2p!Austria x Mom!Reader- Foster parent

Thirty-Four

The next few days came and went. Boot camp turned out to be a healthy distraction for you. Drew left two days after your little argument, and nothing got your mind off of stuff like working out did.

For some reason, Roderich wasn't as uppity as you had come to expect of him. Honestly, you expected more of a struggle from him, but instead of kicking and screaming like you imagined he would, he turned out to be pretty cooperative after a day or so. It was a pleasant surprise.

Today was the last day for the boys in boot camp. The walk home was nice. By now, Roderich's body had gotten used to the continuous strain. As he guzzled down a water bottle, he squeezed his upper arm with his other hand. "Lutz! Dude, did you notice how big my arms got?"

"No."

"Seriously! I can do fifty push-ups now without even breaking a sweat."

"You're still lame."

"You wanna fight about it? Huh?"

Lutz laughed. "I can still see the crook in your nose from your last fight."

"I was going to say 'we could settle it with video games,' you fuck ass."

"You're still going to end up crying."

"Fuck that shit! We can really fight, if you want to!"

"Lutz, stop teasing Roderich," you said.

He smirked. "Yes, ma'am."

"H-he wasn't teasing me!" Roderich argued.

"Aww, sweetie. Next, I should teach you the signs of bullying."

"I'm not a bully, mama," Lutz said. "Roderich is just a target. That's not my fault."

You smacked his head. "Boy, shut up."

"(name), am I really a target?" Roderich asked.

You waved off the question. "That's besides the point."

Lutz laughed. "Mark."

You hit him again, then huffed as you said, "Alright, so yes. You are a pretty easy target."

"F-for real?"

"Why'd you hit me then?" Lutz argued.

"Cause I told you to shut up. Now, leave your brother alone."

Lutz crossed his arms and mumbled, "Still..."

You looked to Roderich. "As for you, there's nothing wrong with you being the way you are. It just means people will try to push you around." You balled up your fist. "It might take an example or two, but they'll start to think twice about strapping a target to your back when blood starts spilling."

Roderich stared at both of his hands as he balled them up and nodded.

##

For their snack today, you made tuna salad. You felt so proud of yourself for making the boys such a healthy snack, but they'll be happy that you balanced it out with a glass of sugar-filled Kool-aid and a generous slice of the cake you baked yesterday.

Since Roderich was closer, you went to his room first. He sat on top of his bed, humming as he read out of a notebook. He stopped as you entered.

"You want it now or do you want me to sit it on the table?" you asked.

He laid his notebook down and reached out. "I'll take it."

You nodded and handed it over, sitting his cup on the floor.

"What's with all the vegetables?" Roderich asked. "It looks like something Nancy would make."

"You could just not eat it. I can take it back, if you don't want it," you said.

"No, no! I'm still going to eat it. I'm just saying. I'd rather have those bacon mashed potatoes you made last night."

"Boy, that is a full side dish. Y'all are happy with the simplest of things."

He chuckled as he poked around in the bowl.

"Oh! Before I forget again." You pointed to his guitar. "Do you have extra strings for that?"

"Extra strings?"

"Just encase one snaps."

He shook his head. "I never really thought about it."

"Alright. I'll pick you up some tomorrow then."

"Really? You'd buy them for me?"

"Yeah, it's good for you to have some handy. Your dad always had some laying around. I'll just add it to my list of things to pick up when I go out tomorrow."

You looked him over for a second then sighed. "Listen. You don't have to go back to that school if you don't want to. I can call Drew, and you can stay with her." You rested your hand on his shoulder for a second and gave a small smile. "Trust me. I know what it's like to get beat up. They kicked my ass damn near everyday for my first couple of months in military school, and I'm just talking about the older kids who thought I looked like a pretty good target." You shrugged. "I had the same problem. That's why I felt such a need to teach you how to protect yourself, but I'm not going to force you to go back there."

Roderich eyed his food but nodded. "...I think I'll be fine."

"So...you're staying?"

"You don't want me to?"

You giggled. "You can stay for as long as you want, sweetheart. You were the one in such a rush to leave."

"Yeah, well...I like it here now."

"I'm glad you like it then." You headed out. "Just be careful if you're going back to school. Stay on your toes and keep your head up. They're sure as hell going to try and tear you down."

"Thanks, mom."

You stopped, and before you knew it, there was this long awkward silence.

Roderich shook his head. "T-that was weird; I'm sorry."

"No!" you said. "It was fine...If, uhm, you feel comfortable calling me that, I don't mind."

"It felt a little weird...I never had someone to call mom. I don't know mine very well. I haven't seen her in years."

