-1AN: So, I know somebody asked for a sequel to Protective, but I couldn't really think of a way to write a sequel to that… so instead, here's a prequel-ish sister piece instead! :D
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It was Saturday afternoon, bright and sunny, a perfect day for a group of ten year old boys to go out and play, especially ones who were finally old enough to go to the park without their parents and took full advantage of that privilege.
"Let's play tag!" Reid suggested, bubbling with so much energy that he was bouncing.
"We always play tag," Pogue rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "How about Cops 'n' Robbers?"
"Same thing, stupid!" Reid shot back and kicked Pogue's shin.
"Ow!" Pogue flinched back and rubbed at his shin. He looked up at Reid with a glare and threatened, "You're gunna get it!" Reid ran off laughing and Pogue chased him, determined on tackling the blonde.
"Pogue's it!" Reid yelled as he ran past Tyler and Caleb.
"I guess we're playing Tag…" Caleb commented and watched as Pogue chased Reid in a giant circle around the playground.
"And Pogue's it," Tyler added. "…I'm gunna go to the water fountain."
"I'll… wait until they notice me."
Caleb stayed sitting on the bench while Tyler got up and wandered over to the water fountains were not too far away. Before he leaned down to get a sip, he looked back and saw Reid sliding onto the bench and knocking Caleb off. Pogue was right behind to tag one of them. Tyler chuckled and turned back to the water fountain.
Twenty minutes passed by and the three older boys were engaged deeply in their game of Tag, but Pogue noticed something was off. He had already tagged Reid twice… and Caleb once… but not Tyler. The youngest was a good hider, but Pogue didn't think he would be hiding when it was Tag and not Hide 'n' Seek.
"Guys…" Pogue said as he stopped dead in his tracks, causing Reid to collide right into his back and Caleb to trip over Reid.
"Ow, Pogo! What gives?" Reid complained as he got up and pulled Caleb up. "This better not be a stupid time-out."
"Where's Tyler?" Pogue asked simply and turned to face his brothers.
Reid and Caleb looked at each other, then at Pogue, and then realization dawned on them.
"Uh oh," Caleb murmured. "He was getting a drink of water… but I don't think he ever came back."
"You lost him!" Reid accused and pointed his finger at Caleb. "I'm telling! I'm telling!" He tantalized as he skipped around Caleb. "Boy, are you gunna get it!"
"Shut up," Pogue ordered in a flat tone and grabbed Reid's shirt as he passed him. "We've gotta look for him or something, right Caleb?"
"Right," The oldest boy agreed and hit Reid upside his head when he passed him. "I'll check over there, you guys split up and look around here."
"Aye, aye, captain!" Reid said with a mock and went off to follow his orders, and Pogue went the other way without a word.
Reid and Pogue had no luck after a quick search, so they went up to meet up with Caleb. They found him just as he got out of the bathrooms, where he had been looking.
"Maybe he found new friends," Reid shrugged and leaned against the wall. "You guys aren't that great you know."
"He would have left you, too idiot," Pogue pointed out.
"…not."
Caleb rolled his eyes and sighed. "He would have told us something," he said as he scratched his head and stared at the floor.
"Maybe he went home," Pogue suggested as he kicked at the ground and shrugged.
"No, he wou--" Caleb stopped short because he had looked up and saw Tyler… getting ice cream… with a random man that he didn't recognize; it was like a big red sign screaming 'Stranger Danger!' appeared in his head.
Both Pogue and Reid noticed that Caleb had stopped talking and gave him a weird look, then looked at where his deer-in-headlights expression was directed at--they had the same reaction as their older brother, but they came out of it a bit sooner…. and with an action plan.
"TYLER!" Both of them yelled out as they charged at full speed towards Tyler and the Stranger. The commotion snapped Caleb out of his mini-trance, and he ran after them.
"EAT DIRT ASSHOLE!" Pogue yelled as he practiced his new karate kick on the new stranger. Reid was right by his side and grabbed onto the man's leg as he tackled him. Caleb was there a second later to pull a horror-stricken Tyler away and made sure he was okay.
"What are you guys doing?" Tyler asked in a whisper, his eyes still wide with shock, "That's my dad!"
"REID MATTHEW GARWIN AND POGUE ALEXANDER PARRY! If you two don't get off me right now, I will have both of your fathers down here whipping your bottoms faster than you can hide them," Mr. Sims threatened from under the two attacking boys, which slowly stopped their assault when realization hit them.
"Oh man…" Pogue muttered and shook his head as he got up from the ground.
"…hi, Mr. Sims," Reid said with a nervous chuckle, "You look a little different. Lost some weight?"
Mr. Sims glared at the boy sitting on his chest, "Off, Reid, now."
"Sorry," Reid said with a grin and got up; he quickly moved to hide behind Caleb and Tyler.
Mr. Sims stood up and brushed himself off, all the while giving the three older boys a reprimanding look. He straightened up after getting all the dirt off of him (they had landed in a dusty pile of it) and crossed his arms over his chest as he assessed them all. Pogue and Reid were sheepishly staring at the floor and had sincere apologetic looks on their face, while Caleb was rubbing his neck nervously, and his son was just looked down right confused.
Knowing that it had just been done out of good intentions, Mr. Sims sighed and let his arms drop. "Alright, who wants ice cream?"
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AN2: So, leave comments! Leave prompts! :D
Prompts left:
-Baby Boy by Beyonce, no pairing specified
-Caleb/Tyler - Surprise
-Caleb/Tyler - Innocent
-Sequel to Kidnapped
-Reid/Tyler - Tyler angst
LOL! That's more than I thought there was, but that's great news! It's going to keep me writing (and trust me, I've been so bored lately and lazy that I almost refuse to do any schoolwork. This will keep me occupied. :D)
