Flames and flowers: tales of Chaos

by Nival Vixen

Unrelated and unconnected drabbles featuring Layla and Warren as Poison and Fire, the evil duo Chaos. May include other relationships that are in the Chaos-verse, i.e. Zach/Ethan, Honey/Speed. Companion to the stories within Tales of Chaos. Rated M for a reason.

30. Night-bear: an interlude

Night-bear: an interlude.

Note: Set between chapters 184 and 185 of Mother Nature.

...

Justina shoved her things in her locker, poking Remi and Robin between the shoulder blades before she bolted towards the cafeteria. "Last one there's a rotten egg!" she called over her shoulder, laughing and tagging Terrence on her way past his locker.

"Aw, c'mon. I'm too tired to run!" Remi said, groaning.

Robin wondered how much he actually meant his words; Remi looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept properly in weeks, and for a bear-shifter who was coming up on their winter hibernation, that was concerning. Robin stayed back as Terrence yelled and ran after Justina in a rush. Probably to get a chocolate pudding for Adam, they mused with a grin.

"I'll be there soon; you don't have to wait for me," Remi said when he heard Robin's stomach gurgle over the noise of the hallway.

"I'm waiting. It's not like we have to wait in line anymore anyway," Robin said with a shrug.

"Lucky you," Remi said, grinning as he closed his locker. His grin slipped into a large yawn that made Robin feel tired.

"Come on, the sooner you eat, the sooner you can have a nap," they said, slinging an arm around Remi's shoulders and leading him to the cafeteria, just as much as they were holding him up.

Remi felt thin under Robin's arm and they frowned at the realisation. After that overly enthusiastic conversation about bears from Zach and Ethan (and Justina, of course) during the museum field trip, Robin knew that bear shifters were meant to be on the larger side. They vaguely remembered the conversation going along the lines of: something, something, metabolism - something, something, Wookie strength - something, something, rip limbs off - something, something, hibernation - something, something, eat body weight in food. Or had that last one been a challenge? Robin was sure someone had eaten to excess after that conversation; maybe that was just because Zach was hungry? Either way, they were sure that Remi's shoulders weren't meant to be poking into their arm like this.

The cafeteria was its usual cacophony of noise and Robin grinned when they heard Justina crowing over her victory, Terrence arguing that her head start was against the rules and didn't count.

"You're not going to your table?" Remi asked with another yawn, obviously trying to hide this one and blinking rapidly as though that would fight off his exhaustion.

"Nah, they can wait a bit longer. I'm pretty sure Barney cooked today, and he's good at labelling food, 'cause he likes getting reviews. Last week, I didn't send my review and I had all of the frogs texting me at, like, eight o'clock demanding to know why I didn't like their Pepe's cooking. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if Barney stole their phones and texted me twelve times; I don't remember giving my number to the triplets," Robin mused, frowning. "Ooh, the pasta looks good. What are you going to - "

Beside them, Remi collapsed suddenly and without a sound. Robin let out a cry of surprise, their brand taking the shock in a second, but Remi collapsing was enough to draw the attention of both the students around them and Coach Boomer who was supervising the cafeteria that day. Robin dropped to their knees, checking Remi was still breathing with a hand over his chest and another feeling the breath coming from his nose. He was alive.

"What's going on here?" Boomer demanded, waving people out of the way.

"I don't know. He fainted, I think? He needs to see Nurse Spex," Robin said.

Justina was by Robin's side in a second, worried for her new friend, and sighed in relief when she saw that Remi was still breathing.

"I'll take him to Nurse Spex's office, Coach," Warren said, nudging past a few freshmen to get to Remi before anyone could argue.

"All right, people! Clear the way!" Boomer called, a hint of sonic blast in his voice to get a direct path to the cafeteria doors.

"Thanks, Coach," Warren said, picking Remi up in his arms and heading to the exit. He was surprised at how light the shifter was, glancing over his shoulder to see Robin and Justina keeping up with his longer stride. "One of you get Adam to find out what's going on; Remi shouldn't be fainting for no reason, and he sure as fuck shouldn't be this light to carry."

Justina frowned at that, stepping forward so she could look at Remi properly in Warren's arms. He was wearing a large shirt and jeans, but she hadn't truly realised that he didn't fill either out. Remi's broader shoulders made his shirt seem like it fit, and now that his shirt was rucked up, she could see a belt tight around his waist, too.

"Adam can't know everything, Warren. Nurse Spex will have some idea; she's been the school nurse for... actually, no one knows how long she's been here," Robin admitted. "But she'll know what's wrong. We could also try asking Remi, I'm sure he's open to answering questions. If not, then we'll get Adam to dig, okay?"

"That's a lot of waiting, Robin," Warren muttered.

"Nngh." Remi groaned and stirred in Warren's arms.

"Remi? Remi, are you okay? We're taking you to Nurse Spex, okay?" Robin said.

"No, not - "

"It's not up for discussion, Remi," Warren said firmly, hurrying to Nurse Spex's office.

Remi made a shuddering sob of a sound, turning into Warren's chest. Despite the heat of his body, Warren could still feel the wet tears against his shirt before they evaporated. What the hell was happening to Remi to cause him to faint and cry?!

Nurse Spex blinked in surprise at their sudden presence, but immediately had Warren set Remi down on a bed so she could x-ray his body for internal damage. Worryingly, she looked at his head twice before looking at his chest and stomach. "Remi? When was the last time you ate?" she asked, her voice firm though her face was kind.

Remi started crying again, sniffling and rubbing at his eyes. "I had a big lunch yesterday. I wasn't... I wasn't hungry."

"Bull-fucking-shit. 'Scuse my French, Nurse Spex," Justina added.

"Mm-hmm. Remi, we've talked about this. You need five meals a day. In fact, since we're so close to winter, you should start having six meals or more if you can manage. You won't be able to hibernate properly if you don't eat - "

"I know!" Remi snapped, then winced at his loud tone and Nurse Spex's unimpressed expression. "Sorry, Nurse Spex."

"I know. This is the fourth time, Remi. That means I have to call your parents," she replied.

Remi shook his head. "No, please. I'll eat. I promise - "

"You promised that the last three times. This is worrying, Remi. Your health is important. I need to call your parents to discuss this."

Remi growled something under his breath, the noise making Justina frown in response, her head tilted to the side.

"We've got extra food; can Remi eat it in here, Nurse Spex?" Justina asked suddenly.

"If he'll eat it, he can," Nurse Spex said with a nod.

"I will. Honest!"

"Robin, can you get our food?" Justina asked her friend.

Robin wondered what Remi had said in bear-speak that Justina understood and the rest of them didn't, but nodded and left.

"I'll get you water and tea," Nurse Spex offered, patting Remi's hand and leaving now that he had friends with him.

"Thank you, Nurse Spex," Remi said, playing with the hem of his shirt and not looking at Justina or Warren.

"Remi, you know I'm a zoolingualist, right?"

Remi frowned at Justina's words. "Yeah, so?"

"So when you growl in bear, I know what you're saying," Justina said.

Warren looked between them, confused and concerned at how pale Remi had gone. "Hey, breathe, Remi. I didn't carry you all this way for you to die now, okay?"

Remi gulped in oxygen and nodded. Nurse Spex returned with a glass of water, peering at him curiously when she saw his pale complexion. Before she could query him or the other two teens, Robin returned with their arms full of food, and a small army of friends following them.

"They all wanted to see that Remi was okay for themselves," Robin said when everyone looked at them.

"Five minutes, then Remi has to eat and rest. I'll call your parents after lunch," Nurse Spex added.

Remi's relief was so obvious that everyone spotted it. Warren forced himself to stay calm and pass that feeling onto the others - if they started questioning Remi now, he might clam up and not say anything at all. He didn't seem to want to talk in front of Nurse Spex, at least.

"I brought you food, dude," Craig announced cheerfully, making his way past his friends to place a small stack of puddings on the table next to Remi.

"Hey, main meal first," Robin said, striding across and setting two tubs of food on the bed next to Remi.

"I've got muesli bars, too. Do you have any allergies? Or flavour preferences?" Ethan asked, four different flavours in his hands.

"I can organise any fruits or vegetables you'd like, too. Carrots, apples, potatoes?" Layla asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"You can't eat raw potato," Zach said aghast.

"Who said it was going to be raw?" Warren asked pointedly, wiggling his fingers.

While they argued over the possibilities of roast potato with Warren's flames, Nurse Spex saw that Remi was eating out of one of the containers with gusto. Relieved that he was eating without needing to be prompted, she returned to her own lunch and left the teenagers to their odd discussion.

By the time the argument came to an inconclusive end, Remi had finished eating both containers of food, all six puddings, and two of the muesli bars Ethan had left in his reach. He was snoring lightly, and looked more peaceful than he had twenty minutes ago.

"Can we come back later to check on Remi, Nurse Spex?" Robin asked.

"Of course. Not during class, though; your teachers will have my head!" Nurse Spex tutted.

"Thank you," Layla said, helping Warren usher everyone outside, the curiosity from her wrist making her anxious to get outside sooner rather than later.

As soon as they were outdoors and out of earshot of the building, Warren turned to Justina. "Care to share what Remi was saying?"

Justina sighed heavily. "It's not my thing to tell, Warren."

