sister around the apartment, Yakko gazed his eyes at Dot's happy little face. The little girl was giggling like a maniac.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked his sister. "Are you happy"?

Dot didn't respond, she continued laughing hysterically as she tried to keep her balance. She still hadn't said her first word yet, which made Yakko a little nervous. Wakko had said his first word long before he had turned one year old. He decided to keep an open mind about it, knowing that she would spit out a word eventually.

Maybe it's good that Dot isn't talking, Yakko thought to himself, I don't want to deal with two chatterboxes in this house.

All of a sudden, he stepped on something. A loud yelp filled the room, followed immediately by painful cries. Yakko's heart skipped a beat, he looked behind him and saw his brother sitting on the floor. Wakko was holding his tail in his hands, he was screaming in pain.

Yakko hadn't been watching where he was going, he knew that Wakko was playing with his toy cars right behind him. He didn't mean to step on his brother's tail, he knew how delicate and fragile tails were. He felt terrible for what he had done.

Not knowing what to do in the situation, Yakko let go of his sister's hands. She dropped down onto the floor. He then hoisted his injured brother off the floor, bringing him into his arms. He held Wakko close to him, his sibling was still crying.

"Please don't cry, Wakko," Yakko told his brother in a shaky voice. "I am so sorry, I didn't know you were behind me".

He kissed his brother's forehead, in hopes it would make him feel better. Wakko's sobbing had quieted some, though tears continued to fall down his cheeks. The poor boy looked up at him with sad, watery eyes.

"That hurt," he said quietly,"my tail is hurting".

"I'm sorry Wak," Yakko apologized again, "I didn't mean to hurt your tail, bud. Don't worry, the pain will go away, I promise".

Yakko carried his brother over to the couch. Wakko was still crying a little, but it seemed like he was starting to calm down. He gently sat down on the cushions of the couch, feeling extremely guilty for what he had done. He hoped that his brother hadn't been injured severely, he'd be in big trouble with his parents if they found out about this.

He stroked Wakko's head gently, which seemed to be calming him down. His little sibling was breathing heavily, making moaning sounds.

"Does it hurt"?

Wakko nodded his head.

"It's gonna be ok, Wak," Yakko said softly. "You know I didn't mean to step on your tail, don't you"?

"I know," his brother told him," but it still hurt".

Yakko hugged his younger brother tighter. He was surprised that Wakko was acting so calmly about this. He would have expected him to throw a complete fit over this, but no, all his brother did was cry. This was strange to Yakko, as this wasn't the reaction he was expecting from his sibling.

Maybe he's growing up, Yakko thought.

"It'll probably hurt for a while, sib," he told his brother," but no worries, you're gonna be just ok".

Hopefully.

"You really think so"?

"I know so, at least I think I do".

His brother smiled a little, which made Yakko feel a little better. He was scared for a while that Wakko might have been angry at him for stepping on his tail.

"What were you doing, Yakko," Wakko asked him.

He was confused by his brother's question.

"What"?

"What were you doing when you stepped on my tail", he asked again.

"Oh, nothing really. I was just helping Sissy practice walking".

As he said this, Yakko looked over at his sister who was quietly sitting on the floor in front of him. She had a blank expression on her face, her big eyes were gazing at him. Dot was wearing a teal unicorn shirt and blue shorts that his mom had bought for her a few weeks ago. It looked nice on her. Yakko was glad that his sister was wearing more than just her pink onesie all the time.

"Why?" His brother asked him.

Yakko was confused," what do you mean why"?

"Why are you helping Sissy walk?" Wakko asked.

"I want to help her practice,'' Yakko said.

"But why"?

"She can't walk on her own yet," he explained to his sibling," I have to hold onto her hands so she doesn't fall".

"But you don't do that with me".

"That's because you know how to walk already".

His younger brother's face was starting to turn into a pout. Yakko didn't know why this was angering Wakko so much. He didn't do anything.

"You spend every day with Dottie," Wakko groaned. "You never spend any time with me anymore".

