Mommy Issues
by Mel
A short one-shot about two of my fav characters and the things that make me cry big fat crocodile tears about them, figuring out that they're not all that different from each other. No pairings, cause, you know, not every fanfic has to be about falling in love and having hot passionate smutty sex with several partners. v_v;;;;
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I was downstairs in the kitchen, drinking myself a midnight snack from the carton when I heard him start to cry. I'd heard him cry several times before, mostly big fake shoujo tears meant to gather sympathy and look cute, which worked extremely well for him. Usually his insessant crying would annoying the crap out of me - and while this wasn't an exception, it wasn't the same color of annoyance I usually felt. He wasn't crying because of a few mean words or a not-quite-meant-to violent guesture. He was crying because he didn't know I could hear him, and today was his least favorite of all days.
Hatori had dropped him off this morning, understanding that the little boy would need some comfort, and would want it from the ever-optimistic Onigiri. And Tohru never failed to provide. The two had spent the day baking god knows what kind of sugary treats in the kitchen; I, personally, couldn't keep far enough away from the little goodies. Just thinking about that much sugar made my teeth hurt. But the candies were a kind of comfort food to the dumb rabbit, so at least he was happy. They'd played all sorts of weird games in the yard the rest of the day, giggling like 5 year olds and seeming not much older from where I could see them on the roof.
I was glad the little runt wasn't bawling all day like last year. I dunno why, but he was really bad off then. No one tells me anything, though, so even if someone knew, I wouldn't have found out. But now, in the middle of the night, here he was again, crying by himself. I hesitated for a few minutes, just listening to him sniffle and let out the occaisional chocked sob before I decided to take action.
"Oy, Momiji."
His crying came to an almost immediate hault, but I could still hear his sniffling, which soon muffled themselves against a pillow or under his blanket I guessed. I walked to were he was sleeping in the sitting room and nudged his blanket covered shoulder. He should have been sleeping in Yuki's room, but the damn rat didn't have any room around his school stuff, and neither of us thought it would be that great of an idea to let him snuggle up in Tohru's bed with her. And I let no one in my room to sleep after what that freak Ayame did last time he stayed. NO ONE. So instead of a fuss, Momiji had insisted on sleeping in the sitting room, which was fine enough with everyone at the time. Now I wasn't so sure.
"What're you crying for? Don't you know that boys don't cry?"
"Go away!"
That was unexpected. Momiji almost never talked back to people, esspecially family, esspecially to those he knew closely. And he'd never shouted at us, as far as I'd ever heard of or seen from him. I glared down at him and kneeled, pulling the blanket down from his face, which he quickly turned to face away from me. He didn't look angry, even after shouting at me like he'd just done. He was just really upset-looking, which only furthered to annoy me. But like before, not my usual brand of annoyance the bunny brought forth. This was more the type of annoyance that came from things that Tohru would do. Stupid, silly things, like apologize for things she didn't do or throw herself into depression for the littlest things that didn't really matter.
"Oy! You shouldn't say stuff that you don't mean!"
The irony of what had just come out of my mouth was not totally lost on me, although I will admit that it took me a few minutes to realize it. I'm not as stupid as that damn rat would have you believe, but my mouth would really sometimes seem to betray such notions. Anyway.
"I mean, you can't just tell me to go away and then lay there and cry all night! That's stupid. So either stop cryin', or say somethin'."
He laid there for a little while, I guess thinking of something else to say. He was still sniffling, but he had actually stopped crying when he began to peice together his next words.
"Kyo... do you hate your mother?"
Kay, that derailed my thought train for a moment.
"She's got nothin'-" Hm. "I... uh..." Do I? "Sorta, I don't know, don't change the subject!" I shot back at him, not ready for this kind of conversation.
"Cause I think that I hate mine," he said finally, then stopped and looked up at me when I didn't immediately respond. How could I? "I know that I shouldn't, cause she's my mom and its horrible to feel that way about your own mother... but sometimes I think that I do, and it hurts. A lot." He paused then and looked away from me, down at his hands that were now fidgetting with his blanket. "Does that make me a horrible person, Kyo?"
"No! Your mom is a selfish bitch, and she shouldn't get to forget everything just cause you were born a certain way and she didn't like it!"
His eyes clenched shut as if he were in pain, and a few more tears slipped past his eyelashes. That didn't stop me, though.
