Chapter Text
“Now, lightly dip the tip of the brush in the paint, then gently drag it across your canvas, like this.” The paintbrush touched the canvas and danced in a small fancy line, dragging a cerulean line behind it.
Sheo turned to the three bugs before him. Tiso was covered in paint, a puddle of red around his easel. His hood was stained and multiple colors dripped off his face and hands as he gave a sheepish chuckle. “Sorry…?”
Sheo smiled. “It’s quite alright, Tiso. We all make mistakes.” He retreated to the other room, returning with a bucket of warm water and a few rags. He handed one to Tiso, then turned to Zote. He wasn’t fairing much better and was lying in a puddle of multiple colors. There wasn’t an inch of him that wasn’t stained in paint. Sheo chuckled and handed him a rag as well.
“It’s too fucking hard!” Those words were the only warning Sheo got before a small tray of paint was sent flying his way. Sheo ducked, watching the tray clatter to the floor, adding to the mess. The painter turned and gave Xero a disapproving look.
“What did I say about throwing paint?” he asked calmly, knowing not to let the scold into his tone. Angry Xero was very impatient, he had learned.
To his relief, Xero had calmed down a bit. “Not too…?” he asked quietly, holding his arm.
Sheo smiled at the bashful bug and lightly tossed another rag over. He surveyed the damage and rubbed his head. This would be a chore to clean, but he didn’t mind too much. Ever since he had unofficially declared to be a father figure to the three, he noticed they all seemed a bit happier. Of course, they were all adults and had their own lives to live, but the time the group spent together was cherished.
There were a few times where the four would go out to malls or restaurants and get mistaken for an actual family. Sheo could see how one could call them that. The fights were endless, whether they were over the inner seat of the window booth or who should be first to see the Oomas and Uomas Monomon had.
Seeing the three off when it was time for them to go was always a bit disheartening, but Sheo always brightened up when he received independent texts of a well-rested night from all three before he went to bed. Some lucky nights, they stayed over at Sheo’s small house and the four wouldn’t have to text, simply calling from their spots in the house.
Sheo smiled as he waved to the departing bugs. No matter what happened, no matter who came between them, Sheo knew they’d always be his little painters.
-
The lack of texts wasn’t concerning at first. All three bugs were romantically involved, so it was normal for them to spend time with their partners. Sheo would always send them a small positive message when he knew one of his children was going on a date.
The groupchat started talking about it, however. No one had heard from any of the three in a day, which, given Tiso’s record, was a bit worrying. The ant couldn’t go 12 hours without texting someone with a brand new epiphany.
Sheo was alarmed when he got visited by Quirrel. The pillbug was standing on his porch, knocking on the door with a worried expression. Trying not to increase the worry, Sheo put on a smile and opened the door.
“Good morning, Quirrel! What brings you down to my little home?”
Quirrel fidgeted with his hands. “Is Tiso here with you? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
Sheo tried not to be alarmed by this. He reluctantly shook his head. “I’m afraid not. He hasn’t been here since Friday.”
Quirrel nodded quickly, trying to conceal his panic. “Th-thank you... “
Sheo watched him go, closing the door and letting his frown show. It was Sunday, two days since Sheo had last heard from any of his adopted children. The painter sighed, sitting down in a chair as he got out his phone.
He had access to the chat logs. Ghost trusted him not to mess around with them. Most of the time, they were unhelpful, but Sheo scrolled through them now as if his life depended on it. According to the logs, Tiso hadn’t talked since Friday night when he responded to a rhetorical question.
Zote and Xero were a bit harder to find. They both kept out of the chat’s chaoticness unless they felt a need to include themselves in it. Zote hadn’t texted since Thursday, which increased Sheo’s worry.
Xero’s last response gave him mixed feelings. It had been sent yesterday, Saturday, but it was very early in the morning, shortly after the three had left Sheo’s. Sheo sighed and decided to ask the question he had on his mind.
11:14 AM
[HallownestTexts]
thepaintmaster: If any of you have seen my children, let me know please! Thanks!
Unsurprisingly, nobody knew. He got two concerning private messages from Bretta and Markoth, both saying they hadn’t seen their partners in a while as well. Sheo replied with a thank you, trying not to worry about it too much when he went to bed that night.
-
It was about 2 in the morning when he heard it. A crash and clattering that jolted Sheo awake. The painter rubbed his eyes as he slipped out of bed, his old nail in hand for safety. He hardly used it, but he wasn’t one to risk getting attacked at night.
