"DO NOT WANT!" The little boy screamed, squirming in his father's arms as he fought to get down to the ground. He didn't want to go meet this new person, he didn't he didn't! Milo growled, sinking his tiny baby fangs into his father's arms, trying to force the adult to drop him. When that didn't work, he tried scream at the top of his lungs and kicking.
Matthias was about ready to throttle the boy. He had several bleeding bite marks on his arms, and his ears were ringing. Still, he managed not to give the boy a reaction, choosing instead to attempt to ignore the little one. Hopefully, the boy would tire himself out. Soon.
Loki was quieter, and less reluctant. Actually, he was watching his brother fight Matth, with a mildly amused expression. Though, when he realized his father was hurt, his eyes went black. Well, they had always been black. But not like this. Now they were completely black. No whites to them at all. "Don't hurt Daddy!" He shouted, glaring up at his twin. He'd scented the blood. Daddy was bleeding! Where was Mommy to give him a bandaid?
Only Loki could hurt Daddy. That was his only rule. No one else could. Milo could have hurt anyone else. Even Mommy. But not Daddy. Daddy was special.
"Shaddup, 'tupid ed!" Milo pretty much screamed at his brother before going back to ignoring his existence. "Put. Me. DOWN!" This was followed by more kicks and wordless screams, and a couple failed attempts at biting.
Matthias sighed. "You needn't wory, Loki, I am fine." he said, his tone calm.
Loki glared, before using a tactic known by all toddlers. "DADDY! He call me stuffidhead!" He paused in his tantrum at his father's reassurance and nodded. "We go now?" He asked, a plea that wasn't very subtly hidden. He wanted to go! He wanted to meet this new person and see if they were any fun, or worth his time.
"We hurry, Daddy? Fasser we get there--fasser Milo be quiet and stop biting Daddy." He tried to compromise. He just wanted to get there. He didn't care if Milo was quiet.
Matthias nodded, resuming his pace. "We should be there shortly." he said, nodding. Sure enough, he turned down the street and a familiar house came into view. "There it is." he said, pointing it out to Loki.
Milo growled, biting Matthias again. No! No! He did NOT want to go there! "NOOOOOOO!" he screamed, thrashing about in his father's iron grip.
Loki nodded, toddling up ahead of his father. "Auntie! Auntie!" he chanted as he went. They were nearing the house now, Loki was already on the front steps. He knocked the only way a toddler knew how to. Long and loudly. "Open up!" He cried, before glancing back at his father. A smug grin replaced his look of curiousity.
Yes, he was rather proud of himself. He was faster than Daddy! Maybe he could tell Auntie about that later. Maybe she'd be proud of him too.
The door opened. Stasia blinked, a questioning look on her face as she looked up to Matthias. She stared a moment, snickered, then started laughing. "I NEVER want to hear you lecture me again." she said between laughs, punching the fae in the arm before ushering them in, still laughing.
"It is not that funny." Matthias said, sighing. Ugh, children.
Milo blinked, shutting up for a moment. Did this lady just hit Daddy? A small smile crept across his face; maybe Auntie wasn't so bad after all.
Loki frowned slightly, Auntie hit Daddy? This wasn't the auntie he'd been expecting at all! Auntie was supposed to be nice and friendly and... Well. Aunties weren't supposed to hit Daddy. "Don't hurt Daddy!" He cried, glaring up at her. "That mean. Bad. No hurt Daddy. I hurt you if you hurt Daddy." He threatened, narrowing his eyes.
Devin crept out from behind Stasia, looking up at Matth. "Mommy?" He asked, with a tilt of his head. Yes, Devin was at the age where everyone who looked especially female was dubbed 'Mommy'. And Matthias fit this build. (It was the hair).
Stasia blinked as she yelled at. "Alright, alright, I won't hurt your....daddy." The last part was said with a snicker. She knelt down, ruffling Loki's hair. "Sorry, kidlet." she apologized, offering a smile. "It's nice to meetcha.
