The nameless bitty sat in his rather tight-fitting cell, trying to lay in a way that was at least a bit comfortable. Since he was so big, he couldn't fit in most of the cages that the humans put him in. At least they gave him a squishy mat to lay on and a blanket, as well as a few toys to play with.
There wasn't a lot to do in the cage, but it supposed that there wouldn't be much to do outside of the cage either. Most of the times he would talk to the other bitties who neighbored him, but other times he would stay quiet and still; thinking about how his new owner would be.
Someone would adopt him right? He's not staying here forever, right? He eyed the box that lay beside him; reserved for whoever would take him in. Hopefully they would be nicer than the last ones.
He wishes that they love him lots.
He wishes that they take off the muzzle, which has started to get really sore after rubbing down the bone underneath. But.. Even if they don't want to take it off though, it's okay.
He just wishes to have someone to hug him and say that things will be alright. He hopes that they talk to him and give him the smiles that he's seen others give to his neighbors. He hopes that they don't hit him or yell too much, but even if they do, it's okay. Because maybe it was for a reason. Maybe he's too bitey. Maybe he's scary.
But he'll take anything other than this.
He wishes that they love him. But even if they don't, it's okay.
His fists tangle up with the wrinkled ribbon as he worked his best to make it pretty enough for his new owner. He'll be good. He won't hurt them. He'll try his best not to bite. The crack on his skull aches as he works, and the muzzle gives him a headache, but he'll be fine.
He'll…
He'll be fine..
He starts crying. He tries to hide it but he can't help it. He's constantly scared of what will happen. He doesn't want a bad owner, he doesn't want to get hurt again! He's crying more until one of the reds start complaining.
"Ey bub, quit your crying; I'm try'na sleep over 'ere."
"I-I'm *hic* S-sorry.." He apologizes the best he can.
"Yeah, you better be."
Some of the blues and cherries try to console him, and it works, for the most part.
"It's okay. You're going to be okay, and you'll find a great owner who'll love you. I'm sure of it!"
"Yeah! Just keep moving forward. You'll find an owner in no time!"
"R-Really?"
"Yep! We believe in you, so don't give up!"
The reds only laugh to themselves.
"Heh… Ain't that ironic. Don'tcha know that the other day I overheard something veeery… interesting from the caretaker lady?"
"Red. Stop it this instant!" Yelled a cherry.
"You keep thinking that someday, you'll find a good owner and life will be perfect, huh?"
"Y-Yeah…" He admitted. He gripped the ribbon tighter. It was a going away present from a little girl that had left him the memento, and it was the softest fabric he's ever owned up to now.
"Well that's fucken' hilarious, kid. Nobody likes your kind of species. You just take up space. You see where I'm getting here?"
"…What?"
"Red, shut up!" Yelled a Sans.
"You're not going to get an owner. Every other pure bite disappeared. They didn't get owners, they went into that room over there and never got out. They're gonna kill you and put a likable idiot in your place."
"RED!"
In a matter of seconds, he felt numb.
That.. that wasn't true, right?
He won't die, right?
The other bitties tried to console the pure bite, but the damage had already been done. White noise echoed in his skull and it was like he shut down. He didn't feel sad, mad, or anything. Just blank.
It takes him days to settle in to that thought. Not a lot of people come, but he sees the attendant's face and understands what those looks mean now. He wasn't very smart, or tough or mean, but he knew that look and what the reds said was true.
Did he deserve this? Did he do something wrong? Is that why he was here, with a cold muzzle and a small cage? Maybe that's why he's here. Maybe he did something bad before and that's why he was trapped. Maybe he deserved to die, somehow.
He tries his best to understand why. Why did he end up here? Why didn't anybody want him or other purebites? Why did nobody love him?
He smiles and tries to act like the other bitties. He scowls like the reds. He pretends to be as excitable as a blueberry, or laid back like the sanses, but no matter how many times he does it, it's never good enough for people to adopt him. He ties his present the best he can and waits. Hopes. Prays. Nobody looks at him without wincing or shuddering besides the attendant, who checks off the days on her calendar and looks at him every time she does. He knows how much time he has.
He gives up trying to impress the people that come in. He doesn't eat, he doesn't drink. He doesn't even sleep most of the time. He just sits at the very back of the cage, un-moving. The other bitties start to worry about the usually calm-tempered bitty, but leave him to his own devices. He doesn't bother to look at the people, because he knows they'll never adopt him.
