Blazewood Teddy Bear
PAIRING: Caesar/Lighter/Burnice/Piper/Luciana x Male Reader (Familia) (Fluff)
SUMMARY: The Sons of Calydon come together to raise a troubled youth.
Despite being the usual one to give into impulse it was actually Lighter who had found you, a young boy, no older than seven, clinging to his leg. At first Caesar was ready to treat you just like any other in the Outer Ring, insisting on finding your parents. But then she noticed how your grip tightened on Lighterâs leg, and the small yet stark marks all over your frail body.
It wasnât the first time Caesar had to babysit a kid, so she went into mom mode immediately and tried to befriend you. Unfortunately her first few attempts werenât successful; you were a boy who just got through a tough situation, so naturally you werenât all that trusting to most. Still Caesar wouldnât give up, determined to form a secure and loving bond with you.
Caesar hadnât always been the best with words or flowery expressions. Yet she always managed to make everyone smile; it was one of her best qualities as the Overlord. She took notice of how malnourished you were, and so Caesar made sure to keep you well fed, eventually getting you to be comfortable eating around her. It was a small step that showed your heart was still willing to trust.
Lighter found you not far from a small town. He knew you were from there; a boy your age would have had no chance of survival otherwise. And yet he could tell from how hyper vigilant you were that whatever that place was to you wasnât a home. He approached you cautiously with a smile, having asked you if you needed somewhere safe to sleep the night; he didnât want to make the choice seem permanent and further stress you out.
He knew exactly why he wanted to help you, not just because you were a little kid, but because Lighter saw himself in you. Scared, alone, and unsure of the future. Hell you could hardly even remember your name. Just saying it seemed to make you shiver. Your emotions were out of control; one moment sad the next kicking and screaming, and then afterwards youâd just get quiet. Lighter couldnât pinpoint why you seemed to cling to him but he was happy you did.
Overtime your anxiety seemed to drown out in the positive environment that was the Sonâs of Calydon. With the help of Lighter you went from a frail buck to a healthy boy, experiencing sudden growth spurts that almost made you as tall as Piper. And despite occasionally needing comfort from the nightmares of your past, you were growing stronger everyday. In a way Lighter was healing too. It was as if the young man in him was finally saved from the ring.
When you were initially more closed off from others, a person like Burnice seemed to be your worst nightmare. She was genuinely nice to you and truly meant no harm, but to a kid burnt too many times from love bombing, she was a walking red flag. It took a while with the others to realize that Burnice was just like that naturally.
The main reason she wanted to hang out with you so much was due to your own social withdrawal. You didnât talk much, often leaning too much on Lighter to speak for you. Burnice wasnât a psychologist; she didnât know the inâs and outâs of the human mind. But she did know that bad social skills would negatively impact anyone.
Unfortunately you were somewhat forced to learn social skills with Burnice around. The others did keep her in check whenever she got too crazy, but you had to set some boundaries or else sheâd try to get you to party till dawn. For instance, it took reminding her you were a little boy for her to stop offering you nitro fuel. Although her attitude was rather lackluster, Burnice would certainly be a much better adult in your life once youâre old enough to hang with her.
Piper had her experience with youthful souls before, so a boy as jaded as you wasnât anything new. She could tell from how silent and distant you were that trust would be difficult to build. Eventually you did come around to talking more, sometimes with her, and most responses were kept simple. But Piper knew you were just testing boundaries.
Everything seemed too good to be true when everyone treated you so much better. It was a foreign experience compared to where you came from. So much so that you were certain it wouldnât last if you were to act up; so to save yourself you began doing just that, seeing if they would abandon and punish you the moment you became a headache. Yet shockingly they didnât. In fact if any of them did get annoyed theyâd just bring you over to Piper, whom you were sure would be the one to discipline you.
Yet instead she just sat down with you in silence, no pressure for you to speak at all. She could tell you were on high alert; a little boy going through the worst and suddenly the best would be suspicious to anyone. But Piper already knew itâd eventually come down to your heart simply being scarred; you hoarded food, freaked out at even calm corrections, and struggled to sleep. Yet you were still a sweet boy that clung to them in need and loved being loved. So even though it was going to be a slow process, Piper wasnât worried. She would wait.
You didnât stay with them at first, already planning on having to leave the moment dawn set in. However old habits died hard, as you barely left Blazewood, hiding in a local area. Luciana volunteered to bring you back and found you within hours. You were curled up in a corner, overwhelmed and shaking. She related to that about you. Running away from home wasnât easy, and she used to often struggle with even leaving the block before turning right back.
A boy like you needed help verbally expressing yourself or else youâd bottle everything up and be a doormat for the rest of the world. Luciana decided right then and there that she would make sure you had a stable and consistent life; one that would allow you to develop and grow. She also taught you how to be independent, so that if you did still want to leave them you wouldnât have to overly depend on others to survive.
Luciana was harsh at times, but she never raised her voice or hands, nor did she threaten you. Instead Luciana made sure she was predictable and that her actions were too. This meant less affection though; Luciana wasnât the most overtly loving person. Yet when there were times when you felt cold and alone, sheâd walk up to you with a slight awkwardness as she held you tight. Because to Luciana everyone deserved to feel loved at their weakest.
- Fin
