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It is set in the isolated little town of Sandleford, starring a young rabbit named Hazel who is forced to basically raise his little brother Fiver following the death of their mother and the ensuing depression of their father. ", "description_bbcode_parsed": "This little series is inspired by a Watership Down fanfic I once read. It is set in the isolated little town of Sandleford, starring a young rabbit named Hazel who is forced to basically raise his little brother Fiver following the death of their mother and the ensuing depression of their father. ", "writing": "The lock clicked, the front door opened, and in entered three rabbit bucks, all with similar orange and brown fur. The first one was forty-five, followed by an eleven year-old leading his two year-old brother by the paw. All three were dressed in black, for they had just come from a funeral: Hazel and Fiver's mother's funeral.\n\nThe complications that had caused their mother to reabsorb most of Fiver's litter turned out to be the early stages of ovarian cancer, which had metastasized too far for her to be treated by the time of her diagnosis almost a year earlier. Their father had been the picture of misery ever since his wife died. Despite having dressed for a funeral his fur was unkempt, his eyes were red and baggy, and there was a stink of whiskey on him and a cigarette hanging from his mouth that he wasn't even bothering to conceal from his sons. Behind him Fiver let out a suppressed little cough at the smoke in his wake.\n\n\"Father?'' Hazel piped up.\n\nTheir father turned to face Hazel with his bleary eyes. \"What?'' was all he could say.\n\nHazel shuffled on his feet, unsure of what to say himself. \"Could - could you please put that out? The smoke's not good for Fiver.'' \n\nReluctantly their father pulled out his cigarette pack and stubbed out his smoking stick on it, dropping ashes on the floor in the process. He sadly regarded his two boys, all he had left, who he had no clue how to take care of; childrearing had always been his wife's job.\n\n\"Father... what do we do now?'' Hazel asked, desperate for some words of assurance.\n\nHazel watched his father's face clench, clearly trying to think of something to say, and then without a word he retreated. Hazel made a gesture to call after him, but then he heard an all-too-familiar door slam and click - their father had locked himself in his den. All at once Hazel's arm fell, his ears lowered and his heart sank at his father's inability to comfort.\n\n\"Hathel...?''\n\nHazel looked down and saw Fiver timidly tugging on his pant leg.\"[i]What is it,[/i] Fiver?!'' he asked more harshly than he meant to.\n\nFiver recoiled as if Hazel had struck him, clutching his paws over his stomach, \"I'm hungwy.''\n\nHazel gasped. He realized that none of the family had eaten since breakfast, and it was past 4 now; Fiver must have been hungry for hours. And then Hazel realized, he was hungry too. And now that his attention was actually focused on his brother he sniffed the air around him, and realized that Fiver needed changing. And that he hadn't even had a nap all day.\n\nIn the ten days since their mother had died their father had been in lots of meetings with the family lawyer and the town undertaker, and spent the rest of his time locked in his den with no interaction at all with his sons, leaving Hazel to take care of Fiver around the clock. Hazel was no stranger to it, having willingly taken on the job of helping out his mother and occasionally babysitting ever since Fiver was born, but since Mother had died Hazel had been functioning on autopilot, his emotions an enormous mix of grief and numbness at the loss, and it was all he could do to keep up with the bare minimum of Fiver's needs.\n\nSuddenly filled with remorse Hazel knelt down and hugged his brother tightly, letting a few tears escape his eyes. \"I'm so sorry, Fiver. Let's get you cleaned up and then we'll have a little silflay, okay?''\n\nFiver nodded wordlessly, and Hazel took him by the paw and began leading him up the stairs to the nursery. \"I'm thowy, Hathel,'' Fiver mumbled, his ears drooped.\n\n\"Fiver, no!'' Hazel said in a soft voice as they reached the top of the stairs. He stood Fiver on the top stair and knelt on the step below, so they were seeing eye-to-eye, and gripped his brother's shoulders: \"It's okay, you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm the sorry one, I should have been looking after you better. Can you forgive me?''\n\nFiver sniffled, unable to understand and still blaming himself. Hazel opened his eyes wider and asked again in an even lighter voice: \"Forgive me?''\n\nFinally Fiver nodded, \"Forgive you.''\n\nHazel responded with a kiss on Fiver's forehead, and then steered him into the nursery. He went over to the changing table, grabbed a diaper and the wipe box, and turned to see Fiver standing huddled in the corner, looking ashamed.\n\n\"Come here,'' Hazel instructed, kneeling in front of Fiver. Fiver obliged, and Hazel unbuttoned his little black dress shirt and pulled it off, followed by Fiver's black elastic-waisted pants, bought just for the funeral; he saw Fiver's diaper sagging between his legs and gave a quick peek in the back: no hraka, it was just soaked.\n\n\"Can you lay down, buddy?'' he asked gently, patting the changing mat on the floor. Fiver nervously did so. Hazel preferred to change Fiver on the floor, both because it felt safer and because he was too short to reach the table properly without a stool. He undid Fiver's wet diaper, pulled it out from under him, and gave his bottom a once-over with a wipe. Fiver squirmed uncomfortably, still upset by Hazel's little outburst earlier. Hazel quietly and gently put a new diaper on him, and then stood Fiver up and hugged him, rubbing his back soothingly. \n\n''Fiver, look at me,'' he whispered. Fiver did. ''It's okay. You did nothing wrong, I did, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I snapped at you. It wasn't your fault.''