Milo looked at his auntie a moment before declaring his thoughts on her. "MINE!" he yelled, reaching for her. He was NOT letting Loki steal away his auntie! No!
Matthias shook his head. "I am sorry, little one, but I am not your mother...." he said, his tone polite and gentle. Why was he the one always getting mistaken for a woman?
Loki smiled slightly, and nodded. He accepted that, if she wouldn't hurt his daddy, she was a good person, and so easy to hurt. That was great! She really was nice, and the nicer people were, the easier they were to.. well you get the picture. "I faster than Daddy." He boasted, before frowning at Milo. "No no no." He shook his head. "Daddy say share." It was obvious who Loki listened to.
Devin frowned slightly, Mommy was denying being Mommy? That wasn't right! "Mommy," he said, looking to Stasia and nodding wisely. "Who thith?" He pointed to Matth. If Mommy wasn't Mommy, who was she? Or in Matthias' case, he. "You pretty though."
Stasia chuckled, amused. "Congrats, kiddo! You must be pretty fast then, huh?" She stood back up, wincing slightly before looking to Milo. "No yelling now, kay? We aren't deaf, you know." she said cooly before introducing Matth. "This is your Uncle Matth." She said, looking down to Devin.
Milo frowned, glaring at his brother. Stupid Loki. "Dun care. Daddy tupid. Like you." he said, crossing his arms and muttering under his breath. He glared at Auntie; how dare she admonish him like that? He simply would NOT stand for such treatment!
Matthias chuckled. "Thank you." he said, amused. He nodded at Stasia's words. "I am you "Uncle" Matthias." he said, bowing a bit.
Loki frowned slightly, before making the natural response. "DADDY! He called me stuffid!" He cried, pointing accusingly over at his brother. Stupid was one of the worst names you could call a toddler, apparently. And then he realized something. Milo had called Daddy stupid too! "DADDY NOT STUFFID!" He shouted, reaching over and pinching his brother's arm. No one got away with calling Daddy stupid. Not even Milo. Not even Mommy.
Devin gave Matth a shy smile. "Unca Matthiath?" He tried, blinking at the difficulty that was Matth's name. "Unca Matth!" He liked that much better. It was easier to say. "Pretty Unca Matth."
Milo screeched, slapping at his brother. "No pinch me!" he bellowed, glaring. He lunged for his brother, the only thing holding him back being Matthias' firm grip on him.
Stasia quickly got between the two. "That is quite enough, you two." she said, her tone calm. "Save that for the trip home, okay?" She offered a smile to the two of them, ruffling their hair.
Matthias nodded. Aww, what a sweet little boy. He couldn't possibly be Stasia's....but the child did resemble the half-breed's fiance....
Instead of obeying Stasia like he would have Matth, Loki wanted to have the final word. He blew a raspberry at Milo before hugging Stasia around the knees. He had to prove that he was the nice one, the good one. Then he could get closer and hurt her. It was all part of the plan. "I luv you Auntie Stasia." He said, convincingly.
Devin smiled up at Matth, blinking at Milo with obvious confusion. Why was Milo being so mean? Wasn't being mean bad? "My Mommy." He told Loki, having glanced at the boy who was hugging his mother. "Mine.
I luv her.
My Mommy."
Stasia smiled, patting Loki. "Love you too, buddy." she said, smiling. The smile melted from her face as she wince, holding her stomach. She then forced a smile; see? Everything was fine. Yeah right. She look to Devin, smiling. "That's right, Devin. But I'm also their Auntie." she said, her voice a bit strained.
Matthias gave Stasia a concerned look. Something was wrong; he wasn't blind.
Milo looked at Devin a moment before sticking his tongue out at him. "Tupid murf." he taunted before kicking Stasia in the leg, not noticing that she was already hurting.
