I Like Dinosaurs and Whump

Trinity is the one who rats him out. He's been putting it off for multiple reasons and his teeth only hurt a little so it's fine.

He's in the middle of making something when his phone rings and she picks it up for him and nods her head and says "He will call you tomorrow!"

Dennis has no idea what that could've been about but doesn't think much of it until Trinity casually mentions in earshot of his stupid boyfriends, "Oh, the dental surgeon said to give them a call to schedule your wisdom teeth removal. Don't forget to do that."

Within a day, the appointment is made, time off is figured out, and no amount of begging or pouting or bargaining changes Robby and Jack's minds. They have to practically drag him into the office

They realize why he was so combative with it when one of the dental nurses leads him out and he's sobbing hysterically.

Dennis is a mess under the drugs. Jack buckles his seatbelt for him and he's crying about how nice Jack is, how Dennis doesn't deserve him. He starts poking at the gauze in his mouth on the drive home and Robby is telling him gently to stop touching it and Dennis starts blubbering out apologies and gagging to the point that they have to pull over on the side of the road because Robby can't get him to sit still and calm down.

He goes from grabbing Robby's face and squeezing and saying "You're so pretty, you're too pretty for your own good, can you give me a baby? I want a pretty baby" to sobbing in Jack's lap because he doesn't understand that physically Robby cannot get him pregnant. "That's not what I asked, daddy, just give me a baby, please, Jack make him give me a baby"

He won't stop touching the cotton and gauze in his mouth and Jack makes a lighthearted joke about tying his hands up and Dennis is now trying to get undressed and "Can I suck your cock please sir I'll be good I'll be careful-"

he's also saying all of his vocal stims from tiktok (will you come to my cottage this summer, stupid canadian wolf bird, 1 2 3 release 'em) and his boyfriends don't know what they mean or what he's saying. he only wants his energy drinks and his vape (Denny baby when did you start vaping vs what do you mean i never stopped give me my blue razz ice right now)

Leo cuts off midsentence, rushing from the kitchen and stopping as soon as he sees Aiden. 

“He’s here,” Leo says into the phone, “Thank God. I’ll call you later.” He falls into a seat on the couch and drops his head into his hands. “Jesus,” he says to himself, followed by a few rounds of haggard breaths that tighten Aiden’s chest. 

Aiden quietly replaces Leo’s car keys on the hook and toes off his boots. His hands shake even more than usual as he imagines the glare Leo’s staring into his back but when he turns around Leo hasn’t moved. 

All the lights are on, nowhere to hide. The house is immaculate, like maybe this is the first time Leo sat down since realizing he was gone. Guilt twists in his stomach. 

Leo still hasn’t moved. A shower won’t improve his fate but it will at least delay the inevitable. He grips the banister. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” 

His stomach drops. “I—”

Leo lifts his head. “Get in here.” 

Aiden cringes, sucking in a shallow breath as he slinks into the living room, trying not to limp. 

Leo squints up at him trying to see his face under the hood. “Well?”

“I’m sorry,” he says, hanging his head.  “I—”

“I don’t want to hear that,” Leo says, voice hollow. Even his expression is flat, tired, exhausted by what Aiden put him through. All for nothing. “I want you to tell me where the fuck you’ve been for the last four hours. In the middle of the night. With my car. And no license or ID to speak of.” 

He flinches.  “I—I—” The words won’t come. What does surface are tears because he feels so, so stupid for ever thinking his plan would work. 

“Aiden?” Now there’s worry in his tone, reaching down Aiden’s throat to twist his stomach further. Leo stands. “Look at me, are you okay?” 

He swallows a sob and nods. 

“Aiden.” It’s as much an admonishment as an accusation. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. Any louder and he’ll be crying. It’s already half whimpered. 

Leo sighs. The sound of his disappointment makes Aiden want to fall to his knees. Leo reaches out slowly, like he’s trying not to spook a frightened animal and pushes back the hood. His breath catches audibly and he covers his mouth with his hands at the sight of Aiden’s busted face. 

Aiden breaks, dropping to his knees with a sob. 

Leo catches his arms and follows him down, sitting on the edge of the couch again. “Aiden—”

“Mmm’sorry. Mmm’so… s-s-sorry,” he cries. “I-I mmm’was, so, s-s-stupid.” 

“Easy, easy.” Leo holds him by the shoulder and brings his other hand to his chin. He gently turns his head to one side and then the other, eyes still wide with shock. 

His broken lip throbs, left eye swelling shut. He did what he could with some hand wipes in the car but he’s pretty sure the cut on his forehead is going to need stitches if he doesn’t want yet another disfiguring scar. 

“Are you…hurt in any other way?”

“No.” He doesn’t know if he’d be able to tell Leo even if it had come to that. 

“Did anyone follow you?”

He shakes his head, wanting nothing more than to lean into Leo’s hand on his chin, collapse into his lap. 

“Do you think they knew your history?” 

You mean what I am? He shakes his head again. By some miracle, they hadn’t made that inch long leap. 

Leo only looks infinitesimally relieved. Aiden bites back a whimper as Leo surveys his face again, frowning. He stiffens when Leo pulls him to his feet. 

But all he does is pull Aiden into his arms. “God, I could kill you. I was so worried.” 

“I’m sorry,” he says into Leo’s shoulder. 

Leo pulls him closer, squeezing the back of his neck. Aiden ignores the pain in his face and sinks into Leo’s chest, letting out a shaky exhale. 

Too soon, Leo herds him into the kitchen and onto a stool. He feels unsteady now, without Leo’s arms around him. 

“I’m getting you some ice and you’re going to tell me what happened.”

“Yessir.” 

Leo turns around to level him with a look. 

Aiden wilts. “Sorry.” 

