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Chapter Text

"Get out." The gruff man spoke, not making eye contact. 

"Wh-what..?" Sam faltered, staring at the other's back in disbelief. He knew that his father wouldn't take kindly to the news if he ever found out, but he wasn't prepared for a reaction this extreme.

"I said: Get. Out." His father repeated through gritted teeth, his tone venomous. He continued to stare out the window, gaze cold.

"B-but it's freezing," Sam protested, gesturing to the wall hiding the snow-covered scene outside.  "Where the hell am I supposed to go?" 

"I don't give a shit." His father answered simply, and the truth in those five words hurt more than the slap to his face had just a minute ago, leaving his cheek stinging and raw. "Just leave. You're not welcome under this roof any longer." 

Sam bit back his tongue, knowing that whatever else he could come up with would just anger his father further. He scowled at the taller man's back, hot tears pushing at the corners of his eyes. Sure he wasn't the perfect son, but he never thought that after just eighteen years he'd be kicked out like it was nothing. 

Knowing that his father would be upset at his 'weak display of emotion', Sam turned swiftly on his heels and down the tiny hall towards his room. The tears spilled down his cheeks as he quickly packed what little things he had, and what was necessary for survival. Truth be told, he'd been thinking about moving out for a while now.

He grumbled to himself under his breath as he fit as much of his belongings as he could into one bag, making sure to leave enough room for some spare food as well. He had no idea where he was going to go, or how long he needed to be there for. A few times before his father had lashed out and needed space to be alone, but this time it felt much more.. final. Like he truly wasn't going to be welcomed back if he returned. 

For a few minutes he sat there, staring down at his hands in his lap as he contemplated his options. 

He had thick enough clothes and a small spare blanket, which would provide him with enough warmth to spend the night outside, if necessary. It would suck, and he might not survive more than a few nights in the cold, but at this point it was better than here. 

He hated it here, and always has ever since his mother left years ago. So he didn't know why it hurt so bad to look over his shoulder as he pushed aside the main door, burning the image of his home into his mind like it was the last time he'd ever get to see it; haunted by the memories of him and his mother playing in the living room together all those years ago.

He remembered the two of them had spent hours braiding each other's hair with flowers, only for his father to rip the petals and stems out with haste, yelling about how a 'man shouldn't be caught dead doing something so foolish'. That had earned another fight between his parents, and another night he spent hiding in his room feeling like their growing separation was all his fault.

He bit his lip, shaking his head free of the thoughts as he pushed on outside. The snow shined brightly in the moonlight, making him shield his eyes for a minute to adjust. A cold draft blew right through his protective clothing, and Sam knew that it was going to be a long night. With a long huff he puffed out his tear stained cheeks and ventured onward into the white expanse.

 Maybe he'd find somewhere new to live, have a chance to start over. I'd be nice to find some other oblivious human to scavenge things from without the looming presence of his abusive father. 

A part of his mind screamed he'd likely die in the streets before achieving that, but he chose to cling onto hope. He wasn't really an optimist, but at this point hope was all he had.

The cold seeped into every part of him, his boots not quite as waterproof as he thought they'd been. The shivering started after about twenty minutes of walking, but still he pressed on. He wasn't even halfway to the neighbour's driveway, and was once again infuriating by the size of the world around him. If he were human sized, he could have likely found somewhere warm by now.

He glanced towards the neighbour's house, sighing in defeat. He knew that place was off limits; they had like three cats and a dog, and he was not prepared to go borrowing in such a madhouse. But the thing was, he had no idea what the next few houses held. If he could just make it to one, he could find a way to peer inside and scope out the place. Or maybe find a garage to hole up in for the night.

His hopeful thoughts kept his legs moving one after the other, taking his tired, freezing body further into the cold night. He was beside the sidewalk, maneuvering between the snow chunks pushed up against it. It was pitch black outside so there were no humans in sight, giving him the courage to be out in the open. Besides, it was the fastest route, and he didn't really want to risk walking on the snow and falling in through a loose part.

Eventually, after what felt like another eternity of walking, his movements started to grow sluggish. He was nowhere near his goal, as the icy cement seemed to stretch on for miles in front of him. He groaned in frustration, teeth chattering from the cold; It had been stupid to think that he'd be prepared for this. He cursed his father out under his breath, letting his anger warm him just the slightest.

But his muttering didn't last long. His eyes had glazed over as he just continued to walk, losing more and more hope of finding warmth by the minute. Everywhere he looked was just icy, cold, dead. Just like he felt.

He barely registered it when his legs crumpled beneath him, his knees hitting the ground. His laboured breaths came out in clouded mists, obscuring his hazy vision even more. He tried to move his arms to push himself back up into a stand, but they only shook violently, and he couldn't get a grip. 

All of his energy had been sapped, leaving him freezing and immobile and helpless. He tried to cry, realizing that this would be the way that he dies, cold and alone, but even his emotions didn't work. He felt utterly numb to the core, and after a few more minutes of struggling on his knees his body slumped to the side, useless under his command.

Just barely he whimpered, as blackness started to creep into his vision. But after a few more minutes he suddenly didn't feel cold anymore, and he let the warm feeling wash over him as he blacked out entirely, at the mercy of who or whatever found him. 

-----

The first person to come across him was a child, no older than six years old. She'd been out playing in the snow when she saw something dark on the sidewalk, and her curious nature got the better of her.

"A doll!" She gasped excitedly as she grew close enough to see Sam's silhouette. But her face contorted to an expression of confusion as her eyes landed on his un-doll-like features, like his weird animal ears and tail. She carefully reached out and poked him, gasping again when she felt how real he was. But he didn't stir, making the little girl confused. He looked cold, and she decided that the best thing to do would be to bring him inside. Plus she couldn't wait to show her dads what she'd found! Maybe they'd know what he was called. They were super smart, after all. 

With a surprising amount of gentleness she scooped him up, taking some snow with him, and hurriedly turned around towards her house.

"Millie? Back in so soon?" Elijah called from his spot on the couch. Usually his daughter spent up to an hour or two playing outside, seemingly never getting cold or running out of energy. It was strange to hear her come back inside after only twenty minutes. 

"Daddy! Look what I found!" She called from the front, racing up the stairs ahead of her and towards her father. 

"Millie don't wear your boots in the house!" He scolded as he saw the trail of water and snow leading through their living room. But his frown immediately vanished as his eyes landed on her hands, and the tiny curled up figure in them. His eyes widened, jaw going slack. 

"Where did you find that?" He asked in astonishment, unable to take his eyes off of the weird new doll she had excitedly brought over to him. But he just couldn't shake how real it looked. He'd never seen doll hair that fine, or clothes or accessories that look like that; and he'd bought a lot of them for Millie throughout her life. 

"Outside in the snow." Millie answered. "He's really cold. And breathing funny.."

Elijah paled. Breathing? Shit, was this thing actually alive? And if she had found him in the snow, he was likely half frozen to death. A myriad of questions and emotions swirled behind his eyes, but he knew he had to keep his words precise and controlled. 

"Honey, can I see him?" Elijah asked, gently holding out his hand. "I think he's hurt, that's why he's not waking up. I can help him, though." 

Millie nodded, carefully depositing the tiny boy into her father's much larger hand; Whereas it took her two hands to hold him, Elijah only needed one. 

