It was just peeking into the beginning of November and both the older Watson boys found themselves seated in the living room, one parent each at their back. Wilbur was situated sourly on a kitchen chair with a towel wrapped around his shoulders and facing the tv while Techno was more happily tucked on the couch with a light blanket over his lap.

Hair cut day.

For Wilbur at least.

Techno, however, was contentedly pleased that he only had needed a slight trim for the 'split ends' or whatever. It had been fast and the scissors never got anywhere near his ears so he supposed he didn't mind it. His hair was just shy of brushing over his shoulders now and his formerly fluffy curls were weighed down into smooth waves when brushed correctly.

A task his mother was more than happy to take on.

Speaking of, his mother currently had a brush in hand and was removing any hidden snags that might have escaped her during the initial comb through. It was actually kind of calming and had Techno more than once closing his eyes to enjoy the feeling.

Wilbur didn't seem to be having as nice a time though as their father was once more giving him a warning to remain still. Techno tried not to smile as Wil gave a dramatic sigh in response, his legs audibly hitting those of the chair. When Techno peeked over in his direction he was treated to the sight of their father pulling Wilbur up out of a slump and back into a straight upward position.

"Wil, you're only making this harder. Please, just keep sitting up for three more minutes. Literally, three." Their father huffed out with exasperation.

"But-"

"Your legs, feet and toes are all fine and can handle three more minutes of stillness. After that you can burst into your true form as chaos incarnate and race through the house at whatever speed you want. I don't care. Just. Sit. Still." Their father cut in sounding just a bit desperate.

Wilbur, in response, lulled his head back with an even bigger dramatic sigh.

Even with biting his lip Techno couldn't keep his laugh to himself, covering his mouth with his hands in added effort.

"Don't encourage him, Techno." His father sighed out heavily as he corrected Wil's head position once more.

Wilbur was grinning now though, already sufficiently encouraged apparently.

"He never gives me that much trouble." Their mother chuckled from behind Techno, her fingers running through his hair to a small knot she'd found.

"Yea, I know. Because your the favorite." Their father responded, his tired breath sounding just slightly more amused now, "And yet you still had me do it."

"Not my fault you're bad at 'rock paper scissors'." Their mother practically sang out.

"I'm not bad at it. Not that bad at least. I'm pretty sure you cheated." Their father accused as he looked at her with a slightly exaggerated look of suspicion.

"How could I have cheated?"

"I don't know, but I know you wanted to be the one to bush through Techno's hair!" Their father once more accused as he pointed the pair of scissor between her and Techno.

"I don't know what you're talking about~" Their mother replied in that amused voice that hinted otherwise.

"And you wonder where Wilbur gets it from." Their father said with a mock huff as he rolled his eyes.

"I don't cheat." Wilbur defended with a frown has he leaned back in order to look up at his father.

Once more Wilbur was having his head position readjusted leading him to roll his eyes as well.

Before the conversation could go any further there was a babbling from Tommy, who was seated on the same couch as Techno. He had been placed down with a few toys and a snack to entertain himself while his family was busy. However, with the snack now clearly gone it seemed Tommy really wasn't going to do that regardless of toys near him or the cartoon that was playing on screen.

Currently he was staring at Techno and their mother and making his ever familiar 'grabby hands' at them. Along with that he was babbling something with his 'I want that' whine for good measure.

"Use your words, Tommy." Their mother encouraged as she leaned over enough to ruffle his curls a bit.

Despite Tommy talking more and more now he'd gotten in the habit of reverting to his 'baby talk' when he wanted attention.

Or something; it wasn't always clear.

Regardless, the phrase 'use your words, Tommy' was quickly outpacing the former, 'Tommy, where are your clothes'. A deceptive change as Tommy was no less prone to shedding them at a moments notice, or lack there of.

Tommy, or course, pouted at the words like usual and let out a huff tailed by a whine.

"Don't whine at me mr." Their mother chuckled as she started to go back to ensure the snarl she'd found was fully gone, "You worked hard to learn your words. Be a shame not to use them."

"Words help us to understand too." Their father piped up as well.

"My words want you to know that I hate hair cuts." Wilbur stated flatly as he continued his own pouting.

"It's either this or long hair and you already said you don't want that." Phil was swift in replying as he snipped another bit off.

Wilbur grumbled but kept still this time. Meanwhile, Tommy had moved a bit closer on the couch and was now just about reaching Techno's side, a hand once more reaching up.

"Wanna brush it." Tommy insisted as he stared up at their mother.