“Seems to be a lot of that going around.” 

He swallows. 

Leo gets the ice pack and fills a glass of water for him. “Would you take some ibuprofen?” 

“Yes,” he says, too quickly. 

Leo narrows his eyes. “Because it hurts that much or because you’re placating me?” 

“Can’t-can’t it be… mmm’both?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Leo says, tone biting. “Is it?” 

He hangs his head. Admits in a whisper, “No.” 

Leo sighs. “Normally, I wouldn’t let you make this choice based on the fact that you think it might earn you some good will…” Aiden’s cheeks burn but he forces himself to hold Leo’s gaze. “That said, I really don’t like the look of the swelling around your eye. And Delia will probably come up with more reasons why it’s necessary.” 

Aiden nods. 

“Can I convince you to eat something with it? Maybe drink a glass of juice?” 

He looks at his hands to hide his face. 

“I don’t even have to try, do I?” Leo asks.

He shakes his head, eyes down. The knuckles on his right hand are raw from his feeble attempts to fight back.  

“God,” Leo swears under his breath and Aiden flinches. 

“I…fucked up,” he whispers, another weak defense. 

Leo sighs. “That doesn’t mean we have to go back to this.”

“I-I don’t— I can’t—” He blinks back tears. Crying will only make this worse. Leo already thinks he’s pathetic. Hates when he regresses to a spineless pet. “If you—you’re not-not… going to…uhm…” He doesn’t think he can even say it. Half because he knows it would never happen and half because of the hard look in Leo’s eyes, confirming he doesn’t have to speak the unthinkable out loud. “If I don’t—don’t… How-how will you, you, mmm’mmm…” He’s perilously close to crying. Fucking inarticulate—

“Hey, com’ere.” Leo leans across the island and reaches for his hands. He surrenders them, biting his bottom lip to stop himself from just apologizing again. Leo rubs his thumb over the back of his hand. “Listen to me. I know you know this but I’m gonna say it anyway: You don’t have to do anything to earn my forgiveness.” 

He searches Leo’s eyes, their familiar brown. The creases at the corners that deepen when he smiles are shallow now. 

“I was—it was—so… mmm’stupid.” 

“I bet. But I don’t care.” 

He’s too shaken to wait very long for the other shoe to drop. “I don’t…”

Leo holds both of his hands in one of his and lifts the other to Aiden’s cheek. “I know. And I have to be more patient with you while you learn to trust that.” 

“M’sorry,” he whispers. 

“Shhh.” Leo brushes an escaped tear off his cheek with his thumb and Aiden swallows a sob. “How about we agree that you take the ibuprofen and have a snack because you need it and no other reason?” 

Aiden nods. Maybe one day he’ll actually be worthy of all the second chances Leo gives him. 

It takes him three tries to choke down two ibuprofen. He doesn’t doubt that the pills are what Leo says they are. He can even read the bottle. Recognizes the familiar greenish tint to the liquid capsules. His body isn’t on the same page, even as his ribs ache with every gag and cough. 

Leo keeps a hand on Aiden's back while he calls Delia. Aiden diligently eats his granola bar, chasing it with a glass of orange juice and trying to distract himself from thinking ahead to her visit with the warmth of Leo’s touch.  

“She’s off in a half an hour and then she’ll head over.” 

Leo puts Aiden’s empty glass in the dishwasher. He lifts the whole stack of neatly folded kitchen towels off the top shelf of the cabinet to pick a dark green one from the middle. Restacks the rest and replaces them before wrapping the chosen towel around the ice pack. “Come on, let’s sit on the couch and you can tell me what happened.” 

He keeps his hands in his pocket to hide their shaking, tucking his feet up under him on the couch. Leo gingerly holds the ice pack to his busted face. 

Aiden swallows the lump that rises in his throat. 

“Hey, look at me.” Leo waits. “I just want to know what happened. You’re still not going to be in trouble.” 

“I-I should… be. You don’t—you don’t, mmm’know how…s-s-stupid it was.”

“Easy, sweetheart.” Leo takes a deliberate breath, waits for Aiden to do the same. “Just start at the beginning.” 

He looks at his lap, tears brim in his eyes again. “I just—I just… mmm’wanted to get, uhm, to get your… mmm’money… back,” he whispers. 

Leo lets the ice pack fall. “Tell me you didn’t try to find that scamming dirt bag again.” 

“No, no.” Much stupider than that. “I-I… mmm’made an, um, an ad.” 

Leo narrows his eyes. “What do you mean?” 

“Uhm…for-for a…an, umm, a… mmm’companion.” 

“Aiden.” 

It knocks the wind right out of him, hearing Leo say his name in that tone. He shrinks back against the couch. Leo didn’t even have to raise his voice. 

“Are you serious?” 

He nods, shoulders up to his ears. 

“Jesus. Fuck. Do you have any idea—” Leo closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Sorry, I can’t— the thought of what could have happened…” 

“Mm’okay,” he whispers, guilt clawing its way up his throat. 

“No. No, you’re not,” Leo snaps. 

He doesn’t know why he’s defending himself when Leo is right. 

It could have been awful. He could be chained in a basement right now or headed back to WRU. Never seeing Leo again. It could have ended his life. 

“I’m, I’mmm’here,” he insists, half to himself.  

“Yeah, by the skin of your teeth.” Leo gets up and paces away. Aiden holds his breath when he turns back. “God. How could you be so impulsive? When is it going to get through to you how devastated I would be if anything happened to you? If you hadn’t made it home?” 

Aiden blinks up at him. “I-I—” 

“Do you have any idea what that would be like for me? Trying to get on with my life if you were gone?” He presses the heels of his hands against his temples. Aiden’s chest feels tight. “Can’t you see how much you matter to me? Way more than five fucking grand, I can tell you that much.” 

