Neko!!

“No, I’m not being the Ken in your Barbie game again… you make them make out too much for it to not be weird,“ Etho said carefully, a twist of disgust in his tone.

“Nooo, I didn’t want to play with the Barbies,“ Gem said, dropping her chin to his shoulder and intensifying the puppy dog act with a convincing pout. “Can we play hairdresser?“ She immediately grabbed his arm as Etho started pulling away. “Please? I promise I won’t give you the Impulse Special—“ tiny pigtails, glittery butterfly clips, satin bows, the whole shebang “—just a brush and braids.“

Etho gave her a withering look.

“Just a brush, no braids?“ she bargained with a charming toothy grin.

The softening of his glare was enough confirmation for her; he had just unwittingly booked an appointment at the best hair salon on the server! With a squeak of joy, she clambered to sit atop the back of the couch before he could change his mind. Legs framing his torso, she eagerly pulled his shoulders back so she could reach his head.

“Thank you, big brother,“ she sang, surveying his tousled hair.

“Just be gentle…“ he warned.

When she tried to part it down the middle some strands knotted together instantly. At her persistent tug, Etho sucked a pained breath through his teeth.

“Sorry, sorry!“ Gem hurried to apologise, dropping the white strands to inspect the job first. “It’s just really messy back here.“

“Sorry, it’s been a while since I combed it…“ he mumbled, tensing his shoulders.

No kidding! It was pretty hard for short, straight hair to get tangled (she would know as a professional play hairdresser), but it was clear Etho had neglected his hair for a while. This was a job the Barbie brush wasn’t up to.

“Hold on, lemme go get something.“ Gem clumsily shuffled down from her perch and skipped toward the hallway.

“No pretty stuff, Gem!“ his yell followed her.

Gem rolled her eyes at Etho’s paranoia and drawled back, “No, Mr Fragile Masculinity, I wouldn’t dream of it; just getting a real brush.“

She stuck to her promise mostly, only choosing to grab the detangling spray last minute.

Etho predictably locked eyes on the pink bottle instantly upon her return. “What’s that?“

“It makes your hair wet to help comb it,“ she explained coolly, putting her hands on her hips as she learnt from Pearl. Then added a fib for good measure: “It’s just water. Now are you gonna let me brush your dumb hair or are you gonna be a baby about it?“

That shut him up nicely. He shuffled further back into the couch cushions and landed his gaze back on the TV.

“Fine,“ he grumbled, pretending to have a sudden interest in the film. Though he was unable to resist adding, “It’s not dumb, it’s cool…“

Cleverly choosing not to comment on the peek of a blush above his mask, Gem resituated herself behind him.

“And this is meant to be a fun game, Etho. At least try to pretend you’re not you.“ The resulting elbow shoving into her shin was more painful than she let on. “Excuse me, sir! We don’t take this kind of abuse at our establishment!“

There was a light chuckle from her customer. “Okay, okay—since you’re being such a professional about it,“ Etho conceded. “I apologise for my behaviour, Miss.“

“Finally, some respect around here! Now sit still.“

“I am.“

“Nu-uh, you got the wiggles,“ Gem pointed out. He always got them when he was anxious. The aforementioned wiggles stopped.

With a nod to herself, she got to work on spritzing Etho’s hair generously.

“Gem!“ Etho whined after just a few seconds.

“What now?“ Gem squeaked in offense, throwing her hands up dramatically.

“You said it was water, why does it smell like product?“

Gem giggled despite herself. “Well, technically all hair products are mainly water. It’s just water with a bunch of other stuff in it, probably. And it’s strawberry-scented!“

Trust Etho the all-natural-food-freak to have an issue with that. As he complained about fake smelling strawberry products, she paid him no mind and split some strands with her fingers. (Apart from when he complained about her strawberry toothpaste—that was personal and warranted a short argument.) It was much easier to coax the knots apart now, but she had to concentrate so as not to hurt him. She thoroughly prided herself on how gentle she was when taking care of people’s hair!

After a minute or two of careful work, she got pulled out of her focus when Etho made a soft hum.

“All good?“ she checked, ceasing her movements.

“Oh, um, yeah.“ Etho readjusted himself to sit straight—only then did Gem notice he had been slowly relaxing down in his seat.

“Nice and relaxed there?“ she giggled, stroking her fingernails across his scalp as a tease.

Etho actually sighed, instantly sinking back into the cushions again. “Mhm.“

With a fond shake of her head, Gem continued her work. A smile stayed on her face with the knowledge her brother was actually enjoying one of her games for once. Even if he was pretty passive in the play part of it.

Happy that knots weren’t going to be an issue anymore, she picked up the brush.

“And now for the main part of your treatment today, Sir,“ Gem announced very seriously, gently guiding his head to tilt to the right. He was completely pliable to it.

As soon as the plastic bristles stroked across his scalp, Gem actually felt a shiver coast through Etho’s body. As if the high pitched whine he muffled wasn’t enough.

“Oh my gosh, Etho!“ She couldn’t help the surprised laugh.

“What?“ he bit back—too hasty, too defensive, too squeaky.

“Nothing, nothing…“ she giggled. A lot of people had a tingly reaction to people touching their hair, Gem just didn’t think Etho would be one of them. Especially not such a reactive one at that.

“You just try and enjoy your spa treatment, okay? I know it’ll be hard for such a tough guy like you,“ she teased with another gentle pull of the brush through his damp hair.

“Feels nice…“ Etho admitted after a couple more brushes. And was it just the relaxation, or did his voice become just a bit small?

