Hello! This may be out of the blue but I was looking through your AOP fanart and now I'm really curious; Why do Hosuh, Stephen and Jay raise baby Gavin in that Jaystosuh AU?
Hi!! Sorry I'm replying late! I've transferred my art to Instagram so I wasn't active on tumblr to see any asks ;w; !!
But to answer your question,, @silly-nonny-fics-are-for-fandoms actually did the back story since I didnt really go much into it!
Basically the Ng's bros parents died from an incident and Stephen managed to escape with his baby bro (barely a year old) and to Hosuhs house. They took care of Gavin ever since.
Heres some parts of @silly-nonny-fics-are-for-fandoms 's awesome fanfic that I still squeal over uwu:
Summary: The sun was an evil, evil being. It streamed in through the glass, disrupting the peace. Couldn’t they have just five more minutes of blissful sleep?
Read on Ao3
The sun was a curse, and the three boys were sure of that fact. It was one of their responsibility to close the curtains, but none of them could ever remember who's it was. So now they had to deal with the reality that the sun was up, and that meant they had to wake up. Hosuh was the first to react, squished in between the two loves of his life, by simply turning over to face Stephen. Their bed was plenty big, they didn't have to be so close, and their bed definitely didn't need to be up against the window, but they wanted to have that sense of closeness without falling off the bed and the only other completely free wall was right next to the door.
"Jaayy, close the curtain..." Hosuh mumbled, hiding his face from the sun's harshly bright rays in Stephen's chest. "It's too early."
Stephen yawned, his orchid eyes fluttering open. Normally, he was up against the wall, so he was lucky enough to have the most amazing sight in front of him in the morning. But now, with the warm light hitting him in the face, he was blinded by the sight. Or the light. That might also be it. Though, the mess of silver hair peeking up from under the blanket, his figure pressed up against him and arms wrapped around his torso, while his right hand held Jay's own with their fingers intertwined, all of that was certainly a sight which warmed his heart.
"I think he's asleep," Stephen whispered to Hosuh, a numb left hand carefully moving to help pat down the insane mess of his partner's hair in the morning. His own voice was addled with sleep's clutches, dragging him down into comfort. He didn't want to get out of bed.
"He always wakes up first, though," Hosuh looked up at his purple-haired boyfriend, trying to blink the sleep out of his own eyes before he began to rub at them in an attempt to wake himself up.
"Because he's never against the wall. Now, we cook breakfast, or we can sit here and just cuddle."
There was a soft press of lips, and an even softer smile. They didn't need to speak to know what they wanted to do. No, what they had to do. Hosuh shut his eyes against the sun and it's evil, forcing himself to get up and avoid Jay and Stephen's intertwined hands, and pulled the curtain shut. The oversized shirt he'd grabbed from Jay's closet hung off his shoulders, and the shorts he wore were riding up. The night before, he and Stephen had both taken the opportunity that some of their boyfriend's shirts had accidentally been stretched out in the wash to snag them for sleep shirts. Hosuh looked down at Stephen and saw him in a similar state that he was.
Hair messed up, button-up pajama shirt having been unbuttoned during sleep, and a tired smile on his face. He'd never get tired of that sight.
"Damn, you two look great." Came Jay's raspy voice, still deep with having just woken up. Likely from the jostling of the blankets.
"Psh, you've seen us like this a million times," Stephen chuckled, leaning across the bed to kiss Jay while Hosuh sat on his knees, shifting so that they didn't end up cramping.
"So? I've seen the autumn leaves and summer flowers a million times too." Jay sighed, "Can't I enjoy looking at my partners?"
"Only if we get to do the same to you," Hosuh yawned, "Now, move over, on your back, I wanna cuddle you."
Jay laughed a tired laugh, lacking energy and sluggish even as he obeyed, so he was now in the middle as Hosuh awkwardly crawled over to be against the wall. "You guys are adorable," He sighed, letting Stephen hold his right hand while Hosuh got to hold his left, "I love you two."
"No, you're adorable!" Stephen said, only a drop of actual energy behind it. "And we love you way more!"
"Are you two really gonna fight about this?"
"Depends on how early in the morning it is."