\n\n Fiver seemed a little comforted at that and allowed Hazel to dress him in a t-shirt and shorts. And then Hazel led Fiver to his own room, where he got out of his hated funeral clothes and put on t-shirt and comfy sweatpants. And then, setting his jaw he led Fiver back downstairs to the kitchen. It had been ages since anyone had gone grocery shopping and the fridge was virtually empty, but there still had to be some canned or frozen foods around. Rummaging through the cupboards and freezer Hazel found enough for a meal: canned asparagus, a couple of microwavable Carrots-For-One packs and a half-full bag of frozen blueberries. He set Fiver in his highchair and poured the blueberries into a bowl in front of him, trying to make himself sound as chipper as possible.\n\n''Here you go little brother - blueberries! You like blueberries, don't you?''\n\nFiver nodded eagerly.\n\nHazel heated up one of the Carrots-For-One packs and put it on a plate for himself with some of the asparagus. Then he looked over at the other frozen pack, and decided to try to get the other member of the household to join them. He got up and left the kitchen, down the hall to the door of Father's den. He knocked:\n\n''Father?''\n\nNo answer.\n\n''Father, we're having a silflay, can you join us?''\n\nStill no answer, but Hazel heard the sound of glass hitting a table inside. Father was probably drinking himself to sleep.\n\nHis ears drooping Hazel went back to the table, where he noticed that Fiver hadn't started eating, but simply watched him anxiously. Hazel gave a sigh and sat down to eat, munching half-heartedly on the mushy asparagus and tasteless reheated carrots. It was hardly flayrah, but he had to eat something. After a few bites he noticed: Fiver wasn't eating, but still watching him with the same worried expression.\n\n''Fiver, what are you waiting for? Eat up.''\n\nFiver shook his head. \n\n''What's the matter? Aren't you hungry?'' Hazel asked concernedly.\n\nThen to his surprise, Fiver pushed the bowl of berries towards him. ''You eat,'' said Fiver.\n\nHazel was startled. He loved blueberries too, but they were his brother's. ''N-no thanks,'' he tried to refuse.\n\n''Eat!'' Fiver insisted.\n\nTaken aback by his two year-old brother's gesture Hazel finally nodded, and then he picked up a berry and popped it in his mouth. His ears perked up as he tasted the cold, sweet tartness and he eagerly popped another in his mouth and chewed loudly as he pleased with his mouth open. With a giggle Fiver mimicked him, stuffing a pawful of berries in his mouth and smacking loudly with his own jaw hanging open, bits of berry falling out onto the tray on his highchair. \n\nFeeling himself start to smile for real Hazel grabbed another berry, flicked it up in the air, and deftly caught it in his mouth. Fiver let out a squeal of delight and tried to do the same, but ended up throwing the berry across the room. Hazel laughed for the first time in days at that.\n\nAfter a few minutes of eating blueberries in all sorts of creative ways the bowl was empty, but both brothers felt much better. Hazel wiped the berry juice off his brother's paws and mouth and while he put the dishes in the sink Fiver let out a big yawn.\n\n''Feeling sleepy, little brother?'' Hazel asked.\n\n''Tho thweepy,'' Fiver whispered, his eyelids drooping.\n\nHazel looked at the clock: quarter to six. ''Might as well just put you down for the night,'' he said, lifting Fiver off his seat.\n\n''Thweep... wif you?'' Fiver asked.\n\nHazel saw no reason to say no - in spite of the early hour he felt exhausted himself, and he didn't want to be alone tonight either. But then he sniffed Fiver and found a reason to refuse: ''Alright, but first you're getting a bath, okay? You're all embly.''\n\n''Em-bwy?'' Fiver asked.\n\n''Stinky!'' Hazel translated, comically waving his paw in front of his nose.\n\n''`Tinky!'' Fiver laughed at the word.\n\nHoisting his brother in his arms Hazel carried the toddler upstairs to the bathroom, giving Fiver little bounces on his shoulder to make him laugh. Fiver giggled all the way, and it was contagious. By the time they entered the bathroom they were both laughing like they didn't have a care in the world.\n\nHazel reached into the cupboard and pulled out a bucket of Fiver's bath toys that he dumped in the tub, and then started the water running, throwing in a dollop of bubble bath for good measure. ''Arrrms up!'' he instructed to Fiver in a singsong voice. Fiver obliged, and Hazel pulled his brother's shirt off. He helped Fiver take off his shorts, and then he undid the tabs on Fiver's soiled diaper and it fell to the floor, leaving the toddler naked.\n\nFiver squealed merrily at the feeling of air on his behind, completely without embarrassment at his state of nudity. Hazel tossed the soiled diaper in the wastebasket and pulled a couple of wipes out of a box on the sink counter and wiped the hraka off Fiver's bottom until it was nice and clean. ''Who's all embly?'' Hazel asked as he tickled Fiver, ''Are you embly?''\n\nA giggling Fiver sniffed Hazel, and mimicked Hazel's air-waving gesture. ''YOU embwy!''