"Are you ready to go pick him up?" Berwald asks softly.
Tino swallows a lump in his throat, nodding slowly. "Yeah."
The two pile into the car, their nerves quite frayed, despite their excitement.
They drive to the adoption agency, ready to pick up the child they have decided to adopt. He's a young boy named Peter, aged at twelve years old. He was brought to an adoption agency in Finland after being rescued from an abusive family in his hometown in England.
Tino and Berwald only know the basics of what happened to Peter while at his other home. What they have been told, however, is that Peter is very guarded and frightened, and that it will be a struggle to help him adapt.
Despite all of this, Tino's and Berwald's hearts had melted at the story of the little boy needing adoption, and they decided they were up for the challenge.
It feels like a relief to them to pull into the agency parking lot once and for all. They have gone through over a year of home checks, signing papers, and other preparations, and it's finally about to pay off.
Tino's fingers tremble with anticipation as he and Berwald head for the designated spot. Berwald senses his nervousness and laces his fingers through Tino's, squeezing tightly in order to help him relax. Tino smiles softly to himself and holds on tightly.
Upon entering the agency, they are told to wait in the back by their social workers office. They sit in the hard plastic chairs, not letting go of each other's hands.
After only a few minutes, the social worker comes down the hallway. Tino and Berwald exchange a gentle glance, before standing up to greet her. They notice a small boy traipsing behind her, keeping a safe distance between him and the worker, but hiding from Tino and Berwald all the same.
"Welcome, you two. I'm sure you've been waiting for this for a while, and this is it!" The woman smooths out her well pressed skirt and smiles lightly. "This is Peter."
Peter makes no sign of moving, his face stays twisted in discomfort.
Tino releases Berwald's hand and crouches down on one knee. He extends a hand towards Peter, carefully and gently.
Peter stares at it for a while, just as he had the first time he met Tino and Berwald, however brief the meeting was. They had met one day as a part of the mandatory compatibility check, but it was clear that with Peter, nobody would be compatible on the first meeting, or even the second for that matter.
Tino puts on his best smile, hoping Peter understands that Tino doesn't want to hurt him.
Peter slowly reaches out a hand and sets it against Tino's outstretched fingers. He holds on with a loose grip, allowing Tino to shake his hand softly.
"I'm Tino, it's great to see you again, Peter." Tino speaks gently.
Berwald crouches down beside his husband. "I'm Berwald. It's good to see you." Berwald extends his own hand, hoping he isn't intimidating Peter.
Peter slowly touches Berwald's hand, nodding his hello.
"Are you ready to go to your new home, Peter?" Tino asks.
Peter stays still, but nods. "Yes..."
Tino and Berwald stand, lacing their hands together once more. They discuss final details with the social worker, and they are told they may go. Tino turns around and asks Peter to walk beside them, and he obliges, following along with his arms wrapped securely around his small torso. Tino wishes he could hold Peters hand as they walk, but he knows not to push Peter to do things he isn't comfortable with.
They head to the car once more, and Peter pulls himself into the backseat silently, resting the side of his head against the window. Berwald and Tino both wish that they could do something, but they have no clue what could help, so they leave Peter be.
Tino's mind is buzzing around as he tries to figure out ways to help Peter adjust. He doesn't know much about his past, and he doesn't know what peters interests and hobbies are... If he could find out, he could help out more, but with Peter as distant as he is... There is no good way to find out.
Tino sees that they are traveling along a road with many different food shops. "Peter? Would you like some food?"
"Yes, sir." Peter nods.
"Where would you like to go?"
"Anywhere is okay, thank you..."
"Are hamburgers okay?"
"Yes, sir."
Tino asks Berwald to pull into the nearby fast food restaurant
"You don't have to call us sir, Peter." Tino says with a gentle smile. "You can call us... Hmm... Well, I guess you can call us whatever names you want."
Peter only nods softy.
...
They finish their food in mostly silence, much to Tino's displeasure. He wants to help Peter open up, but his own sense of conversation is failing him.