He gazed down at the five inch tall person in his hand, the reality of the situation finally setting in. He shifted the little body around lightly, bringing his free hand to move the tiny limbs around in awe. He stared in complete fascination, unable to believe that such a small life existed. He looked so.. human . And if it weren't for his ears and tail, he practically would be. Well, minus the size. 

"What is it?" Millie asked, going on her tip-toes to see the borrower in the older man's hand. 

"I… I don't know, kiddo." He answered honestly. "But he needs to warm up for a bit. And he's very fragile so please don't touch him anymore, okay?" 

His daughter nodded a little sadly, having learned what 'fragile' meant after she had accidentally knocked over one of her father's favourite vases last year. And after the trouble she got in for not being careful, she knew not to touch fragile things anymore.

"Can you go take off your boots and get your dad?" He asked her, gesturing to the kitchen with his head. His husband Cain was in there cooking, insisting on making them all a nice family dinner. Elijah had accepted, knowing that cooking was one of his partner's favourite things, and who was he to say no on Christmas eve of all nights? 

Millie nodded enthusiastically to his request, practically skipping towards the kitchen. When she was out of view, Elijah turned to the fire, and stoked it with more wood. The flames crackled to life, and as it grew into a roaring heat source he placed the small shivering boy on a pillow in front of the fireplace, letting him bask in its glow. 

He just hoped he wasn't too late.

Chapter Text

When Sam awoke, everything felt sluggish. His body felt on fire, and his limbs didn't want to move. He groaned weakly, bringing an arm up to rub his face. His hands felt tingly, but not cold anymore. In fact, the rest of him wasn't cold anymore. Idly he wondered if he was dead, but if that were the case then he wouldn't be hearing things..

A particularly loud crackle from the fire made his eyes snap open. The last thing he remembered was the snow and the cold, and walking down the street. Not fire and warmth...

Oh no, had someone found him? Had he been stupid enough to let himself get caught? His heart began to race as he abruptly sat up, eyes immediately scanning the environment. 

A scream left his mouth as his gaze landed on two giant faces behind him. He couldn't see their looks of concern, only feeling his own terror as he recoiled away from their watch. Clumsily he scrambled back off the pillow, landing on the ground and hiding behind it. After a few more seconds of silence, he peered over the edge of the cushion at the humans, too afraid to let them out of his sight.

His limbs shook like mad but he reached for his pin sword, letting out a breath of relief upon feeling that it was still there. He could see his bag sitting beside where he'd been laying as well, and his eyes narrowed in confusion. If he'd been captured, why hadn't he been unarmed?

Elijah stared as the little man watched them fearfully, his heart twisting at the scream of terror that had escaped him moments ago.

"Hey," Elijah started out softly, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes. "I know this is probably very scary for you, and I'm not sure if you can understand me, but it's okay. You're safe here."

"He's right, we won't hurt ya buddy." Cain assured.

But Sam only hid as they spoke, shaking now entirely from fear rather than the cold. He'd been told his whole life not to be found by a human, by any means necessary; It was practically a fate worse than death. They were literal giants who could end his life on a whim if they wanted, and now they were looming over him, promising him a false sense of security. 

He stayed silent, eyes darting around in search for anywhere he could run to, anywhere he could get away from their reach. His face lit up as he spotted the couch, just under two feet away. If he was fast enough, he could close that gap and slip beneath it before the humans could grab him. Steeling his nerves he took a deep breath, mustered all the energy his body had left, and made a break for it.

Faintly behind him, he could hear the shuffling of the humans on the floor, their movements sending vibrations all throughout Sam's body.

"Hey!--"

"Wait!--" 

Their voices called out, much too loud for the borrower's liking. How did humans always manage to be so loud ?! 

His heart rammed in his chest as he narrowly avoided the grasp of a hand coming towards him. Their fingertip had barely grazed his back, sending a shiver up his spine. His breathing was erratic, and he started to panic as he realized just how close he was to being grabbed. To being crushed. He looked all around himself from his crouched position, realizing that he'd essentially trapped himself. At least it was somewhere where the humans couldn't reach.

"Damn it," One of them grumbled above him. "He's fast." The other human seemed to ignore him, instead walking over towards the couch. 

"Why don't we just move the couch?" He asked, getting ready to slide it to the side. 

"No!" The first quickly protested. "That could hurt him, and definitely scare him even more. I think we just got off on the wrong foot." 

Sam watched fearfully as two sets of feet walked around him, barely able to hear their voices over his own roaring adrenaline. The dust under the couch was itching his lungs, but he didn't dare make a noise. He knew they knew where he was, but it still felt best to hide. 

"Hey there," That first voice spoke again, sickly sweet. Without even looking Sam knew the human was talking to him again. "We're very sorry to scare you like that-- we just wanted to make sure you were alright. Our daughter Millie found you passed out in the snow, so I warmed you up… are you feeling okay?"

His question was met by silence, as the boy took in everything he said. He was perplexed to say the least-- humans had no reason to help a borrower. Unless of course they were planning to keep him, which sent a whole new wave of terror through him. Eventually he had to leave the couch, and when he did he'd be in grabbing distance again, able to be whisked away to some unknown fate.

He stayed silent, fear closing up his throat to any response he might give.

"Are ya sure he can even understand you?" The lower voice spoke up once more. 

"I… don't know." The first admitted. "I just figured he could, since he looked so human. Can you understand us?" He addressed the tiny boy, feeling silly asking the question to the silent air. Maybe he had been talking to something with just mouse-like intelligence instead. "Just give me a sign," he continued. "One tap for no, two taps for yes or something."

Sam bit his lip nervously. The rules he lived by said to never speak to a human, not to never communicate with one. Tapping didn't count as speaking, and he'd rather do that to let them know that he was smarter than they thought he was, than have them think he was just some animal.

Very hesitantly, he stomped his foot twice.

It was a quiet sound but miraculously, Elijah had heard it. He perked up, turning to Cain with an award-winning smile that carried a hint of 'I told you so'.

"Well then in that case, I believe introductions are in order. Even if you can't see us." He continued, turning his attention back to the borrower. "My name is Elijah, and this is my husband Cain."

"Hello.." Cain waved awkwardly to the couch.

"Do you have a name?" Elijah asked, trying to prompt the other to speak.

Sam scoffed lightly- of course he had a name! But did he have the courage to tell them it just yet? Hell no!

He gave the humans another two taps in response. A yes.

"...Can we know it?" Elijah pried carefully, shoulders drooping as he received a single tap reply.

"Well we can't just keep calling you 'the kid under our couch'." Cain argued, but Elijah quickly silenced him with a glare and a hush.

"It's okay if he's not comfortable telling us yet, that's fine. Just think of how terrifying this must be from his perspective-- we've basically kidnapped him." 

"Yeah, you're right.." Cain grumbled, staring down at the crack between the floor and the couch, imagining their tiny curled up body hiding beneath it. His chest tightened at the thoughts. 

"What should we even do, then?" He asked, feeling completely out of his element dealing with situations like these.

Elijah sighed. "I don't know.. give him time, I guess? We can leave him blankets and food and water, and hope that he'll eventually trust us enough to come out or talk. We can't just.. trap him."

