Turq fighting with his father was hardly unusual. The two seemed to always be bickering over one thing or another. Sometimes it was just them snarking at one another, and other times it turned into a full blown shouting match. In the worst of times Turq would leave and just stay away from the castle for a while. His dad would no doubt get on him about it later, but he didn't care.

Sometimes he was just so frustrated with his old man that he had to get away for his own sanity. He didn't understand why he always had to be so hard on him. His dad was a hardass in general of course. The only one of his siblings he didn't really come down on was Delphine. His little sister could get away with murder if she wanted. He and his brothers weren't so lucky.

But even by those standards his was particularly tough on Turq. They'd never seen eye to eye on pretty much anything, and after he found out he was a titan… it got way worse after that. It was almost like he was on constant house arrest. He was always on him about getting home before a certain time, and getting on him to be weary about where he showed his face. He was damn sick of it.

Usually when he left he would go somewhere he knew his old man wouldn't find him, but lately he'd noticed his mom had been getting worried about not knowing where he was. And as sick as he was of his old man, he didn't want to make his mom stay up and worry about him. So he started going to his uncles out.

His aunt Maria would always let his family know when he was there, but he didn't have to worry about his dad coming to get him. Hody and Astro didn't could hardly stand each other after all these years, and Hody wasn't keen on showing his face around the Butterfly castle these days. Especially not with Orthrus, Skoll, and Hati running around.

Topaz didn't worry because at least she knew where he was. And with his uncle and cousins there it wasn't like she had to worry about anything happening to him.

Plus it gave him a chance to vent.

"He's a dick," Turq said, slicing into the practice dummy with his sword. "I mean I'm always out doing stuff for the kingdom!" Slash. "Our family!" Slash. "But he's always just getting on my ass about something stupid!"

Astro sat back and watched as his nephew continued to blow off steam via training. He was used to these visits from Turq by now. And though because of his schedule he wasn't always around to hear him vent his frustration, his home was always welcomed to him. "Your father has always been stubborn. When he thinks he knows best there's hardly convincing him otherwise," Astro said simply. Not that he didn't seem some of that same stubbornness in Turq. It just wasn't as… misguided, as his father was.

"It's like he just wants me to stay locked up in the castle like some exotic fish!" Turq complained as he spun around and slashed the dummy across the chest. "He keeps saying he's worried about me! What's he worried for?! I'm a titan! I can handle almost anything that'd happen!"

He raised his foot and kicked the dummy in the chest, snapping it in two. He looked down at it, trying to catch his best as Astro stood up and walked towards him. "Well, I know you're a capable warrior, but whether you're a titan or not parents will worry. That being said… yes, your father is very much overreacting," the king said.

His own mother was never so strict about him being out and about. She worried of course, but once he had been able to hide his monster features she'd let him roam outside of the castle with relative freedom. Even after his heritage had been revealed she never tried to hold him back. And his father… well, Typhon was Typhon so…

Turq huffed and then sheathed his sword. "Seriously. It's not like I'm the only titan in mewni. People are starting to get used to it. I get more shit for being a bastard than I do being a titan these days," he said ruefully. "But at least I can tell what the court thinks. I can't tell if my old man is more worried about me being a titan or a bastard. Guess it doesn't really matter. Mark on the family name either way, right?"

Astro frowned before putting a hand on his shoulder. "You are not an embarrassment. To your family or anyone else. You do good work. You help people. Your father doesn't always do the best at showing it, but he is proud of you."

"I seriously doubt that," Turq said, rolling his eyes. He got the occasional good work or nice job, but then it was right back to balling him out about… whatever he felt like really.

Astro sighed. He understood why Turq felt this way. For all his troubles when he was younger, he could always count on his mother. And his relationship with his father was much better… at least after they'd actually met anyway. But he couldn't help but feel the need to say something here.

"Do you remember that time you ran away?"

Turq looked back at his uncle confused. "What?" he asked, confused. "You mean today? I wouldn't count that as running away. I just need some time to-"

"No, you actually ran away from home once."