"That's not true, I spend lots of time with you".

This seemed to anger Wakko even more.

"You spend more time with her!!" He yelled. "You don't play with me anymore"!

Yakko could tell that his brother was having one of those moments where he believed he wasn't being given enough attention. Of course, this wasn't true. Yakko loved both of his siblings very much, and treated them both the same way. And he knew that Wakko understood this, but he would still act like this anyway.

I guess that's just what toddlers do, Yakko thought, they cry over the little things and then they beg you for a hug.

He knew that his brother would eventually realize that throwing tantrums all the time wouldn't do him any good. But for now, Yakko would just have to deal with this.

Snapping back into reality, Yakko rubbed his sibling's head gently in hopes of calming Wakko down.

"Wak, I spend lots of time with you," He said to his brother. "I want to spend time with both of you. I didn't know spending time with your sister would make you so upset".

"But it did," Wakko told him.

"I know it did, and I'm sorry that it made you feel that way. Dot needs attention too, and I can't leave her all by herself. Then she'll feel left out".

Wakko frowned at him, this wasn't working. He decided to change the subject.

"Anyway, are you hungry"?

His brother's eyes widened almost instantly. He knew that he would get Wakko's attention by saying that.

"Yes"!!

"Alright then. Why don't you go sit down at the table? I'll be there in a minute".

As soon as he had said that, Wakko ran off towards the table. Yakko chuckled, it seemed as if his brother never stopped moving for one second.

Wakko flew into the small dining room in the corner next to the kitchen. Panting from all the running, he pulled out a chair for himself. It was a little challenging as the chair was a lot bigger than he was, but he managed to do it. Then he proceeded to climb into the chair, which was much easier. His older brother used to have to assist him up into the chair when he was younger. But now that he was taller, he could do it all on his own without any help.

He stood up in the chair, placing his hands on the wooden table. He watched as Yakko, carrying his sister in his arms, walked towards the table. Wakko was always happy when his brother would make him food. It was his favorite part of the day besides playing with his toys.

Yakko placed Dot in her highchair, which was right next to where he was sitting. Wakko was unsure if he loved his sister or not. True, he was fascinated by her, but he didn't know if he loved her. It seemed like Yakko was always giving her all of the attention and leaving him all alone. Wakko wished that his older brother would spend more time with him instead of Dot.

It's not fair, Wakko thought angrily, Yakko spends all of his time with sissy and not me!

Wanting attention from his older brother, Wakko put on his cutest smile and happily waved at Yakko. To his surprise, he didn't wave back. He was staring at him with empty eyes and an emotionless face.

"Wak, please sit down in the chair correctly," he asked him. "You're gonna fall and get hurt".

He frowned, Wakko never liked it when his brother told him what to do. It was so annoying. He made a pout on his face as he sat down in the chair the right way. His good mood disappeared, and storm clouds were starting to form above him.

"No fair," he muttered to himself.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want you falling, Wakko," Yakko explained. "I'd be in big trouble if mom and dad found out that you got hurt".

"I got hurt when you stepped on my tail," Wakko said back to his brother.

Yakko cocked his eyebrow, his face was stern. Wakko knew he had upset his brother, so he decided to stop before he would be scolded. He never liked to be yelled at, and unfortunately it seemed like it was out of his control. His older brother always wins their arguments, it has always been like that. This frustrated him a lot, Wakko wished that his brother would just listen to him for once.

Feeling both sad and confused, Wakko slumped back in the chair. He had lost yet another argument to Yakko, and it feels as if he has gone completely nowhere.

"Nevermind," Yakko said," just sit there. I'll make your sandwich".

Wakko watched as his brother went into the kitchen, disappearing behind the wall. He sighed, glad to know that Yakko wasn't staring at him anymore. He looked over at his sister, who was patting her hands on the tray of the highchair. She had a smile on her face, it seemed like she was really enjoying herself.

