“Look!” the smaller lump said in a voice that might have been intended as a whisper, but wasn’t. “There’s a tuft of fur on that tree!”

“Very good,” the larger lump said in a quieter voice, “now, looking at the fur closely, what direction was the creature headed in?”

The lumps shuffled up to the tree and looked at the strands of fiber. If anyone else had looked at it, they would have realized fairly quickly that the “fur” were nylon strands taken from a torn bit of yarn, placed purposefully (and a bit obviously). In the imaginations of the two lumps, however, this was evidence of the bigfoot they had been tracking for the entire afternoon.

Emily tilted her ghillie-suit-covered head as she studied the strands. “Um, that way?” She pointed to the left.

“Why do you say that?” Mulder asked as he nodded.

“The fibers are bent to the left, like they were pulled that way.”

“Very good.” Even behind his mask, the smile on Mulder’s face was clear in his voice. He patted Emily on the back. “Let's head that way then, huh?”

They walked for a bit, Emily pointing out birds and squirrels as they went. Mulder would tell her as they got closer to their “bigfoot encounter” to quiet down, but for now he saw no harm in letting her chatter. 

After a bit, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Emily, look.” He pointed to the ground, where a few huge tracks were pressed into the dirt, leading off the main path and into the deeper woods.

“WHOA.” Emily said, kneeling next to the tracks. “We’re really going the right way!”

“We are.” Mulder knelt next to her. “Okay, what do you notice about the tracks?”

Emily tilted her head. “They’re kinda scuffed.”

“Yes, exactly. That means he was running.”

“Oooh, really?”

“Yeah. We gotta move quickly but quietly, okay?”

“Okay!” With her green, fuzzy hand, she made a “zipped lips” motion by her mask.

Mulder grinned and took her hand, jogging at her speed out into the denser trees.

Even though they were jogging and Emily was still so young, she was fast. It made him smile and his chest swell with pride – she may not have been his biological daughter, but she was still taking after her old man. 

They followed the tracks he had laid out that morning using an old pair of boots modified with modeling clay for a while until Mulder slowed, tugging Emily to do the same.

“Okay, he whispered, leaning down by her head. “See how the tracks are closer together and not scuffed here? That means he’s back to walking.”

Emily nodded, lips still zipped. 

“Keep your eyes peeled. He might be close.”

“Eyes peeled.” Emily gave him a tiny salute, which he returned.

They walked quietly until, a few moments later, Emily gasped and pointed.

There, in the middle of a clearing, was a bigfoot.

(Or, rather, a cardboard cutout of one that Mulder had spent a few hours earlier in the week carefully crafting from old boxes and spare lumber.)

Mulder put a finger up and pulled her down to crouch beside him. “Get your camera,” he whispered.

Emily reached under her suit and fished out a yellow disposable camera. Quickly, she took a couple of photos before stuffing the camera back under her suit and grabbing her dad’s hand.

The two of them snuck away, waiting until they were back on the main path before they let their triumphant laughter erupt.

“We found one, Daddy!!!” Emily jumped up and down, the green strands of her ghillie suit flouncing around her.

Mulder laughed, still holding her hand as she jumped. “We sure did! And we didn’t scare it away! Good job!”

“That was better than when we found the Flatwoods Monster!”

“Yeah! You did such a good job being quiet, and you remembered everything we learned last time.”

Emily giggled and skipped down the path, pulling him along. “Come on! We have to show Mommy!”

Soon enough, they were back at the unremarkable house just on the edge of the woods, where the windows glowed with light from the inside, inviting them home.

Mulder and Emily tromped into the house, taking off their masks as the heat of the kitchen hit them.

“Honey, we’re home.” Mulder said with a grin as Scully took in their matching smiles and rosy cheeks.

“Mommy we found one!” Emily skipped up to the table, waving her camera in the air. “And I got a picture!”

“Oh really?” Scully smiled at her. “We can take that to the store tomorrow to develop it.”