"Remi just fainted in the cafeteria, is skinnier than a rake, and thanks to that goddamn presentation Zach gave, I know that bear shifters are considered adults by the time their human alter egos hit fifteen. Remi's, what, sixteen now? Seventeen? Either way, he's practically an adult who's malnourished and since he ate all of that food in five minutes flat, I doubt it's his decision. Now, what the fuck is going on?"

"I know, it's... wait, what presentation?"

Zach shrugged. "Ethan's getting me to practise my speaking skills. I did a presentation to Layla and Warren while they were recovering. I got really good feedback."

"Ethan's rating system helped us to provide constructive criticism," Layla said with a smile.

"Ooh, dude! I've got a Mad Science presentation I've gotta do. Can I practice, too?" Craig asked.

"Can we get back to the point first?" Warren asked, his voice rough.

Justina sighed. "Ah, fuck. You're right. It's fucked up anyway. His parents think he's fat and put him on a diet."

"You got all of that from his growl?"

"Bear speak is way less convoluted than English. It's basically: parents, fat, diet. Although, there was something about stinking fish in there, too, but I don't know if he was swearing or just hungry?" Justina mused with a frown.

"Both?" Maleah suggested, hopping off Pat's shoulder. "So, what're we gonna do about him? If his parents are the ones that put him on a diet, I doubt they'll care when Nurse Spex calls to let them know what happened."

"Why do so many parents suck? Like, seriously, it's like they all just took handfuls of 'shitty parents' sand and started eating it by the bucket load."

Ethan looked at Zach, horror etched onto his face. "We're working on analogies next; what even was that?"

"It works for me," Craig said, shrugging.

"Craig gets it," Zach said with a grin. "Aww, c'mon, Eth. It was meant to make you smile."

"Hmm," Ethan said with a deep frown.

"Getting back on topic: I can jam Nurse Spex's phone," Adam suggested, looking up from the camera in the nurse's office, where he was keeping an eye on Remi.

"She uses a landline. Nurse Spex always says that she keeps breaking her mobile phone by accidentally x-raying it, so she's basically given up," Robin said with a shrug.

"Why not just ask her not to call them? We can look after him for the rest of the day," Justina said.

"Fourth strike means she has to call. Legal things, medical licence, all that jazz," Robin admitted, sighing.

"Can we expose his parents for the shit-eating... sand-eating? What analogy are we going with here, I forget?" Pat said, looking between them. "Ah, just show that they're assholes and get him away from 'em. Ma would string 'em up if she could; she has a thing about parents treating their kids like shit."

"Is that why Ellie says she loves you so often?" Maleah asked curiously, curling up against his chest. "She's giving Pepe a run for his money."

Pat snorted. "Nah, she means it. 'cept when she's doing it to embarrass me and Sor."

"Knowing Ellie, she means it then, too," Maleah said, kissing his cheek. "Naj, Key, Lore, stop being lazy and help us plan."

Najair jumped and reformed in the same second, landing in his high heels primly and turning to glare at his sister. "You woke me up!"

"Yes, I know. We're plotting, and you'd be super bitchy if you missed out."

Naj pursed his lips, then sighed. "Fine. Why and who and how?"

Kiara reformed and leaned against Pat's chest, yawning. "Remi, bear shifter, denied food, shitty parents, rescue plan. Go team!"

Justina opened and closed her mouth several times. "Actually, that sums it up really well."

"You've still got the water droplet in Principal Powers' office, right, Eth?" Warren asked.

"Of course. I accessed it earlier this week to take notes on how to be more efficient while speaking. I doubt I'll ever reach Kiara's level of efficiency, though," Ethan admitted.

Kiara grinned and made finger guns with her hands. "Nope."

"What are you planning?" Layla asked Warren curiously.

He grinned and started to outline his plan.

...

Remi watched as his parents were led out to the police cruiser in handcuffs. He looked at Principal Powers, who was still shimmering in rage, and wondered what the hell was going to happen now. He didn't have a chance to ask as Mrs. Morton herself walked into the office with Ms. Martin a step behind her. Linda followed them into her office and shut the door as the police car flew back down to Maxville with his parents in the back.

"I don't know what's going on right now," Remi admitted, his voice cracking.

His parents were all that he'd known. He knew they hadn't been happy when he'd gotten a power, especially not when he'd begged to go to Sky High - he was already eating twice the amount they did and costing them a lot of money - but he'd thought they still loved him, at the very least.

Principal Powers' expression softened at his admittance. "You're safe now and won't be harmed again."

"They didn't harm me! Or, well, they didn't hit me! They - "

"They were starving you, Remi. Denying food to a growing teen, or anyone - whether shifter, super, or citizen - is harming you. And they may not have hit you but locking you in a room at night is inhumane," Principal Powers spat, as though the word itself was foul.

Remi wrapped his arms around his chest, trying to keep his breath even, and clenched his shirt in his fists to stop his hands from shaking.

"What I don't understand is why you are here, Ellie," Linda added, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I'm here to look after Remi. The poor lad needs somewhere to live while those two rot in prison, and we just had a new extension added to the house."

"That's not how this works, Ellie."

"Emancipation form, guardianship form - I also have the adoption form, if you want - and a new address postal form," Ms. Martin said, laying out each wad of documents in front of Remi.

"What?" Remi asked, his whole body trembling now, still not understanding what the hell was happening.

"You have choices, Remi. We won't force any of this on you, 'course. I will, however, force my jacket on you. Poor lad, look at you; it's freezing out there, you're in naught but a shirt, and you're shaking like a leaf," Ellie tutted, taking off her jacket and draping it around his shoulders gently.

Remi felt like he hadn't been given a choice beyond going to Sky High since he first shifted. "Sorry, can you explain properly, please? I'm sorry, I don't know what my options are. Sorry," he added again.

Ms. Martin smiled, a soft expression she must have reserved for traumatised teens because Linda had certainly never seen it before, and explained Remi's choices in careful detail. She ensured he understood each option before continuing to the next. When she was finished, Remi was no longer trembling, warmth starting to seep into his limbs from Mrs. Morton's warm jacket.

"You don't have to decide right now, Remi lad. It can be tomorrow or next week," Ellie added.

"But I have to decide within fourteen days?" he asked, confirming with Ms. Martin, who nodded in response.

"The government doesn't allow super minors to be without adult supervision or a permanent residence; your parents' house will likely be locked up as evidence in the trial."

"So they could be freed?" Remi asked, hating how his voice and body trembled at the thought of living with his parents. He hadn't lived with anyone else before, and they were his parents, so he didn't know why the thought of being with his own family and flesh and blood was so nauseating.

"No, I can assure you they won't be."

Ms. Martin sounded so certain that Remi found himself nodding in response. "Okay. I think... I'd like to think about it. Please."

The paperwork was in Ms. Martin's briefcase a second later, as though it had never existed in the first place.

"I'd like to... if I'm still allowed, that is... can I stay with you, please?" Remi asked Mrs. Morton, still wrapped in her jacket and feeling warm for the first time since the first icy breeze had started to blow back at the start of autumn.

"Of course, Remi lad."

...

Pat paced back and forth, Naj's pink braid swinging in time as he watched his boyfriend's movement.

"Pat, come here. Sit with me," Naj said, catching his hand before he could pass by again. He gently guided Pat to sit beside him and started massaging his shoulders. "You're so tense I'm in pain just looking at you. You could've listened to the speaker in Principal Powers' office along with the others."

"I wanted my reaction to be natural. I get nervous and talk too much if it's not natural. I don't want to make Mam suspicious; she knows when I'm lying."

"That's because you have adorable dimples and they show up when you lie."

"What?"

Naj grinned and kissed his cheek. "You didn't know?"

"No. Record me so I can see it?"

"Sure, cariño, let me just work this knot out first."

Pat winced at the harsh feeling of Naj's fingers digging into a knot of tension in his shoulder. The knot was gone soon enough and Naj's fingers slid up Pat's neck to turn his face so he could kiss him firmly.

"Better now?"

"Mmm. Another kiss to be sure?"

"T'be sure, t'be sure," Naj said with a laugh and an awful Irish accent.

"Not funny, Naj."

Naj made a crooning noise at Pat's pout, and manhandled him until they were face to face. "You love me," he said with a broad grin, kissing him firmly.

"Aye, I do. No dimples, right?"

"No dimples," Naj confirmed.

Pat grinned and kissed him eagerly, tugging Naj's hair free of its braid. Naj shuddered against Pat as his fingers ran through his hair, and pulled him closer still.

"This isn't what we had in mind when we said to keep Pat occupied, Naj," Kiara drawled, raising an eyebrow at them.

"He loves me. No dimples," Naj said between kisses.

"Aww, that's sweet," Maleah said with a smile.

"Damn, I thought it'd be Mal first," Lorcan groused.

"You owe me ten bucks and five chocolate covered cricket sticks," Kiara snickered.

"You said 'or' not 'and!'"

"Did not."

"Did too."

Pat finally pulled away from Naj and looked over to Mal, Key, and Lore. "I love you all, y'know."

Kiara and Lorcan stopped arguing when his words registered and they both took money from their pockets.

Maleah smiled and took the cash from both of her siblings. "Do we get kissed like that?" she asked, nodding to where Naj was lying on the floor, his chest heaving and not even worried about the state of his hair or outfit.