To him, this was strange. Wakko didn't know how patting your hands repeatedly on a highchair could be considered fun. He thought babies were weird. They cry all the time, they're always sleeping, and they sort of smell funny too. He especially didn't like that Yakko was always with her every moment of the day. He and Dot would always be having fun without him.

He wondered what made babies so special, what did Dot have that he didn't?

Without much thought, he stood up in the chair and leaned towards his sister. Dot had turned her head towards him, she was still smiling. She reached her hand out to him, it looked as if she was waving at him.

Wakko was suddenly intrigued by his little sister, was she really waving at him? Dot giggled as she started bouncing herself up and down in the highchair.

"Hi Dottie," Wakko said to his sister. He started waving his hand too, trying to mimic Dot. " Are you hungry? I am too"?

Dot didn't say anything, she continued waving happily at him. Wakko had never heard his sister say anything. He never knew why, he could talk just fine. His brother had told him that Dot will talk eventually. He didn't know when that was, but it seemed to be a long time.

Then a horrible thought passed his mind. What If sissy can't talk? What if She never says anything!?

"Wakko, sit down," a voice called, " You're gonna fall"!

He looked up to see his older brother standing in front of him, he was holding two plates in his hands. Yakko was smirking at him, it was only then when Wakko realized that he was standing up in the chair again. He sighed, as she sat back down in the chair.

Yakko walked over to him and handed him his plate. He instantly took the plate from him, this was his favorite time of the day. Wakko glared at the sandwich, it looked better than he expected it would be. He picked it up and took a big bite out of the sandwich.

If anything could calm him down, it was food.

As he chowed down his lunch, Wakko watched as his older brother pulled out the chair next to him and sat down. He noticed that Yakko didn't have a smile on his face. He was breathing heavily as he was staring at his food with sad eyes.

Wakko stopped eating, he set down his sandwich. He stared at his older brother. Yakko wasn't eating, he had his hand under his chin, staring out into space. Not even realizing it, Wakko became just as sad as his brother was.

"Yakko?" He asked his older brother, " what's wrong"?

"Nothing sib," Yakko told him," I didn't get enough sleep last night".

"Why don't you go back to sleep?" Wakko asked.

Yakko turned his head towards him.

"I have to look after you and Dot," he said. "And I don't think you can look after your sister all on your own".

"No, I can do it"!

"No Wakko I…. I don't trust you, ok"?

He groaned, he hated when his older brother would tell him that. It seemed to Wakko that he couldn't be trusted for anything. He thought he could manage Dot just fine on his own. He didn't want Yakko to feel so sad about this. True, he was annoyed by him a lot, but deep down inside Wakko loved his brother so much.

Yakko would do this all the time now. He was always in a bad mood these days and would never tell him why. All Wakko wanted was his big brother to be happy again, just like the good old days.

And a little less bossy, too, Wakko said in his head.

Wakko stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth like he always did. It felt comfortable to him, he didn't know why. It just made him feel relaxed, it felt normal to him. He'd practically been doing it for his whole life.

He stretched his tiny arm out towards Yakko. He leaned closer in, trying to touch his shoulder. Wakko must have startled him because his big brother gasped and jumped in his seat. Yakko was panting, he looked over at him.

"Wakko, you scared me," he told him, " why'd you do that, sib"?

"You do that to me when I feel sad," Wakko said honestly. "I thought it would make you feel better too".

Yakko smiled,"I feel better already".

Wakko's hand remained on his brother's shoulder. He was happy that he made his brother feel better. He found it funny how Yakko was grumpy just a minute ago, and now it seemed like he was cheerful. Wakko felt proud of himself, for once he helped his big brother, rather than it being the other way around.

"Alright sib, you can stop touching my shoulder now," Yakko said.

He took his hand off of his older brother's shoulder and sat back in his seat. Wakko had stretched his arm out for so long that he had made it sore. But Wakko didn't mind, he knew he did a good thing. Feeling very satisfied with himself and his actions, Wakko happily got back to eating his sandwich.

