Work Text:
“…Brother?”
Girl’s voice is small, barely heard over the groan of the motorboat. She’s always been quiet, but now it sounds thinner, more brittle, like it’s about to crack and die off completely.
She shifts, turning. Her brother is posted at his usual position at the back of the boat, steering. He doesn’t answer, so she tries again, a little louder this time. Maybe he didn’t hear her.
“Brother?”
He twitches a bit. “What?” he says.
Girl sways a little where she sits; she’s been taken off of light duty for the time being, replaced by Bandage. The boat rocks. Or maybe it’s her. It’s hard to tell.
“I feel…” She pauses, searching. The word slips away from her like a fish. “Icky.”
Boy exhales through his nose, sharp. “That’s not helpful.”
She nods anyway, as if it made perfect sense. “I think,” she continues slowly, “my bones are…wrong.”
Hood snorts from where she’s hunched near the middle, arms crossed tight over her chest. “Your bones are fine.”
Girl shakes her head. “They’re buzzing.”
“Bones don’t buzz,” Hood says.
“They do,” Girl insists. “They’re…like bees.”
Bucket, leaning against the side of the boat languidly, tips his head. “Maybe you’ve got a hive in there.”
Bandage says nothing. He’s at the front, holding the lantern, quiet as ever. He glances at Girl, then away.
Girl tries to laugh. It comes out wrong. Too breathy. Too small.
She shifts, inching closer along the wooden boards, fingers dragging lightly over the damp surface as if she might lose track of where she is if she lets go.
“Boy,” she says again.
He tenses. “What.”
“Can you…sit with me?”
“No.”
It’s immediate. Flat.
She pauses.
The boat engine fills the silence—chug-chug-chug.
“…Oh.”
She nods again. Slow. Accepting. Like this is reasonable. Like she expected it.
Her fingers twist into her dress.
“I just—” she starts, then falters. The thought slips again. Everything keeps slipping. “I think if you sat—”
“I’m driving,” Boy snaps, sharper this time. “Do you want us to drift and go nowhere?”
Girl flinches.
Even Hood glances over at that.
“I just meant—” Girl tries again, smaller now. “Just for a second. I feel…strange.”
“You always feel strange,” Bucket points out.
Boy doesn’t relent. “Sit down and be quiet.”
Girl flinches again, harder this time. She immediately lowers her head, deferring like a dog. “Oh. O-okay. I’m sorry…”
The boat keeps moving through the water. Girl pulls her dress over her knees to try and replicate the feeling of being held. “I wasn’t trying to be bad,” she whimpers, mostly to herself. “I just… I thought maybe… Nevermind. I’m sorry…”
No one answers.
Bandage shifts slightly. He holds the lantern up higher.
Hood huffs faintly.
Bucket glances between them, then looks away.
Boy’s grip on the steering handle tightens.
The engine sputters once, then steadies again.
Girl presses her forehead against her knees. Everything feels too big. Too loud. Too far away. Her tummy hurts.
She just wants to be held.
But she doesn’t say anything else. She falls silent, trying to be good. She doesn’t want to annoy her brother anymore. She doesn’t like when he’s unhappy or mad at her.
Even still, her shoulders rise and fall in small, uneven breaths. Every so often, there’s a faint hitch—like something trying to come out and getting stuck halfway.
It’s Hood who notices.
She doesn’t mean to.
She’s staring out at the water, jaw tight, fingers drumming against her arm in sharp, irritated beats. But her gaze keeps flicking back.
To the way Girl’s curled in on herself.
To how small she looks.
“…Tch. Hey.”
Girl doesn’t respond.
Hood frowns. “Hey.”
Still nothing.
She leans forward slightly and nudges Girl’s shoulder with the side of her foot. Not hard. Just enough.
“Oi. Bunny.”
Girl startles. Her head lifts a fraction, slow and heavy, like it weighs too much. “…Mm?”
Hood clicks her tongue again, sharper this time—but there’s something off about it. Less bite. More…hesitation.
“You’re gonna fall over like that,” she says.
Girl blinks behind the mask. It takes her a second to process. “I’m okay,” she murmurs automatically, even though she very much isn’t.
Hood rolls her eyes, though it’s hidden behind the sack. “Yeah, you look great. Real picture of health.”
Bucket snorts quietly.
Boy doesn’t react.
Hood hesitates.
Then, gruffly—like she’s forcing the words out—
“…C’mere.”
Girl doesn’t move at first. “…What?”
“I said come here,” Hood snaps, though it lacks its usual edge. “You’re making it weird.”
That does it.
Girl slowly uncurls, movements clumsy and unsteady. She crawls the short distance across the damp wood, hands slipping slightly as the boat rocks. She stops just in front of Hood, uncertain.