"No I didn't," Turq said with a scoff. He was pretty sure he would have remembered doing that. He may have left to blow off some steam or get some space at times, but he never actually packed up and ran away. At least… he didn't think he did.

Astro chuckled. "I don't blame you for not remembering. You were pretty young and it was probably pretty traumatizing for you," the king said before taking a seat. Turq stared at him for a moment, and then took a seat as well. He got the feeling this was going to be a while.

"Turquoise! You get your little tail back here this instant!"

The five year old frowned as he looked down at his father, who was looking around the courtyard trying to find him. He had taken refuge in one of the trees in the courtyard. He had learned a while back his father didn't tend to look up when searching for him. Maybe because he was already so big he didn't think he needed to.

Hody grunted as he continued searching for his son. How could someone with such short legs move around so quickly? He was sure he hadn't been this agile or mischievous at that age. There was something wrong with that boy. "Turq! You know you can't avoid this! Just come out and-"

"He's not gonna come out if you keep on shouting at him Hody," Topaz said as she walked out behind him. She hadn't at all been surprised when her son turned and sprinted out of the room. He hated staying still, and he hated his etiquette lessons even more. When Hody started getting on him to pay attention, well, he'd gotten fed up and just got up and ran.

"I shouldn't have to shout at all. How can he already be so disobedient at such a young age? I never disrespected my father like this when I was a boy," Hody said bitterly.

Topaz raised an eyebrow. "I mean, how hard was that really though?" she asked. He had told her before when he was younger King Larry had been swamped with his royal duties. Hard as he tried he'd never gotten to spend as much time as he'd wanted with Hody when he was a toddler.

"That's not the point," Hody said, crossing his arms. Whenever he did interact with his father he did so with respect. He knew how hard he was working to run the kingdom and he'd wanted to support him. Turq on the other hand… well, he just didn't understand what was going through that boy's head.

"Turq isn't you Hody. And it isn't like he's gonna be putting those lessons to much use anyway," she said, shrugging her shoulders. She still thought it was stupid he wasn't going to be able to be king someday, but the court had made it clear that they weren't going to budge on the issue.

Hody grunted. "That's not the point…"

Topaz shook her head and then looked around. "Turq sweetie, will you please come out and stop hiding? Mama is worried about you," she called.

Turq groaned. Hiding from his father was one thing, but he couldn't hide or deny a request from his mama. He began climbing down the tree, and once he got to the ground and made his way over towards them. Topaz smiled as soon as she laid eyes on the boy, while Hody narrowed his eyes. "Where were you hiding?"

"Don't wanna say," he mumbled. He didn't want him finding out his best hiding spot.

Hody looked like he was about to say something, but Topaz cut in. "You sure do know how to find places to hide, huh baby," she said, patting him on the head. "Delphine is gonna have a hard time playing hide and seek with you."

Turq smiled at his mother's praise, and Hody cleared his throat. "Yes, I suppose you being able to move and hide so quickly is impressive. But enough games. It's time for us to get back to your lessons now," he said.

Turq's smile immediately dropped. "I don't wanna…"

"Well I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter if you want to or not. You're going to have to. You're becoming a big boy now Turq. You can't just spend all your time playing around anymore," Hody said. "Now please be a good boy and go back to-"

"No!" Turq said, crossing his arms and stomping his foot down. "The lessons are stupid, and boring, and I don't want to do them anymore!"

Topaz sighed. "Sweetie…"

Hody knelt down to look at his son at eye level. "You are going to finish your lessons, and it's not up for discussion. It's a rule," he said sternly. "And as long as you live in my kingdom, you're going to have to follow them. Do you understand?"

Turq grunted and turned his head away. "No! I don't want to! Your rules are stupid!"

"Well that's too bad, because-!"

"Hody," Topaz said, cutting him off. He looked up towards her and saw she was frowning at him. She was giving him that look she always did before he said something that made Turq throw a temper tantrum. "Maybe we should just end the lessons for today? Until everybody calms down?"

