Together at The Edge of a Universe

✨Chapter 35 - let's see what we can make

Tree P.O.V:

"Okay, so...liken this." I say, writing my own name on the sheet of paper. Black Hole pauses for a second, before attempting to copy down the text.

"Aw...darn." They mumble, botching the "r". I smile, patting their back. "You're okay, it's much better than your first attempt.

Teaching Black Hole how to read and write was an imminent challenge. I should have been doing this long ago, but hey, never to late to learn.

"Try again," I say, writing slowly this time. Their eyes slowly follow my hand, watching as the green colored pencil rubs off on the paper. They copy again, their eyes fixated on not messing up.

"...Did I do it?" They ask, I nod, smiling widely. "Nice job! Proud of you honey," I grin, giving them a small kiss. They blush, laughing a bit. "Thanks love..."

"You want to try CJ's name?" I ask, handing them a maroon colored pencil this time. They seem to use color quite a lot, I don't see why this wouldn't help them.

They give an anxious nod, gripping the pencil tightly. I slowly write Cherry Jr.'s name on the paper, Black Hole doesn't let their eyes come off the page, staring intently. "There, you think you can do it?" I ask, patting their free hand. They nod, "I...think so."

Shakily scribbling onto the paper, the name; "cherry jr" forms. I smile, sure it's misshapen and shaky, but it's progress. Before, he couldn't even hold a pencil correctly.

"Awesome! That was quick!" I congratulate, giving them a tight hug. They rub their hands together, "Th-thanks..."

I continue my lesson, talking about verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs...anything they would ever need. Vocabulary wise.

"So...what would the word cat be?" I ask, quizzing them. He pauses for a moment, mumbling quietly.

"A...cat...adjec- no! Noun?" They say, correcting themself. I smile widely, "Yup! Alright...next one: quickly."

"A-adjective?" They guess, fiddling with their thumbs. "Almost, it's a descriptive word." I say, they nod, thinking again.

"Uh...ad- add?...what was it?" They ask, clearly frustrated. I smile, patting their shoulder. "Hey! It's okay love...things like this take time to learn, and you're doing great so far!" I say, kissing their hand. Blushing, they smile. "Thanks...c-could I have some help with that one?"

I nod, "So, an adjective describes an object. Otherwise known as a noun. Now what would you call something that describes a verb?" I ask, letting them hold my hands as they think.

"Ad...object...uh-...ad...ad-adverb?" They ask, I nod, smiling brightly. "Exactly! Told you, you're getting much better at this..."

"You're to kind to me..." They chuckle, blushing intensely. I grin, kissing their already flustered face. "I am the healthy amount of kindness to you," I joke, hugging them tightly. They return the favor, squeezing their arms around me.

"Th-thank you...for teaching me these things..." They whisper, playing with my hair. I nod, "Of course, anytime."

I stand up, stretching my arms a bit. "You want to take a break, we've been at this for like an hour thirty already..." I mutter, grabbing their hand to lift them up. They nod, following me into the kitchen.

"When's Jr. coming back from his playdate?" I ask, getting the kettle out of the cupboard. "Probably around 4:30..." They say, I nod. Beginning to make some tea, "It's getting much colder outside..." I mumble, looking out the window to see a bit of frost.

"How cold does it get?" They ask, I shrug. "Cold."

"What is that motion? I keep forgetting to ask," They inquire, pointing at me. I smile, "It's called a shrug, you do it when you don't know something."