Chapter Text
The foxes were in a predicament.
"Do literally any of you know anything about childcare?"
Dan pursed her lips, her eyes meeting the other sleepy and ruffled members of the team. They were currently all huddled around the island in the kitchen of the twins' house in Columbia at near the ass crack of dawn after receiving a frantic call from Nicky claiming he needed all the help he could get, and it would be better to see for themselves instead of him even try to explain what was going on.
He texted the address and all the foxes hustled into their cars, perhaps breaking a few laws to make it to their destination as soon as possible considering, if the monsters needed them at their place, it must be serious. They arrived to find an exhausted Nicky opening the door a smidge, piping up the question about childcare. When none of them were answering the question by asking their own about what's going on, they had heard shouts. Nicky sighed and opened the door wider to reveal two strikingly familiar kids who were practically snarling at each other from the opposite ends of the couch. After a few seconds of them all staring from the doorway, Nicky gestured him to follow him to the kitchen. Renee was the only one absent from their group meeting, currently watching over the dilemma in discussion.
"What the fuck did you do Hemmick?" Dan snapped, her hands on her hips. "Care to explain why there are two kids cussing out at each other in your living room at 5 in the morning? And where in the hell are Kevin and Aaron? Would they know anything about this?"
Nicky stuttered out that he didn't really understand the situation himself and rubbed his face. He made his way around the now crowded kitchen and started brewing up a pot of coffee. He decided to stare at the brew as he replied, avoiding their accusing gazes.
"Trust me, if we knew what the fuck happened and what we were doing, we wouldn't have called y'all here. I only found out because Kevin freaked after seeing them, said he didn't want to deal with this and went back to sleep. The asshole probably will be out until the afternoon. Aaron is with Katelyn's right now." Nicky groaned dramatically and knocked his forehead onto the cabinet. "I can't even imagine his reaction when he comes back. He'll probably yell at me with a whole doctor-y lecture of why the absolute fuck am I dealing with the most spiteful kids I've ever met since I've met Kevin."
"Fuck." Nicky nodded at Matt with a pursed lip grin and handed out some mugs for much needed coffee. "I seriously do not know what to do here, I am so not ready to be a father to toddlers. Teenage angst? I can deal with. Have dealt with. These kids are literally as unpredictable and probably, maybe, kinda as vicious as Andrew on meds. One literally punched the other in the gut. Then the one that got punched chased after the other one, and it ended up in a full-on chase at 4 in the morning." Eyebrows were raised by the comparison and a few scoffed. Their heads whipped to the side simultaneously as they heard a crash and yell from the living room. It wasn't long before Renee joined their little meeting after the noise.
The bickering began increading in volume as Renee appeared before them,currently wrestling to contain two children in her arms. They were nearly climbing over Renee, using her like a jungle gym to get to the other and yelled obscenities.
"Shut up! Fuck you! You are such a cry baby stop being so pathetic!"
"I am not pathetic! The only pathetic one will be you when you're being the cry baby for me to stop fucking cutting you! "
Nicky flailed his arms toward the fighting boys, his face screaming "I told you so." The foxes recoiled a bit from the spur of angry thrashing and harsh insults coming from something so small. Okay so maybe Nicky wasn't exaggerating the Minyard comparison. Considering from how the boys usually were as adults, their current fiery states were alarming.
The two had a very stark difference, even from afar.
On Renee's left was a small pale boy wearing a black shirt way too big for his skinny figure, the collar currently sliding down his shoulder in his tussling. His messy hair was close to a white blonde, cut short enough that the strands hung loosely just above his eyes. He had big hazel eyes that were squinting and emitting so much disdain for the boy on the right, whose vibrant auburn curly hair was currently being pulled by the tiny hands of the blonde boy.
Meanwhile, the auburn-haired boy had his teeth bared and was shouting harsh words so practiced and clear focused, the foxes were sure he's heard it somewhere a hundred times before. His eyes were shut as he tried to pry the blondes hands off his hair. He succeeded and followed the release with a smack on the others arm. The kids eyes burst open, revealing a strong shade of blue that glared daggers. He began to breathe heavy and ragged with flared nostrils. He paid no mind to his white over-sized t-shirt which was riding up his tan torso, revealing glimpses of the heavy scarring underneath - Way too much scarring for just any kid off the street. His struggle was causing him to slip and slide in Renee's grip, nearly falling out of the shirt.
Renee lifted her gaze, meeting them with a strained smile. "Nicky, I'm sure you're tired of the question but, how exactly did this happen?" She gestured to the two squabbling boys she held by their shirts, careful not to touch their skin anymore than she had to now she had them in sight.
Nicky grimaced, setting down his coffee "I honestly don't know! I woke up in the middle of the night thirsty as fuck," Allison interrupted with a snicker "As if that's anything new." Nicky rolled his eyes at the comment and continued, a bit irritably. "So anyways, I found them standing by the stairs quietly having a stare-down before Kevin pulled me aside. I think he found them first, so might as well ask him."
