"If you have this party here, you better keep an eye on Zane and Garroth."
Hearing his name, the back haired toddler looked up from his toys. He could see his parents talking in the kitchen, where most of the family conversations went on. He stood up, using the couch for some support. His older brother, Garroth, was asleep on the couch.
"I will, I will." His father said to his mother, his eyes already on Zane. "The worst thing that could happen is that Zane doesn't get a cupcake."
"Cupcake?" Zane called out, rushing over to the kitchen.
"Not yet, ZuZu." His mother told him, picking him up. "Maybe after dinner."
Zane pouted, looking towards the frosted little treats. He honestly preferred cupcakes over cake, because they had just the right amount of cake and icing.
"Seriously, Garte." She said to his father. "I'm going to hang out with Rachel, Sylvana, and Maria, so we won't be here to take care of them."
"I know, they'll be fine." He said, rolling his eyes. "Trust me for once, would you?"
"Alright, if you say so." She sighed, handing Zane to him. "But I'm serious with this, Garte. If so much as one hit comes to him... well, we sleep in the same room."
"Yes, sweetheart, I know." He replied, taking Zane in his arms. "Hey there, bud."
"Pap!" Zane shouted, waving his hands.
"You better know what you're doing, Garte Ro'Meave." His mother said in a warning tone, before leaving the room.
"Your mother is so paranoid of something happening to you two." Garte sighed, shaking his head. "Well, let's go get you ready."
~~~~
"Alright guys, we gotta stay fit!"
Zane looked up from his coloring book, seeing the other kids in the living room. They had been contained there, since the adults had taken over the dining room and kitchen, and they weren't allowed upstairs without adult supervision.
Almost everyone had brought their children, except for one of his dad's best friends, a male named Derek. He had brought his daughter, a little girl named Melissa, but not his son Aaron. The others children were named with the following; Laurance, Gene, Dante, Aphmau, Katelyn, Kacey, Cadenza.
"Now kick your legs one! Now kick your legs two!" Gene, the second oldest of the group, cheered, kicking his legs out. "Now kick your legs three!"
"I'm exhausted... can we stop?" Laurance asked, lazily kicking out his legs.
"Now kick your legs four!" He continued, ignoring him. "Come on, Zane! You gotta get in shape!"
Zane looked back down at his coloring book, turning to a new page. He picked up a pink crayon, scribbling in the coat of the pony. He didn't notice as Gene walked up to him, until the coloring book was snatched away.
"What are you coloring?" Gene asked, looking inside the book. "Ponies?"
"Gene, leave my baby brother alone." Garroth said, snatching the coloring book away from him.
"What are you gonna do about it?" He asked, glaring at him.
"I'll pick on your brother!" He answered, looking over at Dante.
"P-Please don't fight..." Zane squeaked, his voice high pitched.
"Was that you?" Gene asked, looking back at Zane.
"U-Um... yes..." He stuttered, shrinking into himself.
".... I've only known you for three seconds." He started, turning to the others. "But you all better promise that no harm will come to this boy, or else you'll all be put on the Naughty List!"
"Not the Naughty List!" They all gasped, even Zane.
"Then promise me!" He demanded, and they all replied.
"We promise." They all replied in unison.
Zane bit his thumb, silent as Garroth gave him back his coloring book. He didn't know why, but he didn't like so many eyes on him. At first it felt comforting, so much attention, but now it just felt creepy. He didn't like it when people were watching him. He had a hard enough time eating in front of family because of that.
"What's happening in here?" Garte, his father, asked as he entered the room.
"Zane is being shy again!" Garroth tattled, pointing at him.
"Garroth, don't tattle." He sighed, shaking his head. "How does Zianna deal with you two?"
"We're not bad kids, are we?" Zane asked, looking up at him.
"No, no, not at all." He reassured, kneeling down to give him a pat on the head. "You're great kids. It's just that sometimes you can be hard to handle."
"Like spaghetti night!" Garroth called out, standing up on the couch.
"Yes... just like spaghetti night..." He sighed, remembering the catastrophic events. "Never help your mom make dinner until you're at least ten."
"Okay, dad." Zane nodded, before he was snatched up by Gene. "H-Hey!"
"No one touches Zane!" Gene yelled defensively. "Only I get to touch him and tell him what to do!"
"No way! He's my baby brother, I have all rights to him!" Garroth argued, grabbing onto Zane's arm and pulling.
Thus started a game of Tug of War, with Zane being the rope. Having both of his arms being pulled in opposite directions hurt, as Zane started to tear up from it. Seeing this, his father snatched him up and held him. Both Gene and Garroth looked confused for a moment, before looking up.
"My son is not a toy!" Garte told them, his voice strict. "Garroth, you should know better! He's your baby brother, you're supposed to protect him. Gene, I'm telling your mother when she gets back."
With that, Garte left the living room, still carrying Zane. This left Gene and Garroth bickering with each other the rest of the night, and him leaving with a growl when his mother took him home.
"My ZuZu!" Gene growled angrily, lashing out at his mother as she picked him up. "He's mine!!"
"I think you just need a nap." Maria sighed, tired. "But first... pictures!"
~~~~
"That did not happen."
Zane was sitting in the living room of the hotel room, with his older brother and parents. He had one leg over the other, his arms crossed over his chest as he was leaned back. His older brother, who had been turned into a Werewolf, was occupied by a chew toy, experimenting with his new set of teeth.
"I'm telling you that did happen." Garte replied, laughing at his expression. "You were only a few years old then, so you wouldn't remember."
"Gene was not that possessive of me then, and he's nowhere near nice to me now." Zane argued, rolling his eye. "So that story makes no sense."
"My memory is way better than yours, Zaney boy." He sighed, shaking his head. "You're not gonna give up, are you?"
"Me? Give up an argument?" He gasoed, oressing one hand to his chest with an offended look. "Never!"
Garte shook his head again, as Zianna laughed. Garroth looked up, the chew toy in his mouth, giving a smile as he bit down into it. Zane couldn't help but crack a small smile, since he had missed moments like these since he had moved out.
He was completely unaware of the black haired male leaning in the doorway, smiling at him with a calm expression.
"My ZuZu." Gene whispered to himself, looking down at the photo of them as children.
(I know in the request you had asked for Garte introducing Zane to the others and Zane being shy, but I wasn't quite sure how to write that. I hope you still enjoyed this, though!
P.S.: I don't put the usernames of the people who request things, in case they don't want it to be known. I'm like that sometimes.)