"She's not worth loving anyway if something so small could make her feel stupid things for her own son! You're suppose to love your kids no matter what, right? That's what you're suppose to do, right? No matter if they're blind or deaf or can't walk or turn into a goddamn animal when you hug them! They're your kid and you're suppose to love them!" By then, I wasn't just trying to talk sense into the upset little kid in front of me. As personal things that had needed a vent for years started to flood into my head, a tiny voice told me that this kid in front of me was experiencing much the same emotions that ran right through me.
As I listened to that voice, I stared deeply into the messy blonde hair below me. How the hell did this kid act like he does when he felt so much of the same things that I did? Didn't it eat at him? Maybe it was easier for him because his dad hadn't also completely rejected him. That had to be it.
"But-"
"No buts!"
"... Why, then? Why doesn't she love me? Why didn't your mommy love you?"
"I already told you. Your mom is a selfish bitch."
"What about-"
"Cause I'm a monster, now shut up about it already!"
Not that I wanted to make the brat cry some more, but if he kept on like this, I might have to beat the crap out of him and leave him alone to bleed to death. He was now bordering on the level of annoyance I most associated with Haru, or even Yuki, and I doubted highly that Momiji could take a punch as easily as either of them could.
"I don't think you're a monster, Kyo."
"You've never seen it-"
"I don't have to!" This was the second time he'd yelled at me. I hoped he wasn't going to start making a habit of it. It didn't seem right for him to be speaking in tones that - well, in tones that I used. "I don't have to," he repeated to me in his normal voice. "It doesn't make you a monster, no matter what it looks like."
The brat had rendered me speechless, but not for very long. Just long enough to feel my heart lurch into my throat and my head buzz loudly for a few seconds.
"I dunno what things she said about you, but they aren't true either."
I was too preoccupied with staring at the ground and not comprehending even my own voice to notice him throw his blankets off and jump at me, not until he landed in my lap with his arms around my neck and a new set of tears that I felt against my shoulder.
"Thank you," he cried. I didn't know exactly what to do, so I had to have sat there doing nothing for much longer than necessary, but eventually I brought one arm up and rubbed his back gently, hoping it was enough comfort for now. I wasn't exactly used to being on this end of these sorts of things. Not that I was used to being on the other end of them, mind, but there wasn't exactly a line out the door of people seeking me out for emotional comfort. No, just this little bunny boy, and on occaision, Tohru.
"Oy... next time you're gonna cry, you should... tell someone about whatever it is that's bugging you. Even if its stupid, and even if they don't listen, you should try. Now get your bed and c'mon."
"Huh?"
"I said come on! Just cause you stopped crying doesn't mean you have to sleep out here by yourself!"
His face brightened up to its usual gleeful expression and he tried to hug me tighter, but I pushed him onto his butt and stood up. This did nothing to bring down his mood, though, which I somehow knew it wouldn't. He was about as easy to please as Tohru, and small rough guestures weren't enough to bring him down. He quickly grabbed up his blanket and futon and I grabbed his pillow, seeing as how he was already swimming in his mess of bedstuff.
"Kyo... thanks for talking with me. I meant all the stuff I said. And... I want you to know, that I like you best of all the Jyuunishi. I feel like you're my brother, like when you tease me and stuff. And it feels better to feel like I have a brother..."
I looked over at him from the corner of my eyes, not answering for a minute. I hadn't thought of anything like that before. Of course, I'd never put much thought at all as to how I felt about Momiji, but as he said all that, it seemed logical in my head. I'd never had anything close to resembling a sibling, so I didn't really know if how we acted was brotherly, or what. But it made sense, in a twisted sort of way. I didn't really pick on any of the others the same way I picked on Momiji. Of course, none of the other kids acted like the little brat did.
As the notion rolled itself around in my head, I found it not to be an unpleasant one.
"Heh," I huffed, acknowledging it. "It does feel a little better."
Momiji smiled up at me tenfold. "Ohh, ohh, can I call you Kyo-niisan now?!" And back we were at square one.
"No!" I barked down at him, but he didn't seem to register that I'd said anything at all.
"Kyo-nii! Kyo-nii! Can we have ice cream tomorrow?"
"Oy! I'm not buying you ice cream and stop calling me that!" I threw down his pillow and gave him my trademark double-fisted noogie, making him cry and call me mean like always. This time, though, when I stepped away to retrieve his pillow and finish the trek to my room, he giggled and smiled up at me, never happier for some strange reason.
"Thanks, Kyo-nii."
God this brat was getting weirder by the day.
