Work Text:
“Greta.”
Silence.”
“Gretaaaa.”
Silence.
“Gretaaaaa. Gretagretagretagrta-“
Greta threw her hands up, finally turning in her chair to face her little brother, “What?? What do you want?”
The little bastard just kept pulling at the hem of her shirt, “Candy.”
“You just had toffee!”
“Candyyyy,” Adler swayed side to side, tugging at Greta’s shirt as she remained seated at the kitchen table.
“No, I’m not going to be blamed for you developing cavities.”
“Candycandycandy-“
“Alright, Fine!” Greta stood up at once, barely avoiding knocking Adler over, who only let out a triumphant giggle, “I’ll get you something even better than candy.”
Adler grinned happily, and trailed after Greta as she went to the refrigerator, then the cutting boards set by the kitchen sink. He was too short to see what she was cutting, and so had to content himself with bouncing on the balls of his feet while waiting.
Soon he was rewarded as Greta knelt down to present him with a slice of something.
“What’s that?” Adler asked, tilting his head a perfect 45 degrees.
“It’s called a lemon,” Greta said, “A very sweet fruit. Here, try it.”
Eagerly, Adler snatched the wedge from Greta’s hands and, like all toddlers, immediately jammed it into his mouth. His smile soured.
“Mmmm,” Greta mmmm’ed, “It’s good, isn’t it.”
Adler said nothing, simply stood rigid as if he couldn’t spit the lemon wedge out at any moment.
Tears came to his eyes, and he moved to wipe them away.
With his fingers covered in lemon juice…
Mr and Mrs Hofmann came home to find their daughter holding their son’s face under the kitchen faucet.
“It’s not what it looks like!” Greta called out over the running water.
Adler did not come to her defence on account of being held under running water.
Betrayal!