Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It was a dark stormy night in NYC, it was pouring and people were rushing to get out of the rain. However people weren't the only sentient creatures in the rain, there was a little girl, but not your average girl, rather this is a mouse girl. Her name was Mousie and currently she was trying not to get stomped by the inhuman titans above her "Hey, watch it! Down here!” Mousie yelled above hoping that someone, anyone would hear her. This wasn't a rare event in Mousie's life, but quite the opposite. When Mousie was a baby she lived with her parents, they loved her, they were a happy family. Mousie finally got away from the titans by running into an alleyway and hiding under a trashcan, the second she was safe she broke down. All of her memories hit her like a truck

"Mommy?" a younger Mousie looked up at her mommy, she was only 2. "Yes, my beautiful sunshine?” Mousie's mom looked down at her baby who she was helping get ready for bed. "Can you sing me special song?” Mousie smiled up at her mom, it was her favorite song in the whole world, although she hadn't heard many. "Of course, Mousie, I'll always sing for you my sunshine.” Mousie's mom tucked Mousie into bed, sat on the edge of it and began to sing.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away”

“The other night, dear, as I laid sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and cried”

 

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away”

Mousie clapped softly and hugged her mom "Thanks mommy, sound pwetty" Mousie's mom accepted the hug and laughed under her breath "Of course, my baby.” With that Mousie's mom turned off the lights, wished her daughter a good night and left her daughter to rest.

Mousie sobbed, she sobbed for her mommy and daddy. She still remembered that day, the day they were taken. She couldn't stop crying that day, and she never truly moved on either, it still hurt. Since then she had been left to fend for herself and well she had gotten used to it, she still went through so much pain and trauma. Despite all of that, she knew what hurt most; the lack of love, no one had loved since her parents… Well almost no on- "no.” Mousie reminded herself "Don't. Think about it” she didn't want to think about it, the girl. She went back to sobbing "Good n-n-n-night, mommy and daddy” she let out a hard sob "I-I-I love… you both, forever…” Mousie curled up and cried herself to sleep, she hated this life.

Mousie woke up the next morning and stretched out before looking around “Another day of hell…” Mousie said before whimpering. She scurried out from under the trashcan and looked out the alleyway, titans everywhere. Adult titans, teen titans, even toddler titans, you name it, they were there. Mousie watched the toddlers, they were huge to her, the way they giggled and babbled while being so huge was fascinating to Mousie and she wished to take care of one someday, however she knew it’d never happen.

After titan watching a bit she knew she had to get her day started, she was starving too “I best get to finding some food” Mousie said, shivering at the horrific stuff she knew she was in for. She scurried her way over to a pizza place that sometimes had pizza, but not without a few people trying to stomp her (“Filthy rat!”) Eventually she made it and found a nice cheesy slice of pizza, she almost squealed out of happiness as she dived on to the huge slice. However suddenly she heard something horrifying; a door opening, sure enough she looked up to see a huge titan looming over her with a broom “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU FILTHY MOUSE?!” Mousie squeaked in terror and tried to explain “Oh I-I-I-I was just eating this slice of-” The person didn’t hear her, they didn’t care. “GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY STORE, YOU WORTHLESS CREATURE” The worker began to sweep Mousie back into the street with one final kick from the person’s shoe she was sprawled out back in the streets.

It hurt, it hurt so bad she couldn’t stop crying and screaming as she scurried into a safe alleyway to hide from all of the titans. “Those HEARTLESS creatures” Mousie sobbed out in pain “Why do they fucking hate ME?” She burst into tears and collapsed on the floor, she was only 5 and yet her life was a nightmare, this was a daily happening for her pretty much. After an hour or so of crying she decided to walk around NYC a bit, she always found interesting things on her walks. As she walked she noticed lots of things, Energetic girls leaving buildings with teeth on the front of them, people yelling into their phones about god knows what and even a few people in suits (“The worst…”) Suddenly she bumped into something with a THUD, she looked up and saw a shoe, she braced for impact however it never came. Suddenly she heard a giggle and something grabbed her, Mousie screamed as she was lifted into the air only to come face to face with… a toddler.

The toddler giggled and blurted out “Teeny mouse funny” with a huge smile on her face. Mousie was frozen in place, the girl couldn’t have been older than 3. With a deep breath Mousie spoke up “Hi there, aren’t you the cutest?” she said as she gave a warm smile, the first one she had given in who knows how long. The toddler spoke up, happy about the compliment “Awwww, tank you mouse!” and with that the girl started to toddle over to her mother.

Mousie knew she wouldn’t be with the girl for long, but she enjoyed the small moment she had as she hugged the girl’s stubby little fist. “You're so kind,” Mousie said up to the girl, making the toddler giggle in delight. Finally the toddler reached her mother and showed her the tiny friend she found “Mama, fwiend!” the baby said before holding Mousie up to her mom. The girl’s mother found it cute how her little angel had a heart of gold even to the tiniest of animals. “Awwww, I’m so happy you’ve found a new friend, but it’s probably best if we place her somewhere safe and dry!” the mom said to her toddler. “Okii, mommy!” so the mother and daughter walked to an alleyway where they could let Mousie go “T-t-thank you…” Mousie blushed a bit, the mother gave a smile and the toddler responded “You welcome!” Finally the young girl gave her tiny friend a hug, plopped her down and walked off. Mousie felt… happy, it was the first time she had felt pure joy since… Well, she didn’t want to think about that. Either way she was happy and that’s what mattered, she went to a safe corner of the alleyway and curled up. “Good night mommy and daddy, I hope you're happy. I had an amazing day today, let’s hope it stays this way!” Mousie said before drifting off to sleep. Little did she know that all of her dreams and more would come true the very next day.

Chapter Text

Mousie woke up, it was a brand new bright and sunny day. Mousie yawned and stretched before speaking “Another morning, let’s hope that today can be another decent one” she said, just hoping that today could maybe be as good as yesterday. Mousie sat there for a few seconds, what was she going to do today? She wasn’t quite hungry yet and she wasn’t feeling too tired (well she was, but you know…) so she decided to look around a bit. After scurrying through the streets a bit, she spotted a park “Ooh, a park, maybe I can play in it a bit!” she said eagerly, before scurrying off towards the park.

Meanwhile at a bus stop not too far away from the park, two young girls were getting off of the bus with their mommy. “Mommy, can we go to the toy store?” Kat, a young girl wearing a cat ears headband and bunny hoodie asked. Meanwhile the other girl, Ellie lightly stimmed her hands and looked down at the ground nervously. The two girls were twins and had been inseparable since birth, even if they tended to be total opposites at times. Ellie tended to be more shy than her rather extraverted sister and could even be considered introverted at times.

However Ellie had always wanted something, a little pet mouse of her own. She had never really let her family know this, but she found them so cute with their smol ears and wiggly tails. She remembered when she was 3 she had met a mouse at her daycare, they would talk and play games together, however one day it disappeared and never came back. She hoped she’d meet the mouse again one day, however she knew it was unlikely. At the mention of maybe going to the toy store she perked up. “Ya, maybe I could even get a cute mouse plushie!” Ellie said excitedly, really hoping to get one.

Ellie and Kat’s mom looked down at her two young daughters and thinking it’d be nice to treat them, decided that’s where they’d go to “Ok my babies, we can go to the toy store so you both can get a toy!” she said softly. The girls bounced up and down happily, celebrating the exciting place they’d be going “Yay! I’m so excited, aren’t you Ellie?!” Kat asked Ellie “Of course I am Kat!” Ellie said excitedly back while stimming. However, suddenly a gust of wind blew Ellie’s beanie right off of her head, instantly Ellie yelled and tried to run after it, but her mom had to stop her. “Ellie I’m sorry, but you can’t run after it, you could get hurt.” Ellie instantly teared up and burst into tears “My hat!” she exclaimed and her mom picked her up and started to rock her “Let’s go sit on a bench for a bit while you calm down” Ellie’s mommy cooed as they started to walk to a bench to help Ellie calm down

Meanwhile Mousie was having the time of her life in the park, scurrying around, rolling in leaves, and sniffing at a few bugs she found interesting. “I’m so happy to be able to have a calm day at the park!” Mousie said, tail wiggling happily. Suddenly a beanie blew into Mousie, landing on top of Mousie “Hey who did that?!” squealed Mousie. Mousie got out from underneath the hat and realized that it must’ve blown into her “Oh, who could this belong to?” she pondered. She sniffed around inside the hat until she found a name tag “Ellie…” she said outloud, thinking about the name. She didn’t know who Ellie was, but she did know one thing, she had to get it back to the girl.

Mousie, despite how much the titans around her stomped on her, spat at her and abused her like she was worthless, still trusted that one day a titan would be sparing to her and would show her kindness. She had even seen that before with the young girl she had met the day before and… them. Still, she knew that one day she would find someone who cared for her, someone who loved her. So she took the hat in her mouth and began to scurry out of the park. She didn’t know how long it would take her to find ‘Ellie’, but she knew that she had to.