"O'course."

Maleah grinned and sat beside Naj, patting her lap. "Good. Then it's my turn, cariño."

...

Ayumu, formerly 379, was usually a great sleeper. A cuff on his wrist helped with the nightmares and the apartment away from the rest of the orphans meant that if he screamed in the middle of the night, they wouldn't be woken up, so it worked for everyone. The problem was two new people had moved into the apartment next to his, and the cuffs weren't foolproof with a power like his. With enough trauma and terror, his power would turn on like the world's strongest electromagnet and attract the nearest misery and tragedy like paper clips.

After the fourth night in a row, Ayumu was sick of waking himself up in a drenched bed, his terrified sweat clinging to his body and his chest heaving, his head filled with memories that didn't belong to him. Ayumu pressed his hands to his face, the nightmare far too clear.

He could only watch as bricks and metal fell, his body crushed beneath tonnes of building materials and debris. He screamed for help, but all he could hear were those two heroes bickering and posturing. Dust filled his mouth as he realised his back was numb in a foreign and frightening way. He screamed louder when he realised he couldn't feel his legs, and that's when he woke up.

(In the apartment next to his, Etta woke up, drenched in sweat and terrified. She hated that nightmare so fucking much; was it still a nightmare if it was a memory? Either way, it fucking sucked.)

Ayumu's hands were trembling as he stood to strip off the bed and get new sheets from the linen cupboard. Too exhausted to actually wash anything, he left the sheets bundled at the foot of the bed. Deciding he was too tired to put the sheets on properly either, Ayumu unfolded one just enough to cocoon his body in it and attempt to fall back to sleep.

His scalp itched with the new hair that was growing, further irritated by the now cooling sweat. Ayumu wrinkled his nose as he realised he was covered and stinking of sweat, too. He couldn't risk a bath since he'd probably fall asleep and drown, but a quick shower would work.

Ten minutes later, Ayumu was showered, clean and, unfortunately, wide awake.

He couldn't do this anymore. He needed to sleep in a building where people didn't dream about being crushed by buildings or being experimented on by scientists - Ayumu had his own nightmares about that, and certainly didn't need extra, thank you very much! - or that seriously weird nightmare about a giant cupcake chasing people and eating them.

Heading out to the kitchen, he grabbed the phone and pressed the first button for speed dial, waiting for the call to connect impatiently. He was going to make this call and then go down to the parking garage to sleep where he'd be surrounded by nothing more than inanimate objects and concrete.

"Hi Ayumu. I'll have a new place organised for you by tomorrow lunchtime, okay?"

Glad he didn't even have to ask for it, Ayumu sighed in relief and ran a hand over his stubbled head; he missed his hair. "Thank you, Honey."

"You're welcome. Now, sleep on the couch tonight. You'll sleep better with that blanket."

Ayumu looked over to the couch and considered it for a moment. It did look inviting and had the added bonus of being at least another two walls away from his neighbour's room. Besides, it looked far more comfortable than the parking garage. "Thanks."

"Sleep well, Ayumu. I'll work on better cuffs for you soon."

Ayumu's farewell was cut abruptly by a wide yawn and he hung up the phone before stumbling over to the couch and wrapping himself up in the faux fur blanket. He was asleep in a matter of minutes.

...

081 ran into the room, tapping Ayumu on the back and ducking around him just before the older teen turned around.

"Don't, Zero, you know I'm tired," Ayumu said with a wide yawn.

081 grinned. "Yeah, I know. You won't be for much longer; Honey's here with the solution to your sleeping problem."

"If you tell me she's bringing noise cancelling headphones, I will throw something out a window, and it might be you."

"I know. C'mon already, I want to surprise them," 081 called over his shoulder, waiting impatiently at the door for Ayumu to follow him.

Ayumu doubted anyone could surprise Hourglass, but figured if anyone had a shot, it would be Zero. He followed 081 out of the room, down the hallway, into the stairwell, and up a level. Zero opened the door, peeking out, then opened the door wide and stepped onto the landing - straight into Honey.

"Caught you," Honey said with a teasing smile.

"Aww! Can we play again?" Zero asked eagerly.

"Give me half an hour, and you can try again, okay?"

"Fifteen minutes?"

"Do you really want to try when that's going to happen?" Honey asked pointedly.

Zero thought about it for a moment then wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "See you soon, Ayumu!" he called, heading over to the elevator.

"What the hell's going on? Zero said you have some solution so I can sleep properly without getting everyone's nightmares?" Ayumu asked Honey, looking at the large duffel bag she was carrying sceptically.

"Yes, I do. The duffel will help, but it's not the solution. Come on, or we'll be late."

"Late for what?" Ayumu asked, even as he followed Honey down the hallway.

"You'll see," Honey said with a smile, holding a door open for him.

Ayumu went inside, stopping in surprise when he saw who was waiting for them. "Mrs. Morton?"

"Ah, good, y'already know my name, lad?"

"Yes. You were one of the organisation's high profile targets. They... uh, they assigned you to me for my eighteenth birthday."

"What's that mean, lad?"

Ayumu blushed and looked at the ground. "Graduation's on our eighteenth birthdays; we have to kill a high profile target."

Ellie frowned for a moment, then gave a wicked grin. "Well, if I'm pissing 'em off, I must be doing something right! Ooh, what were you going to do?"

Ayumu blinked. "What?"

"I was your target, you said? What were you going to do?"

"Ellie, let's not traumatise Ayumu, shall we?" Honey suggested lightly, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

Ellie sighed. "Fine, I suppose less trauma is best. How long will it take to pack? I want to get you home and settled a'fore Sorcha and Patrick get home."

"You're letting me stay with you? Really?"

"Aye, lad. You're not going to complete their mission, are you?"

"No! I wasn't even going to do it while I was there!"

"That's good, lad, I believe you. Then we've no problem, do we?"

Ayumu almost couldn't believe how long the organisation had had him plan and strategise for the mission when Ellie was so welcoming. She probably would've brewed her own chamomile tea and offered him a mug as well.

"That's it? You just believe me? No polygraph test or truth serum?"

Ellie looked scandalised. "No what?! Honey - "

Honey winced and shook her head. "How about we discuss that another day? It needs more time and patience than either of us have right now."

She pursed her lips and looked at Honey, who just looked straight back at her and waited patiently. Ayumu, not entirely sure what was going on, watched and waited as well. After what felt like five full minutes, Ellie finally turned her attention to Ayumu and smiled, though it was more forced than before. "What sort of mattress do you like, lad? We can stop by a store on the way home or organise it to be delivered and set up by the time you get there, if you already know."

Ayumu blinked at the question. "There's different kinds of mattresses?"

Footsteps running past the door had all three looking to the source of the noise in time to see a short young girl in a dress running past, her face red in anger and matching the red hat she was wearing. "Give it back, slimeball!"

"Make me!"

She scowled and tore her hat off, throwing it at the other person, who just laughed in response. Ayumu could see that her hair was growing back in patches on her head, and immediately recognised her as she stood in a certain way, her hands splayed in front of her.

"Oh, shit."

He ran out of the room just as the girl let out a stream of water from her palms. It was nothing in comparison to the tidal wave that came from her opposition, and Ayumu was caught by the blast of cold water on both sides, drenching him instantly.

"Oh, fuck. I'm sorry, are you - Ayumu?"

"Ayu! Lyr stole my pillow!" the young girl demanded, poking her tongue out at her brother.

"Was destroying the hallway necessary? We have wet areas for a reason, Cariad," Honey said.

"Yeah, but he wouldn't go in them!" Cariad said, glaring at her brother.

Lyr was still standing there in shock, staring at Ayumu at the wet t-shirt that was now moulded to his body, and Cari rolled her eyes at her idiot brother. If Ayumu wasn't so damn oblivious, he would have spotted Lyr's crush on him years ago. Hell, even the scientists had known about it and had usually tortured Lyr by threatening to tell Ayumu.

Doc said Cari couldn't just tell Ayumu for Lyr and that the scientists' threats were probably one of the reasons that Lyr left his own feelings unsaid for so long: if Ayumu became more than a crush, they would have used him against Lyr more than they already had. Cari reluctantly agreed with Doc, but she still thought it was stupid that her dork of a brother hadn't said anything to Ayumu since they'd been rescued from that place and they were safe now. Unfortunately, Doc had said she couldn't tell Lyr that either.

"Lyr, you know better than to use your power inside. Cari, you too," Ayumu said with a sigh, stripping off his shirt and wringing it out with a wince.

Lyr was so red that Cari was sure he'd be able to make hot water in that instant.

"He's setting a bad example for me, Ayu," Cari said, her eyes wide.

"Why'd he steal your pillow?" Ayumu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cari turned red again, but this time it was due to embarrassment. "I was only teasing!"

"You know Lyr's sensitive, Cari, and you can push his buttons better than anyone."

"Oh, good, you're still here. Here you go, Ayumu," Zero said, offering him a large fluffy towel.

"Thanks, Zero."

Zero grinned and looked at Honey. "Can we play now?"

"Ooh, what are you playing?" Cari asked eagerly.

"Hide and seer," Zero said.

"Paddy's been talking about creating a new wing with a water feature, y'know," Ellie murmured to Honey, looking between Lyr's smitten face and Ayumu.

