#also yea I know you’re supposed to put in studs when you pierce your ears

[goosecastle41]

Anything For You, Doll

A little story inspired by @sims-fanatic-and-sprats-enjoyer for the coalecroux kid au, please enjoy

“Papa! What’s taking so long?!”

Gideon isn’t sure what’s worse here. The whines of a child, or what the child is asking him to do.

“Well-! I just-...! It’s not as easy as you think it is, Seren!” Gideon flounders, pulling his hands back from his daughters head. The needle Gideon had sterilized with his fire is pinched between his fingers, though to him it feels like a sword his daughter has asked him to run through her eat.

Seren, sweet little Seren, has gotten the idea of earrings into her head. She had seen many people before with dangly jewelry hanging from their ears in her eight years of life and had been fascinated each time. The way the gold or silver hangs from little holes in their ears, the way the gems or jewels would catch the suns light and make them sparkle, the beautiful or simple design of different peoples earrings. All of it just fascinated Seren.

For months, Seren has been green with envy at the sight of earrings. Seeing older women with beautiful and intricate gold wrapped around bright gems. Seeing men with silver rings going through their lobes or the cartilage. She’s even met some children with ear rings! And they’re all so pretty! Seren has been a fan of beautiful and shiny things her entire life, and the thought that she’s missing out on a facet of being shiny and pretty is devastating to her.

So, when Seren had dragged Gideon and Kremy over to a case of jewelry while in a shop a few days back, stars shining in her eyes as she points to a set of earrings, all Kremy could do was sigh and pull out his coin purse.

In the moment, Gideon had thought it was devastatingly adorable how excited Seren had gotten. She practically squealed as she tackle hugged Kremy’s legs while saying thank you a million times. Kremy’s gotten a lot better at letting Seren touch and hug him, seeing as he gives her a (still slightly awkward) hug back with a “Anything for you, doll.”

It was annoyingly cute how she took the earrings from the shop keep and held them like they were the most precious possessions Seren has ever owned. A set of silver earrings that dangle from small chains, a ruby wrapped in the center of the silver, shining brightly in the light. Seren held the box they came in out in her palms, staring at it almost the whole walk back to the inn.

But nothing about this situation is cute anymore, Gideon has decided.

The day before they decided to leave the town and head on to their next adventure- I.E. another con- Seren had come up to Gideon holding her new earrings and had asked the fated question.

“Would you pierce my ears and put these in for me?”

And so here they are, almost an hour after Seren had initially asked the question. She sits on a chair in their Inn room, her feet kicking impatiently as she almost glares up at Gideon. “It can’t be that hard!” She gripes, causing Gideon to scoff.

“Then why don’t you do it yourself if it ain’t that hard?” He asks, getting a loud groan from his daughter.

“‘Cause I can’t see in the mirror with my hands in the way! Uhg! This is taking forever!” She cries, kicking her feet harder before she falls limp in the chair, boneless. Gideon almost wants to throw a tantrum as well.

“Look, sweetheart, I’m sorry, alright?” He says instead, deciding to be the adult in this situation, “But.. Your ears are just.. They’re too small for me, alright? Maybe you just gotta grow some more.” Being the adult apparently means making up lame excuses because the thought of hurting his daughter makes him nauseous, Gideon thinks.

Gideon has never struggled with the idea of hurting something before. Sure, maybe he doesn’t want to hurt things sometimes, but he’s never felt physically sick because of it. His hands had never wavered before, never shaken before he delivered pain and agony to his target… But Gideons never had a daughter before. Gideons never had something that flipped his whole world upside down and then righted it again by calling him Papa. Gideons never tried to hurt something so precious to him before.

Instead of escalating her tantrum, Seren slumps further in her seat with defeat. Frustrated tears well in her eyes, bringing her hands up to wipe at them before they could begin to fall. “Okay…” She says, voice tight and devastated.

“Oh for gods sake!”

Gideon looks over to where Kremy had been sat and counting his coin at the table in the room. He watches as Kremy rises from his own chair, coin forgotten as he rubs a hand over his face and approaches Gideon and Seren.

“Gimmie that! You big god damn baby…” Kremy snaps as he snatches the needle from Gideons fingers. “Lemme show you how it’s done.”

At that, the complete devastation on Seren’s face wipes away immediately. She breaks into a smile, looking up at Kremy with unabashed excitement as she sits up in the chair again.

Gideon thinks he had been hiding his nerves well while he was the one holding the needle, but the moment it’s in Kremy’s hand, Gideons composure fully breaks.

“Hey, be careful, man.” He says quickly, fighting off the urge to grab the needle back and call off the whole thing. His face gives way to his nerves almost immediately, his eyebrows knitting together and a grimace working its way to his lips.

It’s not as if Gideon doesn’t trust Kremy. That’s not the case at all. Gideon would trust Kremy with his entire being and soul after how long they’ve been traveling and practically raising a kid together. He trusts Kremy more than he trusts himself. But just the thought of Seren being hurt-

“Hush.” Kremy says as he points a clawed finger at Gideon, cutting off his train of thought. All Gideon can do then is nod, lips pursing together. He trusts Kremy.. He trusts Kremy more than himself.

“Now. You know this is gonna hurt, right?” Kremy asks as he turns back to Seren, kneeling in front of her.

Seren, who had been warned by Gideon time and time and time again about how it will hurt, rolls her eyes at Kremy, some of her excitement washing away and quickly replaced by an annoyed worry that Kremy will be just as bad as Gideon. “Duh.” She says hotly, giving more of an attitude than she had meant in her annoyed state.

