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"Guys, it's just a cold, I'm fi—"
And then Red sneezed for the fourth time in ten minutes.
Red had come down with a cold and was currently in her bed, shivering, with her eyes bloodshot and tissues next to her, and had been trying to assure her girlfriends that she was perfectly healthy and okay, despite falling over twice earlier.
Hazel reached out and put a hand on her girlfriend's forehead. "Sweetheart, you're burning up. We're serious, you need to rest."
She watched the flicker of uncertainty in her girlfriend's eyes, and instantly knew why she was acting this way. She was afraid to show weakness, and before Hazel even realised it, her hands had balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms in frustration.
She hated the childhood that Red had grown up with.
When she started dating Red and Chloe, it was obvious that something was wrong, that Red had been through a lot. She flinched whenever someone raised their voice, over apologised for tiny things, never took the last cookie or cupcake, and said the most heartbreaking things like they were regular, offhand comments.
But she had been shocked to learn the truth: That Red had grown up with a totally different version of Bridget than the one Hazel knew. That Red and Chloe had come from a different timeline entirely, having used a pocketwatch to achieve it all.
It had been hard to wrap her head around at first, but she was glad that they loved and trusted her enough to open up to her. It just made her blood boil to know that Red had ever gone through that, and that it affected her to this day.
Like now, how she was apologising for Chloe putting the blanket over her.
"Baby, stop saying sorry," Chloe was murmuring, kissing Red's forehead.
"I know, I just feel bad. You guys have better things to be doing than fussing over me." She kept her eyes down on the blanket.
"Not anymore, we don't, not when our girlfriend is sick." Hazel answered firmly, "But you need to get some rest, okay? Is there anything else you want?"
Red hesitated. "Uh— no. No, I'm fine."
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Not convincing. What is it, love? We can get whatever you need."
Red sighed, biting the inside of her cheek. "No, it's not...I was just thinking. Whenever I was sick as a kid...I always had my little plushie with me. She was a little grey rabbit, her name was Carrie Cottontail. Inventive, I know," Red laughed, "Because Carrie sounded like carrot, and her tail was a little cotton ball..."
Hazel and Chloe shared a glance. Red really was sick and delirious, wasn't she? She barely ever opened up about vulnerable things like this...why was she saying this now?
"I loved her so much," Red went on, yawning, "Which you could tell because one of her eyes was missing and her ears were falling off, but...yeah, she was broken, though I loved her anyway."
Hazel's heart tightened uncomfortably in her chest at those words. Loved her even though she was broken...was Red really still talking about the rabbit? "What...where is she now?"
Red's smile faded. "She, um...you know. Mom hated weak stuff, and having a plushie was childish, so...she threw her away." And then she just shrugged. Like it was nothing.
Hazel found herself wondering if she could get Max to make another time machine so she could go back, find Red's real mother and beat the shit out of her.
"Red..." Chloe started, "I'm so sorry..."
Red's eyes widened, as though she suddenly realised how open she had gotten, and was about to retreat back into her shell again. "No, I— it's nothing. Um...look, I'm gonna try to sleep now anyway, so if you guys wanna go do something else then..."
Hazel opened her mouth to answer, to tell Red that no, what happened wasn't nothing, even if it was over a decade ago, and not to shut down right after opening up, but Chloe flashed her a glance and Hazel reluctantly sighed.
"Okay. Call us if you need anything, sweetheart." She pulled the blanket closer up to Red, kissing her cheek.
"We'll be here when you wake up." Chloe added, kissing her other cheek.
Red managed a tiny, tired smile before her eyes fluttered shut, and as soon as they did, Chloe sharply gripped Hazel's hand and yanked her out of the room.
"Princess, why are you trying to break my wrist?"
"We're making her a new rabbit."
Hazel blinked. Looking Chloe dead in the eye. "We're what? Last time I checked, we're not Fairy Godmother, we can't Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo a rabbit into existence."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "No, I mean we crochet it— I've been learning how to, and I can teach you! Please, Zel?"
Hazel groaned when Chloe gave her pleading doe eyes.
Crocheting? ...Yeah, not the type of thing Hazel would like. She wasn't even aware that it was something Chloe liked, but when she thought about it, it did seem like something her mushy, creative girlfriend would like.