A very miniscule amount of tension left Sam's body as he listened to Elijah talk. The human seemed to actually care what he wanted, filling him with both relief and confusion. Why was this one so.. different? Usually they just did what they wanted, why did they care that it might make him uncomfortable? If Elijah hadn't been here, that other human Cain would have certainly pushed aside the couch by now, forcing him back out into the open where he really didn't want to be. 

Cain grumbled something under his breath, but it was too distant for Sam to hear it. Without another word the human had turned around and began to walk away, leaving just one pair of feet left beside the couch. Quietly Sam hoped that the other would follow suit as well, and just leave him alone for a bit. Everything was still so.. overwhelming. He needed time to process things.

But before his mind could spiral too deep, that same soft voice broke the heavy silence.

"Are you hungry or thirsty or anything..?"  Elijah asked, voice dripping with concern. He hadn't looked in the best of shape before they terrified him into hiding under the dusty couch. His lip curled into a slight pout, just wanting to make things better. 

Sam thought over his reply. He was about to tap out a 'no' in the hopes that the human would leave, giving him an opportunity of escape, but he faltered as he realized something crucial. He was in a completely different house now, one that likely didn't have all the common borrower entrances. It'd probably take him a long while to try and find an exit from the house, and he didn't have that much time. 

He also wasn't too keen on going back out into the snow any time soon after his body had just barely regained its heat back. He grimaced, absentmindedly going to readjust his bag, before his eyes widened in horror. It had most of what he needed to survive and he'd left it on the pillow , now too big of a risk to go grab with anyone else in the room.

Maybe he could distract the human?

Just as Elijah was about to say something more, he heard the tiniest of two taps. His small frown deepened, wondering if the boy's hesitance to speak with him was still out of fear. But he'd answered nonetheless, so he figured that was progress. 

"Alright," he forced a smile, looking down towards the bottom of the couch. He didn't know why, but talking to the little guy was extremely interesting and he hoped that one day they'd be able to use sentences. For now though, this worked. 

"Do you want food, water, or both?" 

Sam furrowed his brows- how was he supposed to answer that with a yes or no response system? He thought it over for a second before giving three taps this time. Both . Usually he was against the idea of accepting help from a human, but he was genuinely pretty hungry and didn't know his way around this new house. For all he knew they could have pets ready to snatch him up at a moment's notice. He shuddered at the thoughts. For now, he'd take the help and sort out a plan later. 

Wordlessly Elijah turned around, heading towards the kitchen. He could hear Cain in there, likely cleaning up from dinner. It had been a few hours since Millie had brought the boy in, giving them lots to talk about at the table. But it was now well past her bedtime, and with an unsurprising amount of reluctance she finally agreed to go to bed.

"You good..?" Cain asked, noticing how Elijah had just walked into the kitchen and stared blankly into space. This was a common occurrence for him, usually meaning that he had too much on his mind to process all at once.

"Yeah," He nodded unconvincingly, still not all there. "This is just.." He waved his arms around, trying to come up with literally any word to describe their situation.  "Crazy." 

Cain nodded back silently, fully understanding.  

With a long sigh Elijah pulled himself out of his trance, moving swiftly to gather supplies for their little couch guest. It took him a bit longer to find size-appropriate dishes, but after a while of rummaging he managed.

Sam used this time alone to steady his breathing and collect his thoughts, actually taking the time to take in his surroundings. There were no pet toys lost under the couch, giving him a bit of relief, but it also wasn't completely empty. A few discarded scraps of paper lay here and there, and even some weird plastic bits. Studying around some more Sam found an old staple, and what looked to be like a shoe, perfectly his size. But it was composed of plastic too, and not something borrower-made. This meant that there was probably a kid in the house, which wasn't a very welcoming thought.

He tried not to let the fear get the best of him as he shuffled over to the front end of the couch, towards the fireplace and the rest of the living room. He had to crouch the whole distance, and slowly his back was starting to hurt from the cramped space. Longingly he looked over at the pillow once more, missing its comfort; It really wasn't ideal to be under the couch of all places, but options were limited.

Seeing as the humans were still far away, Sam figured it safe enough to pop out from underneath and stretch for a few seconds. He felt many cracks throughout his body, sighing in contentment as he let his muscles relax just slightly. He took this chance to look around the room once more, properly this time, but stood frozen in his tracks as his eyes landed on the most confusing yet beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

There was a tree in this house, but it wasn't dirty or covered in snow. It was illuminated by thousands of tiny lights, and decorated with spiraling rows of colourful fluffy string. Everything was adorned with orbs and trinkets and shiny things hanging off the branches-- the whole thing shone brightly, making Sam stare in dumbfounded wonder. 

He only had a second to wonder what the big boxes of stuff were underneath before he heard the human's thunderous footsteps return once more. Panic seeped back into his chest, and he dove back under the couch. Silently he cursed himself, realizing that he'd let himself get distracted instead of being useful like grabbing his bag or trying to find an exit.

His heart leapt into his throat as he saw a hand touch the ground in front of him, the human lowering himself onto his knees a couple feet away. 

"Here, I hope these will work." Elijah said, not dropping his soft tone. He placed the shot glass of water and the small saucer of dinner leftovers on the ground just beside the couch, not pushing it fully underneath. 

"I can't imagine it's very clean under there, so I'm just going to leave these out here for you," He explained. "If you want to come out of there, please make yourself at home. I know we didn't give the best first impressions but please trust that Cain and I won't do anything to harm you." 

Sam stayed silent, heavily doubting the human's words, but listened on regardless.

"Millie's in bed," Elijah continued "And we're both pretty tired as well. Are you okay to spend the night here?" He asked, worrying at his bottom lip. He didn't really like the idea of someone sleeping under his couch for a night, but it wasn't like he could force the other to move. He just hoped that he'd still be there in the morning, and not hiding somewhere else equally as dangerous around the house.

Sam pounded on the floor twice. Yes he was okay with staying here, being warm, dry, and out of reach. The dust under the couch was definitely a downside to the whole situation, but at least he was being given some time alone. He was admittedly still a little shaky, and hadn't fully calmed down from the fiasco on the pillow earlier.

Elijah sighed, giving the other a nod. "Alright. Um.." He opened his mouth to voice his concerns, but decided against it. He could ask the little guy to promise not to run, but there was nothing making him keep his word. No, Elijah just had to trust him, trust that he'd pick the safer option and stay. He couldn't imagine something so small going out on their own in a world this size.

"Nevermind," he waved a hand, shaking his head free of the worried thoughts. He always had a tendency to overthink things, anyway.

"I guess if you need anything, you can let me know tomorrow?" He continued. The other gave him no reply though, making his stomach twist into a knot. But only so much progress could be made in one night, he figured.

"I'm sorry for scaring you," He spoke up after a few more moments of silence, slowly bringing himself to his feet.

"Good night, kiddo." He added the last word more out of habit than anything, but figured it was appropriate since the other did look pretty young. He turned off the lights as he left the living room, silently hoping that they could talk some more in the morning.

Sam let out a shaky breath that he hadn't realized he was holding, before his body practically collapsed on himself again. He was utterly exhausted, both physically and emotionally, and it took all of his strength to pull himself to the edge of the couch and steal a few bites of food. It didn't look tampered with, but at this point he didn't care. He washed the cold chicken down with a couple handfuls of much-needed water, sitting there for a moment in silence before fully crawling out once more. It unnerved him to be out in the open, but he needed to grab his bag.

