hi hi :3 i dont plan on writing anymore little stuff after this, but last night i was in a middle mood and wanted to write about it
1.1k, middle aurora takes care of little phantom alone for the first time. CW for fighting like siblings, kicking that leads to aurora getting a little hurt, almost panic attacks but it ends happy
"Ok, I'll be right back. You're sure you'll be ok?" Mountain rumbles. He's crouching down so he's face to face with Aurora on the couch. She can't manage to look him fully in the eyes as she nods, but he doesn't seem to notice in his rush.
He nods back and kisses her on the forehead before following Aether out of the den.
She stares down at her hands, playing with her candi and making the beads clack together. She kicks her feet a little. When she decides to look over at Phantom, they're staring at her with wide eyes.
"So," she starts, but she has no idea what to say next. The adults had never left her alone with them before. She was old enough. She could take care of herself just fine, she's allowed in the kitchen with minimal supervision. She's got the basics covered. But she's never had to start a conversation with any of the littler ones. She usually leaves that up to whoever's in charge and all she has to do is laugh when they say stupid stuff.
And Phantom just keeps staring at her. It's not making it any easier, and they're supposed to be the chatty one.
"Wanna tell me about dinosaurs?" She tries. Phantoms face twists up.
"Rain likes d-dinosaurs," They say, helpfully. Aurora almost rolls her eyes but she stops herself. Cirrus had told her that it's disrespectful, and that the littles didn't even know what it meant.
"What do you like, then?" She tries again. Phantom rolls their eyes, much more dramatic than Aurora's ever done. She is going to have a stern word with Cirrus when she's allowed to leave. "Fine, then we can just sit here."
"Fine," Phantom squeaks back, and the ten seconds that follow are the most intense staring contest She's ever been part of, until Phantom signs and starts twisting themself off the couch. "You're s-so bor-oring."
Aurora's off the couch and grabbing Phantom by the waist before they can fully hit the floor. She's miscalculated slightly, they're much heavier then they look, and when she drops them awkwardly back on the couch she plays it off like it was on purpose. Just a silly game. Phantom shrieks.
"Stop it!" She clamps her hands over her ears. Phantom's too smart for their own good. They keep yelling as they slip off the couch and sprint down the hall of bedrooms.
"Ughhhh! Phantom!" She takes off after them even though she really doesn't want to, but Mountain will be so peeved if she loses them.
They're faster than she expected, too, but they still have tiny legs, so she manages to catch up to them as they try to slip into Mountain's room. She grabs them by their waist, tight, so that even as Phantom flails and screams she can grit against it and get them all the way to her nest before dropping them. They almost disappear entirely between all her fluffy pillows. She throws a blanket over their head as they try to struggle out of it, slowing them down and giving her enough time to close her door. She knows she's not allowed to lock it, so she doesn't, but that won't stop her from blaming the adults for their rule if Phantom manages to get out again.
"R-R-Rora!" They giggle as they finally get the blanket off of their head. Their hair is a mess, and their tail whips behind them in a challenge. Aurora takes another blanket from the chair in the corner of her room and throws it over them again. She can't help but laugh as they laugh louder, struggling once again. Seeing their arms and legs flail through the fabric is pretty funny too.
But then they start to struggle a little too much, the flailing becomes a little too wild and their laugh turns to a growl that turns Aurora's stomach. She tries to help and pull the blanket off, but they're moving too much.
"Phantom, it's ok, you gotta calm down!" She tries to soothe. She can't help as she starts to panic a little too. Phantom kicks her in the wrist. She yelps and pulls back and tries not to cry, because crying won't help and she's supposed to be the big one here.
She grabs her wrist and tries to do the breathing thing that Aether taught her. It's hard, and she knows her breaths should be deeper but she can't, she has to but she can't. She pushes her candi off to grab fully at her wrist.
It all clacks as it bounces off the ground, and then it's quiet, except for Phantom trying to breath with her. Their breathing is also shallow and a little mistimed, but if they can do it, so can she.
She tries again, and this time it helps to calm her down. Her wrist still aches but it's better. Phantom's still a little breathless when they squeak "H-h-help me?" from under the blanket.
Without them flailing she gets them out of it quickly. They both stare, wide eyed. Aurora hopes they won't tattle on her. She sticks her pinky out, not really sure what else to do.
"Truce?" She asks.
"Truce," They agree and shake pinkies with her. She looks around her room to figure out what to do next. Her eyes catch on the butterfly clips by her mirror.
"Can I fix your hair? It looks awful." Phantom's eyes also drift to the hair clips.
"Only if I c-can do your h-h-h-hair."
Aurora grimaces. She tries to tell Phantom no with a look, but they just stare back and it turns into another staring contest. This one they're a lot more dedicated to. Aurora has to blink first, and when she opens her eyes Phantoms grinning like they've already decided they won. She groans.
"You can't tell Mountain what happened." She thinks that's only fair. And they did kinda win, even if it was in kind of a stupid way, so they probably get to do her hair fair and square.
"Deal."
Aurora grabs her brush and a small bag with hair ties, clips, a comb, and some other random stuff and sits behind them in the nest. They work together to rearrange the pillows until it's comfortable, and the moment the brush touches Phantom's hair they won't shut up about video games. It's a little too loud, but it's hard to feel annoyed because they wind their tail around hers and sit the most still she's ever seen them, letting her finish without needing to interrupt them too many times.
Mountain finds them sometime later, yelling her name with a screwed up worried expression that goes away as soon as he sees Phantom's hands raking through her hair and the absurd amount of butterfly clips in theirs.