Family 1/? (Parental g/t)
It’s a rewrite of my old story, hope you enjoy!
Fear, curse words, mention of adoption/CPS, not eating enough, insomnia
Mark and James are high school sweethearts who eventually got married. They are an extremely happy couple: they own a home, have a healthy relationship, and share the life they’ve always dreamed of. The only thing missing is a child.
For the past five years, they’ve been trying to adopt, but for reasons unknown, CPS has kept their case on hold.
Cain is a fourteen-year-old orphaned borrower who takes care of his younger sister, Lizzie.
The two have just moved into a new house, and since Cain doesn’t know the household’s schedule yet, he can’t go borrowing. Lizzie, however, comes up with a “brilliant” idea…
James paced the living room, unable to stand still.
“I know, baby” Mark said, getting up from the couch and walking over to his husband. He rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“They’re ignoring us.” The blond bit his lip, struggling to hold back tears.
“We can’t let it get to us—”
“Mark, for fuck’s sake!” James snapped. “I really tried! I wanted our family to grow so badly! And they’re still keeping our case on hold!”
He dropped onto the couch, burying his face in his hands.
He had always dreamed of having children. And once he’d found the love of his life—Mark—it had seemed only natural to believe that dream would eventually come true. Mark had a way of making everything seem possible. That’s just who he was.
They’d passed every assessment with flying colours. They’d excelled in the foster parent training. There had been no doubt that they’d be welcoming a child into their home soon.
Today, the house was still quiet.
There were toys. Children’s bedrooms. Lunch boxes. Cosy blankets. Diapers.
But no child to fill the void in their hearts.
“I know how hard this is for you” Mark said softly as he sat beside him. “It’s hard for me too.”
“W-what are we going to do?” James whispered through a sob, his tear-filled eyes meeting Mark’s brown ones.
The man just offered him a sad smile.
“We’re going to be patient.”
He gently pulled James closer, letting him rest his head against his shoulder.
“I’m absolutely certain there’s a child out there who’s waiting for us just as eagerly as we’re waiting for them.”
“Quiet, Lizzie!” Cain hissed, trying to shush his sister.
They’d only just moved into a new humans’ house. They couldn’t afford to be this careless.
A borrower must always be quiet.
The words echoed through the teen’s mind.
Cain was busy putting together their new shelter. They’d had to abandon their previous home after the humans brought in a cat—and those beasts were far too dangerous for borrowers to live alongside. Yuck.
Their new place was also far from perfect.
They barely had enough belongings to make the shelter feel homely.
And they had hardly any food left.
Even though they desperately needed to borrow all sorts of things, Cain pretended everything was fine. For now, he focused on planning their hideout and carving out tunnels through the walls.
It was all he could really do now.
He didn’t know the humans’ routine yet.
Borrowing was simply too dangerous.
“You’re such a fun killer” the little girl—Lizzie—grumbled.
She hopped down from the tiny staircase of nails her brother had just built, and a human-sized hair clip tumbled out from behind her.
Cain turned sharply, his expression hardening.
“Lizzie, where did you find that? You know you’re not allowed to borrow anything!” His voice rose—not out of anger, but fear for her safety.
After what had happened to their parents, he couldn’t risk losing his little sister too. He was incredibly anxious.
“Relax, big man.” She smiled innocently. “It was lying near the tunnel to the garage. I just thought it’d look cute in my room!”
Cain took the clip from her and examined it.
With a plastic unicorn attached at the top. The tiny mythical creature was the perfect size to become one of Lizzie’s toys.
He understood why she’d wanted it.
After all, she was only eight.
Too young to be cautious.
“That’s weird…” he murmured, studying it more closely.
“I was sure there weren’t any children in this house.”
Would they have to move again?
He hadn’t had time to look around properly yet. The house had been so quiet and peaceful that he’d assumed only adults lived there.
He looked back at Lizzie, gently ruffled her hair, and handed the clip back.
“You can keep it. But from now on, you’re not allowed to leave the hideout. Especially not by yourself.”
She threw her arms around him.
But beneath the smile, a new worry settled in his chest.
He’d hoped that, in two or maybe three weeks, these walls would finally begin to feel like home. But if there really was a child living here…
Or would they have to start over all over again?
And if they did, they had another problem.
They were running out of food.
He’d hoped to start borrowing within a few days, but the humans’ routine was too unpredictable.
He felt Lizzie tug at his sleeve.
“Dinner time?” she asked hopefully.
“Whaaaat? But I’m hungry!” she whined.
He sat down on the folded piece of cloth that served as their bed until he had time to build a proper one.
“There’s not much food left. We have to make it last for a little while. We just have to be brave.”
“Why?” Lizzie asked, sitting beside him. Confusion was written all over her face.
“I can’t go borrowing yet. I need to watch these humans for a while and learn their routine. As soon as it’s safe, I’ll bring you all the food you could ever want.”
“No ‘buts,’ Lizzie.” His voice was gentle but firm. “Humans are dangerous monsters. We can’t afford to make a mistake.”
“I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. That’s why you have to be extra careful and stay inside our hideout, okay?”
At first, it wasn’t all that bad. Cain focused on working on the tunnels, and every now and then he found something they could use in their hideout.