Jay glanced over at the clock on the wall, and every ounce of will to leave the bed left his body. It was only seven am, and he didn't have anywhere to be until the afternoon. That meant he could get at least five more hours of bliss, which made sense to him. It wasn't worth arguing with Stephen, even mockingly. So he just leaned over and kissed him very gently with a smile, adjusting his own nightshirt which he'd snagged from said partner, before kissing Hosuh just as lazily.
"I vote that we should just stay in bed unless absolutely necessary," He said, determined in his own right as he shut his eyes, "What do you two think?"
"Agreed." He heard simultaneously, feeling someone put their hand in his hair, just running their fingers through the mess of blonde. He didn't need to see them to know it was Stephen, he always liked to do that before he nestled himself with the person's head under his chin. There was a pressure on his chest, and he knew it was Hosuh. He liked to listen to his heart, the soothing rhythm making it easier to lull him into sleep.
"Love you two.." Stephen yawned, "I'm going back to sleep."
"We love you too," They replied, Jay kissing Stephen's forehead and Hosuh leaning across Jay's chest to kiss him after Jay pulled back. Before they knew it, he was out like a light, leaving the two of them to hold one another.
"He can fall asleep anywhere, can't he?" Hosuh chuckled softly, returning to resting his head on Jay's chest.
"Of course he can. You should get some sleep, too." He said, letting go of his shortest boyfriend's hand to rest it on his hair, helping to undo some of the crazy silver knots.
"But I wanna stay up with you..." Hosuh yawned, the desire for just another hour of rest calling to him. "I don't want you to be bored."
"I'll be okay, seeing you two in my bed is more than enough to keep me from getting bored."
"Pervert," He grumbled, though he knew the other's intentions were truly pure.
"Fine." Within minutes, Jay found himself as the only one awake, but he didn't mind at all. He got to watch over the two most wonderful people in his life.
There was plenty of room, they could certainly spread out, but no matter how they tried, they always wanted to be closer to one another. Even if someone gave them a foot of space or the vast expanse of the universe, they always stayed close together. But their favorite place to be, across everywhere they'd ever been, throughout their entire lives, was in bed, curled up in one another's arms.
Hello! I just wanted to preface this by saying I absolutely love your art! It's so cute and soft and I just wanna hug the characters drawn. Would you be okay with me requesting like, Jaystosuh? With just love on Hosuh? Idk I just kinda see the dynamic as Gavin is the silly kid they're all constantly babysitting I'm sorry if this is bothering you
Jaystosuh~ tada! I have a small comic (or something) that goes with this 🤣
I'm not sure if this is an actual AU for you but I really like the Jaystosuh taking care of baby Gavin. Have they ever forgotten to pick him up from school or something like that?
Note: This is a gift fic for @angiezstuff! This is the last of the gift fics so I had to go big or go home, so this one is about 5.5k words! It’s based on the Jaystosuh AU with a little baby Gavin so hopefully you’ll like it.
Small TW bullying, and TW for stuff at the end. Nothing graphic but there is some sorta dark stuff, which is mostly angst and not that bad.
Gift fic 3/3, Jaystosuh.
Summary: Gavin was known at school as the weird kid. Maybe it was his blue hair, maybe it was because he was really smart for only being six years old. Or maybe it was because he had three caretakers and none of them were female. He didn't know. What he did know was that if his family knew, they would be very upset, and they had enough to deal with without knowing that their little bear cub got hit in class.
Read on Ao3 or keep reading
Gavin was a good kid, by all accounts. Of course, he had a very unorthodox life, but he never minded. He loved his family. Sure, his brother and his brother's boyfriends being his parents was something that most people didn't understand, but that was life for him. They loved him, he loved them, and his life was fun! Hosuh always did his best to make sure he had what he needed, Jay always helped him with his schoolwork, making sure as well that he didn't do anything too dangerous even though he really wanted to, while Stephen was tons of fun.
He didn't know why he lived with them, but he knew that an older woman came to visit them once a week. He didn't know her name, nor did he know what the reason for her visits were, but he knew she always talked to the 'adults' and never wanted to talk to him. He'd overheard, once, something about an orphanage, and came to a realization.
If he was a bad kid, the woman would take him away. He didn't want to go away. The other kids at school, the older kids, always called him weird and other names, one even kicked him, but he never hit them back! Hosuh always told him that he should not hit other kids! Stephen and Jay said something about an ash haul, but Gavin didn't understand what they meant.
