#3 with little!keith? I’m not picky about other characters!
I picked Krolia because I haven’t seen this done with her yet!
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Krolia smiled as she knocked on her son’s door. She and Keith were finally starting to bond again and she was excited to spend some time with her son. They had been trying to spend a few hours together every other night since they found each other to get to know each other. Keith had seemed more hesitant than her the past few times they did this for a reason she couldn’t discern, but she was hopeful he would settle down once he got more comfortable around her. She knew he wasn’t going to love her immediately- she was, essentially, a stranger to him now- but that was okay. She knew it would take time.
She knocked again after a moment when there was no answer, then frowned curiously. Did Keith forget that she was coming? This was still a fairly new routine, so she wouldn’t be surprised if he had (he had forgot once before already.)
“Keith?” She called, though she received no response.
Growing a little worried, the woman placed her hand on the door’s sensor. It opened right away, which was surprising (so far Keith’s door had always been locked) but she put the thought to the side as she peered inside. Her eyes immediately landed on her son, who was sitting on the floor in a pair of space-themed pajamas, holding a stuffed hippo in his arms and suckling in a red pacifier.
He startled at the sound of the door opening and looked up to her with frightened eyes. Before she could react, tears filled her son’s eyes and he began to cry, dropping the pacifier in the process.
Krolia was confused and shocked (so much had happened so quickly) but she quickly ran to the boy’s side and knelt down in front of him. Keith may not be the baby she remembered anymore, but she still felt the need to protect him when he was upset. And while the pacifier and toy confused her, they were familiar enough for her to jump into action and comfort her son.
“Hey, it’s okay sweetheart. It’s just me.” She soothed as she picked up the pacifier, wiped it off on her shirt, and offered it to him again. “I’m sorry if I scared you.” She apologized sweetly.
Keith stared at the pacifier tearfully, hesitant to take it. He leaned back slightly and turned his head away as he cried, still spooked from her sudden entrance.
His mother softly shushed him and put it down. “It’s okay honey. There’s nothing to be scared of.” She promised.
“Did you forget I was coming?” Krolia asked, trying to get his attention. She was acting on auto-pilot, remembering how she would calm down Keith when he was just a baby.
The boy hiccupped and nodded, still crying upsetly.
She hummed in understanding and nodded too. “You were just relaxing by yourself, huh?”
Keith sniffled and nodded again, then brought a hand to his face to wipe away his tears. “Uh huh.” He grizzled.
Krolia smiled warmly. “That’s okay, I’m happy you were relaxing.” She said. “Is it okay if I relax with you?”
The boy sniffled again as he started to quiet down. “Mad?” He asked, his eyes wide.
“No baby, I’m not mad.” His mom reassured. Now that he was calmer, she offered him the pacifier again. “Do you want this back?” She asked gently.
Keith hesitated for a second before he nodded and opened his mouth to let her give it to him. She carefully pressed the nipple to his lips and he latched on and started to nurse on it. He rubbed at his eyes again to rid them of tears, starting to calm down now that he had his comfort object.
Krolia smiled again when he quieted down. “Who’s that?” She asked curiously, pointing to the stuffed hippo in his arms.
“Hippo.” Keith said, hugging the toy tighter.
“Is he your friend? Can you introduce us?”
Finally, her son’s lips pulled up into a smile. “Yeah.”
















