Whole Again - poly!feral boys (DreamSMP)

fifty - two

my mom is a teacher and has training in this stuff, so i straight up asked her how to handle a situation like this lmao

Linc lights up a little bit at the mention of his parents, and I can already feel my chest tightening.

Karl scoots closer to me, taking my hand in his.

"Mommy and Daddy?", he questions.

"How do I do this?", I panic, whispering to myself.

"Just be honest. He's a smart kid.", Clay shrugs.

"Do you know what death means, buddy?", Karl asks him slowly.

Well, I guess we're doing this.

We're definitely doing this wrong, but as long as he understands the concept, we'll have succeeded.

"Nemo.", he nods.

"Like Nemo's mommy.", I nod, glad he has a little understanding.

"And Lolo.", he frowns a little bit as he says it.

Lolo was Sam's dog, and she had died only a short time before the wedding.

"Do you know what happened to Lolo?", I ask him.

The boy looks down at his hands, trying to figure out how to answer.

"Her body didn't work anymore.", he answers slowly.

Oh, thank God for Archer and Sam.

We're not starting from zero.

"Didn't come back.", he mumbles.

My heart pounds, and I feel my chest tighten at his words.

He realizes that because her body didn't work and she died, she never came back.

I'm suddenly regretting starting this conversation.

"So, you know how Mommy and Daddy went on a trip?", I start.

I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.

"On a plane.", Linc spreads his arms out to mimic the wings of a plane.

Oh god.

I can feel tears building up, but I try not to let them spill.

"M-mommy and Daddy's bod-bodies stopped working.", I stumble over my words.

I seriously hate this.

This time, I can't stop my tears from falling at the look on his face.

He looks a mixture of confused and sad.

"Mommy and Daddy are dead?", his question is so innocent, but I can tell that he grasps what it means.

Hearing it come out of his mouth breaks me, and I get up and leave to the bathroom.

Karl's POV

Lincoln watches as Finley rushes out of the room, her hands covering her face.

Clay moves to sit where Finley had been, gently placing his hand on Linc's pajama-covered foot.

"Yes, buddy.", Clay's voice is shaky as he affirms the boy's question.

"They not coming back?"

I want to say so badly that they are coming back, and he has nothing to worry about.

But I can't.

Alex is wiping at his eyes, Sapnap staring blankly at the ground.

George's eyes are glassy, and he pushes up off of the couch, headed in the direction of the bedroom as well.

Linc looks around, obviously at a loss for words or feelings right now.

It's a lot for a kid, so I'm not surprised.

"I did bad?", he tilts his head at Clay, Linc's expression serious.

It takes us a minute to try to understand what he's asking, but once it hits me, I almost want to cry.

"No. No, buddy. It's not your fault. You didn't do anything.", I rush to assure him.

Clay's eyes widen when he realizes what Linc meant by his question.

"It's not your fault. It just happened.", Clay jumps in.

Linc nods, but I can tell his head is somewhere else.

There's a distant look in his eyes, and I want nothing more than to erase everything that has happened these last two days.

He shouldn't have to experience all of this at this age.

Or at any age.

Linc doesn't deserve any of this.

"Live here?", his next question makes me want to smile and frown at the same time.

I love that he might want to live here, but I hate that it's a reality at this point.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have him here every day.

But he should be home with his parents.

"You want to?", Sapnap speaks up for the first time during this entire conversation.

Linc just nods.

His entire demeanor has changed from the happy boy normally to a solemn, quiet kid.

Obviously the change is justified, but it's still heart-breaking.

We all sit in silence, the four of us analyzing Linc.

"Go play now.", Linc mumbles, sliding off my lap and walking towards the stairs.

Once he leaves, I finally let the tears fall.

Clay gives me a hug, and I'm more than happy to cling onto him.

His hold is tight, and it's a sort of grounding feeling.

I pull back a little bit, allowing him to let go of me.

"One of us should go check on him.", I mumble.

I don't want to go because I know it'll just make my heart hurt more.

Clay's POV

"I'll go.", I stand up, wanting to make sure the little boy is okay.

"Me too.", Sapnap stands up, following me closely.

Alex moves to sit next to Karl, letting Karl wrap his arms around him.

We climb the stairs, finding the door to Linc's room closed.

Maybe we'll actually have to turn it into his room someday soon.

Sapnap slowly turns the knob on the door, and he peeks in.

"Hi, little man.", Sapnap gives Linc a little smile as we enter the room.

Linc just looks up at us before turning back to the puzzle he's attempting to work on.

"Do you want help?", I offer.

Linc shakes his head, picking up a piece and pressing it into place.

We both sit down against the bed, watching him intently.

As soon as we're both sitting, Linc abandons his puzzle, plopping himself down in Sap's lap.

Sap shifts a little bit, pulling his phone out of his shorts pocket.

"Here.", he hands the device to the boy.

Linc stares down at the screen, Sap's lock screen a picture of the six of us.

Sap moves his head to the side of Linc's, so his Face ID works.

The phone unlocks, and we both wait for Linc to pick a game.

He doesn't.

Sap swipes to the folder with the games in it.

"Do you want to play one?", I ask Linc softly.

Linc shakes his head, pushing the phone away.

Sapnap sets the phone on the floor, Linc content just sitting in his lap.

Everything is different now.