She really wanted to say no, that she wasn't trying to permanently damage her fingers by attempting a hobby that she had never shown the slightest amount of interest in, but then she thought of Red. Tiny, young Red in Wonderland, wanting her rabbit back, probably crying and lonely. Surviving all of that abuse and pain with nobody to turn to, and the only thing that brought her happiness being torn away from her.
She deserved a second chance at that childhood toy.
"...Okay, fine." She relented.
A squeal tore from Chloe's lips and she threw her arms around Hazel's neck, almost knocking her over entirely. "Thank you thank you thank you!" She laughed, then pulled Hazel into a kiss, and Hazel smiled into it, cradling Chloe's cheek.
"Okay," She said after a moment, "Where are all your tools?"
Chloe grinned, taking Hazel by the hand again. "Come on!"
She dragged Hazel over to a drawer, pulling it open, and inside it was a plastic box filled with materials and supplies for crocheting.
"Okay!" Chloe beamed, "We need...the hooks, the yarn, stuffing, buttons, embroidery thread for that fun little idea I have..."
Hazel watched as Chloe listed off the materials. It was cute how passionate she clearly was about this, the concentration glowing in her brown eyes as she sifted through the drawer, lifting out balls of yarn.
"Okay," She started, "What colour yarn do you want to use? She said her old rabbit was grey, I have grey yarn!"
Hazel paused, looking at all of the colours in Chloe's drawer. "I don't think it should be the same colour as her old one." She started, "It'd feel like we're replacing it. That's not what we're trying to do, is it? We're making a new one so she has another chance to have a toy, not trying to replace the one she loved." She reasoned, a blush on her face when she finished.
Chloe let out a tiny giggle, leaning forward and kissing Hazel's nose. "Aw, baby...you're so considerate."
Hazel rolled her eyes, leaning her forehead against Chloe's. "Never call me that again."
"But you are..." Chloe murmured lovingly, cupping Hazel's cheek, "You're so much sweeter than you pretend to be. It's cute."
Hazel paused, laughing. "Only with you two. Somehow you've both managed to make me a complete softie."
Chloe pressed a soft kiss to Hazel's lips. "Is that bad?"
Hazel didn't even consider it, pulling back. "No." And then she leaned in to kiss Chloe again.
Chloe giggled against Hazel's lips, kissing her softly, then pulled away and turned back to her supplies. "Alright, I think we have everything. Let's go sit down on the couch and I'll talk you through what to do."
Hazel let out a long, dramatic sigh. "This rabbit is going to look horrible, Princess. I'm not good at this kind of stuff." She said as she flopped down, stretching across the couch.
"Move your legs," Chloe rolled her eyes, nudging Hazel, and she groaned and lifted her legs up for Chloe to sit down, only to put them back on her lap once she took her seat.
"You're impossible." Chloe glared at her.
"And yet you tolerate me anyway." Hazel clicked her tongue.
Chloe shook her head in dismay, picking up the hook. "Are you ready? You need to sit up and watch closely."
Hazel hesitated, hating the anxious squirming she felt inside of her. Red deserved to have the most perfect plushie, and Hazel was sure that if she even put her hands on it, it would end up being far from perfect.
"Is the mighty Hazel Hook scared she'll mess up?" Chloe teased with a nudge.
Hazel scoffed. "Pfft, no. I just think it'll turn out better if you make it and I don't get involved."
Chloe gave her an earnest look. "You are worried you'll mess up, aren't you?"
Hazel squeezed her eyes shut tightly, puffing out a breath. "I'm not good at this sort of thing, and Red deserves something really cute and perfect, and I..."
"Hazel."
Chloe leaned over and tucked Hazel's curls behind her ear. "You heard Red herself. She loved her rabbit even though it was never perfect. She's not used to love, or being given gifts like this, and I think it'll mean the world to her because we took the time to make it. That makes it more valuable than buying a flawless one in a store somewhere."
Hazel paused to take in her words. This was going to be absolute torture, wasn't it? She was going to hate every second of it, it'd feel like she was in art class doing some stupid project. But then, she thought of Red's face, and it all seemed worth it.
"Fine," She sighed, "What do I need to do?"
❀❀❀
Chloe felt her heart swell, and leaned forward to give her girlfriend a peck on the cheek.