Meanwhile with Ellie and Kat, Ellie was an emotional wreck without her hat and it showed. “It was my FAVORITE hat!” Ellie sobbed as her mommy rubbed her back “It provided comfort from strong lights and was really comfy too” Ellie whimpered at the thought of never getting her beloved beanie back. Her mom struggled to comfort her sobbing daughter, but she did the best she could “My sweet Nellie, It’ll be ok. Shh shh, just breathe, I’m here for you” she cooed as she held her sweet angel of a daughter. Kat also joined in on the comfort hugging Ellie too, although she was too worried to directly say anything.

Mousie scurried as fast as her little paws could take her, she had to get this hat back to ‘Ellie’ although she stopped when she realized she had no idea how to track her. Mousie sat down for a few seconds to think “How could I track the girl if I don’t know anything about her?” She pouted a bit. Suddenly she smelt something delicious “PIZZA!” but before she went to find it, she remembered the hat. “Oh hehe, sorry beanie,” she said, rubbing against it. As she rubbed against it, however, she realized something: “The girl’s scent could be on the hat!” she announced, her tail wiggling from happiness!

She bent down to sniff the hat and sure enough she recognized the scent it gave off “The bus stop!” she said “They’re at the bus stop!” However as she was celebrating she heard a deafening scream “A mouse!” someone screamed before they proceeded to try and stomp on her. Mousie screamed and got out of the way just in time, however the person then proceeded to kick her. Mousie instantly felt the pain and squeaked out in pain, she ran as fast as she could and as far away as possible. She ran until she found a bunch and hid under it and the beanie, instantly she burst into tears and sobbed, she didn’t even have the words to describe how painful it was.

Ellie’s mommy was still comforting her daughter, who was thankfully calming down a bit but was still miserable. Suddenly, however, Kat heard something under the bench, she peeked down and saw Ellie’s beanie. Kat gasped “Ellie! Your beanie, it’s under the bench” Kat pointed. “It is…?” Ellie said sniffling, she got out of her mother’s arms and looked under the bench and when she saw the beanie, her beanie, she lit up instantly. “My beanie!” she said excitedly, grabbing it and hugging it happily. She was so excited to see her beanie, however suddenly she noticed something small under the bench, a mouse, AKA Mousie. “Aww, look at the cute mouse!” Ellie said, reaching out to pet it.
Mousie saw the giantess and instantly screamed and backed away “No! Don’t hurt me, PLEASE!” she begged for mercy, not being able to take anymore pain. Ellie was instantly confused “You can talk, little mouse?” she asked, staring innocently at Mousie. “Yes, I can.” Mousie replied before realizing that the girl heard her “Wait? You heard me?!” Mousie asked, confused. “Yes! Who are you?” Ellie replied, wanting to know more about the tiny mouse girl. With that Mousie told Ellie everything, her name, how she ended up in the situation she was in, and how much pain she went through daily, the whole time Kat and the girl’s mom watched.

When Mousie finished, Ellie and Kat were shocked, but it was their mom who was the most concerned “Oh dear, are you ok, do you need medical help?” She asked, concerned for the poor mouse girl. Mousie whimpered, but Ellie reassured her that her mom was nice. So Mousie worked up the courage to say “Yes, some help would be nice. Could you help?” Mousie looked up with her with a look of begging, instantly Kat and Ellie’s mom's paternal instincts kicked in and she picked up Mousie and gently stroked her and cooed to her “Of course I can help, I’m a vet, I can help you.” she reassured Mousie. With that she turned to the girls “Ok girls, I’m going to call a taxi and we’re going to my vet to help…” “Mousie.” helped her out “To help Mousie!” said Kat and Ellie’s mom, the girls agreed, not wanting to see this mouse suffer any longer.

Mousie was happy that she finally found help and finally got out of the city, but she was also concerned, what if these people had bad intentions and wanted to hurt her? For now, all she could do was wait and see what happened. She looked around her and noticed how no one seemed upset, but rather concerned, she wondered why that would be. She started to get tired, so she decided to just let fate happen and fall asleep.

Chapter Text

This case was bad, it was one of the most messed up ones she had seen ever. A sentient mouse is something you’d see in stories, but no, one lived in the street for possibly years, was abused in the street for years. Ginger felt sadness and petty towards this poor mouse girl, she knew she would make her feel better, at any cost at all. Ellie and Kat weren’t feeling much better, they didn’t realize the true implications of the girl’s situation yet, but just seeing how much pain she seemed to be in was enough to almost bring them to tears. Ellie was the more concerned, she always loved mice, so there was already that. But the way that she begged, no one should ever have to beg like that, she wondered why she did, she wondered if there was something the girl Mousie hadn’t told her.

It was bright and loud, that’s all that Mousie knew when she woke up. She tried to get up, but instantly just felt a pain that kept her down, she screamed out in pain as she flopped right back on to the surface that she was on. As she looked around, she suddenly spotted a massive beanie wearing titan’s giant eyes staring at her. Mousie screamed in terror and the girl also jumped back in fear “I’m so sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were ok, you seemed so hurt and afraid” the girl explained nervously. Mousie was still nervous, but was in so much pain that she couldn’t bring herself to say anything but “it’s ok…” weakly. Just then the lady she saw earlier walked in and softly asked the girl to sit down, then she walked over to Mousie. “Hello, sweetie.” the lady said softly “You said your name was Mousie, right?” she asked. Mousie nodded her head nervously, before lightly pushing herself up lightly to face her, the pain having slightly lessened. “That’s a cute name, Mousie! You can call me Dr. Kruger-Elise.” Dr. Kruger-Elise said lightly to Mousie. “We’re going to need to give you a little check up, Mousie. For your own safety.” Dr. Kruger-Elise said “Yes please, anything to make me feel better, anything.” Mousie said, feeling hopeful.

“First of all, we’re going to need to take your temperature,” Dr. Kruger-Elise said to Mousie, before pulling out a thermometer to take her temperature. Mousie opened her mouth and the doctor stuck the thermometer in softly. Ginger wasn’t expecting anything good to be shown, but for it to show that Mousie was basically freezing was concerning to say the least. “Oh dear, Mousie. It says here that you're freezing cold, are you alright?” Dr. Kruger-Elise asked, concerned for Mousie. “Yes? It’s almost always cold.” Mousie said, rather nonchalantly, causing everyone's concerns to rise. Ginger was horrified by this nonchalant answer, it was always cold? So cold that she seemed to have just gotten used to it, so it seemed like the first order of action was to make Mousie warmer. The question was just how to make her warmer? Ginger noticed that Mousie was basically wearing a rag and nothing else, so she decided she needed to go get Mousie some clothes somehow. “Kat, come with me, Mousie needs something warm to wear and you can help find something with me. Ellie, you stay here and watch Mousie.” and with that Kat and Ginger ran out the door, leaving Ellie and Mousie completely alone.

The room was filled with silence all around, neither girl wanting to speak first. Ellie, realizing she had to watch Mousie, decided to pull over a chair and sit down. Mousie was nervous, what if the girl wanted to hurt her or worse? “Hi.” The sudden voice caught Mousie off guard, she looked over to see the girl waving at her softly. Mousie politely, but nervously waved back “I heard your name is Mousie, right?” Ellie asked, wanting to be sure. She didn’t exactly expect to hear much of a response, but suddenly she heard a tiny voice say “Yes… I’m Mousie…” Mousie confirmed, lightly. Ellie was happy to see Mousie warm up at least a tiny bit “You’re very cute Mousie, you look adorable” she said, trying to spark conversation. Mousie hadn’t really heard anyone tell her that she was cute before, and yet she loved hearing it at the same time. “You think I’m… cute?” Mousie asked, her tail starting to wiggle just a tiny bit. Ellie nodded, smiling lightly at seeing Mousie at least a tiny bit happy. Mousie felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time “I feel like… I feel like I trust you.” Mousie said suddenly, leaving Ellie to gasp in shock “Awwww, that’s so sweet!” Ellie said, happily.

Mousie couldn’t believe it, she actually trusted someone. The girl in front of her seemed so nice, and so caring too. She wasn’t loud, and didn’t even show a hint of aggression, even though she was a titan compared to Mousie. Mousie, feeling daring, scurried closer to Ellie “What’s your name?” she asked, always being taught to be as polite as possible. Ellie, shocked to see Mousie get so close, spoke “My name is Ellie…” Ellie then asked Mousie “Could I maybe hold you?” asking as gently as possible. Mousie was shocked, someone wanted to willingly hold her, however she was still a bit nervous. Mousie started to respond “Will you be gentle…?” she asked, horrified at the prospect of being hurt by the massive titan above. “I promise from the bottom of my heart that I’ll be as gentle as possible” Ellie responded, gently picking Mousie up. As Mousie was picked up by Ellie, she felt a bit nervous, but also felt secure at the same time. “How does this feel?” Ellie asked, before softly scritching behind Mousie’s ear. As Mousie was about to respond, she felt how satisfying the scritching was, it felt like for even a moment all of her problems were gone, the years of trauma melted away. “It feels…” but before Mousie could respond, Ellie put her down as Dr. Kruger-Elise and the other girl walked back in with some small mouse sized clothes for her.

