Debwood-1999, thank you. & I am trying. :) takers dark lover, hehe, thanks. LadyDragonsblood, that's quite alright, sweetheart. I know the feeling, my personal life is kind of stressful right now & I'm trying to just hide in fantasy land. Eh, as far as baby-like, I don't wanna go overboard. & I'm not fooling with diapers. & he can walk & talk to cause trouble. They are very hott, I'm glad you approve, XD. Thanks as usual, huh.


The Darkest Corners;
Chapter two/ 'Practice Family'
Rated; M/ L (some creepiness)

(-the next day-)

Gerard peeked out the window of his door. The scary man called Bray Wyatt was sitting out there in his rocking chair with his cronies Luke Harper and Erick Rowan and they didn't like him.. really, they liked tormenting him and getting him in trouble more. And worse was Vickie with her needles patrolling the hallways. He made the mistake of letting her know he was terrified of them, but he couldn't help it. He still had the bruising from her stabbing him with one during a fit he threw one day. But Adam hadn't been there and he panicked.

He waited until she was out of sight and Wyatt seemed to have fallen asleep watching TV before he slowly opened his door and crept out. The other two were entranced in the TV and not looking in his direction. He had left his crayons in the rec room and he had to get them. They were on a table to the far right of the sleeping psycho with the beard and he just had to not wake him. Of course he had made it halfway before the man raised his fedora and stared right at him, he wasn't asleep at all. Gerard froze and contemplated running and risking Vickie. But he wasn't sure he wanted to be put asleep with the Wyatt family lurking about. His eyes darted over toward the other hallway.

"Going somewhere, little bunny rabbit?" Bray laughed.

Gerard ran for his crayons, snatching them and heading down the hall as the bald one, Erick, swiped at him. He almost tripped and ducked into a room after catching a glimpse of Erick at the end of the hallway, Luke not far behind. He gazed around and spotted a cabinet to hide behind and waited, closing his eyes and holding his breath. He couldn't breathe and he couldn't make a sound. They would find him. They always knew where he was.

Adam was supposed to be here, where was Adam? Adam said he was taking him home, away from here. He had been so excited to leave this place. But now he was scared. He should have stayed in his room. They didn't bother him in there at least.

"Where are you, bunny bunny? We just wanna have a little talk." Bray was right outside the door. His voice was always unnervingly calm, teetering on the edge of disturbed. He talked crazy and Gerard could never understand what he went on about.

Gerard didn't know why, but he thought he could get up and run and head back for his room before being spotted. But that didn't play out right and he was instantly caught by the bald one with the red beard. He was huge and dirty and wore this creepy sheep mask he had made one day in the rec room. Gerard was scared of that mask and it loomed right down at him as he was held to the wall. Luke scratched at his long unkempt beard, his hair wild and eyes dark and feral as his stare held him, just waiting to be given an order of attack by their leader. Gerard was caught by three huge and creepy men.

"Ah, there you are, baby-bunny." Wyatt grinned as he sauntered over, dark hair hanging in wet strands under his fedora. "Now where do you think you're going? Can't say hi to your old pals?" Bray was husky, but muscled and had tattoos covering his arms. It had been Gerard staring at those tattoos that caught Wyatt's attention in the first place. He wore an open Hawaiian shirt over a tank top and white pants and looked so out of place even in an asylum.

Gerard didn't like the way he looked at him, that twinkle of delight in his dark eyes, how much joy he took in scaring him. Gerard shook his head, his heart racing. He just wanted Adam. They didn't bother him around Adam.

"No? Now see, that deeply offends me. I've been nothing but courteous to you." Wyatt shook his head, amused by how his little bunny trembled. "No need to be afraid. See, I hear things. Things about you. They told me you was leaving today. I can't say I'm not disappointed, we've had so much fun. We could'a had more."

Gerard didn't want to have fun with them. He flinched as Wyatt reached out to caress the side of his face. "Let me go.. please.. I won't tell.."

"No, you've been a very good boy about that. My good boy." He leaned down to snuffle Gerard's hair, shushing the boy as he whimpered. "Shh, no no.. I know you'll continue to be a good boy. They tell me things. You've seen things you shouldn't have. You know what is not meant for human ears, little lamb. I can't protect you out there. You'd been safe here in my flock, and now they're taking you away from me."

Gerard didn't understand, he didn't know anything, he hadn't seen anything. Nothing that he didn't think he wasn't supposed to. The Wyatts never wanted to protect him, they terrorized him. He shook his head. "S-sorry.. please.." He closed his eyes, tensing.

"You beg so sweet. I'll remember that." Wyatt was touching him and then he stopped and backed away. "Let him go. I do enjoy the chase."

Gerard felt the grip on him loosen and he bolted out the door, being caught by the first person he bumped into.

"Hey, whoa.. no running. There you are." Adam said, looking him over. His boy was pale and wide-eyed, trembling. "What happened?" He saw the three men who called themselves the Wyatt family come out of the room and head over to their leader's favorite rocking chair.

