Rose_of_Magic prompted: "Maybe Enzo has a flashback/nightmare about his time and (Teen or in between headspace) Stefan decides to crawl into their bed so that he can protect them in their dreams just like they do for him? They tell him that Enzo is just having Bad Memories. He could wake up little the next day and be glued to his Daddies sides, wanting to make happy memories for Enzo so he doesn't remember the bad?"

PSA: I am part Italian, yet all translations come from the internet. I am sure my great-grandfather is rolling over in his grave and cursing me right now.

Here are the rough translations:

"I miei occhi…": "My eyes…"

"Sei al sicuro, amore.": "You are safe, love".

"Topolino": "Little mouse"

"Dormi": "Sleep"

Stefan jolts up in bed at the sound of loud, labored screaming. He clutches his stomach, whining in pain. Doing his best to ignore his own trouble, he clings to his bunny and mouse as he dashes down the hall to the source of the noise. His dad sits up in bed, leaning over Enzo. Stefan's papa is stiff as a board as he continues to scream. Sweat drips down his face, his eyes clamped shut.

"Enzo!" Damon shouts, gently shaking him. "Wake up! You're safe!"

Stefan stands in the doorway, the pain in stomach growing worse. He frowns as his papa's wide brown eyes flicker open. A large gasp escapes Enzo's lips. Damon gently rubs his arms, whispering to ask what happened. Enzo shakes his head, trying to sit up a bit too fast. Damon gently props him up against the pillows. They begin murmuring to one another in Italian, so softly that even Stefan can't make it out. His "vegetarian" diet combined with his swirling mind can only half-translate some of it.

"I miei occhi…"

"Sei al sicuro, amore."

Little by little, Enzo's breathing begins to return to normal. Stefan can't hold back any longer. He bolts to the bed, nearly knocking his dad out of the way as he curls up against his papa. Damon begins to pull him away but Enzo shakes his head, holding Stefan closer.

"What is it, Bambino?" He whispers.

"Heard you screaming," Stefan looks up at him, frowning. "Are you okay, Papa?"

Enzo bites his lip, running his fingers through his son's dark londe waves. "I'm just having…bad memories, Topolino." Stefan tilts his head. "From a long, long time ago."

"Bunny," Damon whispers. "Why don't we give Papa some space?"

"Don't listen to your daddy." Enzo cuddles the teen closer. "I need my bambino right now."

Stefan wraps his arms around Enzo's torso, looking up at his dad for approval. Damon gives them both a small smile.

"Alright, but someone needs to shut their eyes and get some more sleep. It is far too early."

Stefan yawns, rubbing at his eyes. "Papa, Daddy says you have to sleep."

Damon snorts, and even Enzo chuckles a bit. The latter pulls his son onto his chest and curls him up. Stefan nuzzles his head into his shoulder. Damon pulls the covers over the two of them.

"Dormi," Enzo instructs both of his boys.

Damon snuggles up beside him, draping an arm over the two, locking Stefan into place. The teen doesn't mind as he moves his bunny and mouse up to Enzo's shoulder.

Not long after Enzo moved in, he decided to knit something for Stefan, so he'd have comfort stuffed animals from both of his parents. The result was possibly the world's ugliest little brown mouse with ears of different lengths and lopsided arms. Damon likes to tease that Bunny, made by a 7-year-old, is cuter. Enzo rebuffs that at least he had help. Stefan tunes them both out. He named the mouse "Gus" after his favorite movie and now, both he and Bunny are bedtime as well as Little space staples.

Enzo glances down at the mouse and bunny. "Those are yours."

"They'll protect you from bad dreams," Stefan whispers, shutting his eyes.

Enzo and Damon strengthen their grip on him. Stefan is oblivious to their sad faces as he drifts off.

A few hours later, Enzo opens his eyes once more to find wide green ones gazing into his. He nearly jumps until he remembers who crawled into bed around 4 in the morning.

"Scary dreams, Papa?" Stefan asks, his voice very young.

Enzo rubs at his eyes with the back of his hands. "Not since last night, Bambino," he whispers.