As Mousie finished changing into the clothing, she instantly felt warmer. It wasn’t much, just a simple pair of slip-on sneakers, a small T-shirt with a heart on it, and a pair of gray pants, but to her it meant a lot, considering she hadn’t even worn clothes before this moment. As she looked at herself in a mirror, she heard the doctor ask “Are you warmer with these on?” Mousie responded contently, “Ya, I feel warmer.” hugging herself with her tail. Kat and Ellie gave their own comments on Mousie’s outfit “You look adorable!” Ellie said “The heart shirt looks amazing on you!” Kat said. Now that Mousie was warmer, she seemed to be better for the most part, however Ginger had some questions of her own, not to mention she had to think of what would happen to Mousie after her check up. “You seem to be doing alright now that you're warm, but I want to ask you a few questions quickly. Is that ok with you Mousie?” Mousie nodded in agreement, muttering a yes lightly. Ginger turned to the girls “Girls, you should probably wait outside in the waiting room, while I ask Mousie some questions. They may get a bit personal, and I wouldn’t want her privacy to be violated.” Ellie and Kat nodded their heads in agreement and stepped out, leaving Ginger alone with Mousie.

With the kids out of the room, Ginger knew it was time to ask Mousie some questions to figure out some details about her situation. “So Mousie, we found you on the streets, but I want to know how long you have been on the streets for?” Mousie stuttered a bit before nervously saying “I don’t know… I think since I was 3?” “And how old are you now?” Ginger asked “5.” Mousie responded, now a bit more nervous. 2 years, Mousie had been on the street for 2 entire years. To say Ginger was disturbed was an understatement, this girl was only a child and yet had to endure 2 years of hell living in a major populated city, all alone with no one by her side. Not to mention that she was tiny, the city was huge to her, and the people were too. “Oh… I’m so sorry to hear that Mousie, that must’ve been horrible” Ginger said, in sheer disbelief of what Mousie had been through. Mousie knew deep down that she wanted to break down and just let all of the 2 years out, all of the times she was stomped on, kicked, screamed at, like nothing more than a worthless mouse. However, she didn’t want to become so weak and vulnerable in front of this lady that she just met, so she held back the tears and just said “Ya… It wasn’t the best time ever for sure…” she knew there was more to it, but locked it away so as to not look weak.

To say that Ellie and Kat weren’t both concerned would be a complete lie. “I hope the mouse is ok.” Kat said, sad at the thought of an innocent animal being hurt so much. “Her name is Mousie, Kat. She told me herself.” Ellie said, wanting to clarify Mousie’s name to Kat. Kat was confused, but proud of her sister, she knew Ellie was always gentle and kind to anything she came across, so it was no shock she had made Mousie feel at least a little safe. “You spoke to her, Els?” Ellie nodded her head lightly “She warmed up quickly, she even said she trusted me. The way she said it makes me wonder if she’s ever had anyone to trust before.” she explained. “I hope Mousie has had someone to trust in her life” Ellie said, with Kat nodding her head in agreement. Ellie then remembered something “I remember seeing a mouse when I was like 3 in daycare, it was pretty cute” thinking back on it fondly. “A mouse? What happened to it?” Kat said, confused “I don’t actually know, maybe it just scurried off one day.” Ellie said, laughing lightly.

Back in the doctor’s office, Mousie was just finishing up her checkup. “Ok Mousie, thank you for answering all of my questions, you’ve been such a polite girl!” Dr Kruger-Elise said, trying not to show her concern in front of Mousie. In all actuality Ginger was so disturbed on Mousie’s behalf after what she learned. She learned that Mousie had been on the streets alone since she was only 3, had to search for food and didn’t even find any some days, that she had to sleep under dumpsters nightly, and that her mental state was horrible (although she wouldn’t say why). Safe to say that Ginger wasn’t going to let Mousie stay on the streets, she just wasn’t so sure what to do, so she decided she would go ask her daughters what to do. However, first she had to make sure that Mousie was ok and safe “I have to step out for a moment Mousie, but is there perhaps anything you want to eat?” Ginger asked, as gently as possible. Mousie’s ears instantly perked up at the mention of food, and one thing instantly came to mind: “Do you have any cheese? I love cheese!” Mousie said, noticeably perking up. Ginger went to check her lunchbox and sure enough, inside were some cheese cubes. She took 3 out and placed them in front of Mousie “These good?” she asked. Mousie saw the cheese cubes and squeaked happily “Yes, THANK YOU!!!” she said excitedly, before digging in. With Mousie now occupied, Ginger knew that she could go talk to her daughters now “Ok Mousie, I’m just going to step out for a minute now, call out to me if you need anything.” Mousie nodded and Ginger stepped out.

As Dr. Kruger-Elise stepped out, Mousie was left alone with her thoughts for the first time in hours. She finished her last cheese cube and laid back “So yummy! Almost as yummy as my mommy’s food…” she said, before closing her eyes and nodding off into an old memory she had from years back… Mousie was about 3 at the time and she was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for her supper, her mommy came back inside the den with some small bits of cheese and apple “Here you go Mousie, some food for my tiny bundle of sunshine” her mommy said before placing it in front of Mousie and sitting down across from her. Mousie was confused, didn’t her mom need to eat too? “Mommy, why don’t you eat?” she asked, innocently as ever. Her mom, not wanting to concern her daughter, told her “I’ll just eat later, for now why don’t you eat?” she said, avoiding the lack of food they had in the den. Mousie, none the wiser to her mommy’s lie, smiled and began to eat innocently “Mmm, this is so yummy, mommy!” Mousie said, happily. When she was finished, Mousie ran over and wrapped her mom in a tight hug with her arms and tail “I’ll love you forever mommy!” she squeaked out. Her mom smiled and hugged her back “I’ll always love you too, my sweet sunshine.” she said as the two hugged each other warmly.

While this was happening Ginger stepped out to discuss the situation with her daughters. “So how is she?” Ellie asked, concerned “What will we do with her now?” Kat asked, also concerned. “Well, I asked her some questions and the way she responded to them made it seem like the streets haven’t been too nice to her, girls.” “Then what will we do with her?” Kat asked, worried for Mousie. Ginger started “Well, I don’t know hon-” “We can bring her home.” Ellie’s meek, but insistent voice interrupted her mother. Ginger and Kat were both confused, but Ginger decided to hear Ellie out “I don’t know Ellie, are you sure that’s the best idea?” Ellie answered “I think we should take her in and provide her with a loving home and safety from the horrible streets she’s lived on for 2 years mommy. She can be our third sister.” she explained, knowing that their home would be the best place for Mousie. “Also, I feel that she bonded with me a bit when we were left alone, she even said that she trusted me.” Ellie finished her explanation. Ginger turned to Kat “Are you ok with Mousie being your new sister, Kat?” she asked her cat ear wearing daughter. Kat nodded her head “Yes mommy, of course I am! She’s so cute and I would love for her to be my sister! I’ll show her all of my kitty love!” she said, purring in delight! Ginger, seeing the girls' excitement and insistence, couldn’t deny that they wanted Mousie in their family. “Ok ok, I see how much you girls want Mousie as your sister, but we have to ask her first if she wants to be your sister. Ok?” Both girls nodded their heads and the 3 walked into the room.

When the 3 walked into the room, they were greeted by the sight of Mousie asleep, crumbs of cheese on her face. Ginger wasn’t surprised to see Mousie asleep, considering that she had slept on the streets for like 2 years. Ginger walked over and gently tapped Mousie to wake her up without scaring her “Mousie, sweetie, could you please wake up? We need to ask you something important.” she asked, also gently. Ginger saw Mousie stretch before yawning and looking up at her “Yes? What do you want to ask me?” Mousie asked, still a bit tired.

Mousie was shocked to be woken up from her dream so soon, but knew to be polite and ask what the nice lady’s question was. “Well…” the doctor started “We wanted to know if you perhaps wanted to be a part of our family with me, my daughters, and my husband?” she finished, looking a bit… nervous? Mousie was shocked, they cared enough about her to want her in their family? She was truly speechless, at a loss of words. The girl with cat ears walked over and started to speak “We know it’s like a HUGE thing to consider, but you’re so cute and we would love to have you as a part of the family. Pleaseeeee?” she pleaded with Mousie. Mousie finally became unfrozen and said “It’s s-s-such a big offer… b-b-but I’m afraid I c-c-c-c-can’t accept” before cowering away and starting to cry. It was all too much for Mousie, the doctors appointment, the titans all around her, the memories of a past far far away from Mousie’s present, it was all too much and she broke under the pressure.

Ginger didn’t know what else to do and Kat was too shocked for words, but Ellie knew she had to do something. She had only known the girl for only a day, but Ellie knew she had to make Mousie feel better. She slowly reached out and picked up Mousie gently, making sure not to shake her in the slightest. As Mousie cried from the overwhelming feeling all around, she was shocked to hear a calm, delicate “shh” coming from above. She looked up, her whole world still spinning, to see the girl, Ellie, comforting her and caring for her. “Shhh, it’s ok Mousie, we’re here for you now. You’re safe.” Ellie started, slowly stroking Mousie as gently as possible. “I know how much you’ve been through, and well I may not understand your pain fully, I want to be here for you. To show you the love and comfort you deserve to have, to show you the sunshine on the other side.” Ellie finished, scritching behind Mousie’s ear delicately. Mousie was shocked, but for a different reason this time. She felt… love, love for Ellie, love for the thing she felt all around her, the thing she hadn’t felt in so long: family.