Gem’s smirk turned soft on her. She brought her free hand up to adjust his head position, and left it there for support when she noticed how ragdoll it had become.

“Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?“

Idly, while still brushing with her other hand, Gem softly trailed two fingers behind and around Etho’s ear then back again.

The man shuffled, pulling his legs up onto the couch and hugging his knees to his chest. A clear tell. Then his head lolled to the side, dropping on her knee. The wetness of his hair made an instant cold, damp patch on her overalls.

“Nu-uh, I can’t work like this!“ she scolded gently. At his little groan, she eased his head back up with her hand. “C’mon, cutie, you can do it,“ she encouraged in a light, bubbly voice.

“Gem…“ Etho whined, immediately shrinking into himself in embarrassment.

“What?“ she challenged with a distinct scribble of her fingernail on his scalp. Was that a whimper? She was far too smug for her own good; what excellent ammunition this would be in future!

“You’re bein’... big,“ he argued weakly.

“You’re being little. If you’re gonna go baby on me I have to use my babysitting voice. Them's the rules,“ Gem reasoned with a shrug he couldn’t see. The brushing went on.

“I’m not…“ Etho belatedly mumbled into his knees. There was no way he could believe himself with how small his voice was.

“Sure you’re not,“ Gem humoured gently.

The rest of his treatment went by peacefully. In all honesty, it only had to take five minutes to get Etho’s hair smooth and totally knot-free. But Gem gave him what she now deemed to be the Etho Special; very slow and gentle brushing, with an extra ten minutes of tiny strokes with the Barbie brush along his hairline. That’s where most of his reactions came from, she learned.

The result of those reactions being she was now stuck with a baby in denial snuggling her leg like it was a stuffie. She allowed it until the end of the movie (wiping her couple of tears away in secret), then wiggled her foot a little against Etho’s hold when the credits rolled.

“Alright, lemme down you big softie.“ He did release her leg—albeit with a whine under his breath—and she easily slid back down to the seat beside him. “Your hair is super pretty now,“ she promised, opening her arms to invite him for a cuddle.

Etho was never one to turn down a cuddle, instantly scooching hip-to-hip with her and hugging her torso without a word. In his apparent shyness, he ducked his head down and hid his face against her shoulder. She giggled at his intense snuggliness and let her arms wrap around him protectively. With an overwhelm of adoration, she placed a kiss on his still-damp head. She got a whiff of the strawberry spray.

“Mm, and it smells pretty too! Happy with it?“

His hair tickled her neck a bit when he nodded. “Thank you,“ he said, and his voice was oh-so very tiny and light, a pitch higher than usual.

“Aww,“ Gem couldn’t stop herself from squealing slightly. “You’re so welcome, baby brother!“

Etho squeezed her tighter, likely to cope with being called a baby. Similar to squishing a stress toy. She decided she was fine being his stress toy if it meant she got to be the big sister again!

“Thank you for playing with me,“ Gem said earnestly, voice gentle to match Etho’s subdued state. “I really love it when you join in my games.“

“I know.“ Etho scrunched his fist in Gem’s baggy jumper. Then he added quietly: “Me too…“

There was no negotiation needed for them both to settle into the cuddle—just a quick selection of another Disney movie by Gem, this time Winnie-the-Pooh to match Etho’s younger headspace.

Likewise, there was no talking needed to fill the calm silence, no plans for more games, no need to call in Skizz or Impulse. Gem was perfectly capable of taking care of her ‘big brother’ all alone. Especially going by how easily she had him dropping off to sleep.

All it took was her hand back in his hair and before long Etho’s knees had slumped from his chest to Gem’s lap. Once she noticed his breathing had slowed and deepened considerably, Gem felt a swelling sense of pride in her chest. The rumours were true, she was powerful! Even in this small way.

Even if Etho might not have been able to feel it anymore, she found herself not wanting to stop the gentle caresses of his scalp. His hair was considerably softer now and satisfying to run her fingers through. Plus, the fact her touch alone had encouraged Etho into his rare babyspace pleased her and she honestly wanted it to last longer.

She was aware Etho probably needed to be this little far more often than he allowed himself, and took it upon herself to push him there whenever she could. It was pretty easy for the most part, but her usual tactics didn’t work every single time. She reckoned because he was such a stubborn worry-wart! Even then, when he did sink anywhere near the vicinity of Baby—as much as he would deny that fact after—it was usually Skizz or Impulse who swooped in and snatched her brother from her grasp. Gem always wanted to take care of him when he was so small, especially when she herself was little, but their caregivers acted like she was irresponsible or too hyper or something! Not like she could easily and happily come out of her littlespace to be in babysitting mode, especially for her beloved brother.

Now that she had baby Etho all to herself, dropping off as she cradled him in her arms, a deep sense of calm washed over her. She even felt her eyes get heavier by the minute, lulled into sleepiness by his breaths like the ocean tide. Inevitable as it was, her fingers slowed and stopped stroking with her tiredness. Her eyes fell shut heavily. She gently rested her head atop his, feeling him stir just a little.

“Shh, go back to sleep, baby,“ she hushed him with a comforting squeeze.

He snuggled further into her hold with a little noise in his throat.

“Big sister’s got you,“ she whispered, faintly hoping he wouldn’t argue. It was only met with a content sigh. She smiled in tired triumph, body going limp.

Etho’s chest rose as hers sank, and vice versa; their breath falling into a gentle tandem.

“I got you,“ Gem repeated, slurring with sleep.

Etho’s responding squeeze was the last thing she remembered before they both fell into a serene slumber.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

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