Thankfully the trip to retrieve it didn't take long at all, and before he knew it he was back in the safety of the couch.

Sam took out his tattered blanket from his bag, unfolding it and curling up beneath it. It smelled like home, somewhere he'd never see again, and the loneliness began to creep in. Tears poured down his cheeks once more and he buried his face into his arms to muffle his sobs. He hated feeling so alone, so vulnerable, so afraid. Humans were unpredictable, and it was only a matter of time before they gave up on their nice charade. 

He hugged his sides, curling in on himself further as he tried to force himself to sleep. Eventually, it worked.

Chapter Text

Elijah stared at the ceiling, unable to close his eyes. While he was tired, sleep didn't feel like an option. He just couldn't take his mind off of the five inch tall person under his couch. Where had he come from? Why was he out in the snow? Were there more of him around? His mind swam with thousands of questions, not leaving him with a wink of sleep even after over an hour of tossing and turning had passed. 

He sighed, knowing that it wasn't possible for him to sleep with something taking up so much of his mind. He's had plenty of restless nights before, and was no stranger to having to get up and busy himself to distance his thoughts. The thing was, he didn't know what to do. Usually he'd plant himself on the couch and watch a documentary, or read a book, or find something to organize and bore himself with until he felt ready to sleep again, but the living room was off limits lest he scared their little guest even more .

Speaking of which, he wondered how the boy was doing. Obviously not great, since he was hiding under the couch of all places. There had to be some place better for him, a place where he could hide but not still be in danger. He just couldn't shake the thoughts of someone plopping down onto the couch, pushing the cushions in and crushing him beneath the springs before he could escape.

Elijah grimaced, realizing that their home had nothing of the sorts that he could use. He could probably find enough books to stack to create a little hut, but that didn't strike him as very sturdy or welcoming. A cardboard box might work, but that was the least classiest thing he could think of. Millie could probably part with one of her dollhouses, but that sounded rather degrading to stay in-- he didn't want to offer that and have the other think they saw him as just some doll. 

No, if he wanted something he'd have to make it himself. Luckily, he had the right tools for it out in the garage.

While culinary arts was more of Cain's expertise, Elijah's lied in wood; Cutting, carving, building, polishing, anything to do with it he loved. It had been a lifelong hobby of his, starting out with just a few sticks and a knife when he was a kid. Carving and whittling were his favourites, but he's built plenty of other wooden things throughout his life; benches, tables, birdhouses, even a dresser once. It put him at ease to keep his mind and hands busy, and to know that the outcome would be a product loved and used by many.

With tired feet he shuffled downstairs from their master bedroom towards the back door, and into the cold of the night. He'd taken a bathrobe and slippers with him to help keep him warm, even though there was a space heater in the shop. His clothes would probably get filled with woodchips, but that was something he was used to.

He smiled as he pulled out his tools, placing the drill and nails on the table before going to get some materials. He figured that just plywood would do, as he didn't exactly have the time to make anything extremely fancy.

Elijah worked diligently on what was basically another bird house, if just a bit bigger. It wasn't a dollhouse, as it was only accessible through the one door. He tried to recall back to when he had the small boy in his hand, trying to gage how big of an entrance he should put in it. Windows were cut into the walls as well, as he had no glass to slide in as panes. The whole thing was only one story tall, but kept spacious enough for someone a few inches big to live in and topped with a pitched roof. In total, it was about a foot in each direction and even had a room inside of it.

He couldn't help the smile that plastered across his face as he worked away on it, time blurring together. It became less of something to do as a distraction for his hands and mind, and more of something he wanted to do, and he found himself adding much more little details than originally intended. He hummed contently, hoping that his gift would be liked.

-

Sam had woken up at some point in the night, vaguely hearing a door open and close. He panicked for a moment, before remembering that he was in a different house with different humans that had schedules he had yet to learn. He groaned as he stretched as far as his limbs would allow him, feet sticking out from under his blanket. They were quickly tucked back in though, as the cold nipped at his toes.

The floor under the couch had grown quite cold since he'd fallen asleep, the fire having died down into just just a pile of embers. He shivered, curling in on himself further, trying to preserve any and all warmth. His attempts were futile though, as eventually the cold began to seep through once more. He had to find heat again-- there had to be something around he could use. 

Slowly Sam pulled himself out from underneath the couch, towards the fireplace. There was still a little bit of warmth emanating from there, and that was going to have to be enough for him. He didn't quite have the bravery yet to go exploring farther than what he could see. 

As he crept closer to the fireplace the cold floor tiles grew warmer, and he practically melted into their touch. He paused, making sure that nobody was around, before continuing on to the very edge of the fireplace, just in front of the pillow he'd woken up on. It was the warmest here of all, and he sighed in satisfaction as he curled up there for a while, staring into the embers. 

He tucked his knees into his chest, resting his chin on his arms, and got lost in thought.

The humans who'd found him were nothing like the horror stories his father had told him about growing up. They hadn't tried to capture him, to dissect him, or eat him or anything of the likes. If anything they were helping him, and he didn't understand why. He felt a little apprehensive, as if it were all some big elaborate trap.

He glanced to his left, eyes landing on the brightly lit tree in the corner. He'd never seen anything like it in the house he'd lived in before, and he soon found himself staring. Everything about it was so sparkly and pretty and he loved it, but he wished he knew what it was for. He'd brush it off as just decoration if it weren't for the brightly coloured boxes beneath it, and the giant snowflake on top. It was somehow tied to winter, yet they kept it indoors? His eyes narrowed- these humans that had found him certainly were weird.

He sighed deeply, toying with his long blonde hair between his fingers. The unfortunate reality of the situation was that he was stuck here, whether he wanted to leave or not. Going back outside wasn't an option so ill-prepared, and they'd only been nice to him so far inside. Maybe he should try and speak to them… Besides, they already knew he existed-- what worse could come if they knew he could talk ? 

The fire crackled out its last few bits of life before him, before sputtering into smoke completely. Sam immediately felt the shift in temperature, and subconsciously shifted closer to the remaining embers. He curled up on his side once more, absorbing the warmth of the stone beneath him and tried to get some more sleep. He was going to need it, if tomorrow was any as stressful as today was. 

Before long, he'd drifted back off into unconsciousness. 

-

Morning had come much faster than he had liked. When he awoke once more, his whole body felt stiff. His face contorted with pain as he stretched out his arms above him, until his ears picked up movement in the house and he went back on high alert. His head whipped towards the entrance to the living room, half expecting somebody to be there already, but he had time to stand back up and slide underneath the couch to his safezone before anybody actually entered the room. 

It was a single pair of legs from what he could see, and much smaller than the other two from yesterday. Sam's heart raced as he realized that this must be their kid, Millie. He'd never personally had an interaction with one before, but he knew their curious nature rivaled no other. 

She didn't seem to pay any mind to the couch however, instead walking over to the large decorated tree in the corner, kneeling in front of the boxes. Her eyes seemed to shine with wonder, reflecting the thousands of little lights strung all across the tree. Millie giggled quietly to herself, inspecting the brightly wrapped boxes beneath.