“Yes.” The word was sudden, even to Mousie, but she knew why she said it. “Yes. I want to be a part of your family.” she stated, calmly but clearly. Ellie was shocked, but teared up in joy at the simple, yet thoughtful sentence Mousie had said. Ginger and Kat were also surprised, but glad to hear Mousie wanted to be a part of their family. Kat ran over and pulled Ellie and Mousie into a tight, but comforting hug. “I already love you soooo much, Mousie! You’re going to be the purrfect sister!” she said, excitedly. Ginger smiled warmly and took a picture of her girls and their new sister, happy to see them all so happy. However Ginger was shocked to realize that it was already the late afternoon and that it was almost time for supper. “Girls, it’s almost time for supper. We should get back to our house. Mousie, are you ready to go?” she smiled warmly at Mousie to assure it was ok. “Yes, doctor! I can’t thank you enough, I’ll be the best daughter possible, I promise.” Mousie said, almost tearing up. “Actually sweetie, my name is Ginger. But you can call me mommy.” Ginger smiled warmly at her new daughter. With that, they walked out, now with a new member of the family. Mousie felt so alive and happy, she had done it, she had found her place, her home, her family.

Chapter Text

Mousie, Ellie, and Kat were in the backseat of the car as Ginger drove them all home.

“So girls, what do you want for supper tonight? Does soup sound good?” Ginger asked the girls.

Ellie just nodded while stroking Mousie lightly.

Kat, being the more talkative twin, spoke up.

“Spaghetti sounds amazing, mommy! I can slurp it up like a kitty, meow!” she finished, before realizing she had never introduced herself to Mousie.

She decided now would be a good time to do so, bending down and waving at Mousie.

“Hello Mousie, I’m Kat! I love bunnies, fairies, anything cute and…,” she paused suddenly before exclaiming suddenly “CATS! Meow!” she finished.

Mousie nodded lightly “Ya, I can tell you love cats because of your cat ears, nice to meet you!” she said, hugging Kat’s hand.

Kat stroked Mousie lightly, before laying back and closing her eyes to get some rest.

Suddenly Mousie felt a light pain on her side “Ow!” she yelped out.

“Oh no, are you ok Mousie?” Ellie asked, her attention suddenly hyper focused on Mousie.

Mousie nodded “Ya, I’m fine. Someone just kicked me as I was trying to return your beanie.” Mousie said, trailing off slowly as she did.

“Oh no, that’s horrible, mommy, what can we do to help her?” Ellie asked, feeling concerned for Mousie.

“I’m sure we have something at home to help her” Ginger said, feeling sympathetic, Ellie nodded silently.

As they kept on driving home, suddenly they passed over a bright street light which hurt Mousie’s eyes, however she noticed it also seemed to hurt Ellie’s eyes as she pulled her beanie over her head to block the light from her eyes.

However, Ellie was also kind enough to place her hands around Mousie to block her eyes too, she gave a tiny squish, but Mousie was sure that Ellie had done it to help her.

After they had driven past the bright light, Mousie realized she hadn’t heard much about Ellie yet, sure Ellie seemed to love her the most, but Mousie hadn’t heard much about her.

Mousie started to speak “So, what are some things-” “-I should know about you?” Ellie finished, as if in sync with Mousie.

A small ‘eep’ left Mousie, as she suddenly cowered away, as if nervous about sharing more about herself.

“Oh, are you still nervous? Well, I can share some stuff about myself first.” Ellie said, as she started to lightly stroke Mousie and speak in a quieter tone.

“My name is Ellie, but you already knew that. I’m 5 years old, my favorite color is light blue, I love narwhals and sea creatures, I play tee-ball and watch TV when I’m allowed. Mommy also says I’m an artist, oh and I love pizza!” Ellie finished, smiling warmly at Mousie.

The mention of pizza made Mousie perk up “I LOVE PIZZA!” she suddenly blurted out, happily.

Ellie smiled, knowing she had found a way to help Mousie open up

“Oh, you do? What are some other things I should know about you?” she asked, hoping that Mousie would be open to sharing more about herself.

Mousie gasped, before suddenly her tail started to wag in excitement “There’s so many things I would love to share about myself!” Mousie said, before proceeding to talk about herself more than she ever had in her entire life, all the way home.

 

By the time the Kruger-Elise’s had made it back home, Mousie had shared so much about herself with Ellie.

She had shared how much she loved the colors pink and yellow, that she was the same age as Ellie and Kat, how much she loved bugs, and of course she couldn’t not mention her love of cheese, on top of all of the other things she had shared with Ellie.

“Wow, Mousie, I’m sure we’ll get along great.” Ellie smiled, as she hugged Mousie close, with Mousie hugging her back.

Ellie carried Mousie in and Ginger woke up Kat, who had fallen asleep for a small cat nap on the drive home.

“Honey, we’re home! There’s someone we want you to meet!” Ginger called out, she had told Freddy beforehand the situation.

Mousie’s ears flattened slightly at the loud noise and in nervousness about this new ‘Honey’ person she was about to meet.

“E-E-Ellie? Who’s ‘Honey’?” Mousie asked nervously, shivering slightly.

Ellie looked down, only to see how terrified Mousie was.

“Oh, ‘Honey’ is just what our mommy calls our daddy. He’s super friendly, I promise” Ellie said, calmly.

She quickly gave Mousie a light scritch, which calmed the young mouse down a tiny bit.

Right as Ellie said that, Freddy walked into the room, a smile on his face.

“So, who’s the new member of the family?” Freddy asked cheerfully, making sure not to be overly loud around his sensitive daughter.

Kat ran over and hugged her daddy’s leg “She’s with Ellie, daddy!” she said as she pointed at Ellie.

Freddy walked over and saw Mousie in her daughter's hands. He was shocked but knew to respect her as a member of the family.

“Hello, sweetie! I’m Freddy! I’ll be your daddy,” he started “mind if I pick you up? It’s ok if not.” He finished, making sure to ask the question as lightly as possible.

Mousie lightly sniffed his hand before nodding lightly and scurrying into Freddy’s hand

“You smell nice and trustworthy!” Mousie said, lightly hugging his thumb.

“Aww, aren’t you the sweetest?” Freddy said, lightly scritching her on the top of the head.

After Mousie was done getting acquainted with Freddy, he started to make some soup for the family to enjoy, along with some garlic bread.

The twins wanted to give Mousie a tour of the house and show her around their room, however Ginger decided that Mousie should most likely get a bath first, so she quickly took Mousie and helped her get a refreshing bath.

Mousie loved the feeling of the bath, as it made her feel warm and secure, not to mention it was the first bath of her entire life.

After Mousie got out of the bath, she dried off with a towel and dried her fur. As Ginger brushed her hair and fur, Mousie talked to her about how nice the bath felt

“I loved how warm it made me feel and so secure too, and I loved the bubbles!” Mousie said, her tail wriggling back and forth a little

“That’s nice, sweetie, feeling all better?” Ginger asked, finishing brushing Mousie’s hair and fur

“For the most part, although I still feel a bit stiff from being kicked earlier.” Mousie said, her tail drooping a little

Ginger’s eyes widened at hearing that, remembering that she promised to help Mousie’s pain feel better earlier

“Oh, right! We should get you a bandaid, or some kids Advil” Ginger said, looking in the medicine cabinet

Ginger pulled out a bandaid and put it by Mousie, before realizing it was a bit too big to put on Mousie

“Sweetie, have you ever taken Advil before?” Ginger asked Mousie, realizing it was the only way to help Mousie feel better

“No, Mommy.” Mousie said, shaking her head

“Oh ok, well all you have to do is chew the medication and then maybe drink some water.” Ginger explained

Mousie nodded, listening along

“Do you think you can do that, sweetie?” Ginger asked, placing the Advil by her

Mousie looked at the pill, before picking it up and putting it in her mouth. She then chewed the pill up and swallowed it

Ginger smiled warmly at Mousie, as she started to quickly pour her a small glass of water

“Oh, that’s it, sweetie, that’s good” she said, lighting scritching Mousie’s head

After Mousie finished drinking her water, she looked up at her mommy

“Are you proud of me, mommy?” Mousie asked, seeking the validation she had always craved

“Of course, sweetie.” Ginger said, before picking up Mousie and hugging her close

“I… I love you, mommy…” Mousie said, sinking into Ginger’s hug

 

By the time Mousie was done freshening up, it was just about supper time so the girls would have to do their tour after. However, they weren’t complaining as they loved their father’s cooking.

Mousie got some new clothes off of some of the twin’s tinier dolls, she loved these ones even more and they made her feel even warmer (not to mention Mousie’s opinion that “they don’t even smell like a smelly hospital either”).