As he ate, Wakko noticed that his brother was finally starting to eat his own sandwich. It made him feel good to know that Yakko was enjoying his lunch. Wakko understood that food had the power to make anyone feel better. At least it seemed that way to him.

He glanced over at his sister, who was still patting her hands happily on the trey. Wakko rolled his eyes, he wondered how long Dot could keep at it before she finally got bored.

This reminded him of a question he wanted to ask.

"Hey Yakko," he asked," why do you spend so much time with Dottie"?

"I told you Wak, Dottie needs just as much attention as you do," Yakko said as he glanced over at him.

"But why?"

"She's not even one year old, yet," Yakko groaned. "She's just a baby, how many times do I have to tell you this?"

Wakko pouted, his brother was being bossy again. He just wanted to know, he didn't want to start an argument.

"But you're always with her!!" He whined. "You never play with me anymore!!"

"Wakko, STOP IT!!" His big brother scolded. "I'm in a bad mood and I have no time for…".

Yakko stopped screaming all of a sudden. His jaw was hanging open, and his eyes had peeled open. His pupils had shrunk, his eyeballs were staring dead towards his direction. Wakko quickly realized that his brother wasn't staring at him, he was staring at his sister.

He slapped his hand against his forehead. "How could I forget, I forgot to feed Dot"!!

Wakko watched as his big brother frantically jumped off his chair and ran to the kitchen in panic. He laughed at Yakko's antics, he found the whole situation to be hilarious. He looked over at Dot sitting next to him, she was laughing too.

Pretty soon, Yakko came out of the kitchen holding his sister's formula in his hand. His face had turned pink with embarrassment. Wakko and Dot continued laughing at their older brother. Yakko's face quickly turned red. He quickly became furious at them.

"It's not funny," he shouted at them.

Wakko ignored his older brother. He and Dot continued laughing. This was the hardest he had laughed in a long time. He found all of this to be very amusing.

June 8 1988

"Come on sib, writing isn't that hard."

"Yes it is!! I can't do it"!

Yakko was having a hard time with making his brother practice his writing skills. His aunt had told him that she couldn't come around to teach him and Wakko anymore because, apparently, his aunt's job is putting pressure on her, and she doesn't have as much free time as she used to. He didn't understand why this was a problem, his aunt's job had never been such a huge obstacle for her before.

Unfortunately, Arenia had left it up to him to educate himself and his brother. Yakko found this to be incredibly unfair. Teaching Wakko was a nightmare, his sibling would always refuse to even sit down at the table. What's worse is that Wakko seems to be throwing more tantrums than normal. Yakko had also noticed that his brother seemed to have a certain gripe against their sister recently, and he hadn't been able to pinpoint why. What has Dot ever done to him?

The worst part about all of this is that his parents don't help him with Wakko at all. They told him they were "too tired from working all day" to step in and help him out a little. Yakko was starting to question what the point of parents were, if all his parents ever did was spend their time away from him and his sibs.

Do they even love me anymore?

Yakko rolled his eyes at the riot his brother was having. He didn't know why learning was such a big deal to Wakko. True, he hated doing boring work himself, but he didn't believe it was something to have a complete fit over.

"Wakko, please stop," Yakko groaned as he put his hands on his sore head. "I'm not asking for much. If you practice just a little more, I'll let you eat ice cream".

"No, don't wanna!!" Wakko shouted at him. "I want ice cream NOW"!!

"No, if you keep screaming you won't have any ice cream"!

Yakko scowled at his brother. He was trying to be like his parents by being stern with Wakko. His brother had crossed his arms, making the biggest pout that Yakko had seen him make.

After a cold silent minute of angrily staring at Wakko, Yakko's angry little brother finally broke the pout. Wakko let out a heavy sigh, his arms were hanging low beside him.

"Ok fine," he muttered quietly," as long as I get ice cream".

He was shocked, Yakko didn't expect that to work as great as he thought it would. He thought it would've taken much longer to calm his brother down.