She picked one up, holding it close to her ears and shaking it before giggling some more. She did this a few more times with different boxes of all different shapes and sizes, earning different reactions each time. Eventually though she'd grown tired of this, and moved to look out the large sliding glass door into the backyard. It was bright out, amplified by the white everywhere, and if Sam had to guess he'd say it was about six in the morning. He knew how to read clocks, but he couldn't see one in the room anywhere.

Millie stared outside for a while, silent as the snow covered landscape before her. Sam couldn't see her face anymore, but he'd bet that she was still smiling. Despite being terrified of her size he actually thought she seemed rather sweet. His parents had warned him about human children, and how much more dangerous they were than the adults, but looking at Millie he didn't believe it. Cruelty was something that was learned, so she still had to have innocence. 

In a split second she had turned around, causing Sam to duck back out of view. This had been the wrong decision though, as she had just barely seen him out of the corner of her eye. His heart rate spiked as he heard her gasp, and he could only stare in fear as she knelt beside the couch in front of where he'd just been.

Suddenly half a face took up his view, the girl's eye widening in shock as her vision landed on him. 

"You're awake!" She exclaimed, a bright smile on her face.

Sam didn't return the enthusiasm. He said nothing, making sure that he remained a good distance out of her reach. 

"Why are you under there?" She asked. "It's dirty." 

When he didn't answer again, she only grew more worried. "Are you stuck?" She gasped. She wanted to reach under there and get him out of there, but she knew her dad had told her not to touch him, and she didn't want to get in trouble. But.. maybe they wouldn't know if she was careful?

"I can get you out!" Millie smiled sweetly, but Sam's eyes grew wide with terror, and he shook his head.

Millie's expression fell slightly. "Oh.. okay. But I know who can!" 

Without even waiting for a response she brought herself back to her feet, shaking the ground with every excited step she took down the hall. Sam watched as she disappeared from sight, heart hammering in his chest. She was probably going to get one of the two humans that he dealt with yesterday, and that meant more encounters with them. He swallowed the lump rising in his throat, hoping that they all went as well as the last.

Before long, two pairs of footsteps descended down the staircase and began to walk towards the living room. Sam tried to calm his breathing, but he was near hyperventilating by the time they were beside the couch again. 

The room fell silent for a bit as Elijah pondered what to say. It was early and his brain wasn't working the sharpest, but he was infinitely more of a morning person than Cain. He'd only grumbled into his pillow when Millie came into their room, and Elijah knew that was his cue to take the wheel and deal with things this morning. 

"Are you still under there?" He asked, in the same soft tone he'd used last night.

Sam gave two thumps in response. Yes.

"Good," Elijah sighed in relief. "I was worried that you'd try to run off again at night. ...Did you sleep okay?" 

One thump. Hell no.  

Elijah grimaced. "I'm sorry, I bet it's not too comfortable under there. I really wish you didn't feel like you had to be down there." 

Millie looked between the couch and her dad, clearly confused. "Is he hiding?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. "Why can't he talk?" 

The older human gave her a sad smile, before looking back towards the couch. "We're very scary to him sweetheart. It'll just take some time for him to get used to us."

"Oh," she said softly, before looking back at the couch as well. "Sorry." 

Elijah smiled at his daughter's compassion. She had a heart of gold, and always wanted the best for people. 

"How about some breakfast?" He offered, knowing that she was likely hungry. It was early enough for him to make something for the two of them before Cain woke up to make his world-famous brunch and they could open presents.

Millie stared at the couch for a few more seconds before reluctantly turning back to her father. "Can I have lucky charms?" She asked.

"You can have whatever you want." He assured her with a smile, but was glad to hear that she wanted something easy to make. He didn't feel like messing up breakfast on Christmas morning. "Go sit down and I'll get it for you." 

The two of them turned away from Sam, Millie doing as she was told and heading over towards where he assumed the dining room was. Elijah disappeared into the kitchen, only coming back into view to give the girl her breakfast. Once she had settled down though, he found himself approaching the couch once more. 

"Are you hungry again?" He asked, straining his ears to listen for an answer.

Two thumps was his reply. 

"Are you also okay with cereal?" He asked with a small laugh. "I'm not the best cook."

Two more thumps.

"Alright then," Elijah obliged, returning to the kitchen once more to grab the small boy his own portion of breakfast. It consisted of four pieces of cereal and two of the marshmallow bits, which he hoped would be enough. He placed the pieces onto a piece of paper towel, and rounded the corner back towards the living room.

Sam could sense the other's approach, and instinctively tensed up. Once again nothing bad happened, and he forced himself to relax a little. Everything was fine, he was going to be okay. If any of the humans had wanted to hurt him so far, they would have done so already. But they didn't, making him wonder if they ever would. Maybe these ones were different than the stories.

Ever so cautiously he crawled forwards towards the edge of the couch, heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't believe what he was about to do, but he figured that it was bound to happen sooner or later. Mustering up all of his courage, he peered out at the giant before him.

Elijah was surprised to see his small form peeking out at him, but his shock was quickly replaced by another smile. Was he finally getting through to him? 

"Hey," He said softly, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

"H-hi." Sam gave a small wave back awkwardly, his voice barely louder than a squeak. 

Elijah's smile grew, ecstatic to have gotten him to talk. He looked down at the paper towel in his hands, then back at the small blonde boy. He seemed extremely wary, and Elijah wanted to be extra cautious of his actions so he didn't scare him away again. 

"Can I bring this closer?" He asked, gesturing to the food.

Sam looked at him quizzically for a second before nodding. He resisted the urge to back up into safety as the human's hands grew closer, filling his entire vision. They retracted soon after they approached however, leaving the snacks about half a foot away. Which Sam was grateful for, as any closer would have been uncomfortable. 

Miraculously, he found his voice once more. 

"...Thank you." He spoke up, although still pretty quietly. 

Luckily, it was loud enough for Elijah to hear.

"You're very welcome," he replied earnestly, giving a small nod. "Are you… wanting to talk now?" He asked, hope rising in his voice. "I have a lot of questions, but I don't want to overload you." 

Sam considered his options. If he stayed silent and hidden, he'd be nothing but afraid and nothing about his situation would change. But he doubted he could answer Elijah's questions without saying something he'd regret.

After a moment's hesitation, he nodded. He could always choose to just not answer if a question was too difficult. 

Elijah perked up at his acceptance to talk, immediately delving into the one that's been on his brain since yesterday. He had so many he wanted to ask, but he figured they could take it one at a time, and start with an easy one.

"...What's your name?" He asked curiously.

"S-Sam.." He replied, hating the way his voice stuttered. The shakiness was impossible to stop. 

Elijah's smile deepened. "Well Sam, it's nice to meet you. I'm really sorry about yesterday, we probably could have handled that whole situation better." 

Sam only shrugged, not making eye contact. It was true, he'd been scared out of his mind, but he wasn't sure if there was anything different they could have done to change that. 

"How old are you?" Elijah prodded after a moment of silence, sticking to the easy questions. 

"...Eighteen." Came the small blonde's reply.

"Do you.. have somewhere to be?" He continued. "I'm not sure where Millie found you, but I really hope she didn't just take you from your home. If you'd like, I can take you back to where you came from."

At that, Sam's chest tightened. He shook his head sadly, looking away. "I.. I don't have a home." He admitted, his voice cracking slightly at the end. The words stung so much more once they were said aloud. 

Again, an uncomfortable quietness settled between them. 

