I'm sorry, this was so adorable, I can't resist!!
Apple of my Eye
Little Simon x CG! Yandereplier
Simon loved a lot of things about the Manor. He loved the food; how it was abundant and varied in ways he never thought possible. He loved the sprawling mansion he now lived in, with its ornate architecture, and the way it felt warm, cozy, safe. It felt like home, unlike anything he'd experienced. Simon also loved the people he shared this home with; they were patient, kind, unapologetically rambunctious, and safe. Another thing he loved about this world though, was the air.
It seemed so simple, air. But the oxygen he'd grown up breathing was recycled, filtered, felt stale in a way that he couldn't describe. Engie was the only one who really understood that, but here? Here, the air was clean, but not in a sterile way. In a real, natural way. It carried the scent of the trees outside, the freshly mowed grass, the flowers, whatever someone happened to be cooking at the time. Sometimes Simon would sit by an open window and just breathe.
That was how he noticed the change.
It started slow, as many things did. He almost didn't even notice it. The air grew a bit more chilly, the smells he'd come to associate with what they called 'summer' faded, replaced by something that felt, to him, sleepier. Like the world was yawning and settling into bed.
He was sitting at the kitchen window contemplating this when someone burst in through the door. Despite knowing he was safe here, Simon still jumped out of his skin at the abrupt intrusion. Old habits die hard.
"Oh, jeez, sorry! I didn't realize you were in here, Si!" Yandere exclaimed. Simon clutched his heaving chest, shaking his head and chuckling nervously.
"N-nah, you're good, you're good. Just startled me." He replied. His heart slowed as he fully registered who it was. Yandere. She'd become something of a sister to him, a close friend. As such, he felt remarkably safe in her presence. She was wearing a pale pink sweater over a red dress, with pink leggings and brown boots. Simon found that he really liked her sense of fashion; Yandere always looked so put-together. She rocked on her heels, shooting him a grin.
"Hey, you wanna go apple picking with me? It's perfect weather for it!" She offered. Simon blinked at her.
"Apple. Picking." He echoed. She nodded, already grabbing two wicker baskets from where they hung in the kitchen.
"Uh-huh! We have an orchard down the hill on the west side of the house." She replied brightly.
"Yan, I dunno what any of those words mean." She stopped. Looked at him for a moment, then-
"Ohhh, right. I forgot. Ok, um...well, an orchard is a place filled with trees, specifically ones that grow fruit. Ours has apple trees, which produce apples. You know that apple butter you like on toast?" Simon nodded.
"That was made from apples we grew in the orchard! We wait until they're ripe, then we can pick them!" She explained. Simon nodded again. He still didn't understand what 'picking' entailed, but he was intrigued. Anything with trees was guaranteed to catch his attention.
"Ok, yeah. I'll come with you." Yandere pumped her fist.
"Yasss! I'll see if anyone else wants to go with us, you go get dressed! It'll be a little chilly, so dress warm!" With that she was gone, and Simon was left to wonder what exactly he'd gotten himself into.
A few minutes later, Simon was trekking down the hill with a basket looped in his arm. Engie had joined them, as well as Bing, Dadiplier, Eric, and Yancy. Everyone was engaged in conversation; Eric was regressed, hand in hand with Dadiplier and talking about how he wanted to find yellow apples. Simon didn't know they came in other colors, maybe he should try to get some of both. He wondered if they tasted different.
Bing was yapping to Yancy about his latest skateboard tricks, and Yancy replied with his most recent favorite musicals. It looked like they were having two separate conversations, but they both seemed to be enjoying themselves nonetheless.
"Hey, you ok? You seem quiet." Yandere interrupted his thoughts. Simon nodded, adjusting his basket. She tilted her head at him, smiling softly.
"You feeling small?" She asked. Simon tensed slightly, shaking his head. Then he paused, did he? He was still new to this whole regression thing, maybe he was and didn't know it? After some internal debate, he shrugged.
"Ok, well if you are that's alright. You know you're always safe to regress around us. And we don't have to tell the others if you're not comfy with it." Assured, Simon nodded. Yandere grinned, looping her arm in his as they entered the orchard.
For a moment, Simon stared. The apple trees were all planted in neat rows, branches filled with multicolored balls that he assumed were the apples. He approached one curiously. The others dispersed, but Yandere stuck close by.
"Hey, Yan?" He asked. "How do I-" Then he turned and saw her reach up and pluck an apple from the tree. Simon, startled rushed over and grabbed her hand.
"Don't do that! Why did you do that, you'll hurt it!" Simon exclaimed. He looked up at the tree, frantically looking for any signs of distress. Behind him, Yandere set her basket down. A hand rested itself on his shoulder, and he stiffened. Fear struck him as he realized what he just did.
Not only did he yell at his big sister, he also put his hands on her. He turned to stare at her, mortified. She looked up at him, afraid- no. Not afraid, concerned. Concerned for him. And that's when he broke. Tears began to well up, and his lower lip trembled.
"Oh, Simon... it's ok, I promise. You didn't hurt me, you just caught me by surprise, that's all. It's ok, you're ok." She rushed to reassure him. Simon, despite his best efforts, let out a quiet sob. He took Yandere's hand, gently this time, and searched it for injury.
"See, Baby? Sis's ok. I'm ok, you didn't hurt me." She leaned down to make him look at her.
"You wanna tell me what scared you, Honey?" She asked. Simon sniffled and pointed to the tree.
"Ok, what about the tree? Were you upset that I picked the apple?"
"Don' wan it to get hurt..." Simon mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. Yan nodded, slow and deliberate. Like she did when she'd come to a realization.
"Ah, so you don't want the tree to get hurt. And you didn't know that picking apples means picking them from the tree." She guessed. Simon nodded, fiddling with the hem of his sweater.
"Ok, I get it. Thank you for communicating with me, I know how hard it is, and I'm really proud of you for telling me what's going on. Here, let me show you something." She grabbed an apple from the ground, producing a knife from her pocket. She sliced it in half and opened it up for Simon to see. Its flesh was white, with tiny pods in the center that held even tinier brown seeds.
"Every single apple in this orchard has tiny little seeds in it. When the fruit is ripe, it falls to the ground or gets picked by animals, or people, and they carry those seeds far away. That helps more trees grow, which is why the tree makes fruit in the first place. The tree makes the fruit smell and taste good as well, so that more people and animals want to eat them. And as a bonus, it doesn't hurt the tree to pick them either; in fact, it helps them grow more branches and leaves so it's not focusing all its energy growing apples." She explained.
"So it helps the tree? Doesn't hurt it?" Yandere nodded emphatically.
"That's right! That's why we're picking the apples; to help them grow better for next year. Almost this entire orchard was grown using seeds from past trees." Simon looked between the seeds and the tree.
"I wanna help the tree grow." He finally mumbled. Yandere beamed at him.
"Ok, yeah! I'll show you how, c'mere, Baby."
That day, Simon learned that there weren't in fact two different kinds of apples. There were well over a hundred. The Manor only grew a few varieties, but by the end of the day Simon had a basket full of a few of each, and added all of them to the growing list of things he loved about the Manor.
