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 Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 9:12 am
“Is he? No. But I’m friends with a wolf. She comes and goes, she’s very busy. But if you ever see her, you’re safe. She’s very brave, and very sweet. Only scary when someone’s doing something bad. And, she’s very good at dancing.”
He sat down on the couch next to him; there was a little distance between them, and plenty of open space if Chad needed an escape route. He didn’t know why he was thinking about that. Maybe because Chad seemed like he might have felt more comfortable knowing he wasn’t trapped here.
He leaned forward to bring their plates closer and nodded to the one in front of Chad to make sure he knew it was for him. He pulled his plate into his lap and almost immediately carved out a bite for himself. Chew, swallow. He practically inhaled it. Tried to slow down; his second bite was better paced. “Have you ever run into anything weird like that before tonight?”
Asher texted back almost immediately, like he’d been waiting intently for any updates: Is he okay? And then again, right afterwards, Do you need me to stop by?
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 9:37 am
Chad wasn’t really sure what to make of what Devyn said. His friend wasn’t a wolf but he was friends with one? And she was good at dancing? He tilted his head curiously at him, but was momentarily distracted by the plate of food in front of him.
Once he was sure it was okay to eat, he took a bite, and then another. He almost forgot that he needed to chew between bites, but it was very tasty and he was happy for the chance to eat something more substantial.
There were so many people being nice to him, so of course he was going to have to keep Devyn’s secret. It was only fair.
“Um… maybe,” he said, which he knew wasn’t really a good answer. “I think I’ve seen things. Shadows. Or heard noises that weren’t really, well… they didn’t sound like they were animals that I knew. I always hid, though. I didn’t actually see one up close until tonight.” There was a moment of hesitation as he thought about what would be best. For him and Devyn, the less people who could potentially learn about their secret lives as a Senshi and Knight, the better.
But for Chad…?
He’s shaken but okay. Injured from some animal, but Dev patched him up. It might be good for him to see a familiar face.
Michael hit send before making his way out to the living room and set the glasses on the table. He took a seat farther away from the two of them in a separate chair. He didn’t say anything yet, because he would rather make sure Chad was still comfortable talking to Devyn, but he already knew he’d be introducing himself properly soon enough.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 9:58 am
Asher responded immediately, omw.
Devyn glanced up when Michael sat down, and he again offered an appreciative smile. “Dinner’s very good, thank you.” He was grateful for more than a meal, but he was being careful and trying to read Michael as much as he was reading Chad.
“I’ve had my fair share of weird things, too. But I’m not really good at figuring out animals, especially when it’s dark outside. You must be good at hiding, though. I’ve run into a few while I was out. But, to be fair, I do look for trouble. You seem like a good kid, I can’t imagine you’re running around and trying to get into fights.”
He was being careful not to say too much; he didn’t want to feed him too much information, especially if this was something the kid could hopefully just forget about and move on from.
Except, he wasn’t happy with those bruises.
At all.
He knew how you got bruises like that. He used to get plenty of bruises. From fighting.
But Chad was scrawny and gentle and skittish and apologetic, and hid, and cried.
And was afraid to go home.
Devyn had an inclination to protect people, and he couldn’t help it. If it was Alastor it would have been no question.
Earth had its own rules, and he didn’t know these rules. So, he was playing it safe. Being careful. Trying not to get too invested.
Trying.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 10:24 am
Michael let out a quiet breath in response to the message from Asher. It knew Devyn was doing his best to keep Chad settled, and was doing a damn good job of it, but Michael could only imagine how frightening it was to be in the home of two strange men, one of which was magical and the other potentially a wolf (although Devyn seemed to have cleared that confusion up).
He nodded in response to Devyn’s thanks, always appreciative that Devyn seemed grateful for everything. He even offered a small smile to Chad as he cut up a piece of his chicken with his fork, balancing his plate on his lap.