Stefan smiles. "I did a good job? Kept them away?"

Enzo chuckles, kissing the top of his nose. "You were a very good protector. Can Papa sit up a bit?" Stefan nods, allowing Enzo to lean up more and adjust him in his arms. "I'm sorry you heard me last night, Bambino. I didn't want to wake you up."

The little one shakes his head. "Tummy hurt," he admits.

Enzo frowns. "Why didn't you tell me or Daddy?"

"You were sad," Stefan mumbles, a frown forming. "Don't be mad, Papa. Please."

Enzo sighs, moving Gus and Bunny into his baby boy's arms. He cradles Stefan closer. "I'm not mad, Topolino," he whispers. "Not at all. Just worried."

"No, I make you feel better," Stefan insists, trying to sit up. Enzo clings tighter to him. "Papa."

"What's going to make me feel better is taking care of my bambino," Enzo assures him. "That's a papa's job, is it not?"

Stefan thinks about it, then nods. He rests his head on his papa's shoulder and puts his thumb in his mouth. Enzo gently rocks him.

"Where Daddy?" Stefan mumbles behind the thumb.

It's only then Enzo thinks to look. The side behind him is bare. "I…I don't know."

Stefan softly whines, squirming a bit. Enzo perks up his ears, making out some noises coming up the stairs. Sure enough, the door opens moments later. Damon strides in holding a mug in one hand and a baby bottle filled with blood in the other. Enzo takes him in, smiling at his Armani sweatpants paired with no shirt situation. Stefan calms a little upon seeing his dad.

"Daddy here," Stefan announces to Enzo, as if he can't see.

"Daddy's here," Damon confirms, walking over. He places both drinks down on the nightstand and kisses Stefan's forehead. He puts his hand over his eyes before kissing his husband. "How are we feeling?"

"Better," Enzo murmurs. Damon's soft blue eyes stare into his soul. "I promise, amore, I'm fine. 'Twas just one night."

Damon hesitates before nodding. He removes his hand from Stefan's face. "I brought coffee for Papa, and blood for Bunny Boy. Come here, buddy, Daddy will feed you." Damon holds out his arms but Stefan clings tighter to his papa. "Stef, let Papa have some space."

"He's fine where he is," Enzo says, grabbing the bottle. "Coffee can wait."

Damon grins as he watches Enzo shoo away Stefan's thumb and get him to latch onto the bottle. Maybe a part of him should be jealous over how quickly his baby took to his new parent, but the relief overpowers every emotion. Damon and Enzo moved quickly, not wanting to miss out on anymore time. As soon as Stefan blessed it, there was no going back.

He settles onto the bed beside his husband and adjusts the stuffed animals. They're lucky Stefan came in before dropping. He has the tendency to bring in just about every single one from his collection, overtaking the bed.

"Slow down, Bambino," Enzo chuckles, adjusting the bottle. "It's not going anywhere."

"You'd think he didn't just have two full cups before bed," Damon teases. Stefan pouts behind the nipple. "Aww, Grumpy Stefy." Stefan kicks his legs, but Damon is quick and grabs his foot, tickling it. The little one giggles, nearly choking.

"Hey, hey, hey," Enzo nudges Damon. "Do not distract the boy."

"Sorry, sorry." He winks at Stefan. "The tickle monster owes you a visit."

Stefan giggles once more, though quickly redirects his attention to the blood. Damon wraps an arm around his husband, whispering soft things into his ear. Enzo pecks his lips, forgetting to cover Stefan's eyes this time, both ignore the grumble that comes along with it. The family is quiet as Stefan finishes up his bottle.

"Okay, now let Papa drink his coffee," Damon says, holding his arms out for his son. Stefan shakes his head. Damon sighs. "Stefan."

"Make Papa feel better," he grumbles, clinging tightly to him.

Enzo strokes his hair. "I'm feeling just fine, Bambino. Don't worry." Stefan doesn't let go. "You don't want to go sit with Daddy? I think that's going to make him very sad."

Damon only has to pull half a pout for Stefan to leap into his arms. He lets out a soft groan before laughing and adjusting the little one on his lap.

