Lost And Found (Dadvid. AU)

part four.

          A very stinky new beginning
 

 The days passed in a blur for Max, the routine he and David had settled into becoming almost like second nature. David continued to be the same as always, and as summer started winding down the man decided it would be time to go school shopping for Max soon. He was rather excited, but when he brought it up that night after dinner, he could tell Max didn't feel the same way. Max had never been one for shopping anyways, even when it was for him, so David wasn't too disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm from the boy.

     "I'm telling you, I don't need anything." Max protested, shooting a halfhearted glare at David from across the table. David raised an eyebrow, knowing that wasn't true. "Okay Max, how  many shirts do you have?" David knew it couldn't be very many, especially considering how light the boy's duffel bag had been when he had first brought the boy home. "Three." Max snapped. "That's enough to make it through the week, and then the shirts get washed on the weekends."

     Two of the shirts in question had been the only ones his parents had packed for him. There was a white one, a blue one, and the mustard yellow Camp Campbell shirt that David had given him at the start of summer. Aside from that, the only clothes Max owned were a pair of pants, a single pair of shorts, one pair of tennis shoes, three and a half pairs of socks, and a few ratty pieces of underwear. All that plus his hoodie was all he had. That was maybe enough to survive the week, but it would most certainly not last him through the whole year.

     David frowned, not realizing Max's clothing supply was that low. "Max, you need more clothing than that. That's hardly a suitable wardrobe for anyone, especially for a growing boy." Max rolled his eyes. "No, I really don't. How many shirts do you have, huh?" Max demanded. He had only seen David wear one shirt all summer, and only a few different T-shirts around the house. "More than three, Max." He said with a sigh, mentally preparing for another uphill battle with Max.

     "Why do you insist on doing this?" Max sighed, laying his head on the table. He didn't have the energy to fight David right now, and he didn't think it was worth it anymore at this point. "Because I care about you." David replied tiredly. He was starting to think that Max just liked hearing him repeat himself at this point.

     Max thought about it a moment, propping his head up on one hand. Maybe he did need new shirts... both the white one and the blue one had a few holes from the constant wear and tear of everyday use. "Okay, fine." Max gave in finally, unwilling to put up a fight this time around. He found himself doing that a lot these days. David good naturedness was starting to wear him down, even if he wouldn't ever admit it.

     Unknown to Max, he was starting to let his guard down a little more around David. Of course he still had his hard outer shell up, but he was slowly getting used to having someone to care for him. He wasn't protesting as much when David tried to be a parent, and he was starting to not be so touchy about certain subjects.

~

     The next morning, Max woke up to the sun shining in through his window. As he scowled at the glare, he made a mental note to shut the curtains before he went to bed from now on. Feeling rather lazy this morning, Max simply flipped over. He decided to wait in bed until he heard some sign of David being up and ready for the day. He was probably already up and getting ready or something, but Max didn't want to go check.

     After laying there a while, he realized Mr. Honeynuts wasn't next to him like he normally was. He peeked over the side of the bed and saw the bear lying sadly on the floor, one button eye staring emotionless at the ceiling. Max picked it up and inspected it, noticing the stitched on smile had faded over the years. The bear had been torn and sewn back together and had many things spilled on it in its lifetime. If Max was honest, he needed a good wash, but he'd never hand over his bear to anyone willingly unless it was an emergency. He needed to be stitched up in a few places though, summer had put him through some hard times... But it wasn't urgent, so Max decided to wait.