Chapter Text
In the dead of night the labs were silent. The doors were locked, scientists gone for the day, and the two boys being housed in the medical wing lay in fitful sleep. Neither could fully rest, their surgeries too new and painful, so they simply lay on the same bed pressed side to side.
As silent as the room was both of them caught the quiet pop that sounded out. Tired eyes peered into the darkness in an effort to see what had made the noise, but neither could see anything. Then there was the sound of soft jingling and heavy footsteps trying to stay quiet.
“Who’s there?” one of the boys called out in a voice barely above a whisper.
Silence greeted them. No more jingling or footsteps came. The two boys lay tensed, clinging to each other as tightly as they could without hurting the other. Then two figures emerged at the foot of the bed- smiling brightly at the boys and surprising them showing that they weren’t scientists.
“Hello, boys!” the taller of the two figures, a muscular young man with a smile that spanned the entire lower half of his face, greeted cheerfully. “Hope you don’t mind us dropping in!”
“I’m Girl and this is my brother, Boy.” His companion, a smaller young woman in a flowing pink dress and matching hair bow, echoed his cheerfulness when she spoke. “A little birdy told us that you two were in need of some cheering up!”
Unsure of how to respond to the colorful pair before them, the boys simply stared at them. After a minute of silence Boy raised a hand to point at the stuffed animals he’d caught sight of held tucked in each boy’s arms.
“Now who are your little friends there?” he asked, trying to break the ice and coax them into speaking.
Quiet again greeted the question, but after a moment one of the boys moved slowly to raise his stuffed sheep. “This is Miss Rhino…”
Then he looked to the other boy and began to nudge him until he frowned and shifted away slightly. “This is Mr Slon.” he said with a quiet grumble, motioning to the stuffed cow.
“They seem very nice.” Girl said. “What lovely little friends.”
Picking up on the one boy’s hesitance to talk, Boy spoke up next. “Do you like cows?” Then, with a poofing sound, he gave himself a pair of floppy cow’s ears and a set of long horns. “How’s this? Now I’m a cow Boy! Get it?”
It took a moment, but one of the boys began to giggle quietly. A moment later the grumpier of the two finally cracked a smile.