X Reader Oneshot Book

[Cuphead|Mugman x Little Sister!Reader] Run, Rabbit

[This is part 69, hehe.

Our latest oneshot is dedicated to the incredible WaterWolf560! I'm so sorry it took this long to come out, my laptop decided to die at the worst time :( I hope you enjoy this nonetheless!

TW: Graphic-ish descriptions of physical bullying.

If you think this might trigger or otherwise upset you, please skip this oneshot! Drink some water and stay safe, my darlings!]

Written: Monday, 28th February 2022

"Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run." The familiar tune tumbled over Y/n's lips as she skipped out of the more populated city, back towards the countryside where she lived with her older brothers, Cuphead and Mugman, and their guardian, Elder Kettle. The boys worried for her safety constantly, they had since they'd found her abandoned as a tot, but finally, they'd decided she was old enough to run errands on her own! She knew almost everyone in the city, getting familiar with them through her constant dropping off of apology notes from her older brothers. They looked out for the little teacup and she tried to do the same for them.

"Don't give the farmer his fun, fun, fun. He'll get by without his rabbit pie, so-"

"Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run." Y/n stumbled backwards at her sudden duet partner, barely missing tripping into the tall grass around her. The voice whispered on the wind, but no figure showed themselves, so instead her attention was drawn to the flowers surrounding her for miles. "I must be near Cagney's!" A smile played on her lips as she picked a mixture of reds and blues, radiant purples and bright pinks piled into her basket, among the groceries. Her humming returned as she plucked her gifts, only cut off by something whizzing past her head and a thud in the grass beside her.

Further inspection made her blood run cold. A stone from the nearby river lay at her feet, still damp. Immediately, she dropped to a crouch, using the tall grass to her advantage. Another stone flew past her, barely missing her. "You sure are a lame shot, Ash!"

"Oh, shut it, Dishwater. I'm a little outta practise, that's all."

Y/n barely had time to look up before the teenagers were on top of her, a tall drink of dish soap leering at her. "Look at what we've got here, boys! This little teacup thinks she can get away with trespassing on our territory!" His cronies snickered, almost cartoonish in their bullying.

Y/n stood to her full height, barely half the height of the shortest boy, a TV head fizzing static. She didn't have the same powers as her brothers, and she knew she didn't have a chance against the older boys. Backing away slowly, the teenagers approached at the same rate. She held her hands ahead of her protectively. "What- whadda want with me? I-I-I didn't mean no trouble, mister!" The largest of the bunch, a cigar, pegged another stone at her head, luckily missing once more, but knocking her off balance. Y/n stumbled back, failing to notice the TV head's foot behind her ankle, sending her tumbling into the grass. "Ah, but yous shoulda known where yous were, doll face. And yous in our territory now." The cigar leant over her, reeking of ash. "And we's gonna treat you however we want."

Y/n cried out as the basket was snatched from her arm, the dish soap carelessly tossing her things aside. Soon, her basket was empty, thrown to the ground as well. "You didn't even bring us something to say sorry! Inconsiderate, little cup." Without a blink, another stone was thrown, unfortunately making its mark. "Finally, Ash! What, did ya have smoke in your eyes or something?"

"Can it, Dishwater, or I'll dunk yous in the river, and watch ya bubbles float downstream!"

Y/n could barely breathe, trying to remain calm and avoid losing any more liquid. The TV head's static got louder, shoving their friends hard. "Ow, what the hell, Static?!"

"Yea, what's gotten into yous?!" Their gazes soon followed their pointing finger, to the little girl sitting in the grass, a hole above her eye, tears rolling down her rosy cheeks. The snarky grins slipped from their faces, horror behind their eyes as she made eye contact.

"What did I do wrong?" She whispered.

"Pfft, whatever, let's bounce." The dish soap said with shaking hands.

Y/n sat still as the stone that had passed clean through her head, watching the teenagers stroll back towards the river. Luckily the cigar still had terrible aim, and had managed to do most of his damage above her liquid, but her arm was scratched, her knee chipped, the back of her head fractured in the fall. Only when they left her eyeline did she silently rise, doing her best not to spill herself. She held a hand to the slowly expanding crack, mopping at the liquid with her white gloves.

She quietly gathered up her things, no matter how dented, at least they were mostly still edible, and set off home, no longer skipping, no longer humming.

Home was closer than expected, her vision starting to waver as she slipped inside, dropping her basket on the kitchen table. She calmed remarkably, starting to put away the groceries. Until she noticed the limp flowers hanging from her basket, petals falling to the table. They must have been squashed in the struggle.

Tears returned to her eyes, chest heaving, brain starting to overload. "Y/n, is that you? Welcome... home." Mugman trailed off as he entered the kitchen still in his work uniform, already at his sister's side. He put a careful hand on her back, dropping to her height as she heaved sobs into her gloved hands. "Hey, hey, what's wrong? Can you look at me, teacup?" Y/n sobbed harder, pulling her hands away from her face. Mugman's blood ran cold, looking over the huge crack across her face, the tiny wounds littering her entire body.

"I-" A hiccup shook her tiny body, Mugman the only thing keeping her steady. "I just wanted to get you some flowers, and-and these mean kids took my basket, and I-I-I ruined them!"

"Alright, ok, it's ok, Y/n." He lead the tiny girl over to the couch. "Just try to take a deep breath, ok?" Y/n nodded, liquid spilling over the crack, chest heaving and stuttering as she tried to slow her breathing.

"Alright, I need you to imagine something for me, teacup, please?" Another pained nod, shallower this time. "I want you to imagine a dandelion, clench it in your fist, ok?" Y/n head swam as she clenched her fist tight, faintly feeling Mugman's hands coming to rest around them. "Good job. Now take a huge breath, so you can blow it away!" Y/n sucked in air, still hiccupping a little, but nowhere near as much as before, Mugman mirroring her actions. "Now, blow!" Y/n giggled a little, eyes refusing to open as she crawled towards her brother. "See, it's alright, Y/n, we can go get some more flowers soon, ok?"

"Hurts, Mugsy..." Y/n muttered in response, feeling herself get scooped into his arms and rushed away.

Her eyes cracked open as he sat her on the bathroom sink, fussing. "You sit right here, Y/n." Y/n waited patiently, too tired to try and plug the cracks on her own anymore. "I'll make it all better, I promise." Her brother dashed around, gathering supplies before dumping them on the counter next to her. He dabbed cotton softly on her leaking wounds, drying it off before replacing it with glue. "I'm gonna patch you up. Mugman muttered to himself more than his little sister, blow drying the glue to convince it to set firm, at least taking care of the small leaks. He applied the same procedure to her knee and cheek, wrapping her knee in bandages for extra security. Y/n sniffled a little, but kept her brave face as her bandaged her up, sealing them with her favourite band-aids.

There wasn't much that could be done about the chunk taken out of her head, it just meant she had to be more careful with her liquid. She just nodded when she found out, not much interested in going out alone anymore anyway.

"You did such a good job, teacup. You're so brave." Y/n mumbled a little thank you, smile ghosting her lips at the sight of a bright pink band-aid he'd accidentally stuck to his own face. His face dropped as he replaced the kit, a sigh rushing from his lips. "Do you think you could tell me who did this to you, teacup?"

"Buncha kids out near Cagney's, they snuck up from the river." She pulled her good knee up to support her head. "Dishwater, Ash, and Static, I think." Mugman lifted her back into her arms, rubbing her back as she clung to him.

"How's about I run errands with you for a little while?" Y/n curled closer in response.

"If that'd make you feel better, Mugsy."

"It would."