feeling stressed
Chloe was at her wits end, or at least Red could see that much. The blue haired girl had practically been up to her nose in books all week, and Red was starting to get concerned.
Correction, she was getting even more concerned.
Last week, it'd just been little things. Canceling on club meetings, zoning out in class, that sort of stuff. But then it took a turn. Chloe has been skipping breakfast for the past 3 days, which she always argues with Red about being the most important meal of the day. She also stopped paying attention in history, their last class of the day but Chloe's favorite class.
She was halfway through rereading one of her notebooks that she's been scanning over and over lately for finals, when Red leaned over and whispered, asking why she wasn't listening like usual. She'd just chalked it up to them basically already being done with the day because it's the last class and she needs to study.
She was still normal in other ways and that was what made it hard to tell if something was off or not. She still made sure her friends were getting enough sleep, still brought them snacks, even still provided help with their homework. She was still bouncy, bubbly, charming Chloe, even if a bit dampened.
But Red could see the tell-tale signs of stress, lack of sleep, and Chloe putting too much pressure on herself to do exceptional. Her eyes had a slightly sunken look to them, and in second period her head would loll onto Red's shoulder as she took a power nap.
The point where Red decided she needed an intervention was when Chloe almost turned down babysitting her cousin Dizzy when Celia asked after classes yesterday. Chloe loves babysitting Dizzy, and it's cute how invested she seems when they play with Dizzy's dolls. When Chloe had tried to decline, Red was in the room, and as soon as she heard Chloe's lips fixing to do it she jumped up and said she would instead. She usually played with Dizzy and helped take care of her when she was little and Chloe was watching her anyway.
Red was bent on questioning Chloe as soon as she got home from swords and shields today, so she sped to the room after school. But when she got there, Chloe was just sitting at her desk and opening a textbook.
"Did swords and shields get cancelled today?" Red asked as she dropped her bag on her side of the room and walked to Chloe's desk.
"No, I decided to skip practice today."
Red's footsteps faltered before she strengthened her resolve.
She grabbed the back of Chloe's chair and spun her around to face her, a stern expression on her face. Chloe at least had the decency to look a little ashamed, since she knew Red wouldn't like that answer.
"Chloe Brielle Charming!" Red shouted, immediately regretting it as she saw Chloe flinch. "Okay, shouting is not necessary and I apologize. But what has gotten into you?"
The girl in question sighed. "I just need to maximize my time-"
"If your next word is studying I will light your notebooks on fire and feed the ashes to the jabberwocky while you're sleeping."
Chloe was effectively rendered speechless. Then something set in her eyes. "Red, I know I've been cancelling on a lot of things lately and maybe botched my sleep schedule, but it'll all go back to normal once I pass my finals."
"Chloe how are you going to pass your finals if you fall asleep during them? You're starting to fall asleep in history. History! You love history!"
Chloe grit her teeth and stood up, grabbing her textbook and beginning to head to her bed. "I'll be fine Red."
"I'm worried about you princess." The redhead almost-whispered, gently grabbing Chloe's wrist.
Instead of drawing comfort from the touch, Chloe just became more aggravated. "Do you understand how much pressure there is for my grades to be perfect?"
Red hesitated, clearly out of her element since Chloe never got angry. "No, but you could always talk to me abou-"
Chloe started pacing back and forth across the room. "I'm the second born, so my brother is the crown prince. This leaves me to have to make a name for myself if i don't want to just be 'Chad's sister.' That's why I joined so many clubs and care so much about my grades. Everyone knows me as an academic and athletic star, so if I fail my finals, all my efforts go down the drain! I know I put this on myself but since I did I gotta see it through! I need to start carving the path to my future now so I'm not a nobody with no reputation when we leave Auradon Prep. Do you get it now? I need this!"
Red's caregiver instincts yearned for her to gather the girl up in her arms and tell her to calm down. But Chloe wasn't a little. "Chloe.."
But before she could say or do anything more, Chloe's pacing abruptly stopped as she stubbed her toe against the corner of her desk. Red braced herself for the rare occurrence of Chloe cursing, which is what usually happens when she stubs her toe, but the girl instead burst into tears.
Red figured the stress was finally getting to her. The taller girl walked over to Chloe, who all but threw herself into Red's arms.
"It's okay Chloe, I'm here, I've got you." She whispered, rubbing Chloe's back as sobs wracked her frame. Once her cries subsided, Chloe leaned back a bit and held out her arms towards Red, her watery eyes looking at the girl expectantly. It almost looked like..
"You.. want me to pick you up?" Red asked slowly.
