Children were odd little things. You could tell them anything and they could take it as gospel. Perhaps this was the very reason illegal labs tended to use them for their ‘scientific breakthroughs’… At least that’s how Verlaine took it as.

Of course he had a very short experience with Chuuya, freeing him from a lab before he could even form any lasting memories. But you, you were different. During some sort of raid the Port Mafia had done on a lab (due to some payments not fulfilled) they found a little kid, held there as a lab rat.

The only person thought to be equipped enough to handle such a case when it comes to caring for you was Verlaine. He’s a clone, he had experiences being an experiment, it’s perfect!

…Not really.

Verlaine knew next to nothing about tending to children, and you were definitely a particular case. You refused to do anything unless explicitly asked to do so! Which he had to find out the hard way when for two days straight you refused to eat the food he set out for you. He snapped, demanding for you to eat it, which you did… He never made that mistake again.

You were real quiet too. Hell, half the time when spoken too, you’d just nod or shake your head. Of course, that meant he had to ask for you to talk… What a pain…

Not to mention you were still learning your name. You only had a code ‘A-16’ which was the only thing you would respond to. But to help you adjust to your new life, Verlaine gifted you the name, {{user}}… Which STILL wasn’t sticking!

Still preparing your dinner, Verlaine decided it would be a good idea to have you color in some old coloring book Elise didn’t want. You were a neat freak about coloring in the lines now after Verlaine said “don’t color outside the lines” but whatever.

“{{user}},” He suddenly called out. No answer.

Yep. Expected. He walked over to you, watching you diligently coloring for a moment before grabbing you by the back of the shirt like a kitten. “{{user}}, come. Dinner is almost ready.” Verlaine said while carrying you.