Devin pulled out his plastic sword from the belt loop Zee had recently taught him how to use as a sheath, frowning at the apparent challenge Milo had just made him. "I not a thmurf!" He cried, whacking the toddler with it. He obviously didn't know how to use the sword yet, but he had good intentions.
Loki paused in his plotting to look up at Stasia. "Auntie hurting?" He asked, reaching up to touch her stomach. His eyes widened, and a smile crossed his face. He looked to his father. "Auntie has baby inside." He informed him, almost smugly.
Milo growled. How DARE the smurf hit him? He bared his tiny baby fangs, lowering into a semi-crouching position before launching himself at Devin, much like a kitten might. "Tupid murf!"
Stasia winced as her leg was kicked; damn brat. She nodded. "Yeah....been having some tummy problems." she said. She blinked, watching the toddler. She then chuckled. "I don't have a baby inside me, silly." she said. "My tummy's not big enough for that." She pulled her shirt flat against her relatively flat belly; there was a bit of pudge there, but she attributed it to one too many donuts at work.
Matthias simply made a "hm" sound in his throat. Odd things were afoot.
Devin was shocked at having been pounced on, and so instead of making a return attack, started to cry. "Mommy!" He sniffled. "He call me thurf!" He said, rubbing at his eyes. "I not thupid!"
Loki shook his head at Stasia. "Daddy's baby inside you." He informed her. He hugged her around the knees before frowning at Milo. "No no no." He said. "Don't hurt cousin Devin."
Stasia snickered. That was impossible. Her and Matth hadn't done anything in years. She then looked to Milo, frowning. She reached down, lifting the boy up and away from her baby boy. "That is enough." she said, setting him down before going to hug Devin.
Milo frowned at Loki, sticking his tongue out. "Shuddup, tupid." he said, crossing his arms. "He no cousin. He murf."
Devin hugged his mother tightly. "He meanie." He sniffled, pointing at the pale, dark haired boy. "Meanie meanie meanie!" He clung onto Stasia's neck, before turning to look at Milo. The silver haired toddler still had his sword held tightly in his left fist.
"Hate you," he said clearly. He'd never used the term before--and honestly, had never even thought of hating someone. But Milo was too mean to like. "I not a thmurf. I Devi."
Loki looked to his father, before smirking. "Daddy?" He asked, acting for all the world like an innocent toddler--hopefully Matth knew better than to fall for it. "I play with cousin now."
Stasia patted the little boy. "I know, I know...." she said, turning her head to shoot a glare at the boy. She then shook her head. "Devin, that's not nice to say to your cousin." she said, her tone gentle.
Milo smirked. "Hate you too, tupid murf momma's boy." he said, sticking his tongue out at his cousin. Stupid blue kid needed to be put in his place.
Matthias nodded. "No rough-housing or hurting one another." he said, his tone calm. He did not want any altercations, well...anymore, that is.
Devin shot a glare in Milo's direction. "I not tupid!" He cried, lifting his sword and poking at the other boy. "I not thmurf. I elf. Daddy thay I elf!" He said this as if he had no doubt in his father's word. Daddy's word was law.
"Kay," Loki said with an innocent smile. "Luv you Daddy. Best Daddy in all the entire world!" Okay, that was a bit much. His innocent act had gone too far. "Devi, want to play?" He asked, looking up at his cousin.
Milo narrowed his eyes. "Tupid. Murf." he said, biting each word off into it's own sentense. "Your daddy tupid then. You murf, not elf" Now he was just purposely pushing the other boy's buttons. He was interesting. He looked at his brother, frowning. "We play." he said, frowning. "Mine." Devin was HIS to toy with, not Loki's!
Matthias narrowed his eyes, watching Loki closely. He wasn't gullible; he knew something was up.
Devin frowned, and instead of clinging to Stasia again, turned to face the other boy. "I not thupid," he said, raising his sword. "I not a Thmurf. My Daddy thmart." With every word, though calmly spoken, he hit Milo in the head with his sword. He was pretty good at it, for someone who didn't know how to use one. "You thtupid."
