#reddlings

He had done it. Another successful scam landed him with over 200,000 bells in his pockets and them with not a bell left to their name. Sure, he had gotten into a bit of a scuffle and earned a broken nose with some bruises, but it was well worth the pain. He had a grin plastered on his face as he walked down the city streets, a skip in his step. Along with the money, he scored a nice white button down shirt with black dress pants and shoes, courtesy of the sucker who fell for his charm.

 It has been two, maybe three-ish years since he had left Tom and stole every last bell and valuable possession the man had to his name. He still felt extremely guilty for what he had done and sometimes it even kept him up at night. The guilt ate away at him everyday and he was feeding into it, believing the hurtful comments and snarky remarks his mind told him. Even though he knew it was all in his head, he listened to it religiously. If his mind told him he was a good for nothing street rat, he’d believe it. It wasn’t healthy, of course, but he had no one to talk to. All he had was Tom, who’d listen to every word he said and help him through his problems, but he was long gone.

 Along with Tom leaving, so did his self esteem. He didn’t take care of himself all that much anymore, only taking a couple showers when he had to and eating the bare minimum. He lived in a old, rundown building with a low rent of 700 bells - probably because the place was so terrible in quality. All he cared for was that he had a roof under his end and he didn’t have to sleep on the streets, because that would really ruin his ‘I’m a fancy salesman looking to help you’ look.

 Although he had the charming smile and the seemingly always unbothered attitude, he still had his moments. His moments where he would contemplate life and where he was going in it. His moments where he would let the bottled up emotions up go. His moments where sobs would rack through his body and he would apologize for everything, and apologize for being such a terrible boyfriend to the one person he couldn’t seem to let go of. The red head would always argue that that was what he was meant to do, and it was just how the cycle had to go, but deep down he knew that wasn’t the case and given a little time and effort he could have quit his shenanigans and lived a happy life.

 Sometimes he wondered if the other male had those times too, or if he went on with life and proceeded the successful businessman life. He knew the latter of the two was most likely the answer but he enjoyed the thought, made him feel a bit better. 

Coming to a halt, he stopped at the faint sound of whimpers and whines. At first he thought he was going insane and hearing things but the second time it sounded a little more desperate, like a cry for attention. When he heard it for a third time he looked towards an alleyway just a little ways ahead and decided to investigate - what harm could it do, anyways?

Venturing away from the bustling streets and lively chatter and down the dark and eerie alley, he pondered what could of made the noise. Maybe a lost puppy, or kitten? Surely it couldn’t be some thug or criminal, no way someone like that would have such a small, childish voice enough to make that sound.  

As he round the corner, a tuff of orange caught his eye and curiosity, making him slow his pace in case he scared what ever it was away. As he inched closer and closer, his body almost in a crouching position, his mind raced with ideas and questions. The whining was louder now, and seemingly scared, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him and there was no backing down now. In one swift motion he rounded the dumpster corner and landed in a attack like stance, preparing himself in case of fight.

Instead he was greeted with a shrill yelp and a cry. His honey colored eyes widened by ten times as he saw the two small faces of toddlers. They couldn’t have been older than three! How could someone be so cruel and heartless enough to throw a toddler on the city streets where they could get severely injured!? Upon seeing the scared face of one and the angry pout of the other, his stance dropped completely and he dropped to the ground in a crouch.

 Examining their features, he could tell one was a girl and the other was a boy, both with messy ginger hair - just like his, but much shorter. The boy, small and thin, held one of his frail arms over his sister in a protective manner. He wore a large brown sweater that had to be over four sizes too big on him, with a pair of worn out basketball shorts. The girl, just as thin and maybe smaller, wore a ruffled black T-shirt and grey leggings that barely clung to her. She had freckles, unlike her brother, and honey colored eyes like the boy and himself. Overall, they looked alot like him, and it had to be pure luck that the two happened to look exactly like him.

“P-please go away….”

The man jumped at the girl's meek voice that was all but pleading for some peace. It hadn’t hit him till now that the kids were probably terrified of him and him sitting there staring at them was only making it worse. He took a couple steps back with his hands up in a surrender motion to show he meant no harm.

“Hey, calm down. I ain’t gonna hurt ya’ , just wanted to know who you were.”

His voice was soothing and calm, making them relax a bit just like he planned. The girl swallowed hard before speaking shyly.

“R-roxanne a-and Ryan, you?”

A lopsided grin made its way onto his face, showing off his sharp and shiny canines. 

“Redd, pleasure to meet ya’ kiddos.”

He said, as if he was making another business deal, and stuck his left hand out for them to shake. The boy, Ryan, eyed it suspiciously before slowly lowering his arm away from his sister and reaching his right hand out. Redd took the small boy’s thin hand and shook it gently, a smile still on his face. The boy’s pout lessened as he awkwardly tried to mimic Redd’s quirky smile - which made Redd’s smile seemingly grow bigger and brighter. 

Both let go, Redd dropping his hand lazily in front of him and Ryans going straight to his sister, instead this time he only held her wrist. Sensing the kids were waiting for his answer, the man cleared his throat before speaking.

“You kiddos have a home?”

He asked slowly, careful to not trigger a memory by accident. They both looked down solemnly, before the boy shook his head, confirming Redd’s suspicions.

“Thought so,”

The red-haired man started, grunting as he got up. The kids heads darted up, waiting and watching for his next move. “Welp, come on.”

He said as he held his hand out again, waiting for them to take it. They both made a face at it but before the girl spoke up.

“W-what?”

Her voice was small and gentle, but still a bit weary. The boy had that pout on his face again, and he was squinting at the other males hand in curiosity.

“I got a cozy apartment and a fridge full of food I have yet to eat and it has your names written all over it.”

He said in a playful tone as he made a grabby motion with his hand, still waiting for them to take up his offer. Their eyes brightened up significantly at his words and Roxanne quickly got up with shaky legs and grabbed the males hand desperately. She yelped as he scooped her up and propped her in the crook of his arm with her clinging onto his shirt for dear life. Ryan quickly followed, jolting as he too was lifted up and propped in the same position, only his arms were wrapped around his neck. Redd laughed wholeheartedly at them before rushing out of the alley and disappearing into the streets towards his small, rundown apartment with a new meaning to his life.

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