“Devyn has a lot of experience under his belt. He can handle looking for trouble, and doing what he can to stop it,” Michael said as he reached over to nudge the glass of milk closer to Chad so he knew it was his to drink. “So don’t worry about him. He’s never lost a fight.”
Part of him wanted to tell him that Asher was on his way over right then, but decided to wait. Not because he wanted it to be a surprise, but because he didn’t want Chad so distracted that he didn’t finish eating. Chad looked from Devyn, to Michael, and then the milk, before carefully reaching for it with both hands so he could drink. He finished about half of it before setting it back down and then poking at another piece of chicken.
“I don’t like getting into fights,” Chad agreed with a small shake of his head. “It’s easier for me to hide, because I’m weak,” he mumbled quietly, but took a breath and ate another bite.
“It is really good,” he said after a moment and looked up at the other man, showing him a shy but appreciative smile. “Thank you. You’ve both been very kind to me.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 10:41 am
Devyn seemed to brighten more when Michael was shown kindness, but maybe that was just because he was very passionate about his well-being and happiness. It helped that he was still riding the high of Michael bringing up his unbroke winning streak so he didn't have to.
Because, he would have been delighted to announce that he’d never lost a fight, but somehow he felt even more proud to have Michael announce it.
“We’re just happy you weren’t hurt too badly. It’s probably smart that you aren’t trying to get into fights. There’s no shame in hiding, that doesn’t make you weak. Strength comes in a lot of different forms, don’t ever let anybody tell you otherwise. There are a lot of times when I would have been smarter to back off and let the trouble pass. I could have avoided a lot of hardship if I spent more time in the bushes. But, I can’t really help myself. I sort of go to where there’s trouble and try to make it better. I like to fight so other people don’t have to. So don’t worry about any of that, okay? I’m glad you’re okay, Chad. You did the right thing.”
If he had tried to fight it? Devyn doubted that a scrawny kid who was already pretty banged up would have stood much of a chance. And if he’d run? He might have just made himself a target and left his back open and vulnerable.
He looked at Michael once more but there wasn’t any way to read his mind. He didn’t offer to let Chad stay the night, or make a house call, or intervene in any other way. It took him next to no time to clear his plate, and when that was done he pulled out the sewing kit he’d shoved under the couch. He had amassed a small collection in the box, and it wasn’t the first time he’d worked on some piece of clothing while on the couch. He had a few different colored threads, a few clear bottles of different colored beads, an array of needles and pins, a few pencils, a very antique tape measurer with strange numbers on it, a small pair of scissors, and a pearlescent white bottle wrapped in a cream colored cloth.
He didn’t seem intimidated by the tear on Chad’s shirt, or the blood, and examined it with the scrutiny of someone who already had a plan to fix it.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 11:10 am
Chad was young. Not as young as his nieces and nephew, but younger than high school, if he was the same grade as Elliot. As a teacher, he’d reported his fair share of concerns to Child Protective Services, but he already knew there was little he could personally do, and being someone his students could talk to was important.
As for Chad, the signs were there. He hadn’t seen any physical damage other than the cut on his arm, but knowing how Oliver reacted when they were talking about Elliot’s friend, and seeing how Chad held himself now, the signs were all there.
He also knew that he could tell Chad that he was safe there until he was blue in the face, but unless Chad believed that himself, nothing Michael or Devyn could say would change anything. Which was why seeing at least Asher should alleviate some stress.
When it seemed as though Chad was busy gawking at the sewing kit Devyn pulled out, Michael pulled out his phone again. But this time he typed out a message to someone else.
I know this isn’t your department, but I don’t suppose you have any recommendations for what to do with a kid who doesn’t want to go home? I doubt cps will be useful.
The message was sent to Jeremy this time. Maybe he would have a better idea for how to handle things. If he was awake still. If there was any doubt in his mind that maybe he’d made up seeing Devyn as a magical person, all of that went away when he saw his really cool collection of sewing things.
“Is that silk?” he chirped excitedly as he leaned a little closer to Devyn to see everything he could. He couldn’t tell what some of the things were, but some of the thread was so glossy and luxurious that he could only assume.
