Breaking Crayons

Chapter One: Big Changes of a Small Kind

Jesse yawned quietly as he shifted in his bed. His lips pulled into a frown as he noticed that his bed seemed bigger. The small male slowly sat up and looked around. He locked eyes with his reflection in the wall mirror, suddenly letting out a shrill, childlike scream. Luckily for him, Walter was instantly in the room, having slept over because Skyler had kicked him out again.

Jesse grasped the edge of the bed, legs flailing beneath him as he slowly made his way to the floor. Walter raised a brow and looked the child over. "Who are you?" He questioned, the idea of asking if the boy was alright fleeing from his mind momentarily. Jesse narrowed his eyes at the elder with more attitude than his tiny form should have been able to muster.

"Yo, who the hell do you think, Mr. White?" The child spat venomously, words laced with confusion and fear. Walter smirked faintly at the boy, amused. "Did Jesse put you up to this, Kiddo?" He inquired softly, kneeling down to the other's level. The blonde gave a frustrated whine, nose wrinkling. "Don't call me that, bitch." He growled, face burning.

Walt merely chuckled. "Such language for a six year old. Seriously, how much is Pinkman paying you for this prank? I could double- no... triple it, if you tell me where he is." He offered confidently. "I told you. I. Am. Jesse." The child drew out his words, partly to be sure he was understood by the other, partly just to annoy the man.

A loud sigh of frustration emitted from the adult. He stared at the child's features; the way his face was scrunched in irritation, the way he shifted his feet as if he had somewhere better to be, and the way his almost too-blue eyes began welling with tears. Walter's own orbs widened as he came to the point of realization. "Jesse?"

Jesse sniffled softly, gaze trained on his feet. "I-I told you..." He mumbled with a croaky voice. He started making his way to the door, wanting to hide from the other, only to be scooped up into the Walt's arms. The child squirmed, but only until it registered in his mind that he was being hugged and cradled gingerly.

Part of him wanted to get away from Walter and maybe even give him a nice view of his middle finger for good measure, but the other part, the needy and fragile part, craved the sympathy and comfort he was receiving. He soon found himself winding his arms around the other's neck, hugging back.

Walter smiled faintly and patted the small male's back. "It's all going to be fine, you'll be okay." He reassured in a soothing tone, and Jesse honestly believed him. The child was soon lowered to the floor gently. Jesse began to rummage through his closet and soon tugged out a rather small version of his usual outfit.

The older male gave him a questioning look, staring at the articles of clothing with a glimmer of confusion in his eyes. "I, like, shrunk 'em real bad in the wash a while back, didn't wanna throw good clothes away, y'never know..." Jesse explained, disappearing into the closet to get dressed.

He soon came out, small fingers rapidly dancing over the clothes. "Forgot these itch like a bitch..." He whined quietly, before he saw the amusement in Walt's features. "Yo, what's so funny?" He questioned, a brow raised. "Your hoodie is on the wrong way." He commented, gesturing to the yellow material.

Jesse's face turned a Christmas-y shade of red before he corrected the 'wardrobe malfunction'. The child was soon back in Walter's arms, being held with utmost care. He held onto the elder's neck in case, if by some chance, he was dropped. They were soon in Walter's car, Jesse immediately frowning again.

"What do you mean I hafta sit in a car seat?" He inquired snappily, acting as if he had been insulted greatly. "It's the law, Jesse, now stop fighting." Walter sighed, his voice warning the other to just do as he was told. The child's eyes narrowed as he tried to bolt out of the car, just to be caught by the hood.

Walter held the other down in the seat with one hand, buckling him in with the other. The appendage closest to Jesse was immediately clawed, slapped, and even bitten. Walt pulled away the injured hand with a wince. "Stay in the car seat and do not act like a delinquent, because I'm sure neither of us want me to pull over." He issued an almost empty threat.

The words worked, because during the entire drive, Jesse stayed still and quiet, not even once mouthing off about being in the car seat. The kid kept shooting worried looks at Walter when he moved to pick up magazines or some of Holly's toys, only receiving a smile and a nod, which told him he could play with whatever he found.

Jesse became focused on an incomplete set of foam blocks with letters on each face. He tried to find his initials, but failed. He gave up and slowly began to close his eyes, drifting off into an exhausted state of sleep. Walter couldn't help but feel a warmness in his heart at how peaceful the child seemed to be.

Once they reached their destination, Walt made his way to the back of the car, opening the door. Jesse was curled up, as much as he could manage in the seat, and sucking on his thumb. He made tiny noises as Walter lifted him up and out of the car, taking him inside the house they parked beside.

Jesse must have been asleep for a while, because when his sleepy eyes cracked open, he saw a very worried looking Mike and an apologetic looking Walter. He slowly sat up, rubbing the last bit of sleep from his eyes. "Nn...Where are we?" He asked, sounding more whiny than he would have liked.

Mike lifted Jesse up and held onto him. "So, it's really you, kid?" He questioned, just to be sure. "If you want, I could name all of the places we made pickups." Jesse offered with a small shrug. The man shook his head. "Not necessary by a longshot." He informed, looking at Walter, wanting him to tell the kid what they had discussed.

Walt took a deep breath and stared at the floor for a moment, before looking back to Jesse. The child began to fret that he had done something wrong and trembled a bit in Mike's arms. "Jesse... I want you to know that I'm not passing you off because I don't care, I do care... but I'm very busy. So, you will be staying with Mike..." He explained.

Jesse immediately relaxed, surprising both of the men. "That's cool, Mike's my pal, right?" He stated, looking up at Mike. The man nodded slowly. "That's right, kid." He answered with a genuine smile. Jesse began to act worried once more. "Mike... yo, what's wrong? You never smile." He kidded, waving goodbye as Walter slowly left.