"Gavin?" Hosuh asked, one morning after the woman left, "Can we talk for a minute?"
"Okay..." Gavin mumbled, staring down at the ground. Had he been bad? He followed the rules, he'd did his schoolwork, he could almost neatly! He could count to a hundred by tens or twenties, do addition and subtraction, he was the best reader in his class, he'd done everything his teachers asked, why did Hosuh look so serious?
Why did Jay and Stephen look so mad? Were they mad at him? Tears came to his eyes, and he began sniffling, face red.
"A-Am I in trouble?" He asked, staring up at his caretakers as he climbed onto one of the big kid chairs, "Did I do bad?"
"What? No, no. Little cub, you didn't do anything wrong." Hosuh said, helping the little six-year-old into the chair before he knocked it over, "We need to talk about school, that's all."
Gavin always loved it when they called him their little cub. He had a onesie, a bear, which used to be white until a laundry incident happened, thanks to Stephen, and the white onesie turned blue. He was their bluebear. Hosuh was their bunny. Jay was their fox. Stephen was a cat. He really liked when they gave in to his begging and all wore onesies with him. Those were the nights when they built pillow forts in the living room, watched movies, and all fall asleep in one big cuddle pile.
It didn't look like one of those days. Ever since school started again, those days had gotten lesser and lesser, since they all needed to do schoolwork all the time. Gavin liked the weekends, they did their shopping on the weekends, they took him to the park on weekends and he wasn't stuck in their house. Though, running through the woods and playing in the mud, pretending to be a prince slaying a dragon was always fun. He liked the mud too.
"Why about school?" Gavin asked, looking around the table. Jay looked scary, biting his lip and glaring at the table, while Stephen's hands shook in clenched fists on the surface. Hosuh had his normal, soft smile, but Gavin knew the look in his eyes. Sadness. Worry.
"Gavin, do you know Ms. Alice?" Hosuh asked, "The woman who comes to visit us every week?"
"You mean the scary lady who wants to take me away?"
Jay and Stephen's heads snapped up, eyes wide as they stared at the child. What did he just say? Why would she want to take him away?
"Why do you think she wants to take you away?" Hosuh asked then, raising his hand to keep his boyfriends from yelling. Gavin squirmed under their gaze, trying not to cry even more than he already was.
"Sh-She said somethn bout an orphanage. I don't wanna go away..."
"Gavin, you're not gonna be taken away!" Stephen exclaimed, reaching out for his brother's hand. "If someone tried to take you away, they'd have to go through me first."
"Hey, don't forget me!" Jay interrupted, "No way are we giving our cub away."
"Mhm, but that's not this conversation."
"Con... Conversition?"
"Conversation, Gavin. It means to talk with someone," Stephen said, giving Gavin's hand a little squeeze.
"Right. Now, Gavin, We have something to ask you. Are the other kids in your class nice?"
Gavin paused, thinking about the kids in his class. There were a few girls who really liked to make fun of him, ever since parents day last year when he had explained that if Stephen, Hosuh, and Jay took care of him then they were like his dads, though brothers fit better. He was a really bright kid, Mr. Bell always said he should be in the second or third-grade classes, but maybe that made the other kids upset? The other kids liked to tease him, some kids pulled his hair, but he tried not to think about that. There was one kid, a girl who entered the class later in the year named Anne, she liked to play with him. She had a little unicorn plushie which she carried in her backpack, but only Gavin knew about it.
"Mhm. They're nice." Gavin said, after pondering the question for a few minutes. The other kids were nice, they just weren't nice to him.
"Okay... Do they ever call you names? Or hurt you?"
"If they do hurt you, you hit back, right?" Stephen interrupted again, obviously worried for his little brother, "Don't let them push you around!"
They hurt. Their words hurt. They really, really hurt. But the kids who hurt him didn't understand, and he was confused; why didn't they like him? Why did they call him a gay? What even was a gay? They liked to make fun of his family, but he didn't understand why. It hurt when they were mean about his family.
He saw how worried everyone was, how upset they were, and he didn't want to make them more upset. He didn't want them mad at him.
"N-No, uhm. No one hurts me." Gavin lied, staring up at his family, "Why?"