He paces to the window and stands there seething. 

Aiden bites his bottom lip to stop it from trembling. Every part of him is shaking now, a storm of guilt and regret and too many other things to pick out by name, pushing him to the edge. 

“L-Leo?” 

He spins and Aiden flinches, hands twitching up defensively before he can stop them. 

“Fuck,” Leo breathes as the tears start falling from Aiden’s eyes. Aiden covers his face with his hands. 

Leo drops to his knees in front of him. “Com’ere, baby. I’m sorry.” He pulls Aiden into his arms. Aiden sobs against his chest. 

He feels it all again, in the safety of Leo’s arms. A fist in his sweatshirt. The slam of his back meeting the pavement. Boots against his ribs. Hands around his neck. “I-I was so, so… mmm’scared.” 

“Me too.” Leo rubs the back of his neck. “Promise me you’ll never pull something like that again.” 

He sniffles. “I… mmm’promise.” 

Leo holds him until he stops crying. Even then, keeps Aiden under his arm while he holds the ice pack to his cheek. “You’re going to tell Delia everywhere else they hit you so she can make sure you don’t have any internal bleeding.”

He nods. “I-I had it—I had the-the mmm’money. It almost… mmm’worked.” He just wasn’t fast enough. 

“Aiden. Listen to me. I don’t care about the money.” Leo looks into his eyes, one at a time to make sure he’s hearing him. “We’re going to find another way to get you an ID. And by ‘we’ I mean me and Delia. Alright? None of this is for you to try to fix.” 

“Mm.” 

Leo thumbs his chin gently. “Now you mumble at me like a teenager?” 

“Yessir,” he amends, biting his lips together. 

“God.” Leo rolls his eyes and pulls Aiden against his chest, pressing a chaste kiss to the top of his head. “You’re grounded for a million years. I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

He’s joking but Aiden’s heart still rushes in his chest. He doesn’t want to be alone anytime soon either. 

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Short, snappy strides traverse the house and Frankie’s lad takes the stairs two at a time in his haste. Tommy arrives at Wyatt’s door out of breath, fingers catching the doorframe as though it’s the only thing stopping him from barreling into the room and straight through the wall on the other side. 

Wyatt raises his eyebrows. 

“Better come down, sir.” 

Something glass shatters and one of the boys swears. Tommy flinches. “Quick,” he revises before turning on his heel and flying down the stairs. 

The chest of drawers is overturned in the foyer, all manner of hats and gloves and anything else that needed losing strewn about. The worn carpet that runs to the hallway lies bullied into a heap by the kitchen door. 

Tommy is nowhere in sight. Wyatt pauses to listen outside the dining room. 

“Don’t even think about it,” someone, sounds like Alfred, warns. 

Something hits the wall by the door. 

“Little bastard.” 

“Take that side!” 

There’s a scuffle. A chair overturns, knocking against the hardwood. 

Wyatt pushes the door open. 

As soon as he crosses the threshold, it captures his gaze. 

Wide eyes lock onto his with a force that almost breaks his stride. He’s never seen anything like them. Shining and bright and so expressive. Wyatt can all but see the heat of anger rolling off it in waves. Feel the prickle of shame teeming under its skin at being toyed with. All shadowed by a cold, pulsing fear so crystallised it’s almost a second soul behind the gaze. 

The fae stands in the middle of the table, clutching one of the pewter candlesticks in its trembling fist. The boys have it surrounded on all sides. 

None but the creature pay Wyatt any mind. 

Alfred takes advantage of its distraction and grabs it by the arm, pulling it, stumbling off the table. As soon as it’s on the ground, Jimmy drags it away by a fistful of hair and shoves it backwards at a chair. It crashes to the floor with a cry and scrambles to regain its footing but Frankie is faster. He grabs the fae by the barbaric iron collar encircling its neck and hauls it up. It claws at his arms and wrists, leaving raised welts but not quite able to draw blood. Cursing, Frankie throws it into the corner of the room. 

The creature crashes into the wall, too slow to catch itself. Chest heaving, it rolls against the wall to face its captors again. It tries to raise the candlestick but Alfred snatches it mid-swing. The fae snarls at being disarmed. 

“What’s this?” Wyatt finds his voice. 

“Keats’ pet,” Frankie spits. “Found it hiding in the garage.”

So, the rumors were true. “Why is it in our dining room?” 

“We were trying to get it to the basement,” Jack says.

Hounds herding geese would have more subtlety. And success for that matter. 

Frankie and Alfred close in on the creature. It’s more than a head shorter than any of the boys, clad in a torn pair of trousers and an oversized shirt that’s more grime than fabric. Knowing Keats, it’s not a certainty that its wings remain intact underneath. 

“Why did Keats send you?” Frankly asks, not for the first time if his tone is any indication. 

The fae boy won’t look at him and gets a sharp slap for its disregard. It clutches its cheek with both hands, glaring at a spot on the floor. Wyatt wonders why it doesn’t try to get away when it fought tooth and nail up to this point. 

Alfred strikes three matches at once, earning its focus as well as a flinch. “Answer the fucking question.” 

Frankie grabs one of its rail-thin arms. It puts up no resistance but, with visible effort, tears its gaze away from the flame to meet Wyatt’s eyes. 

Fear tightens around it like a vice, bound with a bitter righteousness. A swallow caught in barbed wire. And something else. Desperation? Fluttering wings, falling feathers. Hope? 

“Stop. Enough,” he hears himself say. 

“What?” Alfred turns, shaking out the matches when the flame reaches his fingers. Returning the favour from earlier, the fae takes advantage of his distraction to sink its teeth into Frankie’s hand. 