"I thought you'd never offer. I'll work with Layla to get fresh food and vegetables so you won't go broke with groceries."

"Thanks, Honey. Cariad, Lyr, let's talk, shall we?" Ellie said with a grin.

Lyr finally looked away from Ayumu and realised that others were standing there, including Mrs. Morton and Hourglass.

Oh, shit.

...

Remi had been shown to his room - whether it was temporary or permanent was up to him - and immediately went to sleep. Ellie had promised a tour of her house when he was more alert after food, but Remi was too exhausted after his day to even get excited about the prospect of either. He'd thanked Ellie and then toed his shoes off before faceplanting straight onto the giant bed and falling asleep instantly. He hadn't felt the blanket tucked around his shoulders or heard Ellie leaving the room.

Now he was awake, warm, oddly relaxed, and hungry. His stomach was making its presence known with loud grumbling noises that sounded more like his bear form than anything else. He sat up on the bed with a giant yawn, rubbing his stomach and wondering what the time was. The door was closed and Remi's mouth closed with an audible click as fear pulled at his mind.

What if they'd locked the door on him? What if he'd gone from the frying pan into the fire and just didn't know it yet? He didn't know these people and just because they were rich it didn't mean they would be any better than his parents. He could be locked in here with no food over winter, or no food at all, and who would believe him? They'd see him and say he was the proper weight for a teenager his height and dismiss anything else as a teenager rebelling against his parents. The family doctor had said that exact thing, after all. He'd weighed and measured him as though those two numbers were all that mattered and didn't take into account he needed thick layers of muscle and fat to hibernate properly because his parents refused to take him to a super doctor.

"Good evening, Remi. Your pulse is elevated at an alarming rate. Would you like me to contact Ellie?" a disembodied voice said.

Remi pressed a hand to his chest and felt his heart beating frantically beneath his palm. Now he was hearing voices, too?!

"Do not be alarmed. I am an AI of Morton Holdings. Please call me Aimee. Can I get food or water sent to you? Or a human? There are four in the nearby vicinity if you are unable to make it to the door on your own," Aimee added.

Remi licked his lips and looked around the room. Was it an elaborate prank? He couldn't see speakers or anywhere a person could hide. Apart from the giant bed, there wasn't much in the way of furniture since Ellie had said she was waiting for him to choose what he wanted, if he wanted to stay. "Where are you?"

"I am built into the house itself. Ellie built my program and Paddy set me loose, as it were," Aimee responded.

A knock at the door startled Remi and he looked over at the door. Could AI programs knock?!

"I called Master Patrick, I hope you don't mind." Aimee sounded hesitant, which was odd for a voice coming from nowhere and everywhere at once.

"Oh. Um, come in?"

Remi listened carefully but there was no sound of a key being turned, and he relaxed as the door opened without any resistance.

"Hey, you're awake! Did Aimee freak you out? I told her to wait so we could explain first but she said it was an emergency. You okay?" Pat asked.

Remi nodded shyly. He'd met all of Justina's friends, but hadn't talked to them much, and Pat had always seemed intimidating with his button-up shirts and trousers that cost more than his parents made in a month. Now, he was wearing a pair of sweats and a Henley and almost looked like any regular kid.

"I'm okay. I just... freaked out," Remi admitted.

"You woke up in a strange place after what sounded like a shit day, so I'm not surprised. D'you want water or something to drink? We're not big on soda, but I'm sure Mam will buy it if you ask. Sorcha and I are probably still banned from drinking them, come to think of it," Pat mused.

"Why?" Remi asked curiously.

He grinned. "Sorcha drank a whole bottle of creaming soda when we were younger and literally climbed the walls. There's finger holes in the rock climbing room if you want to see the proof. I conducted various science experiments with carbonated drinks that destroyed three rooms. I made one of them look like a murder scene during one of their benefactor parties. It was grape and raspberry flavoured, and I destroyed so many designer outfits in ten minutes that I'm banned from attending those parties, too. Such a shame," he said with a dramatic sigh.

Remi laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. "Did you do it on purpose?" he asked with a grin.

Pat's eyes widened in mock offence. "Me? Destroy expensive and custom-made outfits on purpose to get out of attending boring parties? Never."

Remi laughed behind his hand. His stomach rumbled and he pressed it to stop the noise from being too loud, his cheeks red.

"You want food? We've ordered pizza for dinner but it won't be here for another hour. Mam went a bit crazy and ordered like twelve pizzas for you and the others."

"Others?"

"Yeah, we've got three... uh, foster kids who've just moved in, too. Cariad already has Pa wrapped around her pinkie," Pat said, shaking his head. "C'mon, I'll show you the kitchen in this wing. If there's food or ingredients you want that aren't in the walk-in pantry, just let Aimee know. She coordinates the shopping for all of us. Oh, and she's good at letting you know who's got what if you need to raid someone else's kitchen."

Remi frowned but his stomach was leading his body and feet to follow Pat out of the room and through the hallway. "How many kitchens do you have?"

"Four, not including the barbecue area and fire pit out the back. There's four wings to the house: Mam and Pa, Sorcha, and I have our own. This wing is for you and the others to share 'til Pa finishes making the great water retreat out back for Lyr and Cari. Those were his words, not mine."

"Who's the third foster kid?" Remi asked curiously.

"Ayumu, he's friends with Lyr and Cari," Pat said, opening a door and stepping into a kitchen with stainless steel appliances, several with the original labels still on them. "Here's your kitchen. Do you actually know how to cook? Aimee can teach you if you need help, or Mam and Pa have a cooking challenge that gets you through the cooking basics so you don't burn the house down trying to boil an egg. If you do set anything on fire, don't worry about it: Sorcha's wing had to be rebuilt. Which is probably when they made the cooking challenge," he mused.

"How long have you had four kitchens?" Remi asked, glancing at one of the labels.

Pat winced and scratched the back of his head. "About a day. Don't tell Mam I told you, 'kay? You weren't meant to know. Sor was meant to take the labels off before you got here, but then the others arrived and we all got distracted."

"Okay. Where's the walk-in pantry?" Remi asked, looking around; the doors looked like they all led to other rooms, not a pantry.

Pat grinned broadly and nodded to one. "Take a look."

Remi opened the door, a light turning on automatically overhead. "Holy salmon sticks," he swore, eyes wide as he took in the small room that was apparently considered a pantry. His old room was probably smaller than this!

"Like I said, Aimee takes care of shopping for the most part. Mam and Pa kinda went overboard when they found out three more teens were coming to live here, so they bought, like, everything. I'm pretty sure we've never eaten half of this stuff before," Pat said, frowning at an unfamiliar packet and poking it warily. "Just eat whatever you want. If you don't want something, just leave it. I've got friends who'll eat anything, up to and including bugs," he said, grinning.

"Is Justina okay with that?" Remi asked curiously.

"They've gotta eat, and it's what they eat. She's not so fond of the live bugs, so they're getting fire-ant krispies instead. It means less religious talk over lunch, so," Pat trailed off and shrugged.

Remi blinked. "What?"

"Y'know what, that's a story for another day. It involves backstory and what could be misconstrued as a massacre of the first deity-worshipping ant population."

Remi's stomach gurgled again, but he couldn't even pay attention to his hunger at that moment. "What the actual fuck?"

Pat laughed and groaned, burying his head in his hands. "Seriously, don't ask. Do you want something to eat? There's... whatever this is," he said, reaching out and grabbing a random packet from the shelf. "I think they're spicy, if the amount of flames on the outside is any indication."

Still not sure what was going on, Remi took the packet from Pat just so they both had something else to concentrate on. He opened the bag, his eyes watering almost immediately at the spicy smell, but still ate a few. They weren't too bad. "You're sure I can have anything?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Even those Twinkies?"

"Yep."

"And that caviar?"

"No. Wait, I mean, yes, you can. But that should probably be in the fridge," Pat said, taking the tins of fish eggs over to the fridge. "And we're definitely not telling Justina about them, okay?" he asked over his shoulder, moving the cartons of eggs and milk to make room for the caviar.

Remi grinned. "Okay."

Still not quite believing that he could have whatever he wanted, he grabbed a few Twinkies and shoved them in his pockets while Pat was occupied in the kitchen. His jeans were so baggy that they weren't even visible. It was just in case he was hungry later and couldn't find the kitchen again, Remi reasoned with himself.

"The pizza has arrived. Please make your way to the main lounge area for dinner," Aimee informed them politely, Remi jumping what felt like a metre in the air and thinking he was in trouble for taking the Twinkies already.

"All right. You ready for a buttload of pizza? Ooh, can you pass one of those spicy chip packets first? I want to trick Sor into eating one," Pat said with a grin.

Remi threw one of the packets to him and followed Pat to the lounge room for pizza.

...

"Are you sure you all had enough to eat? There's plenty more. You've hardly touched yours, Remi," Ellie said in concern, seeing several pieces of pizza still sitting on his plate.

"I've eaten four already. I don't... I'm okay."

Paddy narrowed his eyes at the teenager. "You don't what?"

Remi looked down at his plate, turning his napkin into confetti on his lap. "Nothing."