\n\nHazel sniffed at his armpit, and realized a washing would do him good too. Deciding not to bother with taking a shower later he shucked off his own clothes and hoisted Fiver into the tub by the armpits and then got in with him. \n\nHazel squirted a generous amount of fur shampoo into his paw and started rubbing it into the top of Fiver's head. ''Ow! Ow! Too hard!'' the toddler protested. Hazel immediately tried to be more gentle, softly running his fingers and the shampoo into Fiver's fur, and soon his brother began to relax against him. Hazel carefully washed Fiver's back, front, limbs, privates, face and ears, and rinsed it all off the with the tub's shower head. Giving Fiver his freedom to play with his toys Hazel then started washing himself, keeping an eye on his brother every minute. As he has sat back and watched Fiver play with his toys, he began to feel more relaxed than he had in weeks. Months, even. In that moment they were just normal kids, enjoying a much-needed bath.\n\nAfter twenty more minutes in the tub Hazel was starting to feel wrinkled under his fur, and the bubbles were almost gone. And the water in the tub was full of loose orange hairs from their fur.\n\n''Okay Buddy, it's time to get out,'' Hazel declared. But first he had to get rid of all their excess hair. He stood up and stepped one foot out of the tub to reach over and grab a fur comb off the counter. And then he softly ran the comb through Fiver's fur, catching all loose hairs he could. Then he pulled the bath plug and quickly combed himself and swooshed all their combined hairs down the drain with the water.\n\n''Come on lil' brother, upsy-daisy!'' Hazel said, and he lifted Fiver out of the water onto the bathmat. Kneeling in the tub, he dried Fiver off with a towel so he wouldn't drip, and then did the same to himself. Then came a part Fiver always loved: the fur dryer. Hazel got out of the tub and picked up the dryer from the counter, plugged it in and pointed it in Fiver's direction:\n\n[i]Whirrrrr![/i]\n\n''Wheeee!'' Fiver squealed with delight as Hazel blew warm air all over his body, getting it in his ears and under his arms and in every other nook and cranny Hazel could find. Hazel thoroughly waved the dryer over every inch of them both until all dampness was completely gone from both rabbits.\n\nHazel wrapped his towel around his waist and got to work. Grabbing a pair of clippers from the drawer he sat Fiver on his lap and started clipping his brother's finger and toe claws. They hadn't been trimmed in quite some time and were starting to get as long as actual nails. Fiver didn't like getting clipped, but he never put up too much fuss, and Hazel finished the job quickly as possible.\n\n''Mm! Mmh!'' Fiver suddenly whimpered. His body gave a little tremble, and he squeezed Hazel's paw. Recognizing the sign, quick as a flash Hazel picked Fiver up and sat him on the toilet, and a trickle of urine flowed out of Fiver into the bowl. Hazel was pleased as he watched, both because it saved a future diaper and because this was the third time Fiver had given him a signal like this. According to one of mother's parenting books that Hazel had been reading, this was a sign that Fiver was developing bladder control and would be ready for toilet training very soon. Hazel felt intimidated by the idea of toilet training his brother, but given their father's current state it looked like Hazel was the only one who would be up to the task. School was out in six weeks, so he decided to try training Fiver in the summer when he could be home full-time.\n\n''Good job, little brother, good job!'' Hazel praised. He cleaned Fiver a little and lifted him off the bowl, ``You're almost ready to be a big kit now! Are you ready to be a big kit?''\n\n''Big kit! Big kit!'' Fiver clapped. Hazel knew Fiver didn't know what he meant, but he was pleased to see him so eager nonetheless. Hazel gave Fiver an affectionate little tickle and then finished up the grooming routine by cleaning Fiver's ears and brushing his teeth and then doing the same on himself.\n\nAfter putting everything away and hanging up Fiver's towel Hazel opened the bathroom door, letting Fiver wander out naked as the day he was born. ''Okay, pajama time! Can you pick out something to wear?''\n\nFiver eagerly nodded and toddled off to the nursery with Hazel following with a towel still around his waist. Familiar with the routine Fiver opened and searched through his pajama drawer while Hazel laid a new diaper on the floor. After some rummaging Fiver produced a shirt and bottoms to wear, ''These!''\n\nHazel looked, and had to laugh. The bottoms were blue, but the shirt was white with red trim and had a Peter Cottontail design that was part of a set that had once belonged to him. They didn't match but, they were only sleepwear. ''Very well, those,'' he said.\n\nHe patted the floor in front of him, ''Come on Buddy, diaper time.''\n\nFiver obediently laid down in front of Hazel, and Hazel rubbed some ointment onto his brother's bottom and privates before a thought struck him. ''On second thought, you know what you haven't had in a long, long time? A nice massage! Would you like a massage, huh?'' He gave Fiver a little tickle, ''Would you?''\n\n''Yeah! Yeah!'' Fiver eagerly answered. His mother had used to give him a massage every night before she had gotten sick, and Hazel had learned some techniques from her. And tonight he was determined to give his brother the full motherly treatment.\n\n''Okay, on the bed,'' Hazel laid the changing mat on Fiver's toddler bed (in case of accidents) and had Fiver climb up and lay down on it on his stomach, still naked. Hazel stood beside him, put some lotion on his paws, and began rubbing and kneading Fiver's soft orange back, humming a little lullaby to him as he did so. The kitten purred in approval at the sensation, and Hazel was pleased to see he wasn't doing so bad at this. He rubbed Fiver's little back, shoulders, bottom and legs, before turning him over and doing his head, ears, stomach and feet. Fiver cooed and gurgled like a younger baby as Hazel massaged every inch of his naked little body, relaxed, warm and fully comfortable under Hazel's loving touch. Hazel vowed to do this more often from now on as long as Fiver was willing.