“Sonofabitch—” Frankie releases its arm and winds up to strike but the creature slips between them, weaving around Jimmy and Jack in an impressive display of speed to scurry under the table. 

“Don’t let it out,” someone yells. 

The boys trip over themselves trying to trap it under the table, kicking up a cacophony of sounds. From their stomping boots and all manner of shouting and cursing, to the scrape of chairs being pulled away or used as barriers, if not overturned completely. Hounds herding geese indeed. 

“Wyatt, the door!” 

Too late. 

The fae brushes past his legs, still crouched low enough for the table. But it doesn’t bolt for the door and freedom with its headstart. 

Against all reason, it uses the dresser as a step and throws itself onto Wyatt’s back.

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It is decidedly worse than he imagined, seeing Aiden down on his knees and nailed to the wall. Mercy doesn’t seem like it was part of the equation here but for whatever reason, the assailants mostly aimed for his sweatshirt. Except for his left hand. The sight of it makes Leo’s stomach drop. Always that poor left hand. 

“Leo’s here,” Riley says unhelpfully. 

Aiden doesn’t react. His head is turned the other way but his ragged breathing, fast and shallow, is audible across the room. 

Leo starts toward him but Jesse catches his arm. “He won’t let anyone touch him. Every time we get close, he freaks out.” 

“I think he’s in shock,” Tony supplies. “My cousin dropped a nail gun on his foot once and just started taking off his clothes.” 

“Alright,” Jesse clips.

The room falls silent as Leo makes his way to Aiden’s side and falls to his knees. “Aiden, hey, it’s Leo.”

It’s probably the same naive part of him that couldn’t even stoop to imagine this level of cruelty that also hopes he’ll be able to reach Aiden. It’s been months since Leo felt in over his head but the far away look in Aiden’s eyes makes it feel like their first night all over again and he has no idea where to start. 

“Are you okay?” Stupid question, of course he’s not. Everyone can see he’s not. “What happened?” 

“M’sorry…m’sorry…s-s-sir.”  

Shit. Of all the times for that word to rear its ugly head. He isn’t crying which is an even bigger red flag.

Leo clears his throat, acutely aware of their audience. They’re all good guys but Jesse’s the only one he trusts with Aiden’s history and, even then, it’s just need-to-know. 

“No need to apologize. It’s not your fault. Can we help you get down from there?” 

“Mmm’I didn’t— I don’t— Please, mmm’sorry— Please, sir…” It doesn’t seem like he even knows what he’s begging for at this point. Probably to not make it hurt any worse.

“Aiden, listen—” He reaches to put a hand on Aiden’s shoulder and Aiden cries out, pulling uselessly against the nails to avoid the touch. Leo raises both hands where he can see them. “Easy, easy, I won’t touch you.” 

He twitches a few more times, like it takes his body a minute to catch up with his brain. When he finally does stop, his eyes are even more vacant. “Mmm’sorry, m’sorry, s-sir…mmm’please, please…”

Someone clears their throat. 

Leo looks at Jesse. This is starting to sound like way more than a roughed up kid afraid of losing his job. Especially since they all think Aiden is Leo’s nephew. Or did he say cousin? Either way, at best they’ll think his family believes in some serious corporal punishment. At worst, they’ll recognize the truth. 

“Alright, let’s everyone start cleaning up this mess.” Jesse herds the crew out of the room, assigning jobs. Leo stops listening. 

Aiden stares ahead blankly, his labored breathing the only sign that he has any remaining awareness.

Leo’s palms start to sweat and he wipes them on his jeans. Aiden hasn’t been this freaked out since he woke up in the hospital. Or maybe that night with the nosebleed but even then, they were at home, Aiden wasn’t in pain. They had time. If there’s one thing Leo has needed with Aiden from the beginning, it’s time. He sends a quick text to his sister but doubts he’ll get a response inside the hour. 

“Leo?” Jesse tilts his head, eyebrows raised like he had to say his name more than once. “What do you want to do?” 

“We have to get him down.”

“Right,” Jesse says slowly. “How?” 

“Go get some scissors and the first aid kit.” 

“We already did.” Jesse gestures to Leo’s other side. 

“Oh. Okay, good.” He swallows. “Bolt cutters?”  

“I’ll be right back.” 

Starting anywhere is better than sitting here doing nothing. He doesn’t need to overthink this to death. 

Leo moves as close as he can, keeping his hands visible. “Aiden, can you look at me?” 

He raises his eyes but his gaze never lifts higher than Leo’s cheekbones. 

“Good. Nod if you can hear me.” 

He does, brow furrowing like he thinks it’s a test. 

“Good. Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, sir.”   

“No,” he says as gently as he can. Aiden still flinches. God, he’s so far gone. “Say my name.” 

“Mmm…” He wets his lips nervously, searching Leo’s face. “...sir?” 

“You can do it, say my name.” 

His eyes fill and he shakes his head. 

Leo’s heart aches. “I’m so sorry.” 

Aiden squeezes his eyes shut, a few tears escaping. 

He holds Aiden’s cheek and brings their foreheads together. “Come back to me, baby,” he whispers. 

“L-Leo,” he sobs. “Leo, it hurts.” 

Leo releases the breath he was holding. “I know, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. I’m gonna get you down, I’m gonna take care of you.” 

Aiden sniffles, leaning into his hand. 

“Jesse’s going to help us, okay?” He brushes the tears off Aiden’s cheek with his thumb. “We’ll be as fast as we can.” 

Those big brown eyes finally meet his. “I-I—” 

Jesse walks into the room, making Aiden tense. “Okay, all set.” He holds up the bolt cutters for Leo to see. 

“Easy, it’s just Jesse.” He moves his hand to the back of Aiden’s neck, rubbing his thumb in circles there to keep him calm. 

