Chapter Text
“Aaauunnntiiiieee,” Yuri sighs, flopping her arms over the back of the sofa where Sayori was sat, “Na’ski-nee’s makin’ Monnie cry.”
Sayori startles, slightly, raising her head from her book to give Yuri a confused glance. ”Natsuki?”
“Yuh.”
“Why?”
“Dunno. Did’n listen when I said stop,” Yuri complains. “Make’r stop so Monnie does’n haveta take a nap.”
“Oh, I think Monnie’s going to need a nap regardless,” Sayori murmurs (mostly to herself), hopping off the couch in search of the two absent club members. Yuri responds with some kind of whine that Sayori can’t quite catch the end of, which is what tells her that a nap for all small persons is most certainly in order - but, before all of that, first comes…
“Awwww, c’mon. Where’s the semicircle go, huh?”
“D—D’h— h’c - D’heb’y, z’, zurgc’hle… !”
Ah. The culprit, grinning and waving about a wooden-block-and-bucket toy, facing the victim, one very snuffly and snotted-faced weepy Little baby. Sayori stands as imposingly as possible behind Monika, who is pointing as pointedly as a baby possibly could at the proper, semi-circular hole for the semi-circular block…
“Heh, that’s right, squirt: the square hole,” Natsuki snickers, skipping right over the intended solution and dumping the block into the hole that, well, clearly hadn’t been tested against all the included materials - but the grin on her face quickly dissipates as she notices Sayori’s appearance.
“U-Uhhh. Helllllo there.”
”Hello,” Sayori returns, rather tart, before dropping down to her knees to gather up her poor baby in her arms; Monika startling just a bit, but squirming around to huddle into her mama with a pitiful little whimper very quickly afterwards.
“Awww, bunnykins,” Sayori coos, “Is Yuyu’s big sissy being so mean to an innocent lil’ baby?”
“Y— Yu’h!”
“Wh— me?! Mean?! Come on, Sayocchan, I was just teasin’ a litt—“
“You were teasing a Little,” Sayori replies, dry, “And she’s crying, Nats.”
“I… jeez, l-listen, I was just…”
“Just cos’ Monika’s not in charge right now doesn’t mean you can mess with her, that’s not nice. She’s just a baby, Nattan, you know that,” Sayori continues, voice softening slightly as Natsuki starts to look appropriately chastised.
And she has some confidence problems with being wrong about stuff… she thinks to herself, but doesn’t say aloud. Natsuki looks sorry enough anyway, and Sayori is pretty certain she can handle the soothing on her own.
“… y-yeah, okay. Sorry, Monika,” Natsuki mumbles, to which Monika sniffles injuriously and hides herself further in Sayori’s neck. Sayori sighs, rocking the whimpery pile of Little on her lap forth and back.
“How about you go grab us a bottle, then wrangle Yuyu-chan for her nap. That’s a pretty good start to a sorry,” she says. Natsuki nods, pushing herself off the ground and heading mutely towards the kitchen.
“C’mon, sweetpea, you’re gonna be okay,” Sayori murmurs, nuzzling Monika’s forehead as she gently peels the girl back from her chest, addressing her to her face. “Tell Mama what’s the matter, peanut. Were you sad about Na’ski, hmm?”
“B’, B’uh,” Monika hiccups, voice rather tiny and pathetic as she points wobbly back in the direction of the bucket. ”B’—yo’gs!”
“Uh-huh,” Sayori nods, smoothing Monika’s mussed bangs back. “Meanie Nattan was putting your blocks in all wrong, wasn’t she?”
“Uuuh, uhhhuhh,”
“Uh-huh,” she agrees, nodding seriously. Natsuki nudges a warm bottle into her side while Monika’s attention is otherwise occupied by furious face-scrubbing, and Sayori brings it around to her baby’s mouth, shifting her expertly into a comfortable sit against Sayori’s front. “Here you go, sweetheart, you must be thirsty…”
Monika has never needed the subtle platitudes to get her to nurse - she is a baby, after all, and gladly latches onto the bottle with both hands once she’s seen it - but it helps her feel less different than Yuyu and so it relaxes her anyway. Only a few errant sniffles remain amidst the quick suckling noises of bottle-feeding as Sayori snags the bucket with the tip of her foot, pulling it close enough to play with again.
“Here we go, Monnie, let’s do it nicely now. I know you know exactly how your block bucket goes together,” Sayori says warmly, heart jumping affectionately as Monika coos in response. “Which spot does your triangle go in, honey?”
“T’yyya’gwwe,” Monika mumbles, a tiny rivulet of milk spilling from the corner of her mouth.
“It goes in the triangle hole! Good girl,” Sayori praises, Monika sighing happily, sinking heavily into the bend of her arm. “How about… the star block?”
“T’awwww.”
“The star hole, that’s right! Sweet baby,” she coos, presses a kiss into the crown of Monika’s head. “Now, howww abooout… the circle block?”
…
…
“Na’ski-nee got in trouuuble…”
“Yeah, yeah, Natsuki got in trouble,” Natsuki grumbles. “Jeez. Not everyone’s gotta know about it…”
“Th’n nex’ time lisn’a me ‘bout makin’ fun’ve my baby Monnie,” Yuri pouts, looking up at Natsuki in a way so truly scolding that Natsuki thinks she really might never try pulling a fast one on the baby again.
“Okay, okay. Big sis fu— fully acknowledges that she really messed up and she shouldn’tve picked on the poor darling baby, okay. Look, do you wanna help me make apology cookies after naptime or not?”
“Or yes,” Yuri quickly nods, eyes lighting up at the mention - Natsuki laughs a little, genuine and soft, and lightly ruffles her hair.
“Attagirl. Now, what chapter did we leave off on in here…”