Maybe that's how I should deal with Wakko's tantrums, Yakko thought happily. All I have to do is stare at him until he breaks it. Mom would be so proud of me for dealing with Wakko so easily!

"Alright sib, but you gotta promise not to throw any more tantrums tonight".

His brother sighed loudly," fine, I'll be good".

Yakko, who was glad that he had once again stopped a tantrum, decided that he should stop wasting any more time, and start helping Wakko practice his writing skills. He scooted his chair closer to his brother, Wakko still had his arms crossed around him, he still looked to be angry. Yakko didn't take too much notice of this, knowing that his brother had to calm down at some point.

He pointed down at a pencil, trying to get Wakko's attention. This must have snapped his brother out of his bad mood, as he slouched up from the chair, sitting himself up straight. Yakko grinned, his brother was finally paying attention to him.

"Grab the pencil, Wak", Yakko said," you can't write without it".

His brother rolled his eyes as he grabbed the pencil as asked to. Yakko smirked at Wakko, but said nothing. He didn't want his brother to start any trouble again if he got him upset.

"Ok, now what do I do?" Wakko asked him in a rude tone.

"What do you think?" He said sarcastically. "Now you write on the paper. Try writing your name a few times".

Yakko watched as his brother angrily scribbled on the paper. He didn't know why Wakko acted up all the time, he had assumed that he probably did it just to get attention. Wakko was such a pain in the butt, he'd cry, whine, and scream pretty much every day now.

When will he just grow up!! Yakko thought.

All he could hope was that Dot didn't grow up to act like her older brother. The last thing he wanted was another Wakko.

After some time passed, Wakko had finished the task. He lifted up the paper, and held it up with his hand. He was grinning, he looked proud of what he had done. Yakko took the paper from his brother, he looked through Wakko's work.

Wakko had written his name all over the white sheet of paper. His handwriting was horrible, Yakko could barely make out what was written on the paper. Although, he knew that his brother had worked hard, and he was happy that Wakko even followed directions. Not to mention that his brother was only a toddler, so Yakko couldn't judge his sibling too harshly.

"Good job,sib!" He said as he handed the paper back to Wakko. "You're getting better. Soon, you might be just as good as me".

Yakko saw his young sibling form a happy little smile, on his small, adorable face.

"You really think so"?

Yakko smiled,"Sure, as long as you practice every single day".

Now that Wakko had finally calmed down, and was feeling happy again, Yakko thought it was time to give his brother a challenge.

"You wanna do something fun"?

Wakko nodded,"Yes, I wanna have fun"!!

"Great, do you wanna know what it is"?

His happy, energetic sibling nodded again, more excitedly this time.

"Yes, Yes, I do, I do!!" Wakko shouted, nodding his head frantically.

"Ok Wakko, I want you to write a sentence"!!

His brother's excitement stopped, his face became neutral. He tilted his head, his tongue sticking out on the side of his mouth. He looked confused.

"Yakko?" Wakko asked him," what is a sentence"?

"Well, sibling of mine," Yakko told his confused little brother," a sentence is a bunch of words combined together. It's how we communicate".

"What kind of words?" His brother asked him.

"It could be anything, sib," he explained. "You could ask me, can I have something to eat, Yakko? And that would be a sentence".

Yakko felt very smart when he explained what a sentence was to his brother. He sort of felt like his Aunt, when she used to teach him things that he didn't know before. He knew that Aunt Arenia would be very proud of him.

"Can I?" Wakko asked all of a sudden.

"Can you what?" Yakko asked his sib.

"Can I have some food"?

Yakko laughed,"No sib, I just made up an example".

His brother frowned after hearing that. Yakko smirked, he didn't expect for Wakko to take his words seriously. He knew that it must have been disappointing for his brother, Wakko had a huge appetite for a kid his age.

"Tell you what," Yakko said to his brother,

"If you write a couple of sentences for me, then I'll give you something to eat. Does that sound good"?

Wakko nodded happily,"Yes, I want food".

"Ok sib, as long as you do as I say".