“You… oh, thank you, but you don’t have to waste your time on that!” Chad gasped, feeling his cheeks flush with color when Devyn started inspecting the torn shirt. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate it! He did! He just didn’t think Devyn should waste his nice threads on something like his blood stained shirt.
It was nice hearing that maybe he was doing the right thing by hiding, but he still felt as though he could do more. He hated feeling like he was a burden. But Devyn said he didn’t have to worry about it so… he would try not to.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 11:20 am
“You have a good eye,” Devyn said, visibly surprised and pleased with Chad’s assessment. “I like silk.” He let Chad look into the sewing kit, and even turned it so he could see into it a bit better. “It’s not a waste. I’m rough on my clothes, have to know how to fix them. I can make this look good as new. It’s a hobby, anyway. Calms me down. When I was your age, I had a bad habit of getting into all sorts of tussles.”
He threaded his needle and began to carefully stitch the shirt as if he wasn’t even the least bit concerned with the bloodstains. “I don’t think I have any of my old shirts anymore. I might, I was proud of some of them. I used to embroider on any tear I couldn’t hide. Turned it into a work of art. I like symmetry so what I did to one side I’d have to do to the other. It was supposed to be punishment to remind myself to be careful but I wound up enjoying it, so it didn’t work.”
Asher didn’t live too far from Michael; it probably wasn’t a surprise that it wouldn’t take him long to get there. He didn’t text while he was driving, so he was either nearby or had pulled into the driveway already. He texted: ‘Should I knock?’
A second after his message, Jeremy’s: ‘Why don’t they want to go home? CPS is best if problems at home, might be able to get an immediate out tonight if you file a report ASAP. If emergency, I’m on duty tonight. Slow night so far.’
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 11:32 am
Asher didn’t have to worry about knocking, or the text that he sent. Michael had the alert on his phone that someone had pulled into the driveway, so he was already getting up from his seat.
He opened the door instead of texting back, and just waited by it to hold it open once he was out of his car and ready to go inside.
But he did text Jeremy back: ‘Not sure. Being delicate with questions. Got a hunch.’
The last thing he wanted to do was to scare Chad into thinking he was being cornered.
‘If I did file a report and CPS intervened, they wouldn’t let him stay with me, would they?’
He knew he was putting Jeremy on the spot, and if he didn’t know the answer, then that wasn’t going to be the end of the world. Michael just didn’t expect things to go as they would have liked. Chad was fascinated with what Devyn was doing, and inched just a little closer to see better. Oh, maybe he was getting too close? He hoped he wasn’t. He wanted to see Devyn work, because he obviously knew what he was doing.
“You embroider for fun?” he stared at Devyn in amazement, like he was looking at someone that couldn’t possibly exist. Well, sure people probably enjoyed embroidery, but Chad never expected to meet someone!
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 11:42 am
Devyn seemed completely comfortable with Chad leaning in, and the closeness did nothing to affect his confidence or work product. He glanced up only briefly when Michael moved but he wasn’t worried. “Yeah, I did those sleeves when I couldn’t sleep,” he said, nodding to the gold embroidery on the hems.
About an inch and a half wide on each sleeve, he’d embroidered a golden braided pattern, with carefully spaced flowers. “I’m working on another one, but I’m trying not to be too gaudy. My tastes are a bit too loud. I’m trying not to stick out too much. I can’t help that I have good taste, though.”
He thought he heard the door open but took great effort not to look over or give Chad any reason to worry about what was going on outside of the room.
Asher closed the car door quietly and trotted to the front door. He wore a worried expression and had clearly come quickly; he’d pulled on the pants he’d worn to school but was only wearing a sweater over his undershirt.
“Hey,” he greeted, and entered the house. He hovered nearby, only because he didn’t want to jump out and surprise Chad, and seemed to be waiting for Michael to either fill him in or give him direction.