"Oh." Was all Elijah said, breaking the silence. His happy expression fell, not realizing that he had literally taken in a kid off the streets. His heart hurt at the sight of him looking away, like there was more to his simple answer than he wanted to say. But Elijah knew when not to pry. 

He paused for a moment, thinking hard.

"This might be a little sudden, and you don't have to accept, but you're more than welcome to stay here." He offered, knowing that it was a long shot. "And we'll get you a much better place than the couch , I promise." He chuckled. 

Sam blanked, eyes going wide. Truth be told he had nowhere to go, and hadn't hated it here as much as he thought he would. They were respectful towards him, moreso than he had ever experienced in his life. His father hadn't cared about upsetting him, or told him it was okay to refuse an offer. 

"I…" Sam started, his thoughts racing. Nervously, he took a step back under the couch. He didn't know what to do.

"Hey, it's okay," Elijah reassured him after seeing Sam's reaction. "You don't have to decide right away. Just know that you can stay as long as you'd like."

Wordlessly, the borrower nodded. It was almost sounding too good to be true.

Another brief silence washed over them before Sam spoke up timidly.

"C-can I ask something?" 

"Anything." Elijah nodded.

"Why is there a tree in here?"

At that, the human laughed. "Do you know what Christmas is?" 

Sam stared blankly, blinking twice.

"It's a holiday," He explained, but received the same confused look, prompting him to elaborate. "A tradition humans do every certain day in winter. You decorate a tree, and buy your loved ones presents and put them under there to open on that special day." 

He decided to leave the religion stuff out of it, not wanting to complicate his explanation further. 

Sam nodded slowly, sort of understanding. The humans' home he'd lived in for his whole life before had never done something like this before, but honestly when he thought about it, the tradition seemed really sweet. And the tree was honestly really pretty. Every so often, he found himself staring at it from under the couch.

"It's actually Christmas today," Elijah continued at Sam's silence. "And we're opening presents later when Cain wakes up. You're welcome to join us." 

"...Maybe." Sam replied, honestly interested in seeing what it would be like. And any chance he got to stare at the tree, he'd take. 

Elijah smiled, taking his 'maybe' quite optimistically. "Awesome.... I've actually got a present for you, if you do decide to stay with us." 

"..What?" The quiet word escaped Sam's mouth before he could stop himself. He was genuinely shocked, not expecting that of all things. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been given a gift , probably when his mother was still around.

Elijah chuckled awkwardly. "I kind of couldn't sleep last night, with you on my mind." He admitted. "And I make things in my spare time, so I made something for you. If you want it." 

"What is it?" Sam asked curiously, subconsciously taking a step closer. But the human only grinned.

"Guess you'll have to find out when we open presents, won't you?" He teased. 

"Daaad, I'm done." Millie's voice rang throughout the dining room. Instinctively Sam flinched at the unexpected voice, immediately retracting his previous steps. 

Noticing that her dad was still by the couch, Millie sauntered over in interest. Sam had fully retreated back into safety by then, hiding himself from her view. He may have been comfortable with Elijah, but the other two were still strangers to him. 

The older human furrowed his brows, clearly noticing Sam's fear. He wondered if it was purely instinctual, or if someone had done something to make him like this. He decided to be careful about things, either way.

"It's okay," He soothed, facing the couch. "Millie won't come closer." 

She whined in protest, wanting to see the little person again so badly, but ultimately she stayed by her dad a few feet away.

"Is it okay if I introduce you?" 

Sam watched as the smaller pair of legs stopped approaching. They all seemed to be sticking to their word, and taking things at his pace. He clenched his fist, coming forward just a little, enough to be seen by the girl. 

She gasped excitedly at the sight, but still didn't move. Sam took the opportunity to steel his nerves and fully step out once more, standing up to his full height. He shifted his weight awkwardly, feeling extremely exposed under both their gazes. But he was out there now, and Elijah had taken that as a yes to his question.

"Millie, this is Sam." He introduced. The borrower visibly bristled as her eyes glistened with wonder, taking in every detail of his being. He could tell that she wanted nothing more than to get closer, her hands growing fidgety, but she held a surprising amount of restraint.

"He might be staying with us for a little while, if he wants." 

Millie's eyes widened even farther, which Sam didn't think was possible. 

"Hi!" She greeted enthusiastically. 

"Hey," Sam called back nervously.

"You're so cool," She marveled, eyes not leaving him for a second. "Do you live under the couch?"

At that, Sam let out a small laugh. Her question was so genuine, and she was overall rather adorable. He shook his head in response to her question, giving her a small 'no'.

"Oh." She said, but her sadness only lasted a few seconds. "Are you staying for presents?" 

Sam could practically see the hope glistening in her eyes at the question. Initially he wanted to say no, but after thinking about all they had done for him there was no way he could turn down a pleading face like that. 

Silently, the borrower nodded. 

"Yesss!" Millie exclaimed loudly, clapping her hands. Sam flinched back at the noise, and Elijah moved to cup her hands into his.

"Millie honey, you can't make so much noise. His ears are sensitive." 

"What's sensitive?" She asked.

"It means loud noises hurt his ears." He explained.

She immediately stopped her excited jumping, looking back down at Sam. "Oh," she said again, this time in a still rather loud whisper. "Sorry." 

"It's okay.." Sam answered, surprised to find his voice. It was getting easier to talk to them, something he never thought he would consider a good thing. He shot her the best reassuring smile he could manage, earning one ten times brighter from her end. 

Elijah beamed at him as well, laughing slightly at the whole ordeal.

Sam sighed internally, wondering if he really could live up here with the humans. It'd certainly be an interesting life, for sure, and one he'd never thought he'd get to experience.

Chapter Text

Sam spent the majority of his time under the couch, watching the humans walk about around him. His introduction to them had been short lived, but it was more than enough to make his heart rate spike. While he knew that the probabilities of any of them grabbing him were very low, he still liked the enclosed space, providing him with a wall of safety. But, unfortunately, it was still rather cold.

Elijah had noticed the lack of a fire after their conversation ended, and promptly stood up to go restock it. Within a matter of minutes it was back to a comfortable size, the dry wood cracking in the flames like twigs on a forest floor. A little bit of the heat eventually radiated over towards Sam, making him sigh in relief, but it wasn't as good as being right next to it. 

He chewed his lip, daring to step out a little closer. 

Millie had left the room a while ago to kill time until her other father awoke, a bundle of pure smiles after the older human had made her something called 'hot chocolate'. Elijah was currently sitting in an armchair across the living room, idly flipping through a newspaper. Upon noticing Sam he glanced up for a moment, but didn't do anything other than smile and continue reading. The borrower stared for a few more seconds, before hesitantly continuing on towards the fire.

The pillow he'd originally woken up on was still there in front, soaking up the heat. Sam ventured over to it and pushed his hand into the plush fabric, met with little to no resistance. There was nothing this soft in his den back in his old house, and he couldn't help but smile to himself as he carefully climbed back on top of it. Instantly his limbs melted into the cotton, and he let out a long, tired sigh. He's had some rough nights before, but sleeping under a couch had really done a number on his back.

Sam laid there undisturbed for a considerable amount of time, revelling in the comfort all around him. Unbeknownst to him Elijah watched, his smile growing wide behind the paper.