"Is it the flavours or the toppings? Do you have any allergies or preferences? I just ordered everything, I didn't think to ask. I'm so sorry - "

"No! It's not that," Remi interrupted Ellie, feeling all kinds of awful that she thought she'd done something wrong. "I just... I didn't want to be rude."

Ellie frowned. "What? How? There's food, it's gotta be eaten, Remi lad. Have seconds, thirds, whatever you need to be full. And then have dessert on top of it!"

Remi looked at the pizza boxes around them, then to Ellie and the others. "You don't mind?"

"Of course not. Eat."

"You want the rest of my garlic bread?" Sorcha offered.

"If you don't eat it, I will," Pat said, reaching for his sister's plate.

Sorcha glared and smacked his hand away. "I didn't offer you, brat."

"Rude."

"Shut up. Here, it's all yours, Remi. If anyone tries to take your food, sit on them, okay? It's what I do," Sorcha said, grinning.

"You shouldn't sound so proud about that; you almost broke my wrist last time."

"It was chocolate, Pat, you deserved it and more."

"All right, children, that's enough. You're scaring the others," Ellie said, raising an eyebrow at her children. "Lyr, Cari, Ayumu, how are you three going? Need more pizza or do you want dessert now?"

"Dessert, please!" Cariad said quickly, sitting up straighter.

"Dessert sounds good. Thank you."

"Not a problem, dear. We have ice cream, cake, Twinkies, uh... Aimee, what else?"

"There are numerous ingredients, would you like those listed as well?" Aimee asked.

"Not tonight, no one's going to bother cooking after pizza, are they?" Ellie confirmed, looking at everyone.

Cari frowned and shook her head. "We can't cook. The orphanage didn't teach us that."

Ellie clenched her jaw and fist, forcing herself to relax. "Aye, well... I know what sort of orphanage they were, and trust me, I'm not surprised. I can teach you, or Aimee can, if you like?" she offered. "Learning to cook is a skill everyone needs to ken, so it's not up for discussion," she added, both Pat and Sorcha mouthing the words along with her.

"Hey, don't be smart with your Mam," Paddy said, raising an eyebrow at his children. "Aimee, the list of desserts before we interrupt you again, please?"

"Cake, pudding, Twinkies, chocolate mousse, jello, and various fruits," Aimee listed.

"I kind of want something savoury," Sorcha mused, wrinkling her nose.

"I got these chips from one of the pantries. Want one, Sor?" Pat offered, holding the open packet out to her.

Sorcha narrowed her eyes at her brother. "What are you doing?"

"Offering you food?" Pat replied innocently. Sorcha didn't look like she believed him. Pat rolled his eyes and took a chip for himself, putting in his mouth, chewing obnoxiously, swallowing, and opening his mouth to show her. "See, it's fine. Go on or I'll eat the rest myself."

Sorcha took one and ate it before he could change his mind. The change was almost instantaneous as her face went from pale to bright red. She threw a napkin at her brother even as she grabbed a glass of water and drank it down. Sweat started to form at her temples.

"Damn it, Pat, you know Sor's sensitive to heat," Ellie scolded. "You go get her milk and bread."

"There's cheese pizza left, that'd work, wouldn't it?"

"Milk and bread, young man. This minute."

"Yes, Mam," Pat said with a sigh, heading to the closest kitchen.

When he'd left the room, Ellie handed the box of cheese pizza to her daughter anyway, just in case it did help.

Sorcha ate a piece, fanning herself and dabbing at her face with a spare napkin. "I'm going to do worse than sit on him when he gets back!" She looked around the table for another drink, but they were all empty.

"I can make water for you. It's clean, I promise," Lyr said, filling up his glass of water to show them.

"At this point, I'll take it. I think Pat went to his kitchen, the brat," Sorcha muttered, holding out her glass.

"I can get milk for you, I know where the kitchen is," Ayumu offered, standing up and leaning over to take the glass just as Lyr powered up.

Cari almost choked on her garlic bread as Ayumu was drenched for the second time that day, and her brother turned into a lovesick idiot because of it. Again. Though he wasn't the only one, she noticed, seeing Remi's jaw drop and cheeks turn red at the sight of the wet shirt clinging to Ayumu. She sighed and rolled her eyes. Boys!

...

Despite Ellie and Paddy's assurances, Remi still didn't eat as much as he could have. Pat had returned with the milk, bread, and a tray full of different desserts that Cari and Lyr had attacked with gusto. He'd also thrown a towel to Ayumu, courtesy of Aimee, and Remi tried not to think too hard about why he felt disappointed about that. By the time dinner and dessert had finished, Remi had eaten more food in those last few hours than he had in weeks.

His stomach comfortably full, his homework finished, and his clothes unpacked in a small corner of the giant walk-in wardrobe, Remi didn't have much else to do but think. He didn't know how to work the TV and was too afraid to ask Aimee, and the bookcases in the room were empty, though he'd been told there was a library somewhere in the house, so he didn't have anything to read, either. His thoughts took up his mind, about his parents, about the way they treated him, about them putting him on diet after diet if he put on a single kilogram.

He thought about last winter and how he'd needed to hibernate, how his parents had complained about how much food he'd eaten in the week leading up to winter and he'd eaten less as the week went on, ashamed about how much he was eating when they were on a budget and needed to save money. Even now, Remi remembered how he'd woken up two weeks early because he was hungry and needed more food, only to find his bedroom door locked and bolted. He'd called out to his parents for what felt like days, not knowing the time or day or what was happening outside his room. His stomach had cramped with hunger pains, nausea sweeping through his body in waves as he didn't eat and couldn't sleep. Then, what could have been days later, he'd smelled food.

He could smell each individual food like it was sitting right there in the room with him: roast pork and crackling, beef rump steak with gravy, garlic potatoes roasted in melt-in-your-mouth butter, even the smell of steamed vegetables made his mouth water. He heard laughter coming from outside as he gathered his energy to bang on his door and beg to be let out. The laughter had paused for a moment and he knew they'd heard him calling out as he'd banged on the door harder, a sob in his throat and splinters in his fist. Then their laughter had started up again and he felt sick in a way that not even the hunger and nausea had made him feel. It had been one of the worst winters Maxville had experienced, and he'd had to stuff his clothes against the gap in the window that he'd begged to be fixed months before to no avail. By the time he'd been let out of his room, it was two weeks into spring. He'd collapsed on his first day back to Sky High, blaming the altitude, though Nurse Spex hadn't looked as though she believed him then or now.

Remi had started stockpiling already in anticipation of this winter, with muesli bars and small bags of nuts stuffed under his bed to help him last through the cold weeks without food. He'd taped the gap in his window frame, adding more layers of duct tape every time he could steal a small strip from his father's garage without him noticing. The last time he'd gone to get duct tape, he'd seen that the roll had been marked to indicate how much was left. He still had a gap on the left side of the window to fix, and had tried to measure out how many clothes he'd need to stop the gale-force breeze from entering the room compared to how many he needed to wear to keep warm.

The whole thing was fucked up and he could see that now, though some part of Remi truly wondered if his parents had ever loved him. Surely they must have loved him once? They'd given birth to him and brought him into the world, so they must have wanted him, right? From what he'd heard from their stories over the years, his parents both came from super religious backgrounds, and neither of their parents would have approved of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy nor an abortion. He vaguely remembered them having a celebration on the day his last-living grandparent had died, though he had been too young to realise what they were celebrating or why.

"Remi, it is almost ten o'clock. You should go to bed now if you are to have an optimal sleep," Aimee informed him gently.

He must have been sitting there for hours. Remi's body groaned in protest as he stood and stretched, shucking his pants off to get into pyjamas. A soft thud had him remembering the Twinkies he'd shoved in his pockets. They were somewhat squished but would still be edible since the packets hadn't burst. He doubted Ellie and Paddy were like his parents - they definitely seemed to love their children and even said it, offering hugs and affection without needing to be asked; they weren't the kind of parents who would only display affection when there were others around, nor the type to lock their children in their room while they had a smorgasbord right outside their door - but some part of him couldn't bring himself to return the Twinkies to the kitchen. Remi truly hoped that he would never need them as emergency food, but he shoved the Twinkies in his bedside drawer anyway, just in case.

...

Aleph was hunting through the pantry when he heard his father start swearing. Startled by both his presence and words, Aleph grabbed a bag of tarantulas and headed out to the kitchen where Barney was flipping through pages and looking as pissed off as Aleph had seen in some time. "What's wrong, Pepe? Did one of the kids get bullied about their hair again?"

"No, no. It's this... " Barney trailed off with a frustrated sigh, looking ready to fling the papers. "Here, you read. I need to eat my emotions."

"Mmkay," Aleph said, shrugging and wiping his hand off on Barney's shirt before taking the papers. Weirdly, Barney didn't tell him off for using him as a tea towel, so whatever was on the paper was obviously important. Setting down the bag of tarantulas, Aleph flipped to the first page to read. He recognised Barney's handwriting easily enough and saw that it was a list of different foods and likes/dislikes. "This for the new kids?"

"Yes. That one is Remi's responses. He's staying with Ellie and Patrick," Barney replied, jumping up to grab a container of crickets.

Aleph made a distracted noise in response, reading through Remi's responses. There were four columns: one listed the food, columns for yes and no, and the final column was for 'I don't know'. Most of the food types over the four pages were ticked in the fourth column. Aleph flipped to the end page to see if Remi had allergies to apparently every food in existence, and saw what had made his father angry.