The ribbon isn't tied around the box, strewn along the floor of the cage. He's given up.
Night falls and he sees the calendar behind the attendant's desk. A circled date for when he's going to be taken to the room and never going back out.
He'll be in a cage in that room if nobody gives him a chance, then he'll die.
Maybe… maybe this last time he'll try once more. Just one more time. He moves softly, quietly and blankly, tying the prized ribbon around the little box of candies that he saved for the person who would give him a chance.
Nobody comes in, but he stays hopeful. He tries to smile (blankly) like the other bitties do and he waits, holding the box out and thinking about what he's going to say. "If you adopt me, these are yours!" It becomes later. The ticking of the clock perched on one wall makes everything seem quieter.
The last person to come in before closing time walks in. He stays hopeful. They look at every other bitty but him. He doesn't mind, it's happened before. they almost walk away and he starts shaking. No! He has to stay strong! He… he…
He's going to die soon.
But then they look back at him and he starts crying. The words that he rehearsed come out all jumbled and messy.
"..'f.. If y-you adopt me… T-these 're yours.. please don't leave me h-here..."
Something flashes through their eyes and they walk over to the attendant. They keep talking and the attendant eyes him when she thinks he doesn't know she's looking. They don't want him either.
Even if nobody loved him, it was okay.
But…
He was selfish. He wanted someone that would love and care for him, hug him and pet his skull, take off the muzzle and give him a warm bed where he could stretch fully without sleeping in a cramped enclosure. He wanted someone that would care if he got hurt or if he was sad, or someone that could play with him and cuddle.
Except now that would never happen.
He goes back to the end of the cell, leaving the box to the side as he finally accepts his fate. He hears the familiar sound of a pen on many papers, then he hears the keys jingle; they probably adopted a blueberry. But then..
The attendant opens his door. Wait…
He looks up to see the human smiling up at him and all he feels is HoPe resurging forward. He wants to jump for joy and laugh and hug them and tell them how happy he is but all he does is squeal and stare at them. He takes note of everything they look like, he gets out of his cell and stretches, enjoying the feeling of finally getting out of that constant crouch from being in the cage.
And he's so, so happy.
Even if they don't want to love him, it's okay. Because he won't stop loving them back.
You regret nothing. You watch in amazement as the small, probably 1'3 bitty got out of the cage and just looked at you with the most admiration and wonder in the world. His face was like the expression of someone that gets something so nice that they're rendered speechless. What's that weird thing behind him? Wait… that's….
HE HAS A LITTLE TAIL AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- AND IT'S WAGGING YOU'RE GONNA DIE-
Take that, dignity.
Finally, you broke the silence and crouched down to meet his eye level. What would you even be able to say to someone that you.. bought? You tried not to cringe as to not make the little guy self-conscious, but with that look, you doubted he was even conscious. He would rub his eyes and look up at you again, as if checking if he was dreaming or not. It was adorable.
Should you pick him up or just walk him to the car? How old would he be in bitty years? He's two.. so that means…
He's only eight?!
He had literal stars in his eye sockets, and you could see him smiling through the muzzle. The attendant chuckles and goes back to doing paperwork at the desk. Well, first things first. Introductions. You can do this, Y/N. Don't act weird, don't screw it up, it's just saying a simple 'hi how are you' like a well adjusted adult perfectly capable of adulting that totally knows how to do taxes.
"Uh, hey! My name is Y/N and I'll be taking care of you from now on! Hm? What is it, kid?"
"Here!" He hands you the box with an old, faded ribbon and looks at you expectantly.
"Wow! This is really cool, kid! Did you do this all by yourself?"
He looks a bit bashful and nods proudly. "I love it! Thank you. Let's open it when we get home, okay? Do you have a name, little guy?"
He seemed to snap out of his daze and smiled even more before responding. "No. You can name me whatever you want though! I'm happy with anything!"
Agh god this kid was going to be the death of you. Your heart can't deal with so much wholesomeness! "Oh, okay! Uh.. I'll decide on a name for later. How about we get you some clothes to bring home? I didn't really come fully prepared for a bitty… Sorry about that, hon."
"Really?"
