Chapter Text
Instead of waking up to an alarm that morning, the sounds of something being chewed on rather aggressively caused Dee to snap his eyes open and sit up.
With the effects of just waking up having been wiped away in a matter of seconds, Dee looked around the room for a moment, before his gaze finally fell upon the small wooden box in the corner of his room. The chewing was coming from there, and the box was now starting to rattle.
Eyes now wide and blood pumping, Dee scrambled out of his blankets and onto the floor beside the bed. He kicked off the remains of the sheets, and scurried to the box on his hands and knees, ignoring the slight burn of his carpet as he grabbed the key from where he had last hidden it.
He stuffed the key in the hole it fit in, and twisted it quickly.
As he reached for the top of the box to open it, a sudden knock came upon the other side of his door, and Dee slammed the lid down, threw the key to the side, and rested his arm atop of the box as if nothing were awry.
Another knock.
“Shit– Come in!” He said through gritted teeth, and as the door opened silently, he quickly relaxed his features.
A blue eye peeked from the other side, and Dee let out a breath, rolling his eyes as he stood up, hand still on the top of the box, where the chewing had finally come to a stop.
His father had a smile on his face. As per usual, “Morning!” His voice was cheerful, just like it always was.
“Morning...” Dee replied rather unenthusiastically.
Glam stepped further into his room, keeping the handle in his hand as he did so. He wore his hair in a loose ponytail, and an apron was wrapped around the front of him, “Breakfast is ready! Care to come join the rest of us?” His eyes snapped from Dee down to the box Dee had his hand on.
Dee looks at the box, then at his father. His eyes don’t truly meet Glam’s, though. He pats the top of the box and stands up fully, “I’m fine. I’ll just go to school early.”
“Okay.” Glam nods, and goes to shut the door, but stops before the door can meet the frame.
Dee resists rolling his eyes, and looks at the crack between the door and the doorframe. He really wished his dad quit with the habit of looking at Dee through the crack of the door. It made Dee feel on edge and watched all the time, even if it was just for a few seconds before he left.
The door opened a bit more this time, though.
Glam opens the door again. He wraps his hand around the frame and steps into the room, “If anything’s the matter, you should know me and your mother are here for you. You can talk to either of us. About anything.”
He can’t resist the eye roll that time, and Dee sighs, “I know, dad.” How can Dee talk to either of them about what happened? Especially since what’s bothering him is something his own dad said to him. “Just tired, that’s all.” Exactly. He can’t. So he just won’t say anything at all. This stuff usually blows over as time passes, anyway. He’ll get over his feelings, and luckily for him, his dad seems to have already forgotten about the incident...Dee isn’t sure whether or not that makes him feel good or not.
A hum comes from the other side of the room, “Alright, then.” Glam closes the door slowly this time, and finally lets it click back into place.
Dee lets out a breath of relief, and kneels back down to the box. He opens the lid calmly this time, and there, in the corner of the box, a small black rat sits with its back pressed up against the wall.
“Hey.” Dee says, and reaches for something pressed between the box and his bookshelf. He pulls open the packaging of a pack of bread, and grabs the last piece all the way in the back. “Damn.” He pulls the bread out, and looks at it for a moment, then back at the packaging. It’s completely empty. “Well, looks like we’re all out of food.” He offers the piece to the rat.
The rat inches forward, sniffs the air for a moment, then quickly snatches the bread from Dee, who chuckles.
“Sorry, I know it’s not much. I’ll go and get some food for you later, though.” He watches as she quickly nibbles through the slice.
Letting out a small breath through his nose, Dee smiles at the creature.
“You’re actually pretty cute.” He reaches a hand further into the box, and sets a finger on her fluffy cheek. The rat continues eating, and Dee continues petting her.
Then, when moving his finger more towards the rat’s ear, she lets go of the bread, and pauses with a single paw in the air. Dee freezes too, but when the rat doesn’t move, he gives her a scratch behind the ear.
Without warning, she snaps over and chomps down on Dee’s finger, who yelps and rips his hand out of the rat’s mouth, tugging her a few inches forward.
“Shit, what the hell?!” He slaps his hands together and holds them close to his chest. The rat jumps at his sudden shift in tone and scurries back into the corner of the box.
