Kiddie AU

[sliceitwithwind]

November 11th, after the great hair dying Halloween, when the kids got home from school there was a strange man sitting on the porch with Lenna, Elcy, and Yinsi. He was seven foot seven inches tall and seemed to take up the entire porch. Skin four shades darker than Dilan's, brilliantly green Katzu eyes, and braids down to his knees of thick, black and grey hair.

He was in a beautiful coat of terrible chartreuse, and the instant the boys saw him Dilan bolts forward shrieking happily in too-fast Katzu.

Braig grabbed Aya's hand and explained, "That's his great-grand-uncle Sannish."

Comments

[mitochondriaaya]

Stronger women than Braig's mom had melted under that look. "Well, it must have been in a hole in the ground." Not surprising given the trio but...well, she had hoped they wouldn't come home so dirty? "Bathtub, all of you."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Mo-ooom!" Braig grumped, but he grabbed the others and stomped to the bathroom. He was just enough older that he ran the bath for the younger kids and then went to shower in the other bathroom, but Dilan strips without hesitation and hops in to scrub dirt off.

[mitochondriaaya]

Ditto for Aya, of course she climbed in after she found the tub toys. She liked taking baths at Braig's house. It was kinda like having her sister back when someone else was in the tub! Only a lot more boy-like of course.

"So is your uncle staying for dinner? He eats like you right? You get to share!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Uh huh!" Dilan was much more into the whole washing up part of being in the tub, but he didn't mind playing with Aya. She was his Ayay after all! "He's gonna stay for a couple of weeks."

[mitochondriaaya]

Scrubbing was something to be done once the toys were all sunk! It was how things worked! Unless Dilan made her scrub early. She'd do it then. "That's a long time! Is he going to sleep on the couch?" That's what visitors did right?

[sliceitwithwind]

He might very well scrub her so that she can just keep playing. They are impressively dirty. "Naaah. He sleeps at my house! Momma works nights an' so he can sleep in her room."

[mitochondriaaya]

As long as he didn't get shampoo in her eyes it was all good! She didn't even mind getting dunked as long as there was no stinging.

And as long as the boat pirates could fight the army guys and get all sunk. "Oh...he doesn't mind sleeping on girl blankets? I mean, your mom has flowers and stuff on her sheets!"

[sliceitwithwind]

He was very careful! Nothing into her eyes, she flailed! "He says," Dilan put on an 'old people' voice, "I am secure enough in my masculinity that mere flowers cannot a-fear me."

[mitochondriaaya]

She scrunched her face up at that, obviously puzzled. "Why would the sheets be afraid of him?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"I think it means that they can't make him be afraid." Dilan offered, shrugging and scrubbing her back where his dirty arm had rested.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Well, why did he have to say it all weird then?" Aya snorted and made explosion noises as the last boat sunk. "A'feared. A'feeeeeeeaaaarrrrred Arrrrr." Apparently it was now pirate talk.

[sliceitwithwind]

"I dunno. Maybe it's old people slang?" He twisted around after she'd sunk the last boat, "Do my back!"

[mitochondriaaya]

"Okay!" Washcloth time! Huh, they really had gotten dirty hadn't they? "Does he say other funny things?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"All the time!" Dilan says, "You'll get used to it, though."

[mitochondriaaya]

"I'll have to pay attention then!" It was research! If Dilan's great uncle said more funny words like 'afeared' then he had to be a pirate. THIS COULD BE IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE!

"Back's good! Wanna wash your hair?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Okay! The vinegar is in the cupboard, an' so is the baking soda." Dilan, you see, was going to un-sink the bath toys so that he could play with them while she did his hair.

[mitochondriaaya]

"'kay!" She eeled out of the tub and darted across the tile to dig around in the cupboard. "Hey, you totally have bubbles under here. We should have had bubbles!" Too late now but important to remember.

Dilan had the neatest hair to wash. It fizzed!

[sliceitwithwind]

"I don't like those bubbles. You can have them if you want them. I like the bubbles that Aunt Elcy and Uncle Yinsi have! They smell like summer."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Well they're not for smelling!" Duh! "They're for playing!" That was the important part!

"What does summer smell like?" And how did one get it in a bubble?

[sliceitwithwind]

"...Summer." Dilan said, blankly, "It's kinda...green? But not like you sound. More like momma."

[mitochondriaaya]

....right. LET HER THINK ABOUT THAT ONE FOR A BIT OKAY?

Scrub scrub scrub.

"Kinda like adult grass getting cut? That smells kinda green..."

[sliceitwithwind]

"...No. My brain works funny, I dunno how to explain. It's good, though! Maybe Aunt Elcy will let us use some tomorrow night!"

[mitochondriaaya]

"Okay, but I'm going to still think about it!" And maaaaybe sniff crayons. Crayons were a great way to figure out colors! "You need to rinse now!"

"you ask, I'll forget!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Okay!" Dilan pinched his nose and dunked completely under the water, holding his breath and staying under as long as possible before surging out and saying: "RAAAAAAAHHHHHHRRR!" while making claws out of his hands and lunging at the ships, and Aya.

[mitochondriaaya]

She squealed and slipped as a matter of course, getting dunked herself. There was also a mini-tsunami that slopped over the sides of the tub and dumped poor little boats on the soaked rug!

And now water monster Aya was nomming his toes.