 

After Mousie was situated, Ginger started to bring her downstairs

“I’m sorry if those aren’t warm enough, Mousie. If I had known we would meet you today, I could’ve maybe sewn together some warmer clothes for you.” She apologized, sorry that Mousie possibly had to remain a bit cold for a while longer.

Mousie just hugged herself and rolled around a little “It’s ok Ging- I mean mommy! I love these clothes so much, although they could be a bit warmer” she giggled to herself lightly.

With that Ginger walked into the kitchen with Mousie

“So, where do you want to sit, sweetie?” she asked, wanting to give Mousie the freedom to sit where she wanted to.

Mousie looked around, pondering to herself, before she noticed Ellie smiling a welcoming, warm smile at her.

“I think I want to sit with her, Ellie.” Mousie said, pointing at Ellie.

Ellie lit up that Mousie had seemingly already warmed up to her, “Of course you can sit by me Mousie, I can share some of my soup and bread with you too!” she said, practically beaming.

Ginger placed Mousie down next to Ellie, but not before Mousie let out a light ‘thank you’ to express her gratitude for the kind action from her new mommy.

With everyone situated, everyone began to dig in, with Mousie being given one of the twin’s dollhouse bowls with some soup put in it carefully by Ellie.

Mousie looked at the soup before picking up her spoon and taking her first bite. It was a rather casual action, but the taste hit her instantly. It was unlike anything she had ever had before, it was like heaven in one bite and she was frozen in pure adoration of the amazing taste that had entered into her system.

Ellie looked down to see Mousie just sitting there “So, how is it?” she smiled, laughing just a tiny bit at Mousie’s adorable reaction.

Kat also leaned in seat a bit to watch the situation.

Freddy perked up confidently at the mention of his cooking.

“Did I hear a mention of my cooking? So, what do you think sweetie?” he asked, referring to Mousie.

Mousie finally came out of her food trance to declare “THIS IS SO GOOD!!!” before squeaking and squealing happily as she downed the rest of the soup.

After she was done with the soup, Ellie handed her some garlic bread, which she quickly downed before declaring her love for it also.

By the time Mousie was fully done with her supper, she was left over the moon from how good the food was.

“That. Was. AMAZING. I loved how salty and warm it was, it was delicious!” Mousie raved, being truly grateful for the warm and fulfilling meal.

Freddy laughed a hardy laugh and grinned “A new fan of my amazing cooking, I see. She’s already a true member of the Kruger-Elise family, I can just tell!” he said, before everyone in the room laughed together, even Mousie, they laughed as a family.

After supper was done, it was time for the twins to give their tours.

“So, who do you want to give you a tour first, Mousie?” Ellie asked, making sure to not make Mousie too biased to herself.

Mousie thought about it for a second, sure she would love to see Ellie’s side of the room, but she also hadn’t spent much time getting to know her other sister Kat yet.

Realizing this, Mousie decided that she would go with Kat to see her side of the room first.

“I-I think I’ll go with Kat first, that way you can prepare your tour for me.” Mousie said, smiling lightly at Ellie.

Kat perked up and squealed in delight.

“Yay, I’m so excited you want to check out my pawsome side of the room, sister!” she said, before lightly taking Mousie from Ellie and nuzzling Mousie against her cheek.

Mousie nuzzled back, albeit a bit hesitantly considering she never had really received such affection from a massive titan before.

“Ok, I’m ready when you are Kat!” Mousie said, staring up at Kat cutely.

However, right as Kat was about to walk off Ellie suddenly stopped her to whisper something in her ear. Mousie couldn’t hear the full extent of it, but she did hear certain parts such as ‘don’t forget to tell her…’ and ‘friendly, but…’ while it was a bit concerning, Mousie was confident that it couldn’t be anything too bad.

After that was done Kat and Mousie walked off so Kat could give a tour of her room, as they walked Mousie felt Kat rumbling a bit, as if she was purring lightly.

“So first, here are my dollies!” Kat said as she walked over to a fairy house that had some dolls in them, some being fairies, well others were just random characters.

Mousie nodded lightly “They’re adorable!” she proclaimed, lightly.

“Not as cute as you!” Kat said, before hugging Mousie close.

As Kat continued to give a tour of her room, Mousie was amazed by all of the amazing things these titans had. They had dolls, costumes for wearing and playing pretend, so many toys, it was like a child in a toy store for the first time!

However suddenly, Kat plopped on her bed and started making a light ‘pspspsp’ sound, Mousie sat next to Kat’s face, confused.

“Um, Kat. What are you doing?” Mousie asked, still confused “Oh, I’m just calling my cat!” Kat said as she went back to calling her cat.

As Mousie processed the word ‘cat’ in her mind, her ears instantly flattened in concern.

“Lavender, come here kitty! Lavender, come here girl!” Kat called, unaware of Mousie’s fear of cats, which to her were more like tigers.

Just then, an orange and white cat jumped up on the bed, leading to Mousie squealing in fear.

Kat finally turned to see how terrified Mousie was, she instantly gasped in concern “Lavender, stop girl!” she said, leading to the cat stopping and just laying down nearby.

“Mousie, what’s wrong? You're afraid of cats, aren’t you?” Kat asked, concerned for her sister, it only had just occurred to her that a mouse girl might be afraid of cats.

“Y-y-yes, I am.” Mousie said, nodding and quivering in fear.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry Mousie, I didn’t know.” Kat said, picking up and hugging Mousie softly to comfort you.

“However, I promise you Lavender is the nicest cat in the whole world, she doesn’t bite anyone ever and is super fluffy!” Kat said to Mousie, “If you want, maybe you could call her over from in my hands and if she tries anything, then I promise you never have to see her again.”

Mousie thought about it for a moment, before slowly starting to nod a bit. It was a small nod, but one that wasn’t unnoticed by the at times hyperactive, yet also very caring Kat.

“Ok, feel free to go at your own pace. Just know that I’m here for you, Mousie.” Kat spoke softly, as she opened her hands so Mousie could sit on them and call lavender over.

Mousie sat in Kat’s hands, breathed in, and called out to the massive cat

“L-l-lavender, come here girl. Pspspsps-p-p-pspsp” she called out. It was as quiet as a mouse, to be expected, but the cat still heard it and calmly walked over to Mousie in Kat’s hands.

Mousie heard Kat say “You’re doing great!” and gave her a light scratch on the head as the cat finished walking over.

Lavender bent down and started to lightly sniff Mousie. Kat and Mousie both sat silently, hoping without saying it out loud that the cat wouldn’t attack the young mouse girl.

Lavender, finishing sniffing Mousie, instantly seemed to warm up to her and nuzzled her massive head against Mousie.

“Awww, I think she likes you, Mousie!” Kat said, before giggling as Lavender gave Mousie a tiny lick on the face as a sign of trust, an adorable sight.

Mousie ears seemed to perk up instantly as she seemed to also instantly bond with the massive cat.

“Aww, aren’t you the cutest, Lavie? Yes you are!” Mousie said, reaching up and giving Lavender a tiny scratch behind the ear.

Kat couldn’t help but smile at the adorable sight of her beloved cat and her new sister bonding already.

“Wow, Mousie, you’re great with animals! I love the nickname you gave her, ‘Lavie’, it's adorable!” she said, hugging both of them close.

Mousie laughed happily to herself “I suppose that true, it isn’t much of a shock considering I’ve always wanted to help creatures big and small!” she smiled happily at Kat.

Now intrigued, Kat sat up and placed Lavender and Mousie on her lap.

“Is that so?” Kat asked.

“Ya! Since I was young, my mommy raised me to see the best in everyone!” Mousie replied, she was shocked to see herself mention her mommy casually, but it was a pleasant surprise.

“Oh, is that true?” Kat asked, now really curious, “Could I maybe hear a story about your mommy? She sounds so nice!” she exclaimed, as genuine as a 5 year old could be!

Mousie was shocked, but nodded, suddenly… excited? “I would love to! So one time…” Mousie started, beginning to tell Kat a story about her beloved mommy.

 

Mousie was about 2 and her mommy and daddy were scurrying through the streets trying to find somewhere to hide from the rain.

“Come on, I see a sewer we can hide in for now, it’s just up ahead!” Mousie’s dad called out, trying to keep the family together.

However, suddenly a massive titan walked in front of them, blocking the path to the sewer.

Mousie teared up in her mommy’s arms and hugged her close, however Mousie’s mom saw it a different way.

“Mousie, you never know. Maybe they want to help us, help us find safety even.” she said, hugging her beloved daughter closely.

Mousie’s mommy may have been a mouse, but she was a thoughtful and considerate lady, never one to choose violence first, but rather peace.

Just then, everyone looked up as they started to hear the titan speak.

“Aww, you poor creatures look to be drowning in water. Here, I’ll help you find somewhere dry, just climb in my hands.” the titan, who seemed to be a man said, clearly caring for the safety of the poor creatures.

Mousie and her family climbed into the man’s hands and he walked through the streets before finding a dumpster he could place the mice, while also assuring they would be dry and secure.