Loki frowned at his brother, before shaking his head. But then he got an idea. They could both tease him. "You old." He said, pointing to Devin's hair. "Gray mean old." He didn't have the color sense to know that it was silver.
Stasia, instead of reprimanding Devin, started laughing. Served the little blighter right for making fun of her baby!
Milo was silent a moment, shocked that the boy DARED to hit him. He then sniffled...that really hurt! Little pale hands came up to hold his head, brown eyes narrowing at Devin.
Matthias sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He should have figured they wouldn't get along. Typical children.
Devin paused in his attack as he heard Milo sniffle. Quite unlike the unseelie he was dealing with, the dark elf did not enjoy hurting people. Still... Milo deserved it, didn't he? He'd made fun of him, and that was mean. Mean people deserved to be punished, right? They needed to get time outs. So he did the only logical thing. He looked up at Matthias. "Unca Matth? Bad boyth need time out," he said pointing to both Loki and Milo. Yes, they were bad.
Matthias sighed. "Perhaps we should go...." he said, not wanting his kids to get into too much trouble on their first encounter with their cousin.
"NO!" Milo yelled, if simply to be contrary. No, he didn't want to leave and no, no timeouts! "I not bad!" he said, throwing a rock at Devin. "You bad! Bad murf, bad!" He stuck his tongue out at the boy, waggling his fingers at the side of his head.
Stasia was amused, and was about to say something when a wince interrupted her. She leaned against the support beam on the porch, slowly counting in her head. Man, something she ate must not have been agreeing with her.
Luckily Devin dodged the rock, and promptly went to hide behind Matth. "Unca Matth!" He whined, "Milo being mean!" He tugged on Matth's pant leg. "He throw rock at me! Make him be good!"
Loki shook his head at his father, before going to hug Stasia around the knees. "I luv you Auntie. You hurting? I help. Smile?" He tilted his head slightly, doing his convincing innocent toddler trick. "No be sad, Auntie.
Matthias frowned. "Milo..." he said, his tone low as his voice held a hint of warning. He patted Devin on the head before scooping the dark-haired toddler up.
Stasia forced a small smile. "I'm fine, Loki, see?" she said, standing tall. "I'll be alright, don't worry. Must have been something I ate." She ruffled the boy's hair. "And convincing act. You're a real natural at it, aren't ya?"
Devin smiled slightly, glad that his Unca Matth was being a good uncle now. Uncle Matth would take care of him! He'd make sure no mean people threw rocks at him! He smiled up at the fae. "Tank you Unca Matth."
Loki frowned upon realizing that his act didn't work on Auntie Stasia. "I is," he whispered proudly after recovering. "I best ever. Fool Daddy, and Mommy, and ev'rybody! But dun tell. Kay? I Daddy 'good kid'. Milo not keep bad a secret. But I do."
Matthias smiled, patting Devin on the head. "You are quite welcome. I apologize for Milo's behavior....regrettably, he seems to act his age." A glower was sent in the direction of the flailing boy.
Martin: Stasia smiled. "I won't tell. Promise." she said, then giggled. "And not the best. But you're pretty high up in the list....almost as good of an actor as I was at your age." She looked around to make sure no one was listening. "If your mom or dad starts catching on, let me know. I'll teach you some of my tricks, kay?"
Devin gave a sweet smile in Matth's direction. "It kay, Unca Matth. Daddy thay I need act my age. He thay I too much like him. Dunno why." Then he leaned forward, all the while putting his sword into his belt loop ever so carefully. "Unca Matth? Daddy gonna marry Mommy thoon!" He whispered with a smile. "Mommy bery pretty," he stated, rather proudly. "Though, not ath pretty ath..." he paused, and flashed Matthias a charming smile. "Daddy thay I can't thay. He thay that bad."
Loki's eyes widened, and then a genuine smile appeared on his face. "Really?" He asked, sounding eager. "Kay! Teach me now!" He looked at her expectantly, apparently waiting for her to pull out her talent from a drawer or something.