It didn't take too long for Cain to wake up and bring himself downstairs in a semi-presentable manner. He really wasn't a morning person, but he couldn't fall back asleep after Elijah had left with Millie earlier. And, he figured, he couldn't sleep in on Christmas morning of all days. He knew their daughter was probably itching to open the presents she's been eyeballing under the tree for the whole month now.

His tired feet shuffled down the rickety stairs, making both Elijah and Sam's head whip over towards the hallway. The footsteps grew closer, but didn't quite reach the living room before Elijah stood up. The borrower flinched at the sudden motion, hiding back into the pillow, but Elijah didn't notice, his attention focused entirely on the hall. In a matter of seconds he had disappeared, and Sam could faintly make out the sound of a very hushed conversation.

Cain hadn't expected to run into his husband at the bottom of the stairs, a little taken aback by the unexplainable look in his eye. Elijah blocked the other from going any further, pulling him aside into the kitchen.

"He spoke to me." Was the first thing out of his mouth.

Cain quirked an eyebrow in interest.

"I don't know what he is yet but he definitely has human-level intelligence." Elijah explained. 

"What did he tell you?" Can asked, his eyes brimming with curiosity.

Elijah shook his head lightly. "Not much, he's incredibly shy so we've gotta be cautious. But his name is Sam, and he's just a kid. I offered to take him back home, but he said he didn't have one.." 

Cain's face fell at the pain in his husband's voice. He himself was no stranger to not having a place to stay, and he didn't wish that struggle on anybody else, much less a teenager.

"So I kind of invited him to stay here." Elijah continued. "I mean it's not like he takes up much space, and who knows what hell he'd have to deal with if someone else got a hold of him."

Cain only nodded, the look in his eyes growing dark. He could very well imagine what horrors some curiosity-driven people would conduct upon finding a new species. He himself had his wonders, but he'd never in his life act upon them. 

"Is he still under the couch?" He asked. 

Again, Elijah shook his head. "Surprisingly, no. I think it's too cold under there for him-- he's actually on the pillow again, in front of the fire." 

"And Millie?" 

"Drawing at the table, I'm pretty sure." 

Cain nodded again. "Presents first, or breakfast?" He asked with a small smile.

Elijah returned that smile full force. "Presents, of course."

The two of them chuckled, reentering the living room. Sam had heard the returning footsteps, and shrunk back in on himself a little as they approached. Cain's eyes were glued to the borrower's, neither of them saying a word until Elijah broke the silence. He'd noticed Sam cowering away, much like he had with Millie, and quickly attributed that to unfamiliarity. However, he seemed to have gotten over it after their introductions, so he hoped the same would work once more.

"Sam this is Cain," He started, gesturing to the taller human. "Cain, meet Sam." 

The two of them had thankfully stopped a good distance away and Sam unfurled himself a little, reminding himself that they wouldn't do anything bad. He trusted Elijah, and should therefore have a little faith that the people he associated with wouldn't be evil as well.

"H-hi.." He greeted, voice still shaky as ever. Nervously he clutched his sweater.

Cain's heart practically melted at the sight of him.

"Hey buddy." He offered a kindhearted smile. "Glad to see you out and about." 

Sam shrugged lightly. "It's warmer over here." 

Cain nodded, slowly making his way over to the armchair that Elijah had previously been sitting in. "I bet. Sorry if I interrupted your lounging, please continue." 

Sam's throat closed up somewhere between saying 'it's okay' and 'thank you', so he opted for just saying nothing, simply giving a nod in return. His eyes stayed transfixed on the human until he had fully sat back down, some of the tension visibly leaving his shoulders. Elijah was still standing, but that didn't unnerve him as much.

"Were you reading the paper?" Cain asked, tilting his head in Elijah's direction as he pulled out his phone. 

"Well I was, until you stole my spot." His husband retorted playfully.

"What are you, old?" Cain sneered. But traitorous to his words, his arms reached out to hand it over.

Elijah shook his head as he took the paper back and planted himself on the couch, the farthest away from Sam he could fit, a wide smile plastered across his face as he began to read once more. 

Sam paused, puzzled by their entire interaction. It tugged on something inside of him that he couldn't name; something that hurt. Elijah had initially introduced Cain as his husband , but the realization of that hadn't clicked in until just now. The borrower furrowed his brows, wondering if he had somehow heard wrong.

'It's not natural' his father had told him, with so much venom in his words. 'You'll never find real love', he'd spat. He'd spoken with such disdain about it that Sam could practically taste his hatred, something that hurt far more than the rejection. 

He'd never talked to his mother about his attractions before. She'd left when he was eleven, so he wasn't really given the chance to. But, he could imagine, her perspective on things would be wildly different than his father's, as usual. He longed to hear her refreshing words of reassurance, her soothing voice telling him that he's perfectly fine the way he is.

But that voice had long since been drowned out by the negativity of his father's, who'd cursed Sam's mother out for leaving, calling her every crude name under the sun. Sam would occasionally hear the man mutter 'unfaithful wench', to which he knew he was talking about his mom. The words left a bitter ringing in his ears, and the younger borrower could only bite back his tongue in rage.

He didn't blame his mom for leaving, not in the slightest. And now that he was out of there himself, it was like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't have to wake up every day to constant chores and bitter remarks, didn't have to answer to anyone's every beck and call, didn't have to see his father's stupid scowl all the time.

Instead he was here, preferring himself in the company of humans. But these ones were nothing like the ones that plagued his nightmares as a child. Even their youngest had been respectful of him and his space-- they all seemed to be as nervous around him as he was of them, a thought that was kind of comforting even if it was false.

His gaze switched between Cain and Elijah, before settling on the second human for a minute. He looked so relaxed, so content to just be there in the company of his spouse. Nothing about the two of them seemed 'unnatural' or 'unhealthy' as his father had put it. Sam stared for another short while before he mustered up the courage to speak.

"U-um.." He started out, the words dying in his throat. Both humans' attention had moved over to him now, Elijah's face creased with slight concern. They could tell that he wanted to say something, but was having a difficult time getting it out.

"What is it bud?" Cain asked curiously. 

Sam swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. Elijah had said that he could ask anything, but he couldn't find a way to make his question not sound weird.

"A-are you two.. really together?" He asked. Anxiously he bit his lip, trying to prepare himself for any reaction.

Elijah's concern was replaced by confusion, tilting his head in the borrower's direction. He couldn't glean what Sam was hinting at, and almost felt a little defensive about the question.

Cain on the other hand, spoke up with confidence.

"Yep," He confirmed with a smile, holding out the back of his hand. "Rings, wedding, and all." 

Sam stared intently at the shiny silver band displayed on one Cain's fingers, nodding slowly. He didn't know what a wedding was, but figured that it had something to do with their connection, and the fact that Elijah was wearing the same ring as his partner.

The conversation had died down after that, with Sam nestling back into the pillow, a lot on his mind. He didn't know what else to say, and the two humans seemed content to sit there in silence until Millie returned a short while later, a few papers in hand.

"Daddy!" She exclaimed in excitement upon seeing that Cain was now awake and downstairs. "Wanna see what I drew?" 

"Of course we do sweetheart," Cain answered, a soft smile on his face. Even the most stoic of men would melt at her bubbly enthusiasm.

Millie showed off a few of her drawings, which were pretty typical for her age, but her fathers gave her endless praise. 

