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All was quiet upstairs. Nobody really knew what Mike was doing in his room, nobody ever questioned him, but Neil was napping in his. He was coming up to an hour which was quite impressive. For starters, he didn't really believe in sleep. Yet, when little, that idea seemed to go out of the window. He could practically hibernate if no one came to check on him. Plus, his favourite plushie had gone missing. Bunny (or simply "bababa" if you were to ask him) was Neil's absolute favourite toy in the whole world. He'd babble to it, have dinner with it, and sleep with it. It helped him to drift off, particularly during bad spells. He hadn't been able to find it all morning, but perhaps this afternoon would prove different.
Neil woke up with a slight grumble as his eyebrows knitted together. He could here laughter and loud thuds from downstairs. Thinking something may be the matter, Neil shuffled his way out of bed and downstairs to check out the commotion. He was met with the most horrifying scene.
On opposite ends of the room stood Rick and Vyvyan, almost launching Bunny at each other. The loud thuds came from Vyvyan directly trying to hit Rick (which was done successfully) and Rick's poor aim. Poor Neil couldn't believe his eyes. He scrambled between them, trying to catch the rabbit plush in the air, but to no avail. Instead, he got himself caught in a game of piggy in the middle, with two rather unpleasant opponents. Vyvyan was there to make a mess, and Rick found himself toying with Neil's emotions. Despite proclaiming himself a proud leftist, he got a kick out of making people feel bad for simply being themselves. Neil felt he couldn't do anything bit sit and cry, and so he did.
"You're not actually crying, are you? You big baby!" Vyvyan taunted.
"Yes, yes! You could say that he's a 'crybaby'!" Rick snorted.
By this time, the house had become almost unbearable. There were still loud thuds, Rick and Vyvyan were laughing like hyenas, and now Neil sobbed on the floor with his hands over his face. Mike now felt the need to step in. The noise was interrupting his activities, whatever they were. The moment he appeared, everything haulted. Rick and Vyvyan stood, awkwardly avoiding eye contact, and Neil remained crying. Mike went over and kneeled in front of him, taking the boy into his arms. He pet his hair, gently hushing him to calm the sobs. As the cries turned into little hiccups, Mike stood back up and looked between the two others.
"Is this how we're getting our kicks now, hm? Throwing around your baby brother's favourite toy in the name of a bit of a laugh and a joke?"
Rick shuffled awkwardly on the spot. Neither of the two could make eye contact with Mike.
"As the short man said to the tall man: "this is highly unfair"". Mike then turned his attention to Neil, who remained sat.
"C'mon bubba".
With that, the bunny was returned to Neil. Mike had lightly pressured Vyvyan into returning it himself. Mike took Neil upstairs, who loosely held his hand. Rick and Vyvyan were left to ponder what on earth just happened. Not that they'd end up doing that, though. Sooner or later, they'd just be squabbling amongst themselves.
Meanwhile, Neil was now comfortably laying in Mike's lap, having his hair played with. Bunny was finally back in safe hands and it meant the world to the poor boy. He ran his hands over the toy, testing the different textures on his hands. These two things combined to make a very sleepy Neil. Seeing this, Mike gently moved to tuck Neil in under his cover and blankets. He readjusted his paci and went to turn on his nightlight. Returning, Mike sat himself beside Neil with a picture book in hand.
"How about a nice bedtime story before we go off to dreamland, eh?"
Neil could only nod, ready for a nice, calm nap with his bunny.