Michael’s phone pinged again in a stream of single sentence messages: ‘Legal guardians determine where he goes. Next of kin usually if there’s no one in the house. LG can have neighbor or family friend watch child but LG has final say. If no one is volunteered, child has to go to temp housing in foster care, child doesn’t get a say. CPS has more info but probably can’t stay with you unless LG allows it. Unlikely if LG is retaliatory but possible. Depends on nature of investigation too’
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 11:54 am
Michael closed the door behind Asher as he glanced at his phone, but muttered some curses under his breath. He had a sinking feeling that somehow this was going to end up worse for Chad if they weren’t careful. Especially if his father had evaded getting caught this whole time. Or maybe Chad was afraid of the potential consequences. Or maybe he just didn’t have anyone he trusted to confide in before.
“Trying to see if CPS is an option. He doesn’t want to go home. Did you have any concerns when he was with you before? I feel like Oliver had a pretty strong opinion…” It was difficult to talk about things they didn’t know for sure. He kept his voice quiet for the moment, not wanting to call attention to Asher just yet. Not when Chad seemed to be content for the moment.
‘Could CPS decide there isn’t grounds to remove a child from the home? Or what if he doesn’t tell me where he lives to take him home?’
Michael texted back as quickly as possible. He wanted to trust the system to work, but he knew of the horror stories of kids that ended up worse from where they started.
But it seemed as though he couldn’t keep Asher’s presence a secret for long. He could already see Chad getting curious as to what he was doing and who he was talking to.
“Chad, you’ve got a visitor,” he said quietly enough that he could be heard, but not loud enough to make the kid jump. He hoped. It was good that Devyn didn’t seem to mind Chad leaning closer because he was practically against his side, admiring the embroidery. He couldn’t stop himself from reaching down to gently brush his fingers over the braided gold and flowers Devyn had added to his sleeves.
“I think you have wonderful taste,” Chad agreed, obviously in awe. He would have been happy watching Devyn work for the rest of the night.
Oh, but he could hear someone else, and when Devyn’s friend said he had a visitor, his heart sank and he instinctively curled himself closer to Devyn. What if it was his father? How could they have known how to contact him?
But the moment he saw that it was Elliot’s dad, Chad gasped and slid off the couch. He already had tears down his cheeks by the time he had his arms around Asher’s waist.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t want to miss Elliot’s game! Is he mad at me? I’m sorry,” he sobbed, although it was a wonder that anyone could understand what he was saying in the first place.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 12:06 pm
Asher had nodded to Michael to say that he also had concerns but he didn’t go into any of that; they’d have time later and he wasn’t going to say anything in front of Chad.
Devyn was ready to protect Chad. He trusted Michael, it was just instinctive. He didn’t think he’d have brought in anyone that could have scared or hurt Chad, so he was ready to wrap his arm around his shoulders just before he jumped up.
Asher returned the hug immediately, careful as always. “We missed you, that’s all. He’s not mad, went to bed early so he could make waffles for breakfast for you two tomorrow. It’s okay, no apologies. We were worried. We know you wanted to be there. It’s okay. I promise, it’s okay. Are you okay?”Michael’s phone again, this time in a single paragraph sent at once: ‘ Child has to make allegations for CPS to investigate unless there’s a criminal charge, can’t legally intervene otherwise. If child alleges abuse where they risk immediate harm, CPS can take the child while they do an investigation. Investigation depends on info available. Family court will get involved. Prioritize keeping family together w therapy, removes child only in extreme cases’
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 6:23 pm
Damn… then that meant Chad would have to admit to someone hurting him. He typed back a message in his phone: ‘Okay, thank you.’
Chad was already hugging Asher, so that was good. At least they were right in assuming this was the same child that Elliot made friends with. Leave it to Elliot to be kind to everyone. Michael hoped it wouldn’t be the case, but Elliot befriending Chad could significantly improve his situation, if everything played out right.
He wanted to discuss what Jeremy told him with Asher and Devyn, but with Chad upset again, it was difficult. Michael took a step back, moving closer to where Devyn was to give Chad and Asher some space.