Once back in the car, it only takes a few minutes for Peter to fall asleep, his bangs falling at an angle across his face, his eyelashes fluttering gently.
As they all reach home, Tino decides not to wake Peter up, considering he must be dreadfully tired. Berwald agrees, and scoops the boy into his arms as gently as he can to carry him inside. He lets peters legs droop loosely over his arms, and his head rests in the crook of his elbow.
Berwald's stands at the foot of the stairs, waiting for Tino. He glances down at Peter, smiling genuinely at his calm expression. How on earth somebody could hurt someone so sweet and gentle, Berwald does not know.
Before Tino can reach them, however, Berwald feels Peter struggling in his arms. He glances down, bewildered, too shocked to speak for a moment as Peter kicks his legs and pushes off of Berwald's chest with his tiny arms. Berwald backs away from the stairs and sets the boy lightly on his feet. Peter's face is lit up with panic and fear, and his breathing has picked up.
Berwald's face falls. "Peter, are you...-" he tries to speak, but Peter makes a beeline up the stairs.
Tino comes into the room to find Berwald standing with a hurt expression at the foot of the stairs, looking up towards Peter's room.
"What happened...?" Tino asks.
"He woke up while I tried to carry him, and he pushed out of my arms. He ran up there before I could do anything."
"Oh, Berwald... I'll go check on him, okay?"
Berwald nods as Tino hurries up the stairs.
Tino comes down after only about a minute, his hand running through his soft locks of hair.
"He found his room, and he's asleep on the bed hugging a pillow."
"Good... At least he's relaxed... He looked so scared."
"Berwald..."
Berwald just kisses Tino's forehead reassuringly, before promising to make some hot chocolate.
Tino stands in the front hall, glancing between the stairs and Berwald's retreating form. He knows that Peter being frightened by Berwald hurt him. He has always been self conscious about his ability to scare people, especially children. Despite knowing that Peter would be nervous around both of them at the start, it seems that Berwald hadn't expected such a terrified reaction.
Tino sighs as he heads for the kitchen. He can only hope that Peter will warm up to him and Berwald soon.
...
As night rolls around, the house remains silent. Peter never left his room, so Tino and Berwald are left to wait.
After a long, drawn out period of seemingly senseless waiting around, Tino excuses himself to take a shower to clear his mind.
As soon as Tino leaves, Berwald feels the self doubt and worry fall on him once again. He lets his head fall in his hands, his eyes squeezed shut.
He sits like this for twenty minutes while Tino showers, simply mulling over his thoughts. His mind keeps jumping back to Peter, shut in his room... Afraid to come out because of him.
When Tino comes around the corner, his heart sinks. Berwald is entering a state of doubt in himself, and that's never good. Tino plants himself on the couch beside Berwald and puts an arm around his waist.
"Don't beat youself up over this, Berwald..."
"I'm not."
"Berwald."
"I'm okay, I promise."
"Then why are you so upset?"
"I'm not upset."
Tino purses his lips. It's a back and forth between them that is getting nowhere.
Meanwhile, Peter slowly creeps down the stairs, letting himself rest on the landing right before where the stairs turned. He peeks around the banister, watching as his new parents embrace on the couch. Peter keeps out of their view, but he listens intently to their conversation.
"Berwald, you have to understand that this is going to take time."
Berwald sighs. "I know that... I just... I'm worried. I don't want him to feel uncomfortable."
"I know Berwald... Neither of us want that, but it's hard for him, as you know. He's gone through a lot, it's going to take a while for him to warm up to us."
"I understand... Honestly, I do. I just don't want him to be frightened. Even if he wants to keep his distance for a while, I'll understand, but I don't want him to be afraid of me..."
"Berwald, I know... We just have to stay strong, especially for him."
Berwald nods, letting himself sink into Tino's embrace even further.