"Sure! Pick out two or three full outfits that can fit you, and whatever else you might need. Take your time, okay?"
"Okay Y/N." He walked along the pet store aisles and grabbed a heart sweater with soft-looking pants, a shirt and some jeans, as well as two pairs of small sneakers. He brought them up to you proudly, and you winced at the sight of the muzzle on him. You wanted to glare at the attendant, but she didn't really have a say in this either. Just you wait, muzzle. You'll throw that out like no tomorrow. And give his clothes a good wash too while you're at it.
You checked the price tags, and blessedly enough they weren't over 100$. You would have to make him some makeshift furniture until your paycheck came in; then you'd buy some extra commodities. "These are really good outfits! You got some good taste in clothes, toots!"
He beamed. His smile suited him so much more. Soon enough you paid for everything and started to walk out the door, but you noticed one tiny, little, insignificant fucking detail.
It was raining like a mofo.
No, seriously. It wasn't raining. It was like what was left of the ocean was pouring into the skies. So, either go out and ruin your hair, clothes, and everything else while also needing to drive after, or stay inside and rot.
Hm… What to choose. Both sound equally appealing, really.
Oh.
Right.
You have another person in your life. You can't just make decisions for yourself anymore, now can you?
Life used "Bitty" on (probably)independent adult!
It was super effective!
You recalled having an umbrella in your trunk, so you could just leave him inside while you fetched the umbrella to avoid him from getting drenched. Seems like that's the plan for now, you supposed. You walked over to the attendant and asked for a larger plastic bag to put your bag in, your giftbox, as well as the bitty's new attire. She obliged and soon enough, you placed everything in the bag and opened the door. The bitty was waving a goodbye to all of his friends, it seemed. Even some reds waved back, to your surprise.
You unlocked the car from your spot under the pet store awning, then held the bag over you for the moment. Just enough space for yourself, but what about the purebite? (Gosh you really needed to name him.)
He looked up at you curiously then smiled like the adorable ray of sunshine he was. You were presented with two options yet again. Either save your keister and your clothes from getting wet while also letting him get soaked in the rain… or leave him inside, get soaked, go to the trunk and grab the umbrella, then pick him up with the umbrella and get inside the car.
That wasn't even a choice, you thought as you closed your car door. He swung his legs as he sat on the car seat, taking in every single detail he could manage. He was really quiet, huh? Well, you didn't mind; maybe it's just a lot to take in. His clothes were blissfully dry, but you on the other hand, were not.
You glanced at your hair in the car window. There goes $80 dollars, Y/N. Your wallet is crying. Thankfully you could run fast enough to the other side of the car before you wet your clothes any more, because you were not about to drive while being drenched.
A small rumble came from the bitty's direction. You could see him smelling the pizza fumes in your car. Hopefully there was some left.
"You must be hungry, little guy. Here ya go. Sorry if it's a bit cold."
You reached over to the backseat and handed him a slice, which in hindsight must have been enormous for him.
"Thank you! I haven't had pizza before." You were about to start driving when you noticed he wasn't eating. Maybe the pizza was too cold then…
"You alright?"
"Yes.. um…"
"OH Shi- Uh.. Shucks, I forgot to take this off! Sorry, I can get pretty forgetful when I'm tired." You reached over to the passenger seat and he flinched just slightly before realizing what you were going to do, then relaxing. You unbuckled the muzzle and gave him a little rub because god that must have been chafing like bloody hell. He started getting really teary.
"Thank you.. I.. I don't know what to s-say, really. Thank you for being so nice."
Really? Getting a slice of cold pizza and taking off a muzzle is nice?
"W-Well get used to it, little fella. I'll be nice to you forever, okay?" Don't cry Don't cry Don't Cry.
His eyes sparkled a bit more and he nodded. "Okay! Also, I really like pizza now." His smile looks so much better without the stupid muzzle.
You can tell that the both of you will get along just fine.
"Just wait until you try it with pineapples…"
He looked outside the window with wonder, often commenting about how pretty everything was.
Ah, your weakness. Silence. With silence come thoughts, and with thoughts come internal debate. But hey, you had fun trolling your inner demons so... Let's do this.
*Irrational anxieties entered the chat.*
Yolo, bitch.
…So. T his actually happened. Did you even think this through?
No.. of course you did. What were you gonna do, let this guy rot in a cage?