The three teenagers sighed. All tension seemed to leave Jay and Stephen's bodies, while Hosuh just smiled. They were always honest with him, and Gavin knew he'd probably be in trouble for his lie if they ever found out, but he didn't want them to hurt because he was hurting.
"Ms. Alice was told by Mr. Bell that you were crying in class yesterday, so she wanted to know if everything was alright here. She was worried about you being bullied because, uh... How do I put this..."
"Because you have three caretakers." Jay said simply, "And we're all guys. "I'm pretty sure you've realized that isn't normal."
Gavin nodded. He'd never questioned before why he had three caretakers, no 'real' dad or a mom, because that was always how it was. For as long as he could remember, it was just the four of them, with the scary lady showing up every once and a while. And Gavin wasn't going to question that now, when everyone was already upset.
"Can I go now?"
"I dunno, can you?" Stephen asked, smirking as he did. Both of the other teens chuckled softly at the response, the question Stephen always asked whenever Gavin asked if he could do something.
"It's okay, Gavin. You can go play outside. Stephen, go play with him." Jay decided.
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Even though he protested, Stephen walked over and motioned for his brother to follow him. He wouldn't give up spending time with his brother for the world, even though he had lots of things to do. One day, he knew Gavin wouldn't want to spend time with him, and he didn't want to let that be his fault. Gavin grinned and ran out of the kitchen to the front door, being careful to open it so he won't get hit in the face, he'd done that one too many times, before running out into the front yard. He missed Hosuh's yell of 'Put your shoes on!', of course, and headed straight to the back yard.
There was a sandbox there, and a big pretty wooden ladder with vines creeping up the side of the house which Gavin liked to climb. It went all the way to the roof, and he hadn't managed to break it yet. So the rule, Gavin knew, was that if Gavin was going to play in the backyard, someone needed to watch him.
So he didn't end up on the roof again.
"Wait up a second, Gavin!" Stephen said, quickly picking up his brother before he could get to the sandbox, "We're putting our shoes on."
"What? Whyyyy?" Gavin whined, looking up at his brother and squirming in his hold. He did not want to be picked up! He wanted to play!
"There's acorns everywhere, do you wanna get your feet stabbed? Absolutely not!"
"But Stephen!"
"Nah, nah nah, don't you 'But, Stephen' me!" Stephen insisted, bringing him back inside and setting the six-year-old on the tile floor. "That's Hosuh bun's territory."
"What did you say, Stephen?" Hosuh's voice called from the kitchen, and the scent of him beginning to fry up some beef cubes for shish-kebabs, their dinner, wafted into the doorway.
"Nothing, Hosuh!"
"He said you say- mff!" Stephen covered Gavin's mouth, chuckling awkwardly to himself.
"Shush, Gavin, or you're gonna get us all in trouble. Do you want Hosuh to get upset?" He asked, and Gavin shook his head. He absolutely did not want Hosuh to get upset. "Good. That was called sarcasm; I didn't mean what I said."
He pulled his hand off Gavin's mouth, grabbing the child's shoes and handing them to him.
"Isn't that lying?" Gavin asked, sitting down before taking his socks out of his shoes. "Jay! Stephen's lyin-"
"I am not lying! I'm trying to teach sarcasm here and- Oh my God bro what the fu-"
"Don't finish that sentence, Stephen! Child!" Jay yelled from the stairs. There was another rule, which Gavin didn't understand, in their house. Sometimes, one of them would begin to say something, starting with sh or fu, and suddenly one of the others would shush them. Gavin sometimes wondered what they were going to say, but the act was often enough that he didn't think anything of it.
"We'll talk about this later, Jay!" Stephen groaned, but as he saw that Gavin finished getting his shoes on and was standing up, ready to run out of the door at the first sign of being allowed to, he decided to be lenient and shutting up about the whole manner. Their earlier conversation had probably put Gavin under a lot of stress, so it would be for the best to let him play. At least he wasn't crying anymore, thank God.
But they had seen a few bruises here and there on Gavin without a good explanation. None of them really believed that Gavin wasn't being bullied, though there was a chance that he just didn't understand what they meant when they asked if he was being mean. They were just kids, trying to raise another kid to the best of their ability, and Stephen was grateful that his boyfriends were willing to help him with his brother. He could never repay them for that kindness.