"Sure, whatever," I muttered to him, but turned away to hide a little smile of my own.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The End.
by Mel
A short one-shot about two of my fav characters and the things that make me cry big fat crocodile tears about them, figuring out that they're not all that different from each other. No pairings, cause, you know, not every fanfic has to be about falling in love and having hot passionate smutty sex with several partners. v_v;;;;
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I was downstairs in the kitchen, drinking myself a midnight snack from the carton when I heard him start to cry. I'd heard him cry several times before, mostly big fake shoujo tears meant to gather sympathy and look cute, which worked extremely well for him. Usually his insessant crying would annoying the crap out of me - and while this wasn't an exception, it wasn't the same color of annoyance I usually felt. He wasn't crying because of a few mean words or a not-quite-meant-to violent guesture. He was crying because he didn't know I could hear him, and today was his least favorite of all days.
Hatori had dropped him off this morning, understanding that the little boy would need some comfort, and would want it from the ever-optimistic Onigiri. And Tohru never failed to provide. The two had spent the day baking god knows what kind of sugary treats in the kitchen; I, personally, couldn't keep far enough away from the little goodies. Just thinking about that much sugar made my teeth hurt. But the candies were a kind of comfort food to the dumb rabbit, so at least he was happy. They'd played all sorts of weird games in the yard the rest of the day, giggling like 5 year olds and seeming not much older from where I could see them on the roof.
I was glad the little runt wasn't bawling all day like last year. I dunno why, but he was really bad off then. No one tells me anything, though, so even if someone knew, I wouldn't have found out. But now, in the middle of the night, here he was again, crying by himself. I hesitated for a few minutes, just listening to him sniffle and let out the occaisional chocked sob before I decided to take action.
"Oy, Momiji."
His crying came to an almost immediate hault, but I could still hear his sniffling, which soon muffled themselves against a pillow or under his blanket I guessed. I walked to were he was sleeping in the sitting room and nudged his blanket covered shoulder. He should have been sleeping in Yuki's room, but the damn rat didn't have any room around his school stuff, and neither of us thought it would be that great of an idea to let him snuggle up in Tohru's bed with her. And I let no one in my room to sleep after what that freak Ayame did last time he stayed. NO ONE. So instead of a fuss, Momiji had insisted on sleeping in the sitting room, which was fine enough with everyone at the time. Now I wasn't so sure.
"What're you crying for? Don't you know that boys don't cry?"
"Go away!"
That was unexpected. Momiji almost never talked back to people, esspecially family, esspecially to those he knew closely. And he'd never shouted at us, as far as I'd ever heard of or seen from him. I glared down at him and kneeled, pulling the blanket down from his face, which he quickly turned to face away from me. He didn't look angry, even after shouting at me like he'd just done. He was just really upset-looking, which only furthered to annoy me. But like before, not my usual brand of annoyance the bunny brought forth. This was more the type of annoyance that came from things that Tohru would do. Stupid, silly things, like apologize for things she didn't do or throw herself into depression for the littlest things that didn't really matter.
"Oy! You shouldn't say stuff that you don't mean!"
The irony of what had just come out of my mouth was not totally lost on me, although I will admit that it took me a few minutes to realize it. I'm not as stupid as that damn rat would have you believe, but my mouth would really sometimes seem to betray such notions. Anyway.
"I mean, you can't just tell me to go away and then lay there and cry all night! That's stupid. So either stop cryin', or say somethin'."
He laid there for a little while, I guess thinking of something else to say. He was still sniffling, but he had actually stopped crying when he began to peice together his next words.
"Kyo... do you hate your mother?"
Kay, that derailed my thought train for a moment.
"She's got nothin'-" Hm. "I... uh..." Do I? "Sorta, I don't know, don't change the subject!" I shot back at him, not ready for this kind of conversation.
"Cause I think that I hate mine," he said finally, then stopped and looked up at me when I didn't immediately respond. How could I? "I know that I shouldn't, cause she's my mom and its horrible to feel that way about your own mother... but sometimes I think that I do, and it hurts. A lot." He paused then and looked away from me, down at his hands that were now fidgetting with his blanket. "Does that make me a horrible person, Kyo?"
"No! Your mom is a selfish bitch, and she shouldn't get to forget everything just cause you were born a certain way and she didn't like it!"
His eyes clenched shut as if he were in pain, and a few more tears slipped past his eyelashes. That didn't stop me, though.