Dee stares at the rat, heart racing.
Eventually, he lets out a shaken breath, and looks at the bite. Blood trickles down the length of the digit from the small bite wound. He sighs, and looks at the rat, who is still huddled away from him.
“You’re fine,” He speaks calmly, “That’s my ba–”
“Dee! Ain’t you going to school early?!” His mothers voice calls down from inside Heavy’s room.
“I am!” He shouts back, and the box rattles again. He looks down at the rat, who had just jumped again.
Vicky gives his door a good hit with the side of her fist, “Then hurry up or you’ll just be on time!”
Dee looks at his door with lowered brows, and listens as Vicky’s footsteps fade out into the other rooms, then back down the stairs.
He groans, and grabs the lid of the box.
“I’ll be back later. Sorry for scaring you.” The rat perks up a little, and Dee smiles. “See ya.” He says before closing the lid and securing it with the lock. He slips the lock between a book he never reads, and grabs the empty pack of bread. He crumbles it into a small plastic ball and discards it in a nearby trash can.
Shaking the blood off his finger, Dee grabbed his bag and threw it onto his bed, finally able to get ready.
Bag now over his shoulder, Dee walked down the steps of the stairs and made his way towards the front door.
In the kitchen, Heavy sat at the table with Vicky, both of whom were devouring a plate full of food. Glam stood at the stove, continuing to fry up something.
Heavy looked up from his plate, mouth full of food. He swallowed, and greeted Dee, “Hey Dee. What took you so long? I thought you were going early?” He lowers his fork down to his plate.
Dee shrugged, “I was just getting ready, that’s it.”
Heavy hummed at that, and stuffed another egg into his mouth. He licked his fork, then used it to point to something in the corner of the kitchen. Dee’s eyes followed, and they landed on a smashed guitar leaning up against the wall.
He frowns before looking back at Heavy.
“Did you like, drop it or something?” Heavy’s green eyes flick back up to him, and Dee stares back with his cold blue ones.
“Yeah. Something like that.” Dee grips at the strap of his bag with one hand, assuring that his voice sounded his usual monotone, and not upset like it really wanted to sound like at the moment. He glanced at his father, who was still cooking.
A tiny bit of resentment sparked within him, and he could tell a sour expression was starting to grow on his features.
Heavy frowned a little too, but continued eating, “Okay, that stinks.” He swallowed his last egg, and perked up a little. “Hey, maybe dad will let you borrow one of his!” He jabbed his fork in the direction of Glam, who let out a single loud chuckle.
He’d probably break all of Dee’s fingers if Dee were to touch any of them. Dee let out a breath through his nose in false amusement, “Yeah, maybe...” He shifted his stance, adjusting his bag.
Something warm trickled down the tip of his finger, and dropped onto the floor below.
Heavy chewed on some other piece of food, and his eyes followed down the length of Dee’s arm, to his hand.
He coughed for a moment, “Dee, uh, you’re kinda bleeding.” He raised a brow at the blood that dripped onto the wood tiles of the floor again.
Glam and Vicky stopped what they were doing, and Dee cursed Heavy for paying attention to something at breakfast for once.
Glam turned off the stove, “Dee, are you alright?” He stripped himself of his apron and placed it on the table, taking a step towards Dee.
Deep took a wide step back, and turned to the front door, “Nothing! I–I’m going!” He tucked his finger underneath the strap of his bag, and hurried out the front door, leaving his family in the dust.
Heavy watched as Dee didn’t even bother to close the door behind him. He turned back to his dad, who was staring out towards Dee as he rushed down the front of the house, and onto the sidewalk.
“Dee’s kinda acting really weird.” Heavy commented, before continuing to eat.
Victoria looked at Glam, before shaking her head and switching her eyes back to her food, “Puberty.” She sighs and takes a bite out of an egg.
Glam hums in response, brows furrowed and arms crossed.
Dee sat back down at this desk in his history class, having gotten back from the nurse’s office, with a brand new band-aid slapped across the tip of his finger.
“What the shit is Vadskillies?!” A grumpy old voice yelled from the front of the class.
Dee looked up, a tiny smile on his face.
