Note: Ella is my name for Wy. I couldn't find an official human name for her, so I decided on Ella.

So, as promised, Peter works up the courage to go to school the next day.

Before he leaves, Tino hugs him tight, telling him to stay strong.

Peter swears that he will, and he runs off to meet the bus once again.

Once at school, Peter feels much smaller than he ever did before. Waves of people push past him as he tries to make it to his first class, and he finds himself flinching every time someone bumps him the wrong way.

He makes his way to first period, taking his seat and doodling on a piece of paper while he waits for class to start.

He feels something hit the back on his head with a light thud. He sighs, as he realizes that is the start of a long day of torment.

Peter turns his head slightly to see a boy sitting behind him with a sneer on his meaty face.

"What? Problem? Are you going to run home crying to your two daddies? Oh, boo hoo!" The boy makes mocking sobs.

Peter wants to say something, but he is cut off by firm yet tiny sounding footsteps coming towards him.

"'Ey! Why don't you leave the kid alone?" A girl stands with her hands on her hips, standing near Peter, shooting daggers at the boy behind him.

"Huh? Why don't you make me, princess?"

Apparently this girl doesn't back away from a challenge. She darts forward, her side ponytail of curls bouncing, and cuffs the boy on the head.

He reels back, rage on his face. "Alright, you've done it now!" He pushes out of his seat, lunging at the girl, but she steps away quickly, allowing him to trip and stumble on the floor. Peter watches in awe, a part of him worried it would escalate. He silently hopes the teacher will come in to stop them.

The girl stands back, folding her arms across her chest and grinning smugly. "Leave the kid alone, 'kay? Or you'll get even more trouble from me, got it?"

The boy picks himself off of the floor, glaring at the girl, but he returns to his seat without a word.

The girl gives a wicked smirk, seemingly very proud of her power over the boy. She turns to Peter, dropping her smile and returning to a normal expression.

"You alright, kid?"

"Uh... Yeah. I'm okay. Thanks."

"Not a problem! I'm Ella. Who might you be?"

"I'm Peter."

"Peter, huh? You don't sound Finnish, where are you from?"

"England. I got put in an adoption agency here, and I got adopted recently," Peter says lightly. "You don't sound Finnish either..."

"I'm not, I'm from Australia! I just moved here recently."

"Cool... Do you enjoy it?"

"So far it's fine. I don't like the cold much though. I'm more suited for warm weather."

"I see... Anyways, thanks again for your help. That was really nice of you."

"Like I said, it's no problem. I've been bullied plenty before, and it sucks, so now I fight back against other peoples bullies."

Peter moves to speak, but the teacher comes rushing into the room, looking a bit frantic. As she apologizes for being late, Ella shoots Peter a parting look as she moves to her seat across the room.

...

For the rest of the day, Ella sticks to Peter like glue whenever she can. They share three of four classes, so she makes sure to hang around him whenever there is a chance. She sits with him at lunch as well, chatting on and on about all sorts of things. It may seem like it would be annoying, but Peter couldn't be happier. Having a friend is one of the one things he wants from school, and now he has one.

As Peter steps off of the bus, he waves at Ella, who grins right back.

Tino watches from the house as Peter comes up the driveway, and he is relieved to see Peter smiling widely.

Peter opens the door, a smile still lingering on his face, as he puts down his backpack and takes off his shoes.

"It's seems that today went better? If your face is any indication." Tino asks with a small smile.

"Yeah, it did! I met this girl named Ella, and we're becoming friends already. She's super nice, and she isn't all prissy, she's actually really strong. She protected me from one of the guys bullying me."

"That's great to hear, Peter! I'm glad it went well. Berwald will be happy to hear about it as well, when he gets home."

Peter nods quickly and excuses himself to do his homework. Tino heads for the kitchen, smiling to himself. He's just glad that Peter won't have to suffer in school. Tino knows very well that having just one friend can make all the difference.

...

About six weeks go by without a hitch. Peter and Ella continue to spend as much time together as possible, and Ella sometimes comes home with Peter to work on homework. Tino and Berwald can only watch with light smiles, knowing that Ella is a very good thing for Peter.

One day at school, Peter sits in his usual seat in second period, but he is bored today, for Ella isn't in class. The day before, she had told him she had a dentist appointment, so that meant she would be out for the first two classes.

Peter is drawn out of his dazed state by a voice calling his name. Peter's head snaps up, and he finds the teacher holding the phone in to her shoulder as she calls for him.

"Peter? Your dad is in the office, you need to go for early dismissal."

