Chapter Text
Percy and Mary Stein weren't ever considering having children. Not out of a particular dislike or simply not wanting them, they just weren't sure if their lives were heading in that direction. And so it was a happy surprise when Mary announced her pregnancy to Percy one night before bed. They were well established in their fields of work, had savings built up, and had moved into a new house 6 months prior. A baby was simply the icing on the cake.
They were as happy as any new parents could be, announcing in the newspaper and to friends and family about the new addition to the household. They were a popular couple and the baby shower was lavish with gifts for a beautiful baby.
He would come to be called Franken.
By the time Franken was a year and a half, he was methodically pulling apart his stuffed animals. Being so young, he didn't exactly realize that what was in them was in the name. Building blocks were easier, if boring, but whatever he made (and he could make a great many of things with them), he could also destroy. The crash on a falling tower also caused him to laugh gleefully. Mary and Percy chalked it up to Franken being a rambunctious child, never feeling the need to chastise him overly so.
It was when Percy found a dead animal in Franken's room at the age of 4 that they began to panic.
“Frankie, honey.” Mary said gently, examining him for cuts, bruises, or blood. “What did you do?”
“Hurt.” He replied. “Fix.”
“This... squirrel was hurt...” Percy said slowly, trying to make sense of it. “And you wanted to make it better?”
Franken shook his head. “I hurt. I fix.”
“Percy, look...” Mary tried to control her voice, but it sounded fearful. “A clean snap of the neck...”
“Let's just... let's just get it cleaned up. Frankie, you're gonna sleep with mommy and daddy tonight, okay?”
Franken nodded. “Am I bad?”
The Steins looked down at him, unsure of how to answer. It could be idle curiosity, but he was four years old and he had snapped the neck of a squirrel. He had admitted to it – but he also wanted to fix it.
“No.” Mary said firmly, picking Franken up and holding him close. He squirmed a little, not liking to be picked up, touched, or held. But Mommy seemed upset, so he stilled himself. “You are not bad. This was an accident, but you shouldn't do it again.”
“Okay...” He replied, yawning.
“Should I get some supplies from the hospital?” Percy asked his wife. She nodded.
“Yes, I think that the entire room needs to be sanitized.”
Mary carried Franken to the master bedroom as Percy headed out to the hospital. He was practically asleep by the time she had him changed into clean clothing, despite the jostling as the worried mother checked him for anything else.
“Mommy...?” He murmured, nestled against her.
“Yes, dear?” She replied, stroking his silver hair.
“You're very beautiful.” The end of his sentence was punctured with a yawn as he settled in, his breathing slowed as sleep overtook him.
Mary had no idea how to react to this sudden statement. Franken spoke to both of him more in the past hour than he had since he started speaking. They knew he could talk because he often did so to himself. For Franken to not only talk, but to compliment her? How could she respond? She supposed now it didn't matter as he started snoring lightly.
Little did she know that hers was the first soul that he had ever seen, nor that he had been so captivated by it that it had compelled him to be open and honest with his parents.
One of the first and very few times he would do so.