𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲

Babysitting Minerva

||~Angel~||
"We've come up with a small plan to help with your addictions, Angel!" Charlie excitedly said, smiling. She handed a few papers to Angel, who gently took them to look at them. "Now that you are a parent, you should be sober for Minnie." She gently tickled the fawn's belly, who giggled out static laugh tracks.

Charlie's smile, if possible, became wider, "Because she can't be near drugs and all that. Being an addict while having children can heavily impact both the parent and the child if it isn't treated --"

Angel nodded slowly, "Yeah... I know." He didn't have the energy to deal with Charlie's overexcited attitude today. He and Alastor stayed up late last night again trying to console Minerva, who was crying nonstop.

Alastor, despite his insomnia and lack of sleep on a daily basis, was beginning to fall asleep. Angel gently touched his shoulder and he immediately jerked up, his smile tightening.

Charlie's smile became awkward, then pity. Angel didn't want her fucking pity.

"Maybe I can take care of Minerva for a while. You and Al deserve some rest, you know," Charlie offered, "Mochi can help as well, since I don't really know how to take care of a fawn." She added quickly before Angel could answer.

He frowned, looking at Mochi.

Mochi looked at him, "You look like shit. Sleep, alright? Me and Cha-Cha will take care of Minnie. Besides, I know how to care for her." They gently picked up Minerva from her rocking chair, cradling her. Minerva gave Mochi a toothless smile, giggling happily.

Alastor held Angel's hand, "Thank you," He said while getting up, helping Angel up as well. "M- Make sure she is burped right after she eats. The formula is in the fridge. Oh! And she eats pinky fingers as a desert, but not too much otherwise she'll barf, and-"

"I know, I know, Angel. Shut the fuck up and go rest," Mochi laughed, shoving Angel playfully into Alastor, who wrapped his arms around him.

"Let's go, Mon Ange." Alastor guided his beau upstairs to their shared room, finally going to get some rest.

||~Mochi~||
Charlie cradled Minerva against her, "Why won't you sleep?" She whispered within a groan. Mochi suppressed a chuckle, "Lemme have at her," Mochi said, holding his arms out for her little sister.

Charlie carefully handed Minerva to Mochi, who gently rocked her back and forth in their lap.

Minerva yawned, her ears folding backwards. Mochi picked her up carefully, placing her in her rocking crib. She turned it on, setting the rocking to a minimum. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" began playing, and Minerva was out like a light.

||~Angel~||
Angel couldn't sleep. Alastor, both surprisingly and unsurprisingly, was asleep and cuddling his beau. The arachnid sighed, shifting slightly so his boyfriend's head would be supported by his soft chest.

He couldn't stop thinking about Minerva, knowing full well Charlie and Mochi are taking care of her. It just unnerved Angel to be so far from his baby.

Is this what new-mothers felt like? It sucked.

He missed his baby, he wanted to get up and take her back to protect her from everything, but his body was too exhausted. He knew he needed rest, but his eyes wouldn't stay closed.

Angel shut his eyes tightly, all four of his arms wrapping around Alastor as he tried to fall asleep.

He missed his baby.

||~Mochi~||
"Angel? What are you doing up? I thought you went to bed an hour ago," Charlie said, frowning slightly.

Mochi looked up, seeing their parent pacing around with an exhausted, worried look on his face. "I'm fine -- Where's Minerva?" He looked panicked.

Mochi stood up, "She's asleep," He cradled Minerva against his chest. Angel looked at them, "Can I have my baby please?" Mochi gently handed Minerva to Angel, who's tense body quickly relaxed as he held his fawn close to his soft chest.

"Did you even sleep?" Mochi asked. Angel shrugged slightly, cradling his baby, "I couldn't."

The doe frowned, "Mom..." He sighed, then his ears went straight up.

Angel looked down at Mochi, eyes wide. Soon, his face relaxed into a warm smile, "What?"