Diana, the girl who sat next to Dee with pink hair, was looking down at her desk in shame. It wasn’t the first time that happened, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last if Diana kept relying on other classmates for the answers.
The teacher, as a seemingly last resort, turned to Dee who hadn’t even raised his hand yet. “Dee, would you mind attempting to correct your classmate’s stupidity, and tell us what the name of the Treaty was that helped end World War I?”
Dee thought for a moment, despite already knowing the answer, and raised his head, “It was the Treaty of Versailles, no?” He could feel the burning eyes of Diana next to him.
His teacher’s eyes bubbled with excitement, and a large smile finally washed over the old man, “Finally. Thank you Dee, for a refreshing answer.” Dee nodded in response to this.
His teacher turned back to the rest of the class, “Maybe if you fort-nighters would get off your games and study for once, you’d know a thing or two!”
Dee turned his head out the window, just in time to witness a herd of crows leaving a nearby tree.
Dee walked down the steps of his school with his eyes stuck to the ground and a loose hand on his bag. The sounds of crows cawing and students talking filled the warm spring air.
As he walked down the long sidewalk back home, another sound came into hearing range.
The sound of somebody getting their ass kicked.
"Oh, I know you didn’t just call Call of Duty shitty! I’ll kick your ass!” That was the voice of someone familiar. Way too familiar.
Dee groaned, and as soon as he looked to the right of him, he saw Heavy now in the grasp of Chipmunk, who had a fist raised to him, “I’ll say it again, no hesitation!” Chipmunk spewed, his spit flying onto the face of Heavy, who gagged in disgust.
Heavy already had a few cuts on him, along with red marks that were definitely going to turn into bruises later.
Just before Chipmunk was about to lay into Heavy all over again, Dee called out to him.
“Hey Chip!”
Chipmunk looked over his shoulder, and Heavy looked along with him.
Dee approached, hands in his pockets and a calm demeanor on. He’s already gotten his ass kicked by him before, and really wasn’t looking forward to another confrontation.
“The hell do you want, yo?!” Heavy fell to the ground with a gasp as Chipmunk let go of him and turned fully towards Dee.
“Well, I know this might be a lot to ask but, I kinda need my brother to get home in one piece.” He tilted his head over, and gestured to Heavy, who was currently wiping blood from his nose.
Chip hummed, “Yo, respect man.” He placed both of his hands together, and began cracking his knuckles, “For taking this ass-whooping.”
Before Dee could say anything, Chip lunged forward and with a full fist, stuck Dee right in the center of his face.
Heavy yelled something, and Dee stumbled back before falling onto his ass on the bare dirt below. Blood immediately gushed out of his nose as Dee slapped a hand over his face in attempts to quell the aching.
Then, another blow. This time on his stomach.
Dee fell onto his side, eyes squeezing shut automatically as dirt flew underneath him. In a matter of seconds, Dee was desperately yet quietly trying to catch his breath after being winded.
With one hand on his face and the other clenching his stomach, Dee keeled over to the side and coughed, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
He opened his eyes, and to his dismay, the shadow of Chipmunk still loomed over him, not having gotten his fill, and Dee could see in the shadow Chipmunk raising his foot.
“You asshole! This is between you and me!” Heavy had recovered and had now thrown himself on the back of their aggressor.
The two struggled for a moment, with Heavy gripping tightly onto Chipmunk, who desperately tried to peel the much smaller red-head off of him.
Dee regains his composure, even if that means just being able to breathe again, and finally lifts himself off the floor, blood staining the brown dirt below as he raises his head.
A thud echoed against the side of their school, and Heavy let out a long hiss as he rubbed his lower back, near his tailbone, with one eye closed.
Chipmunk landed a harsh kick to Heavy’s leg, and Heavy yelped and scooted himself back a few feet, but eventually slipped and stumbled.
“You need to learn your place, bitch!” Chipmunk threw a variety of curse words out at Heavy after that, and raised another hand at him.
“Hey!” Dee called out, trying to wipe away the overflowing fountain coming from his face. Chipmunk audibly groaned, and let his arm fall back beside him, before turning around to face Dee once more, “Since when did I say we were done here?!” Dee said through heaved breaths.
Chipmunk approached Dee, and loomed over him in a cheap intimidation tactic. Dee looked up at him with wide eyes, his thoughts processing at a rapid speed.