Of course not! But still… you aren't even ready to take care of an animal, much less a bitty. You'll screw things up so bad...
You'll try your best.
Your best isn't good enough.
So you're saying that you should just stop trying? Can't do that now, can you? You have a literal kid now.
…
*Anxiety has left the chat.*
Fuck you too.
Eventually you got home. It was a small house, just two bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms, but it was perfect for you, at least. You got out of your car as the rain started holding up and took advantage of the fact that you weren't getting poured on. Quickly but surely, you opened the trunk and got out your umbrella, then opened the other door for your new housemate.
"Here, let me just undo the seatbelt for ya real quick and- AAGH!" The bitty looked startled, then shocked, then panicked. He bit you. You looked at your hand in a bit of shock. It bled a lot, but the adrenaline didn't make you feel it much, thank god. Maybe he just hit a vein; the wound wasn't even that deep. But hey, now you know just how sharp those teeth are.
Maybe you can invite your stepmother and tell her to cuddle him. Heh…``
"I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to hurt you! Honest! Please don't take me back!" He started mumbling about muzzles and getting back to the center and how he didn't want to hurt you and you looked at your wound gingerly as he rambled.
"It's okay hon, I know you didn't mean it." You reached over at the seatbelt, noticing him flinch again, then pet his skull soothingly. "Don't worry, I'm not taking you back there, and I won't put the muzzle back on. Okay?"
He looked at you worriedly, scanning your face as if waiting for it to be a lie. You didn't need to get to your house right away, so you'd take as much time as you need until he calmed down.
"Really? Y-You're not… m-mad?" He took a deep breath of relief and visibly relaxed.
"Really. I won't hurt you, or make you sad just because of a little accident. You wouldn't hurt me on purpose, so I'm not mad. Now lets go inside; I wanna give you a tour of the house so you know where everything is, okay? I also don't want to get caught in the rain again."
"Oh.. okay. And… Y/N?"
"Hm?"
"Thank you for everything. I… I can't say enough how happy I am. Today really feels like I'm still dreaming! Hehe. I'll try my best to be good here."
He looked up at you and you could see pure gratitude shining in his eyes as he gave you a breathtaking, adorable, perfect little smile that only angels from above could grace your unworthy mug with. Then, he did the thing that absolutely murdered your slowly-dying heart. He hugged you. You didn't know what to do at first; Not a lot of people in your life were really… huggy, so you froze, but then you hugged him back. God. You only knew this kid for an hour, but if something happened to him, you would raise hell.
"I love you, Y/N."
…Love? You literally just gave him the shittiest gifts in existence and he loves you. You were never really a person to believe in love. You thought love was giving a check every month so you could have some food money, or being a smiling sap whilst saying things like "I'll die for you" when the first person they'll save is themselves. You thought that it was about acting nice on the first date then being a piece of sh—at marriage, or being there in the dinner table and not saying anything or asking about school. With this in mind, you believed that you could go without it. Without anybody else but yourself.
So why is this kid any different? People have been shitting on him for almost all of his life, but you show him a bit of kindness and he loves you. Funny how that works; makes you feel like a petty excuse of a human. You're here complaining about internet services like fricken Jerry the neighbor, and he's had shit go down and trusts you with his life.
…
But maybe… Maybe you could do a little better. If not for yourself, then for him. You got a light in your life and you don't even know how to manage it. But you'll try. You'll try to be a smiling face for him, and give him the things he's probably never had before.
"…I love you too, kid." You pet his skull gently and he let out a sound akin to a purr, for some odd reason. His tail wagged cutely too.
"Um… Y/N?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't think that human hands are supposed to bleed that much."
"Thaaat explains why I'm getting dizzy. Welp I think we should grab our things and get inside. Whadda'ya say?"
"Yes!"
You grabbed the bags (with your good hand, duh.) and he grabbed the small box he carried around. It was cute to see him pad over to the door with you since he was so short; every step of yours needed like six of his to catch up, but damn did he do a good job of keeping pace. Once you got over to the door, you set the bag on the ground for the moment and got out your keys, then you opened the door with a bit of effort; the doorknob had a little trick to opening it, where you had to wiggle it around for a bit until it finally opened. It wasn't really the best doorknob, but there was no way that you were forking over $6.50 to get a replacement, then paying a handyman to replace it.