Peter crosses his arms against his chest, looking away shamefully. "I've only been here a day, and I've already messed up," Peter thinks. He's already managed to hurt someone else's feelings. He doesn't mean it of course, he would love to jump right in and be a part of a perfect family, but it isn't that easy for him.
Peter stands up slowly, treading down the stairs as lightly as possible. He stands in the main hall, his face down but his eyes looking up at his parents through the tips of his bangs.
Tino gently pulls himself away of Berwald's hold, approaching Peter slowly.
Tino extends a hand. "Hey there, Peter. Do you need anything?"
"I'm... I'm a bit hungry... May I have some food?"
"Of course, Peter! No problem, what would you like?"
"Anything is okay."
Tino nods and scurries off to the kitchen, searching around for something Peter might like. Peter pulls himself up onto one of the barstools slowly, hoping he is allowed.
"Is some pasta okay? We have plenty of spaghetti."
"That's fine... Thank you."
Tino smiles warmly and begins to boil some water. Peter idly kicks his feet, watching his toes as they wiggle around.
What seems like only a few minutes later, Peter jumps at the sound of clinking in front of him. He glances up slowly to see Tino smiling as he places a bowl of spaghetti in front of him, with a glass of apple juice on the side.
Tino wipes his hand on a towel as he turns away, hearing Peter munch hungrily on the pasta. Despite it being a very little gesture, Peter coming down and staying to eat food gives Tino even more hope for their future.
...
The second day goes by well. The family stays inside, but Peter doesn't lock himself in his room. Instead, he watches TV, sitting on the floor in front of the couch while Tino and Berwald sit behind him, despite his parents invitation to sit on the couch.
They all eat dinner at the table that night, and while Peter remains mostly silent, Berwald and Tino definitely count it as an achievement.
...
The next day goes by even more smoothly. All three family members go to the pet store to look at the animals for adoption, and they all fall in love with a small, white, fluff ball of a dog. After checking to make sure Peter is okay with it, they decide to adopt her. With Tino's help, Peter comes up with the name Hanatamago, and despite how odd the name is, it fits.
As they drive home, Hana sits in Peter's lap. As he absently strokes her fur, he smiles for the first time since reaching his new home, and Tino and Berwald are overjoyed.
...
The next three days are spent welcoming Hanatamago into the family. Peter makes the suggestion of going to the dog park on the first day, and my they all love it so much that they go the two days after that.
Hana grows especially attached to Peter. She takes special interest in making sure she can lick his face every morning, afternoon, and evening, not that Peter really minds.
Peter begins to socialize more, as well. It's not much more, mind you, but it is surely an improvement. He begins sitting on the end of the couch, provided that Hana can sit in his lap. He is more vocal in expressing his needs and wishes, much to Tino and Berwald's pleasure. When Peter doesn't tell them what he needs, it turns into an endless guessing game between the two parents, and it goes nowhere.
Before anyone even knows it, the week is basically over, and Peter has managed to improve. He is still nervous around Tino and Berwald, and he doesn't liked being touched, but besides that he has moved forward greatly.
...
Then four days later, the worst of it comes.
...
Berwald and Tino are woken late into the night by a terrible scream. They shoot up in bed, and exchange nervous glances hurriedly as they scramble out of bed. Berwald doesn't even have time to grab his glasses, so he stumbles a bit as the two race up the stairs towards Peters room.
They fling open the door to find Peter curled in on himself, screaming as loud as his little body probably could. Tears stream down his face and he trembles beneath the tangled up blankets.
The two parents run to his beside, Tino untangling the covers, and Berwald trying to relax Peter.
Tino sits facing Peters back, while Berwald is faced with his front facing him. Berwald is desperate to help Peter, so he rubs his shoulder soothingly, and brushes the hair out of Peters eyes whenever it sticks together on his forehead.
"Peter... Hey, Peter, can you hear me? Peter, please wake up."
"Peter, we're here. Tino and Berwald are here, right beside you, you don't need to be scared." Tino chimes in softly, as he rubs circles on Peters back.