“Hey, kiddo.” Jesse moves into his eyeline and Aiden grants him the briefest flash of eye contact before looking back to Leo. “So, what’s the plan?” 

“We’ll cut your clothes free first so that when we do your hand, you’re done. Sound good?”

Aiden nods, worry lining his face. 

Jesse digs the scissors out of the first aid kit. It’s a small blessing that they’re actually the kind made for cutting someone’s clothes away. “Ready when you are.” 

“I’m gonna help you stay still.” Leo puts his hand between his shoulder blades. “If you need a break, you just tell us to stop, yeah?” 

“O-okay.”  

“Jesse’s gonna start with your right arm.” 

“Mhm.” 

“You ready?” 

“Mmm.” 

Leo waits for Aiden to meet his eyes again before nodding at Jesse to start. 

“I’m going to hold your sleeve here—” Aiden stops breathing when Jesse slips the scissors into his sweatshirt. He cuts in a straight line all the way to the middle of his shoulder. 

Aiden keeps his arm pressed against the wall even once Jesse moves back. 

“You can move your arm now,” Leo says gently. 

Aiden blinks at him, flexing just his fingers first before he slowly bends his arm at the elbow like he doesn’t believe it’s possible. Finally, he lets his arm fall to his side, clutching his jeans. There are a handful of nicks on either side of his arm but thankfully none of them look deep. 

Leo collects Aiden’s trembling fingers in his. “Breathe, hon. You’re doing good.” 

He releases a shaky exhale, squeezing Leo’s hand tightly.  

“Can I do your right side now?” 

“Uhm—” He clears his throat. “Yeah.” 

When Jesse reaches the top, Leo stops him before he pulls the scissors out. “Cut the rest of this shoulder free and the front.” Jesse does as instructed, cutting him half of an awful semblance of a poncho. Leo keeps his hand in the center of Aiden’s back to hold the fabric against his skin. In retrospect, it seems like a stupid thing to be protective of at this moment. 

Still, he thinks Aiden looks a tiny bit relieved not having his back bared. 

Jesse starts on his left side. He’s almost finished when Aiden inhales sharply, fresh tears springing to his eyes. 

“Aiden?” Leo can’t keep the panic from his voice. 

“Mm’okay,” he says, trying to catch his breath. “K-keep…going.” 

Jesse continues slowly. He lifts the edge of the cut fabric to reveal a trail of blood down Aiden’s side from a spot where a nail pierced through the underside of his arm. “You okay, kiddo?” 

He nods bravely. There are bruises too.

Leo’s blood boils. He’ll press every single fucking charge he can against these motherfuckers, if he doesn’t find them and kill them himself first. 

“Anywhere else that bad?” Jesse asks, snapping Leo out of his thoughts. 

“I-I don’t…mmm’think so,” Aiden says softly.  

“Leo, you want to hold his wrist? Just in case?” 

“Is that okay?” 

Aiden nods.

“Just say the word and we’ll stop, okay?” Leo reminds him. 

“Mhm.” 

He covers Aiden’s wrist with his hand, holding it fast against the wall. It doesn’t escape him that Aiden stops breathing altogether.

Jesse stops when he reaches Leo’s hand. 

“You’re going to have to hold him better. Once I’m through, he won’t be able to keep his arm steady at this height.”  

He’s right. Leo takes a breath and releases Aiden’s hand. “I’m just—” 

“S’okay,” Aiden says, nodding. 

Leo’s throat feels thick. “Good boy,” he says without thinking. 

Aiden looks down shyly. 

“Ready?” Jesse prompts. 

Leo grips Aiden by the elbow and moves his other hand to the end of the cut fabric, locking his arm against the wall. 

“Okay, there.” Jesse drops the scissors like they’re inflammatory. “Done.” 

Aiden’s starting to tremble in his grip, breath coming in short, shallow gasps. 

“Get the bolt cutters,” he tells Jesse urgently. “Aiden, look at me.” It takes a second too long for his eyes to focus on Leo’s. “Trust me?” 

“Yes.” 

Leo feels a rush of adrenaline and maybe something else. “Close your eyes.” 

Aiden squeezes his eyes shut and leans into Leo’s side as much as he can with his arm pinned to the wall. He braces his free hand beside his chest, fingertips curling like he wants to dig into the drywall. 

Leo nods at Jesse. 

The bolt cutters seem like they’re made to take off his very fingers. It looks horrific, using such a monstrous tool right next to a vulnerable, exposed wound. Leo wants to look away himself. 

Jesse is careful and precise. He lines up as close to Aiden’s hand as he can get without touching it and cuts. Leo doesn’t hesitate either, pulling Aiden’s hand off the nail. It all happens in the span of a few seconds.   

Aiden chokes halfway through the whimper he started when the bolt cutters bit the nail. His expression twists in pain, mouth open in silent, surprised agony like he got the wind knocked out of him. Leo feels guilty for choosing speed over warning. Aiden grabs the wrist of his injured hand protectively and turns his face into Leo’s shoulder. 

“I got you, I got you,” Leo wraps an arm around him. “You’re gonna be okay.” 

He coughs a sob into Leo’s sweatshirt, turning his face out of the fabric to gasp a shaky inhale. 

Jesse ducks out of the room, mumbling about getting him water. 

“You did good, sweetheart. You did good.” 

He lifts his head to look up at Leo, still trying to catch his breath. “I-I’m s-sorry…mm’about the-the house.” 

Leo crushes him in a hug, mindful of his hand, and rests his cheek against Aiden’s temple. “I don’t give a shit about the damn house.” 

Aiden huffs in his arms. 

God, he doesn’t know what he would have done if Aiden wasn’t okay. 