Gerard whined in distress as he saw them, threw his arms around Adam's neck and practically tried to climb him.

"Got your mommy, kid? He won't protect you."

Adam lifted the frightened boy up, feeling Gerard's legs tighten around his waist as he buried his face in his neck. This was the only time he ever had anyone in this position. He glared at the trio with disdain, feeling the boy's heart pounding through his chest. After today, they wouldn't bother Gerard again. After today, they wouldn't bother him again either. Adam glared back at Wyatt. "What did you do to him? He's scared to death."

"Just had a little chat is all." Wyatt folded his arms in his lap, leaning back and rocking without a care in the world.

Adam's anger threatened to build, but he choked it down, he was used to doing that with ruder patients. "They should send you to an asylum for the criminally insane."

"Now, brother Adam, we both have a common goal here. I'm on your side." Wyatt smiled callously.

Adam shuddered, he hated that damn smile. "I'm not your brother. Don't you have a hole to go crawl back in?"

"Well now, that would depend on exactly whose hole I'm crawling in, brother Adam." Wyatt stuck his tongue out and wiggled it perversely at Adam.

The blonde shook his head and carried Gerard back to his room. "Forget them. You ready to go, baby boy?"

He helped Gerard quickly gather up his things. He had everything set and was taking him home, away from this awful place. He'd never progress and do better here. Gerard grabbed his black and purple stuffed bunny and cuddled it tight. Adam had helped him name it Charcoal, but he pronounced it Char'l. It might've been his busted brain misplacing sounds and letters, but he seemed to think it suited the bunny better anyhow.

Gerard was quiet on the drive home, looking out the window and watching things go by in child-like wonder. He hadn't been in a car since they brought him to the institute. Everything was so bright, the warm sun, the colorful leaves that had began falling from the trees in preparation for fall. He was glad to be out of there, away from mean people, away from scary people. Adam had told him some were like him and couldn't help being the way they were.. but some just seemed to like to terrorize others for fun, like the Wyatts.

When they pulled into the driveway, Adam had to stop Gerard from getting out to chase a puppy down the street. "No, you can play with the puppy later. Right now we're gonna go see your room."

Now Gerard had expected the room to be no different than his room at the institute, bland and boring, white and standard. But when he saw it his eyes lit up. The walls were a pale blue, he had a roomy bed and Batman sheets, there was a Batman lamp on a green painted dresser. And toys, so many toys. He dropped Char'l to go inspect the blocks first. He had never had those at the institute. They had took them from him for throwing them at one of the nurses for trying to take them. Not the smartest move, he knows now.

"Like it? This is all yours." Adam bent down to rake Gerard's shaggy black hair back. The smaller male nodded and kissed his cheek. Adam smiled and heard Chris's car outside indicating that he was home. "I'll be back. Just play." He raised up and went to find Chris in the kitchen. "Hi, babe." He wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him. "How was work?"

"Exhausting." Chris smiled back and kissed him again. "Better now that I have you."

Adam's squeal was deliberately girly. "Awww, sap."

"Bring him home?"

"Yeah, he's in his room playing. Be nice, okay."

Chris huffed and smacked Adam on the ass as the leggy blonde disengaged from him to go put on dinner. "I'm always nice."

Gerard had abandoned the blocks and was investigating the bed. It was a full size bed, but had wooden bars around it like a crib. The one he had at the asylum was a twin and had cold metal bars, but that was much better than being strapped down. He liked this bed better.

Chris had looked at the bed after it was up. "A crib? Seriously, is it that bad?"

"It's not a crib." Adam paused for a second. "He has nightmares, some get bad, he thrashes and to keep him from hurting himself they used to strap him down. The first night they did it he nearly cried himself to death. He was a mess when I came in that morning. I was so mad."

The side bars were down so Gerard climbed in bed and snuggled against the soft mattress and sheets. Adam's house smelled wonderful, clean and fresh but not sterile and medicated. He hated that smell, of disinfectant and rubbing alcohol. His pillow was soft and cuddly. And he felt better being out of those itchy pajamas the institute made him wear. Adam had gotten him his own pajamas and said they picked him up some of his old clothes, but they were new to him anyway as he didn't remember them. He could have his own clothes now and that was all that mattered.

He rolled off the bed and went back to the toys. He was still playing when Adam came and got him for dinner. He didn't make a fuss because he was starving. Adam got him seated and went about taking out the food. He liked the idea of being able to feed Gerard what he wanted, when he wanted. No yucky hospital food, no stupid schedules that he didn't plan. Of course he knew there would be future home evaluations.. but those were bridges to cross later.

"You remember Chris, right?"

Gerard looked over to the other man that seemed out of place in his own house. He smiled shyly. "Hi." He started nibbling on his thumb, gaze shifting to Adam.

