Work Text:
Ed wasn't being his regular hyperactive self, and Essie knew something was wrong.
He seemed stressed.
Now, she had no clue why he would be stressed. Nothing bad had happened to spark that.
Still, he seemed overwhelmed.
So, she went up to where he was standing behind his xylophone (though he wasn't actually playing the keys) and placed a hand on his shoulder.
To her surprise, he shuddered and whined and pulled away from her touch.
Ah, she thought. He's overloaded.
"Hey" she said in a soft tone reserved only for him. "Let's go up to our room" she told him. He hummed and allowed her to lead him upstairs.
Once they were alone, he sat down on their bed and began to rock back and forth while she turned out the lights, shut the drapes, and made sure the door was locked so that no one could come in and bring the outside noise in with them.
After a few minutes, the rocking began to slow and he lied down, a bit tired from the sensory overload. Essie didn't say anything as she lied next to him.
Sometimes, even the resident musician needed some quiet, and that was okay.