Sure, there were plenty of adults who were willing to help them; Ms. Alice, in particular, had helped them ever since the incident happened and they had to move in with Jay when Gavin was only two years old. Hosuh moved in two years later.
Stephen smiled as he helped Gavin to build a sandcastle, watching him play in the mud and poke at bugs, even joining in on the fun once his little brother threw a small amount of mud at him. Even as a little melancholy hole opened within his heart.
_________________
The next morning was a lot less serious. Today, they had a short to-do list before school tomorrow, including grocery shopping and a few supplies for one of Gavin's take-home projects. That meant they had to take the car. Gavin liked when they got to take the car, because he got to look as the world zoomed by. It was like the bus, but more fun!
Jay always drove the car, with Stephen in the front seat, and Hosuh always sat next to Gavin. If they were taking the car, that meant they were also probably going to the toy store.
Whenever the three of them had a little extra spending money, they always let Gavin pick out a toy or an activity. With both Stephen and Jay working part-time jobs after school, on top of Jay's family paying for the house and all those bills, it was at least once a month that they could take such a trip.
The toy shop was their first stop, it always was, in the case that Gavin couldn't decide what he wanted. That had been the case over the summer, and their ice cream had melted in the car, which was a nightmare to clean up.
As it was a weekend, the store was moderately busier than usual, with parents being dragged around by their kids. Gavin looked around excitedly, eyes sparkling as he held Hosuh's hand. In public, they all decided it was best for him to stay with Hosuh or Jay, as the chaotic energy the brothers had together was too much for their bank account or sanity to handle. The last time Stephen had watched his brother in one of these stores, it had ended with Gavin climbing one of the shelves and falling from six and a half feet up as Stephen laughed. Not an event any of them were ready to repeat.
Hosuh looked down at Gavin, smiling softly at the child. "Okay, Gavin. Pick one toy that you want, but there's a rule this time." As he spoke, Gavin seemed confused, furrowing his eyebrows in curiosity.
"But why?" He asked, his voice verging on a whine.
"Because, bluebear," Jay sighed, patting his head, "You have a nasty habit of throwing your toys. So the rule is simple; if it's soft, you can get it."
"Hmmm... Okay!" Gavin smiled, "I can go now?"
Hosuh nodded, walking off into the store properly with Gavin. Stephen and Jay stayed back towards the front of the store, with Jay gently taking Stephen's hand in his own.
"You've been awfully quiet. Something wrong?"
"Nah. I'm fine, just tired. You didn't have to study all night for homework."
"Ha! Maybe if you'd done it after getting home from work on Friday, it wouldn't have been so bad. Or you could've asked for help."
"Absolutely not! No way is Stephen asking for help!" The purple-haired teen huffed, walking off towards Hosuh and Gavin who were looking at the stuffed animals. Gavin seemed particularly interested in a giant teddy bear the size of his brother, the perfect size to curl up with next to the couch.
Stephen laughed, pointing at the bear, "Hey! That's bigger than you are, Gavin! You can't even pick it up."
Gavin pouted, "I can! Watch me!"
"Don't goad him, Stephen." Hosuh sighed, watching as the child attempted to grab the bear only to find himself unable to reach it. By a lot. Considering it was on top of the shelf, not even Jay or Stephen would be able to reach it without issue, and Hosuh realized it was probably designed that way to keep kids from grabbing at it.
"I can't get ittt..."
"See? I told you!"
"Hosuhbunny?" Gavin turned to the silver-haired teen and the two teenagers choked on air, drawing the attention of a few other customers. That was the nickname that Stephen called Hosuh whenever he was in a very, very cuddly mood, though it was usually shortened to just the animal title. "Help?"
"I'll go get someone to get it down- Uh, Stephen? Don't let Gavin climb on the shelves again."
"I got this Hosuh, I don't know what you're talking about, I'm awesome."
"Riiiiigght." Hosuh rolled his eyes, exiting the aisle and heading off to find an employee. Stephen sighed, looking down at his little brother, then smiled again.
