𝑰dentity v || Oneshots

◇ Our Past and Future | Joseph x Aesop

Requested by: NIKKI_1889
(Fem! Aesop)

There he goes, her son began talking to himself again. It wasn't the first time this has happened, and Aesop was starting to get worried. Even after the birth of her second child, the little baby girl they had waited for, Grey had still wandered on his own, mind racing with many things his parents never would have expected. It became apparent that he was at that age where children would make their own imaginary friends.

Was it because of his lack of socialization? Or was it just a mere children thing? Aesop had wondered if she should be worried, or just shrug it off as overreacting.

"Yeah! But sometimes mama just likes to bake cookies while we wait for papa to come home," Grey continues to talk, his tone sending a bit too friendly to no one. He stared at the empty space in front of him, grinning as if a silhouette of a person lingered behind the soft breeze from outside. He continued to converse, unknown to his mother watching from afar.

Aesop had asked Emily for help, considering she had more knowledge on human development and such. It seemed like her mother instinct grew too anxious, following several questions she needed to be assured to. But as always, the doctor had been there for the girl, calming her down as she explained Grey's actions. Sitting across one another, Aesop's fingers laced with the hem of her shirt, a tingling sensation of a worrywart hovering like a hawk.

"Don't worry, it's quite normal for children at his age to have imaginary friends. It's a way of developing being social for a child. Aesop, you don't need to worry that much," Emily smiled, a reassurance surpassed a wall of anxiety and worries. Of course she had been accustomed to ash-haired's antics, seeing as her fingers tend to figit around whenever she was stressed. It became a habit, and soon enough, every movement had captured the doctor's attention.

"Thank you, Emily. I was just....I don't know, a bit worried? I guess I was too overreacting with everything," Aesop shyly turned away, a bit embarrassed from her lack of knowledge about children. Ironically speaking, as a mother, shouldn't she had known? She fathomed at how she could've raised her children even with the knowledge of a raisin.

Ever since her visit to Emily, Aesop had worried less about Grey's behaviour. Her anxiety began to cool down, a pool of her worries draining in a reassurance. She had also started taking notes on who her son had been talking to. Once in a while, she would join in, pretending to have little small talks and polite conversations with the so friend. Although looking like a fool, perhaps it wasn't too bad of a thing to interact. Of course, there were times where Joseph would barge in the room, wondering who had his family's attention? Like the attention seeker he is, he was unknowingly jealous of an imaginary person.

It had been a week of just leaving Grey to mind on his own little world, playing with his toys and talking with the friends of his. At this point it became normal to see the sight of the little boy prancing about with a smile on his lips, doing any normal thing a child at his age would do- with of course, the presence of a certain person.

Aesop had been curious, and being a worried mother, she never really had a chance to ask what their names were.

"Grey?" she softly said, afraid to startle the child.

Grey whipped his head to the side, bright blue hues attracted by silver irises. His smile didn't falter, but he did look back between the wall and the woman. Tilting his head to the side like he had realized something, he could clearly see the similarities between his friend and his mother. "Mama, you look like my friend!"

Aesop froze, but almost certain he was just seeing the other as a mirror image of herself. She calmed herself down, waiting for another characteristic to be said.