Wolf (Andley)

And I Breathe

"Drake, get back here." Andy sighed heavily, going after the toddler that had run from his bedroom. Andy could hardly believe his little babies were already four. The past four years had flown by so fast, despite the fact that having to raise five kids was probably the hardest thing Andy had done so far. After the kids got settled in, Ashley resumed his work running his business. At the current point in time, he was meeting with a potential client in his study.

"Drake, it's bedtime, c'mon." Andy a ran hand through his hair and caught the mischievously giggling four year old, holding him on his hip. "What's so funny." He cocked a brow.
Drake beamed at him, saying nothing. Andy rolled his eyes and brushed his curly blonde locks from his face, carrying back to his room for bed. He laid him down, pulled the blanket over him, and gave him his stuffed animal to cuddle with.
"Okay. Stay in bed this time, got it? Or mommy's not gonna be happy." He sighed. Drake huffed and muttered a response, rolling onto his side. Andy shook his head and shut the bedroom door, leaving it open just a crack. Drake had a weird thing about not liking doors to be fully shut... Andy went down the hall to check on the girls.

Meanwhile, downstairs in Ashley's study sat a young man seeking to sell his product. Ashley had already made his decision; there was no way he was going to invest in this. The idea itself was good, but the mans presentation was poor, and his approach was equally so. However, being the gentleman he was, Ashley said nothing and allowed the man to continue with his pitch.
"I- I'm sorry, sir, but do you have a dog?" The man paused. Ashley frowned a little, resisting the urge to grit his teeth. They were not dogs. 

"I do, if you must know, but they are upstairs with my husband." Ashley said calmly. "Why do you ask?"
"I'm just slightly allergic, it's nothing bad, just a bit of a stuffy nose and- well, there's white fur on your shoulder."
Ashley blinked and looked to the shoulder the man had pointed at, finding a small tuft of Alice's fur. "It seems you're right. I'm sorry, it seems one of them took a nap on my jacket this morning." He picked it off with a sigh. The kids had reached the stage in life where they could finally control their shifting, and some of them had more fun than others. Alice and Drake were the two that spent more time as pups than they did as kids. 

"Right. Now, you may contin-" Ashley was cut off by a muffled shriek and frantic footsteps. "Um, excuse me." He frowned, and got out of his office chair, going around his desk and leaving the study. He shut the door behind him and turned the corner to go to the stairs, seeing Andy looking under the futon. "Andy? What are you doing?" He asked slowly.
Andy shot upright and looked at him. "Have you seen him? Did he get into your study?" He rushed over to him.
"Who?"
"Drake!" Andy ran both hands through his hair and paced back and forth. "I- I put him down to go to sleep and went to check on the girls, and then I had to change the batteries in Mike's singing Build-A-Bear, otherwise he wouldn't go to sleep, and the- then I went to check on Drake again and now he's gone- Ashley, he's gone!" Andy whimpered, looking under the coffee table and then moving to look in the closet.

Ashley sighed. "Andy, I'm sure he's just hiding under our bed like he always does."
"He's not, I checked. I checked three times. I checked the other bedrooms, the closets, under all the beds, the bathroom, the bathroom cabinet, the towel cupboard, he's nowhere, I can't find him." Andy rushed back over to him. "Ashley, what if he got outside!? Is your client still here?! What if-"
"Andy, baby, calm down. Deep breaths. He's got to be around here somewhere. I'll go send the guy in my study home, and then we'll keep looking, but until then, take some deep breaths, okay?" Ashley kissed his forehead and went back to his study.

"Is everything alright, sir?" The man frowned, standing up. Ashley rubbed his temples.

"I'm not quite sure, to be honest with you. But something has come up, and I'm going to have to ask you to be on your way." Ashley said politely.
"Okay, but what about-"
Ashley held up a hand to stop him.
"I'm afraid I'll have to reject your offer at the moment, but since this had to be cut short by some unfortunate circumstances on my behalf, if you contact my office tomorrow, I can set up another appointment for the week after next. Until then, I want you to draw up a more enthusiastic, intriguing approach to presenting and developing your product. You have good ideas, but you lack with charisma. I do hope you'll take my suggestions."
The man nodded quickly, putting his stuff into his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Yes! Yes, of course, sir! I will!" He shook Ashley's hand and left. Ashley turned the light off in his study and saw Andy on the couch, the TV remote next to him.

"Client is gone. What are you doing?" Ashley leaned over the back of the futon.
"Watching. If he was out there, there'd be something on the news, right?" Andy whispered.
Ashley sighed. "If he were running around as a little wolf puppy, yeah, but I can't say the same for a lost kid wandering around. There'd be a report, but not for a while.."
Andy bit his lip. "You- you keep looking around the house, please... I want to keep watching just in case..."
Ashley sighed again and kissed his cheek. "Of course, my love." He stood up and went to the dining room, cooing and clicking his tongue as he searched to draw out his son. He looked around the entire place, trying to stay as positive as he could despite his increasing fear that his son really was missing.

"Ashley- Ashley, get in here!" Andy called. Ashley jogged back to where Andy was and stopped, watching the TV as Andy turned it up.

"Complaints and reports of what looks to be a wild wolf pup harassing the public at a local dog park have forced authorities to evacuate the area. I've just gotten word that Animal Control has the situation under control, and has contained the animal. They plan to transfer it back to the wild as soon as Monday morning." The anchorwoman on the air informed.

"Animal Control!?" Andy stood up. "Look at her! She doesn't even care- None of them care- That's my baby! Ashley, they have my baby!" He covered his mouth and turned to him. Ashley's face was blank as he stared at the TV.

"This cannot be happening..." He breathed, body rigid. "No, that- There's no way that's Drake. Drake is just a pup, he couldn't have gotten all the way down there-"
"I'm going to get him." Andy wiped his eyes, tossing the blanket off of himself and finding some shoes. "Stay here with the others."
"No, Andy, stay here." Ashley grabbed him. Andy stopped.
"Ashley, I'm going to get my son." He stared at him disbelief. "Our son."
Ashley rubbed his eyes. "Not- Not now. They said Monday morning, it's only Thursday night. We have a few days, so we'll wait until tomorrow. Going down there is going to cause suspicion, and it might even tip someone off that we're not hu-"
"You're telling me not to go so I don't blow our cover?" Andy deadpanned, voice cracking.

"It's not just us, baby, it's so many oth-"
"This is our son, I'm goin-"
"No, you're staying here. I am not going to let you go down there and let everyone see you picking up a wolf from Animal Control. Not now." Ashley snarled. Andy drew a shaky breath, tearing his arm from Ashley's grip and continuing to pull his other shoe on. He walked past him and pulled on a sweater, getting car keys.

"Andy, don't you dare." Ashley warned.
"No, don't you dare!" Andy snapped. "This is our child we're talking about. I thought we cleared this before they were born, you are father before a damn pack leader. Now get your head out of your ass, and make sure our other children are still asleep, okay?" He spat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go save my son."

Ashley flinched, unable to respond as the door slammed behind Andy. "Shit..."

A/N: honestly I keep losing motivation, yikes, anyways yes Andy Black, finally released (wow a month late much?) and it's my favorite thing ever and my friend and I got VIP for the show on June 11 ayy ;) I'm starting to get sick rn though which isn't good b/c I graduate this weekend and start work at a preschool this next week fu ck ok yeah bye