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Pico had woken up, a desolate room with neither of his partners… All from a stupid argument they’d had over something so small, he knew he technically started it; and that he had since apologized. Guilt still sat on his chest, crushing in his ribs like a ton of lead; even as they inflated he could feel the guilt sinking into his lungs like broken ribs would.
The argument was over who’s notebook Cherry found, of course it was his but he was too upset at the fact she’d found it to admit it was his; and they’d both said some insensitive things, but Pico apologized first.
He hated fighting with his partners, he hated everything about it; how he got defensive at the start of an argument or how he tended to get loud without noticing it. It was all frustrating; it always felt the same, no matter who was in the wrong; he’d always end up more upset with himself than the other person.
This time was no different, the next day guilt crushed his ribs as he curled up in the bed, fingers coiling into his curls as he brought his knees to his chest. He hadn’t slept alone since he’d been dating Cherry and Keith. He knew he said he wanted to be alone, but he didn’t. Being alone hurts worse than a knife to the gut, but that was also his fault; at this point what wasn’t his fault?
Why not let himself wallow in a grave he’d dug himself, he did it far too often to be complaining about it. Tears began to pool in his eyes as the busy thoughts flooded his already crowded mind, he swallowed thickly to try and fight the inevitable.
Even as tears trickled down his face, he made sure to be as quiet as he could; he didn’t want sympathy if his partners heard him sobbing. So he kept his sniffles and hiccups as quiet as he could, which is something he was… unrealistically good at.
Cherry was sticking with Keith, she felt a bit of guilt; though she knew she was justified in the words she’d said, she’d found it upon tidying their shared room and saw something disturbing. Of course she brought it up!
Pico was no artist by any means, though sometimes when they weren’t home and his hallucinations got particularly bad he’d sketch them out, give them names if they’ve been recurring frequently enough. Cherry had seen one of the drawings, and asked him out of concern “ what the fuck is this? ”... which she knew her tone was wildly off, but it got her point across.
Sure they both regretted their actions, but they were both too stubborn to admit their faults… Keith eventually had enough with the tension, kissing her cheek before getting up to check on Pico.
His fist gently hit the door, a specific knock so Pico knew who it was and Keith didn’t have the need to speak to let Pico knew who it was, as he knocked he heard a “ Who is it..? ” in a bit of a low tone.
Keith peeked his head in, going over to his side; sitting behind him.. Rubbing his shoulder gently.. Neither of them spoke, though Cameron did something he always did in order to calm down his partners when they were upset, he hummed. A soft tune he usually came up with on the spot, but whatever worked, works right?
The humming helped a bit, Pico rolling over to rest his head on Keith’s thigh; Neither of them minded being quiet. The silence was welcome, even. Cameron scooted Pico up into his arms, rubbing his hands gently over his shoulder blades; humming gently as his hands ran up and down his back.
Pico tucked his face into Keith’s chest, the soft touch adding to the fuzz in his mind… he felt… small. He hated this feeling and how it snuck up on him so often, made him more upset; it always did.
One of Keith’s hands cupped his cheek, kissing his cheek gently; before moving both of his hands from the other's body; raising them to sign to him.
“You feeling little, honey?”
Pico thought, brows furrowing slightly as he thought. He knew he was, so he just tucked himself back into the other’s arms, silently confirming his suspicions. Keith chuckled softly, kissing his face a couple times as his humming continued.
Pico felt at ease despite the tension between him and Cherry, but they knew they both still loved each other and this argument was realistically over something so small that it; truthfully didn’t matter.
Keith played with Pico’s hair before hoisting him up into his arms gently, carrying him out of the room to go see Cherry, who was filing her nails to their usual manicured point; looking up to see Pico holding onto Keith. While she was still upset, it wasn’t with Pico himself moreso what he’d been hiding from the two of them.
Her eyes locked with Pico’s… was this her lil man? She set the file down, going over to the two before stealing Pico from Keith’s arms; smiling softly.
“Oh hello baby, Mama is sorry for everything.. didn’t mean to get upset with you.. Oh my sweet baby…”
She fussed over him, kissing his face all over; muttering apologies between kisses, all while still cooing over him. She may have been upset with his actions, but never him.
She had smudged the red lip she was infamous for, most of it all over Pico’s cheeks; Keith leaving to go get something to wipe it from his face as she cooed over him before going to get him changed. Moving to get him into something more comfortable, eventually doing so; getting him in a diaper and a onesie, kissing his face again.
Once he was all padded up, Cherry cuddled up with him, swaying him gently in her arms. Keith came back with a damp rag as he wiped the makeup from Pico’s cheeks, the smaller fussing a bit as the wet rag washed the lipstick from his cheeks.
Once they were done wiping his face, the boy’s eyes slowly drooped shut, growing heavy; As they usually did once he was done being upset or having a lot of emotional exertion… Keith and Cherry sit with the boy in their arms, finally letting themselves fall asleep.