“Thanks!” Emily turned to Gibson, who was standing at the end of the table over a metal tray. “What are you doing, Gibby?”

“Dissecting a grasshopper.” Gibson said without looking up. He was pinning open the thoracic cavity with pins from Scully’s personal dissection kit. “Dana’s been teaching me about internal insect anatomy.”

“Ew.” Emily crinkled her nose. “Pass.”

Mulder shared a smile with Scully as he patted Emily on the back. “Go take your suit off and wash up for dinner, okay?” She bounded off, camera clutched safely in both hands, as Mulder turned to Scully. “Internal insect anatomy? Dr. Scully, does your expertise know no bounds?”

She smiled at him. “Old dogs can, in fact, learn new tricks.” She lifted a book of insect dissection instructions from the counter. “The local library is a magical place.”

He grinned and kissed her on the cheek. “Well, I’m still impressed.” He looked down the table. “Having fun, Gibson?”

Gibson finally looked up with a small smile. “Yeah. I’m almost through the digestive system.”

Mulder swallowed, deliberately not looking at the insect. “Cool. You can tell me all about it…  after supper.”

Gibson’s smile widened just a bit and then he returned to his work. 

“I’m going to wash up,” Mulder said as he squeezed Scully’s wrist, just above her glove, “and then I’ll start the food, okay?”

“Thanks.” She rose on her tiptoes to kiss the corner of his mouth. “There’s chicken thawing in the sink.”

“Thanks.” 

He headed to the bedroom but, just before he closed the door he paused; in the kitchen, he could hear Scully’s low voice patiently explaining how to make some kind of cut on the grasshopper, followed by a quiet question from Gibson. In the next room over, he could hear Emily singing some playground song as she washed her hands and face. Outside, he could hear crickets calling and frogs croaking. 

“Wouldn’t Euny be okay as long as I dressed up?”

“She’d be more excited if it was a fun costume!” He argued happily, tossing the Tigger costume into the cart. “You could be Pooh!”

“No,” Yoongi declined, sighing and looking through the costumes again. “Why does Jimin insist on us wearing these costume anyway? We’re just taking care of the twins and Euny. You’re the one going trick-or-treating with the triplets and Jungkook.”

“And Hobi and Namjoonie.”

“Right. How could I forget.” Yoongi rolled his eyes.

“It’s Euny’s first Halloween!”

“It’s not, though.”

“It’s her first with you,” Taehyung pointed out.

“You’re going to dress as Tigger for trick-or-treating with the boys and triplets?”

Taehyung stopped. “Oh. Right. No. So. What about a pirate costume?”

“You’re the one wearing it.” Yoongi pulled out a prince costume. “What about this?”

“She is going as a princess, it would be cute,” He agreed, then gasped. “It’s a knight costume! We could all match! I’m getting it! We should take family photos!”

Yoongi quietly shook his head in amusement over his younger brother’s enthusiasm. “If you can get Euny to let you take a picture with us, then go ahead. But you know she’s scared of the camera flash.”

“I’ll get one, you watch me.” Taehyung glanced at his phone. “They’re on their way back to the apartment with the twins.”

“Okay. If you’ve made up your mind, lets get some food for dinner and candy for trick-or-treaters.” Yoongi pushed the cart along, not watching to see if Taehyung followed.

“Hyung, are you sure you don’t want to take Euny trick-or-treating?”

“She’s too little, she wouldn’t enjoy it. She’ll get overtired and cranky, and then I’ll be cranky because it could have been avoided.” Yoongi shook his head. “Besides, leaving Jimin alone with the twins?”

“Ariel is there!”

“Leave Ariel alone with Jimin with the twins?”

“Fair.”

It wasn’t that Jimin was incompetent. Jimin was excellent with kids and babies. No, the problem was that Jimin really, really wanted kits of his own and sometimes got a little…distracted. Ariel and Jimin weren’t trying for kids, though, not yet. So, there was a lot of whining and cajoling and trying to talk sense into Jimin while taking care of the kids.

