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Before they met, this was the easiest and calmest thing to do whenever he got stressed. It was familiar motions and delicious smells, an easy way to lose yourself and relax during moments of high stress.
And now Bad was constantly stopping his tiny friend from making a bigger mess than he already has. Seriously, with his size you would not think he would be able to cause this much chaos but here they were. Bad already had to clean up a flour spill all over the counter and had to actually help Skeppy clean himself up after he somehow managed to fall onto an egg and break it. That was a gross and sticky mess Bad does not want to repeat.
He was hesitant to even leave Skeppy out of his sights, but he was starting to realize he forgot to grab the sugar for the muffins. He nervously glanced at the borrower and only received a big smile that sent Bad’s trouble senses off the rails. But he quickly turned to grab the sugar while hoping Skeppy could behave himself for two seconds.
He grabbed the sugar and turned around just in time to see his tiny friend topple into the batter bowl.
“Skeppy!” He basically threw the sugar onto the counter and reached into the bowl. He wrapped his fingers carefully around the borrower and hoisted him out of the batter. At least this time Skeppy had the decency to look apologetic at the annoyed glare instead of laughing at Bad’s frustration. The borrower reached up to try and wipe some of the batter off of himself but quickly gave up when it only seemed to get worse as he did so.
“Why would you do that? You can’t keep doing this!” Bad watched as the borrower only responded by smudging some of the batter off of his shirt onto his own hand before sticking the now batter covered hand into his mouth. Bad grimaced.
“It tastes good at least! That’s good.” Bad could only stare at the borrower. That was all he had to say? It tasted good? Bad wanted to scream. Skeppy was starting to push him past his limits. He could take the chaos that Skeppy brought with him wherever he went to an extent, but he was about to pass the line.
When Bad looked at the batter covered borrower though, he was met with a face of mild regret. Skeppy looked truly apologetic for this one, like he didn’t want to push Bad this far. Bad sighed and adjusted his hold on Skeppy so he wouldn’t drop the messy borrower. Once he was sure he wouldn’t drop his friend he walked over to the sink and reached towards the faucet to turn on a light trickle of water.
Suddenly, he felt Skeppy fidget a little in his hand which was unusual as he was always oddly content with being held. Bad glanced down and was shocked to see Skeppy flipping himself over to look at Bad. Bad could swear that he saw the beginning of tears in his eyes.
“Are you mad at me, Bad?” This was new. Skeppy was always courteous of Bad’s feelings when it came to his shenanigans, but he never got upset over an outcome like this. Something was really bothering the borrower. He offered a small smile to hopefully calm his nerves.
“I’ll admit, I am a tad annoyed. But I’m not sure I could be truly mad at you, Geppy.” Judging by the small change in Skeppy’s expression, that was the right thing to say. But Skeppy was still obviously bothered by something.
“...You won’t hurt me though right?” Skeppy must’ve seen the horrified look on Bad’s face before Bad even completely registered what the borrower had just said. Skeppy freed his arms and began waving them, fear seemingly overtaking his features. “Wh-what I mean! Is that- uh- I don’t think you actually would, but- I mean- I did mess up and-” Skeppy trailed off and looked to the side at something, a wary fear still etched on his features. Bad let his eyes wander and found what Skeppy was staring at.
He was confused at first as to why he was staring at the faucet, which was still trickling out a small stream of water. Bad didn’t want to hurt Skeppy with the water pressure which was why it was only at a trickle, but having him rinse himself off was the only way to get him clean from the batter. The eggs were easier to wipe off but the batter had to be rinsed-
Bad froze. “Skeppy?” He hesitantly turned to the borrower who returned his gaze towards Bad. “Are you afraid of the water? Do you think that I’m gonna-” he took a shaky breath and prepared himself for what he was about to ask.
“Do you think I’m gonna try and drown you?”
Bad was near tears when Skeppy’s response was a sharp laugh. “No, cause that would probably kill me.” A small pause followed before he asked another question. “How hot is the water?” Bad finally understood.
“Skeppy. I’m not the first human you’ve talked to, am I?” Skeppy shook his head. Bad took a sharp intake of breath. “Did that human hurt you, Skeppy?” The borrower only nodded slightly, keeping his head bowed down.
Bad didn’t know what to say. Skeppy hadn’t really opened up to Bad about his past. Bad just assumed it was because it wasn’t very interesting in the borrower’s mind. He was starting to realize that it may have been because it hurt Skeppy thinking about it. And now, Bad could put the pieces together perfectly. And he wanted to throw up.
Wordlessly, he reached over to the faucet and turned it off. He slowly turned around and grabbed a napkin and handed it to Skeppy. The borrower got the hint and slowly began wiping himself off as Bad slid down the cabinet to sit on the floor in disbelief.
“For the first few minutes I met him, I thought I found the nicest human to exist.” Bad quickly trained his gaze on Skeppy. “But then I turned my back to him for one moment and he grabbed me. It hurt. He wanted a pet. That’s all I was to him as soon as he saw me. But I wanted to survive. I wanted to live.
“So I fought back and bit him. He, um, didn’t like that. He quickly took my pack and the tools on my belt and threw them onto his desktop before walking off. It was hard to breath at that point but I still wanted out. Next thing I knew, I heard running water. Then he laughed and said, ‘this is what happens to naughty pets.’ He shoved me under the water. It was so hot, Bad. It hurt. So much. And I-” He took a shaky breath and looked up at Bad, tears now falling from his eyes.
“I was so scared, Bad.”
Bad brought his hands to his chest and closed his eyes. He could feel Skeppy hesitate before returning the hug. Bad let a tear slip as he held his friend close to him.
“That should have never happened, Skeppy. That will never happen ever again if I have anything to say about it. You are safe now, Skeppy. I promise.”
“Thank you, Bad.”
Bad pulled his hands away from his chest, not paying any mind to the small amount of batter that clung to his hoodie. He shifted Skeppy into one hand and lifted himself off the floor and walked back to the counter. He smiled at Skeppy as he set him back on the counter.
“Blueberries or chocolate chips?”
“Chocolate! Chocolate!”
Bad laughed and walked over to the cabinet with the chocolate and grabbed the bag. When he turned around, he saw Skeppy wiping dried tears from his cheek and smiling, truly smiling, up at Bad.
“Muffin time!”
As they finished the muffin batter and stuck the muffins into the oven, Bad thought about before he had met Skeppy.
Before they had met, this was such a lonely task. He would do it whenever he got stressed because there was nothing else to do and he was always bored. It was easy to lose himself in his thoughts doing this.
But now, this was their thing. Making muffins was Bad and Skeppy’s thing. And Bad couldn’t be happier that he lived with his best friend.