Yakko sat back in his chair, he smiled to himself. He was proud to have made a fair deal with Wakko, he was surprised that his sib was now doing what he was told. Yakko thought that he had finally done it, he finally got his young, energetic toddler brother to practice his writing, and without much fighting too.

And for a while, everything went easy. Yakko helped his brother come up with sentences to write, and Wakko listened to every word he said. For once, Yakko didn't feel that teaching his sibling wasn't so bad after all. He actually enjoyed helping Wakko write his sentences, he felt very smart while doing so.

"How do you spell my name?" Wakko asked.

"W-A-K-K-O. You got that, Wakko"?

Yakko's brother nodded, and wrote it down on the paper. Yakko was thrilled, the last thing he expected was for Wakko to be so patient with him. His brother's eyes were glued to the paper, as he quickly scribbled on the paper in front of him.

He couldn't believe it, Wakko actually enjoyed doing this. Yakko couldn't be happier. His brother must have finally realized that he had to practice his writing, no matter what he did to prevent him from doing it. And to be fair, Yakko thought the same way. He hated learning just as much when he was Wakko's age. He used to throw fits just like he did. But over time, Yakko realized he had no choice. He had to do it. And now Wakko made that same realization.

Yakko could only hope that his brother would be this easy on him more. It would really help cool down his stress.

About a minute had passed by, and Wakko had finally set his pencil down.

"Done", he said, as he excitedly waved the paper in front of Yakko.

Yakko grabbed the paper from his brother. He can tell from Wakko's crazy handwriting that his brother had no idea what he was doing. All three of the sentences that he had written didn't make much sense.

Wako iz great boy.

Yaco iz good brovr(brother).

Yako iz nis(nice) but bozy.

Despite the spelling errors, and all of the sentences not making much sense, Yakko was incredibly proud of his sibling. Wakko was really improving on his writing skills. Yakko's brother stared up at him, grinning widely. His ears were perked up above his head, and his tail curled.

Yakko leaned toward his brother and hugged him tightly. Wakko fell into his arms, he was still smiling, sticking his tongue out like he always did. He could feel Wakko's warm breath brush across his fur. Yakko loved moments like these, when his brother wasn't acting up, when he wasn't so caught up in looking after his baby siblings. He loved when things were just peaceful, when thoughts of worry disappeared from his mind for a while.

"You're getting good at writing, Wakko," he said to his sib. "You know that"?

His brother smiled and said," I know. You very proud of me".

The moment was suddenly interrupted by the sound of cries coming from the other side of the room. Yakko separated from the hug, he tilted his head towards the sound of the wailing. He sighed to himself, for he knew that his sister had woken up from her morning nap.

Slightly irritated that Dot had interrupted his moment with Wakko, Yakko slid off the chair and rushed towards his sister's crib. He quickly slid the step stool out from under the crib, then stepped onto it. He peered into the crib, where he saw Dot wiggling around, balling out tears.

Why does my sister always have to wake up crying?

Yakko lifted his sister out of her crib and brought her into his arms. He started rubbing Dot's head gently, it was a little trick he came up with to get his sister to stop crying. And it worked every single time, Dot's whimpering stopped almost instantly.

"Shh, it's ok Dot. Your big brother is here".

Yakko continued to brush his hand against Dot's head, up until she finally stopped crying. He could feel his sister breath onto his neck slowly, the warm air brushed around him, making his fur moist. This didn't annoy him too much, but Yakko was looking forward to when he didn't have to cradle his sister in his arms, every single day from morning to night.

He stepped off the stool back onto the floor, still balancing Dot in his arms. Yakko walked with Dot towards the kitchen. It was time to start her morning routine. Doing this was normal to him at this point, he opened the fridge, grabbed his sister's bottle and started feeding her. Pretty soon, Dot would have to start eating normal food. This was around the time when her teeth were going to start growing in.

As Yakko fed his sister her morning bottle, he saw Wakko step into the kitchen. He had folded his hands together, his ears drooped slightly to the side of his head. It looked like he wanted something.