The blue haired girl gave her a little nod. Red let an amused huff escape her, but immediately rethought it when tears welled up in Chloe's eyes and she quickly realized she wasn't joking.
She thanked her pre-Auradon days of having to haul her own body weight around and jump across rooftops for strengthening her, because she surprisingly lifted Chloe with ease. She settled the girl onto her hip, and Chloe nestled her face in the crook of Red's neck. A few more silent tears dampened her skin, but soon Chloe relaxed against her.
The realization then hit her: Chloe just dropped. Which meant that Chloe was a little, which also meant that she'd been either hiding it or suppressing it, and neither were good options.
She'd worried about it later, right now she needed to take care of the little in her arms.
She sat on the ground with Chloe in her lap, the girl looking up at her with huge, sad eyes. It was akin to the puss in boots stare and if Chloe had been asking for anything at the moment Red wasn't sure she'd be able to say no.
"Hey little one," Red started. "How old are you right now?" She wanted this information before anything else so she would be able to form an idea of the kind of things the shorter girl might like.
Chloe paused her pitiful sniffling to think and then hold up three fingers. "Dis many." She said quietly. Red had never heard her voice so small.
"Such a big girl!" Red said, poking Chloe's sides and reveling in the sweet giggles that escaped her as she tried to avoid the tickling. Once she decided that Chloe had been tickled enough, she got an idea to cheer Chloe up more.
Standing up with Chloe in her arms, she went over to her bed, grabbing her laptop and opening Disney+. She settled Chloe next to her and tried not to melt at the girl immediately burrowing into her side. Red put on PJ Masks and watched as Chloe became entranced with the screen, and after a few episodes she even hummed along to the theme song. While Chloe was occupied, Red got some reading done, occasionally glancing over to see the little falling asleep on her shoulder.
Gently, Red shut the laptop and put it on the nightstand. Chloe fussed a bit at the sudden silence, and when Red tried to move to adjust their position the blue haired girl started crying again. This time, Chloe was just plain grumpy, and even cradling her in Red's lap wasn't helping.
Out of ideas, Red decided to do the last thing she thought would help.
"Oh these little hands.." She sung, rubbing her thumb over Chloe's knuckles. "They don't know what hurt is."
Her hand moved up to Chloe's tear stained cheeks and wiped away her tears as they fell.
"And these little eyes
They see the world, in different colors
And all I can think about.. is
How I can't live without.. you
Time is but a loom, in this hospital room
Where I see you for the very, first, time"
As she sung, Chloe's eyes gazed at her filled with awe instead of tears, her hiccups growing quieter as she listened with every ounce of her being.
"And though you'll never see me go, I hope you'll always know
You're mine"
Red finished quietly, her voice wavering as Chloe's eyes drooped and she watched with mild amusement as the little fought off sleep.
"Alright Boo, let's get you down for a nap." Red whispered.
Carefully, Red picked Chloe up and made her way over to the cabinets on the other side of the room. Every room in Auradon Prep had some cabinets with little stuff in them, and usually the ones in Red and Chloe's dorm were only used when Dizzy came by to be babysat.
Red expertly opened a bottle, poured in formula and water, shook it, and put it in the microwave, all while one handed. She'd pat herself on the back if her arm wasn't preoccupied with something-or someone-more important.
All the movement elicited a small whine from Chloe, and Red sighed. "I know baby, I'm just getting you a bottle so you can go night-night." She murmured, pressing a kiss into Chloe's hair.
"Baba?" Chloe questioned sleepily.
Red hummed in response. "Yep, a nice warm baba, all for you."
Just then, the microwave beeped, and Red scrambled to open the door before it upset Chloe. Luckily, all she got was a few annoyed sounds and then Chloe settled into her shoulder again. Red grabbed the bottle, shaking it again as she went back to her bed and laid down with Chloe in her arms.
She tested it, making sure it wasn't too hot, and then held it up to the waiting little's mouth. As Chloe suckled on the bottle and got sleepier and sleepier, her small hands wrapped around the one Red was using to hold it up. In that moment, Red knew that Chloe was her little. Now that she knew Chloe was one, she didn't want nor trust anyone else to be her caregiver.
Realizing she'd zoned out, Red blinked a few times and brushed a stray curl out of Chloe's face. The little finished her bottle and Red put it on her nightstand, pulling the blankets up over Chloe's shoulders as she curled into Red's chest with a yawn.
"Wuv.. Mama..." It was said so quietly Red almost didnt hear it.
Red's heart felt like it would burst. The redhead teared up, protectively tightening her grip on Chloe.
She leaned down and gently kissed Chloe's forehead. "I love you too my little darling."