Jesse comes back with Aiden’s water bottle and phone. Leo avoids the look he’s trying to share. Aiden takes a few sips of water, letting Leo help him when even his uninjured hand is too shaky. 

“You think you can hold out on the first aid until we get home?” Leo suggests. “I don’t think any of these are bleeding anymore.” 

He nods, looking relieved. 

Aiden and Jesse each take a side to lift him to his feet. He looks ridiculous, and a little pathetic, though Leo would never say either outloud. The butchered hoodie hangs off him like a poncho, his bruised ribs visible on either side, looking totally out of place over his dry-wall dusted jeans and workboots. 

“Let me give you my jacket,” Jesse offers, picking it up from where he must have tossed it earlier. He drapes it carefully around Aiden’s shoulders before clearing his throat. “Listen, I’m—” 

“Later,” Leo clips.   

Aiden searches his face. 

“Come on, let’s get you home.” 

He nods, brow still creased. 

“Hope it feels better quick, kiddo,” Jesse says, patting him on the shoulder. 

“It-it doesn’t…mmm’hurt that-that bad.” Leo would bet the winning powerball numbers that’s a load of bullshit. Aiden just has an impossible pain tolerance and a knee-jerk need to placate people. He lifts his hand to look for himself…and slumps toward the floor. 

Leo barely manages to catch him with Jesse getting in the way trying to do the same. “I got him, I got him,” he snaps. 

Jesse holds up his hands. “Just trying to help, Leo.”

“Yeah, now.” He carefully lays Aiden down, making sure Jesse’s jacket is under him. 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

He pulls his hoodie off and folds it up to put under Aiden’s head. He sits beside him and puts a hand to his cheek. “Hon, can you hear me?” 

“Is he alright?” Jesse clicks his tongue when Leo doesn’t answer right away. “I’ve been helping this whole time.” 

Aiden’s out cold. “He’ll be fine, it was just too much,” he says to stop Jesse from hovering. “Hand me the first aid kit.” He might as well save Aiden more stress later. 

Jesse drops the bag at his side and paces away. And back. Forward and back. 

Leo grinds his teeth. “None of this would have happened if you had just waited for me to come back before leaving.” 

“I set the alarm!” Jesse defends. “You were supposed to be back two hours ago, what about where the fuck you were?” 

“The Woburn store was out, I had to drive all the way to Lowell.” 

Leo sprays antiseptic onto some gauze and starts dabbing the wound on Aiden’s hand, front and back. The burn is only just-healed, crossed over the deep wound from the beginning. Now this. God, what if he needs a tetanus shot? 

“Setting the alarm is not the same thing as being here,” he grits. “I trusted you.” 

Jesse’s mouth falls open. Leo looks away to open a new piece of gauze. “That’s not fair. You never said I couldn’t leave him alone at all. You know if you had, I would have stayed.” 

Leo focuses on bandaging his hand, taping the edges neatly. He wants to work quickly and finish all of it before Aiden wakes up. He sighs. “Can you hold his wrist? I don’t want to bump his hand.” 

Jesse folds into a seat and takes Aiden gently by the wrist so Leo can clean the puncture under his arm. His eyes trace the scar on his forearm. “This was that night?” 

Leo keeps his focus on what he’s doing. “Yeah.” All of Aiden’s scars are hard to look at but especially those. They happened when Leo was supposed to be keeping him safe. He takes a breath. “I’m saying it now.” 

“Leo—” 

“You’re right about today,” he agrees. “You didn’t know before so I’m saying it now.” 

He tapes the edges of another square of gauze to make a bandage. Once it’s on the wound, he takes Aiden’s wrist back and carefully crosses his arm over his chest so his hand rests by his shoulder. At least the poor kid almost looks peaceful. 

He pauses to drag a hand over his face. “This is what it’s like though. Most of the time, it’s fine. It’s almost normal. But when it goes bad, it goes really, really bad.” 

Jesse glances down at Aiden. 

“For example, who turned off the alarm?” 

“It—I—” 

“Exactly. What are the odds any given day that a site is vandalized? What are the odds those assholes know how to cut the alarm before they even get in? And what are the chances those same fuckers have a streak of sadism?” He dabs antiseptic on all of the other nicks he can see. “So, yeah, five minutes, fifteen minutes, it’s too long.”

Jesse swallows. “Leo, I’m—”

“I know. You won’t let it happen again. Neither will I.” He looks down at Aiden. “And as soon as he’s feeling a little better, I’m gonna kill him for not having his phone on him. He better bet his ass he’s getting a fucking Apple watch sautered onto his wrist.”

Jesse huffs a laugh. “I’m surprised you haven’t done that already.” 

“No kidding.” Satisfied with this first aid sprint, Leo zips up the case. Jesse reaches over to take the trash from him. 

“You’re doing a great job, you know.” 

Leo waves him off. 

“No, really. I don’t think you hear it enough. Probably because you won’t listen.” Leo rolls his eyes. “He’s a completely different person than the first day I met him. Speaking of…” 

Aiden scrunches up his face and lets out a soft whimper. “No,” he whispers under his breath. He’s still as stone, like he’s afraid to move. 

Or thinks he can’t.

Leo pulls him up by the tops of his arms and his eyes fly open. “Hey, hey, look at me.” He holds his cheek. “That’s it. You’re here with me. I’ve got you.”

He shakes his head like he’s dispelling whatever had him confused. 

Leo waits until his eyes are clear. “You took a little nap so I did some first aid,” he gently lifts his arm by the wrist to show him that his hand is bandaged. 

“Ahh, okay.” He looks relieved and pulls in a deliberate, deep breath.

Leo doesn’t pry. “What do you say we get you home?” 

Aiden nods. 

“Take two,” Jesse jokes. 