Nicky's eyebrows furrowed and his nose scrunched as he continued his next sentence. "The next thing I know they're chasing each other and fighting and Kevin had to help me wrangle them onto the couch. Right when I was about to suggest what the hell we'd do with them, he went off to bed trying to stave it off as a dream. With no other choice, I panicked and called you guys." Nicky whined into his hands, done with his side of the story. The foxes shared a couple glances, soaking in the tale.
Long story short, they had a fucking mess on their hands.
- * -
Nicky wasn't kidding when he said he had absolutely no god damn clue what was going on.
One second he woke up and was on his way to get a glass of water from the kitchen, still suffering from an ugly ass hangover. Next thing he knew he had to freeze mid-step, staring at two kids having a glaring match on the bottom of the stairs.
One was slightly taller, his auburn hair falling into his teary filled eyes, and the other was a shorter blonde looking up at the other with a blanket wrapped in his arms, sporting a look as hateful as a chihuahua in a cone. They seemed to be yelling in a whisper at each other.
The blondie had spoken first. "I wanna know why you were in my bed. You're not suppose to be in it. No one is."
"I wasn' in your bed I was in my bed. No one but my mom shoulda been there. When I find her, I'm telling on you." The red head sniffled.
Nicky jumped, clutching his chest as he heard a gasp come from behind him. He turned around, but not before he caught the blonde kid suddenly sucker punching the other in the gut.
The owner of the gasp also watching the scene unfold was none other but Kevin Day in all his recovering hangover glory. Wrinkled pajamas and hair that could consider him a full-blown cockatoo, Kevin looked hilarious with his eyes blown as wide as saucers looking at the kids a few feet in front of him. Nicky caught the time on microwave clock behind him and learned it was half past 3 in the morning.
Nicky tried to gesture Kevin to come closer towards him, but Kevin's attention was locked on the auburn-haired kid, who seemed to have recovered. The kid had ended up snatching the blanket away from the blonde and ran past him in a speedy flight.
"I'm dreaming right now right, this isn't a thing happening. That can't be him." Kevin murmured, voice raspy. Nicky was lost on the comment but cursed as he watched the blonde one bolt after the blanket snatcher.
"Hey, that's mine! Bring it the fuck back here!"
Nicky blanched from the sudden curse from the apparent, very unhappy blonde. They started a chase around the living room and that was Nicky's cue to get involved before they broke anything and Andrew waking up to kill his ass. He got ready to join the chase as they hopped over furniture, knocking shit over from pillows to lamps to nearly knocking over the flatscreen. The screaming and threats became louder and rowdier. Nicky cursed and turned back towards Kevin, grabbed onto his sweatshirt and pushed him into the living room. They stood at the edge and tried to voice over the screaming kids. "Fuck! Kevin okay you go tango with Speedy Gonzales over there while I spar with the Rocky with a bad dye job. Don't lose a limb and try to get them as far from each other as possible. Ready." Kevin rubbed his face, got in a defense stance similar to ones seen in practice and nodded with a look of discomfort. Nicky clapped. "Now!"
Thirty minutes later, the boys were sat on opposite ends of the couch, chests heaving. They held the kids in their laps as best as they could manage, trying to keep them faced away from each other and failing as the kids attempted to squirm out of their grips. Kevin couldn't stop staring at the red headed kid, a horrified look plastered on his face for a solid minute before it was replaced with a more confused one. He shook his head and kept repeating that it wasn't possible, it's a dream, that he drank way too much. Kevin suddenly stood up, kid still in his arms and being held awkwardly, arms length away from Kevin's body. He set him down quickly, tossing a pillow on top of the kid, followed by a muffled "ah." He clapped, startling all three of them.
"Alright listen up pipsqueaks," Nicky raised an eyebrow at the nickname. "You are going to sit, stay, and be quiet while we figure this mess out. You're lucky we aren't having you clean up the mess you made of the living room." He pointed at the two kids then turned and pointed to Nicky. "Call the others, deal with it yourself, I don't care, I'm going back to bed. It's way too early to deal with bullshit and I'm clearly still drunk out of my mind." With that, Kevin stalked off and a few seconds later followed a door slam.
Nicky mocked Kevin's order, muttering under his breath about Kevin officially becoming Wymack Jr. and readjusted his seating position to reach under the couch cushion. He sighed out a raspberry and reached for his phone, having left it there last night to charge after their little rendezvous with a few bottles of liquor. He dialed the foxes.
- * -
The foxes were at a bit of a loss, sipping their coffees and tossing theories back and forth. When they were getting a little too ridiculous, Nicky pitched an idea. "Wait, fuck okay guys I'm going to go check and see if Andrew is awake. I'm surprised he hasn't come down and sassed about the noise yet." With no objections, Nicky slipped past them and stepped two at a time up the stairs. Once he reached the room, he hesitated. Should he even be doing this? With no other option, he knocked.
No answer.