“Do something then.” Chip spoke with his brows raised. A small smirk was starting to form on his face.
Dee gulped, stared at him for a few more seconds, then raised his left hand.
Chipmunk flinched, and stepped away, towards Dee’s right.
Dee used this opportunity to take a swift step back and land a blow with a closed fist against the right side of Chip’s face. Dee stumbled forward as Chip went backwards, and eventually Chipmunk did a near 180, and landed in a spot where he was now facing Heavy.
Heavy let out a laugh, “Dirt attack!” He yelled, and threw a hand over his shoulder, letting go a large pile of dirt he had hidden in his hand.
The dirt splashed Chipmunk’s open eyes, and the kid let out a scream before keeling over onto his knees, his hands racing to wipe his eyes.
Heavy began celebrating by pumping his fists in the air and cheering himself on. Dee, on the other hand, shook the pain away from his fist, and rounded Chipmunk to get to his brother.
“Come on, you idiot!” He grabbed Heavy by the wrist, who was still hollering himself on. Dee tugged his brother away from the scene, who finally got the message and began sprinting away, now dragging Dee behind him instead.
A few blocks later, Heavy stopped alongside an old, torn-up fence in order to catch his breath. He slapped a hand against the wood, and bent over, sweat dripping from his chin and hair a mess.
Dee was a bit more put together, but overall was still tired from all the running. He wiped a hand over his mouth, the bleeding from his nose now having dried. He gulped and turned his head behind his shoulder, taking a long breath of relief when he saw no one pursuing them.
Heavy began laughing and slapped himself on the knee as giggles overcame him.
Dee, on the other hand, wasn’t as impressed.
Taking a long breath, Dee straightened himself up over Heavy, and shoved him a little, “Are you ever going to stop starting fights and getting your ass kicked?!” Heavy, not bothered by his brother’s shoving, continued giggling for a few more moments, before his laughter died out.
He wiped a tear away with his eye and looked up at Dee, whose face was covered in a mixture of dirt and blood. Mostly blood, though.
“Holy crap!” Heavy’s finger flew up to Dee’s face. “There’s blood like– all over you!”
Dee felt his eye twitch, and he raised a hand to his nose and touched it–
He flinched and pulled his hand away at the sudden stinging sensation. His eyes scaled back up from his hand to Heavy, not the least bit entertained.
“Thanks to you, I look like I’ve been hit by a damn car!” Dee tried wiping away the dried blood off his mouth and under his nose.
Heavy scrunched his brows together and jabbed a finger into Dee’s chest, “You didn’t have to get between us, you know!”
“Yeah, and what? Watch and let you get your ass kicked?”
Heavy raised both of his hands over his head, “Yes!”
His brother shook his head and threw out a hand. “That’s stupid! You’re my brother! Plus, mom would be on my ass all week about it if I hadn’t!” Instead of trying to respond or argue back, Heavy let out a huff, crossed his arms, and turned around with a stomp.
Dee’s eyes rolled towards the sky as he moaned in reply. He let one hand rest back down at his side as the other pinched the bridge of his nose, “Whatever, fine. You win. Let’s just go back home; my fucking head is killing me.
His little brother looked over his shoulder with one eye, and finally gave up his pouting to rub his back. “Yeah…Alright. I’m tired and my back hurts too now.”
The front door creaked open, revealing an empty kitchen and staircase ahead of them. Dee looked around, and Heavy peeked out from the side of him.
“I’m pretty sure dad has a student today.” Heavy says, both hands on the straps of his backpack.
Dee nods, and opens the door fully, allowing Heavy to step through. “Go clean yourself up before mom or dad sees you.” He advises. Heavy looks up at him and nods before scooting between him and the door and booking it to the nearest bathroom.
He watched Heavy vanish from around the corner, and finally stepped inside. He ran a hand through his tangled up hair and dusted off his shoulders before heading up to his room.
The house was quiet, a bit more than usual. The steps creaked as usual when he walked up them, and Dee opened the door to Heavy’s room, passed through the mess, and grabbed hold of his door handle.
Dee wasn’t sure what, but something felt a little off.