Chris smiled and nodded at him. "Hey. Like your new room?" He looked down to his plate as Adam sat it down in front of him. He was starving too.

"Uh-huh. It has blocks. You like blocks?"

"Sure, kiddo. Might build something later." Chris said, picking up his fork and digging in.

"Can I help?" Adam took Gerard's hand down and sat both their plates down before sitting himself in a chair between his boys.

"Nope." Chris grinned at him.

"Mean." Adam huffed playfully and fed Gerard a bite.

Chris figured the kid should be able to feed himself, but knew Adam probably knew his behavior better than he did, so he said nothing. It was amusing anyhow to watch Adam feed their new house guest with one hand and himself with the other effortlessly, all the while keeping up conversation.

"So, I'm not going back to the institute." He wouldn't unless Gerard had to go back, but he wasn't going to say it or plan for it because he didn't want it. "I'm not going back to the hospital right away. I figure I'll just stay home and be a house wife." Adam blew a dry raspberry at Gerard and he giggled.

"But we're not married." Chris added.

"Eh.. details." Adam picked up a napkin and wiped Gerard's face. Chris snickered as the kid tried to squirm away. Hell, he was in his forties now and didn't like having anyone wipe off his face, he squirmed away too. Gerard jerked away and opened his mouth for another bite and Chris could see he had fillings, he even had a couple of teeth missing and it oddly hit Chris that he had a life once, a normal life, and lived like a normal adult. His teeth were tiny and crooked, but kind of adorable. He didn't look nowhere near 30, he still looked like a damn kid, like he hadn't aged a bit. His skin looked youthful, soft and porcelain. So maybe accepting him as a child wasn't so far-fetched if he kind of looked the part.

After dinner, Chris was drug off towards Gerard's room. "Blocks.. you said.."

Yeah, he had. Chris played with him while Adam cleaned up, ignoring his blonde's complaints of his boys leaving him. He actually had fun building with Gerard, he couldn't remember the last time he had played with these stupid colorful plastic blocks. They built a skyscraper, if it could be called that, and Chris made crashing and explosion noises as Gerard knocked it down- because what was the fun in building it if you couldn't promptly destroy it and start again?

Gerard giggled. "Again."

"Okay, buddy. C'mon." He started building it back.

It wasn't long before Adam poked his head in. "C'mon, time to put it up. Bath time."

"Noo.. playing.." His tongue was peeking out as he concentrated on putting his next block in place.

"Yes." Adam insisted. "You can play in the tub."

Gerard looked at Chris and the shorter-haired blond shook his head. "Nope. Go on, we'll play more tomorrow."

"Yeah, after your bath I'll read to you before bed." Adam grabbed his hand and helped him up. Gerard leaned over and gave Chris a hug before following.

He was a bit taken aback, but shook it off in amusement. "Oh, leave me to pick up, why don't you." Chris sighed dramatically. "Woe is me."

"They're blocks." Adam sang from the hall.

Chris shook his head fondly and began picking up the blocks.

Adam fixed the water as Gerard struggled out of his clothes. "I can do it."

"Okay. Kindly hurry, grandpa, the water's gonna get cold." Adam teased.

Gerard made a face at him and let him help him into the warm water. Adam had even put bubbles in for him, he never got that either at the institute and the water was always cold there because the room was always cold. Adam gave him a rubber ducky to play with and gently started to wash him off.

"You have fun playing with Chrissy?"

Gerard nodded. "Um-hm, he's cute."

Adam giggled. "Yes, he is. I like him."

Adam got him rinsed and dried off and into some Batman pajamas. Finding novelty pajamas for adults was not hard these days at all. Adam even had Spiderman ones for himself. Really it was just the pants with the logo all over them and a t-shirt with the logo on the front. Gerard liked them a lot better than the thin and rough things they had at the institute. He lead him out of the bathroom and into the living room. Chris was already on the couch, watching TV. Adam tiredly plopped down beside him and Gerard crawled in his lap with a book that Adam had probably read him a thousand times at the institute before he left.

Chris leaned over and looked at him squarely. "You're bogarting my man, you know." He lightly poked him in the side and Gerard grinned around the thumb in his mouth.

"He'll give me back." Adam opened the book and started to read. Gerard had his head laying on Adam's shoulder. Chris laid his head on the other shoulder, vaguely listening to the story and watching the flickering screen of the TV. He thought this would be strange and awkward, but actually it was kind of nice so far.


Writing Wyatt being so creepy was more fun than it should be. I didn't really mean that scene as rapey as it may have sounded. They may or may not pop back up in the future. Vickie may not have anything else to do with this fic, I had promised to write her nicer & I wasn't trying to write her mean, but 'kids' exaggerate. Okay, I like doing domestic, just in extremely weird ways.. Adam & Chris are not going to get rapey.. except maybe later with each other. The same goes for Slatian. I can't promise anything for Punk, he keeps rubbing his hands together like a damn human fly.