You walked back over and ran your fingers through his hair. You kissed his forehead and hugged him. "Call me whatever you want, sweetheart."

##

The next morning, you fell back into normal procedures— no more whistles and yelling for you. You got up, made breakfast, and plated food. The boys filed into the dining room one by one.

"Good morning, mama," Gil said as he took his seat.

You kissed the top of his head as you sat a plate in front of him. "Morning, baby."

"Ba-con. Ba-con. Ba-con," Lutz chanted to the table.

You gave him a plate as you shook your fist and nodded, chanting with him, "Ba-con! Ba-con!"

He laughed and started picking around his plate. "Thanks, ma."

"Uh-huh. Gotta send ya back off to school proper in hopes you don't get suspended again."

"I'm not," he said as he chewed. "I'm really going to be chill this time."

"That is what I'm hoping for, but I know things are usually easier said than done."

"You should have more faith in me, ma," he said.

"You should do more things to encourage faith."

Roderich laughed as he made it to the dining room, and Gilligan chuckled.

Lutz touched his chest for a second. "Ow."

"That hurt me, and I don't even know what she's talking about," Roderich said.

"Mama's not wrong, though," Gilligan mentioned.

"Aww, thank you, Gil. Of course I'm not," you said.

You sat a plate in front of Roderich. "Eat up for your first day back to school. It's probably gonna be shitty, but I'm more than confident that you can push through it...and not get suspended for fighting."

Roderich snickered as he nodded. "I won't. Thanks, mom."

Lutz and Gilligan narrowed their eyes at Roderich.

"W-what are you glaring at me for?" Roderich asked the two.

"Huh?" Gilligan shook his head. "O-oh! I-I'm so sorry, Roderich. I didn't think I was g-glaring at you. I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean—"

"Since when do you call her mom?" Lutz said.

Roderich looked to his food and mumbled, "She said it was okay..."

"It is!" Gilligan said. "Don't let Lutz make you feel uncomfortable with it. We just...didn't know you were calling her that now." Gil smiled a bit. "That's uhm...nice."

"Don't mind them, Roderich," you told him and rested your arm on his shoulder. "They're just jealous little mama's boys."

"I just thought it was weird," Lutz said. "He's called you a lot of things, but 'mom' is kind of a new one."

"Hmm..." You thought for a moment. "You know what, you're right."

"I-it's not like I'm gonna do it again," Roderich said.

"Of course not!" you said. "Cause if you do, I'll pop your little ass right in the mouth. But that's not what I was thinking about. There's a lot that comes with having me as a mom." You nodded. "Getting popped in the mouth is one of them. I personally don't believe in putting my hands on other people's kids, but if you're gonna call me mom, you're agreeing to getting beat if I ever find out you fucked up nice and good." You smiled. "If you thought I was bad before, you're really gonna think I'm a bitch now. Ain't that right, Lutz?"

"No comment."

"Is that going to be a problem?" you asked Roderich.

He shook his head. "I'll be chill."

"Aww." You kissed the top of his head. "No, you won't." You turned on your way back to the kitchen and shouted, "Ain't that right, Lutz?"

"What? I'm always chill."

"You took my car."

"That only happened twice, and I really needed it that last time."

You threw an oven mitt at the back of his chair.

##

"Keys...Book bags...Homework...Alright, dismissed!"

The boys started on their way to the door, and you called behind them, "Friendly reminder; if either one of you get suspended again, it'll be a belt instead of a whistle."

"Yes, ma'am," both Lutz and Roderich said.

"Have a good day, boys!"

The door shut behind them, and you let out a breath. Peace. The first moments of real peace you've felt in weeks. The quiet was bliss. You didn't even mind the sound of one of your cats licking their fur. It was probably Mitty. God, you hoped she didn't throw it up.

You stood to your feet. Thankfully, you didn't have to go back to work until tomorrow. You thanked yourself for adding a rest day to the two weeks.

Now you could run errands.

You had to get cat litter from the store, Lutz needed some more socks, you had to pick up guitar strings for Roderich, and you also wanted to get Gilligan another hoodie. He had been wearing the same black hoodie almost everyday for nearly a year now. Maybe he just didn't have another black one that he liked?

Before any of that, you had to clean. It was almost like a compulsion. You washed the dishes, scrubbed the counters, organized the cabinets, cleaned the refrigerator, vacuumed the halls and your room, wiped down the dining room table, cleaned both the boys' and your bathrooms, and lastly organized your own room.

You felt antsy when you looked at the clock and saw it was only twelve thirty-five. You finished too quickly. You needed something to do. You didn't want to sit still. If you sat still, you might think about your life— the past events that brought it here, the present situations that were shaping it, or the most important, the future of it.