He squinted around the room, silent, before the sound of something falling and hitting the ground resounded from the other side of the door he had a hold of.
Dee didn't hesitate, as he quickly turned his doorknob and stepped into his room.
In the corner of his room, next to the bookshelf and kneeling in front of the box, Glam shifts through the space between the bookshelf and box. His head was turned away from the doorway, and he seemed to be feeling around for something.
“Dad?!” Dee yelled, shoving the door fully open and letting it hit the wall behind him. Glam’s head perks up, and he looks at Dee with his brows raised.
“Ah, Dee! You’re home already?” He backed up and away from the space, setting his hands on his knees with a small smile on his face. However, as soon as the two made direct eye contact, his grin faded, and he stood up. “Dee? What happened?” He stepped forward, reaching a hand towards Dee’s face, “You’re covered in–”
Dee waved the hand away from him and side-stepped his dad, “Nothing that’s any of your business!” Dee threw his bag off his shoulder and onto his bed. He stomped his way towards the box and looked at it. The key wasn’t visible anywhere, and the box still seemed to be locked. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, but at the realization his stuff had been messed with, it was quickly replaced by something else.
He snapped his head over his shoulder, “I thought you said I was mature enough to have my own secrets?!” Dee furrowed his brows and grit his teeth, his hand on the box tightening for a moment, before he stood back up to face Glam.
Looking around the room, his bed was moved slightly, his closet was open, some shoe boxes were sitting outside of it, and a few of the books on his bookshelf were lying on the ground.
“Yet you’ve trashed my entire room!” Dee stomped his foot, though childish, he found it completely reasonable at the moment.
Glam raised his hands, palms down, “Dee, please. I wasn’t trying to invade your space, I was just making sure there aren’t any rodents wandering around.”
Dee rushed both of his hands through his hair, and a weird stinging sensation began building in his nose, “Oh my g– You’re still obsessing over my teacher telling you that?! He’s old!”
“It’s better to be safe than sorry, Dee–”
“No! You’re just trying to see if I’m keeping anything from you! Get out!”
His father shook his head, “Dee, please, listen to me–” He was interrupted when Dee stepped to him, pressed his hands against him, and began pushing him out of the room physically.
"Dee, why’re you being physical with me? That’s not how we deal with things ar–”
“Shut up! Get out, out!” Dee gave Glam one big shove, and Glam stumbled back a bit, right into the doorway leading into Heavy’s room. He looked back at Dee with a look similar to that of a kicked puppy.
“You clearly don’t trust me or care about me having my own privacy or secrets! Leave me alone.” Dee slammed the door directly in front of his dad’s face and pressed his back against the door, assuring that Glam wouldn’t try to come back in. He knew Glam wouldn’t try to, but he just needed to be sure of it.
Dee wrapped his arms around himself and gulped down the knot in his throat. He let out long breaths as he dug his heels into the carpet, using himself as a barricade.
From the other side of the door, Glam stared at the door blankly for a few moments, processing his thoughts. He bit the inside of his mouth with a frown on his face, and looked down at the ground.
Little footsteps came into the room from behind him, but he didn’t turn around until said person spoke.
“Uh, dad?” Heavy said, dropping his backpack onto the ground.
Glam turned around, and watched as Heavy peeled off his shoes, covered in bandages and band aids.
“Heavy.” Glam took in a deep breath, “How was school today?” He looked back at Dee’s door, but eventually gave his full attention to his youngest.
His kid shrugged, “Eh, I got in another fight today. But me and Dee won this time!” He pumped a single hand up, and slapped his bicep.
Glam nodded, and held his hands behind his back, “That’s good! Hopefully they won’t mess with you again!” He rolled his feet from the tips of his toes to his heels.
Heavy nodded, but his attention quickly swapped to Dee’s door, “Yeah... But what were you doing in Dee’s room?”
“Just checking for rodents!” Glam spoke a bit more quietly than he usually would, though. “I checked your room too and we’re all good in here!” Glam made his way to the doorway and stepped backwards. “Dinner will be ready in a few hours!” Glam closed Heavy’s door, leaving his two sons alone with themselves.
Heavy looked at his own door, then Dee’s. Though, not sensing anything wrong, he skipped to his pc and hopped into his chair, ready to play.