Same went for many things in your life. Hence, the cracked bathroom mirror, the rusty skillet you'll never use but have never thrown out (That sometimes appears in your nightmares and makes you even more reluctant to touch it in fear of it possessing you.), the IKEA furniture that you tried to assemble in the most half-assed way possible until it was beyond repair and the screw-holes (god that sounded bad) wouldn't hold anything, the weird-looking stain in the bottom of one of your Dollar-tree mugs that might be stubborn mold or burnt-ceramic. The alarm clock that always shows your time and date exactly 19 hours, 39 minutes and 16 seconds late. The 'wish board' that you have, but have spent so long on trying to figure out what you want that it stayed forgotten in your closet. The dog plush that got a rip in it and still does because you're too lazy to sew it. The broken coffee mug that lost it's handle, but you sanded down to have a completely useless mug without a handle.
The still unpaid bills that you really need to take care of. Maybe you should pay them tonight. You should have stopped to get coffee… Well, you have a Keurig for a reason, so no need to panic. Just get out the useless mug for the occasion and you're set… once you dig the coffee maker out of your closet, that is.
You needed to fix your social life too, but uh.. aha… Yeah, let's not get into that.
"Y/N?"
Oh. Your hand was still on the doorknob. You didn't open the door yet, and you were standing here like an idiot while he was staring at you, probably wondering what the hell was wrong with the reclusive weirdo that is still on coffee-withdrawals and sleep-deprivation. Your insomnia was a wreck. Made you tired all day, all night. When you went to sleep you couldn't find it in you to actually sleep. The medications you got made you really cranky, so you tended to avoid them. Anime and tea tonight? Absolutely.
You could almost feel sorry for him. The only owner he got after so long is a pretty skewed person. You yearn for the day where you can set your priorities and actually go with them, but until then, you're totally spending your free time watching cheesy anime. Hm.. maybe you can watch Mew Mew Kissy Cutie tonight until you get tired to actually sleep and STAY sleeping. The anime is a whole other level of garbage, so it's perfect.
"Oh. Sorry about that, kiddy. I was daydreaming for a moment there."
"…You say sorry too much."
"Huh?" You said as you opened the door, placing your bags at the side as you put your jacket on the coat hanger.
"You say sorry too much, Y/N. You don't need to say sorry when you do nothing wrong."
He makes sense, Y/N. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Said the voice of reason.
"Fine; I'll try to stop saying sorry as often as I do, okay?"
"Okay!"
"Buuut on one condition."
"What?"
"You have to do the same. You haven't done anything wrong, so don't say sorry for no reason either. That will even it out. Deal?"
He looked at you, almost contemplative before smiling again. "Deal!"
"Attaboy! Now, I'll give you the tour. Right where we're standing is the living room. There's a sofa and a few pillows over there, as well as a soft blanket if you wanna get cozy. I know I do. The kitchen can be seen from over here too. I know, open floor plans rock."
"I like your house, Y/N!" He looked over at the living room with a few "Wows", making you feel better about your design choices for the house. Ha! Your self-esteem just went up by .001 percent! Eat that, Papyrus!
You were really jealous of the monster ambassador's confidence, okay?
"Over here is the door, of course. You're a little short to reach it, but I'm sure I can find a stool or something you can stand on if you want to open it."
"Thank you Y/N!"
"Anytime; it's your home after all. Gotta make sure you're comfortable. Follow me, hun."
You walked over to the bathroom and opened the door to give him a little tour of it too. By the looks of it, he would really need a bath; dirt was smudged on his skull, and those clothes of his could really use a wash as well as a bucket load of fabric softener. Hm.. Maybe you could try knitting a sweater or making some PJ's for him, since the clothes he got weren't really for sleeping. How do you even wash bones?
Well, no use trying to think about that now. You opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out the alcohol, cotton swabs and bandages.
"What are you going to do, Y/N?"
"I'm gonna bandage up my hand real quick, then I'll continue the tour, 'kay?"
"Okay. I'm sorry for biting you, Y/N."
"Psh, I've had cats that have bitten me more." And harder. And they keep doing it until you're down, then they go for the throat. And then you have to pull them off but they grab on with their little knife claws and make life hell until you call them master and feed them imported cat treats every day.
"Is that going to hurt you?" He asked in the most "I care about you" fashion.