"You're the best, baby." She grinned before turning back to the yarn and hook in her hand.
Throwing a quick glance at Hazel, she saw that her girlfriend was blushing, a smile on her face that she was definitely trying to hide.
Chloe felt warmth course through her. It was funny how she had managed to fall twice for two girls who were so prickly on the outside and yet had such softer, adorable sides that they always tried to hide. She really had a type, didn't she?
Laughing to herself, she looked back up at Hazel. "Alright, I'm going to start making the body. Watch for as long as you need to, and once you think you've gotten the hang of it, you can start on the head. So," She took the yarn into her fingers, wrapping it around them. "This is the easiest way to start: making a magic ring. You wrap it around your fingers twice so that there's two strips of yarn, and then...you pull the first loop through the second loop, like this. Got that?"
Hazel was just staring blankly back at her as though she had grown an extra head. "...And this is supposed to be the easiest way to start?"
Chloe let a laugh escape her lips, scooting over so that she was closer to Hazel, and gently took her girlfriend's hand, wrapping the yarn around her fingers and guiding the hook through the loop.
"There," She said, "Just like that. Okay?"
Hazel seemed like she was trying as hard as she possibly could to understand, even though it looked like she was failing miserably at that.
"Okay..." She said slowly.
Chloe laughed, prodding Hazel in the arm. "What's the matter? Aren't you meant to be good at working with hooks?"
Hazel gave her a deadpan stare. "Haha, very funny."
Chloe turned back to the yarn she had in her hands. "Alright, so now we need to make a circle. To do that, we're going to need to make about eight single crochets. So, how you do that, is like this..." She purposely slowed down her pace so that Hazel could follow as she looped the yarn around her hook and caught it under another loop, making a stitch.
Hazel blinked back at her. "Chlo, this really isn't a good idea."
Chloe gave a disbelieving look. "Well, put it this way, it can't be as bad as the time you and Pink tried to make cupcakes for Red's birthday."
Hazel let out a tiny gasp of mock offense. "You— hey! Red said they were still edible and that she liked them." She defended hotly, crossing her arms.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Chloe said softly, "Red's going to love whatever you make regardless, because she loves you. Okay?"
Hazel seemed like she was blinking back tears. "I..." She genuinely didn't even know what to say.
"Don't tell me you're lost for words." Chloe winked.
Hazel playfully swatted her away. "Shut up."
And then they fell into a comfortable silence, Hazel seeming to be getting marginally better at understanding Chloe's instructions.
"What made you start learning to crochet, anyway?" Hazel eventually spoke up, analysing her yarn as though it was the most important and serious thing in the world to her, her tongue poking out in concentration.
Chloe held back a laugh at her girlfriend's expression. "It just sounded like something I'd enjoy. I mean, I like more extreme hobbies, like fencing, but crocheting is a nice way to unwind. It's relaxing. And I like doing this with you, it's really a lot of fun."
Hazel raised an eyebrow. "Even when I'm badgering you about which loop to pull the damn yarn through?"
Chloe let out an airy laugh, closing this distance between her and Hazel. "Yeah, especially then."
She pulled back to observe Hazel's work so far. The head was starting to take shape, it was a bit crooked and some of the stitches were slanted, and the head itself was looking very tight, but despite all of that, Chloe found herself smiling.
"You're doing good, love." She smiled over at Hazel, who laughed and looked away with a blush on her face.
Chloe knew how much both of her girlfriends loved being complimented or told they were doing a good job, even if they tried to hide it, so it was something Chloe tried to do as often as possible.
Neither Red nor Hazel had easy childhoods— Red had grown up with a seriously abusive mother and still suffered through the trauma of that to this day. And Hazel's father had never been around much, Hazel always said it was a blessing, a good lesson, to know that in life, nobody could let you down if you never let them in, but Chloe saw how lonely Hazel really was, how much she yearned for love and affection, which she tried to hide. How funny and secretly sweet and considerate she was beneath her stoic exterior.
Both Hazel and Red were like that, and Chloe was really one of the only people they let their guards down around. She was glad they ttrusted her enough to open up, at least.
Remind me why we're doing this again?" Hazel muttered teeth gritted in concentration, holding the yarn and the hook like her life depended on it.