"I don't know, Tommy. I'm almost done and we don't want it to tangle again." Their mother started to deny with a small apologetic look on her face.

Techno took the moment to look up at her from where he was. It hadn't taken her long to fix the back where he couldn't reach just right, and Tommy was so small. He couldn't possibly mess it up that badly. Besides, if it did get messed up then his mother would just fix it again.

It felt nice when she brushed it for him.

"Its okay, mom. As long he doesn't pull it, I don't mind." He informed her with a shrug.

"You sure, Tech? Tommy might be too small for that." She asked him with a hint of concern.

"I'm sure." Techno nodded as he looked over to Tommy to offer him a smile, "Just be careful, okay?"

Tommy was beaming already and nodded his head vigorously.

Techno turned in his spot so that his back was to Tommy and then for the next few minutes their mother took her time in showing Tommy what to do. How to hold the brush and how hard to press and all that. Tommy was eager and Techno could feel the couch cushions sink and rise with each bounce.

An eager Tommy generally warned for caution and Techno only could hope that his mother's lesson would be enough to curb any…less than pleasant actions.

He maybe was regretting agreeing to this, just a bit.

Finally, after far to short a time in Techno's increasingly worried mind, their mother handed over the brush fully to Tommy. Techno couldn't help the wince when Tommy gave it his first go and practically shoved the bristles into Techno's head. He couldn't, however, keep in his yelp of pain as Tommy tried to pulled down far too hard.

"Tommy, stop." Their mother quickly stepped in with a hand on the now offending brush, "Remember, gentle hands. Slow and easy, don't pull."

Techno let out a shivered breath as the brush was pulled from his hair. He tensed though, when it returned to his head not a moment later. It still came down harder than his mother did it, but it wasn't through to his skull this time.

"Okay, now, carefully-"

Techno yelp again as the brush was yanked down, this time being pulled back with it until he found himself crashing into Tommy.

Maybe his mother was right and Tommy was still too small for this. He wasn't exactly keen on giving his brother a third attempt.

"Oookay, Tommy. I think that's enough." Their mother informed before Techno even had to say anything.

"But-"

"No 'but's about it. You can give it a try when you're older maybe." Their mother said as she helped Techno to sit back up.

Or tried to.

As he was half way up he felt a tiny hand dig into his hair and then latch on with a tug.

"No! I wanna do it! He said I can!"

"Tommy! Don't pull my hair!" Techno shouted back over Tommy as he himself reached to where his brother's fist was.

It didn't help and Techno became uncomfortably aware of two hands pulling in different places.

"Tommy that hurts!" He tried again, but Tommy was still complaining about wanting to brush it.

"You can't hold someone's hair like that, Tommy." Their mother was scolding as she tried to free Techno of the second little fist.

"I Wanna Brush It! You Said I Could!" Tommy continued to shout ignoring both of them with a shake of said fists.

"I Say You Can't Now! Stop Yanking It!" Techno whined as he felt his head jerk painfully on top of the already aching stings from his scalp from said tugs.

"Tommy. Let go. Gentle hands, remember?" Their mother continued to try to reason as she managed to untangle at least one of Tommy's hands.

"Tommy, here. If you let go of Techno's hair you can play with mine." Wilbur's voice came from beside Techno now.

Peeking an eye open Techno saw that Wilbur had abandoned his seat and was leaning over both him and Tommy. He was running his fingers through his freshly cut hair as if to show it off and entice. Tommy wasn't shouting now and Techno could only assume Wil had gotten his attention.

He just had to hope that it was enough to free him from their baby brother's hold.

"Promise?" Tommy asked, his pouty voice in full swing.

"I promise, Toms. But, you have to let go of Techno. You're hurting him." Wilbur answered with a nod.

Not a moment later both of Tommy's hands where out of his hair and Techno was able to breath easy once more. His mother helped him to sit back and up as he turned to look at his brothers Techno saw Wil place himself on the floor with his back to the couch.

Techno worried for his elder brother's confidence here, but he wasn't going to say anything. He didn't want to risk Tommy coming back for him.

Tommy, who was scooting closer to Wil now with a beaming smile back on his face.

" 'Gentle Hands' Tommy. Remember that." Their mother warned once more.

Not three minutes later Wilbur was crying out in pain as Tommy's fingers were locked in his front curls. Once more the small blonde proved that 'shorter hair' didn't mean 'safe'.

In the end their father had to step in to rescue Wilbur and Tommy got another conversation about careful handling.

