A/N- Why hello again. I am here with pt3 of this series. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
Warnings- crying, food mention, swearing, talk of being slapped, tell me if i should add more.
Summary- De is trying his best, and its going pretty well.
Remus trudged to the car, De right beside him. Both males were silent but both for different reasons.
Remus was silent because...he didn't know what would happen if he tried to speak. The sick bubble of anxiety and dread in his gut made it clear that it wasn't gonna leave anytime soon and that meant an absolute war for the emotions he usually tried to bury. He didn't know whether he wanted to cry or scream or laugh or run. Maybe he wanted to do them all. Maybe he didn't.
De was silent because he didn't know what to say. The last time he had ever seen Remus cry was two and a half years ago. Remus had been adopted for about six months at that time and finally decided to open up to De and tell him about Roman, the identical twin he “abandoned”( if you ask De though, Remus was only trying to do what he thought was best. He was only trying to be a good brother) and after that he had seemed to be...fine. Then the incident, then therapy and then...now. He didn't know what was so bad to have gotten Remus to cry and beg him to take him home but he knew that it was definitely not good.
De tried to swim through his brain and search for memories of what his parents used to do whenever he had a really bad breakdown. The bullying and ptsd from his birth parents left a lot of troubles for the young male but his moms always managed to get him through it. They always made him hot chocolate and held him while he cried..maybe Remus needed the same?
They slid into the car, Remus in the back as always. De looked back at his silent son, casting a reassuring glance his way. Remus just leaned his head against the cool glass window and closed his eyes. With a sigh, De started the car.
The ride home was as silent as the walk to the car but a lot less awkward. It was more of a comforting silence. One that the father and son appreciated immensely. As they grew closer to their destination De tried to draw some reaction out of Remus.
“Oh! A starbucks...do you want anything, dear?” De had asked, praying to any god stupid enough to listen that his son would at least say no.
Remus lifted his head to stare at the building for a quick second. De felt a bit of hope well in his stomach. Although it died when Remus just blinked before putting his head back on the window and closed his eyes. De just huffed and continued on home.
He parked in the assigned parking space and turned to tell Remus to get out but Remus was already at the door. De got out and followed him in. Remus tried to escape upstairs to his room but De knew that this was way too serious to ignore.
“Hold it, mister. You are not going to hide in your room.” De exclaimed, causing Remus to pause at the top of the stairs.
“But Deeeeeee,” Remus whined. De just chuckled and motioned for him to come back downstairs. Remus took off his backpack and threw it towards the direction of his room before hopping onto the banister and sliding down. He almost crashed into De but De was smart and moved out the way, causing Remus to fall flat on his ass.
“Okay, to the living room. I'm gonna go make some hot chocolate.”
“Not your “spill your guts” hot chocolate, right?” Remus asked from the living room, flicking through channels.
“Yes, it is my “spill your guts” hot chocolate. Deal with it.” De called, pouring the warm milk into two mugs. He heard Remus whine but he didn't care, he was gonna drink it and he was gonna like it.
De walked into the living room with two mugs. One filled with hot chocolate and one filled with tea. De handed the mug of hot chocolate to Remus and plopped down next to him. He looked over at the show Remus had picked; Criminal Minds. Their favorite show….
“Nope!” Deceit said, turning off the tv. Remus looked at him like he was crazy. I mean, he was but he still didn't like the look.
“Don't give me that look, Rem. I know what you're doing.”
“I'm not doing anything!”
“Nope. You're trying to distract me with our favorite show and I don't appreciate i-”
“How are you so sure of that? I've just had a bad day, De, and i wanna watch my favor-”
“No. Remus. No.” De said, tone non-negotiable. Remus huffed and sunk into the couch cushion, taking small sips of his hot chocolate. De sighed at the sight.
“Remus, I know you don't wanna talk about it but you're gonna have to. If not with me then with Dr. Picani. You seemed pretty upset, and that's putting it lightly. I haven't seen you like that in years and I'm worried, dear. I want to at least know what happened.” De explained, tone borderline pleading. Remus tried his hardest not to cry, he really did….but with the look De was giving him and the hot chocolate and the safety of being home and with someone he trusts..
Remus broke faster than ankles being hit with a Razor scooter.
He collapsed into De’s chest, crumbling into a mess of tears and incoherent babbling. De, reliable as always, managed to snag the cup from Remus and place it on the coffee table before the boy could drop it. He also set down his own mug to calmly card his fingers through Remus’ forever messy locks.
“It's okay, dear. Let it all out,” De murmured, soft and sweet. It caused Remus to cry even harder, if that was possible.
“It's alright dear…. it's alright,” De whispered. He felt Remus shudder at the reassuring words, still unused to them even after three years.
“He-h-h-he was s-so a-a-ang-gry D-de!” Remus blubbered. De became worried when he said that. He? Who could be he?
It can't be...nonono...he’s...he’s supposed to be back in Florida!
De gulped. “Wh-who is he… dear?” De asked, trying to not let his nervousness slip through.
"R-r-r-roman…" Remus whispered into De' chest. De felt himself stiffen up and he guessed Remus felt it too because it just made the boy cry harder, if that were possible.
Deceit quickly continued to card his fingers through Remus' hair.
"You...you saw Roman? Your brother?" De said. It came out more like a question but it wasn't one, not really. More astonishment than anything. Remus just nodded.
"H-h-he-he ye-yelled at m-me and-an-and-”
“Slapped you?” De had finished. Remus stared up at him in astonishment. How in the world could he have known that?
De placed a gentle hand on Remus’ right cheek, a light sting alerted Remus of the bruise he had forgotten would be forming from the intensity of the slap. De frowned.
“We should tell the school, he hurt you and that's not-”
“De,” Remus interrupted, voice still a bit shaky. “I h-hurt him more than-th-than I could imagine. I-I gave him a..away. I didn't bother t-to contact h-hi-him or anything!” Remus said. De just stroked his non-hurt cheek and stared at him. His bi-colored eyes did something to Remus no adult could ever do; calm him. They made him relax into his gentle hold and the intensity in them just added to that. They made Remus feel protected, something he only ever used to feel with Roman.
De sighed but didn't argue, he could tell Remus was serious.
“Okay, I won't report him but try and avoid him. If he ever goes near you just turn around. No fighting, remember?”
“Yeah, I know,” Remus sighed. “N-not like I’d fight him anyway. Unlike R-Roman I’d never be able to hit my b-brother.” Remus said, barley stuttering. De knew that this meant that he’d calmed down but he also knew that he’d crash any minute. A breakdown like that would tire even the most active three year old down, which was what Remus was most times.
“Do you wanna sleep in your room or on the couch?” De asked. Remus retracted himself from the older man and thought for a second.
“Depends...you going back to work?” Remus asked. De shook his head which surprised Remus.
“You seemed so distressed that I decided to just take the rest of the day off.” De explained. Remus nodded, too drained to do much else.
“I’ll… I think I’ll nap here,” he decided before unceremoniously flopping onto the rest of the couch. De pulled a blanket on top of him and placed a gentle kiss onto his forehead.
“I love you, dear.” De mumbled into his hair.
“Mmm...love you too...de,” Remus mumbled back before falling into a deep sleep.
De smiled down at his son before walking into the kitchen to get lunch started.
The only thing I vaguely remember about elementary school other than teachers hitting me was I rarely got picked up in time I would sit at the office for an extra 2 hours and making some random teacher sit with me the whole time