Hood shifts again, like she doesn’t quite know what to do with herself. Then, with a frustrated huff, she grabs Girl lightly by the sleeve and tugs.
“Just—here. Dummy bunny.”
Girl lets herself be pulled. Hood, still sitting on the bench, guides Girl’s head to rest on her lap. It’s a bit stiff, quite awkward. She isn’t good at this. She’s not the one who does the comforting in the group.
“…Don’t make it a big deal,” she mutters, mostly to herself.
“…Oh,” Girl gasps softly. She leans against Hood’s legs. “Thank you…!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Hood says. “Whatever…”
After a second, her hand lowers—hesitant, rough—and rests on top of Girl’s head.
And Girl melts.
Girl has always been an extraordinarily touchy-feely person. The type to believe that cuddling can fix any ailment. She adores affection and physical touch, practically a fiend for it.
So, a bit too late, Hood realizes what she’s gotten herself into.
“Don’t—” Hood mutters.
Girl wraps both of her arms around Hood’s legs and hugs them like she’s her own personal stuffed animal.
“Gah—” Hood grunts. “What are you doing?”
“Hugging,” Girl says as if it’s the most simple thing in the world. Maybe it is to her.
“You’re a leech,” Hood says.
Girl hums again, soft and absentminded. She doesn’t pull away.
If anything, she presses closer.
Her cheek nuzzles faintly into the fabric of Hood’s coat—small, instinctive, seeking comfort the way a much younger child might.
“…Sorry,” she mumbles, though she doesn’t sound like she plans on stopping. “You’re…nice.”
Hood snorts. “I’m not nice.”
“You are,” Girl insists gently, already half-gone again. “You let me stay.”
Hood opens her mouth to argue. Stops. Closes it again with a sharp click of her teeth. “…Tch.”
Her hand, still resting on Girl’s head, twitches.
Then—grudgingly—her fingers press just a little more firmly. She starts to stroke Girl’s messy black hair.
Girl lights up at it.
It’s subtle but immediate—her whole body relaxing further, a soft, pleased sound slipping out as she leans into the pressure.
“Feels nice…”
Bucket tilts his head, watching the whole thing with open amusement. “Didn’t know you were the nurturing type,” he titters.
“Shut up,” Hood snaps immediately.
“She’s not nurturing,” Girl says. “She’s nice. And that’s just fine.” She squeezes Hood’s legs and somehow manages to inch even closer. “Mmmm…”
As the boat continues, Girl seems very content to bask in the attention. However, when they bump into something under the water, she jolts with a startled sound, clinging to Hood instinctively.
“Woah, easy,” Hood says. “I got you.”
Girl settles almost immediately at the show of reassurance. She slouches against Hood again.
“You okay?” Hood asks.
“Mhmmm,” Girl replies. “S’comfy.”
Bucket snickers. He leans over to nudge Bandage. “Hear that, mate? Hood is comfy!” He looks over at her. “Who knew you had such a soft side—literally—under all that snark and brooding!”
Hood grabs the nearest item, an old boot they’ve kept around for whatever reason, and hurls it at Bucket. It dinks off of his metal helm, ricocheting to hit Girl in the back of the head instead.
Everyone in the boat freezes.
“Ee—” Girl bleats.
“Look at what you did!” Hood snaps at Bucket.
“Wha— ME?!” Bucket yawps. “YOU threw the boot at ME!”
“It bounced off your fat!”
“It hit my HEAD!”
“Yeah, your FAT HEAD!”
“WOW! You know, you’re not much smaller!”
“Excuse me?! I’ve had EXPERIENCES—”
“Yeah, with food?”
From below, Girl giggles softly. “You guys are silly…” she says drowsily.
Bucket and Hood stop.
“What? Us? Silly?” Bucket says. “Noooo!”
“Yeah, I’m not silly!” Hood argues. “That’s a baby word…”
“But you are,” Girl says. “Silly and nice. And warm and gentle and soft and—”
“ALRIGHT, THAT’S ENOUGH,” Hood says.
“—and the bestest sister ever,” Girl finishes. “I love you.”
It’s quiet for a moment.
Then, Hood huffs softly. “Mmmgg… Yeah, I love you, too.”
Girl wiggles with joy when Hood responds. She nuzzles closer again, getting herself comfortable. “I’m going to sleep now. Okay?”
“Okay,” Hood says.
With a dopey little grin on her pale lips, Girl drifts off to sleep, her head still in Hood’s lap.
Hood looks over at Boy, who has been silent this entire time. “It seems I’ve replaced you.”
Boy just stares ahead at the water, the faintest look of guilt in his eyes.