\n\n By the end Fiver was relaxed to the point of being limp, and more ready for sleep than ever. Hazel lifted his legs and put the fresh diaper on him, then he blew some raspberries on Fiver's tummy, making him laugh and flail around, and finally dressed his brother in the mismatched pajamas. Planting a kiss on Fiver's head he led the now-dressed toddler out of the nursery and to his own room. There Hazel put on his own pajamas, and it was finally bedtime for both of them. He laid Fiver in his bed, got in next to him, and turned off his lamp.\n\n''Night wight?'' Fiver whispered.\n\nHazel sighed, turned the lamp back on, and left the room to run back to the nursery. From there he grabbed Fiver's night light, brought it back and plugged it into the wall by the bed.\n\n''Tanks,'' said Fiver, and the two brothers then snuggled together in Hazel's bed. Hazel breathed in Fiver's fresh scent, savoring the comfort of having his brother with him, and then Fiver suddenly started trembling. \n\n''Hathel?'' Fiver sniffled.\n\nHazel looked down, and saw tears in Fiver's eyes. ''What's the matter?'' he asked, gently wiping Fiver's eyes with his thumbs.\n\n''I mith Mommy,'' Fiver whimpered, burrowing his face in Hazel's chest.\n\nHazel sniffled himself and hugged his brother tightly, sharing the same feeling. ''I know; I miss her too.'' \n\n''We be okay?'' Fiver asked, sounding scared now.\n\nHazel sighed. He wished he had an easy answer, but he didn't. Their family was a mess, and things felt so bleak without their mother. But he was still here, Fiver was still here, and Father might be too once he had time to recover. Hazel didn't know what to do, but he had to keep going. He had to be strong for Father, and for Fiver, who desperately needed him. Gently, he stroked Fiver's ears, his little brother who gave him strength and made him smile when he needed it most.\n\n''We will be,'' Hazel finally managed. ''We will be.''\n\n\n***\n\n\nHazel awoke early the next morning. He picked up his alarm clock and looked: 5:30. Ten hours of sleep, not bad. He realized how much he had needed it. Beside him, Fiver was still curled up snoozing peacefully. Hazel lifted his head up and rested it on his paw, and he began to affectionately stroke his brother's ears. He felt so at peace in that moment, like nothing else mattered. There was a lot that had to be done, a lot of grieving still to go through, but in that moment Hazel felt he was right where he needed to be. He felt Fiver's bottom and then pulled up the back of his pajama pants and checked his diaper: it was still clean, due to his impromptu going in the toilet the night before. Hazel liked having Fiver sleep with him but he naturally worried at the possibility of waking up with a leaky diaper in bed with him.\n\nHis stomach rumbled. He sat up and rubbed it, trying to think of what could be done for breakfast. Then he remembered that there was oatmeal in a ceramic jar in the kitchen. They couldn't add blueberries, but it would do for a meal, and then he could order some groceries after. Slowly he shuffled out of bed, careful not to disturb Fiver, and left his brother snoozing peacefully as he first went to the bathroom and then downstairs to the kitchen.\n\n\n***\n\n\nAn hour later, the two had finished breakfast while their father still remained locked in his den. ''Okay little brother, let's go get dressed!'' Hazel declared. He lifted Fiver off his highchair and then started for the stairs. But then when he got to the base he realized Fiver wasn't with him. ``Fiver?''\n\nHe looked back and saw Fiver standing against the wall of the hallway, clenching his paws and grunting. Hazel knew immediately what it was: Fiver was passing hraka.\n\n''Are you going hraka, Fiver?'' Hazel asked gently, ''Are you going hraka?''\n\nFiver timidly shook his head no, but his body language, and a growing smell, told the real story. ''Are you sure? Come on, let me see,'' Hazel said.\n\nFiver slowly toddled over to him, and Hazel pulled the back of the diaper to look in: Fiver's bottom and tail were as brown as could be, and Fiver looked really embarrassed.\n\nHazel patted him gently, ''C'mon, let's get you changed, baby bun.''\n\nHe took Fiver's trembling paw and led him up the stairs back into the nursery. ''Okay, lay down,'' Hazel pointed at the changing mat, and Fiver wordlessly went and laid down on it.\n\nHazel grabbed a diaper, wipes and rash ointment from the pack and returned, kneeling in front of him. He pulled off Fiver's T-shirt and mismatched pajama bottoms, leaving him in just the diaper. Whatever was in the diaper was certainly potent; it was all Hazel could do to keep from clenching his face at the smell, Fiver did not like that. Holding his breath Hazel undid the diaper and opened it up. Fiver pulled back his legs to hold his bottom up, and quickly as he could he gave Fiver's bottom a couple of wipe-downs and tossed the revolting diaper in the pail. He then rubbed ointment on Fiver and inspected the skin under his fur on his bottom: there was some redness forming there. Hazel would have liked to give Fiver some naked time to air out, but they had to go out. Reluctantly he put a new diaper on Fiver, and then found some clothes for him and got him dressed.\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "The lock clicked, the front door opened, and in entered three rabbit bucks, all with similar orange and brown fur. The first one was forty-five, followed by an eleven year-old leading his two year-old brother by the paw. All three were dressed in black, for they had just come from a funeral: Hazel and Fiver's mother's funeral.

