OoO Oneshots

New Addition to the Family

AN: Part 2 to Panic Attack (there's probably going to be a third part as well so stay tuned!(

When Mario woke next, the first thing his mind registered was the warmth surrounding him. Smiling slightly, he snuggled into the warmth, only to freeze as he heard a small chuckle. His eyes shot open and he saw that he was snuggled into the chest of a guy with a panda hat. 

He shrunk back, shaking slightly even as the other looked at him with concerned eyes. The guy gave him a small comforting smile, clearly trying to calm him down but it wasn't really working. Then he started explaining the situation.

"Hey there little guy, I'm not gonna hurt you. Me and my friends Michael and Ritchie found you yesterday outside yesterday crying and we tried to calm you down. When Ritchie managed it, you fell asleep and so we brought you to Ritchie and Michael's cabin. I guess I fell asleep as I was watching you as to make sure you didn't have a nightmare and I didn't have the heart to wake you."

"O-okay..." Mario said, still shaking a little but feeling a little better now that he knew how he had gotten here. 

The guy gave him another soft smile as he introduced himself. "My name's Austin."

"I-I'm M-Mario..." Mario introduced himself shyly. 

"You don't have to be so shy around me, buddy." Austin told him with the same soft smile on his face, causing him to look down a little bit even as a small smile grew on his own face.  "OH YEAH! I should go tell Mama Bear and Papa Bear you're awake! They were worried!"

Mario jumped a bit at the sudden outburst before tilting his head in confusion at the nicknames. "Mama Bear and Papa Bear?"

"Oh they're my friends that I mentioned before, Michael and Ritchie, thing is they're also counselors and they put up with me a lot so I call them Mama Bear and Papa Bear." Austin explained with a fond smile. 

"O-oh... I t-think I m-met M-Michael once... He has a s-spear called the Art of W-War, r-right?" Mario asked, nervous in case he got the wrong person. 

"Yeah! That's Mama Bear's main weapon." Austin nodded enthusiastically, making Mario giggle a bit that the intimidating demigod he had met before was nicknamed Mama Bear. 

Austin smiled at the giggling demigod before getting up. "I'll be right back, ok, buddy?" Mario nodded shyly, making Austin smile and reach over to ruffle his hair before he walked out to get Michael and Ritchie. Mario frowned, trying to get his hair back into place though it was being stubborn (probably cuz Mario has the static cling XD). The shy child was so focused on trying to get his hair to stay in place that he didn't even realize that Austin had come back with Michael and Ritchie until he heard the sound of a chuckle, causing him to jump once again as he looked up to see the three standing there and looking at him in amusement. 

Feeling self-conscious, Mario hugged himself, trying to make himself smaller as he looked everywhere but at them. All three of the demigods frowned seeing the kid hunch in on himself like that. Austin especially. The son of Apollo walked over to the bed and sat on it before picking the kid up and sitting him in his lap, making Mario yelp. 

"P-put me d-down!" Mario whined, trying to get loose. 

"Nope!" Austin said popping the 'p' as he hugged the other boy. "Not until you aren't a sad bean."

"What d-does bean even mean?" Mario asked as he continued trying to get loose. 

"It means that he's not gonna let go until you aren't a sad one." Ritchie chimed in as he and Michael walked over. "And trust me, he means it."

Mario huffed a little at that making Michael and Ritchie laugh a little as they came to sit on either side of him and Austin. Feeling a little intimidated by the two older boys being so close, Mario started hugging Austin back as to try and relax. As if sensing his anxiety, Ritchie and Michael decided to stay silent for a little while as to not overwhelm the obviously shy child. It was only after Mario had finally relaxed in their presence that the two counselors decided to ask about what the kid had said in the midst of his panic attack, after introducing themselves of course. 

"Hey there, Mario was it? I'm Ritchie, one of the counselors at camp, same as Michael here. Now I know that you're shy and you're clearly new to all this judging by what you said yesterday, but could you please explain what you meant about people picking on you? We don't generally tolerate bullying around camp." Ritchie asked gently. 

Mario was silent for a moment before he quietly began explaining what had been happening since he came to camp, breaking the other three demigods' hearts as they heard about the hurtful words that some of the other campers, like Bryan had said to him. Then near the end of his tale, Mario's voice started shaking and his eyes welled up with tears. 

"A-and then he t-took my squid plushie, J-Jeffrey, which is the only thing I actually have from my dad, and h-he, h-he just threw it in the f-fire and l-laughed about it." 

Mario sniffled as Austin's eyes darkened in rage as he imagined how much that must have hurt. He was extremely attached to his own plushie Fred, as it had been from his brother, and he knew that the pain of losing it must be terrible for the other demigod. He hugged the smaller demigod tight for a moment before letting go and handing him over to Ritchie, startling the other demigods in the process as he got up and walked over to the door. 

"Austin, where are you going?" Michael asked. 

"Oh I'm just gonna go kill this Bryan guy." Austin said with a cheery smile before he walked out the door. The other three stood in shocked silence for a moment before Ritchie said. "Oh gosh, I think he actually means it."

"I'll go get him before he manages." Michael said as he got off the bed and walked out the door, leaving Mario and Ritchie alone. 

"... I don't get it?" 

Ritchie looked down at Mario. "Don't get what, little buddy?"

"Why'd Austin react like that?" Mario asked the son of Hermes in confusion. 

"If I had to take a guess, I'd say he reacted like that fora mixture of two reasons," Ritchie told him. "For one, he has a teddy bear that he carries around with him that is really important to him, so he's angry on behalf of you getting your plushy destroyed."

"Oh..." Mario said before tilting his head. "You said there was a second reason?"

"Austin gets really protective of his friends and those he considers family. I think you might've earned a place in the family category." Ritchie told the smaller demigod, shocking him into silence as he looked at the other in surprise. 

He had gotten a place in the family?