"Nope." It totally will but because there's another person in this house now you'll just internalize the screaming. You got a cotton ball out, dipped it in the alcohol, then held it up over your hand. Okay Y/N. Put the cotton ball on the wound.
Aaaany moment now. It's not going to hurt, you pansy. Just take the cotton ball coated with the burning lakes of hell that will give you the pain of 20,000 stinging bees and put it on your hand, coward.
After a while of staring down the cotton ball in an attempt to gain dominance, you lost in the battle of wills and closed your eyes tightly before rubbing it on your hand quickly, but not painlessly.
After sharply inhaling while trying not to screech bloody murder, the deed had been done. Before you could blow on your hand to alleviate the stinging, you had to bandage it. Lets see… How did this go again? Put one end on the.. no, that's not right… Oh yeah, it was right. Then just wrap and wrap and wrap and- no that's too much wrapping, what are you, a mummy? Unwrap, keep unwrapping- okay that seems right. Poke your thumb through the bandages and wrap your wrist a bit for support… and there.
You know how to be a mummy for the future. After tying off the bandage you turned to face him.
"Now that I'm done with that, let's head upstairs. Oh.. They're a bit tall for you, huh?"
"Yeah…"
"Don't worry, I got ya covered." You reached over and carefully picked him up as you headed upstairs, then set him down on the carpeting gently. He hugged you as you walked up. You needed to walk, not melt! Maybe you could carry him up for a few days until you get the staircase. He nipped you, making you yelp as you tried to balance yourself.
He started mumbling apologies and you consoled him for a good five minutes until he was calm again. Yep, you should definitely install a mini staircase on the side of it… Utmost priority right there.
"Okay, here's my bedroom. It's nothing really special, but you'll know where I am if you're worried about anything, so that's a plus, right?"
"Mmhmm. I like your bed."
"Why that's a coincidence; I like my bed too."
"Here's the closet; You can find board games, old toys, pillows, blankets, books, well, everything in here. Including my coffee maker.. Let me dig it out real quick." You set him down as you searched diligently for your fountain of energy potion. He walked in curiously and observed the mountain of shelved items that you stuffed in it randomly (mostly when you didn't know where to put things.).
"It's really colorful in here."
"I know, right? Maybe later we can play a board game, if it isn't too late. It probably is though, so we might need to give the board games a rain check until tomorrow."
"What's a board game for?"
"I'll show you when we play it. I think you're a 'game of life' kinda person."
You pulled out the old Keurig, (Which you'd named Edith, by the way.) and beckoned for the bitty to come.
"Check it out kid! Over here is my work area. I got my laptop, monitor, workstation and essentials, but if you want to draw or something, just ask! I got a few crayons and things you could use."
"I like drawing I think."
"I do it often too. It's pretty relaxing."
"Now, over here is the other bedroom. I guess it's yours, but I don't really have many furnishings that are bitty sized yet, so you'll have to stay in my room for now. That ok?"
"Yeah!"
"You're a good sport, kid. Well that makes everything about the house. It might be small, but it's a good size for the two of us, so we're good. The backyard doesn't really have a lot of space, but it also has a hammock, which is a plus. We can't really head over there now; we'd get really muddy. However, be careful. There's a lot of cats out there and I don't think that they're very friendly." You had way too many close calls with the cats around the neighborhood to know that.
"That can't be very good."
"Trust me pal, It isn't. Now, do you wanna take a bath? It's pretty late and I don't think you should be up at this time. I usually find it easier to sleep after a warm bath and soft clothes, but it's your decision, not mine."
"A bath sounds really good. And… Soft clothes sound good too. Thank you."
"Anytime, pal. I'll try and think of a name as well; Can't keep calling you pal or kid for long, right?"
"I'm happy with any name, Y/N."
"Hm.. I could name you Chance or Chomper, maybe Dusk… Or maybe something cute like Teddy. What name do you like best?"
"I don't really know… Nobody really asks what name we want. They usually just pick one for you."
"I don't really agree with that; you're your own person, and you should pick your name. You'll be going by the same name for all your life, (Well, you can change your name if you don't like it much afterwards, just please don't change it too much I have goldfish memory.)"
"That makes sense… Thanks for letting me pick out a name, Y/N."
"Like I said, anytime. So, what's your choice?"