Xx-xx

It was just past lunchtime now and the Watson boys were all outside in the yard enjoying the slightly nippy and yet refreshing fall air. They were trying to enjoy the outdoors while they could before any snow came for the year and they'd be stuck snowsuits instead of just winter jackets.

Currently Techno and Wilbur were building up a fort of sorts around Tommy, who was happily setting up a row of toys to be his little army inside. It was simple, but it made Tommy happy and so the two were content enough to stick with it for now.

Normally at least one of their parents was outside with them while they played, especially since the dog incident. However nature called and their father had dipped inside for 'just a minute'. Not that the boys minded. They were well away from the fence and didn't give a second thought to it.

That was, until a rather loud and almost gravely 'meow' broke into the air not too far from them. Wilbur and Techno both stopped what they were doing and looked towards the noise, Tommy still blissfully unaware and talking to his 'army'.

Not more than two arm lengths away was a some what scraggly looking cat with dingy gray fur and a white chest crest. One of its ears was slightly nipped at but other then that it looked in fair enough health. It was, however, slowly approaching them with its tail up and eyes locked onto them.

Techno didn't break his eyes away from the cat as he 'whispered' to Wilbur.

"you think we can pet it?

Wilbur briefly glanced towards Techno before looking back to the cat, an adoring smile already drawing up on his face.

"I'll check." He offered easily, inching towards the cat instead of the house.

He reached out a hand without fear and let the cat draw up enough to sniff his fingers. In a moment the cat let out a fresh meow and rubbed encouragingly against Wil's hand. Wilbur, of course, readily began petting it, his smile just about overtaking his face.

"I want to pet it too!" Techno said loudly as he quickly moved to sit beside Wilbur.

The cat skittered away slightly, but still looked interested in staying around.

"Careful. You don't want to scare it." Wilbur warned as he took hold of Techno's hand and slowly reached it out, "Let it sniff you first. Then it'll let you pet it if your nice about it."

Techno nodded and waited, eyes firmly on the cat and almost pleading with it to come closer again. It didn't take long. The cat seemed brave enough and swiftly was at Techno's fingers, sniffing them before giving a small lick and then rubbing against his hand as well.

Techno beamed as the cat pressed its head into his hand and he looked to Wilbur with excitement. Wilbur shared the look as he returned his own hand to petting the cat.

"Now you just have to pet softly." He stated as he slipped his hand down the cats back.

The two boys, entirely caught up in the new arrival, had seemed to forget about Tommy. The smaller blonde, despite his prior distraction, certainly took note of this. He let out a disapproving whine at first, but when that went unanswered he stood up from inside the partially built fort. When his eyes landed on the cat they grew wide and his mouth broke into an excited grin.

"I wanna pet it!" Tommy called out, moving around the 'wall' of the fort to join his older siblings.

His voice seemed to startled the cat, but not enough to make it flee like Techno had. Probably because of the distance Tommy was still at. Wilbur, however, seemed to instantly grow concerned as he held out a hand at Tommy.

"Slow down, Tommy. You'll scare them." He warned first as he turned to face his youngest sibling, "Also, I think you might be to small-"

"I wanna pet it!" Tommy insisted over his brother, voice louder and causing the cat to pause and stare.

"Tommy-"

"I wanna pet it!" Tommy insisted once more with a stomp of his foot and a pout at his brother, "You 'n Techy get to pet it!"

Wilbur hesitated here as he glanced behind him at said cat and Techno. Techno was trying to sooth the feline while it continued to stare at Tommy warily. When he looked back at Tommy Wilbur felt his will falter some as Tommy had his lower lip pushed out and his eyes wide and pleading.

"...If your careful…then fine." Wil gave in rather quickly, "But, you have to be nice to it."

"I will!" Tommy replied with a beaming smile.

"Don't shout so much. It doesn't like it." Wilbur started with as he brought Tommy closer.

Tommy nodded and plopped down onto his knees to be closer to the animal. The cat spooked back a few steps and when Tommy went to follow it Wilbur had to place a hand on his shoulder.

"No, don't chase it. You have to let it come to you." He said as he crouched down beside Tommy, "Wait for it to come close and then let it sniff your fingers."

Tommy pouted as he wiggled impatiently.

"But, I wanna pet it now." He whined.

"Well, you can't. You have to wait for it to let you. If you don't it might leave or get mad." Wilbur tried to explain.

The cat was slowly making its way back to Techno, but was still avoiding Tommy, much to the toddlers dislike. He huffed again, but Wilbur kept him from inching closer.