Something wet against his foot made him stop and look down. He dipped his finger in the substance, watching it drip to the floor. He inclined his head. Paint? What would anyone want with his paint?
A soft thud sounded off from his kitchen and Sheo perked up. He moved as quietly as possible, his nail held tight. He peered around the corner and felt his eyes widen.
In the dim moonlight, he could make out two- no, three- small figures. He couldn’t see their features closely in the dark, but he could hear their voices as they shuffled around. One of the small figures had fallen off the chair they had propped up against the wall. They climbed back up, standing on the chair as they reached for the paintings hung up on the wall. They were all paintings the miniature family had done together when the nights were more peaceful.
Seeing the attempt to steal the paintings made anger rise in Sheo. He stepped around the corner, flicking on the light as he raised his nail. “Hey!” His voice rang out across the room, startling the figures. The light brought the room to life and Sheo almost dropped his nail at what he saw.
The three small figures resembled his children, almost like replicas come to life. There wasn’t a hint of detail missing from any of them. Unique features, like Tiso’s hood, Xero’s helmet, and Zote’s nail, were all the same. The wide eyes of the three stared at Sheo as he stared back, none of them moving for a moment.
Chaos erupted. The three all scrambled for the door at the exact same time. Sheo shook himself out of his trance and rushed to the door, closing it before any of the three could reach it. He glared down at the three, his nail lowered but still in a position to strike if need be. The three children stood before him, petrified.
“Names. Now.” The words came out as a growl. Sheo couldn’t say he was sorry. Some kids had the fucking audacity to prank him in this cruel way? Hell no.
As if on cue, the Tiso-lookalike burst into tears. The crying spurred the other two kids to do the same and Sheo felt his grip on his nail faltering a little. The painter sighed as he set it against the wall, stepping towards the children with a small smile on his face.
“I-I’m sorry for startling you,” he said in a soft voice as to not startle them more. “What’s the matter?” He felt a little stupid for asking that. It was quite obvious what the matter was.
“O-Our da-dad went missing!” one of the children managed to hiccup out between sobs. Sheo softly cursed. They sounded like the ones they were copying too, feeding the side of him that was cooking up the most bizarre theories.
Sheo did his best to calm the children down, opening his arms for a hug. “It’ll be alright. Come, I’ll look after you for the night. In the morning, we can look for your dad together.”
He wasn’t expecting all three to immediately rush him. He wrapped his arms around the kids, getting a good chance to look at them as they began to settle. These kids were good at mimicking, their costumes looked exactly right. Sheo gently stroked the mask of the Zote clone, feeling the smooth texture. Hm.
Sheo was relieved when the crying stopped altogether. He looked down at the three small children in his arms, then sighed softly as he picked them up, crossing over to the living room to set them on the couch. He made sure all three were asleep, then picked up his phone from the coffee table and shot three quick messages to Quirrel, Markoth, and Bretta.
2:00 AM
[thepaintmaster has added justvibin, fuckyourfloors, and 1 other to New Groupchat]
thepaintmaster: Found them.
-
Morning seemed to come way too early. To Sheo’s immense relief, the three children were all still passed out and where he had left them. Sheo couldn’t help but stare at the three. He couldn’t help but deny his thoughts. There was no actual way it was them, right?
Several things contradicted the denial. For one, the voices were the same. There was no way any kid could mimic the voices perfectly. Tiso had a very nasally voice and the child had gotten it exactly right, if not a few pitches higher. Sheo remembered God Tamer had tried to mimic Tiso’s voice and ended up losing her own.
The second giveaway was the copy of exact details. Sure, one could fashion Tiso’s hood to a similar design, but Sheo doubted there was small children who was skilled in welding or woodwork. The design of Xero’s helmet was difficult to replicate and the current one he wore was exactly the same, the horns the same crescent shape (which was extra hard to copy). Zote’s Life Ender, despite being made of wood, had a distinct pattern to it that he doubted anyone but Zote himself could remember and duplicate.
Unsurprisingly, Sheo’s phone was bombarded with messages, most of them in the new group chat the painter had made on a drowsy whim. Sheo blinked himself awake as he scrolled through the messages, most of them being Bretta telling Quirrel and Markoth to calm down and that Sheo would get back to them in the morning. The usually quiet beetle had even gone as far as to curse, something she rarely did, and the messages had stopped after that. The main group chat was somewhat silent, the occasional chaotic message here and there.