“Aha, here you go mice!” the man said, laying the family down.

They all said their thanks to the massive titan, and although it merely sounded like squeaking to him in his hurry, he knew he did the right thing.

“And so.” Mousie said, finishing the story, “my mommy taught me that no matter how scary they may seem, it’s the heart that matters most of all” she concluded, hugging herself tightly.

Kat clapped “Wow, that was an amazing story Mousie!”

Mousie’s tail wiggled “Thank you!” she said, happily.

“But I have a question” Kat said as naive as ever “What happened to your mo-” as if on purpose, Ellie walked over, smiling happily.

“Are you ready for a tour of my side of the room, Mousie?” she asked, holding out her hands for Mousie to climb in.

Mousie nodded and scurried into Ellie’s hand. She knew what Kat was going to ask, she didn’t know if she could bear to answer without bursting into tears. Still however, she fought back the emotions and hugged Ellie’s hand tightly.

“Aww, I can tell you missed me, Mousie. Is that right?” Ellie asked, feeling her sister’s tight grip.

Mousie nodded, happy to be back with Ellie.

“I’m so excited for your tour, Ellie! Kat’s was amazing, I got to meet Lavie!” Mousie said to Ellie, smiling happily.

“Aww, that’s so cute” Ellie said, holding Mousie closely.

With that Ellie decided it was time to start the tour, “We should get going now, Mousie! See ya, Kat!” she stated, before walking off with Mousie.

Ellie decided to first start her part of the tour by showing Mousie her bed, with her ocean themed bedsheets.

“First, here is my bed! My sheets are ocean themed, I love them so much!!” Ellie stated, before flapping the hand not holding Mousie and giving Mousie a light squeeze.

Mousie just stared at Ellie nervously “Are you ok, Ellie?” she asked, becoming nervous after the squish.

Ellie slowed her flapping a bit as she remembered she never told Mousie about her autism, hence the confusion from the mouse girl.

Ellie decided to explain it to Mousie in an easy to understand way. “Well, you see Mousie, I have something called autism.” she explained, holding Mousie closely in a sign of trust. Mousie’s ears perked up in interest “I think I’ve heard of that before.” she nodded as she said this “But I don’t fully remember what it is. Sorry, mind explaining?” Mousie asked, feeling guilty. Ellie giggled softly “Of course I can, silly!” Ellie said as she fell back on to her bed with Mousie, with a little ‘Weeee’ as she went down. “So you see, the way my mommy explains it is that people with autism think differently than others and sometimes can need a bit more help in the world.” Ellie started, Mousie nodded along, intrigued. “However, she also says that autistic people bring so much creativity to the world and that everyone in this world, big and small, is special.” Ellie finished, holding Mousie lovingly. Mousie hugged Ellie and asked “That sounds amazing, so is that why you squeezed me in the car?” Ellie nodded, “Ya, I can be a bit more sensitive to certain things than other kids, and something called stimming helps me with that.” she explained, starting to stim her other hand lightly again. “That’s so cool, and I’ll be by your side whenever you need help!” Mousie stated, hugging Ellie tightly. Ellie smiled warmly “Aww thanks.” she said, before giving Mousie a light squeeze. “Oh, I also stim when I’m excited, like I am right now!” Ellie said and the two burst into laughter. “So, are you ready to continue the tour?” Ellie asked, balling her fists in happiness like she was going to explode. Mousie nodded, her tail wiggling “I’m more than ready to continue the tour, it’s going to be great!” she exclaimed, excited to see the rest of Ellie’s room. Ellie and Mousie got back to the tour, with Ellie showcasing the LED lights the twins had set up for when they slept at night, her own dollhouse she had which had dolls of characters she liked and random sea creatures, some pictures she had taken of food she had in the past, and her headphones that she sometimes wore at school. “They’re so squishy and comfy!” Ellie stated as she squished them lightly “Wow, I wish I had headphones like that. They would be so helpful against loud sounds.” Mousie said, her ears flattening slightly at the mention of loud sounds.

Ellie thought for a moment before saying “Maybe my mommy can make you some!” gleefully. Mousie squeaked happily at the idea of having her own headphones “Yes, I would LOVE that!” she said before hugging Ellie’s hand “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for being so helpful, you’re such a nice sister!” she continued, still hugging Ellie’s hand. Ellie blushed a bit from how kind Mousie was “Awww, of course I would want to help you! I’ve loved mice like you since I was 3!” she explained “I met a little mouse in my daycare, she was adorable.” Ellie finished, thinking back on her old mouse friend. Mousie ears perked up at what Ellie said “You met a mouse… at a Daycare? What was the daycare called?” she asked, suddenly intrigued. Ellie thought for a moment “I think it was called Bloom Daycare? Why do you ask?” Mousie gasped “Because I crawled into a daycare with that same name when I was 3” she replied, her tail twitching slightly. “And I remember running into a girl who wore a beanie, and had brown hair with some blonde spots, and wore a narwhal shirt…” Mousie continued, Ellie gasped “That sounds just like me when I was 3! Go on, please!” she said, insisting that Mousie continued her story. Mousie nodded, she remembered the day like it was yesterday, the day she stumbled into that daycare. It was an interesting day and one that she hadn’t truly forgotten since.

It was around 2 years ago, the time of day was midmorning and the younger Mousie was scurrying through a more grassy area of New York, not in the main city, but not totally out of the area either. She was sniffing around for anything interesting, something to entertain her, she was only 3 after all. Suddenly she came across a massive wooden wall thing, however Mousie noticed a tiny hole in the wall or whatever it was. On the other side, she heard children laughing and the mild sound of a drum banging. Mousie giggled happily “Fun place is beyond this wall, just gotta get through this hole” she said, before squeezing herself through the hole. When she opened her eyes on the other side of the hole she saw titans EVERYWHERE, however Mousie always wanted to help with younger titans or really any titan in general since she was super young, and by a pure chance most of the titans were toddlers. Mousie waddled forward and looked around in astonishment, however suddenly it became dark around her, she looked up just in time to dodge out of the way of a massive shoe that suddenly STOMPED down right where Mousie was standing. Mousie whimpered in fear as she sat on the ground, horrified by the fact that she was almost crushed. Mousie looked up, to see the massive titan running off with an exclamation of “¡Wepa!”, her massive hair blowing behind her. Suddenly, without much time to react Mousie saw another titan, a young boy wearing a dinosaur shirt and some dinosaur shoes, stomping towards her. They seemed to just want to use the sandbox, which Mousie just so happened to be in, but Mousie was still terrified. She hid behind a shovel in the sandbox, as the young boy plopped down and pulled out figures of some kind of lizard and started playing with them. Mousie hid, cowering in fear “Young titans be unaware of a lot of things” she whispered to herself, sneaking off slowly as the massive titan just kept playing innocently as ever. She scurried along, passing by giant toddler titans using play kitchen sets, ones drawing weird things on paper, and one playing a trumpet… somehow.

The young Mousie kept scurrying, trying to find somewhere safe to cool off, when suddenly something caught her eye. She noticed a young girl who couldn’t be older than 3, sitting on the ground with her ears covered. She looked to be away from the general crowd, but not away from the loud drumming that seemed to almost consume the quiet. However, what concerned Mousie was that the poor titan girl seemed to be almost tearing up, she seemed to be in pain. “Girl in… pain?” she pondered to herself, becoming increasingly worried for her. However, Mousie noticed a pair of headphones on a nearby table, seemingly belonging to the massive, but sensitive titan. She suddenly felt an urge inside of her, a sense of determination to get the headphones to the girl. It didn’t matter if the girl didn’t ever see her or if no one cared about the little mouse’s actions, because Mousie knew the littlest actions can make a big difference. Mousie suddenly scurried out and past the girl, who didn’t seem to notice her in her pain. As Mousie scurried along, determined to get the headphones, she realized she had to pass the girl banging away on the drums. She had 2 big, although messy pigtails, wore a pink T-shirt with a heart symbol on it, and seemed to be a bit messy in general. As Mousie ran past, suddenly she heard the banging stop and before she could realize what was happening, she felt a hand grab her. When she was lifted up, she saw that the massive girl had grabbed her, seemingly interested in what Mousie was. “Are you a moving toy?” the girl asked, clearly curious about the strange creature she had found. Mousie shook her head, nervous about what might happen to her “No, I’m not. Let me go.” she squirmed slightly, trying to break free. The girl tilted her head to the side “What are you then? I’m a human, my name Rose!” the girl, whose name seemed to be Rose said, lightly starting to kick her legs in excitement. Mousie whimpered “Please let me go…” she pleaded to the girl, wanting to retrieve the headphones for the other girl as soon as possible. Rose put a finger to her chin “Why do that?” She asked, a hint of innocence in her voice. Mousie looked around, looking for any reason for the titan or human or whatever to let her go, when suddenly she spotted something: the drum the girl was using. Mousie suddenly spoke up confidently “Because you play drum!” She said, pointing down at the drum below her. Rose looked down and wiggled all over in excitement “YOU RIGHT, TOY.” She said matter of factly, before giving Mousie a tight hug. After releasing Mousie from her tight hug, Rose plopped her back on the ground “Byeee, toy!” And before Mousie could correct her, she went back to banging on the drum happily. Mousie shrugged and scurried off to continue her journey to get the headphones.