Berwald glances up desperately at Tino, unsure of what else to do. Peter slows his screams, but he continues to let out sharp shrieks of distress, and his breaths are heavy and forced.
Berwald bites his lip, and against his better judgement, he scoops Peter into his arms again. He scoots onto the bed, his legs criss crossed, and Peter curled in a trembling ball on his lap. Since it is a double bed, Tino climbs in beside him and strokes Peters hair, hoping he will relax.
Much to both parents surprise, it's only about a minute before Peter stops letting out noises of distress. His breathing is still frantic, but it is gradually slowing down.
Peters eyes snap open. He is immediately consumed with fear, as his nightmare seems to be taking a real life turn. As he blinks and adjusts his eyes to the dark, however, he notices that the people with him are not in fact his birth parents, but Tino and Berwald...
They watch him intently, and despite feeling a gentle embrace, his nightmare still tugs at his mind. He feels himself getting scratch after scratch, bruise after bruise. Every time he shuts his eyes, he sees his grotesque birth parents looming over him, belts and brawny hands at the ready.
Peter whimpers to himself, almost forgetting that he is no longer in that cold house, he is with Tino and Berwald, two parents that actually love him. With every soft whimper, he hears Tino and Berwald whispering softly, "it's okay, you're okay, it's fine..."
Peter makes the mistake of letting his eyes stay shut for too long, and the images come back at full speed, rushing at his closed eyelids. In a state of panic, his body stiffens and shoots up, and he grips on to Berwald's shirt, burying his face in his chest.
"Papa... I'm scared." Peter says.
Berwald looks down in shock, his heart swelling. He nods quickly and pulls Peter into a hug, letting Peters fingers dig into the fabric of his shirt.
Peters tears start up again, but he holds on tightly to Berwald's shirt and begs for them to stop.
"Peter, it's okay, everything will be okay..." Berwald whispers soothingly.
Peter nods against Berwald's chest.
"Peter, I'm going to go get you something to drink, okay? I'm going to hand you to Tino."
Peter nods, loosening his grip on Berwald's shirt, only to grip onto Tino's shirt as soon as he can. Tino holds him like a baby, despite his size, and rocks him slightly.
As Berwald goes downstairs to the kitchen, Tino speaks softly. "You had a nightmare, didn't you...?"
Peter nods slowly.
"Those are terrible, aren't they? I had them a lot a few years back... They're scary."
"I dreamt of my old parents... They hurt me so bad..."
Tino's heart constricts as Peter mumbles on.
"Oh, Peter..." Tino says, holding Peter a bit tighter. "We will protect you here, you know that, right? We won't dare hurt you."
"I know... I love it here... Thank you, daddy..."
Tino feels small tears dripping down his face. He presses a gentle kiss to Peters forehead, just as Berwald returns with a glass of water. Peter pulls himself up slowly to sit in Tino's lap, taking the water gratefully and nearly chugging it down.
"Feeling better, Peter?" Berwald asks softly.
Peter nods, his eyes heavy with tiredness.
"Would you like to sleep in our bed with us, to keep the nightmares away?" Tino suggests.
Peter nods, allowing Tino to scoop him up. Peters arms drape around Tino's neck, and his legs cling around Tino's hips. He holds on as tightly as he can, wishing he didn't ever have to let go.
Once downstairs, Peter is placed in the middle of the big king sized bed, in the middle of Tino and Berwald. He snuggles into the blankets, and his eyes droop shut drearily.
Before he falls asleep, however, he murmurs one last thing.
"I love you papa... I love you daddy..."
A/N: This was a bit of an experiment, I'll be honest, but besides the beginning being a bit slow, I think it turned out okay? I haven't written the Hanatamago family before, so I hope I did Peter justice (and I hope his attitude and demeanor are accurate for his situation.)
Feel free to leave feedback if there is anything I can do better!
Also, this is a prompt from Otpprompts!
Anyways, I do hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you for reading!
-KayDubs