The complications that had caused their mother to reabsorb most of Fiver's litter turned out to be the early stages of ovarian cancer, which had metastasized too far for her to be treated by the time of her diagnosis almost a year earlier. Their father had been the picture of misery ever since his wife died. Despite having dressed for a funeral his fur was unkempt, his eyes were red and baggy, and there was a stink of whiskey on him and a cigarette hanging from his mouth that he wasn't even bothering to conceal from his sons. Behind him Fiver let out a suppressed little cough at the smoke in his wake.

"Father?'' Hazel piped up.

Their father turned to face Hazel with his bleary eyes. "What?'' was all he could say.

Hazel shuffled on his feet, unsure of what to say himself. "Could - could you please put that out? The smoke's not good for Fiver.''

Reluctantly their father pulled out his cigarette pack and stubbed out his smoking stick on it, dropping ashes on the floor in the process. He sadly regarded his two boys, all he had left, who he had no clue how to take care of; childrearing had always been his wife's job.

"Father... what do we do now?'' Hazel asked, desperate for some words of assurance.

Hazel watched his father's face clench, clearly trying to think of something to say, and then without a word he retreated. Hazel made a gesture to call after him, but then he heard an all-too-familiar door slam and click - their father had locked himself in his den. All at once Hazel's arm fell, his ears lowered and his heart sank at his father's inability to comfort.

"Hathel...?''

Hazel looked down and saw Fiver timidly tugging on his pant leg."What is it, Fiver?!'' he asked more harshly than he meant to.

Fiver recoiled as if Hazel had struck him, clutching his paws over his stomach, "I'm hungwy.''

Hazel gasped. He realized that none of the family had eaten since breakfast, and it was past 4 now; Fiver must have been hungry for hours. And then Hazel realized, he was hungry too. And now that his attention was actually focused on his brother he sniffed the air around him, and realized that Fiver needed changing. And that he hadn't even had a nap all day.

In the ten days since their mother had died their father had been in lots of meetings with the family lawyer and the town undertaker, and spent the rest of his time locked in his den with no interaction at all with his sons, leaving Hazel to take care of Fiver around the clock. Hazel was no stranger to it, having willingly taken on the job of helping out his mother and occasionally babysitting ever since Fiver was born, but since Mother had died Hazel had been functioning on autopilot, his emotions an enormous mix of grief and numbness at the loss, and it was all he could do to keep up with the bare minimum of Fiver's needs.

Suddenly filled with remorse Hazel knelt down and hugged his brother tightly, letting a few tears escape his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Fiver. Let's get you cleaned up and then we'll have a little silflay, okay?''

Fiver nodded wordlessly, and Hazel took him by the paw and began leading him up the stairs to the nursery. "I'm thowy, Hathel,'' Fiver mumbled, his ears drooped.

"Fiver, no!'' Hazel said in a soft voice as they reached the top of the stairs. He stood Fiver on the top stair and knelt on the step below, so they were seeing eye-to-eye, and gripped his brother's shoulders: "It's okay, you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm the sorry one, I should have been looking after you better. Can you forgive me?''

Fiver sniffled, unable to understand and still blaming himself. Hazel opened his eyes wider and asked again in an even lighter voice: "Forgive me?''

Finally Fiver nodded, "Forgive you.''

Hazel responded with a kiss on Fiver's forehead, and then steered him into the nursery. He went over to the changing table, grabbed a diaper and the wipe box, and turned to see Fiver standing huddled in the corner, looking ashamed.

"Come here,'' Hazel instructed, kneeling in front of Fiver. Fiver obliged, and Hazel unbuttoned his little black dress shirt and pulled it off, followed by Fiver's black elastic-waisted pants, bought just for the funeral; he saw Fiver's diaper sagging between his legs and gave a quick peek in the back: no hraka, it was just soaked.

"Can you lay down, buddy?'' he asked gently, patting the changing mat on the floor. Fiver nervously did so. Hazel preferred to change Fiver on the floor, both because it felt safer and because he was too short to reach the table properly without a stool. He undid Fiver's wet diaper, pulled it out from under him, and gave his bottom a once-over with a wipe. Fiver squirmed uncomfortably, still upset by Hazel's little outburst earlier. Hazel quietly and gently put a new diaper on him, and then stood Fiver up and hugged him, rubbing his back soothingly.