I haven't tried much so I don't know if I like it. I don't think I have allergies, but I don't know that either. I'm sorry!

"He's never tried ice cream? What the fuck were his parents doing?"

Barney's response was too muffled for Aleph to bother trying to interpret. Instead, he flipped through the pages again, trying to find foods that Remi had eaten, and then trying to think of a reason or rhyme as to why a teenage kid had seemingly existed on bread, granola, and ramen noodles for most of his life.

"Fucking hell, he only had pizza at Ellie's? He's not even been there a week!"

"His parents were eating the food and not sharing it with their child, from what Najair and Lorcan were telling me," Barney said, no longer eating but still looking angry as he left the pantry. "I need to start slowly and carefully; he may not like the food and he needs to eat more as a bear shifter. Even the orphans ate more variety than him."

"Fuck, Remi's a bear? Where are his parents?"

"Prison. Calm yourself, they will be staying there and even if they do leave, Ellie won't give up her new child easily."

Aleph placed the papers down on the kitchen bench before he destroyed them completely and forced himself to unclench his fists. "I've got to go. I'll be back tomorrow, Pepe."

"Your date with Thana isn't for another hour?"

"I need to pick something up first."

"Find out if she likes flowers before you buy them, uno!" (One. Spanish)

Rolling his eyes at Barney's use of the childish nickname - it was in retaliation for using his father's shirt as a tea towel, so he didn't bother replying - Aleph grabbed his keys and wallet on the way out to his car.

...

Thana opened her door with a bright and nervous smile. She'd only been on a few dates with Aleph so far and he still made her heart flutter, her anticipation and nerves not seeming to disappear with each date, though some part of her kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Aleph would wake up one day and realise that he'd made a mistake by dating her, and she'd be alone again, she was sure of it.

"Thana, you look amazing," Aleph said, blinking and simply staring for a long moment, giving her a once over that made her stomach tight and warm.

"Thanks, Aleph," Thana replied with a smile. "You look good... did you go grocery shopping?" she asked, seeing the shopping bags he was holding at his sides.

"Hmm? Oh, no. This is for you. Well, for Damien and Diablo. Not all of it, some is for you, too," Aleph rambled, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling because you look so good and my brain can't cope."

Thana laughed and shook her head. "Just wait 'til you see me in sweats and an old ratty tee."

"I can't wait," he said with a broad grin, sounding far too sincere for Thana's heart to handle.

She smiled and stepped back. "Come on in. Die and Dame are in their rooms playing with their Lego blocks. What groceries did you bring?"

"Ice cream for the boys and chocolate for you. I wasn't sure what kind you liked, so there's a few choices. Do you like chocolate?" Aleph asked, setting the bags down on the small kitchen bench and looking at her in worry.

"I love it, but... I don't think you need to buy me more for at least a month," Thana said incredulously as she looked in the bags and saw just how much he'd bought: milk, dark, white, sweet, semi-sweet, bitter, along with varying flavours in so many different colours that her eyes hurt for a moment.

"Damien and Diablo are allowed ice cream, right?" he asked, biting his bottom lip. Thana looked at his mouth for a fraction too long, and Aleph grinned in response. "Like what you see?"

"Yes. Yes, they're allowed ice cream," she added quickly, her cheeks burning red.

"I didn't know if they had any food allergies, so there's dairy free as well as the other milk and cream kind. I found lemon gelato for myself, though if Pepe knew I was eating store-bought gelato, he'd cry. If I'd known what they liked, I would have bought their favourites, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise this time. So neapolitan for the cream, and chocolate for the dairy free. Will they like it?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

Thana saw the small tubs of ice cream - two of each flavour so Dame and Die could have their own - that Aleph had bought specially for her children and wondered if she could fall in love over ice cream. "They'll love it."

...

Ayumu knew he was in someone else's nightmare because of his power, but also because he'd never seen a room like this before. He thought it might have been the scene of a movie with a piece of foam atop a thin wire bed, a window that rattled in the frame, and a freezing and bitter wind whistling through the gaps. It was so cold he thought he'd wake up from it, but it wasn't his nightmare and it wasn't over yet.

A sound of chattering teeth could be heard over the wind and Ayumu looked over to see Remi in a corner, a threadbare blanket wrapped around his shoulders with his knees curled to his chest. His lips were tinged blue and he was shuddering so violently it put the rattling window to shame.

Ayumu knew he shouldn't mess with others' nightmares but he couldn't stand to see Remi like this.

"Remi?"

He blinked his eyes open carefully, the winter breeze lessened by another body. Remi didn't think it would be his parents - they never went into his room, only judged its cleanliness from the doorway - but no one else had ever been in his room before, either. It took him a moment to realise that Ayumu was standing in front of him, standing in his old room. "Ayumu?"

"Yeah, it's me. Can you make it a little warmer?"

"Huh?"

Ayumu sighed and kneeled before Remi, taking his hands and squeezing. There was no pain associated with the action, though Remi's bones felt brittle in his palms. "It's a dream, Remi. You can control it, so think about being warm. Or the window being fixed, at the very least."

Remi used a parched dry tongue to try to wet his numb lips. "I'm d-dreaming?"

"Yes, you are. You don't live here anymore and your parents are - "

His parents' laughter came from outside his room, and the smell of a smorgasbord began to waft into his room, even strong enough to distract from the wind and the feel of Ayumu's hand in his.

"Is this what they did to you?"

Remi felt a sudden rush of blood to his face. No one was meant to know about this, they weren't meant to see this. Ayumu would probably think he was pathetic, a bear shifter who didn't have energy to shift and who couldn't stand up for himself or get away from his neglectful parents.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Ayumu whipped his head around to look at Remi incredulously. "Remi, I was basically a hostage for the last ten years of my life. The organisation killed my family, burned my home to the ground, kidnapped me, and made me wear a collar with wires that embedded into my fucking brain. Somehow, even the Matron and Wardens treated me better during those ten years than your own parents treated you.

"Y'know what? Fuck this entirely. Stand up, there we go. Stay very still and hold on, okay? I'm going full The Little Princess on this shit, and I don't even care about the power hangover it'll give me."

Remi didn't get a chance to ask what Ayumu meant as the room fell away around them. The winter gale stopped, his parents' laughter faded, and the smell of distant food was replaced by a forest. Trees appeared as a forest grew around them, a stream burbling nearby, and a warm spring wind flowed in a gentle breeze that made Remi forget about winter entirely.

"All right, I've got it up, but you've gotta keep it running. Memories are best, so think about the last time you went to a forest or camped or something, yeah?"

Remi shrugged briefly. "I've never been to a real forest before. Camping was too expensive," he added.

"Camping is free, Remi. Not even just a day trip to a forest?" he asked, getting a negative shake in response. "You're a bear shifter, what the fuck were they doing?! Super Jesus, your parents are lucky they're already in prison. Fuck."

Feeling a little defensive and not entirely sure why, Remi's cheeks reddened. "We didn't have a tent or sleeping bags, or a way to cook food, or petrol to get to the camp sites."

Ayumu muttered several unkind words under his breath. The organisation might've called their wilderness survival training "camping" but he had at least been in a forest in the last ten years. "I'll show you how to build a fire, okay?"

...

Lyr wasn't jealous of Remi and Ayumu's friendship. Honestly, he wasn't. He was glad that Ayumu had become friends with Remi practically overnight with no rhyme or reason when it had taken him months to even get Ayumu's name. They'd been friends for years by this point, and his best friend and lifelong crush becoming instant friends with someone who hadn't gone through what they'd gone through together at the hands of the organisation was... fine.

Okay, he hated it and it was stupid and he hated that he even had an iota of jealousy because he knew it was stupid, but it didn't stop Lyr from feeling so much jealousy that he actually had to leave the room anytime he saw Remi because he'd otherwise just spend the entire time glaring at the poor kid when Remi wasn't at fault for any of this. Even if he already had friends and could go to school and didn't have annoying brats for a sister.

Lyr's thoughts were stopped abruptly when he got bitch slapped in the face by a throw pillow by his aforementioned brat of a sister. "What the fuck, Cari?"

Cariad laughed. "You were making a dumb face, so I did you a favour."

"What?!"

Cari rolled her eyes at him and picked up the throw pillow again. Lyr totally didn't flinch. "You're sulking because Remi and Ayumu are friends, when it took you like eight months to gather the courage to say hi to Ayu."

"Three months, not eight."

"Yeah, 'cause I introduced him to you first. You're being an idiot, and Doc said I'm allowed to tell you this time."

"Wait, what? What did Doc say about me?"

"Nothing; I tell her all about you being an idiot over Ayu, she tells me I'm not allowed to tease you, and then we compromise by Doc agreeing to me teasing you for two hours a week. Doc says it'll get you out of your shell, but I'm about to fill this week's quota, and you're still being a moron. It's not even Wednesday, you idiot."

Lyr was at a complete loss for words and had no idea how to respond. "You talk to Doc about me?"

Cari rolled her eyes so hard that Lyr's eyes ached in sympathy. "What else am I going to talk to her about? We escaped the organisation, you're a horny idiot, and there's nothing else to entertain me around here," she griped, surrounded by books, a TV, several games consoles, and even homework that Andy had started providing them.

