Tired, I be, but I write this because I have the will to! … But just barely, because I be tired.

sssssssssssss

Eleven woke with a whine and a small sob. He didn't open his eyes immediately, almost too afraid of what he would see, but his antennae did perk and he heard the faint 'pop' of a toaster. The smeet's little blue orbs opened, irritated by a bright light coming from the kitchen, and he smelled toast, realizing how hungry he was when he felt his spooch growl softly.

Reep was too busy to notice Eleven wake, setting two new pieces of toast in a pile on a plate.

The smeet struggled and pulled against the comforter he had been wrapped in, growling to himself and mumbling as he tried to escape. He finally freed a tiny hand and moved to get the rest of himself out of his little cocoon. Once his little form was able to remove the rest of the comforter, one of Eleven's little hands took hold of it, pulling it down as he slid off the bed.

The little Irk's feet touched the floor and he crouched low, holding the blanket close before shoving it under the bed as he had done the night before. Eleven then got on his knees and crawled to the kitchen, trying to stay alert even though he had just woken up. The smeet watched carefully as Reep crossed the kitchen, crouching close to the floor to seem invisible, then scurried over to the counter, when the monster had its back turned.

Eleven stood and reached up, taking a piece of toast and quickly eating it before Reep could see him. The purple-eyed Irk set another pair of toast on the pile, looking at it strangely when it seemed a little shorter, then shrugged it off, going back to making breakfast. The smeet came out from his hiding place and took another slice, eating it in his hiding place behind the island in the kitchen.

After a moment, Eleven nodded in satisfaction and peered around the corner of the island, seeing where Reep was at the moment. After the Irk set another pair of toast on the tower of over baked bread slices, the smeet quickly ran up to the plate and took it back to his lair under the bed.

Reep yawned and went to take a piece of toast for himself but found the pile he had been working on had disappeared. The monster blinked and scratched his head, looking around for what he had been working on for the last fifteen minutes.

The sound of soft crunching reached his antennae and Reep turned to look at the bed from where he stood. A soft coo followed another crunch and the monster sneered, stalking over to the smeet's base.

Eleven had already finished three pieces of toast under the bed and was working on his fourth, not noticing Reep scoot up behind him. The monster smirked to himself and snuck a piece of toast from the smeet's acquired tower, waiting until the smeet had finished to take a large, loud bite from the piece he had taken.

The smeet spun around, eyes wide with fright, and he whimpered.

Reep chuckled, swallowing, "Good morning, smee-"

Eleven shrieked and scratched the monster across the cheek, screaming, "Get out! Get away from me! Gimme back my toast!" the smeet scratched him again and took back the toast Reep had taken.

The monster yelped and roared, backing away from the smeet, then snarled and grabbed Eleven by the back of his shirt, taking him out with him. The smeet screamed again and tried to scramble away from Reep, but was unable to latch onto anything and was pulled out kicking and squealing in fear.

The monster sneered, the scratches on his face healing and tried to coddle Eleven, hushing him in an annoyed tone, "Hush now, smeet. You're in my care now," his voice grew angrier and deeper when the little Irk squeaked in terror and tried to wiggle away, "You will calm yourself and you will behave. Do you understand?"

The smeet whimpered and curled into a ball to protect himself.

Reep shook Eleven lightly and the little Irk whimpered again, shaken out of his protective ball. The monster smiled at his work and held the smeet close, carrying him into the kitchen.

"Are you going to behave now, smeet?" Reep asked as he neared the dreaded highchair.

Eleven suddenly growled and struggled against his captor, "No! No, I don' wanna go in dah highchair again!" the smeet let out a high-pitched scream for good measure.

The monster hissed then smiled as though hiding a secret, "All right, all right… calm down, I won't put you back in the chair if you do something for me."

Eleven tensed up. On one hand, he'd be doing something for Reep but on the other, he'd be free of that awful chair.

The smeet hummed softly and the monster made his proposition, "If I let you destroy the highchair so you never have to sit in it again, you have to promise to be a very good little smeet and do whatever I tell you to do. What do you say?"

Eleven thought about it for a minute, scared to what either decision meant for him, so he crossed his arms and hid one of his little hands from the monster so he wouldn't see his little fingers cross; the smeet crossed his toes for good measure, "Well… um…" he paused and Reep gently rubbed his back to calm him down, "o'tay, I'll do it, but that doesn' mean that I'll do it with happies on m' face…"

The monster smiled and sat the smeet up on the island counter so he could overlook the kitchen, "Are you still hungry or did you fill up on toast?"