''Fiver, look at me,'' he whispered. Fiver did. ''It's okay. You did nothing wrong, I did, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I snapped at you. It wasn't your fault.''

 Fiver seemed a little comforted at that and allowed Hazel to dress him in a t-shirt and shorts. And then Hazel led Fiver to his own room, where he got out of his hated funeral clothes and put on t-shirt and comfy sweatpants. And then, setting his jaw he led Fiver back downstairs to the kitchen. It had been ages since anyone had gone grocery shopping and the fridge was virtually empty, but there still had to be some canned or frozen foods around. Rummaging through the cupboards and freezer Hazel found enough for a meal: canned asparagus, a couple of microwavable Carrots-For-One packs and a half-full bag of frozen blueberries. He set Fiver in his highchair and poured the blueberries into a bowl in front of him, trying to make himself sound as chipper as possible.

''Here you go little brother - blueberries! You like blueberries, don't you?''

Fiver nodded eagerly.

Hazel heated up one of the Carrots-For-One packs and put it on a plate for himself with some of the asparagus. Then he looked over at the other frozen pack, and decided to try to get the other member of the household to join them. He got up and left the kitchen, down the hall to the door of Father's den. He knocked:

''Father?''

No answer.

''Father, we're having a silflay, can you join us?''

Still no answer, but Hazel heard the sound of glass hitting a table inside. Father was probably drinking himself to sleep.

His ears drooping Hazel went back to the table, where he noticed that Fiver hadn't started eating, but simply watched him anxiously. Hazel gave a sigh and sat down to eat, munching half-heartedly on the mushy asparagus and tasteless reheated carrots. It was hardly flayrah, but he had to eat something. After a few bites he noticed: Fiver wasn't eating, but still watching him with the same worried expression.

''Fiver, what are you waiting for? Eat up.''

Fiver shook his head.  

''What's the matter? Aren't you hungry?'' Hazel asked concernedly.

Then to his surprise, Fiver pushed the bowl of berries towards him. ''You eat,'' said Fiver.

Hazel was startled. He loved blueberries too, but they were his brother's. ''N-no thanks,'' he tried to refuse.

''Eat!'' Fiver insisted.

Taken aback by his two year-old brother's gesture Hazel finally nodded, and then he picked up a berry and popped it in his mouth. His ears perked up as he tasted the cold, sweet tartness and he eagerly popped another in his mouth and chewed loudly as he pleased with his mouth open. With a giggle Fiver mimicked him, stuffing a pawful of berries in his mouth and smacking loudly with his own jaw hanging open, bits of berry falling out onto the tray on his highchair.

Feeling himself start to smile for real Hazel grabbed another berry, flicked it up in the air, and deftly caught it in his mouth. Fiver let out a squeal of delight and tried to do the same, but ended up throwing the berry across the room. Hazel laughed for the first time in days at that.

After a few minutes of eating blueberries in all sorts of creative ways the bowl was empty, but both brothers felt much better. Hazel wiped the berry juice off his brother's paws and mouth and while he put the dishes in the sink Fiver let out a big yawn.

''Feeling sleepy, little brother?'' Hazel asked.

''Tho thweepy,'' Fiver whispered, his eyelids drooping.

Hazel looked at the clock: quarter to six. ''Might as well just put you down for the night,'' he said, lifting Fiver off his seat.

''Thweep... wif you?'' Fiver asked.

Hazel saw no reason to say no - in spite of the early hour he felt exhausted himself, and he didn't want to be alone tonight either. But then he sniffed Fiver and found a reason to refuse: ''Alright, but first you're getting a bath, okay? You're all embly.''

''Em-bwy?'' Fiver asked.

''Stinky!'' Hazel translated, comically waving his paw in front of his nose.

''`Tinky!'' Fiver laughed at the word.

Hoisting his brother in his arms Hazel carried the toddler upstairs to the bathroom, giving Fiver little bounces on his shoulder to make him laugh. Fiver giggled all the way, and it was contagious. By the time they entered the bathroom they were both laughing like they didn't have a care in the world.

Hazel reached into the cupboard and pulled out a bucket of Fiver's bath toys that he dumped in the tub, and then started the water running, throwing in a dollop of bubble bath for good measure. ''Arrrms up!'' he instructed to Fiver in a singsong voice. Fiver obliged, and Hazel pulled his brother's shirt off. He helped Fiver take off his shorts, and then he undid the tabs on Fiver's soiled diaper and it fell to the floor, leaving the toddler naked.

Fiver squealed merrily at the feeling of air on his behind, completely without embarrassment at his state of nudity. Hazel tossed the soiled diaper in the wastebasket and pulled a couple of wipes out of a box on the sink counter and wiped the hraka off Fiver's bottom until it was nice and clean. ''Who's all embly?'' Hazel asked as he tickled Fiver, ''Are you embly?''

A giggling Fiver sniffed Hazel, and mimicked Hazel's air-waving gesture. ''YOU embwy!''

Hazel sniffed at his armpit, and realized a washing would do him good too. Deciding not to bother with taking a shower later he shucked off his own clothes and hoisted Fiver into the tub by the armpits and then got in with him.