"Cari, you... I don't know how else to say this, but you sound like an entitled brat."

Cariad laughed, bright and happy, and threw the pillow at him again. "I know, isn't it great? I've been practising; I figured if you could be this melodramatic over a boy, we must have some sort of acting gene in our body. You know Ayumu likes you back, right?"

Whiplashed from his sister's announcement about acting of all things, Lyr felt like he almost broke his neck at her last statement. "What?!"

A ringing noise came from Cari's timer - Lyr had wondered why she'd started carrying around the kitchen's hen-shaped egg timer, but hadn't wanted to ask - and she sighed, hopping off the edge of the lounge. "Well, that's my time up for the week. I'll see you next week, 'kay?"

"What the fuck? Cari, get back here!" Lyr called, scrambling to his feet to chase after his sister.

Cariad laughed and ran ahead, clutching the timer to her chest, and leaving water puddles in her wake. If not for his own power, Lyr would've slipped on the tiles, and instead managed to keep up with her as she raced through their wing of the Morton house.

"Cari, why're you running through the house?" Ayumu called, stepping into the hallway and right into Lyr's path.

"Ow, shit! Fuck!"

"Ayu, you okay? Lyr, are you all right?" Remi asked, hurrying out of the lounge room to see what had happened, only to slip in the puddle of water himself.

"Owww."

Cari snickered at her brother's predicament and awkward placement on Ayumu and under Remi. Doc was going to love this!

...

"Are you sure you understand the concepts, lass? They're a little beyond even my ken," Ellie added, frowning at the list of book titles Cariad had provided.

Cari nodded firmly. "Yes, I do! Honest! It's what the organisation was making me specialise in," she added with a smile. "I didn't really mind by the end of it, but it was so annoying at the start; they kept asking me things like why can't you create hydrogen based fuels?, when I didn't even know what they were asking in the first place. I had to read a lot, and then I needed separate experiments from the others 'cause I flooded the basement three times and almost drowned the scientists," she said brightly.

Ellie narrowed her eyes. "And was that on purpose?"

"Only the second and third times," Cari said sweetly. "So can I get them? I promise I'll read them all, cover to cover! Even if it's wrong."

"Well, now, don't go reading things that are wrong. There's no point wasting your time on things like that."

"All right. You won't be upset if the money's wasted?"

"It won't be wasted, dear. You'll have to tell me why they're wrong, so I know what other titles might be better for you as an alternative, okay?"

"Thanks, Mrs. Morton."

"I've told you to call me Ellie, lass."

"Yes, Ellie. Thank you!" Cariad said, hugging her firmly before running out, and almost directly into her brother. "What're you doing out here?"

"Came to ask for books, same as you."

Surprised by his response, Cari narrowed her eyes at her brother. "What's wrong?"

Lyr shook his head. "Nothing! I just... you always seem to know what's wrong right away and I take eight months to work things out, and I... I don't know what to do."

Cari rolled her eyes; she really thought Lyr had stopped being stupid after he'd actually started being friends with Remi rather than seeing him as competition for Ayumu, but clearly her brother was still an idiot. "Ugh... let me go get the kitchen timer. This doesn't count towards my two hours, got it?"

"Okay. Thanks?"

Cari gave an impatient wave of her hand, shooing him towards Ellie so he could request his book list, then hurried off to get the timer. It might not count, but that didn't mean Lyr was getting more than an hour of her time; she had things to do!

Ten minutes later, Cari was sorely tempted to throw her beloved timer at her brother's head. "Stop, Lyr. Just... stop."

He stopped talking but continued to pace, and very firmly didn't look at his younger sister for fear of ridicule or judgement, or both, knowing her.

"Let me get this straight... You've become friends with Remi for the last week, and you think you're in love with him?"

"I can't just go around falling in love with every guy I'm friends with! There's gotta be something wrong with me, right?!"

Cari groaned and buried her head in her hands. "There is something wrong with you: you're an idiot."

"Hey!"

Cari slipped off her desk chair, grabbed the large body pillow off her bed, and used every ounce of strength to smack her brother with it. "You're an idiot. You're an idiot. You're such an idiot that I can't think of another word for idiot!"

"Don't be mean, Cari, I'm talking to you about this, aren't I?"

"Yeah, 'cause you're an idiot," she muttered, dropping the pillow to the floor and sitting on it. "You're friends with Pat, aren't you? And don't lie and say you're not really friends 'cause you are; you don't play Mario Kart with anyone."

"Well... yeah, I guess we're friends."

"Are you in love with him?"

Lyr thought briefly, then shook his head. "No, but he's dating the frog shifters."

"So? Ayu dated 287 for three months and you sulked about that for almost six months. You don't love Lorcan or Najair or Hagen, do you? You've known all of them just as long as Remi, and you got your ass whooped at Mario Kart by Najair, too. You don't get stupid over any of them, right? You're safe now, the scientists are dead and can't use your crush on Ayu against you, so you're being stupid about all of this."

Lyr glared at her, but couldn't keep the eye contact for long because Super God damn it all, she was right. As usual. Not that he'd be telling Cari that, of course.

"Go talk to Remi and Ayumu, would you? I'm too young to be surrounded by this kind of emotional tension."

"Wait, what? Both of them?" Lyr asked, his face red.

Cari sighed, stood and reached up to place her hands on either side of her brother's boiling hot cheeks. "You're an idiot, Lyr. Go before I blast you through the door."

Lyr stumbled backwards, knowing his sister's threat certainly wasn't an empty one, then paused in the doorway. "What... what if Remi doesn't want to stay with the Mortons?"

"Talk to him about that, not me!" Cari called, though she tried not to show her own worry.

Remi still had another week before he had to decide what he wanted to do, and it was an unspoken anxiety that everyone seemed to feel more and more as the two-week date approached.

...

Ayumu was surprised by the games room door opening and Lyr practically pouring into the room as though hellhounds - or Cari - were behind him. "You okay, Lyr?"

Remi stood to help Lyr to his feet, and Ayumu tried not to notice the loss of his warmth.

"Uh, yeah. I... I just... Well, Cari knows, so I have to tell you or... uh, I'm not doing this right."

"What is this?" Remi asked, part amusement, part curiosity, guiding Lyr over to the lounge and settling in beside Ayumu again easily.

Despite the space beside Ayumu being available, Lyr didn't sit down like he normally would have, and Ayu frowned as his best friend began to pace.

"You're dripping, Lyr. Let me turn off the electricity, okay?" Ayumu said, the suggestion the result of years of experience.

"Uh. Yeah, okay. Sorry about your game."

"All good, it's just a game, and we don't want you to spark out Aimee," Remi said with a brief grin, settling his controller next to his bowl of Doritos and what remained of his tuna sandwich.

"That is much appreciated, Remi. Thank you."

"Okay, all done. You need to sit, Lyr?" Ayu offered, returning to the seat beside Remi and slinging an arm around the back of the couch.

"Yeah. Maybe. In a minute." Lyr started pacing again, wondering what had gotten into him and why he was about to ruin not only a brand new friendship but also his oldest friendship with his best friend; fuck, what if Cari was wrong?!

Ayu and Remi both watched Lyr pace back and forth. After all of their years in the orphanage together, Ayu was used to Lyr's pacing. Some of the other kids got annoyed by it because Lyr seemed to always pace but he swore it helped him gather his thoughts or courage or whatever else was needed in the moment. Ayu had always liked the repetitive motion of Lyr's pacing, as he felt like he could fall asleep with the back and forth motion and not have a dream in sight. Biting back the thought and yawn that threatened to accompany it, he counted Lyr's motions as he waited for him to come to a stop.

Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty...

"Okay, I think I like both of you and what do you think about dating?" The words burst out of Lyr like water out of a broken pipe, and Ayu stopped his counting as his words sunk in.

"What? Both of us?" Remi asked, his eyes widening.

"Lyr, what... Where did this come from?" Ayumu asked, sitting up straighter.

"About six years of repressed sexual tension, give or take," Lyr muttered. Silence descended and he looked between them, his face paling as he took in their expressions. "Please say something. Even if it's no and I have to go drown myself in the kitchen sink out of pure embarrassment - "

"Don't even joke about that, Lyr," Remi said, his voice as sharp as his claws.

"Sorry. I... What do you think?"

Ayumu sighed and reached over to take Lyr's hand. "I think you're cute, Lyr. I've thought that for a long time," he added with a brief grin, then turned serious once more. "We just got out of a prison masquerading as an orphanage where they were torturing us, and I think I kinda need to deal with that trauma before I start anything, y'know? Even if I'm very interested in starting something when I'm ready. With both of you," he added, turning to look at Remi. "Thoughts?"

"Is this some sort of hazing thing? Y'know, flirt with the new kid and then say it's all a joke when I flirt back?" Remi asked, looking between them.

"Hell, no. We wouldn't do that to anyone, Rem, 'specially not you. Aimee can confirm my heartbeat, if you want?" Lyr offered, nodding up to the ceiling.

"Lyr's heart rate is steady, though slightly elevated as it has been since he discussed this with Cariad," Aimee added.

"You talked to Cari about us?" Ayu asked, grinning.

"Ugh, yes. She had her timer going and everything."