He knocked again, this time calling out. "Andrew? Neil? Hey, we have a, uh, situation?"
With no answer or even a peep from the other side of the door, Nicky considered his choices.
One, he could risk his life and walk in on the considerable possibility he'll end up with a knife in his throat. Two, he could be catching a rather risque scene and end up with a knife in his throat. Three, he could just adopt a couple of random kids, become an early father and probably have to deal with a possible murder charge of one killing the other. Nicky huffed, as appealing as a jail may seem in comparison of catching Andrew off guard, he signed off on his death wish and opened the door.
"Hey! I am so, so, so sorry but I really need your help with-" His sentence dropped as he blinked.looking around inside. The room was empty.
It ruffled to hell and evidence there was a scuffle involved. The sheets were cascaded off to the side and the pillows were strewn about. Andrews pack of cigs were laying on the floor along with all the cigs tossed out everywhere with his lighter. Twos pair of armbands were on the bedside table, and Nicky knew for sure neither left the house without them.
Nicky bit his lip as he closed the door and made his descent back to the kitchen.
The foxes stopped their conversation and looked up from the kids to Nicky. "Andrew and Neil aren't in their room. I think something funky is going on." He pointed a thumb above him. "Their room is messed the fuck up and it looks like they didn't take anything important with them."
Allison took a sip of her coffee before speaking up. "So, what I'm understanding here is, the psycho dwarf and his boyfriend just vanished to who knows where considering the car is still in the driveway. And now, we have two kids who want to kill each other who, may I just add, look almost identical to our absent lover boys." She holds a finger to her chin then points in Renee's direction. Sidestepping around the island, she waltzes over to stand behind Renee.
"Now, I bet this mystery has a rather simple conclusion." Allison grabs the auburn-haired boy from Renee's grip , and lifts him from under his arms, the boy going stiff from the surprise and sudden contact now that he was more aware that there isn't just a couple of people around anymore. Allison carries him over to the foxes and sits him on top of the island. He blinked owlishly up at Allison before a scowl settled onto his features. He hugged his chest and closed in on himself, aware of the people in the room.
Allison crossed her arms, examining the kid in front of her. She has no doubts about her oh so obvious hypothesis, even if the boy was a bit of a cleaner slate than the one they currently knew. "Alright cutie, mind tell me how old you are?" The boy didn't break eye contact with the woman in front of him and remained silent. Allison pursed her lips before smiling and bending down to meet with the kids eyes. "Okay, let's try that again. This time, an answer would be nice." Allison smiled a bit too sweet of a smile and asked again. "Do you know where you are? How about you tell us your name so we can help you?"
The boy's eyes darted around the room. His gaze didn't meet Allison's as he shook his head no. The kids knuckles turning white from the tightening grip he had on his shirt .The foxes remained quiet and still, waiting for him to say something, anything that'll confirm or deny their theory.
"Now honey, you're safe here," Dan piped up from next to her. Allison stood up straight, hands on her hips, "but we can't do anything with you until you say your name." Allison's tone indicating she was losing her patience. She pointed a manicured hand at him in a gesture, indicating for him to go on and speak. The kid ended up flinching away from the gesture as soon as the hand got too close for comfort for him. They froze, not expecting that reaction.
"Okay, stop.Guys, he's not going to budge and intimidating him, isn't helping much." Matt claims, his eyes filled with concern as he slowly edged his way closer to the boy.
"Well then what should we do! We can't just-" Allison was interrupted by a sharp hush from Dan, who jerked her chin toward the doorway at the girls glare. Renee had crouched down to eye level with the boy, whispering to him. He wasn't exactly looking at her, or even acknowledging he was talking to an adult. He had his head forward and looking off into what seemed like nothing. She had him standing on the ground now, blanket pooling around his feet and his hands clenched to it like a lifeline.
Renee peeked up for a second, taking the silence as a cue, and ducked back down. She whispered something to him before piping up a bit louder "Would you mind if you told us your name?" The kid slowly looked at her, then up at all the foxes. "We promise not to ask anymore questions until you're ready."
The kid seemed to contemplate this before taking a deep breath. "My name, is Andrew,"
"And how old are you?" Dan quipped.
"an' I am seven years old." He announced to the foxes. He was small for a seven year old. The hem of the shirt reached far past his knees now that he was standing on the ground. Andrew rubbed his eyes before looking up at Renee. "Can I go back to sleep now? I said my name, you promised no more until tomorrow." He suddenly scrunches his nose as he considers his statement, and looks behind Renee. His eyes immediately fall on the kid on the counter and he points at who they could safely assume now was Neil.
"I don't want him there this time."
"It's my bed."
"It's mine."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Is not."
"Yes it fucking is!"
"No! It's fucking not!"
The boys kept rallying between each other over the ownership of the bed and it turned into another session of bickering. It seemed to rejuvinate the boys and with no other material other than the bed they resolved to just seeing who could curse louder than the other.
"We need to call Wymack."