Mousie scurried, out of sight of people this time until she was finally able to reach the girl’s headphones. After a few tries, Mousie managed to get on the table and come face to face with the girl’s headphones. They were massive, squishy, and perfectly fit for a massive titan toddler. Her tail wagged slightly, happy to have finally reached the headphones. She grabbed them quickly and started dragging them along to the girl, who was most likely in dire need of them by now. It took Mousie a lot of effort, but after a few minutes and a few close encounters with some titans, she finally was close to the girl. Mousie hid inside one of the holes in the headphones, and waited for the girl to notice them, to Mousie it felt like hiding from a giant dinosaur. The girl suddenly noticed something to the side of her: her headphones! She instantly perked up and started to crawl over to them to reach them, Mousie could feel the ground shaking from the titan’s enthusiasm, it was honestly adorable. The girl’s shadow then appeared overhead and she grabbed the headphones, but Mousie felt one problem: she was going up with them. The one thing Mousie had failed to think about when picking where she hid from the girl, was that she was most likely going to use the headphones. The girl slowly lifted the headphones up to her ears, and right before the girl could put them on, Mousie yelled out “S-S-STOP!” suddenly. The girl instantly flinched and turned her head to the sound coming from her headphones, and inside she saw what looked to be a tiny mouse. “M-M-Mouse?” the girl stuttered out, seemingly confused to find a mouse in her headphones.

Mousie nervously nodded her head, her ears drooping a bit in fear, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the young titan “Mouse scared?” she asked, concerned. Mousie’s eyes opened slightly at the girl’s sympathy “Y-y-ya…” she muttered out, nervously but more open to speaking. Ellie nodded, very attentive for a toddler “I promise, I not hurt you. I am gentle.” she said, holding her headphones close. Ellie kept babbling, making sure to be soft “Mind if I hold you?” she asked, being as calm as a spring breeze. Mousie nodded slowly and nervously “Ok… Up please.” she said, trusting the girl. Ellie pulled Mousie out of her headphones gently and put them on her ears, before making sure to hold Mousie firmly, yet gently. Ellie giggled slightly “You so cute!” she said, giving Mousie a light squeeze in excitement. Mousie giggled back “Thanks, you cute too! You ok, feeling pain?” she asked, concerned. Ellie shook her head, the pain behind her now “Nope! You make me feel better, you make me happy again!” she replied, hugging Mousie close. Mousie smiled a bright, happy smile “Awwww, you welcome!” she said, giggling as she accepted Ellie’s hug back. Ellie stared down at Mousie “Me… and You… Friends?” she asked it so innocently, so filled with love for her new friend, that Mousie couldn’t help but agree. “Yes, yes yes yes YES!” Mousie responded, hugging even closer to Ellie. The two sat there, hugging, and with that hug, a special bond like no other was born…

Mousie finished the story “And that’s how I met the girl… that’s how I met you.” she said, staring up at Ellie “My best friend in the world world!” she stated before hugging Ellie, tighter than ever before. Ellie teared up a little, realizing she was reunited with her tiny mouse friend “IT REALLY IS YOU!” she yelled out and hugged Mousie close, crying tears of joy. Mousie hugged Ellie closely too. “I’ve missed you so much, I’ve been through so much since I last saw you, but now I’m with you forever.” she said, tearing up slightly herself. Ellie looked down at Mousie “Where did you go? At some point, you just left and never came back” she asked, looking a bit sad. Mousie shook her head “Actually… I was kicked o-o-out…” she said, tearing up out of sadness. “They found me and threw me out… like trash.” Mousie stated, starting to softly cry, thinking back on the pain she felt when she was thrown out that evening. Ellie’s heart broke at hearing that her best friend was treated like nothing more than a worthless piece of trash “Shh, shh it’s ok. I’m here now, think about all the good times we had.” she said, scritching behind Mousie’s ear softly and rubbing her back lightly. Mousie struggled to think of any at first, but as she thought harder, they came flowing to her. The memories of the snacks Ellie would give to her as they ate together at snacktime, them resting together during naptime, playing together or even just talking on days where Ellie wanted a quieter day, they all flowed back to Mousie like music to her ears. “Wow… you’re right, they’re beautiful.” Mousie said, hugging Ellie and feeling content. “Yes. Yes, they are.” Ellie replied “And now we’ll have so much time together, to be best friends forever.” she reassured Mousie, hugging her closer and humming softly. After they hugged for a while, Ginger came upstairs “Ok girls, I know it’s the weekend, but it would be best if you all got to bed now to have lots of time to play tomorrow. Plus it’s been a long day” she said, wanting to make sure the girls got a good amount of sleep. Kat and Ellie nodded, with Mousie also silently nodding along. Mousie yawned “Ya, I could go for a long night’s sleep” she muttered out, feeling a bit tired. Ellie agreed with her “You want me to help you get ready for bed?” she asked Mousie, wanting to make sure she was secure and happy on her first night. “Yes, that would be nice!” Mousie said, nodding happily. Ginger quickly brought Mousie into a different room to help her into her pajamas, a small pair of PJs off of one of the girl’s dolls. Mousie liked them, but wished they could be a bit more baggy. Ginger laughed softly, “I’m sure I can sew you some, sweetie.” she said, stroking Mousie’s back lightly, as Mousie purred contently. After they all got into their PJs, Ellie walked with Mousie to help the mouse girl brush her teeth. “They should only take a second, sense your teeth are so teeny” Ellie giggled as she put some toothpaste on a tiny toy toothbrush and quickly brushed Mousie’s teeth, Mousie sighed in content “That feels nice…” she said, softly.

As Kat was being tucked in by Ginger, Ellie and Mousie sat on the former’s bed, questioning where Mousie could sleep. They pondered together for a few seconds, before Mousie blurted out “I could sleep in the bed with you…” suddenly, causing her eyes to widen in embarrassment. Ellie stared down at her, with a tender smile “That isn’t a bad idea!” she said lightly, hugging Mousie close. “You are the size of a teeny, itty bitty plushie, after all!” Ellie said, giggling to herself as she swung Mousie back and forth gently. “W-w-wait… You’re sure?” Mousie questioned “You’re ok with sleeping with a filt-” suddenly, Ellie stopped her. “No. You are NOT a filthy mouse, in this house, you are Mousie Kruger-Elise, a part of our family and my sister who I love so dearly.” she said, getting more quiet and gentle as she finished what she was saying. Mousie stared at her, her eyes almost tearing up, but not quite. “Wow… Thank you, really, thank you.” she said, before hugging Ellie’s hand as much as she could, even wrapping her tail around one of her fingers. “Together it is, then.” Ellie said, softly, climbing into bed and placing Mousie on to the pillow next to her. Ginger walked over and kissed Ellie on the forehead, very softly, just like she liked it. “Good night Nellie, you’ll always be my brave narwhal baby.” Ginger said, stroking her daughter’s hair lightly. She then turned to Mousie and scritched her ear softly “Good night, sweetie. You’re already such a welcome member to this family, and I hope you never forget how much love you have around you now. Have a good first sleep, I’ll see you in the morning.” Ginger said, before finishing saying good night to Mousie by giving her a little kiss on the forehead. It was perfect and Mousie enjoyed every second of it. It felt like she was a little kid again, like she could feel her parents' love surrounding her. But this was a different love, this was a found love, one she wouldn’t lose anytime soon. After Ginger left the girls to let them go to sleep, Ellie grabbed Mousie and cuddled her closely. Mousie, thinking about the day ahead, decided to ask Ellie some questions “So what will we do tomorrow?” she pondered slightly to Ellie. “Well, we’re going to have some food made by Daddy of course, play together too! Hey, maybe we can even turn one of our doll houses into a house for you!” Ellie replied, happy as could be. Mousie snuggled closer to Ellie slightly, wanting to get slightly warmer. “I just want to say, Ellie…” Mousie started, Ellie made a slight murmur of interest “...Thank you for taking me in, for loving me so much. It means a lot, to know that someone cares about me as much as…” Mousie continued, but she suddenly stopped herself at the end of what she was saying. Ellie opened her eyes and stared down at Mousie in confusion “Loved you as much as who, Mousie? It’s ok, you can trust me.” she asked, lightly rubbing Mousie’s cheek. “M-m-m-my… my mommy and daddy…” Mousie stuttered out, Ellie could hear the pain in Mousie’s voice as she said it. Ellie looked down, now worried “Oh… well, I’m here if you want to talk about it, I promise. In the light of the day, in the dark of the night, I’m going to be right by your side no matter what, Mousie.” she said softly, wanting to prove that she was there for Mousie. The emotions, Mousie could feel them all circle around her, the pain she wanted to let out, the pent up emotions from the years of pain. But before it could spill out of her, she took a deep breath and looked up at Ellie “No, I can assure you, I am A-okay!” Mousie said, grinning weirdly wide. Ellie, too tired to know better, smiled warmly. “Ok, that’s good! You ready to go to sleep now?” she asked, yawning widely in true 5 year old fashion. Mousie nodded, feeling drowsy herself and also being caught up in the whirlwind of emotions clouding her mind. “Yep, good night.” she said, before cuddling closer to Ellie and starting to go to sleep. Ellie said good night to her new sister and fell asleep almost instantly, it had been a long day. And well Mousie did the same, as she fell asleep, her emotions seemed to consume her mind, whirlwinding around her, reminding her of that dreadful day…