Remi looked between them, and Lyr smiled briefly when he caught his eye, hope in his expression. "I think... I think there's something between us I'd like to explore, but I'm still getting over so much personal trauma, and I don't want this to be mixed up in that. Can we still be friends?"

"Of course! I was so worried about making it weird or ruining my friendship with both of you and Cari kept calling me an idiot, which... I don't know, I guess I am. I haven't ruined anything, have I?" Lyr asked, looking between them.

"Nah, I just know the flirting's actually going to be reciprocated this time."

Lyr stared at Ayumu. "When the actual fuck have you flirted with me?"

Remi snorted so hard his nose hurt. "Ayu shares food with you, but won't even let Cari near his plate."

"I just thought you were being nice! And Cari tries to steal everyone's food!"

Ayumu groaned, his head tilting back against the lounge. "I attacked Zero for trying to take that bread roll that time because I knew you liked them."

"They're the only time we got actual butter, and... I didn't know that you did it for me."

Ayu laughed. "I guess we're both idiots, then, hey? Now, I don't know about you two, but I can cuddle with guys I'm interested in dating one day."

Remi grinned. "I have an idea for that, but we've gotta move the couch back."

"What's the idea?" Lyr asked curiously, already excited because cuddling with Ayumu had been one of his top ten daydreams for several years now.

Remi licked his lips nervously, stood, and - for the first time in a very long time - he shifted to his bear form.

"Holy shit. You look so soft! We can cuddle you like this?" Lyr asked, grinning and hand outstretched.

Remi growled in response, thankful that Justina wasn't here to translate, and butted his head against Lyr's palm. Ayumu nudged and pushed the couch back so Remi had enough room to lie down properly, Lyr shoving on the other side until the space was even. Remi laid down with a content sigh, Ayumu and Lyr running their hands along his fur and stroking until Remi was a pliant puddle on the floor.

"Ooh, he's so soft. This is like cuddling the world's biggest teddy bear," Lyr said with a grin, settling in beside Remi.

Ayu laughed and joined him, both of them tucked in against Remi's larger body. "This is good, hey?"

"Yeah, it is."

Remi huffed and curled an arm around Lyr and Ayumu to keep them close and, more importantly, keep them quiet while he was trying to sleep.

...

Remi smoothed his new shirt down and looked at himself in the mirror. He'd started to fill out and he was getting more comfortable with his size, his body finally starting to reflect his bear's image. His diet was specific to ensure he would only eat foods that were suitable for his upcoming hibernation period. Ellie had helped him set it up with Aimee's assistance, and even Pat, Sorcha, and Paddy had assisted, though whether Pat's suggestions of junk food and gross combinations were actually considered assistance was still undecided. Remi felt like he'd laughed more that night than he had in years. Ayumu, Lyr, and Cariad had popped in and out of the room every so often with their own suggestions, or severely judging Pat's ideas, perhaps. Ellie had ensured to check that Remi actually liked or wanted each of Aimee's suggested foods. He'd never had such an intense night talking about food before - or really talking about anything - and part of Remi hated that he'd never had such a familial experience with his actual parents.

An alarm went off and he grabbed his phone to turn off the alarm reminding him to leave for school, only to see it was a different alarm all together: call Ms. Martin - last day to decide before parents' trial!

Remi hadn't forgotten about it, of course, the thought was always there at the back of his mind if he stopped and let himself think for too long. He just wished it was a simple decision.

Looking away from his phone, Remi looked at the room around him instead. Books were starting to fill the bookshelves, he had pens and notebooks scattered across the desk, a blanket in the softest blue that he'd seen once in the store with a hint of longing and had returned to find on his bed as a present from Sorcha (she'd technically thrown the blanket stuffed inside of a shopping bag directly at his head, but he'd seen her do the same with Pat with far more solid items and had just laughed; did that mean he had a sister now?), and even the simplest of requests were answered without huffs or sighs or indifference.

Actually, the decision was far too easy, Remi realised, letting out a shuddering breath. He just wished it had been harder, that perhaps he could have found moments in his life where his parents acted like they loved him even if they didn't truly feel the emotion itself.

"Aimee?"

"Yes, Remi?" Aimee answered instantly.

"Can you let Ellie know that I've made my decision, please?"

"I'm glad to hear that, Remi. They're all waiting in the kitchen for you," Aimee added, almost sounding like she was smiling.

Despite there being four kitchens in the house, Remi's kitchen had somehow become the kitchen that everyone gravitated to at the start of the day. They'd have breakfast together - Ayumu was attempting the Morton's cooking course with Aimee's assistance, and had successfully completed the eggs stage a few days ago - and they'd usually have dinner together in Paddy and Ellie's kitchen at the end of the day. Sometimes Ellie had meetings that ran late and couldn't eat at the same time as them, but Patrick would always ensure to serve his wife's dinner first to make sure their children wouldn't eat everything. Once Ellie's food was secured, they'd then go for their own servings. Remi was eating three servings of food a night, and even eating during the day now that he had access to food.

Some days were better than others, and some days he could still hear his parents' words about how much weight he was gaining, how much money he was costing them, and it took a Herculean effort for Remi to eat more than a muesli bar and pudding cup. His friends ensured he ate something, food offered out of a number of places they'd taken to carrying around for him: Layla's seeds, Craig and Warren's pockets, Justina's pencil case, Terrence's Maths folder, and even weirder still: Ethan's arms. The food Ethan offered was packaged, thankfully, and it was just bland enough for his palette on the bad days. Remi didn't know what he would have done without them looking out for him.

After a few days, he'd finally admitted that he didn't know where Ethan found the muesli bars since they were wrapped in ziploc bags, and wanted to buy them for himself. Zach had admitted to making them himself and the next day, Remi had been presented with a giant tub of muesli bars, each one wrapped in colourful beeswax paper. The airtight tub was still sitting in his locker with each colourful beeswax paper carefully flattened and preserved once he'd eaten the muesli bar inside.

Shouldering his school bag, Remi headed out of his room and to the kitchen. The noise stopped as soon as he walked in, and he shifted nervously as Paddy, Ellie, Sorcha, Pat, Ayumu, Lyr, and Cariad all looked at him. Sorcha had gone on a date with her boyfriend last night, and she'd announced on her way out that she planned on staying with Hagen for the night (shut up, Pat!), so she'd either returned late last night or early this morning just to be here for his decision.

"Did you sleep well, Remi?" Ellie asked, just as she had every morning for the past two weeks.

Remi nodded. "Yeah, I did. How was your sleep?" he asked, noticing the dark bags beneath her eyes and Paddy's too, like they'd spent the night tossing and turning.

"I was worried and didn't sleep much," she admitted. "It wouldn't be the first time and I doubt it'll be the last," Ellie added quickly to reassure him, and Remi realised belatedly that she'd worried about him.

"Aimee said you'd decided what you're doing? Are you staying?" Cariad piped up, not bothering to beat around the bush as she asked the question they all wanted the answer for.

Remi looked around the kitchen at their expectant and worried expressions, Ayumu and Lyr clutching each other's hand beneath the table. "I'm staying. If you'll still have me, that is."

"Of course we will! Bring out the celebratory cake!" Paddy said with a grin, moving to hug Remi firmly, Ellie barely a step behind him.

"There's cake?" Remi asked incredulously.

"Of course there is, this is a great day to celebrate."

"I mean, we're having cake for breakfast?"

"We can pack it up for you if you want something else. Ayumu made omelettes, if you'd prefer those?" Ellie offered, even as she waved her husband away so she could hug Remi.

In her embrace, Remi shook his head, obviously not getting his meaning across. "I've never had cake before."

"Not even for your birthday?" Pat asked.

Remi shrugged awkwardly in Ellie's embrace. "It was just another day."

Ellie sighed, like she was disappointed but should have known better. "I'm so very glad you're choosing to stay with us, Remi. You'll have to tell us if we get too overbearing, or if you need space, or if - "

"No. I like it. I mean... I know you care about me."

Ellie squeezed him gently and pulled away to wipe at her eyes. "'Course we care about you, Remi lad. Oh, I shouldn't be crying, I'm just so happy. Can I have another hug?" she asked, sniffling.

Remi wrapped his arms around Ellie in a bear hug, burying his face against her and hoping his tears wouldn't ruin her nice shirt.

"Do we have to go to school today, Mam?" Pat asked hopefully.

"Yes. Good try, lad, maybe next time."

"Damn."

"All right, you sit and eat your breakfast. Maybe have some omelette and toast, too? We don't want you to have a sugar overload from the cake. I'm going to go fix my makeup. Oh, are you calling Ms. Martin now? Do you want me to be there? Do you need privacy?" Ellie asked, ready to usher everyone out of the room in an instant.

Remi shook his head. "I'm all right if everyone stays here. Please."

"Of course. I'm not leaving the cake alone with Pat," Sorcha said firmly, nudging her brother out of the way so she could cut Remi a slice.

He grinned and sat next to Ayumu, taking the offered slice of cake from Sorcha. Ayumu plated up his toast and Lyr slid an omelette on top, and Remi tried not to blush too brightly at their own wordless actions of love. "Aimee, could you call Ms. Martin, please?"

"It would be my pleasure, Remi," Aimee said, definitely smiling now.

...

The end.

Thanks for reading!