When they also had the triplets, it was different because there wasn’t time to think about wanting kids.

So, Yoongi was there to run interference and to avoid the chaos that was trick-or-treating.

“I want to be a kitty! Like that!” A boy, a human boy, pointed at Yoongi as they passed in the store.

It’d been a while since anyone was so…blatant.

Taehyung had stopped.

Yoongi didn’t bother. The boy’s mother was shushing him and telling him not to be rude. It wasn’t his job to educate or correct such a young kid.

It was his job to get something for dinner and candy for the kids in the apartment building Jimin and Ariel lived in.

Taehyung didn’t bring it up, and Yoongi didn’t have any plans to bring it up either.

Jimin was purring over one of the twins in his lap and Euny, half-reading the book in his hand. Some sort of kids halloween book.

Ariel was holding the other twin, already wearing some sort of blue witch costume—nothing dark or scary—and she had her hair up and sparkles on her cheeks. “Hey! Go ahead and get ready, we’ve got this.”

Yoongi nodded, setting the groceries down and taking his costume.

The prince costume wasn’t too…ostentatious or overdone, which was a small blessing. Still, it took him a while to change because while to shirt was the right size, the pants were…decidedly not. So he had to go through his suitcase to find some pants that would match.

But he was a little excited to match his daughter.

Jimin had, apparently, dressed Eunyeong while Yoongi was searching for pants.

She was the cutest little princess ever. Taehyung had picked out her outfit, and it was an excellent choice.

But she absolutely glowed when she saw Yoongi. “King! Appa King!” She bounced until she was set down and raced over to him.

King. Yeah. Okay. That would work. That was better than a prince.

Taehyung came out with a plastic shield. “Don’t forget Uncle Knight TaeTae! Here to gaurd and protect you!”

Euny squealed delightfully.

Taehyung looked at Yoongi. “Can’t we at least take her to some of the apartments to trick or treat?”

Yoongi looked over at Ariel and Jimin.

“Go for it,” Ariel said, setting one of the twins into the swing and strapping the baby in. “The twins are asleep. And the neighbors aren’t doing anything drastic or scary.”

Jimin nodded. “Although, the one neighbor said she always dresses as a sexy cat. She checked to make sure it wouldn’t offend us.”

“Awesome! Let’s go! Euny’s first trick-or-treating!” Taehyung dragged Yoongi toward the door.

Yoongi smiled a bit and took the plastic jack-o-lantern bucket Jimin offered. “Can you say ‘trick-or-treat’?”

Euny shook her head with a soft mew.

“Can you try?”

“Riiowee,” She squeaked, obviously reluctant.

Taehyung chortled and bounced down the hall to the first neighbor’s door, knocking. “Trick or treat!”

“Tiwoweee!” Euny called as well.

Yoongi grinned, setting her down facing the door.

The neighbor opened the door, wearing a cat-costume. “Oh my goodness! Look at this adorable princess and her bodyguard!”

Euny twisted a bit, tail moving but hidden under her skirts. “Icky feet!”

She gushed while Yoongi melted internally. She dropped a piece of candy into the bucket that Yoongi was helping Eunyeong hold.

Euny watched it drop, then looked up with big eyes. “Candy?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung cheered. “Tell her thank you.”

“ ‘Tank-ee’,” Euny started vibrating. “Candy!” She started running down the hall toward the elevator.

Yoongi and Taehyung quickly exchanged and look and went after her. “Only a few houses, Tae, you don’t have much time.”

Taehyung just huffed, but also laughed. “And I need to take our picture.”

Yoongi scooped up Eunyeong and pulled out his phone. “Try a selca.”

Taehyung gasped happily and crowded in. “Smile Euny! Smile for candy!”

She grinned at the mention of candy (which Yoongi knew he would have to investigate how often she was getting candy, but for now, on Halloween it was just going to be okay), and bounced in Yoongi’s arms seconds after the photo was snapped.

Taehyung held the phone like it was precious and then was using Yoongi’s phone to text the photo to everyone, including himself.