After what seemed like ages to Tommy the cat seemed to grow brave enough once more to approach. It was slow and Wilbur had to hold out Tommy's hand to keep him from eagerly reaching forwards. When the cat nuzzled at their hands Tommy's impatient pout turned into a fresh bursting smile as he giggled in delight.

"Wilby! I'm pettin' it!" Tommy gleed and Wilbur had to try to calm his yelling while also grinning.

"Soft voices, Tommy. Just like indoors. And remember your 'gentle hands', like mom says." He added as he let go in order to pet the cat himself.

The cat seemed to love all the attention and was eagerly dipping in between all three boys, nuzzling all around them as it purred in its own delight. It was during one of the cats loops around them that Tommy seemed to catch full interest in the long tail that was waving around almost like a flag. With a happy giggle he reached out for it-

"Ah, ah, ah, Tommy. No tail." Wilbur warned, having only just caught Tommy's hand in time before he could reach said appendage, "Cat's don't like it when you touch their tails."

Tommy pouted with a whine but Wilbur held firm this time.

"We need to be nice to it, remember? Soft pets and no tail touching." Wilbur reminded as he slowly let go of his brother's hands once more, "It's either that or you can't pet it at all."

Tommy huffed and kept his pout in place, though it was short lived as the cat came over and nuzzled against his side. Tommy loved it and let his hand run along its side as it passed him. Though his eyes landed on the tail as it moved away.

In an attempt to slow the cat down from leaving him Tommy pet the cat hard enough that it had to strain its back to keep on its feet.

"Soft pets, Tommy." Techno warned this time as he nudged Tommy's hands off the feline, "Softly. Or the cat might get mad at you."

Tommy, of course, didn't like being told that and frowned at his brother. Though Techno was already focused back on the animal that was meowing at his feet and bumping its head affectionately against his knee.

For the next few minutes the boys continue to contently pet the cat as it weaved between them. It favored Techno the most but it still traveled to the other two for even more love, its purr seeming to almost rattle its ribcage.

As it passed Tommy once more its tail swished enough to boop him on the nose causing him to giggle with joy. It moved on towards Wilbur once more, set to make another loop of them all when Tommy reached out yet again. Before Wil could even register Tommy having latched onto the swaying gray tail the blonde held it tight and tugged. He was hoping to bring the cat back to him to boop him again. Instead what he got was a growled hiss as the cat wheeled around swiftly.

In the blink of an eye the cat was on him and Tommy cried out at the sudden stinging on his face and hands.

"Tommy!" Wilbur and Techno were shouting instantly, Techno being the one to chase the cat away the second it leapt from Tommy's body.

Wilbur was pulling a now sobbing Tommy close just as fast, holding him in a comforting hug as he watched Techno scare the animal off. When he leaned back to see Tommy's face Wil frowned as he saw the various little red marks on his cheeks and nose.

"Shhh, shh, it's okay. You're fine." Wilbur tried to sooth as he started to pick them both up, "Just, going to get you cleaned up, okay?"

He was barely on his feet when the door to the house slid open, their father standing in it looking alarmed. As he spotted Tommy he was quick in exiting the house and crouching down to pluck him up. It didn't take long at all for him to note the scratches on his son as he let out a confused little gasp.

"Where on earth did those come from, mate?" He asked softly as Tommy continued to cry.

"W-we were petting this cat and-" Wilbur started before faltering anxiously.

"Tommy grabbed its tail." Techno finished for him as he returned from the fence.

"A cat? Where on earth did a cat come from?" Their father asked as he motioned for them both to head for the door, a thumb wiping gingerly at Tommy's cheek.

"We don't know. It just, came into the yard and wanted pets." Techno answered as he peeked at Tommy, "It was nice at first."

"You boys shouldn't be petting strange animals, regardless of if they come into the yard." Their father sighed as he rocked Tommy more, giving him a soft shoosh as the lot of them re-entered the house, "Its okay, baby. You're going to be fine. We're just going to wash you up and get you all taken are of."

X-x

The care for Tommy was simple and soon enough the toddler was contently noming on some freshly cut grapes.

However, the snack was paired with a fresh talk and addendum to his usual warning.

Gentle hands or none at all.

XX-XX

Sorry for the drop off in posting. I've not been entirely well really and matched with the various irl issues going on my away time has extended a bit.

I'm still writing when I can, its just a lot less than before. Especially since a few other works had to be re-written a fair few times recently.

I don't intend to vanish but there is also a chance in the nearish future were I'll have to step back for a time depending on if I can get the irl affairs in order.

Medical stuff is a bitch. Though, until I get brave enough to set an official appointment we don't need to worry about that for now.

Hope you are all doing well out there.