Crying Over Spilt Milk

There is this one thought that's always on my mind 24/7 and I was wondering if it's possible if you can write about Powder and Mylo getting along because all I ever see is angst surrounding me, and I just want them to be happy even if it's only for a little bit..T-T

OMG YES! The saddest thing I've seen is the fact that, if everyone had made it out and all of Vander's youngin's made it to adulthood, Powder and Mylo could have maybe made amends and the thought just KILLS ME. So here, enjoy this fluffy little story.

Crying Over Spilt Milk

The whole situation started with nobody else being home that evening. Vander was out checking on a situation with the Enforcers, and Vi and Claggor had gone out on a job, with Powder having been sent to the market to collect some groceries. But Mylo?

Mylo was stuck at home. Grounded.

It was a long story involving a graffiti incident with a couple other kids in the Lanes, and Mylo having actually been lucky enough to land a punch on the Enforcer that caught them. Only to then have to be escorted from the station by Vander, long lecture about respect ensuing. But now he was stuck at home, alone, forced to do dishes and clean as his punishment. So unfair!

Then Powder strolled in. Her cheeks were stained with tears as she carried the groceries in her arms and not the bag she had been sent with, which struck Mylo as odd. Her hiccuped sobs filled the space as she stumbled through the door and took heavy, laboured steps down the stairs towards the kitchenette. But Mylo paid her no mind. After all, comforting her was Vi or Vander's job, not his. So he kept his head down, only sending her small, hidden sideways glances.

Only to make sure she was putting the food away correctly, it wasn't like he was worried or anything.

But then she dropped a bottle of milk. Thankfully it wasn't a hard enough fall to break the glass, it just made a loud noise as it clattered onto the stone. But it was enough for the small girl to stop for just a moment, and then proceed to let out an ear-piercing wail as she crumpled], face shoved into the floor as she hollered and cried her little blue eyes out.

"Oh my gods, what the hell is your problem?" Mylo finally snapped, spinning around to stare wide-eyed at the little girl.

"I-" She spoke between loud sobs, "I dropped it!"

"Yeah no shit, Sherlock!" He continued to yell, with little regard for his bad language around the barely-6-year-old. "That's what happens when you use your puny little arms instead of a bag! Didn't Vi send you with one?"

Another huge wave of wailing, so loud that Mylo was starting to worry people outside on the street would hear. Beginning to panic, Mylo quickly walked over to the fallen bottle and picked it up, placing it on the counter (and having to step over his adopted sister to do so). "Geez, there! All better! Now can you please shut up before someone thinks I'm murdering you or something?"

But Powder continued as if she hadn't heard anything. "They-they broke the bag!"

This, admittedly, caught Mylo off guard. "Uh-what?"

"They broke the bag!" She repeated, stronger this time. "When they smashed Cecilia and Pickles, they took the bag and ripped it! So I had to use my arms to carry everything all the way back, and I couldn't even save them!"

"..and Cecilia and Pickles are..?"

"My bombs!"

Mylo actually had to take a step back from Powder, her screaming directly at him with a line of snot dripping thickly from her nose. "Geez, right, okay. Uhhh...who did this exactly?"

Powder sniffled. "I-I don't know...they didn't look familiar. Big kids, I guess, around the market."

"And they just, what? Came up and broke your shit?"

"Yeah! I-I guess!" She sniffled again, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "I didn't do anything, I promise!"

Most of the times that she said that phrase, like after a mission she'd botched for them, Mylo would have rolled his eyes and scoffed in her face. But this time? Seeing her all torn up and melting down on the floor over all of this? A pang of sympathy actually hit his heart. He knew kids could be mean to skinny lil tykes like her, hell he was a perfect example of that. But it was different when it was him as opposed to someone else who she didn't know.

Slowly, the young boy lowered himself onto the ground beside her, leaning against the counter as he thought of what to say.

"Are...you okay?" He asked, and cringed at himself at how awkwardly it came out. "Like, did they hurt you at all?"

Her bottom lip quivered as Powder shook her head 'no'.

"Good, that's...something at least." He nodded. Then, after a long moment of relative silence, Mylo extended his hand and gently patted Powder's shoulder. She didn't lean into the touch, but she also didn't shy away from it, just turning to stare at Mylo with an inquisitive look. "I-" Mylo cleared his throat, "I'll kick your ass if you tell anyone I said this, but...I'm sorry that that happened to you. People are dicks, and you didn't deserve that. And...if you need me to walk you to the market a couple times after this, like, if you don't feel safe by yourself or whatever...just lemme know, k?"

To Mylo's surprise, Powder's response was to slowly lean her body into his, curling herself to lay her head onto his shoulder. It wasn't comfortable, but it brought her a semblance of peace.

"Thanks, Mylo." She whispered into his shirt, the leftover tracks of old tears soaking into the fabric. But he didn't push her away, instead wrapping an arm to lay his hand awkwardly on the top of her blue-covered head.

"Don't mention it, brat."