Hazel squirted a generous amount of fur shampoo into his paw and started rubbing it into the top of Fiver's head. ''Ow! Ow! Too hard!'' the toddler protested. Hazel immediately tried to be more gentle, softly running his fingers and the shampoo into Fiver's fur, and soon his brother began to relax against him. Hazel carefully washed Fiver's back, front, limbs, privates, face and ears, and rinsed it all off the with the tub's shower head. Giving Fiver his freedom to play with his toys Hazel then started washing himself, keeping an eye on his brother every minute. As he has sat back and watched Fiver play with his toys, he began to feel more relaxed than he had in weeks. Months, even. In that moment they were just normal kids, enjoying a much-needed bath.

After twenty more minutes in the tub Hazel was starting to feel wrinkled under his fur, and the bubbles were almost gone. And the water in the tub was full of loose orange hairs from their fur.

''Okay Buddy, it's time to get out,'' Hazel declared. But first he had to get rid of all their excess hair. He stood up and stepped one foot out of the tub to reach over and grab a fur comb off the counter. And then he softly ran the comb through Fiver's fur, catching all loose hairs he could. Then he pulled the bath plug and quickly combed himself and swooshed all their combined hairs down the drain with the water.

''Come on lil' brother, upsy-daisy!'' Hazel said, and he lifted Fiver out of the water onto the bathmat. Kneeling in the tub, he dried Fiver off with a towel so he wouldn't drip, and then did the same to himself. Then came a part Fiver always loved: the fur dryer. Hazel got out of the tub and picked up the dryer from the counter, plugged it in and pointed it in Fiver's direction:

Whirrrrr!

''Wheeee!'' Fiver squealed with delight as Hazel blew warm air all over his body, getting it in his ears and under his arms and in every other nook and cranny Hazel could find. Hazel thoroughly waved the dryer over every inch of them both until all dampness was completely gone from both rabbits.

Hazel wrapped his towel around his waist and got to work. Grabbing a pair of clippers from the drawer he sat Fiver on his lap and started clipping his brother's finger and toe claws. They hadn't been trimmed in quite some time and were starting to get as long as actual nails. Fiver didn't like getting clipped, but he never put up too much fuss, and Hazel finished the job quickly as possible.

''Mm! Mmh!'' Fiver suddenly whimpered. His body gave a little tremble, and he squeezed Hazel's paw. Recognizing the sign, quick as a flash Hazel picked Fiver up and sat him on the toilet, and a trickle of urine flowed out of Fiver into the bowl. Hazel was pleased as he watched, both because it saved a future diaper and because this was the third time Fiver had given him a signal like this. According to one of mother's parenting books that Hazel had been reading, this was a sign that Fiver was developing bladder control and would be ready for toilet training very soon. Hazel felt intimidated by the idea of toilet training his brother, but given their father's current state it looked like Hazel was the only one who would be up to the task. School was out in six weeks, so he decided to try training Fiver in the summer when he could be home full-time.

''Good job, little brother, good job!'' Hazel praised. He cleaned Fiver a little and lifted him off the bowl, ``You're almost ready to be a big kit now! Are you ready to be a big kit?''

''Big kit! Big kit!'' Fiver clapped. Hazel knew Fiver didn't know what he meant, but he was pleased to see him so eager nonetheless. Hazel gave Fiver an affectionate little tickle and then finished up the grooming routine by cleaning Fiver's ears and brushing his teeth and then doing the same on himself.

After putting everything away and hanging up Fiver's towel Hazel opened the bathroom door, letting Fiver wander out naked as the day he was born. ''Okay, pajama time! Can you pick out something to wear?''

Fiver eagerly nodded and toddled off to the nursery with Hazel following with a towel still around his waist. Familiar with the routine Fiver opened and searched through his pajama drawer while Hazel laid a new diaper on the floor. After some rummaging Fiver produced a shirt and bottoms to wear, ''These!''

Hazel looked, and had to laugh. The bottoms were blue, but the shirt was white with red trim and had a Peter Cottontail design that was part of a set that had once belonged to him. They didn't match but, they were only sleepwear. ''Very well, those,'' he said.

He patted the floor in front of him, ''Come on Buddy, diaper time.''

Fiver obediently laid down in front of Hazel, and Hazel rubbed some ointment onto his brother's bottom and privates before a thought struck him. ''On second thought, you know what you haven't had in a long, long time? A nice massage! Would you like a massage, huh?'' He gave Fiver a little tickle, ''Would you?''

''Yeah! Yeah!'' Fiver eagerly answered. His mother had used to give him a massage every night before she had gotten sick, and Hazel had learned some techniques from her. And tonight he was determined to give his brother the full motherly treatment.

''Okay, on the bed,'' Hazel laid the changing mat on Fiver's toddler bed (in case of accidents) and had Fiver climb up and lay down on it on his stomach, still naked. Hazel stood beside him, put some lotion on his paws, and began rubbing and kneading Fiver's soft orange back, humming a little lullaby to him as he did so. The kitten purred in approval at the sensation, and Hazel was pleased to see he wasn't doing so bad at this. He rubbed Fiver's little back, shoulders, bottom and legs, before turning him over and doing his head, ears, stomach and feet. Fiver cooed and gurgled like a younger baby as Hazel massaged every inch of his naked little body, relaxed, warm and fully comfortable under Hazel's loving touch. Hazel vowed to do this more often from now on as long as Fiver was willing.