Peter nods, a bit confused. Why would he be pulled out of school early? He gathers his books and heads for the door. As he walks past a row of kids, he hears someone make a snide remark about figuring out which dad would be picking him up, but Peter brushes it off.

Peter heads for the office, finding Berwald standing by the counter with his face stoic, but his eyes nervous.

"Papa? What's going on?"

Berwald looks up with a hardened yet clearly distressed look.

"Peter, Tino is in the hospital, we need to go now."

Peter feels his entire world crumbling. Tino... In the hospital? Why? Berwald seems upset, so it might be something really bad...

Peter only nods meekly, letting Berwald put his hand on his back gently as he is led out of the school, into the car, and to the hospital.

As they enter the antiseptic ridden hospital, Peter feels a burning fear eating away at him. He hadn't been able to find words in the car, but as Berwald leads him towards the elevator, he speaks up softly.

"Papa... Is daddy going to be okay? What happened to him?"

Berwald sighs softly. "Tino was in a car wreck this afternoon. I don't know how bad it is, but I do know he has to have surgery soon."

"So, daddy will be okay...?"

Berwald seems to almost hesitate, but he does answer. "Yes. He'll be just fine, Peter. Don't worry."

Peter nods his head weakly, and Berwald points out Tino's room as they step out of the elevator. As they approach, Berwald slowly opens the door, letting himself relax as he sees Tino sitting up feebly in the bed, smiling at them.

Berwald and Peter go to his bedside, their expressions gentle.

Berwald bends down to give Tino a kiss, and he whispers something that Peter doesn't quite catch. Whatever it is, it makes Tino smile.

Tino turns his head very slightly to look at Peter. "Peter, honey, how are you?"

"I'm good... are you feeling okay, daddy?"

Tino's eyes soften. "I'm doing okay. My knee hurts, and I have a few bruises, but other than that I'm okay."

"So, you aren't going to die... Right?" Peter asks.

"No, sweetheart, of course not. It's only a knee injury, I'll do just fine. I just have to get it repaired in surgery, and then it will heal."

Peter nods slowly. "Good... I don't want to lose you."

Tino reaches his hand out feebly, grabbing at Peter's much smaller hand with his fingers. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Peter manages a real smile, as he twists his hand to grab into Tino's fingers, holding on tightly. He is still immensely worried, but he doesn't want to let his parents know, for he doesn't want to stress them out even more.

Berwald speaks up after a moment.

"Peter, I need to get you home, Tino's surgery will be soon."

Peter agrees, allowing himself to be pulled towards his daddy, as Tino tugs on his hand. Tino reaches over the side of the bed and kisses Peter's forehead lightly.

"I love you, Peter." Tino says softly, smiling at Peter gently.

Peter swallows a heavy lump in his throat. "I love you too, daddy..."

Berwald leans down and presses a kiss to Tino's lips. Berwald's hand finds Tino's hand and wraps around it, squeezing it for just a second, before saying goodbye and turning to leave with Peter.

Peter is silent on the drive home. Fear is eating away at him, because despite Tino's reassurance, something makes him worry.

When they get home, Berwald wordlessly goes to his bedroom to change. As soon as he is changed into casual clothes, he goes to the living room, taking a seat beside Peter.

"Hey, Peter?"

"Yes, papa?"

"Would you mind if someone else came over to take care of you for a while?"

Peter's face pales. He doesn't like letting strange adults stay with him alone. He is fine if Berwald or Tino were there with him, but letting a new person stay with him alone...

"Why...?"

"I need to go to the hospital to wait for Tino to come out of surgery. I don't want you to have to wait around the hospital with me, and I don't think you should stay here alone."

"Who is it...?"

"Tino's friend, Arthur. He's a man from England who is living here for a while with his boyfriend, Alfred. He said he could come take care of you tonight."

Peter thinks it over. He trusts Tino and Berwald, so if they say this Arthur guy is safe... He must be okay... Even so, the thought makes him anxious.

But Berwald needs to be with Tino when his surgery is done. Peter doesn't want to stop Berwald from being there, as Peter hates to think that Tino could be alone after surgery, and it would be his fault.

"Yeah. That'll be fine."

"Thank you, Peter." Berwald kisses Peter's forehead.

Peter manages to smile lightly as Berwald excuses himself to call Arthur.

...

A/N: Alrighty, another chapter done! It really makes it easier when I have the outline, I'm able to pump out chapters wayyy faster.

So, we see that things are starting to heat up. You didn't think I could keep this story fluffy and sweet forever, did you? ;) I have to get some angst and emotion in there eventually!

Despite that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and this story! Chapter 4 will be coming soon!

Thanks for reading!

-KayDubs