Work Text:
The Child didn’t know very much - that was the problem.
It was just that everything he encountered was so fascinating . For so long he’d been held in the same dismal place where strangers talked too loud and handled him too roughly. Now he was out and free to explore, and he wasn’t even afraid anymore because the Armored Man protected him.
He liked the Armored Man. At first, he was gruff like all the others but ever since he took the Child away from the pain place, his touches turned progressively gentler and he seldom shouted in the baby's sensitive ears.
The Child loved the Armored Man. At least, he thought he did. He had no real point of reference but what else could the warm, bubbly feeling be?
He loved the Armored Man and he absolutly hadn’t meant to run away.
It was just, the little bug was so sparkly and the Child had been enthralled at first sight. He’d wanted to catch the little creature so he could bring it back and show it proudly to the Armored Man. And then maybe eat it. The Child didn’t want to be wasteful.
And he had caught the bug, he had! He’d slipped it inside his cloak and everything. It was only when the Child turned around that he realized he could no longer see the Armored Man.
The Child swung his wide eyes from left to right but there was no sign of his guardian. Panic began to bubble in his stomach.
The Child did not like being afraid. He’d been so afraid for so long that he nearly forgot how to feel anything else. Around the Armored Man, he felt so many new, fuzzy happy feelings. He never felt afraid when he was with his guardian.
It was only recently the Armored Man had begun to show the Child his face. It was a nice face, all things considered. A bit battered, but the Child liked how the tips of the man’s lips quirked up whenever he looked at him.
Tottering back the way he’d come, the Child tried to keep his breaths from becoming gasps. The Armored Man told him, warned him, not to go off on his own. What if the Armored Man didn’t want him anymore? What if he left without the Child? Would he be so easily forgotten?
The Child no longer knew how to be alone.
“Well, hello there, little one."
The voice used one of the names the Armored Man called him but it was not his trusted voice.
The Child tried to move along faster but tripped on the hem of his robes and he sat down with a thunk. The panic was becoming overwhelming. He was trying to be good, he really was.
Would he be punished for crying?
Warm hands surrounded his middle and hoisted him back on his feet. The Child froze. For a split second, the power in his blood burned. Then a face swam into view and the Child bit it back.
She looked like a nice woman, but it was always hard to tell. She gazed down at him with clear concern.
The woman reached out and brushed the dust off his robes. “It’s ok, little one. Are you lost?”
Lost. Yes, that was right. He hadn’t run away, he’d just gotten lost. The Child hoped the Armored Man knew that. He would rather go back to the pain place then leave the man who called him Ad’ika .
“Here, honey,” the woman said, holding out a hand. She did have a very nice smile. “I can help you find your mom. Or dad. I’m sure they are really worried and looking for you right now.”
Yes, the Armored Man probably was looking for him. He seemed to spend quite a lot of time doing that. The Child felt a vaguely guilty feeling curl in his gut.
He hoped he wasn’t too much trouble for his guardian. The Child didn’t know why the bad things kept following him. He didn’t know why he was so strange. Only the Armored Man never seemed to care much about that.
The Child allowed the woman to lift him into her arms. She smelled like flowers and honey. It was extremely pleasant sensation so the Child burrowed closer to her chest.
He was rewarded by a tinkle of laughter. “Can you tell me anything about your mama or papa?”
The Child didn’t know those words. He gave a little whine.
A hand rubbed gently over his back. “That’s ok, little one. Let’s head back to the shipyard. I know most the the people in this town, and I definitely don’t think you are one of ours. Maybe you came in on a ship?”
A ship, yes. The Child enjoyed the ship. So many buttons and levers to play with. Though the Armored Man would always grumble about toys when he touched them. The Child couldn’t help himself. Honest.
As he gently swayed along with the woman’s movements, the Child only half-listened to her words floating down to him. He did so love being held.
The Child looked up as they came to a stop. “Yes, here we are. Let’s see, maybe we should try over ---”
“Hey!”
The Child would know that voice anywhere. Giddiness bubbled in his chest as he turned towards the new voice and stretched out his little arms as far as they could go.
“Ah, ah!”
The Armored Man stopped right in front of them. One hand was on the gun in his belt, and the Child almost shrank back at the malice the man was emitting.
“Oh, my,” the woman exclaimed, looking between the two and turning slightly pink. “I suppose… you must be papa?”
“Pa, pa!” agreed the Child, nearly falling out of the woman’s arms in his haste to get to his guardian.
The Armored Man froze for a moment as if caught off guard, before stepping boldly forward and snatching him none too gently from the woman. His hands, though, were careful against the Child’s delicate skin.
“I found him wandering around a few streets over,” the woman said, hesitantly, “I told him I’d help find his parents.”
The Armored Man remained rigid, hand still on his gun, before relaxing. He dropped into a half bow. “Thank you very much. I only turned my back for a second and he was gone. I was… concerned.”
That brought the smile back to the woman’s face. She flapped a hand, “Oh, of course, not a problem. I can see he’s yours by the way he reacted to you. I’m sure he didn’t mean to get lost, did you, darling?”
Darling was a nice name. The Child gurgled and latched on tighter the Armored Man’s arm.
His guardian and the woman exchanged a few more words before the Armored Man turned and swept him back up into the ship.
As soon as they were alone, the Armored Man slid to the floor and ripped off his helmet. It clattered next to them, the sharp noise echoing in the small space. The pleasant brown eyes meet his own.
The Child let out a mournful noise. The man looked terrible. His skin was a shade paler than it should be, and his pupils were blown wide with panic.
“Oh stars, Ad’ika ,” the Armored Man whispered, raking a hand over his bare face. “Do you have any idea how much you scared me? I thought you were gone! Taken! Why won’t you just do as you’re told? Isn’t it enough that I’m out here with you running for our lives without you going and being so….” He trailed off, rubbing a rough hand over his face.
The Child was alarmed and he had to shove down the boiling in his blood for the second time in one day. He hated it when the Armored Man was upset.
Slowly, the Child pulled down the top of his robes. The glowing insect leaped to its freedom, darting around in quick circles and leaving a trail of light behind as it tried to formalize its escape.
The Armored Man’s eyes followed the bug as it zipped around their heads. Then, much to the Child’s happy surprise, he began to laugh.
“ Ad’ika ,” the man wheezed, “I swear you have the attention span of a fish. I’m going to need to keep a much closer eye on you. Maybe I’ll get a leash.”
The Child didn’t really understand the words but he always liked it when his guardian laughed. He babbled his happiness and shuffled closer.
The Armored Man eyed him for a moment before his shoulders fell in surrender and he swept the child up into his arms.
“Please try not to scare me like that again, little one,” he said softly, hands moving comfortingly over the infant’s back. "Please, Ad'ika."
The Child giggled and smacked his palm down on the man’s cheek. The Armored Man caught the little hand and pressed a kiss to its palm.
Shrieking in delight, the Child thumped the man’s face again. That was new. It tickled!
The Child decided that he hated being separated from his Armored Man, even if was only for a few minutes.
The Armored Man was his. The Child never had anything of his own before. He was excited to learn more. Everywhere they went was filled with fascinating people and things to look at.
His Armored Man would be his constant, the Child decided. He loved having his own person.
Maybe that was what the woman had been talking about.