"C'mon, let's go to the play area." He suggested, and Gavin beamed. There was a little play area at the back of the store for kids to play in while their parents walked around the store, so that they didn't bother them while they shopped or in the case that it was a gift. So Stephen walked with his brother to the play area and sat on one of the few benches they had for adults. The urge to grab for his phone was strong, and he was just a person, who soon found themselves staring at the screen. Every once and a while he glanced up at the group of kids to check on his brother.
The first thing Gavin noticed when they got to the play area was that there were quite a few kids from his class there. Not Anne, of course he wasn't that lucky, but instead there were his main bullies. A girl named Vivian his own age and three boys, the eldest of which he had a large bruise on his stomach from. With dread in his heart, he walked up towards them.
They couldn't hit him, not with the adults watching.
"It's the weirdo," They whispered to the other kids, "He's got three dads! The one with the purple hair is one of them! They're sick!"
"Sick? What? He looks nice..."
"Don't play with him, or you'll get sick too! Then you'll get your mommy sick, and she'll leave!"
Gavin was used to overhearing these kinds of talks. It happened every day in class. He walked over to the toy chest and grabbed a little cat plushie, worn from love and use, then sat down on the carpet. He usually had so much energy, so much want to play, but these kids always stole it from him by their words.
"Look! The weirdo has a kitty! Save it!" Vivian said, pointing at the cat plush, and Gavin held it close. No way! That plushie was his!
The three boys walked over to him, one of them grabbing at the cat.
"Give it!"
"No! It's mine!" Gavin huffed, holding onto it tightly, only to yelp as one of the kids gripped his hair and yanked Another took hold of his wrists and twisted, digging their nails in, causing a searingly stinging sensation across his wrists as he clung to the cat. "Ow! You're hurting me! Stephen!!" He didn't want to hurt them. He didn't want them to hurt him. He didn't want to be bad, he wanted to be good and not hurt anyone.
"Hey! Leave him alone!" He heard his brother say, and Gavin felt them let go. These kids knew better than to hurt him when the adults were looking, and they backed off. "Who the hell taught you that bullying was okay?"
"You're one of the weirdos! The sick ones!" One of the kids exclaimed after realizing who Stephen was. Immediately, they ran off to the other side of the play area, leaving Gavin and Stephen standing there. Gavin had tears streaming down his face, the pain still lingering. He hadn't wanted to be bad, he didn't want to make Stephen upset.
"Woah, Gavin, it's okay," Stephen said, kneeling down and wiping the child's tears. He looked around, seeking any of these children's parents, and saw Jay coming down one of the aisles. "Jay! C'mere!"
Jay was over to them before Gavin knew it, being scooped up into his arms protectively. It helped to stifle his cries, keeping them down so as not to get a noise complaint.
"Stephen, go look for Hosuh, then get their parents. They should be told."
Stephen didn't even bother arguing, instead just giving his brother a kiss on the head and walking up towards the front of the store. He'd expected something like this to happen eventually, if they kept coming out to this area. Of course, he enjoyed seeing his brother having fun, but he hated the looks they got whenever they walked around the mall. Because everyone knew the Ng boys.
He found the parents before he found Hosuh. Literally, bumping into them. A small group of the parents had gathered together at the front of the store, making small talk, while their kids were in the play area. He saw Hosuh talking with one of the employees, who he recognized as someone from their class, and walked up to his boyfriend.
"Oh, Stephen! Do you know-"
"The kids in the play are were bullying Gavin," Stephen interrupted, "They were pulling his hair and made him bleed." He watched as the color drained from both of their faces, horror crossing it.
"Is he okay?" Hosuh asked, his voice filled with worry, "I have bandages in the car but I don't- Who?"
"Jay's taking care of him. Talk to the parents for me so I don't end up screaming at them."
Hosuh nodded, "I got this. Stay with me?" He asked, reaching out to take Stephen's clenched hand in his own. They walked over to the group of parents, and once Hosuh started talking to them, Stephen noticed how they were more focused on him. Once Gavin's name was mentioned, before Hosuh had even brought up the idea of bullying, most of them lost the color in their faces.
Yeah, everyone knew the Ng boys. No, they didn't know them. They knew what happened to them. Stephen would never be able to forget the night which resulted in their current situation, and he was glad that Gavin did not know of the tale from that night. Of course, he'd been too young, barely even a year and a half old. He'd only recently learned to walk before that night.