"Let me guess," Yakko said," you want something to eat, don't you"?

Wakko nodded his head.

"In a minute, Wakko. I'm feeding your sister".

His brother frowned, he squinted his eyes. He formed his hands into little fists, and curled his lips. Yakko tried to ignore his brother. He didn't understand why Wakko would always get so upset when he was around their sister.

"I want food!" Wakko demanded.

"In a minute," Yakko repeated to his brother. "Go sit at the table. I'm going to get you something, just be patient".

Wakko pouted at him, before storming out of the room as asked. Yakko shrugged his shoulders, as he continued to feed his sister. He probably should've fed his brother earlier, before Wakko became cranky again. His brother was usually in a bad mood if he had an empty stomach.

Yakko had just finished changing Dot's diaper, and was dressing her in her daytime clothes. Today, his sister was rocking a pink shirt with a happy face on it, and pink shorts to match. He then lifted his sister off the changing table. Dot squealed as she was lifted up in the air, then pulled into Yakko's arms. Yakko kissed his sister on the cheek.

"Aww, you like being in the air?" He asked his sister.

Dot giggled as she reached to grab her brother's nose. She squeezed Yakko's nose tightly, Yakko was surprised by how strong his sister's hands were.

"Hey! Let go of that"!!

Yakko managed to wiggle his nose free from Dot's grabby little hand. His sister was dying of laughter, Yakko smirked, grabbing onto his nose must have been the funniest thing in the world to her.

He moved Dot over to his right hip, in hopes that she wouldn't bother his nose anymore. With his sister resting snuggly on his hip, Yakko carried Dot to the living room. He plopped down onto the couch, letting his sister out of his grasp. Dot crawled over him onto his lap. She stood up, and placed her hands on his chest.

Yakko was weirded out by Dot pressing her hands against him. But at the same time, she looked adorable while doing so. He smiled, he put an arm around his sister, he leaned his head forward, kissing Dot on the forehead.

"You're so sweet, Dottie," Yakko said as he pressed his finger against his sister's nose. Dot laughed, she moved her hands off of his chest and waved them up in the air.

"And you're cute as a button, too," he added.

These words must have triggered Wakko's attention, as he immediately stopped playing with his Hot Wheels cars, and his eyes stared where Yakko was sitting. Yakko groaned, he already knew that his brother was going to act up again.

"I am!!" Wakko whined. "I'm cute as a button"!

Yakko watched as his brother hopped off the floor and ran to him. Wakko jumped up onto the couch, he scooched next to him. He glared at Dot, then glared at him.

"Tell me I'm cute as a button"!!

"Not if you ask for it," Yakko snarled.

"You said it to Dot"!

"Yes, I did. Anything wrong with that"?

Wakko scowled at him, his face was starting to turn red. He scrunched his eyes up, they were tightly shut. Then, it happened. Wakko started screaming, his scream was loud. Very loud. This sound was painful to Yakko, it was the loudest scream he had ever heard. His brother usually screamed in tantrums, but never were his screams this ear-piercing.

Acting fast, Yakko slapped his hand against his brother's face, covering his mouth.

"SHUT UP," Yakko shouted at his brother. "What is wrong with you"!?

Unsurprisingly, Wakko started crying. He was crying hard, he was mumbling something but Yakko couldn't make out what it was.

"You're going to make the neighbors think that something happened to us. They're gonna call the police. All because of YOU'RE tantrum"!

Yakko removed his hand from his brother's mouth, his hand was all wet from Wakko's tears. His brother was whaling, he covered his hands over his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Yakko!" Wakko sobbed. "I no mean to upset you"!

"Why did you even scream?" Yakko asked his brother." Did you think you would get your way if you screamed like that"?

Wakko wiped the tears from his eyes, he was slowly starting to calm down.

"You hate me," he grumbled," You don't love me anymore".

"No, I do love…"

Yakko stopped mid-sentence, he sat there in silence. He couldn't say a word, his eyes had widened, his face was expressionless. He realized something, something horrible. Wakko hated him.