Yoongi couldn’t help but feel that everything was right with the world in that moment. It was silly.

And a little spooky.

Something he wouldn’t let go of no matter what manner of demon or spirit came at him.

–

Previous Part.   Next Part?

Masterlist. Sanctuary Series Masterpost.

when you first met tenko on the sidewalk, you didn’t know this frightened and anrgy little boy would turn into the most precious thing in your life

he had been on the street for nearly the entire day and you were the first to reach out to him with tenderness in your eyes

he latched onto you and cried his little heart out 

and you knew you right then, you couldn’t let this boy go

despite the intial trust, it was a difficult adjustment for you and tenko 

his past was a horror story and it would take patience, love, and A LOT of therapy to heal from it, but you never lost hope

but with each soft touch, warm smile, and patient gaze, he grew more relaxed in you presence

when things get better, tenko brightens into this hopeful and giving young boy who wants to help everyone!

he’s also upfront about his thoughts now (bc he feels safe enough to speak his truth) and it shows when you tell him it’s time to put cocoa butter on his skin so it won’t dry up 

he’ll stomp around for a second and say, “but i dont wanna!”

but just give him “the look” and he’ll drag his feet over to you 

bc yeah youre nice but he knows better than to push it

besides, tenko secretly loves it anyways bc then he feels all warm and soft and you always give him the biggest hugs afterwards so it’s worth it

the first time he called you mama/papa/baba was when he crawled into your bed after a nightmare 

before he fell back asleep he whispered, “i love you, ___”

you held him tight and cried the entire night 

time goes by and tenko starts going to school 

it’s also a difficult adjustment bc he’s a little shy around new people 

you figure taking him out to the park for ice cream and to play with other children would help

you turn around for TWO seconds to pay for it and this boy is gone

you all but panic until he reappears with another kid in hand 

tenko doesnt let you get a word in before he goes, “mama/papa/baba, this is dabi. he’s 10 and he hates his dad too! can we take him home?”

that’s when you learn that your son had a knack for picking up stray children

and in the end, you end up adopting them bc, well, you fall in love w dabi, then toga, and spinner

just as you did tenko

and a couple of years pass and somehow, you’ve winded up with a quartet of children in your apartment who you’d die for 

they all come with their separate issues, quirks, and baggage, but their hearts shine brighter with each day 

dabi is a tsundere that scares off bullies and totally DOES NOT like it when you kiss his forehead

toga is basically attached to your hip, like she doesnt walk 40% of the time when youre around 

spinner creates huge houses and sculptures on minecraft dedicated in your name and gets super flustered when you make a bg deal out of it even tho he likes it hehe

tenko tries to be “all grown up” around you but aboslutely melts when you hold him and rake your fingers through his hair 

it’s all nice but you’ll admit, it’s tough

between working, taking care of them, and holding up the house, you barely sleep

there was one time you came home from work and just collapsed on the couch, 100% knocked out 

you wake up the next morning, horrified that you slept for that long

however, you’re delighted to find a blanket over you, a bowl of soup on the table, and all four of your children hapazardly curled up on your chest and legs, fast asleep

you nearly pass out from how cute it was!

somehow someway, the lov (in this au called the league of outcasts lmao) find themselves together

their always over having sleepovers, playing video games, or just gossiping about lame adults 

one day, when kurogiri drops off sako, magne, and jin, they see a small blush form on his usually stoic face

and all hell breaks loose

they come up with an ingenous plan to get you two together so they can actually be a real family

im not sure about the details but it’s a lot of “coincidental” meetings 

tenko, spinner and jin bring him up a lot to you

magne, toga, and sako try and give kurogiri hints about what you like

dabi “accidentally” tripped you into his arms once 

it’s a whole mess

but it might be working???

who knows 

but regardless, you all have found solace in one another when at one point, it didn’t seem like you ever would 

it came with it’s trials and tribulations but finding tenko was the best thing that couldve happened to you

it led you to your new family