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The familiar sound of her window sliding open alerted Mickey to his presence. She was so accustomed to it, that she didn't stop her actions. She was trying to gently get a stain out of her pointe shoe since it couldn't just be thrown in the washer like her regular ballet slippers. The bed dipped as he climbed on it and scooted close to her side, and she instinctively leaned against him as she dabbed at the stain with a damp washcloth. He gently rested his chin on her shoulder and watched, not saying anything.
"Were they fighting again?" Mickey asked softly after a few quiet moments. She felt him nod against her skin, but he remained silent. He didn't talk much during times like this. "Were they yelling at you or each other?"
"Me," he muttered. His voice sounded raspy, meaning that he had likely been screaming back at his parents. Reggie very rarely stood up for himself when his parents were yelling at him, and instead would leave the house or hide in his room. Mickey had always told him it was better to leave the situation rather than stay and risk things escalating.
Mickey finally put her shoe down on the towel she had spread out on her bed. She turned to look at Reggie, who had his head hiding in the crook of her neck. "Are you hurt?"
"It's fine."
She gently coaxed him off of her shoulder so that she could look him over. Reggie's eyes were red from crying and his hair looked as if he had been running his hands through it and pulling on it. There were no bruises that she could see, however, the way that he was holding his shoulder told a different story.
"I'll go grab the ice pack," she told him. It was sad that it was a routine that she was used to, but she'd never once complained. Mickey didn't mind being the one to hold Reggie and fix him up so long as she knew he was in a safe space.
When she got back to her room, Reggie had scooted back against the headboard. He was holding her pointe shoe in his lap and fiddling with the ribbon used to tie it. She quickly joined his side and held the ice pack against his shoulder. He winced slightly but didn't complain.
The next thing that Mickey did was distract him, knowing that he wanted to get his mind off of the fight at home.
"So, guess what? My copy of Super Mario Land just, like, disappeared from my GameBoy this morning. Of course, Bobby swears up and down that he hasn't seen it, but I know he's totally jealous that I saved up enough money to buy it before he did."
Reggie scoffed and shook his head. "Oh, Bobby totally stole it then. We can raid his room later if you want to get it back. I can hold him off."
"My knight in shining armor," Mickey said, grinning. She leaned over and kissed Reggie on the cheek, which caused him to blush. "Oh, and guess what happened at dance practice today? I found freaking razor blades in my pointe shoes."
"W - what?" Reggie asked, his jaw dropping. "Why the fuck would there be razor blades in your shoes?"
"I mean, I didn't see her do it, but I'm pretty sure that it was Moira Richardson. She's totally jealous that I got the part of Odette in Swan Lake, which of course, is the most important show we have all year. But I'm not some dumbass, so of course, I found them before I put my shoes on."
"Being a ballerina is, like, dangerous," Reggie muttered with wide eyes. "You could've cut your toes off!"
Mickey simply shrugged and told him about the rest of her day. It was the summer, meaning that she spent most of her time in the dance studio. As she started explaining the plot of Swan Lake, Reggie watched her with a soft expression. He appreciated how she never pushed him to talk and instead did her best to get his mind off of his situation at home.
As Mickey revealed that the prince was tricked by Rothbart's daughter, Odile, Reggie leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. She paused and looked up at him, wondering what it was for. He smiled softly and pulled her against his chest in a hug.
"Thank you," he whispered, resting his head in the crook of her neck once more. She felt him lightly brush his lips against her skin and her cheeks heated up. "Thank you for always being here."
Mickey held his hand, which had been wrapped around her waist, and laced their fingers together. "I'll always be here for you."