Gilligan was already seventeen, but you just couldn't imagine him functioning properly out on his own. It would be nice if Lenard could watch after him. He had enough money to keep Gilligan protected, but you worried that wasn't the right thing to do. You feared you coddled him too much. You couldn't help it though, when you felt so much of his pain. It was your fault he felt that way; it was your genes, your mentality that infected him by blood. You sheltered him so much, you might have taken away his chance to learn how to cope with his mental and emotional states like you had— to some extent. Gilligan was smart and a creative thinker with a caring heart, but if his depression was anything like yours and he couldn't manage to pull himself out of it one day...The scenario terrified you.

And Lutz. God, Lutz. He was such a toss-up. He has so much potential, but he never seemed to put his heart into anything. You guessed your parents must have thought the same thing about you at that age. You believed in him to be able to navigate life on his own when the time came, but then again, you also believed in yourself and look how you ended up: surviving, but divorced and working a good-enough-paying job to provide for two kids. Well, technically three now.

You've been caught off-guard by a lot of things over these last few weeks, but Roderich calling you mom was one of the bigger surprises. Before he came here, he rarely made eye contact. Now he smiled at you. He wanted to talk to you. More than anything, you felt bad for the boy. You knew Lenard to be an excellent father; he loved taking care of the boys and cherished the weekends you let them stay with him once you were divorced and he had a stable place to live. Unfortunately, with Lenard as his main influence, Roderich ended up being just like him— soft. His eyes seemed lost. You wanted to help and try to guide him, but were you really the best person for it? You've just been winging this whole thing since Gilligan was born.

You just wanted them to be alright. You wanted those boys to do so much better than you. They deserved to be content and functioning adults. Did you do your job right? Did you really even teach them anything? What if...

"No," you said to yourself as you shut your eyes and took in a slow, deep breath. "I have to go run errands." You shook your head and grabbed your wallet off of your dresser before heading to the door. "I don't have time. I don't have time."

You first went to the pet store for the cat litter, and you picked up a new collar for Mitty. Her green and black striped one looked a little worn. Technically, only Mitty was your cat. Ash and Mary were Lutz's and Gilligan's cats, but their collars looked old too, so you bought three.

Next, you went to the department store for Lutz and Gilligan. You picked up socks for Lutz going on the second time this week. What he did with a twelve count of socks, you didn't want to know. You also grabbed another black hoodie for Gilligan. Maybe if he wore clothes that were less plain, a nice girl might notice him. A sweet little girlfriend would do wonders for him.

Luckily, there was a music store right across the street. All Roderich ever did was strum at that guitar; he was bound to snap a string sooner or later, and it would break his heart if he couldn't play it for a day or two. You wondered if he named his guitar like Lenard did. You should ask him. With him calling you mom now, he might even let you hear him play. You were curious about his style. He mostly played with headphones plugged in.

Around two o' clock, you decided to eat. It would be best to save whenever you could, so you thought to go home and cook.

Those were your intentions, anyway. Somehow, you ended up downtown, debating with yourself at a stoplight.

"I should just go home. I shouldn't be doing this. I can just go back to the house and curl up in bed with Mitty. I think there's still ice cream in there. And cake. If not, I can bake another one. I should bake some brownies too. Those are Lutz's favorites. That's more dishes I can wash."

As you rambled, you found your way to a parking lot. You bit your lip as you looked over the apartment complex. Your eyes jumped around to all the other cars before landing on a familiar red two-seater. "...He's probably busy. I know he works from home sometimes..."

You opened your car door and stepped out. "Fuck."

You entered the building and shook your head as you got into the elevator and pressed the floor number. "What am I doing? What am I doing?"

Your heart thumped in your chest as the elevator doors opened, and you stepped out.

"I'll just knock," you told yourself as you walked to the door. "If he's busy, I'll go away."

You knocked and forced your feet still to wait a moment for a response.

Soon, the door opened. Al seemed surprised to see you at first, but then he smiled. It seemed relieved and welcoming. All of your uncertainties melted away with that. Your heart calmed and body relaxed.

"I thought you said you'd text me," he said as he leaned against the door frame.

"Right. Well. I was already out so...Are you busy?"

"Not at the moment. How long are you staying?"

"I'm free until nine."

"Well, in that case..." He grabbed your wrist and moved you closer. "Did you eat yet?"

You shook your head.

"Good. I've been meaning to get you hooked on vegan food. I'll cook for you."

You smiled and pushed up on your toes a bit to kiss him. "Sounds fun."