"Stephen? Stephen?" Hosuh's voice broke through his thoughts, leading him back to the real world. "We need to talk to Gavin."
Stephen only nodded, taking a deep breath to find his voice. He could tell there would be a crash any day now, then he'd be back to normal. All the stress from school, of caring for Gavin, and remembering the sight in the living room- He needed to breathe. Right.
Gavin was still sniffling, hiding his face in Jay's chest. His wrists were lightly bleeding, likely from where one of the kids had dug their nails in, and an employee was explaining what happened to the kids. He couldn't help but overhear what the parents were telling their children, who were saying that he was a sick weirdo because he had three dads.
"No, sweetie, he has a brother. Their parents are dead. Sure, his brother is weird and maybe sick, but he isn't. You're going to apologize on Monday when you see him in class."
Dead? They were dead? He just had always thought he didn't have any. He had Stephen, Jay, and Hosuh. That was what he needed. He was so confused.
He felt himself being carried back out to the car, set in his booster seat, buckled in and he heard the car being locked after the others climbed in.
"Gavin, you said the other kids were nice. Is that... Normal?" Hosuh asked, "For them to be that mean to you?"
With a sniffle, Gavin nodded. "Ye-es..."
"Is it because you have three dads?"
"That's wh-uh-t they say." He felt a soft tissue being pressed against his face, and he quickly blew into the tissue.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Stephen asked, trying not to yell in the car, "We could've done something! We- We could've- We could've helped!"
"Stephe-"
"No, Hosuh, I love you but Stephen's right here." Jay sighed, "We are responsible for Gavin, so we need to make sure this isn't happening. I only have three questions."
"Yeah, and what are those?"
Jay and Stephen turned in their seats, facing the six-year-old in the backseat. Gavin was fidgeting in his seat, with Hosuh gently holding his hand for comfort and bandaging his wrists. They each had very different ways of raising Gavin, with Stephen usually being the fun one unless it came to his education or when he was under a lot of stress. Jay tended to be very strict, with his fun moments, though those would likely shine through more as Gavin got older. The blonde wasn't exactly known for being good with kids, but he certainly wasn't bad at it. Hosuh was gentle, soft and sweet and loving. He could be strict if he needed to, especially when someone messed with the few rules he had in place or when people were being lazy, but he loved to just spend time with them.
He was probably trying to make up for what he lacked when it came to his own upbringing, Stephen realized.
"One. Gavin, how long have these kids been picking on you?" Jay asked, his voice deceptively calm as it held the rage underneath.
Gavin reached up and wiped away his tears, sniffling softly. "Since last year... Parents day."
Right. Parents day. Stephen, as Gavin's legal guardian, had gotten an exemption on going to school that day to instead attend Gavin's, where he'd needed to explain that he wasn't raising Gavin alone. That his boyfriends were helping. It was their fault Gavin was being bullied.
"Right. Next, why didn't you tell us yesterday?"
"They're nice... But not nice to me. I didn't wanna worry you all about me. You're all so busy, 'nd I-"
"Alright. And finally, Gavin, you know we're never too busy for you, and that you can tell us anything, right? It doesn't matter if you're hurting, if you're scared, or if you did something really bad. We'll get through it together. If you're sad, then we'll smile until you can again."
"I know, Jay. I'm sorry. I love you all."
"We love you too, little cub." The three teens said in unison, Jay and Stephen sitting properly as Jay started the car. Grocery shopping went by fast, faster than it ever had before, and before they knew it they were safely home.
Sure, their living situation was a little odd, but it worked for them. They all had different ways of getting to this point in their lives, with Jay's only technically being voluntary, and they wouldn't change it for the world.
________
Someone was in their house. His mother handed him his baby brother, pushing him into the closet. "Stay here, Stephen. If I don't come to get you in ten minutes, please, run. Take your brother and take him away from here, take care of him."
"What? Mom, I don't understand," Stephen said, looking sleepily up at his mother. Gavin was asleep, his yellow pajamas a little messy as he clung to his brother, "What's wrong?"
"Just listen for once in your life, and stay quiet. I love you." The doors closed. He could see through the slits in the wood, he could see his mom carefully exit the bedroom. From down the hall, he heard gunshots. No one was supposed to have such easy access to guns, not that he knew, and he heard yelling. Clinging to his brother, he counted out the minutes in their closet, taking deep breaths to keep from waking up the infant in his arms. If his mom didn't come to get him, where would he go?