"Don't be sad, Daddy," Stefan says, sweetly.

Damon chuckles. "How can I be sad? I have my bunny and my husband right here. Everyone is safe and sound." He squeezes Enzo's hand.

Enzo nods, taking a nice, long sip of his coffee. "That's right. Everyone is safe."

Damon rubs his thumb over his husband's knuckles, knowing he's trying to convince himself more than anything. "What do you want to do today?"

He shrugs. "What does our bambino want to do?" Stefan's now distracted by his dad's necklace. Enzo snorts, gently nudging him. "Stef?"

Stefan jolts, looking up, confused. "Huh?"

Damon pushes back some of his hair. "What shall we do today? I don't have any boring council meetings. It's a Saturday, so you don't have school. It's a beautiful day."

"Hmmm," Stefan puts his finger to his chin, falling deep in thought. Damon and Enzo share an amused smile. "Can we go for a walk? In the woods?"

"We can, but you need to stay with me and Papa. No running off. And if you want to hunt, we need to be with you," Damon reminds him. "We won't be going very far, so only small things like bunnies or chipmunks."

Stefan lets out a long, dramatic sigh. "So boring."

Damon chuckles, lightly tapping him upside the head. "You're wearing a sweatshirt."

"And a beanie," Enzo adds in.

"Fine." Stefan pokes out his tongue. "Can I wear my rain boots? In case there's any muddy puddles?"

"It's a deal."

Enzo leans over to kiss the top of his head.

"I think a walk is just what we all need," he announces. "Perfect for clearing our heads. And something that's just the 3 of us."

Damon grins, cuddling Stefan close. While their little one is attached to them regardless of space, he's still a regular teenager. As of late, he's spent a bit too much time with friends, in Damon's opinion. Selfishly, he's happy for a day when they can keep him close.

After a quick breakfast, Stefan insists on Enzo helping him get ready. Luckily, he accepts the first outfit his papa chooses for him: a blue long-sleeved t-shirt with characters from Cinderella printed across the front paired with some sweatpants. Enzo helps him slide his arms into his brown hoodie that has little mouse ears attached to the top along with a cream-colored beanie. As promised, he slides his feet into his bright yellow rainboots. He shoves Bunny into one of his pockets and Gus into the other. Once Enzo puts on his own jacket and shoes, they head out the door to meet Damon.

Stefan puts his left hand in Enzo's and his right in Damon's as they walk towards the woods. His dads swing their arms and cause him to come up a couple of times, which makes him giggle. Once they're a little ways into the woods, Stefan looks up at his dad.

"Can I go pick some acorns for Crow, please?"

Damon nods. "Yes, not too far, right where we can see you."

Stefan nods and runs over to a nearby tree, collecting the acorns and putting them into the pocket Gus is in. Enzo laces his fingers through his husband's.

"You okay?" Damon whispers.

Enzo nods, keeping his eyes on Stefan and smiling. "How can anything truly be so bad when I have him?" He glances back at his husband. "And you, I suppose."

Damon chuckles and pulls him closer, taking the opportunity to kiss without being told how gross it is.

"I have a feeling our bed won't be empty for quite some time," he mumbles into Enzo's lips. "Stef will be on nightmare patrol, until he inevitably gets too tired and crashes."

"There are worse things," Enzo says softly, the smile not leaving his lips.

Gus has joined the crew! I wanted to give Stef something special from his papa and I felt a mouse fit in well. Especially as he is now not just Bunny and Bambino, but Topolino as well. Stefan has about a million and five terms of endearment. Considering Damon and Enzo are very big on nicknames in canon (both affectionately and snarkily), I think it fits. I am also a very big nickname person myself, so it just naturally fits in.

So, one thing to add, Tanner is still a teacher in this verse. As of now, I don't plan to have him go full on pyscho as he does in the other story. He's still a dick, don't get me wrong, but he's going to be around for a bit. But! In the next chapter, he learns that Stefan now has two overprotective fathers and not just one. Stefan will wish for the Earth to swallow him whole haha.

Anyway, let me know what you think and feel free to leave prompts!