"I don't know what else you thought was going to happen after you two put that ridiculous bow on Kitty." April's scolding echoed slightly in Bren's bathroom. Chad sat with his head leaned back into the sink as she meticulously scrubbed the flour out of his hair. Bren and Pugsley sat in and around the open doorway waiting for their turns. "And Pugsley, how did you get covered in flour?"

"Collateral damage. Some civilian casualties are occasionally nessesitated in war. Wednesday weighed the cost of the losses against the overall effect of the victory and I was, understandably, determined to be one such nessesary casualty." Pugsley informed with a shrug.

"It was just a bow!" Bren protested weakly, still pouting at falling into Wednesday's trap.

"A bow that I am almost certain counts a war crime after glancing at it." Pugley countered solemnly.

"Yeah. I definitely put to much neon green on there. Colors were off balance." Chad agreed with a grin before wincing slightly.

"Sorry, caught on a knot." April soothed, carefully working it out before getting back to scrubbing his scalp. "You three are just lucky I stepped in after Fester did the initial hose off. He was about to fetch the pressure washer for your hair."

"I so owe you a coffee or tea or something for helping us out, there. I've got a sensitive scalp." April gave a soft scoff of restrained laughter.

"Chad, I'm trying to fuss at you three. Generally one is supposed to defend themselves."

"Eh, we did put a giant sparkly bow on her cat knowing she didn't like that sort of thing. Besides, the trap was epic!...Until I breathed it in. Good idea having us rinse our eyes out first, by the way." April sighed and shook her head.

"New house rule for war: no finely milled powders as ammunition in the house. Poor Lurch, he keeps everything so tidy and then y'all destroyed that hallway."

"I still can't believe you made Chad and I help clean it up." Bren groaned. "My wrist hurts from the scrubbing."

"To be fair, you two did start it and she scolded Wednesday into cleaning, as well." Pugsley mused, seemingly perfectly content. "I haven't seen anyone but Mother scold her like that before. It was very entertaining."

"All y'all are gonna give me grey hairs." April muttered, though a light flicker of a smile gave her amusement away. "Okay, Chad. You're done, go dry your hair. No hair dryers unless it's in another room! Pugsley, did you want me to help with your hair or are you just hanging out?" She asked as Chad trotted off with a quick thanks, knowing he hadn't seemed terribly fond of unnecessary touching outside of his parents. "Your mother should probably be finishing up helping Wednesday soon if you'd prefer?"

Standing, Pugsley straightened the robe he was wearing. "If you wouldn't mind, April, the help would be appreciated."

"Then sit down and settle in. Is your scalp sensitive?"

"Not really."

"Good. You have product in, so its going to be a deeper scrub." She mused before getting to work. Despite his assurance, she was as gentle as reasonably possible. As she worked, they discussed his classes and such, including his excitement over being accepted into some early college courses that will count towards his overall credits later on. Once his hair was clean, April sent him off.

"My turn, I guess?" Worried she was properly upset with them, Bren melted a bit in relief at her warm smile.

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"Yes, your turn, Trouble. Come on, let's get that flour out of those curls of yours. I saved you for last so we can properly condition it since I'm going to have to wash it so thoroughly."

They confirmed the banyan robe Gomez had lent them was secure before settling into the chair and leaning their head back. The warm water and sensation of careful but firm scrubbing on their scalp soon had them relaxing in a comfortable silence. Soon, though, they felt April's movements slow and begin to hesitate.

"I, um...I wanted to apologize. For yesterday." April's unusually worried and sorrowful tone caught them off guard, eyes opening to see her worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she continued to work on their hair.

"Yesterday? For what?"

"Yeah. When I went to calm you down after we realized Kitty wasn't trying to kill Fin." She continued softly. "I...I misgendered you. I didn't mean to, I just...I guess it was a natural reaction from other experiences but thats no excuse. I'm sorry, Bren. It wasn't intentional or malicious, but I'll do better."

Their brow furrowed as they thought back, confused. "You did?" They watched as she hummed a sad affirmative.

"I said 'atta boy' at one point while you were starting to calm down." She admitted, regret they hated to hear seeping through her sweet tone. "I didn't realize until later. I'm sorry, Bren. I really didn't mean to."

Reaching up, they gently grabbed her wrist, pulling it away from their hair to gently hold her hand. "Hey, its okay. People slip up all the time." They soothed gently, ignoring the slippery feeling of the shampoo as sudsy water dripped down their arm. "I know you would never do it on purpose, April. I didn't even clock it until you said something. We were all kinda freaking out and high on adrenaline, and you were doing your best to help me calm down after having had a scare, yourself. It was forgiven the moment you said it. I'm not upset at all. Honest. But the fact you even thought to apologize for such a little slip means more to me than you know." Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, they smiled. "We're good, April."

"You're sure?"

"As sure as I am that Gomez will swoon at Morticia speaking French and the sun will set in the East." They teased, seeing the desired effect as a small, hesitant smile graced her lips.

"The sun sets in the West." She corrected softly, making them groan.

"Well shit. At least we can count on Gomez." Her laughter bouncing sweetly off the tiles soothed them as they let out a chuckle of their own, eventually letting go of her hand so she could get back to her task.

"Okay, conditioner is...in! Need some help rinsing it out in a couple minutes or...?"

"Nah, I've got it. Gonna hop into a proper shower after Fester's hose-off and I'll rinse it out, then." They assured as they sat up. Seeing the redness of her hands as she dried them, they fought a frown as they fetched a richer lotion out of the cabinet. "Here, your hands must be dried out after all that. Don't worry, its dye and fragrance free."

"You remembered?"

"That you have sensitivities with your skin? Yeah. I remember how red and irritated your skin looked last week after Wednesday loaned you some hand creme that had a citrus scent. You mentioned something of Peru and I figured I'd get rid of any of my scented stuff just in case it was a really sensitive contact allergy." They just about turned into a puddle at her blush.

"Thats rather sweet of you, Bren." After another moment or two, she left them to go work on some class assignment as they let the deep conditioner finish setting. A quiet knock sounded soon after. Striding over to the bedroom door, they were suprised to see Wednesday.

"Hey, mercy, kid, I just got the flour out of my hair!" They teased, though they actively did a scan for weapons of mass chaos or any trip wires.

"I came to apologize." She admitted. "Mother and April are correct. I miscalculated and the effects of my returning prank were inequitable and unfair to those uninvolved."

Bren chuckled as they leaned against the doorframe. "Yeah, not your best move, but highly creative and effective. I was impressed by the tripwire. Just next time make it a little more targeted and a little less messy." She looked up at them, rare confusion flitting across her features.

"You're...not upset with me?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong." They said quickly. "I am so getting you back later! But for real, I'm kinda proud of you for setting all that up. You did a good job, even if it was messy. I appreciate the apology for taking it to far, though. That's big of you." Giving a slight smile, they straightened up. "Now run along, I need to go wash out my conditioner and finish getting cleaned up before dinner. I'll see you later."

Later that evening, they all sat laughing over the incident around the table. If one wasn't paying attention, they wouldn't notice how Bren quietly swapped their plate holding a slightly bigger piece of pie with Wednesday's smaller piece. A slight smile all their answer to Wednesday's questioning gaze before they jumped back into conversation. After a suspicious first bite, she happily dug into her favorite, deciding to maybe put off salting Bren's morning coffee...just for a few days.