Kremy’s eyes squint as he points that same clawed finger at her, “Do. Not.” He says, his tone stern and no nonsense, “I’m sick of it. I’m sick of the whining and the attitude. I’m helpin’ ya out. Act like I’m doin’ somethin’ nice for ya.” Kremy admonishes her, his annoyance finally reaching its peak.

Seren immediately drops again, her eyes downcast and her shoulders slumped. “Sorry, Kremy.. Thank you for helping me out…” She says, her hands moving into her lap and fiddling with her fingers. Kremy sighs, finally falling to the other side of that peak.

“Gid, gimmie the earrings.” Kremy says, softening up his tone then.

Gideon can’t even really be annoyed at Kremy as he pulls the box out of his pocket. Gideon understands how overstimulated Kremy can get sometimes. Seren is a loud and excitable child and Gideon can be just as excitable if he isn’t careful. Kremy can’t always exactly help it when he snaps, just like Seren can’t help that she’s a child who hasn’t exactly learned to control her volume yet.

Gideon thinks about how far Kremy has come in little over a year with Seren. Kremy used to be unable to go ten minutes with Seren’s boisterous chatter when she was overly excited, and now Kremy went a whole hour of their annoying antics before he snapped. Gideon can’t be annoyed with Kremy after he’s made such strides in his progress.

Gideon places the earring box on the table and watches how Kremy turns back to Seren once more.

“Ser..” Kremy says, his tone softening up a even more, “Ser, look at me sweetie.”

Seren looks up again, hope in her eyes. Kremy reaches forward with his free hand and takes her earlobe in his fingers. The other hand with the needle comes into her view and her eyes snap towards it, now going wide. Her shoulders tense, her mouth parting slightly in worry-

“Look at me, doll, not the needle.” Kremy says, getting Seren’s eyes back on his face. “Say… I don’t really remember what those earrings looked like.” He says after a moment.

Seren’s eyebrows knit together. “How could you forget, Kremy? They’s the prettiest earrings ever. They’re silver and got- OW!” She yelps, almost jerking her head back, but Kremy’s steady and gentle hands keep her in place.

Gideon nearly leaps through the fucking ceiling. Her pained cry wrenches his heart and makes his skin crawl. Gideon is more than sure if it wasn’t Kremy doing this, he’d have killed the person making his daughter cry like that in an instant. Instead, his hands clench at his sides, jaw tightening as he watches the scene in front of him.

“Take a deep breath doll.” He says quickly, “They’re silver? What else do they look like?” Kremy goes on as he distracts her, moving quickly as he pulls said earring from the box before slipping it through the needle hole.

Tears pool in Seren’s eyes, her lip quivering, “Sil-Silver with-with red g-gems…” She goes on, fighting back her tears and trying to stay strong. Her eyes flick to the needle again as it goes for her second ear, but without prompting she quickly fixes her eyes back onto Kremy’s face. “They-They’re pre-pretty and, and dangly and- ow! Ow!” She again cries out, but softer this time, knowing to expect the pain and what it feels like. She again tries to get away from Kremy but his hands keep her steady once more.

“There. Just about done babydoll. You’re almost finished, okay? You’re doin’ great.” Kremy’s voice is sweet and kind, hands gentle as he slips the second earring into its hole. “And done! All done!”

Kremy rests a hand on the side of Seren’s face gently, his scales smooth and almost cold on her skin as she leans into the touch. He turns her head to the side a bit before turning it the other way, a smile breaking onto his face. “Now look at you! Now ya got real sparkles on ya, princess.”

Kremy takes his hand back and stuffs it into his suit jacket pocket before pulling out his compact mirror. He flips it open before turning it to Seren.

Seren’s eyes sparkle with unshed tears and wonderment as she looks at herself in the little mirror. She reaches out slightly shaky hands and takes it for a better look. She turns her head side to side, eyeing the way the earrings swish back and forth, enjoying the slight tickle on her face where they brush up against her when she moves. A few tears roll down her cheeks as she grins brighter than the sun.

“I look so pretty.” She says, kicking her feet lightly. “They tickle!” She goes on, turning her head side to side quickly, the earrings flopping haphazardly. Kremy can’t help but to laugh a bit, reaching forward and grabbing the top of her head to stop her.

“Don’t do that. They’ll fly out and you’ll lose em.” He warns her, making her eyes blow wide and reach up to touch the earrings to make sure they’re secure. Kremy drops his hand from the top of her head, wiping the tears from his face before he stands up.

“Welp. Was it worth it, kid?” Kremy asks, watching as she hops up out of her chair. She claps the compact mirror closed and holds it up to Kremy,

“Yeah! Really worth it! Thank you so much Kremy!” She says, wrapping herself around Kremy in a tight hug after he’d taken the mirror back.

Gideon watches as Kremy barely hesitates to hug her back this time. It’s almost immediately the way Kremy’s arm goes to wrap around her, even pulling her in closer as he does so. Seren fully leans into Kremy, a giant smile overtaking her expression.

A moment later however, Seren pulls back from Kremy before she runs off to the attached bathroom to their inn room to look at herself in the big mirror, another quick, “Thanks Krem!” before she disappears inside.

Kremy watches her go, a look of fondness overtaking him.

“Thanks, pal…” Gideon says, placing a hand on Kremy’s shoulder. From the side, he can see the way Kremy’s expression softens up just a bit more before his own hand moves to rest over Gideons.

“Don’t mention it, Gid.”

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I say little story like this shit isn’t over 2000 words 😭

Also I didn’t beta read this or even put it in Grammarly so I apologize if it’s not written very well. I’m very tired and finished this 30 minutes before I gotta leave the house 😂😭