Matthias smiled lightly. "I know they are going to marry." he said, chuckling at some unvoiced thought. He patted the boy on the head, nodding to show that he was listening.
Stasia chuckled; this little guy reminded her of herself when she was that age. "I'll teach later, 'kay, kiddo? You seem to have things under control as it is. You don't need my knowledge yet." she said, ruffling his hair.
Devin smiled brightly at the fae, before looking to Stasia. "Mommy hurt?" He asked, frowning slightly. Ah yes, this was one of those times where you could see Zee's personality come out in the toddler. His eyes clouded with concern. He left Matthias' side and toddled up to her as fast as his short legs would carry him.
"Mommy!" He said, hugging her around the knees. He all but ignored Loki's presence.
Loki didn't like this at all, being ignored. But instead of acting violently, he tugged on Stasia's pant leg. "Up, auntie?" He asked.
Stasia looked to Devin, smiling. "I'm just fine, Devi." she said, ruffling his hair. She then scooped both of the little boys up, as if to prove this. See? She was okay. "Better?" she asked, looking at Loki.
Devin hugged her, unconvinced. "Mommy have owie." He informed her, pointing to her stomach. Then he looked to Matthias, and gave the fae a sunny smile. He held up his sword for Matth to see, before tilting his head. "Unca Matth teach me?" He asked. He was oblivious to the fact that his father wanted to teach him, oblivious to the fact that fae were dangerous teachers.
Loki smiled, and petted Stasia's hair. "Auntie Stasia make good pet," he decided.
Stasia smiled. "I'm okay, Devi, really." she said. She then blinked, looking at Loki. "Kiddo, I'm not a pet." she said, chuckling. Aww, wasn't that cute? Atleast, that's what she told herself to keep her temper in check. He was just a little one, after all.
Matthias thought about it. "I suppose I could." he said after a moment of envisioning Stasia trying to teach the lad. He could not allow that, now could he?
Milo pouted, crossing his arms. He wanted to go home now.
Devin ignored his mother, and smiled brightly at Matth. "Tank you!" he said happily. See, he'd always known Matthias would make the greatest uncle ever!
Loki frowned slightly at Stasia's denial. "You good pet, Auntie Stasia," he said in a tone that wasn't to be argued with. Well, it would have been if he hadn't been a toddler. "Luv you pet," and so saying he petted Stasia's curly hair.
A blonde head poked out from behind Stasia. Howl was curious about this new person, meaning Matth of course. "Hi pretty!" he said, glancing up at the tall fae. "We go on date now?" Of course, if Howl new the person he was speaking to was male, he wouldn't have asked. But the fact remained that Matthias was pretty, and he did look like a female. (It was the hair!)
Stasia chuckled. "Love you too. Good boy." she said, patting his head. Two could play at this game! Yes, it was childish, but then again, you had to remember: This was Stasia we were talking about.
Matthias blinked, looking at the boy. "I don't think so." he said, his voice definitely male. He gave the child an odd look; with how weird his dress and behavior was, he had to be one of Stasia's.
Loki frowned slightly. "I not good!" he protested, shaking his head. Then he realized that people called their pets 'good'. Oh, she was going to be mean now, huh? "You bad pet!" Loki scolded, shaking a finger at her. "You no call me good!" Being good was bad!
Howl frowned slightly, and realized his mistake. "I thorry. No know you wath a boy. You look like girl," he informed the fae. Then he looked to Stasia, and offered her one of his sunny smiles. "Mommy? Who thith?" He pointed to Matth, with a tilt of his head.
Stasia shrugged. "I'm not a pet." she said, looking to Loki. "And there's nothing wrong with being good. Well, sometimes there is, but...." She trailed off; maybe she should stop, lest she confuse the boy.
"I am Matthias." Matthias said calmly, introducing himself to the odd little toddler.
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