fear not [muke]

seven

'bunny, i made you pb+j! my mum left so we can eat and watch cartoons in the living room!' michael sat on the floor next to luke, where he was playing with one of the toys michael had in his room from his last little. luke nodded and held the toy tightly in his right hand and held michael's hand with the other one as he followed michael to his living room, where there was a fort-like thing set up on his couch. luke smiled lightly and and let go of the caregiver's hand, running over to see everything that was set up. 

'so i don't have a ton of movies because all the one i did have before were my little's, but i have that show about the mermaid kids, or whatever they are, saved on my tv. we can watch that.' luke nodded slowly, not fully understand what he was talking about, but loving the idea of it. he pulled michael down onto the couch and sat on his lap. michael smiled and handed luke his sandwich and turned the television on. 

luke grinned at all the colors on the screen, pointing to the screen when he saw a big, orange fish on the screen. 

'fishy!' he squealed, cuddling up into michael's chest as he watched all the characters swim around and sing. 

when luke was done with his sandwich, he handed the plate to michael and opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it shortly after and slouched down. michael patted his leg to get his attention and then asked him to say what he was going to. luke seemed to be struggling, but then spoke. 

'juicy? please?' luke whispered as he fiddled nervously with his hands. michael smiled and ruffled his hair. he wanted the boy to get comfortable asking him things, but he knew that was probably going to be hard.

'of course. i have a sippy cup if you wanna use it?' luke smiled and nodded quickly, clapping his hands lightly in excitement.

michael left the room to get the boy what he had asked for, but when he left he heard luke start singing along to the theme song of the show. he smiled and hurried to get the drink so he could see what luke was up to.

'bub' guppies!' luke cheered, a huge smile on his face. michael was glad he was enjoying himself, he hated seeing the boy so upset over the past few days.

michael waited by the door a little longer, letting the boy have his little moment to himself before he walked in and made himself known. he handed the boy his sippy before sitting back down with him. the little was all giddy as he stared at the cup, quickly putting it up to his mouth and tipping it back a bit. he smiled at the taste and thanked michael softly, his cheeks tinting pink as he avoided eye contact. 

after watching the episode, luke seemed to be getting pretty tired. michael figured that his mother was going to have many questions for both boys, especially where michael hadn't exactly told his mother about the reclassification yet, so he knew that having luke feeling awake and in his big space would be better than trying to pull conversations from a grumpy little. 

'lie down and we can watch another, okay bunny?' luke nodded slowly and rubbed his eyes, moving his arms around as if he were looking for something. his lip started wobbling and soon he was softly crying, going unnoticed by michael until he started sniffling away the tears. michael seemed confused but prompted the boy to tell him what was going on. 

'stuffies, mummy taked them and now no have them!' luke started crying again, sitting himself up and clinging onto michael. the caregiver rubbed the boy's back and tried getting him to calm down. 

'i was going to surprise you, little one, but i don't like seeing you sad.' luke wiped his eyes, pulling away to watch michael stand up and walk out.

michael isn't leaving me all alone, right? he was just going to get something?

luke whimpered when he hadn't heard from the caregiver in a while (but really it was about 45 seconds) and let out a faint 'mikey?' that seemed to echo through the living room. 

michael came walking back in a few seconds later, sighing when the boy was still crying and trying desperately to calm himself down. he was holding the surprise behind his back, smiling lightly at the boy as he walked back to his original spot and rubbed the boys back, pulling him onto his lap. 

'lu, you know how i just love calling you 'bunny'?' luke took in a deep breath and nodded, resting his on michael's shoulder. he was exhausted, but he really wanted to see what michael was doing. 

michael pulled out a stuffie from behind him, earning a gasp from luke as he saw it. it was a grey bunny with white paws, polka-dotted with tiny yellow spots. luke nearly started crying again because he was slightly overwhelmed, but instead gave michael a big hug, snuggling the stuffie between the two of them.

'thank you, mikey! loves it.' luke calmed down a bit and sat with his legs on either side of michael, his head rested on his shoulder and the stuffie behind michael's back so only luke could see it. michael was rubbing the boy's back with both hands, occasionally playing with the blonde's curly locks. luke was nearly passed out when michael's phone went off. he picked it up and saw that it was a message from his mother. 

i'll be home in about twenty minutes, i really need to talk with both you and luke. i don't appreciate all the grey areas, michael. 

michael knew that his mother needed to know, and as michael gently lulled luke to sleep, he felt like he and luke could work really well together. especially if luke was as gentle of a little as he was. michael's past littles were always very, special, and he liked taking care of them. but this was different. this was a boy he had grown up with, a boy who before classifications, before any of the crap that had ruined this poor boys life, was just a friend.