"I like Teddy a lot. It's easy to say and I like the sound of it."
"You're also shaped like a teddybear, so it's even more fitting." He smiled shyly.
"Well then Teddy, let's head over to the bathroom. I'll run a warm bath for you and see if I can get your clothes washed."
"Okay Y/N." You both walked over to the bathroom and you started to run the bath. "Do you prefer warm or cool water?"
"Warm please."
"Gotcha. You're like me in that aspect, ya know. Who doesn't love a nice warm bath, that's what I wanna know." You also put in some bubble bath. Don't ask why you have bubble bath, just don't. the foam is fun to play with, okay?
"Ooh, bubbles! I didn't know you had bubble bath here! I thought that was only for kids."
Teddy used "Common sense"!
It was a critical hit!
"W-Well then, do you need help bathing or no?" If he was an adult you wouldn't help him out, but he's young and might not know how to do so, what with everybody wanting to bathe bitties even when they're adults.
"Yes please." Wait, how do you wash bones again? You recalled it being in one of the care manuals you got from the store, so maybe you would need a refresher on that for now.
"Okay, let me just go get something while you get in the bath, okay?"
"Okay Y/N. Wait.. Y/N?"
"Mm?"
"Can I give you a nickname too?"
"Sure. Shoot."
"Boo. That's your nickname."
"Boo? I thought you were the monster here."
"Nuh uh. Boo." He seemed to be gaining confidence when talking to you, so that was a good sign.
"Boo it is! Good taste in nicknames, Teddy."
"Hehe."
You walked out and left the door slightly open, just so he wouldn't feel anxious about being stuck inside. Then you looked around for the bags and searched them until you found a bitty care manual. Lessee' here.. Lamias, Elementals, Varied monsters whose names you didn't know and didn't care about… Aha! Skeletons. Hm… "To bathe, use a non-abrasive brush with soft bristles and work out any dirt. With joints, try to scrub around and make sure not to get any water or soap in your Bitty's eye sockets or nasal cavity. Always ask for your bitty's consent or approval in any situation, including bathing."
Well, That was thorough. You didn't really feel comfortable with washing the more intimate parts for him, so you'd have to tell him to do those parts himself, even if it was just bones to you. You got out a soft facial-cleansing brush that was way too weak to get gunk out of your face, a microfiber towel, and a sponge. By the time you had gone back to the bathroom, he was playing with the bubbles and looked at you with a silly expression. And a bubble beard. His tail wagged playfully. The entire scene was adorable.
"Pff, you look silly, Tedds."
"I know, it's just really funny to play with." He giggled a bit and you gave in.
"Okay, make me a beard too. I better look handsome or I'll ask for a refund."
"Really? Okay!" You leaned over and he went to work, scooping up some of the blue bubbles and layering it on your face until you had a beard worthy of a lumberjack named Bob who lives in the woods with his wife Marie and has three kids named Bill, Clyde, and Annie.
You looked at your reflection with the mirror on your medicine cabinet and laughed at yourself. God did you look stupid. You missed having someone to laugh with.
Teddy looked proud with his handiwork and you grinned at him. Things wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Hehe. Now check this out Teddy; I'll show you how to make a bubble with just your hand and some soap…"
After a while, you finally gave Teddy a well-deserved bath. He looked shiny and well, smelled 'shiny' too. You dried him off with a spare towel you had and brought him his new clothes, which arguably seemed better to use as PJ's than doll clothes. You know it's true. You were really, really tired. You probably wouldn't sleep well tonight. But.. In just a few hours of you knowing this kid, you already feel like your life has changed for good. How does that work?
"C'mon Teddy. Let's go to sleep. It's already 1 AM and I don't want you ruining your sleep schedule."
"Okay..." It was more of a sleepy murmur than anything. You picked him up gently and he hugged you sleepily, while blessedly not nipping you more than a soft nom here and there. You went up the stairs and tucked him in your bed; only to find that he was already fast asleep.
"Goodnight, Teddy."
You closed the door slightly so that the light from the hallway wouldn't disturb him.
"…Night.. mama.."
You walked back into the living room and started to work. Papers, bills, credit card bills, et-fucking-cetera. You could safely say that bills of any kind gave you hives. After paying what you could, you went on Amazon.
Time to get Bitty furniture.