"Because our girlfriend deserves to heal and if that starts with a stuffed rabbit, then so be it." Chloe answered with no hesitation.
Hazel nodded. "Fair point."
"Hey," Chloe chuckled, "You're holding that hook far too tight, you look like you're about to stab someone with it."
Hazel rolled her eyes. "I'm stabbing the yarn, aren't I?"
"No, you're stitching with it, there's quite a difference. You need to find the right balance between it being too loose, and having way too much tension." Chloe explained, holding back a laugh.
Hazel shifted the hook in her hands, trying to loosen her grip on it, and Chloe gently reached out to take her hand. "Look, why don't you get started on the ears and I'll finish the head once I'm done with the body?" She suggested kindly.
Hazel reluctantly sighed and handed Chloe the head, picking up her own yarn.
"The ears will probably end up being suspiciously triangular if I do them." She muttered under her breath.
A laugh left Chloe's lips before her expression became more genuine.
"And Red will love it anyway."
Hazel kept her eyes fixed on her yarn. "I hope you're right."
❀❀❀
Red finally woke up hours later, blinking through tired eyes at the room around her. She felt so sluggish, tired and groggy, despite having slept for so long for almost the whole day.
"You're pathetic," She muttered to herself, sitting up to grab a tissue, "You're so lazy, look at yourself. Ridiculous."
The words circled around her room, but she didn't even hear them in her own voice.
Why was she like this? She had two beautiful, kind, amazing girlfriends who promised to be there for her always—they had shown her that today with how much they cared for her—but she just couldn't move past her mother's voice or believe what they said.
But no matter what, she just needed them right now. Needed their arms around her, needed her to reassure her that she wasn't a burden, that she really could move past her childhood, and that they'd be there to help her through it as she tried.
"Chloe?" She croaked out, her voice hoarse, "Hazel?"
She heard their voices from the other side of the door, and they entered the room a moment later. Chloe walked in first, a gentle look on her face, while Hazel seemed more....anxious?
"Hi, baby..." Chloe murmured softly, "Are you feeling any better? Do you need anything?"
Red felt her face heat up as she managed to say, "Just you guys."
Hazel took a couple steps forward. "Uh, well, we actually have something to give you."
It was only then that Red realised Hazel's hands were behind her back. She took a deep breath and lifted them back up to reveal a brown and blue rabbit plushie sitting in the palm of her hand.
It was...messy to say the least. Some of the stitching was puckered, and one ear was longer than the other, and the buttons for the eyes were different sizes entirely, and the head was tilted slightly to the left on the body.
But that wasn't what Red noticed.
No. She noticed how it was her two favourite colours—Brown and blue because of the loves of her life. She noticed how, embroidered on both of the feet, were a tiny H and C in red thread. She noticed how delicate it was, how long it must have taken them to make this. And yet they did it. For her.
"I uh— I did my best," Hazel laughed weakly and sheepishly, and Red had never seen her look this shy, "But I get it if you don't like it, I know it's not exactly—"
"I love it."
Those words, breathed out in a tiny rasp, were completely true. Red reached out, gently taking it from Hazel and holding it in her hands, brushing her thumb over it.
"I know your old one was grey," Chloe started, "But we figured if we made this one the same colour, it'd feel more like we're replacing it or fixing it rather than giving it a second chance. We're not trying to fix your trauma or discount it, we're just...trying to help you live the life you deserved back then. Giving the life you could've had a second chance. Even if that starts with a rabbit."
Red could feel tears building up behind her eyes. "Guys...I can't believe you made me this."
Hazel laughed. "Of course we did. Now, scooch over."
She gently nudged Red and then climbed into the bed next to her, curling up beside her.
"Wh— Hazel! I don't want you to catch my cold..." Red sniffled. She was going to blame it on her cold, because she was definitely, certainly not crying...
"Fuck your cold," Hazel murmured, head buried in the crook of Red's neck, "I'm not letting it think it's getting in the way of letting me hug my girlfriend."
...Okay fine, maybe Red was crying, just a little bit.
And then Chloe got in on the other side of the bed, shifting so that Red could sit on her lap.
"We love you so much, darling," She whispered from behind, into Red's ear, tracing gentle circles on her back.
And Red melted into both of their arms, still clutching her new plushie tightly.