However, they ate less and less.
The teenager kept telling his sister he wasn’t hungry so she could have a little more. She hadn’t noticed.
But soon there was no denying that both of them were starving.
Cain still insisted it wasn’t safe to go borrowing yet. He seemed unusually anxious about the two human men living in the house.
By that point, Lizzie was determined to help her brother and prove that she was already a grown up.
So she decided to go borrowing herself.
When Cain finally fell asleep, she grabbed his hook and bag and hurried through the tunnel leading to the kitchen.
She was convinced it wouldn’t be that hard. Every borrower learned how to borrow eventually. Cain had been eleven when he learned. That wasn’t much older than she was now.
And besides, he was a dork.
She would obviously be a much better borrower.
At the very least, she was cuter.
“Woah” she whispered, covering her mouth as her eyes widened. “So cool!”
She stood at the end of the tunnel that led onto the countertop.
She had never been out in the open before.
Lizzie stepped forward, staring around in awe. The countertop was far larger than their entire hideout. She looked across the enormous kitchen at the chairs, the table, the couch, the fridge…
Then she looked up and spotted the tall cabinets above her. Her smile grew even wider.
“Easy-peasy” she told herself.
She tossed the hook toward one of the cabinet handles. It took three tries, but eventually she got it right.
“I’m the best borrower ever” she whispered proudly as she began climbing the rope.
This wasn’t scary at all. It felt like an adventure. She was thrilled. If anything, she was a little annoyed that Cain had never brought her here before.
“And Cain thought it wasn’t safe to borrow yet” she giggled as she reached the cabinet.
Peeking inside, she gasped.
Chips, protein bars, cookies, and all other kinds of snacks.
Her stomach growled loudly.
She needed that food. Especially the cookies. They were a must.
Cain would be so proud of her if she brought back so much delicious things. She was sure of it.
She tugged on the cabinet door, but it didn’t move.
“Ugh!” she hissed in frustration. “Why won’t you open? I just want cookies!”
She planted her feet against the cabinet and pulled with all her strength.
This time the door finally gave way—but it also swung back with impossible force, knocking her off the edge.
Lizzie grabbed the rope instantly.
Her heart dropped, and a scream escaped her throat.
The rope held, but it wrapped around her legs and arms as she spun.
“No, no, no!” she yelped.
She tried to move, but she was completely tangled. Her face burned with embarrassment, and tears filled her eyes.
“I was supposed to be the best borrower ever…”
She struggled harder, but every movement only made her dizzier. She was dangling over the edge, impossibly high above the floor.
“I want Cain” she sobbed.
But even if she screamed, he was too far away to hear her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her sobs grew louder.
She was just a kid in trouble.
She needed her big brother to rescue her, scold her, and take her back to safety. She needed Cain.
She sniffled, trying to wipe her nose, but the rope kept her arms pinned awkwardly against her body, which only made her cry harder.
“That’s not what borrowing is supposed to look like!” she wailed, kicking at the rope. “Stupid, stupid rope!”
She squirmed so much that the cabinet door finally swung all the way open with a loud thud.
Her eyes widened as she looked around the dark kitchen.
It’s nighttime. Humans sleep at night. Humans sleep at night.
She repeated the words in her head, trying desperately to calm herself.
Her chest rose and fell in quick, shaky breaths.
She should have listened to Cain.
Now all she could do was stay still, cry quietly, and pray that her brother would wake up, realize she was gone, and come save her.
She squeezed her eyes shut and fought the urge to whine.
A borrower must always be quiet.
That was what Cain had taught her. That’s one of the 3 big rules of borrowers.
She prayed the humans hadn’t heard anything.
Then, a few seconds later, the ground began to tremble.
Lizzie knew that scary sound.
James hadn’t been sleeping well lately.
Everything surrounding the adoption process had left him exhausted, yet somehow unable to rest. He’d wake at random hours, wander through the house, scroll mindlessly on his phone—anything to keep the nightmares away.
The anxiety was slowly eating away at him from the inside.
It was a little after 4 am now.
He decided to get a glass of water. If he accidentally woke Mark, at least he’d have a reasonable excuse.
As he walked down the hallway, he paused outside the nursery they’d prepared together. His hand rested against the doorframe.
For a long moment, he simply stood there, taking it all in.
The shelves filled with kids books.
The stuffed animals waiting patiently for someone to hold them.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
Please, he thought. Just send us our child.
It came from the kitchen.
His shoulders tensed as his eyes swept across the dark hallway.
He began walking into the direction of the kitchen.
Just what they needed. Another reason for CPS to decide they weren’t fit to raise a child.
He let out a quiet breath and continued toward the kitchen.
The sound came again. This once more clearly.
Mice didn’t sob. Neither did bugs.
Well… he had barely scraped through biology in high school, so perhaps he wasn’t the best person to make that claim. But he was almost sure.
He reached for the light switch.
The kitchen was flooded with warm light.
At first glance, everything seemed perfectly ordinary.
There was no burglar, thank God. And nothing seemed to be on the floor.
Then something caught his eye.
A thin string dangled from one of the cabinet handles.
His gaze followed it downward.
Then his heart skipped a beat.
Two tiny, terrified ocean eyes stared back at him.
Something much, much smaller.
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