My Gentle Giant

Chapter 3: Cuties and Cuts

It took 5 minutes to explain why we had to undress the kids for a bath and that we wash clothes separately. I never thought that I would have that kind of conversation in my life.
Once we got them in, it was smooth sailing from then on. If smooth sailing included two little kids splashing in bubbly water as I tried to teach their father how to bathe them. I definitely didn't need to shower after that, though I was glad I grabbed some extra towels.
Now I currently have two freshly cleaned baby bones sitting on my bed, wrapped in the fluffiest towels in the house as I search through some boxes of clothes for them to wear. If you are wondering, yes, I did get a picture of them before I began my search. They're just too cute not to.
Eventually, I found a couple of old college shirts that I used to wear. After making sure they were completely dry, I put them on the boys. The sleeves went to Null's elbows, and the shirt stopped right below his knees. While on Void, it was basically a dress that reached his ankles. And there is now another picture on my phone reaffirming how adorable they are. Thank you past me for liking baggy t-shirts.
I scooped them up in my arms, Void squealing a little, and took them downstairs. I find Granny still in the kitchen, putting the sandwiches on the griddle.
"Hey, Granny, do you have any idea on what I should grab for Erratum to wear?"
"How about basketball shorts from your cousin's box? One of his shirts too, but grab a bathrobe just in case."
"Ok. Also, where do we keep the first aid kit again?"
"Didn't you see it when you grabbed the towels?" She turned with an arched eyebrow, which dropped a little when she noticed who I am holding. "Well, aren't they just adorable!" Void squealed again as Null buries his face into my shoulder, further emphasizing their cuteness.
I giggled a little at their actions. "You're gonna have to get used to that. I got the feeling you're going to hear it a lot." 
I headed towards the living room, which the kitchen and dining room opens up to. I placed the two down on the couch and picked up the remote. Clicking it on, I heard a couple of gasps behind me as the tv started advertising some shampoo or other. I flipped through the channels trying to find something appropriate for the kids. I wound up finding Powerpuff Girls and figured that was good enough. I turned to see them glued to the tv, barely moving. I set the remote down and left them to it, heading downstairs to where we stored the family's stuff.
It took a few minutes to find the right box. Thank goodness my older cousin Ron played basketball in college, but even his 6'5" is nothing compared to Erratum's height. So I grabbed the biggest shorts I could find the same with the shirt. Luckily, he left a bathrobe in here. I gathered those up and headed back upstairs.
I passed by the living room, seeing the kids watching the tv in awe. They are really getting into that show! 
Once upstairs, I opened the closet by the bathroom again. Sure enough, there was the first aid kit, sitting on the second to top-shelf. By that point, I noticed the shower had stopped. I grabbed the gear and knocked on the door.
"Hey, Erratum? Are you decent?"
"What do you mean by that?" Ho boy!
"... Um… Is there a towel wrapped around your waist?" The blush is starting to appear on my face as I realized what I'm trying to do. It grew during the pause until he spoke again.
"Yes." I do not like that pause.
"Can I come in?" A minute later, the door clicked open. I steadied my breathing, hoping that my face won't be so red, and walked in.
When I walked into the bathroom with those bandages, I expected to be a blushing mess, not a sobbing mess. 
I walked in, closing the door behind me, looking down, blushing.
"I, um, got you shorts and a shirt that might fit you, and a bathrobe just in case. I also grabbed our first aid kit to cover any cuts to avoid infec-" 
The scars.
There was not a single inch where they didn't cover, old and new. A couple of them were still bleeding, mostly on his ribs.
His ribs were in the worst shape out of all. They are basically jigsaw puzzles at this point, with missing pieces all jammed together in an attempt to make it look whole.
Who did this to him?

Erratum's pov
She walked into the bathroom after I unlocked the door, her face red for some reason, and looking down.
"I, um, got you shorts and a shirt that might fit you, and a bathrobe just in case. I also grabbed our first aid kit to cover any cuts to avoid infec-"
She stopped suddenly, her eyes boring into me as she had finally looked up. I glanced down to see what could have caused her to stop. Even double-checked if my towel was still in place. It was. The only other thing she could possibly be looking at is my ribs.
I gave them a once over, glad that I wasn't missing any this time.
I remember when and where and why I got each and every one of them. The why being obvious; because I destroyed and Ink found out.
It's almost not fair that while Ink can't remember a conversation he had two minutes ago, I remember everything. But Fate never cared, at least not about me.
Sniff.
That single sound broke me out of my thoughts, returning my attention to (y/n) who started crying.
Wait, crying?
Tears were streaming down her face by the bucket, one hand covering her mouth and nose as she sobbed while the other clenched her bundle tightly. One emotion in her eyes I was familiar with since I saw it often; horror, but that was barely existing there in between all the other emotions. Sadness, concern, a little anger, yet only two of those were for me. 
Nightmare taught me how to read facial expressions long ago after I learned that Outer was spying on me so that I wouldn't be betrayed again. But he never prepared me for empathy.
She was never going to move in this state, so I stepped forward. I gingerly placed my hand on her shoulder, hoping my haphephobia wouldn't act up, not that it has recently, in an attempt to snap her out of it.
"(Y/n)! (Y/n), breathe. Look at me and breathe." It worked a little. When I spoke, she finally looked into my eyes. Her pupils dilated in and out as she slowed her breathing.
"W-who, who d-did this to y-you?" She finally breathed out, somewhat shakily. I was a little taken aback since I now know for sure that the anger wasn't directed towards me. Unsure of how to answer, it was most likely best to keep to the basics.
"A-a l0t 0f people didn't l1ke me for wh0 1 am and my j0b that 1 was forced to do. They m4de it perfectly cle4r that they didn't want m3 around." My voice started glitching as my mind returned to the multiverse I left behind. The abuse I escaped and the people, no, the family I abandoned. I grabbed my skull, about to start scratching away when she spoke.
"If I ever meet the ones who did this to you, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind. If I don't splatter theirs across the sidewalk first." 
Say what? Out of all the things she could say, she goes with that?
"Pfft! Hahaha, hahaha!" I haven't laughed like this since rice incident #5. I glanced at her again just to laugh harder at her bewildered expression, which slowly grew red as it switched to realization.
"I said that aloud, didn't I?" I tapered off into a chuckle as I nodded.
"Yeah, you did. As much as that would be fun to see, there's no way you'll be able to meet them if they live long enough for that." If Ink keeps creating, that is. "Also, they're skeletons too. We technically don't have brains."
"I bet I can find a way, even if I have to fill their skulls with something first!" She looked so smug, so Determined that it was adorable. I just shook my skull as I continued to chuckle. She seems pretty pleased with herself.
"Ok, ok. Can I just get dressed now?" And she's red again.
"Um, c-can we w-wrap t-those w-wounds first?" She looked up with pleading concern in her eyes, puppy dog eyes if I remembered correctly. I sighed, betting she's more stubborn than Blue in this state.
"Alright. If it will get me dressed faster." She jumped into action, grabbing my hand and lead me to sit down on the tub. 
This is going to take awhile.

Sorry, I meant to get this out earlier, but I got bogged down with school and this melodrama I'm in. Just know that I don't have an actual publishing schedule, so I'm apologizing for that now. I'll try to publish as much as possible, and thank you for all your support so far.

Edit 10/26: sorry, I was rereading this to help me with the next chapter, and I noticed that I had the wrong word in the wrong spot, which made the sentence end wonky. So yeah, that's the only thing I fixed; sorry for making you confused, but it would've driven me nuts. The dangers of a sliding keyboard on a phone, I guess.