WC: 1,178
Trigger Warnings: parental emotional abuse
Sebastian Sharp is one of two children that were lovingly delivered to his mother Lizabeth and his father Charles. To ask if he remembered such a moment would be silly, but he was most definitely told of the matter.
“Twelve hours,” Lizabeth answered when Sebastian had asked for a school assignment one day. He’s almost 5. “You little guys took twelve entire hours to pop out. You were first, of course.” Lizabeth pinches Sebastian’s cheek. “My sharpest Sharp.”
“Mother!” Sebastian giggles. “I may be a bit more int… intela…” He scrunches up his face. “I may be a bit more smarterer than Kevin, but that’s only because you teach me so much!”
“It’s just ‘smarter’ dear,” Lizabeth corrects. “But, yes I do suppose our private learning sessions do give you a bit of an… edge!” she laughs.
“I do suppose!” Sebastian mimics, clapping.
“That’s my little Sebby!” Lizabeth grins.
+++
When Sebastian is 6, his sibling walks up to him and his mother, hands on their hips.
“Kevin!” they demand.
“...What?” Lizabeth asks, clearly as confused as Sebastian is. “What are you talking about, Ke—”
“KEVIN!” they shout,voice squeaky with the effort. “My name is Kevin from now on, okay? And I’m a boy!”
Lizabeth is quiet.
“Wait,” Sebastian gasps. “You can just decide that?”
“Why not?” Kevin asks. “I want to! So I am!”
“Oh, okay!” Sebastian smiles, then turns to his mother. “Mother, me too, then! I don’t think being a girl is very benefit… beset…” Sebastian scrunches his face for a moment before gasping. “Befitting! I don’t think it’s very befitting of me. I request to also be a boy!”
Lizabeth stares at her two children for a long, long moment.
Then, without a word, she stands and begins walking away.
“Wh-wh—wait!” Sebastian cries. “Mother, where are you going?”
“A drive,” she spits back. “You two are not allowed to come along.” She continues walking without stopping again.
“Oh…” Sebastian falters.
“Hmph,” Kevin pouts, crossing his arms. “Whatever. Seb, you wanna go watch a movie?”
“Oh, sure!” Sebastian smiles. “Could you help me find a good name too?”
“Heck yeah!”
Sebastian beams. “Wonderful!” he claps. “To the movie theater, then!”
+++
The first time Sebastian ever disobeys his mother’s command, he’s 7. She had just denied him his favorite stuffed animal, Wobbles.
“You’re much too old for this,” she says dismissively, snatching him away. “In the trash with this!”
“NO!” Sebastian cries. “PLEASE!”
“Oh, don’t be such a crybaby,” Lizabeth huffs. “Honestly. It's unbefitting of a Sharp.”
“I don’t care!” Sebastian shouts, tears already starting to stream down his face. “Please! Give me back Wobbles!”
“Absolutely not.” Lizabeth walks away, clutching the plush with contempt. “You do not need this.”
“Come back!” Sebastian yells, running after his tall mother as fast as his little legs will carry him. “Come back, come back, come back!”
The two of them pass by Kevin’s door, which cracks open to show a sleepy looking boy. “What’s happening…?” he asks.
Sebastian stops and clings to his brother. “Mother is going to throw away Wobbles!”
Kevin’s face quickly schools itself. “Your favorite stuffed animal?” he asks, serious.
“Yes!” The tears won’t stop. “Please help me!”
“I’m on it,” Kevin says, giving Sebastian a quick hug before rushing down the hallway after their mother.
Sebastian does not follow. He has not the energy. Instead, he enters Kevin’s room and lays down on his bed, curling in on himself.
He’s sobbing when there’s a tap on his shoulder.
“AH!” he yelps, turning around.
“Sorry!” Kevin says, backing up a bit. “I didn’t mean to scare ya.” His hands are behind his back. “But I got you something!”
“W… Wobbles…?” Sebastian asks hopefully.
“Wobbles!” Kevin produces the small plush from behind him with a big, toothy smile. “I had to dig him out of the trash, but luckily it was a new bag!”
“WOBBLES!” Sebastian cries, tears now turning to tears of joy. “Oh my goodness, I’m so happy you’re safe!” He clutches the toy close to him.
“You wanna sleep here tonight?” Kevin asks. “You can keep Wobbles here, too. So Mom doesn’t find out about him.”
“Yes,” Sebastian sniffs. “Please.”
Kevin smiles. “You want me to set up Winnie the Pooh for us?”
Sebastian nods tearfully, but happily.
+++
Sebastian is 10 when his doctor tells him point blank, “You need to gain some weight, buddy.”
“WHAT?” Lizabeth cries, clutching her pearls. “Oh, no, no, no. My baby is perfectly healthy.” She rushes over and squishes his face. “Aren’t you, my dear?”
“Yes, Mother,” Sebastian nods as best as he can. “I don’t get hungry much, anyways.”
“Sebastian, you weigh 54 pounds,” the doctor stresses. “You’re about 20 pounds underweight for your age and height.”
“And!?” Lizabeth asks like a woman scorned. “He’s fine! He eats with and like me, and I am certainly not underweight.”
“You are a grown woman,” the doctor deadpans. “The fat on you burns a lot slower than a child’s, not to mention, he may grow sickly at this point.”
“...Sickly?” Sebastian repeats, immediately worried.
“Oh, you’re full of it!” Lizabeth shouts. “Come, Sebastian! I see we’ll have to find a new doctor!”
“Ma’am,” the doctor stresses once again. “Your son needs to gain weight if he’s to—”
“Hush!” Lizabeth orders. “We are leaving!”
Sebastian pensively hops off of the doctor’s bed thingy and lets his mother snatch up his hand. He’s dragged out of the room, thinking hard about his health.
+++
“You need to eat more, boy!” Sebastian’s father crones one day. He’s about 13 and hasn’t put on a pound since his mother fired the last doctor. “You’re thin as a twig and you eat like a bird!”
“Hmph,” Sebastian huffs, turning his nose up. “And what would you have me eat, Father? The immense amount of meat you gobble down everyday?” He gets snappy. “Or, perhaps, the liquor you so love to down every night?”
Charles is silent.
“Mother has me on a strict diet,” Sebastian says, rolling his eyes. “I do intend to stick with it. Lest I end up sickly.”
“You’ll end up sickly if you don’t get meat on your bones!” Charles grumbles. “I tell you, your mother is absolutely batty about some things.”
“Father!” Sebastian gasps. “Take that back!”
“She is!” Charles continues. “It’s ridiculous. You’re a growing boy and you need something more in you.”
“I needn’t anything more than what Mother assigns me, thank you!” He frowns. “She wouldn’t lie to me!”
Charles sighs. “I suppose I’m not going to convince you otherwise.”
“You’d be right.” Sebastian replies with a tone of finality in his voice. With that, he turns and walks away.
+++
Sebastian is 16 and living his best life. Sure, he’s a little… distant with his father, but he was extremely close with his mother. Things are well! He loves his brother, he’s doing amazing at school, surely nothing would upset this!
He’s walking to his third period class one day, lamenting his absence of loyal subjects when he spots something in a locker.
Was that litter?