"She's not worth loving anyway if something so small could make her feel stupid things for her own son! You're suppose to love your kids no matter what, right? That's what you're suppose to do, right? No matter if they're blind or deaf or can't walk or turn into a goddamn animal when you hug them! They're your kid and you're suppose to love them!" By then, I wasn't just trying to talk sense into the upset little kid in front of me. As personal things that had needed a vent for years started to flood into my head, a tiny voice told me that this kid in front of me was experiencing much the same emotions that ran right through me.
As I listened to that voice, I stared deeply into the messy blonde hair below me. How the hell did this kid act like he does when he felt so much of the same things that I did? Didn't it eat at him? Maybe it was easier for him because his dad hadn't also completely rejected him. That had to be it.
"But-"
"No buts!"
"... Why, then? Why doesn't she love me? Why didn't your mommy love you?"
"I already told you. Your mom is a selfish bitch."
"What about-"
"Cause I'm a monster, now shut up about it already!"
Not that I wanted to make the brat cry some more, but if he kept on like this, I might have to beat the crap out of him and leave him alone to bleed to death. He was now bordering on the level of annoyance I most associated with Haru, or even Yuki, and I doubted highly that Momiji could take a punch as easily as either of them could.
"I don't think you're a monster, Kyo."
"You've never seen it-"
"I don't have to!" This was the second time he'd yelled at me. I hoped he wasn't going to start making a habit of it. It didn't seem right for him to be speaking in tones that - well, in tones that I used. "I don't have to," he repeated to me in his normal voice. "It doesn't make you a monster, no matter what it looks like."
The brat had rendered me speechless, but not for very long. Just long enough to feel my heart lurch into my throat and my head buzz loudly for a few seconds.
"I dunno what things she said about you, but they aren't true either."
I was too preoccupied with staring at the ground and not comprehending even my own voice to notice him throw his blankets off and jump at me, not until he landed in my lap with his arms around my neck and a new set of tears that I felt against my shoulder.
"Thank you," he cried. I didn't know exactly what to do, so I had to have sat there doing nothing for much longer than necessary, but eventually I brought one arm up and rubbed his back gently, hoping it was enough comfort for now. I wasn't exactly used to being on this end of these sorts of things. Not that I was used to being on the other end of them, mind, but there wasn't exactly a line out the door of people seeking me out for emotional comfort. No, just this little bunny boy, and on occaision, Tohru.
"Oy... next time you're gonna cry, you should... tell someone about whatever it is that's bugging you. Even if its stupid, and even if they don't listen, you should try. Now get your bed and c'mon."
"Huh?"
"I said come on! Just cause you stopped crying doesn't mean you have to sleep out here by yourself!"
His face brightened up to its usual gleeful expression and he tried to hug me tighter, but I pushed him onto his butt and stood up. This did nothing to bring down his mood, though, which I somehow knew it wouldn't. He was about as easy to please as Tohru, and small rough guestures weren't enough to bring him down. He quickly grabbed up his blanket and futon and I grabbed his pillow, seeing as how he was already swimming in his mess of bedstuff.
"Kyo... thanks for talking with me. I meant all the stuff I said. And... I want you to know, that I like you best of all the Jyuunishi. I feel like you're my brother, like when you tease me and stuff. And it feels better to feel like I have a brother..."
I looked over at him from the corner of my eyes, not answering for a minute. I hadn't thought of anything like that before. Of course, I'd never put much thought at all as to how I felt about Momiji, but as he said all that, it seemed logical in my head. I'd never had anything close to resembling a sibling, so I didn't really know if how we acted was brotherly, or what. But it made sense, in a twisted sort of way. I didn't really pick on any of the others the same way I picked on Momiji. Of course, none of the other kids acted like the little brat did.
As the notion rolled itself around in my head, I found it not to be an unpleasant one.
"Heh," I huffed, acknowledging it. "It does feel a little better."
Momiji smiled up at me tenfold. "Ohh, ohh, can I call you Kyo-niisan now?!" And back we were at square one.
"No!" I barked down at him, but he didn't seem to register that I'd said anything at all.
"Kyo-nii! Kyo-nii! Can we have ice cream tomorrow?"
"Oy! I'm not buying you ice cream and stop calling me that!" I threw down his pillow and gave him my trademark double-fisted noogie, making him cry and call me mean like always. This time, though, when I stepped away to retrieve his pillow and finish the trek to my room, he giggled and smiled up at me, never happier for some strange reason.
"Thanks, Kyo-nii."
God this brat was getting weirder by the day.
"Sure, whatever," I muttered to him, but turned away to hide a little smile of my own.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The End.