Sheo softly sighed as he texted the new group chat, telling them that he couldn’t explain at the moment but would do so soon. Really, he was stalling. What in Wyrm’s name was he supposed to tell them? I’m deeply sorry, but it seems your dates have gained access to their younger selves and are currently crashing at my place? Fat chance.
It did leave Sheo with the question of what he was supposed to do. The paintmaster sighed as he spared a glance over at the three kids resting besides him peacefully. He couldn restrain a smile, despite the situation.
He wondered what taking care of kids could be like.
-
He found out very soon.
Sheo would be lying if he said the kids weren’t like their adult counterparts. That was helpful to know and he prevented two fights between Zote and Tiso off of that knowledge alone. He sat Tiso down at the kitchen table. “Sit here. Breakfast will be done soon.”
Tiso looked up at him with wide white eyes. His hood was a little too big and dropped over his eyes, eliciting a giggle from him. “Where did you go?” he asked, pretending to look around.
Sheo smiled as he brushed the hood aside. “Here I am, Tiso.”
Tiso gasped in awe. He sprung to his feet, standing on the chair and throwing his small arms in the air as he laughed. “I found you!” he cheered.
Sheo gently patted his head and set a plate of cut-up pancake in front of him. He turned to watch the other two kids. Zote was pouring his syrup in an odd design while Xero sat motionless, arms folded.
Sheo crossed the room to pat the small child’s back. “It would be easier to take your helmet off,” he advised, reaching for the helmet.
Xero smacked his hand away. “No,” he said curtly, turning his head away. His voice was a little echoey from the helmet but wasn’t too different aside from the pitch as well.
Sheo restrained a sigh. Xero hadn’t taken off his helmet in person since Sheo had met him and his stubbornness to do so outlasted everyone’s patience. Sheo put his hands together and leaned down. “Xero.... you gotta take it off if you want to eat,” he said gently, reaching out and gently cupping Xero’s head in his hand. His hand brushed the small chestplate Xero normally wore and he made a note to be wary of it in the future.
To Sheo’s chagrin, Xero pulled away. “No!” He pushed Sheo’s hand away and held onto his helmet. “I don’t want to!”
Sheo sighed but decided to let it go. Apparently, even his patience was no match for Xero’s stubbornness, but the will to easily give up could also be due to the lack of sleep he got this morning. The painter suppressed a yawn as he moved to his microwave, heating up water for tea.
Sheo was grateful for the days when he had to babysit Ghost. He had a few remaining toys from their days of visiting, just in case the small vessel were to be needed to watch. Sheo thanked the stars for the toys’ presence as he removed the bin from his closet, setting it down in the living room.
“What that?” Tiso seemed curious, inclining his head as Sheo emptied the bin onto the carpeted floor.
Sheo smiled. “It’s toys for you and the others to play with.” He spread the toys out so the children could see them. “There’s puzzles, blocks, and a lot of other stuff.”
To his relief, the three kids took an interest in the toys. Zote immediately grabbed a small foam sword and swung it at Tiso playfully, standing in front of a plush Tiktik. “Imma protect the princess!” he exclaimed.
Tiso giggled as he grabbed a small toy flamethrower. He pressed a button on the side and the sound of flames emerged from the toy. “I’m a dragon! I’m gonna burn down the village!” He quickly set up the small playset of houses and stood over them, giggling.
Sheo watched the children play, smiling a tired smile. It was nice to see the two getting along for once. He was sure Xero would join in soon, judging by the interested looks the child was giving as he paused his building with blocks. The distraction of toys gave Sheo a chance to reply to the messages he had received earlier.
7:44 AM
[New Groupchat]
thepaintmaster: Sorry, I had a long night.
justvibin: Good morning!
QueenBretta: So what were you saying?
thepaintmaster: Ah, yes. It’s easier to just show you, I guess. Meet me at lunch time?
justvibin: Ok
fuckyourfloors: it better be good
Sheo nodded as he set his phone down. He stood up and approached the playing children. They all paused their game to look up at him.
“Now, children, I’ll be having guests over in a little bit who want to meet you,” he told them gently, stroking Tiso’s head as he hugged Sheo’s leg. “Promise me you’ll be good for them, ok?”
“We promise!” All three responded in unison. Sheo smiled as he sat down.
“Thank you. Now, what’s this little game about?”