How could he let this happen? How could've he treated his own brother like this? He hadn't been spending time with Wakko anymore, and when he was with his brother, he was most likely scolding him for throwing a tantrum. He was sort of abusing his role as big brother in a way.

He had spent way too much time with his baby sister. All the times he was with Dot, he was always praising her, talking to her, making her happy. While at the same time, he had left poor Wakko to play on his own. He didn't think his brother had a problem with being alone, he'd always loved playing with his toys. How was he supposed to know that Wakko was lonely?

Yakko didn't know how any of this even started. He thought he was being such a good big brother taking on the role as the care-giver to his sibs. It was something that Yakko was proud of. But now, he wasn't proud of anything. He failed, he failed at giving his brother the attention that he deserves. Now Wakko was crying, crying because he thinks that his big brother doesn't love him.

I'm a horrible, horrible brother, Yakko thought sadly. What is wrong with me?

Yakko knew that he HAD to put things right with Wakko.

Trying to hold back guilty tears, Yakko moved close to his brother. He put his arm around Wakko, who looked at him with sad puppy eyes.

"Wakko, I..I am so, so sorry". Yakko felt a tear dripping down his cheek."I don't hate you, I never will".

"But you.."

"No buts. Forget everything that I said. I messed up, I should have never screamed at you".

Wakko wiped the snot from his nose.

"Are you going to stop being bossy?" His brother asked.

"I'll try my best not to, sib. I'll play with you more. All three of us could play with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars all day tomorrow". Yakko smirked," Just hope that Dot won't try to eat any of them".

Before Yakko knew it, his brother had a smile on his face. This made him smile, too, it was contagious. For the first time in a while, playing with toys was at the top of his "to do list" of tomorrow. And he was excited, it had been quite a while since he played with toys.

Suddenly, he felt something on him. He looked down, he almost cried of pure joy. Wakko had put his arms around his waist, hugging it tight. Yakko put his own arms around his brother. The two brothers just sat there on the couch, hugging each other, enjoying every second of it.

"I love you, Yakko".

"I love you too, sib".

"S-s-sib," a quiet voice said.

Yakko's heart skipped a beat. His sister couldn't have. He looked behind him, Dot was sitting there with a cute grin on her face.

"D-Dottie, did you say.."

"Sib," his sister said,"sib, sib".

Yakko gasped, he couldn't believe it. Dot had just said her first word. He grabbed his sister and lifted her into the air.

"You did it, Dottie!!" Yakko exclaimed," you said your first word, you said your first word"!!

Yakko couldn't have been happier. He was starting to fear that Dot might still not be talking by the time she turned one. It's sort of mind blowing how that fear went away in a matter of seconds.

Wakko was just as excited as he was when Dot said her word. He was jumping up and down on the couch in celebration.

"Sissy can talk!!" Wakko shouted," Sissy can talk"!!

Yakko gently set his sister gently down, back onto the couch. He was still overly excited by his sister's surprise. As he calmed himself down, Yakko decided to teach his sister some more words to say.

"Can you say my name, Dottie?" He asked her. "Yakko, Yakko, Yakko".

He repeated his name over and over again, it sounded like he was a broken record. He knew he was being weird, but repeating words surprisingly works, it worked with Wakko.

"Ya-Yakko," Dot said.

"Good job, sis," Yakko said happily. "You're learning fast".

"Yakko sib," Dot then said.

Yakko was having a blast teaching Dot new words. Now he'd have to teach his sister to talk, and teach her to walk at the same time. Though he didn't mind doing this, in fact, he enjoyed it very much. It was clear to Yakko that Dot was growing up fast. His sister was going to turn one year old in about a month from now. Pretty soon, he'll have two energetic toddlers to take care of.

He wasn't too nervous, though. He already had lots of experience with Wakko, so he didn't think Dot would be too hard to manage. And this time, Yakko won't make the same mistake he did with Wakko.

End of Chapter 16