piecewise | g/t snippets & drabbles

replacement (nb/f)

"You okay?"

"No," she said, sniffling. 

The giant gingerly sat down next to her. "Is it something I did?"

She hesitated, then nodded. They sighed. 

"You know I never meant to hurt you?"

"But you did," she said, wiping a tear with her sweater-covered arm. "You did and you didn't even apologize."

Buya paused. "Marcie..."

Silence filled the space between them as the giant sighed, not missing how Marceline's hair flowed in their breath's direction. It was hard, raising a ten-year-old at twenty two. Buya didn't even remember why they felt attached to this one - the Recovery Force had long offered to take her to a sanctuary instead.

But then they remembered her eyes. Her large, umber eyes, which stared warily at the receptionist that would redirect her. They remembered the flicker of fear that flashed on her features, the hesitant acceptance of the giant that presided over her over a fate her heart was not even close to being ready for. 

In real-time, Buya swallowed their pride, vying for the child's attention.

"I'm sorry."

They watched her ears perk up, but the kid still had her arms crossed and refused to face them as they continued. "I didn't mean to leave you with Richard, honest. He...wasn't my first choice."

Buya choked up a bit. He'd helped them, though. Back when Marcie was a toddler, before they had the means to carve a life for themselves. They remembered how fragile she looked in their hand - cold, shivering, weak. How her sprawled-out body only reached the connect between their palm and fingers starting from their wrist. The length of a human so delicate first deposited into smaller hands. Warmer hands, day-by-day, as Buya continued their search for a job, only stopping to play with Marcie, eat, or sleep. The months passed by as the smaller giant took care of her, but it hadn't stopped the child then from craving their guardian's touch, Buya's companionship.

And it hadn't stopped now.

"Had he..." They tried, barely managing to keep the disgust out of their voice, "done something to you, before? Something you didn't want to do, but he forced you to do anyway?"

Marceline had noticed, it seemed, as she turned completely around, confused. The ten-year-old, drapped in her starry pajamas,  contemplated for a second before answering:

"Does eating vegetables count? Or having an earlier bedtime? He didn't do any funny stuff."

They sighed in relief as they shook their head. "Then no," she responded firmly. "I just don't get why I see him more than I see you."

Buya's heart broke. "I, see..." They said, bringing a digit closer to their child. 

Their child, they thought sadly, watching as the 5-foot human also drew closer to them. They remember when they first got her, at five years old and about 3 and a half feet tall. They'd grown a lot since then, their head barely over the top indentation of their middle finger. A sad grin came over them as Marcie embraced their open palm, wanting to wrestle it like old times. 

"You..." she tried as she pushed the palm closer to Buya. "You only..." she grunted, pushing back more, "hang out with me...when he's not...there."

Her words cut them like a knife as they contemplated the weight of that revelation. Had they really shut her out? Buya thought back to lunch breaks, only greeting both members of the household before going back to work. Or weekends, where random on-calls turned trio bonding activities to duos, and duos to different duos. They remembered how Rich would tell them that Marcie needed them, how despite his best efforts she still disliked him. 

As they swept the kid off her feet, their mind went to her words, then his, as they finally accepted the truth in it all. Tears pricked their eyes as their brain went on autopilot, lifting Marcie with as much carefulness as they always had before things were different. They had...forgotten, about her. 

Even when she was there, even when it was just them. Their mind went to bills, and carnivals, and fun activities for Marcie, but Marcie just wanted them. But Richard had been so kind, so...

They cringed as the word came to them. Reliable. He'd been their best friend, and still was, so to hear that he was disliked because of what he meant for them...

Their breath hitched as a soft "Buya?" filled the air. Focusing on the child with her feet dangling off their hand, they sighed, a tired smile playing on their lips. 

"Yes, M&M?"

She giggled. "Stop, you're so embarrassing!" 

An empty chuckle overpowered her words as Buya watched her fail to contain her glee at the nickname. My M&M, they thought, the worries from earlier losing hold of their head.

"Buya..." she tried again, "you're crying."

They'd forgotten how expansive they looked from this vantage point, their face on full display for the child to absorb. The sting that pricked their eyes only intensified at the acknowledgment, and as their nose grew fuzzy they forced themself to grimace it away.

"Oh I- I hadn't even noticed," they tried, and Marcie beckoned them with a hand to bring her closer. 

Like clockwork, the hand with Marcie's familiar weight drew forward, closer to the face that felt like the messes the human used to make in the sandbox. A canvas of tears, sweat, and dark circles, Buya's eyes widened when they felt the tiniest warmth make contact with their face, two minuscule arms wrapped around their cheek. 

"I forgive you," Marcie whispered, Buya's ears tingling as they processed the words as if they were their thoughts. "You didn't mean it."

They sniffled, as the tears flowed down their face like streams. "I love you," they said, with a bass they could only describe as earnest. "So, so much."

Marcie giggled as they pressed away from the water flowing, settling back into the weight of Buya's curved palm. "Too much?"

"No," came Buya's response, a smile forming as their tears began to flow harder.

"Just enough."