Hody grunted and then looked back towards Turq. "You can have the rest of the day, but tomorrow you WILL get back to your lessons. Is that understood?" Turq didn't give him an answer. He just stared back at him defiantly. Hody stood back up and then made his way back to the castle with a scowl.

Topaz reached down and grabbed Turq's hand. "C'mon Turkey. Let's go see your sister," she said, leading the pouting toddler along.

"Okay… I still don't want to do dad's stupid lessons," he said bitterly.

"I know sweetie. They bored the hell out of me too. But just try and keep at it for mommy and daddy, alright?" she asked. "He might seem like he's being a grouch, but he just wants you to learn about your home."

He groaned in response. He already knew about his home. He lived there. He'd hidden in enough places in and out of the castle to learn just about everything. It just wasn't fair.

"As long as you live in my kingdom…"

The words kept on echoing through his little head. So did that mean if he didn't live in the kingdom that he wouldn't have to follow all of his dad's dumb rules?

"So what you're saying is my old man has always been a jerk?" Turq asked.

Astro narrowed his eyes. "Why does everybody always want to interrupt the story? Every time I tell one of you guys a story someone wants to cut in with something smart to say. Especially Cetus. Is being snarky just a Waterfolk trait?" he asked.

Turq held his hands up. "Alright, alright… one more question though. How did you know about this if you weren't actually there?" he asked.

"Are you asking me because you really want to know, or are you just trying to be snarky again?"

"... like thirty-seventy?"

"I'm gonna keep going with the story now," Astro said. "Now where was I… right. You got the bright idea that if you didn't live in the castle, you wouldn't have to follow your dad's rules. So later on when everybody went to sleep, you packed a little bag and snuck out of the castle. And when they woke up the next morning they were more than a little panicked."

"Turq! Turq, where are you?!" Hody called as he looked around the courtyard, the worry very evident in his voice. This was bad. Very bad. No matter how upset or stubborn he was being, he usually came out by now. Especially when his mother called.

The fact that even Topaz couldn't even get him to come out meant one of two things. The first was that he was either more upset than he had ever been, so much so that he wasn't willing to listen to even his mother. The second, which was much more likely, was that he couldn't hear them. Which meant he wasn't here.

He'd had the guards searching the grounds for him, but none of them had spotted anything. Neither Snapper or Styx could pick up his scent, and not even his mother seemed to be able to coax him out. Had he seriously left the castle?

"Hody!"

The king turned his head and saw Topaz running towards him, a panicked look on her face. "My scissors are missing!" she stated.

"Shit!" He left! He seriously left the castle! And with dimensional scissors no less! He could be literally anywhere! He quickly pulled out his mirror and then called up Amber. If anyone had any idea of where he'd gone off too, it was her. Or her mother. But he didn't have her mirror number, so he'd have to contact her first either way.

It took a few moments before she answered. "Hello?"

Topaz snatched the mirror and spoke. "Amber! Turq ran away and took my scissors! Can you tell where he went?!" she asked.

"Oh my gosh! Hold on, uh... give me a minute! I'll contact my mother! She'll be able to tell where any portals in or out of the kingdom have gone! We should be able to narrow it down from there!" Amber said.

Hody grit his teeth. He wanted to tell Amber to hurry up and find him, but he didn't want to distract her from getting to it. He needed to find his son, and he needed to find him quickly.

Turq made his way through the forest, dragging a small back behind him. He looked around for any place that would make for a suitable place to sleep. There were plenty of big trees, so maybe he could sleep in one of them.

He had been trekking through the forest for a while now, and so far this place wasn't so bad. There were fruits around to ear, and lots of really big trees to climb. And most importantly, no boring room where he would have to take lessons. He felt bad about taking his mama's scissors to get here, but he would give them back later… eventually.

As he spotted an empty base at a tree trunk that he thought would make a good spot for a bed, he failed to notice the shadow looming over him. When he finally did notice, he turned around and saw a large reptilian creature towering over him. It knelt down, it's sharp eyes taking in the boy as it sniffed him.