Eleven watched Reep carefully, "'m full an' I'll eat later…"

"Are you sure?" the older Irk mused, "I can make you something. I'm not Foodcourtia worthy, but I'm still capable of using a microwave or using the stove."

The smeet shook his head, "No, I don' wanna eat anymore an' 'm thirsty."

Eleven hopped down from the counter and over to the fridge before Reep could stop him, opening the refrigerator and taking out a carton of juice as big as he was. The smeet dragged the carton out of the kitchen and back under the bed all while be watched curiously by the monster.

Reep smirked and followed after Eleven sitting on the bed as he heard the smeet coo happily now that he had toast and juice under the bed, "Smeet?" he called, "What are you doing?"

"I has juice!" came the response, "I has juuuuuuice!"

The monster nodded, more to himself, "Yes, you do. But do you have a cup?"

There was a pause, then, "I don' need one. I has juice."

Reep chuckled at the smeet's limited response. He didn't really care about the juice but the excitement Eleven was experiencing having the juice. It was rather adorable.

"And," the monster continued, "how are you going to drink your juice?"

There was another long pause, then a soft scuffling sound. The smeet darted from under the bed and back to the kitchen. Reep watched as the smeet climbed up onto the counter and searched the cupboards. When Eleven found a straw, he jumped down from the counter top with a 'pat' and dove back under the bed, squealing excitedly as he used the straw to drink from the carton of juice.

The monster 'hmm'ed as he watched, intrigued by the smeet's strange behavior. It was making him feel excited about the juice too.

Reep paused, thinking hard. Why would HE be excited about juice? The fact that he was made him angry. Now he wanted nothing more than to make Eleven sad to balance his issues.

The monster growled, "Smeet, come out from under the bed now."

There was a pause, "… But I has juice."

Reep hissed, getting down on the floor to peek under the bed, "I don't care. Come out or I'll make you."

Eleven huffed and sighed, "… Mmmm… no."

The monster snarled and threw a hand under the bed, trying to grab at anything alive and smeet-like, "I'll give you until the count of ONE, smeet!"

The smeet squealed and swatted the claw coming after him away, "No! Go 'way! I has JUUUUUUUICE!"

Reep suddenly lifted the bed up and tossed it away, crashing it into the couch on the other side of the room. Eleven looked up, clutching the juice carton tightly. Reep looked nothing as he had before. His anger was a boiling pit of something evil as he glared down at the smeet, his purple eyes near black with hate.

Eleven couldn't move as he stared at those angry eyes. He'd never seen someone so angry before.

The older Irk snatched up the smeet, who squealed and dropped his juice, then held him by the back of the collar. Eleven screamed and tried to scratch at his captor, fear surrounding his very being.

Reep sneered and brought the smeet closer, but as he did so, he felt the anger start to subside. It was the strangest, most relaxing feeling he'd had in a long while. The monster looked confused, his hand lowering the smeet a little, and the anger started up again. This time, Reep was sure he was going to choke the life out of the little demon trying to claw his way out of his grasp but as the smeet got closer, the anger left him again.

The monster growled and made his way over to the couch, stepping over the fallen bed to sit down. He set the smeet in his lap and simply held him there like a cat. The anger inside him quelled and calmed, completely gone. Eleven whimpered, crying quietly, but Reep just stroked his head and neck, ignoring the smeet's whine to get away.

Something inside the monster began to purr in content at how close the smeet was. It was soothing and peaceful. What scared Reep was he didn't know whether this was a normal reaction to the smeet's power or if this was his own feelings. It didn't feel like it was his own feelings, but something inside him was very pleased to have the little Irken's presence so close.

After a few moments, Reep's hand laxed and Eleven stiffened a little. When he realized the monster wasn't moving, the smeet scurried from his lap and ran to the kitchen, diving into a cupboard to cry. Reep didn't move. He stayed as still as he could, feeling whatever was inside him grow angry again, but he beat it back down and huffed, finally standing to stretch.

The monster observed the mess he had made and shrugged, immune to the view of the carnage.

He called out for Eleven instead, "Smeet? … Smeet, come here now."

The little Irk whimpered and sobbed, "No! Stay 'way!"

Reep pushed no further. He simply sat back down on the couch, gently kicking at the mangled bed and leaned back. The feeling inside him suddenly grew mournful instead of angry, a switch from being so far away from the smeet. The monster growled softly and patted at his chest roughly, the feeling inside him growing quieter and quieter until it decided to stay silent. Then Reep perked and kept his antennae held high so he could listen to the smeet cry silently.

sssssssssssss

Crazy Reep go crazy. Or…