Aiden awards him a small smile. He lets them balance most of his weight going down the stairs but at the bottom, he steps away. Leo almost reaches out to help him but Jesse catches his sleeve. 

“Ayy, look who’s back.” Tony swoops in to fist bump Aiden and sparks a rush of attention. 

As they slowly make their way to the front door, every single person on the crew comes up to check that he’s okay. Telling him to get some rest and heal up quick so he can come back soon. A few more reach out for a fist bump or to lightly pat him on the shoulder. Aiden smiles shyly and even joins in the banter with a one-word quip that earns him another round of fist bumps. 

Far from the skinny, shivering kid who wouldn’t make eye contact and could barely stand on his own two feet when Leo pulled him out of the snowbank. Leo’s heart swells.

Once they get Aiden situated, Jesse walks Leo to the driver’s side. “Take as much time as you need, I can hold things down for a few days. And, sorry again. I didn’t—” 

“It’s all good. Thanks for helping with everything. I’ll call you tomorrow.” 

Aiden returns Jesse’s wave as Leo turns around. 

Leo swings out of the driveway onto the tree-lined lane. It’s a nice neighborhood which is why he and Jesse jumped at the chance to get the house in a foreclosure auction. Maybe next time Aiden doesn’t work those jobs. 

The light at the end of the street is green, he takes a left. 

“A movie on the couch sounds really good.” He changes lanes for some moron in a Beamer trying to get a ticket. “Aiden? What do you think?” 

He doesn’t answer. 

Because he’s crying. Good hand covering his face while the bandaged one trembles in the air. 

“Hon,” Leo reaches over and puts his hand on the back of his neck. 

That only opens the floodgates and Aiden starts sobbing. “I—I—don’t—” 

“I’m gonna stop, hang on.” Leo rubs his neck, chest tightening every time he has a chance to glance over. 

He takes the first turn he can, pulling into a Wendy’s and swinging into the closest parking spot. Leo’s got his seatbelt off before he even kills the engine. He reaches over and unbuckles Aiden’s, pausing when he sees the look on his face. 

“H-h-how do…they-they…mmm’always…know?” he sobs.

 Leo’s heart splinters. “Oh, sweetheart.” He pulls the sobbing, shaking boy into his arms. 

“I-I—tried to-to…mmm’fight…b-back.” 

Oh, God. Leo clears his throat. “Aiden, listen to me. Nothing about you or what you did invited what happened.” 

He sits up to search Leo’s face. His is a mess of snot and tears. “But-but—” 

“I mean it.” Leo reaches around him to pull a handkerchief out of the glove box, gently cleans his face. “We don’t know how this would have played out with someone else.” 

Aiden sniffles, looking down at his hand. 

“I was going to wait until tomorrow to ask you any questions but how many people broke in?” 

“Mmm’three…three guys.” 

He refuses to let himself picture it. “I don’t know if I could best three guys.”

Those dark eyes flick up to his face and then back down. “That-that…uhmmm, first…night.” 

Leo grimaces internally. “Alright. I mean, yeah…but they didn’t have anything to fight with.” 

Aiden frowns. 

“Just because someone else might have been stronger, doesn’t mean they would have come away scott free.”

Aiden flinches, looking down to hide his face so Leo can’t catch his gaze. He makes a mental note to ask about it later, when the kid wasn’t still nailed to a wall within the last hour. 

“For all we know, a longer fight could have made things worse.” 

No dice. At least he’s not crying anymore. 

Leo wishes he knew exactly what to say, exactly what the kid needed to hear. Since words are failing him, he just pulls Aiden back into his arms. Aiden melts into the hug, sniffling. Leo holds him tight, rubbing slow circles on his back. They sit in the parking lot until Aiden’s breathing is long and steady, the sun starting to set. 

“Can-can…we…?” 

“Yeah, let’s go home.” 

Leo helps him buckle into the middle seat so he can lean into Leo’s side for the rest of the drive. 

They’re almost home when Leo realizes that Aiden has been gearing up to say something for the last ten minutes. His lips moving while he parses the words, a crease between his brows. Leo catches his gaze and Aiden bites his lips together. 

He squeezes his knee. “What is it, hon? I’m listening.” 

Aiden keeps his eyes trained out the windshield, like he’s afraid to look at Leo. “Mmm’can, can I…can I…really go…mmm’back?” 

“What do you mean? Back to work, like once you're better?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Of course you can.” Leo pulls into the driveway, following as it curves around the first condo in the row and leads into the tiny parking lot at the back. He parks in his usual spot, glad he can turn to see Aiden fully now. “That is, if you want to.” 

Aiden finally looks at him. “I…w-want to.” 

“Good.” Leo pats his knee. “Because you kind of don’t have a choice.”

Aiden raises his eyebrows. 

“In case you didn’t notice with that goodbye, you’re part of the crew. They’d come find you if you didn’t come back.”

Aiden shakes his head but as he turns to open the passenger side door, he’s smiling. 

Previous — Masterlist — Next

@octopus-reactivated @maracujatangerine @nick-pascal @whumpy-writings @cracked-porcelain-princess

@meetmeinhellcroutons @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @jo-doe-seeking-inspo @neuro-whump

@wolfeyedwitch @skyhawkwolf @haro-whumps @onlybadendings

@peachy-panic @fillthedarkvoid @rabass @crystalquartzwhump @dont-touch-my-soup

@mylifeisonthebookshelf @hold-him-down @guachipongo @creetchure @leyswhumpdump

@aseasonwithclarasblog @catawhumpus @magziemakeswhatever @pigeonwhumps @batfacedliar-yetagain

@whumpinthepot @dustypinetree @whump-in-progress @light-me-on-pyre @whumps-and-bumps

@i-eat-worlds @hellodecisionparalysis @heartfullofhoney @alternateminds @taterswhump

@handsinmotion @arobear @dj-subwoofer @deluxewhump @wildliferehabstudent

Leo sighs and sets down the tote bags he lugged from the kitchen, one with an entire crockpot full of his locally-famous chili and the other all the fixings. His contribution to Tony’s annual potluck for everyone on the crew and about thirty cousins Leo can never remember the names of, even after all these years. 