It was a summer’s afternoon, Mousie was ⅖ and was sitting with her mommy, her daddy had gone out to find food, an average day in the household. It wasn’t really a house, however, more of a hole in the side of some abandoned building. Still however, they never dared to enter into the building above, they could never be seen. “Mommy, you mind telling me other stouies?” the young Mousie asked her mommy, leaning in on the makeshift table made out of random trash. Her mommy giggled, seemingly amused by her enthusiasm “Of course I can sweetie, anything for my beautiful, brave sunshine.” Mousie’s mommy giggled, before thinking for a second. After a moment of thinking, she had that face that she always had when she thought of something, Mousie knew it all too well and loved seeing it every time. “Well, one time me and your father were at this farm” her mommy started “Do you remember what a farm is sweetie, from when mommy told you about one?” she asked, with Mousie beaming to answer “Of course I do, mommy! They have big titans that make fwuit and milk and cheeseeee.” Mousie responded, holding on to the word of her favorite snack, cheese. Mousie’s mommy snickered at her daughter’s cuteness “Why yes, that’s exactly what I taught you sweetie! Good job, you always make me so proud!” she praised her daughter, her tail wagging from how proud she was. “Well, we were at the farm and it was super sunny and warm, my favorite weather!” Mousie’s mommy continued, reminiscing on the good old days. Mousie gasped at how fun it sounded “That sound like fun, go on, go on!” she said, her own tail wiggling from the pure excitement of hearing her mommy’s amazing stories. “Ok, ok, I’ll continue!” her mommy said, calming Mousie down gently. “The best thing we did was pet this big creature called a cow! It’s black and white and very fluffy, it even licked your silly daddy.” she went on, the young mouse girl listening intently and giggling at the mention of animals. One of the best things her mommy had taught her about were animals, often fluffy, mostly friendly, and you could pet them? They sounded like a dream come true, and they were from the few animals Mousie had met in her short life, she even pet a stray puppy once! However, as Mousie and her mommy discussed, suddenly her father came scurrying in, seemingly out of breath and horrified. Mousie’s mommy gasped and ran to her husband “Oh dear, what’s wrong sweetie?” Mousie watched as her mommy asked that question, she was concerned but was sure everything would be ok. But then, her daddy said those words, the ones that no mouse ever wanted to hear “They’re coming, Nora… Pest Control.” her daddy said, his voice sounding powerless against their fate. Mousie could see the color drain from her mommy’s face, and she herself could hear a truck pulling up near the hole. Her mommy cursed “Fuck… What do we do? We barely have any time to prepare.” The situation didn’t get much better as her daddy looked outside “NONONO, THEY’RE OUTSIDE, SWEETIE. HIDE MOUSIE, NOW.” he screamed, and Mousie could see her mommy tear up. Suddenly, her mommy turned to her “Mousie, go hide in our room, and lock the door. Now.” she said, her voice more serious than Mousie had ever heard before “But m-m-mommy what abo-” her mommy cut her off “NO, we’ll be fine, sweetie, go! Run!” her mommy said, it sounded more and more like a plea. Mousie nodded, defeated, but not before hugging her mommy tightly. Her mommy whispered in her ear “Good bye, my sunshine… Shine bright for me.” she said, before helping Mousie into the room and locking the door. It all started to blur together as she heard her parents' screams, their pleas, their cries of pain, all while she sat totally helpless, unable to help them like a worthless mouse.

Mousie screamed as she woke up from the nightmare, the waking nightmare she once had to live through. “Nononono, StopstopstopSTOP!” she screamed as she pulled herself out of Ellie’s grasp and onto the pillow, it didn’t matter now, she let it all out. Ellie heard the noise and woke up, before gasping in horror and shock. “M-M-Mous-” she started to say before being cut off by another scream of emotional pain from Mousie “MAKE IT STOP! NO, NO! MAKE IT STOP!” the poor mouse girl screamed, Ellie didn’t know what had happened, but whatever it was, it was something clearly very painful to Mousie. She looked around the room, Kat was gone, she must’ve gone to sleep with their mommy because she had a nightmare, Ellie thought to herself in her head. That’s when it clicked in her mind, what was causing Mousie all of the pain. The way she didn’t want to talk about her mommy and daddy, the way she seemed to hide her pain, and now this, she had a nightmare, one about the trauma that Ellie now knew she had, that Mousie had been hiding. Ellie knew that she had to start slow, and calmly, it was the only way to even have a chance to calm Mousie down. Meanwhile, Mousie’s thoughts clouded her mind, all of the years of pain felt like they were physically holding her down, she couldn’t get up. However, suddenly, she heard something. It started off distant, but then felt slightly closer, it sounded like the waves of the ocean, it felt… comforting. Mousie looked up, her hair a mess and her ears flattened to see Ellie, who was making a light ‘shh’ sound to help comfort her. It was hard, but slowly Mousie worked up the strength to crawl over to Ellie and allow her to pick her up. “What’s wrong Mousie? I can tell something’s wrong, and I’m here to listen to you.” Ellie started, slowly stroking Mousie. “We’re all alone and I promise to keep whatever you tell me to myself, no matter what. But I can only help you if you trust me, so what do you say?” Ellie finished, now holding Mousie close. The pain that Mousie felt seemed to drift away when she was close to Ellie, that’s how she knew that it was time, time to finally share her story, to let this burden drift away. “I was born to my mommy and daddy, they took care of me until the end, even in the harshest of moments.” Mousie suddenly started, Ellie perked up at this. “I still have so many memories of my parents, my daddy was so funny and my mommy always told the best stories… I was her sunshine, always.” Mousie continued, smiling as she spoke. “They were the best parents ever, I loved them so much…” she finished, trailing off as she said the last part. Ellie stroked her back “What happened to them? It’s ok if you don’t want to te-" suddenly, Ellie was cut off "They were killed.” Mousie said, silently, bleakly. Ellie looked down at Mousie in shock “They were…” Ellie started “KILLED. THEY’RE DEAD.” Mousie suddenly screamed out, before starting to sob again in a ball. “They’re gone and I’ll never see them again…” she muttered out, sobbing. Ellie felt on the verge of tears herself, but she knew that she had to help her sister, she was family to the end. Mousie sobbed in pain, feeling the loss of her parents, when suddenly “They would be proud of you.” Ellie blurted out. Mousie stopped sobbing, for even just a second and looked up at Ellie. “They would be…?” she asked, sniffling, but Ellie could hear the hope in her voice. Ellie nodded “I know they would be, they would be proud of how far you’ve come, how brave you’ve been. And, they would also be proud to know that you’ve found a family, that you found us.” she said, before hugging Mousie tighter than she had in the entire day they had known each other. Mousie stared up at Ellie, her eyes watering, but not from the pain or the trauma, but from the love she felt all around her. The pain felt almost weightless as Ellie stroked her back lightly and hugged her close, and as she sat there in the quiet room with Ellie, she finally felt at peace.

“Thank you, Ellie.” Mousie said, softly yet confidently at the same time. She hugged her new sister close and as tight as possible “Thank you for that, I can feel my parent’s love, and now I know that they’re proud of me. For how brave I’ve been, for how far I’ve come.” she said, tearing up a little as she finished what she was saying. Ellie also teared up a little “Welcome to the family, Mousie. I promise you, your parents legacy will always be remembered and that we’ll be here to support you every step of the way.” she said, before the two united sisters shared a tender, love filled hug. After the hug, Mousie suddenly yawned, she was clearly a bit sleepy. Ellie giggled a little “Someone’s a bit sleepy, I think.” she said, giving Mousie a light scritch behind the ear. Mousie giggled, also “Ya, I’m ready to sleep now, I think.” she said as Ellie laid back down, holding Mousie tightly and securely. Ellie yawned herself, before looking down at Mousie one final time for the night. “Good night Mousie, welcome to the family. I love you forever, sister.” she said before hugging Mousie tight and drifting off to sleep. Mousie said good night to Ellie quietly and started to drift off to sleep herself, but in her mind, there was still one thing left to do. “Good night Mommy and Daddy, I hope you have an amazing night wherever you are. I’ve done it, I found my peace, and I promise to keep shining bright, like the sunshine I’ll always be. Good night Mommy and Daddy, I love you both forever.” she said out loud silently, however it wasn’t to no one. It was to her mommy and daddy, who she knew were watching over her like beams of sunshine. Mousie closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, a peaceful sleep, the sleep she deserved. It had been a long journey, but she knew that she had reached the end of it, she had finally made it to the greener grass, on the other side.