He could go to Jay's. Jay lived mostly alone, with his rich adoptive family being off across the country for the majority of the year. He had a few rules, including that their neighbor would check in on him at least once a day until he started high school, that he was never to get below an A in any class, and once he got into high school he would need to pay for his own food. He would also need to pay for his own college, but they would help if he actually needed it.
But Jay wasn't good with kids. Hosuh was.
Three minutes left.
He heard his mother scream, a foreign voice demanding something. Stephen covered his little brother's ears as carefully as he could, adrenaline running through his veins.
Someone was going up the stairs. He could hear the telltale creak of the third step, the shuddering moan of old wood of the top hall. Stephen knew he needed to move. He needed to move and he needed to move now. He opened the closet as carefully as he could, tiptoeing out, grabbing his cell phone from the nightstand before continuing out of his carpeted room as he heard his heart beating in his ears. He caught a brief glance of the living room doorway, a pool of red seeping out towards the hall. His entire body jolted as he remembered his mother's words. Run. Take care of Gavin.
He ran off towards the back door, which was unlocked from the inside, and he carefully opened it. There was ringing in his ears, he didn't stop running even as the acorns pressed onto his feet, fumbling to stay balanced. He could hear the police sirens, but he couldn't think, he could only move and hold Gavin. The loud noises had awoken him, and he was crying loudly as Stephen attempted to dial Hosuh's number. It was only nine, he should still be awake, why won't he pick up-!
"Stephen? It's so late, what's wrong?" Hosuh's tired voice came over the phone.
"Hosuh? Thank fuck! Meet me at Jay's house, no time to explain, I promise- Please!"
"I'll be there. Do you need me to stay on the line?"
"No, just go!"
Hosuh hung up the phone without a second question. He'd likely heard the panic in his voice, heard Gavin's unstoppable crying and decided it best not to argue. He lived closer to Jay's house than Stephen did, anyway.
Stephen didn't stop running until he got to Jay's house, his friends meeting him at the door with a shocked expression. He quickly handed the crying Gavin to Hosuh, who seemed quite perplexed as to why he was holding his best friend's little brother.
"Watch him, calm him down." He said before running into the living room and fumbling to turn on the television.
"What're you doing, Stephen? What happened?" Jay asked, walking into the living room behind his friend only for the television to ring out over the local news.
"I'm standing here at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Ng, who have been dead in their house."
Stephen jolted awake with a shock, tears streaming down his face. He hadn't dreamed of that night in at least a year, since the last big crash of stress and anxiety. His shoulders shook with silent sobs, and he felt the gentle hands of his boyfriends holding him. Hosuh was in front of him, wiping away the tears and holding his hand, whispering soft words of comfort to him. It always left Stephen in awe afterward, how someone who'd been disowned by his own family had so much will to stay calm and not get upset at him.
"It's okay, Stephen, you're here. You're safe. We've got you. Gavin's okay. It's all gonna be okay," He whispered as Jay wrapped his arms around Stephen and kissed his cheek, then his forehead, humming a soft song. He knew how much they enjoyed listening to him singing, be it a small hum or a full ballad, they loved the sound of his voice.
Stephen wasn't able to form words through his sobs, holding onto the sheets even as he felt something was missing from his arms, but their actions helped diminish the loss of sleep before it became too much. They did have school in the morning, after all. By the time he was calm, nearing twelve-thirty in the morning, the three of them were ready to fall into sleep's sweet embrace once again.
The door creaked open then, and Stephen's nerves filled him with a short burst of adrenaline. Quickly he turned to the doorway, seeing a small figure scuttling into the room.
"I- Uh... I had a nightmare. Can I stay with you three?" Gavin asked, sleep slurring his words, though the tear marks on his cheeks proved his words true.
"Sure, buddy. C'mon, you can be in between Stephen and I," Jay said, motioning for Gavin to climb up onto the bed as he let go of Stephen so he could turn over. Hosuh instead wrapped his arms around his waist, nuzzling against his neck as the child climbed into their bed. Stephen quickly pulled his baby brother into a hug, the feeling of being lost fading away. This was his family, the four of them together.