Aiden waits at the bottom of the steps, toeing the edge of the shoveled walkway in the glow of the lamppost. He tries to start walking when he hears Leo behind him.

“Hon, wait.” Leo catches his sleeve but he doesn’t turn. “Are you sure you’re—” 

“Please, let’s go.”  

“Hey, come on. Look at me.” He lets Leo turn him around. 

Aiden frowns when he sees Leo’s not wearing a coat. “We’re-we’re leaving.” 

“Why won’t you let me finish a question?” 

He huffs but it sounds more shaky than annoyed. “If you keep… I-I can’t…” 

Leo tilts his head.

“Stop.” 

“Stop what?” Leo holds up both hands. “Listening to you?” 

That earns him a genuine sigh of irritation and nearly an eyeroll. “You know.” 

He raises his eyebrows in mock innocence. “No idea.” 

There it is. 

Leo bites back a smirk. He can’t remember when he started collecting Aiden’s moments of belated-teenage petulance like merit badges but they never get old. “Hmm okay. I think I see the problem.”

Aiden narrows his eyes. “You—” 

He might be a year of Leo’s cooking and manual labor stronger but Leo can still flip him over his shoulder like he weighs nothing. Aiden yelps and scrambles to grip fistfuls of the back of Leo’s shirt. 

“N-no, what—” Leo carries him inside and drops him into a seat on the couch. “We’re leaving," he still tries. 

Leo kneels and swipes Aiden’s beanie off his head. “I’m leaving. You’re staying here.” 

“What?” He grabs for his hat but Leo switches it to his other hand and holds it out of reach. “I’m g-going.” 

While he’s focused on the hat, Leo grabs one of his boots. Aiden never ties them if he can avoid it, so it slides right off. 

“Whatthehell?” 

“I’m afraid you’re too sick to go to the party,” Leo says dramatically, throwing his hat and boot into the entryway. 

Aiden scowls at him but it doesn't reach his eyes. “No, I’m—”

Leo pulls his other boot off, pausing to make sure Aiden’s biting back a smile before he throws it to join the rest. “Fork over the jacket, you must be boiling. What with the fever you’re running.” 

Aiden bites his lip, suddenly serious. “Leo…” 

“There will be other parties, hon.”  

He studies Leo’s face. “But—”

“You already know what I’m going to say.” 

Aiden huffs and unzips his coat, pushing it into Leo’s arms as he flops back against the couch in defeat. 

Leo shakes out Aiden’s favorite blanket and lays it over his lap, adding the remotes on top. When he returns with a mug of hot chocolate and the tin of cookies they baked together, Aiden’s moved into Leo’s spot, legs stretched out on the chaise part of the couch. 

Leo smiles. “Pick something cheesy.”  

Aiden shakes his head, trying to hide his sheepish smile. 

“I’ll see you in a few hours. You call me if you need anything.” 

“Mhm.” 

Leo will be counting the minutes until he’s stealing that spot back and pulling Aiden under his arm. He spends most of his tenure at these things holed up in the kitchen, helping with whatever needs doing or standing outside with the smokers just for some air. Biding his time sipping Coke until he can make a perfectly timed exit. Late enough for all the social currency reasons but before anyone is too drunk to feel embarrassed the next day about what the boss saw. 

He grabs his coat and hangs Aiden’s in its place, beanie tucked into the pocket. He pairs Aiden’s boots together on the mat before pulling on his own. 

Jesse’s been leaving after less than an hour for years because of his daughter. It’s about time Leo had an excuse of his own but the only way Aiden is comparable to an actual child is if he’s sick. Maybe this is selfish after all. 

Except Leo heard him get up five times last night, going outside twice when he couldn’t settle back down without the help of no walls. There’s nothing particularly different about today. He was fine when they went to Riley's last month. Sometimes these things just land wrong. 

“Leo?” 

“Yeah?”

“Uhm…”

He crouches beside the couch. 

Aiden avoids his eyes. “Can you—will you…say it anyway…?”

Leo rubs his crooked finger under Aiden’s chin until he looks up. “No one’s keepin' score, baby.” He kisses him on the forehead. “You good?”

He nods, sniffling. They both pretend his eyes aren’t filmed with tears. “Yeah, thanks.” 

“Love you, hon.” 

“Love you too.” 

Leo barely lasts thirty minutes at the party, back at Aiden’s side within the hour like he really is sick. They fall asleep after a marathon of Christmas claymation classics and Aiden sleeps soundly all night, curled up under Leo’s arm.

@octopus-reactivated @maracujatangerine @nick-pascal @whumpy-writings @cracked-porcelain-princess

@meetmeinhellcroutons @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @jo-doe-seeking-inspo @neuro-whump

@painsandconfusion @wolfeyedwitch @skyhawkwolf @haro-whumps @onlybadendings

@peachy-panic @fillthedarkvoid @rabass @crystalquartzwhump @dont-touch-my-soup

@mylifeisonthebookshelf @hold-him-down @guachipongo @creetchure @leyswhumpdump

@aseasonwithclarasblog @catawhumpus @magziemakeswhatever @pigeonwhumps @batfacedliar-yetagain

@whumpinthepot @dustypinetree @whump-in-progress @light-me-on-pyre @whumps-and-bumps

@i-eat-worlds @hellodecisionparalysis @heartfullofhoney @alternateminds @taterswhump