Work Text:
Taurtis stared wide eyed at the wall in front of him. While once being a blank white wall, it was now splattered with a bright reddish-orange.
For a moment, it was all he could do to stare at the wall in shock. He'd dealt with his fair share of Sam's anger and frustration, and he was no stranger to his inability to express his feelings while regressing. Though, this was the first time he'd thrown anything.
Taurtis ran a hand through his hair, sighing in frustration. At least he knew hunger wasn't the problem, Sam had made that very clear when he nearly nailed Taurtis in the head with his bowl of spaghettios.
Thank gord they only owned plastic bowls, shattered ceramic does not pair well with a frustrated Sam.
Honestly, Taurtis was at a loss for what to do. Sam was staring daggers at him, a pout present on his face. His arms were wrapped around himself tightly. Whether he was trying to comfort himself, or simply just angry, Taurtis didn't know.
So, he pulled out his phone, dialing Grian's number.
Their friend had gone back to England for a few days. He had said something about visiting some friends, but Taurtis couldn't quite remember any specifics.
"Hello?" Taurtis sighed in relief when Grian picked up almost instantaneously.
"He threw a bowl at me. Our wall is now red."
Taurtis heard a quiet chuckle come from his phone. Apparently he was on speaker, and Grian's friend could hear him.
"Hey, it's better than a boring white wall, at least. Is he speaking to you at all?"
Taurtis shook his head, before realizing Grian couldn't see him.
"No, he's just glaring at me and pouting. I can't figure out what's wrong, he won't tell me."
Grian hummed for a moment, thinking. "Maybe he can't tell you."
Taurtis looked over at Sam, who surprisingly hadn't moved from his chair. He was chewing on his shirt collar and staring blankly at the table. Unusually quiet for Sam, who would normally babble away at Taurtis, even if he wasn't able to understand him.
"Can't?" Taurtis furrowed his eyebrows.
"Maybe he doesn't know. Maybe try guessing like you would with a crying baby?"
Taurtis nodded, thanking Grian for his help. "I'll try it out, thanks!"
He hung up the phone, putting it in his pocket, before turning to Sam.
He crouched down so he was on Sam's level. Sam turned to look at him, pout still present on his face.
"So, I think we've established you're not hungry. Are you thirsty?"
Sam scowled, shaking his head.
"Are you hurt?" Taurtis couldn't see any obvious injuries, but it didn't hurt to ask. Sam was fairly accident prone at times.
Sam pointed to his stomach, sniffling quietly.
"Oh! Does your tummy hurt?" Taurtis had to stop himself from cheering when Sam nodded.
An upset stomach was not something to celebrate, but at least he knew what was wrong.
Taurtis ran upstairs to the bathroom, moving quickly so as to not leave Sam alone for too long.
He came back with a bright pink bottle, sitting down next to Sam as he poured a small cup of it.
"I know you don't like medicine, but it'll help with your tummy ache!" Taurtis gave Sam a hopeful look, nudging the medicine cup towards him.
Sam raised an eyebrow at Taurtis. Did he really think it would be that easy?
Taurtis sighed. "If you take the medicine I'll get you a new toy."
Sam grinned, taking the cup. He sniffed it, wrinkling his nose at the smell, but drank it down as quickly as he could.
He nearly spit it out, but seeing the look Taurtis was giving him, he swallowed it with a grimace.
Taurtis clasped his hands together, grinning.
"Okay! Now we're going to clean up the wall. And then we can go cuddle and watch a movie!" He stood up, taking Sam's hand.
He ignored the whining coming from his friend. All the parenting blogs he had read said natural consequences are better than punishment.
The bribery probably wouldn't be reviewed well by the blogs, but that was a pick your battles situation. Sometimes parenting is just getting by.
Sam was pouting the entire time they were cleaning, but he still helped. Taurtis was grateful for that, at least.
"Done?" Sam turned to his friend, a hopeful look in his eyes.
"Yes, Sam. It's all clean! You did a good job cleaning that up, you should be proud of yourself!"
Sam smiled, bouncing slightly at the praise.
"Go get your paci and Mr. Snugglemuffins, I'll get a movie put on the tv."
Sam nodded, running up the stairs as fast as he could. Taurtis was about to shout at him to slow down, but decided not to. He was too tired to deal with more fussing.
A few minutes later the two of them were snuggled up on the couch, watching some disney movie Sam loved.
Sam was laying down on his side, with his bear tucked under his arm and his pacifier in his mouth. Taurtis was stroking Sam's hair gently, smiling softly at the quiet purring that came from him.