Mochi looked away with red cheeks, "I-- Shit, I didn't mean to say that -- uhm --"

The spider laughed, "No, no, it's okay, Mochi. It's fine, believe me. More then fine, actually."
"It is?"

He nodded with a grin.

~~~

"You two should go on a date." Mochi suggested, attempting to get the spider away from his baby for a while -- at least two hours.

Alastor's ears perked up slightly, "Maybe we should. It has been a while since we've gone out together, my love." Alastor held one of Angel's free hands, kissing the back of it. Angel looked hesitant, "I-- But who'd take care of Minnie?"

"I would. So can Husk." Mochi quickly intercepted, smiling.

Alastor also smiled -- or, his smile became more genuine -- "Ace can also help, my dear. We should go out together, have a grand time at a speakeasy club! Go back to the Golden Age!"

Angel's lips curved into a small smile, "Maybe."

~~~

"Make sure to feed her some pinky fingers if she gets fussy, okay? She takes after Al when it comes to snacking on them. Oh! And don't feed her any chocolate after 8 PM, she gets real hyper and won't be able to go to sleep, okay? Don't---"

"I got it, mom! Go have fun!" Mochi quickly pushed Alastor and Angel out of the Hotel, closing the doors with a smile.

"They gone?" Husk asked, cleaning the bar counter top.

Mochi nodded, "Yep."

Minerva cooed, smiling toothlessly as she held onto Mochi's pinky finger. "What, you want some pinkies to eat?" She asked with a small smile.
Minerva's ears perked up and she giggled happily.

"Husk, do you know where Al and Angel keep Minnie's snacks?" Mochi asked, stepping towards the bar, Minerva in hand.

Husk looked down at the two before sighing, putting down his bottle of alcohol and bending to pick up a small case of pinky fingers. "She gets the smallest ones, since she can't eat normal sized properly -- something like that, I think-- Al's are the big ones."

Mochi smiled, taking the smallest pinky finger and placing it into a blender, letting it turn to mush.

~~~

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST HER!? I GAVE HER TO YOU SO I COULD USE THE BATHROOM!" Mochi shouted at Charlie, who was equally frightened, "I put her down for one second to grab her bottle, then when I turned around, she was gone!"

Mochi's eye twitched, "Fuck. Husk, how much time til Al and Angel come home!?" They asked. Husk looked at the doe, eyes narrowing as he looked at the clock, "About... four hours."

"Fuck," Vaggie cursed, "Search the Hotel for her! We will not sleep until we find her!"

~~~

Three hours.

They searched for three fucking hours.

Not a single piece of white fur(except for Angel's fur) was found.

The radio was clicked on by the bar by itself.

"C̶̼̩̔͋͜ͅH̴̛̜̼͍̩̹̰̱̃͛̑͜Ă̷̦̤̗̳̞͖̠̱̾̏̂̉R̵̛͕̲͇̃̋̽L̴̟̙̮̩̐̅͐̚O̸̰͕͉̣̜͚͚͖̥͆̇́̚͝͝͠Ṫ̴̤̉̓̎̕T̸̩̟̜̳̫͙̺̬̗̍̉̓̿̅̋̑̂̎Ȩ̵͇͖̬͎̼̫̥͛̅͊̀̚͝͠ ̷̧̛̜̲̱̦̬̄̑͂M̴̗̩̭̱̟̓̈͐̉͛̄͑͐̒͝Ọ̸͐̀̽̇̍̓͝R̵͔̞̪̠̈̌͛̈́̚Ĩ̷̢͙̮̲̘̺͑̇̈́̓̿͗̿̄N̵̢̬͎͔̖͛̐̃̈́͐̆͆̀G̸̛̣͈̦̥̋̿̆̃̓͘̕͝Ş̴̰̤͓̪̯̭͇̈́̀̏̈́̈́͘T̷̢̢̹̙̺̰̺̝͂̒͂̈͘͜ͅǍ̶̢̜͇̖̜̹̪̬̓̇̽̽̽͘̚̕R̷͉͗̒."