Unless they could coax Chad into telling them if someone was hurting him at home, they would likely have to take him back. A thought that had Michael grinding his teeth in frustration. Elliot wasn’t mad at him? The relief had him crying harder, and for a few long moments all he could do was cry into Asher’s shirt.
But what was Asher doing there?
“How did you find me?” he sobbed, looking up at him after using his hand to bat his tears away. “I’ve known the Reids for a long time,” Michael spoke up, because it was only fair for Chad to know. Maybe he would feel more comfortable if they were honest with him. “Devyn and I were at the ballgame you missed. You mentioned El and the game.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 6:41 pm
Devyn didn’t rise; he continued to stitch the shirt diligently, all the while watching the scene before him. He’d managed to make it through one day with Asher before, he didn’t want to jeopardize any impression of him being ‘normal’ now. Chad seemed like he was comfortable with Asher–albeit his tears–and he relaxed when Michael shared some information about himself so Chad didn’t have to just worry.
“El’s talked about Michael before, hasn’t he? He’s been our friend since–oh, since El was little. Elliot talked about you at the game, Michael texted me to ask if your name was Chad. And then I was worried about you so I asked if I could come over. Seems like it was destiny for you to meet them this weekend, even if you missed the game. It was close but Elliot’s team won. So, you’ve already got some celebratory cupcakes packed for tomorrow. It’s okay,” he reassured, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “We missed you, we were sad you couldn’t make it. There will be other weekends and other games, nothing’s been lost. I promise.”
Asher’s brows were knit with worry, and he cared too much to wear any convincing mask to hide it.
Chad was wearing an oversized, borrowed shirt. He saw the blood on the shirt that Devyn was stitching. The shirt that looked more like Chad’s size than the pajama top he was wearing. There were plates on the table so he assumed Chad had eaten, but he had to worry about how much he was hurt if he was out alone and bleeding, too.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 6:50 pm
Oh… oh. So this was the Michael that Elliot had talked about. Chad glanced over his shoulder at him, his cheeks already splotchy from tears, but now a little red, too. Elliot hadn’t told him he was friends with a werewolf. Oh, but Devyn said he wasn’t a wolf, so that wasn’t right.
But if Elliot really wasn’t mad at him, then that was good.
“I’m okay,” he finally confirmed. Better than being in a hospital at least. And much better than he had been when he thought Elliot might be upset with him. He finally pulled back a bit more to look up at Asher easier, and realized he probably noticed that he wasn’t wearing his own clothes.
“I got a little hurt, but Devyn put some butterfly stitches on and is fixing my shirt,” he said, obviously still impressed with Devyn. “Michael made chicken to eat. And I had a whole glass of milk. I’m glad Elliot won. I promise I’ll do my best to make the next one.” “Animal or something must have scratched him. Devyn found him hiding in the park,” Michael explained further, after letting out a small breath when Chad didn’t say anything about Devyn having magical powers.
“We’re going to have to take you home at some point,” he said after a moment, already dreading it. “Unless there’s a reason you don’t want to go back.” Chad immediately tensed when Michael brought up going home. He didn’t want to, but… if he didn’t… “I just don’t like it there,” he mumbled quietly, but kept his eyes down on the floor. He would rather sleep in the park with the monsters.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 7:03 pm
Briefly, Asher glanced at Devyn, and then he nodded and returned his attention to Chad. He smoothed his hair in the way he would have done if it was Elliot who was upset about something.
“I know,” he said gently. “If we could have things our way, I’d just take you home so you could spend the night with Elliot and then send you two to school together tomorrow. Oliver and I would love to have you. But.” He sounded like he dreaded everything that came after the but.
“If your father doesn’t want you spending the night at someone’s house and decides to make a fuss, he might try to tell you he can’t come see us anymore. Do you want to sit down again? It’s okay that you don’t want to go home, I know how that can be. Is there something going on at home that’s making you feel that way?”
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