"I'd still do it, mind, but I can see the point in that. Even if my childhood wasn't pleasant enough that I'd want to repeat it for itself, it's still... I dunno, nice in its way?"

"I didn't really like being a child. It was way too uphill to get taken seriously."

"Oh, my mom always took me seriously. That thing other people complain about, where adults treat children like nonpersons, it wasn't really a thing with her."

"I don't even mean my parents, particularly, although they weren't flawless at it."

"Yeah, I didn't interact with many non-her adults. In large part because of that."

"We always had a parade of guests and friends of the family and stuff, plus teachers."

...he giggles. "Teachers did not like me."

"Awwwww."

"I was a terrible student."

"Like, behaviorally, or academically?"

"Behaviorally."

"What did you do?"

"I was a smartbutt who occasionally pranked other kids and couldn't sit still. Picture the human version of a ferret."

"Did you also smell funny? That's much of what I know about ferrets."

He giggles. "No, I was just behaviorally like a ferret. Small and hyperactive."

"Awwww."

"But yeah, other than them, not much adult interaction."

"Sounds like it would've had advantages."

"To not having had much adult interaction?"

"Sure. I mean, not necessarily overwhelming advantages, but still."

"Yeah, it was mostly, I got used to being taken seriously and didn't have the thing where I was annoyed that people didn't."

"Exactly."

He snuggles up. "Tiny you must've been really cute."

"Of course." Snuggle snuggle.

"Hmm, okay, mustn't've been that terrible, today has been enough to get rid of—almost all of it."