He is Now (Full Moon Ficlet #472 - Amuse)
Written for @fullmoonficlet
Talia remembered when her son Derek was born. He’d come into the world quiet and severe and continued on that way. Even at three years old, he would play with the other children with an intense expression on his tiny face and no laughter echoing his siblings'. Talia worried. Derek’s sensitivity made him appear weak. Although Laura was next in line to be Alpha, Derek would most likely step into place as her second and could not show weakness to other packs.
Her husband, Sebastian, assured her that Derek was fine. His thoughtfulness and sincerity would make him a good leader when the time came. Her brother Peter tried to take Derek under his wing, teaching him the dry humor Peter favored. Nothing seemed to bring a smile to his son’s face.
“One day, he will meet the one to bring that smile, to amuse him in a way life does not,” their emissary, Alan Deaton, assured her. “You will know the one he’s meant to be with when that happens.”
Talia waved him off. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in mates, but the stories always struck her as a bit far-fetched. Talia loved Sebastian, and he’d changed her life, but she didn’t know if that meant they were mates any more than any other couple that fell in love and married. He hoped Alan was correct and latched onto that tiny shred of hope, even if she had to wait years before Derek met his supposed mate.
Talia watched Derek studying the sides of two cereal boxes, his face set in a deep frown. His lips moved as he read the words to himself. Talia wanted to smile and tell him just to get both boxes but didn’t want him to turn that frown on her. If she hadn’t been watching him so closely, she would’ve missed the color shine in his eyes and the flare of his nostrils.
Sniffing discreetly, Talia didn’t smell anything amiss. She identified her friend Claudia nearby. She needed to talk to her, so she was about to head in her direction when a loud crash sounded from the next aisle over, followed by a quiet, “Ow.”
Derek dropped the cereal boxes and took off running, always ready to help someone in need. Talia chased after him, relieved that he kept to a human pace. As she rounded the corner, she spotted Claudia standing next to a large stack of cereal boxes that had once been a pyramid. She had a hand over her face and smelled of fondness and embarrassment.
Talia opened her mouth to check on her wellbeing when she heard something she’d never heard before in her life. Loud, childish laughter echoed in the aisle. Turning slowly, she gaped at Derek, who stood bent over with two boxes of cereal in his hands. Sitting on the floor, surrounded by cereal boxes, was a young boy with large brown eyes and a face dotted with moles. She recognized Claudia’s son Mieczyslaw or, as most called him, Stiles.
She did not recognize the pure joy on Derek’s face as he brought his laughter under control and helped Stiles stand up. Working together, they started to clean up the cereal boxes. Derek kept letting out small laughs while Stiles talked a mile per minute. Talia marveled at his ability to speak without taking a breath. She jumped when Claudia laid a hand on her arm.
“Your son is adorable,” Claudia said. “So happy.”
Talia smiled at her friend at the two boys who had moved to stand closer together, still chatting and laughing. “He is now,” she said with a smile while wiping at the tears that sprang to her eyes.
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