 By the end Fiver was relaxed to the point of being limp, and more ready for sleep than ever. Hazel lifted his legs and put the fresh diaper on him, then he blew some raspberries on Fiver's tummy, making him laugh and flail around, and finally dressed his brother in the mismatched pajamas. Planting a kiss on Fiver's head he led the now-dressed toddler out of the nursery and to his own room. There Hazel put on his own pajamas, and it was finally bedtime for both of them. He laid Fiver in his bed, got in next to him, and turned off his lamp.

''Night wight?'' Fiver whispered.

Hazel sighed, turned the lamp back on, and left the room to run back to the nursery. From there he grabbed Fiver's night light, brought it back and plugged it into the wall by the bed.

''Tanks,'' said Fiver, and the two brothers then snuggled together in Hazel's bed. Hazel breathed in Fiver's fresh scent, savoring the comfort of having his brother with him, and then Fiver suddenly started trembling.

''Hathel?'' Fiver sniffled.

Hazel looked down, and saw tears in Fiver's eyes. ''What's the matter?'' he asked, gently wiping Fiver's eyes with his thumbs.

''I mith Mommy,'' Fiver whimpered, burrowing his face in Hazel's chest.

Hazel sniffled himself and hugged his brother tightly, sharing the same feeling. ''I know; I miss her too.''

''We be okay?'' Fiver asked, sounding scared now.

Hazel sighed. He wished he had an easy answer, but he didn't. Their family was a mess, and things felt so bleak without their mother. But he was still here, Fiver was still here, and Father might be too once he had time to recover. Hazel didn't know what to do, but he had to keep going. He had to be strong for Father, and for Fiver, who desperately needed him. Gently, he stroked Fiver's ears, his little brother who gave him strength and made him smile when he needed it most.

''We will be,'' Hazel finally managed. ''We will be.''


***


Hazel awoke early the next morning. He picked up his alarm clock and looked: 5:30. Ten hours of sleep, not bad. He realized how much he had needed it. Beside him, Fiver was still curled up snoozing peacefully. Hazel lifted his head up and rested it on his paw, and he began to affectionately stroke his brother's ears. He felt so at peace in that moment, like nothing else mattered. There was a lot that had to be done, a lot of grieving still to go through, but in that moment Hazel felt he was right where he needed to be. He felt Fiver's bottom and then pulled up the back of his pajama pants and checked his diaper: it was still clean, due to his impromptu going in the toilet the night before. Hazel liked having Fiver sleep with him but he naturally worried at the possibility of waking up with a leaky diaper in bed with him.

His stomach rumbled. He sat up and rubbed it, trying to think of what could be done for breakfast. Then he remembered that there was oatmeal in a ceramic jar in the kitchen. They couldn't add blueberries, but it would do for a meal, and then he could order some groceries after. Slowly he shuffled out of bed, careful not to disturb Fiver, and left his brother snoozing peacefully as he first went to the bathroom and then downstairs to the kitchen.


***


An hour later, the two had finished breakfast while their father still remained locked in his den. ''Okay little brother, let's go get dressed!'' Hazel declared. He lifted Fiver off his highchair and then started for the stairs. But then when he got to the base he realized Fiver wasn't with him. ``Fiver?''

He looked back and saw Fiver standing against the wall of the hallway, clenching his paws and grunting. Hazel knew immediately what it was: Fiver was passing hraka.

''Are you going hraka, Fiver?'' Hazel asked gently, ''Are you going hraka?''

Fiver timidly shook his head no, but his body language, and a growing smell, told the real story. ''Are you sure? Come on, let me see,'' Hazel said.

Fiver slowly toddled over to him, and Hazel pulled the back of the diaper to look in: Fiver's bottom and tail were as brown as could be, and Fiver looked really embarrassed.

Hazel patted him gently, ''C'mon, let's get you changed, baby bun.''

He took Fiver's trembling paw and led him up the stairs back into the nursery. ''Okay, lay down,'' Hazel pointed at the changing mat, and Fiver wordlessly went and laid down on it.

Hazel grabbed a diaper, wipes and rash ointment from the pack and returned, kneeling in front of him. He pulled off Fiver's T-shirt and mismatched pajama bottoms, leaving him in just the diaper. Whatever was in the diaper was certainly potent; it was all Hazel could do to keep from clenching his face at the smell, Fiver did not like that. Holding his breath Hazel undid the diaper and opened it up. Fiver pulled back his legs to hold his bottom up, and quickly as he could he gave Fiver's bottom a couple of wipe-downs and tossed the revolting diaper in the pail. He then rubbed ointment on Fiver and inspected the skin under his fur on his bottom: there was some redness forming there. Hazel would have liked to give Fiver some naked time to air out, but they had to go out. Reluctantly he put a new diaper on Fiver, and then found some clothes for him and got him dressed.

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