Turq looked up at it in amazement. The creature was big. Like, really big. As big as the two headed dog he saw at his Uncle Astro's house. He reached up to pet it. "Hey, I'm gonna live here now. Do you wanna-?" He was cut off when the creature let out a screech, and then suddenly opened it's jaw, revealing a row of sharp teeth that would give his father and sister's a run for their money.

He backed away from the creature, and then suddenly lunged at him. Turq rolled out of the way, just barely avoiding the creature's jaws. His hearts were racing as he looked back and saw it spitting out the mouthful of dirt it was there. It growled and turned towards him again, and he gasped before getting up and running.

He heard it roar, and then heard heavy footsteps pounding behind him. He moved as quickly as he could, his tiny legs carrying him surprisingly fast as he tried to spot some place to hide from the creature. But the rebellion's sheer size gave it a large enough stride to be able to keep up with him.

It managed to gain ground and catch up with him, but when it lunged at him again Turq cut to the left and caused it to stumble and trip. It slammed against a tree, nearly uprooting it before it shook it's head and gave chase again. Turq looked back over his shoulder to see how much further it was behind, but ended up bumping into something.

He fell back and rolled back, and then groaned before opening his eyes. He could see the creature getting ready to try and chomp down on him, but then suddenly something came flying through the air and stabbed into its chest, sending it stumbling back. It let out a roar of anger and pain, and Turq looked confused.

Was that a trident sticking out of it's chest?

Something suddenly pulled him up to his feet, and was shocked to see his father. And he looked pretty angry. "Go hide behind that tree," Hody said, nudging him to the side.

"But you-"

"Go!"

Turq jumped, but then ran over to the nearest tree and took shelter behind it. He peeked around it to see his father running towards the creature, who had seemed to recover from the surprise attack and was charging back. Hody leapt up, grabbing the trident and then pushing it deeper into its chest.

The creature roared again and began moving around, trying to shake Hody off of him. But the king held on tightly until the creature slowed down a bit. The moment he got a chance, he yanked the trident back and then climbed up it's chest and towards its next. He yelled out and then drove it right into the reptilian's jugular.

It's thrashing began anew, but Hody kept driving the weapon deeper until it finally slowed down and began to fall. Turq watched as it fell to its side, and Hody let out a breath before pulling his weapon back. "Whoa…" He had seen his dad spar with his mama before, so he knew they were both strong. But he took down that monster so easily. He was about to walk out until Hody stopped him.

"Stay there Turq!" he yelled. The toddler froze mid walk, and wondered just why his dad was stopping him. But then he heard more stomping. Turq quickly hid behind the tree again as a half dozen more creatures began making their way out. "You stay there Turq, I'll come get you when I'm finished…"

Hody got into a fighting stance, gritting his teeth as his eyes turned red.

"Whoa…"

Turq was in complete and utter shock as he watched his father stand in the middle of the felled beasts. He was breathing heavily, and covered in quite a bit of blood. Turq had never seen his father fight like that before. The way he moved, how savage he was in his attacks. It was like he had gone crazy.

Hody suddenly turned around and looked towards him, and Turq flinched. He still looked really angry at him. Hody started towards him, and Truq gulped. He was probably in a lot of trouble. Like a lot. Hody stood in front of him, and then suddenly dropped to his knees. Turq was about to say something, but Hody suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

"You're okay…" he said, sounding relieved. "You're okay. I was… dear god boy, what were you thinking coming here? This is called the Forest of Certain Death for a reason. Do you know how worried I was about you?"

Turq was more than a little surprised. He thought he was about to get yelled out and lectured again. "You were worried about me?"

"Of course I was!" Hody said in disbelief. "What was I supposed to be when I woke up and saw you were gone?"

"I thought you'd be… mad at me," Turq said.

