AN. And here is chapter two! I have caught the writing bug again and gosh it is driving me mental. It's great! I've got ideas flooding into my brain almost faster than I can write them down! This story is one that I started way back when I was still writing (back before the Catastrophic Computer Failure of 2011), where Chiaotzu is the big brother for a little while. So here we are, the next morning:

Chapter Two

Chiaotzu woke slowly from an uneasy sleep, his thin eyebrows drawn together in a frown. At first the deep sense of anxiety roiling in his gut didn't make any sense, but then he heard a soft whimper from beside him that brought him all the way into consciousness. He sat upright in the bed, looking to the side at the small baby lying flat beside him. Tien's eyes were open, the three of them fixed on Chiaotzu, his hands covering his mouth. Oh Kami, he had been half convinced the boy was a dream.

He got out of bed and picked the boy up, realising the sheet around him was wet. Tien squirmed in discomfort but settled with a soft murmur from Chiaotzu. The telepath removed the wet cloth, holding the naked baby in his arms.

Tien squirmed and twisted his body, his short fingers grasping the soft cotton of Chiaotzu's pyjamas.

"It's okay, Tien, I'll get you some clothes."

Chiaotzu looked around the small room. It was one of three private bedrooms in the dojo, the other two belonging to Shen and Tao Pai Pai (on the rare occasion he stayed), and was also the smallest. There was only enough space for the bed and the door to open, zero appreciable floor space. The window looked out into the valley, the glade at the base of two sloping rises. As there was no space for a wardrobe he kept all of his belongings in a metal footlocker he kept stowed under the bed. If he pulled it out then the door would only swing open to half-mast.

He laid the baby on the bed again, draping the dry blanket over him, then crouched and pulled the locker out, lifting the lid and rifling through the items inside.

It contained mostly clothes, undershirts and pants mostly with a collection of coiled belts. He had one surcoat with the Crane symbol on it that was hung up on the back of the door. He was only allowed one and had to protect it; if anything happened to it he would be punished. The other items in the locker were of a deeply personal nature that he shared with no one. There was a small, smooth rock with a thin crack, a coin marred with a hole slightly off centre, a fragile sun-faded seashell. These items held a lot of personal meaning to him, each tightly connected to a memory. If he held one in his hands, rubbing his fingers over the details, he would be transported to another place, another time, another him.

He pulled out one of his shirts. Though he was only small the shirt would dwarf the baby who lay on the bed. He sighed, counted the shirts (only six) and looked down at the baby.

"You owe me for this, Tien," he said, and ripped the shirt in half.

Tien blinked at him in surprise at the loud tearing noise. Chiaotzu held the tattered halves in his hands for a moment then folded the smaller piece into a triangle. He tied it around the baby's bottom as a nappy, hoping it would suffice in case of another accident. The larger half he placed on the bed, then put the baby on it and wrapped him up.

Tien babbled and cooed up at Chiaotzu, his face lighting up with joy. Chiaotzu smiled and picked up the baby, holding him to his chest.

"That better, Tien?"

The baby cooed again, a wide smile appearing on his small face. Chiaotzu lifted one hand, shifting Tien's weight so it rested in one arm. He gently brushed away the thick black fringe to fully reveal the third eye set in his forehead.

"This hair is gonna be a problem, huh?" He twisted a few strands between his fingers, frowning. "We may need to cut it."

He would in fact have to shave it off at one point or another. Shen demanded it of his pupils, claimed it had something to do with aerodynamics. Chiaotzu thought it was to do with the elderly man's bald spot, of not wanting any of his students to show him up with a full head of hair. Chiaotzu was allowed to not shave his head because the one hair he could grow there barely warranted the effort.

Tien giggled and smiled widely again. His arms squirmed free from the tight swaddle and reached up towards the pale, red cheeked face above him. Chiaotzu realised he had been frowning and his expression softened into an expression that was just a shade shy of a smile.

"We'll work on your emotions when you get a bit older," he said softly. "It takes a long time to learn how to keep them down. Enjoy them while you can, Tien. It's hard to feel them freely once you learn to suppress them."

He was acutely aware of how much emotion he was showing on his face during the interactions with the baby. It felt so foreign; he was so used to suppressing his emotions to nothing. His childlike face was usually kept completely blank, something which unnerved his opponents to no end. He couldn't keep that expression with Tien though. For some reason the baby broke through his defences and left his emotions bared, open and visible and raw.

He felt a spark of warmth as he looked down at the tiny baby, the smiling face, the bright light in those three dark eyes. It was the first glow of affection he had felt in a long, long time. He hugged Tien closer and hesitatingly pressed his lips to the heavy mop of black hair.

"I'm going to take care of you," he whispered, not moving away. "I'm going to protect you as best I can."

He closed his eyes as he held Tien close to him, hearing the baby's giggles, his lips curled in a soft smile that was barely visible.

AN. And there we go. I'm trying to write at least 1000 words a day, which equates to about a chapter of this story. I've got a plan for how it's going to play out, let's see how far we get :) I also have a heap of other ideas too, so my 1000 words may be dedicated to another story, we shall see :) Please leave a review, it's really appreciated!