Bailey Montoya lay comfortably on her family's living room couch with a spoon in her mouth and a jar of peanut butter on her stomach. Her eyes lazily drifted from the small TV she was currently watching to her left arm, studying the contrast of her naturally tanned skin and the dirty cream of the cushions that had once been white.

"Mom!" she shouted around the spoon, a little dribble of saliva escaping her mouth and running down her chubby neck.

"She's sewing," came the voice of her little brother from the spot next to her. His face scrunched with disgust as he eyed the peanut buttery spit she had yet to remove.

Bailey strained her ears for a moment before relaxing as they were met with the consistent rattling of her mother's sewing machine. Looking back towards her brother she noticed he was still eyeing her neck with contempt. Boredom drove her need to bother him more and she relaxed her jaw just enough so more spit leaked out the edges of her mouth. Green nearly instantly tinted his cheeks and he gagged a bit before screaming, "Mom! Bailey's being gross!"

Bailey chuckled and finally wiped away her mess.

"Elijah's lying!" she shouted as well, grunting as she attempted to sit up. Her chunky belly protested the movement, separating into rolls and squeezing together in the most uncomfortable way.

"Fatty," Elijah growled in annoyance.

"Bird beak," Bailey retorted after a huff of breath. She'd successfully gotten into a sitting position. She was still bored though. Perhaps something salty would entertain her?

Elijah rubbed his pointed nose for a moment before settling his dark eyes back onto the TV.

"So your birthday's tomorrow," he began after a couple minutes of silence.

"I'll finally be a teenager," replied the almost-thirteen-year-old.

Mussing her curls a bit Bailey finally found the energy to stand up and make the short trip into the adjoining kitchen. Putting away the peanut butter and dropping her spoon in the sink she then grabbed a bag of chips before sitting back on the couch. Elijah rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"All you ever do is eat," he growled before yanking the chips away and jumping off the couch.

"Hey! Those are mine!"

"Stop being so fat!"

"Stop being so skinny!"

Elijah stood to his full height of five feet and puffed out his chest.

"This is why you don't have friends! Fatty fat Mcfat face!"

Tears began to form in Bailey's eyes and she clenched her chubby fingers into fists. With a rush of anger she launched herself off the couch and swung out.

"I have friends!" she screeched, becoming even angrier when she'd failed to hit her target.

Elijah laughed and ran away with Bailey hot on his heels around the coffee table that sat in the middle of their living room. Shouting and name calling soon led to a rather nasty curse flying from Bailey's mouth out of frustration and both froze as soon as she said it, terror forming in their eyes as a deathly silence fell over them. Soon enough, they heard the tell-tale sounds of heavy boots hitting hard wood floors and Bailey's hands became clammy with dread. The door that led to their parent's bedroom swung open and a man stepped out into the short hallway that led into the kitchen. Dark eyes landed on them both and his bushy eyebrows came together in anger. The mouth nearly hidden in his burly black beard was set in a deep frown and his massive shoulders rose with a deep growl.

"Bailey," came his impossibly deep and menacing voice. The tree trunks he called legs brought him closer to the cowering girl.

"Dad," she squeaked, and Elijah slowly backed away. He wanted no part of this.

Their father gave her a stern look, crossing his massive arms over his equally massive chest. Bailey started to cry.

"I'm s-sorry!" she sobbed, falling on her butt and halfway into a fettle position. "I'm sorry!"

Bailey sobbed for a moment on the floor, not daring to look at her father out of fear and shame. It wasn't until she felt two strong hands gently grab her waist that she lifted her head. With what seemed like no effort the enormous man lifted his daughter onto his chest and allowed her to wrap her arms around his neck. Soothingly he patted her back as she rode out the rest of her emotional outburst.

"Bailey," he began in a hushed tone. "Why would you say such a thing to your brother?"

Bailey let herself relax as she realized she was not truly in trouble, enjoying her father's lightly accented voice. Elijah was now completely out of the room, probably hiding in their shared bedroom.

"He called me fat," she mumbled against the thick muscle of his shoulder, earning a deep rumble of laughter that shook both their bodies.

"You take after your mother," he said simply, and Bailey knew it to be true. Her mother was a very rounded woman, all hips and no height. She sometimes wondered how the two of them had paired up what with the enormous differences in body type. Her father was the biggest man she'd ever seen, and not in the fat way. His skin was darkened from hard labor out in fields during his childhood and it could be argued he got his muscles the same way. Her mother however was very pale, short, and thick in the non-muscley way. The only thing the two seemed to have in common was the pitch color of their hair and eyes.

"He said I had no friends," she continued, now annoyed with the sting in her eyes from crying.

"I am your friend."

"You don't count."

Another rumble of laughter and then she was set back down on the ground.

"Do not take his words to heart love, he only wants your attention."

Bailey didn't reply, opting instead to watch her father shrug on his heavy jacket and pick up his crossbow from beside the door.

"I am going out while there is still a bit of daytime," he declared after putting on a thick knit cap her mother had made him. "I might be later for dinner, your mother already knows."

With that he headed out the door as Bailey watched his broad back disappear around the house.

It wouldn't be until hours later that Bailey realized she would never see her father again.

A/N: Phew! Oh my god it's been forever since I've written…well anything that wasn't a stupid college research paper! Anybody miss me?

Any who, back to business. First things first. I apologize for any sloppiness, especially the rushed ending. It's literally been almost an entire year since I've updated anything, and I decided to start something new before getting back to the old.

I can't really use college as an excuse much now that I'm not playing rugby this semester (which took up sooooo much of my time) but I still have English papers to write, and they severely kill my writing buzz.

I'd also like to note this. I use to be a real review junky, but now I've finally realized I truly enjoy writing. Don't get me wrong, reviews are great and definitely welcomed, but I've come to discover (after my long break) that writing just brings me so much content by itself.

Now! For my last note. Yes, this is a Human/Yautja romance, but actually a very complicated one. A loooooove triangle to be exact, and not one you'd typically expect. I've always wanted to write a Predator fic, and now here's my chance to do a super original one!

Hope you all enjoy the ride!

I'M BACK BABY!