"I'm mad that you ran away, yes," Hody said bluntly. "But right now I'm just happy you're safe. Don't do that to me again. I was… I was scared. And so was to your mother." He said, hugging him tighter. The moment Amber had told them where he was, they had rushed there to go get him.

Every terrible thought that he'd been able to come up with crossed his mind, and when he saw him being chased by that thing he just… he snapped.

"I'm sorry," Turq said, hugging him back. He didn't think living out here would be that bad. Better than living in his dad's castle anyway. But he was wrong. Very wrong. He would take living there more than out here any day.

"It's alright. I'm just…" Hody sighed and patted him on the head. They were definitely going to have a talk later, but right now the only thing he could feel was utter relief. Every time he thought being a father couldn't be anymore terrifying or challenging, he got proven wrong somehow.

Still, it was worth it. "C'mon, let's go find mama and let her know you're okay. She's probably still worried…"

"You got a lecture later of course, but apparently it was a lot more toned down than usual. You being in trouble had really thrown him off. And he's freaked out just about every time you set foot outside the castle ever since," Astro explained. "We were all relieved to see you were okay. You have half the royal court looking for you, you know?"

Turq hummed as he leaned against the fence. "So… he was really that messed up about it huh?" he asked. He couldn't imagine his dad being that worried about him running away. Nowadays whenever he stays away from the castle for too long he just gets pissed off at him.

Astro nodded. "He did. Your father is… well, you know. But for all of his many, many, many faults, he does love you. He'd lay down his life without a second thought for any of his children, yourself included," Astro said. "So if you wanna come here and vent about him, I'm all for it. But I don't want you going around thinking he doesn't love you."

Turq sat there for a moment, and then chuckled. "You told me that whole story just so I wouldn't think pops didn't love me? Wow uncle Astro, I guess you really do care about him," he said smirking.

"I care about you and your aunt. He just gets swept up in that by accident," Astro said, waving his hand. "Anyway, you seemed to have calmed down a little. Finished sulking and getting all of that teenage angst out."

"Haha, very funny" he said, rolling his eyes. "But yeah, I think it's about time to get back home. Don't want the old man yelling my ear off. And thanks for the story. Took my mind off things."

Astro nodded. "Glad to hear. Tell your family I said hello."

"Where have you been?"

Truq stared at his dad with a blank expression as he stood before him with his arms crossed. As usual he was waiting for him the moment he had walked through the door. It was like he had an alarm set to go off as soon as he set foot near the castle. "I was with Uncle Astro's, just blowing off some steam."

Hody snorted. "Him again? I don't like how much time you spend with him. He's probably filling you with nonsense," he said bitterly. He could only believe that they bonded so much because they were titans. Someone with his DNA getting along with someone like Astro was just strange to him.

"Well, it could be worse. Could've run away to live in a forest, right?" Turq asked, smirking as he walked past him. Hody's eyes went wide and he looked back at his son confused. He'd thought he had forgotten about that. He'd been so young at the time, and it wasn't something he probably wanted to remember.

Hody didn't like bringing it up either to be honest. "I… well, yes, I suppose that's a step up. Though only by a hair," he said. "You're not thinking of running away again, are you?"

Turq stopped and looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "If I did, would you still come to get me?" he asked.

Hody narrowed his eyes. "I'd drag you back by your tail if I had to."

Turq chuckled and waved his hand as he kept walking. "Love you too pops."

As he talked off, Hody looked down, looking a little embarrassed. Was Astro over there telling his son stories about his younger days? "Damn him…" he muttered. He couldn't remember the last time Turq had said he loved him without being prodded to do so without his mother. And he had to thank that fool for it now…

Still, it was pretty nice.

A/N: Fic some father-son Hody and Turq content! Princesscallyie requested something touching for the two of them, and when she through a flashback idea out there this is what I came up with! Hody might be a hardass, but he loves his family more than anything! I thought Astro telling the story would be cool since Hody would be too prideful to bring it up, and even though Astro doesn't like him he doesn't want his favorite nephew thinking his dad don't like him. Hope you enjoy!