Earth and her littlest brother spend some quality - and indulgent - time together.
Sometimes a coping mechanism is good for more than one party at play.
[Age regression]
"Where's the baby," a light airy voice sang sweetly, bouncing with her hardly suppressed giggles. A plume of spun sugar, whiter than snow, shone brightly around her cerulean and green cheeks. "Where's the baby," Earth repeated, lifting a foam block with an indulgent smile. "Uh oh, no baby here! Wherever could he be?"
Tiny giggles danced in the air, very obviously drifting from the small ball pit. Hands pressed over a smiling mouth, trying in vain to muffle the sound.
Turning slowly, she very poignantly left her back open, hand to her brow as she mimed looking high and low around the small daycare wing turned playplace. Despite the late hour, the relative solitude, this little snapshot in time had become one of her favorite recurring responsibilities. Her other brothers couldn't always make the time needed for such things, and Earth was more than happy to spend some quality time with her little brother, be it at home or here. She adored little ones, and this tiny tot especially had a special place nestled in her heart.
She waited a mere moment longer, until she heard the tiniest movement of the plastic balls rustling before she turned and lunged. Large hands cupped a small waist tightly, yet still she kept the touch gentle. Lifting and spinning, she beamed a glowing smile at the squeak and hysterical little giggles from her baby brother, his feet kicking with mirth. After a few rotations, however, she let gravity tug and carried him with her as she fell back into the pit, swallowed in the toys and smothered by her brother's sudden deadweight. Blinking once, twice, she let out a merry laugh, delighting further as the other joined her.
Scrambling up to straddle her middle, clumsy hands attempted to push her hair from her face. "Sissy okay," Sunny asked, still laughing but mildly concerned.
Setting her hands on his sides, she gave a little tickle. "Yeah, sweetie, sissy is fine. Is Sunny okay?"
"Mm!" His rays spun as he nodded, ivory eyes mildly dilated as he clapped his hands, swaying in place. "Sunny happy!"
"I'm glad," she chirped, tugging him down to snuggle into her arms. "You deserve to be happy," she murmured between kisses to his rays. "Love you, little rabbit."
"Love you, sissy!"
Cooing softly, she wriggled a little, both to release some of the cuteness aggression and to ignite those infectious giggles and cackles. Sun's regression offered reprieve for many people - himself in the form of relaxation, to Moon for an opportunity to reaffirm his personal mission to do and be better, to Earth for a child to love on and a family member to help. Even Monty had grown the slightest of soft spots for the small starlet, though he often tried to deny it - a lesson in futility, she mused absently.
Curious hands toyed with her locks, and she pushed them both upwards slowly, curling against the wall of the ballpit. Settling the other against her chest, she brushed gentle fingers over his rays. Ignoring the twinge in her knees and ankles, she went to bring her legs up into the protective cage she knew the other often enjoyed.
Gunmetal and gold digits left her locks, however, and patted silicone palms on her lower limbs with a scowl, though. "No," he huffed, lower lip slipping out in a pout. "Sissy rest, no hurty!"
"It's not bad right now," she tried to assure, "I just wanted to cuddle you up."
"Snuggle without ouchies," he reaffirmed with a cross of his arms. Flopping sideways, he scrambled once more until he brought himself back to her lap, hugging her left arm to his chest. Bringing his own knees up, he bundled into a ball, tilted his pale gaze upwards and blinked. "Pats?"
Indulgently - and mildly confused - she continued with the petting motion over his rays with her free hand. It was only as he slumped into her that she realized what he had done. Squinting playfully, she pushed in one ray, earning a snicker at the ticklish sensation. "Did you just become a Sunny Ball and pin me down?"
"Uh huh."
"So now I'm tra- stuck here," she corrected quickly. It earned another unashamed nod.
"Now sissy rest and Sunny snuggle! Feel better." Nuzzling back in, he hummed, shaking his hands gently, delighting in the ringing of his bells. Lulled sufficiently, he let his head rest against her once more, humming a random tune as he stimmed.
Unable to escape the trap laid by what was effectively a toddler, Earth simply sighed, cracking a wane smile. Leave it to Sun to look after people, even with over half of his systems running on less than fifty percent. Shaking her head, she leaned back and settled, relaxing into the sea of balls and miscellaneous soft toys.
Yeah, she mused fondly, she really did love looking after her baby brother - even if he was secretly a tiny evil genius.