"You know what that one looks like?" Elijah asked, pointing to a rather colourful page. His daughter tipped her head in question. "That looks like it belongs on the fridge." He smirked.

Millie's face lit up, and she giggled.

Something inside Sam's heart twinged. He didn't know if it was because of her adorableness, or because he'd never gotten that sort of support from his dad before. He tried not to think too hard about the latter.

"Do you wanna see..?" She asked, and it took Sam a few seconds to realize that she was looking directly at him. She was fidgeting with her stance, obviously wanting to draw closer.

Sam tensed up, glancing for a moment at the two older humans first. But if they had any signs of concern, their soft smiles didn't show it. Millie had been cautious with him before, so there was no reason for that to change. Hesitantly, he nodded. He was actually curious to see, too.

After being given permission, Millie closed the gap between them with haste and positioned herself on the ground in front of the pillow. Her less-cautious movements sent tremors through the floor and Sam's limbs, and he found himself shaking once more at the overwhelming closeness and size of the person before him. 

The girl didn't seem to notice, instead fixated on her drawings which she layed out on the floor in front of them.

"This one's my favourite," she started, pointing to one with a crudely drawn marker landscape, and what could be conceived as a human-shaped blob on the left side, behind what Sam guessed was a wall. He took a deep breath and inched a little farther up to get a better look. 

"There's a puppy playing in the sun," she pointed to a surprisingly rather dog-shaped silhouette in the grass before switching to the humanoid shape. "And he wants to go play too but he can't because he's made of ice cream so he has to stand in the shade or else he'll melt." Millie stated matter-of-factly.

Sam couldn't help but crack a smile in return at her enthusiasm and imagination. She was solely focused on just showing him the art, seemingly oblivious to the extreme differences between the two of them. Slowly, a bit of his shakiness left him.

She didn't care what he was. She just wanted a friend.

"Those look awesome," He complimented, somehow finding his voice much easier with her than he had the others. He gave her a proud smile, knowing that she was only going to improve. But he was in no position to judge-- their art skills were probably on par with each other, with how little Sam had drawn before.

"Thanks!" Millie beamed. "Do you like drawing?"

Sam shrugged lightly. "I've.. never really tried it." He replied honestly. The closest he'd ever gotten to it was when he would scrape rocks against the concrete of his old home, or tracing lines in the dirt with a stick. He'd never experimented with colours.

Millie gasped softly at his response. "You should try!" She suggested, friendliness radiating off of her in waves. "You can use my markers if you want!" 

"I…" Sam faltered.

She looked ready to get up and grab them right away, but thankfully Elijah intervened. 

"Millie honey, lets not overload him right away." He smiled fondly. "Besides, I think it's present time." 

Millie's shoulders drooped for a split second before she perked back up, gathering her drawings into one hand. She made a couple indistinguishable noises of excitement, moving to place them on the end table by the armchair. When she was done, she sat patiently by the boxes.

Sam's gaze had shifted back to the tree for the millionth time, once again lost in its beauty. His eyes transfixed on a singular ornament, able to see the reflection of the entire room on its shiny red surface. He followed the strings of lights that snaked around the branches, suddenly filled with an overwhelming desire to climb the tree.

Millie had begun to pick up the boxes now, snapping his attention back to the moment.

"Alright, what names do we got there?" Cain asked her.

"This one's for you!" She said happily, bringing him over a softly-wrapped package first. She spent the next few minutes dishing out the small amount of presents to her small family, before stopping in her tracks.

"Sam doesn't have a present.." She noticed sadly, looking between the borrower and her dads with a pout.

Cain wanted to respond, to tell her that he'd arrived too late for Santa to get him anything, but he didn't know how to say it to her. Luckily, Elijah covered his tracks.

"Actually, he does." Elijah stated, receiving shocked looks from both Cain and Millie. But while their daughter's reaction held excitement at his inclusivity, Cain's only held bewilderment. 'Where did you find time for that?!' His stare spoke volumes, but Elijah only grinned.

"It's just outside, I'll get it last." He concluded. Sam vibrated in anticipation. 

Unsurprisingly, Millie was the first of the three to tear open the brightly coloured wrapping, discarding the shredded snowman paper to her side. 

"YESSS!" She exclaimed loudly, eyes lighting up brighter than the fire. She stared down at the pink and black plastic box in her hands, marvelling at the new doll inside. This one had bright blue hair and a complete change of wardrobe, but most importantly moveable joints, as she had complained before that her normal barbies couldn't move their arms. She looked up to the sky, likely thanking 'Santa' for knowing just what she'd wanted.

"What did you get?" She asked after a minute, looking over to her parents. Both of which hadn't opened theirs yet, too distracted by watching Millie's excitement. 

A long time ago, the two of them had started a yearly tradition. They'd both get Millie a present and label one from Santa, keeping the other as 'Love, Dads'. As for each other, they made it a yearly competition to outdo one another in some way, within a certain budget. Each year it made for lots of laughs.

Cain started unwrapping his first, being much more careful about the mess he was making than his daughter had. He got to the final layer, finding a card tucked into the paper. As usual, Elijah's card to him was sappy and cheesy, but as much as Cain always makes fun of him for them, they both knew he appreciated it deeply.  

"'Sweet as summer rain'?" He teasingly quoted Elijah's words, rising to his feet and walking towards his husband who wore a deep set grin. Cain swiftly bent over to kiss that smug look off his face, a wordless 'thank you' and a friendly reminder that his love would never fade. But the affection didn't last long, as he still had the rest of his present to unwrap.

The final layer peeled back to reveal a shiny Star Wars themed barbeque lighter, pressed between a pair of new black oven mitts. The ones in the kitchen were nearing the end of their lifespan, and Elijah knew it was only a matter of time before his overly confident husband burned himself again on the stove.

"To replace your ratty old ones." Elijah smiled. "And because you're a nerd." He added as Cain inspected the lighter closely.

"Ooooh can I see?" Millie asked curiously. Cain handed it to her, knowing that she didn't know how to operate it and just wanted to look at the pictures.

"Your turn." He smiled at Elijah, who didn't catch the devilish glint in his eyes.

Elijah picked up his present; it felt surprisingly soft on the outside, but sturdy in the center. His brows furrowed, trying to decipher what was in there before he even opened it. Taped to the side was an envelope, the name "Eli ♡" written on the side. He tore it open, reading the card inside with a laugh. Cain's were always either funny or raunchy.

"Where did you find a card with carpenter puns?" Elijah asked incredulously, shaking his head fondly.

"I have my ways." His husband smirked.

Elijah only rolled his eyes and moved the gift into his lap, tearing away at the paper. Only to reveal another layer of paper beneath that. Thinking that whatever it was must have just been fragile, Elijah tore through the second layer.

Revealing a third.

"Oh no.." He groaned, earning a wicked bout of laughter from his spouse.

"Cain, I swear--" Elijah cut himself off, tearing through the paper.

Another layer.

"Oh my god.." He continued, caring less and less about the mess as he shoved piles and piles of crunchy paper aside.

Another layer.

"I'm gonna kill you," Elijah laughed, but the threat was empty. 

Cain merely smiled, looking more proud of himself than ever. It wasn't even halfway over.

"This is ridiculous," Elijah commented, wondering where in the world Cain found the time to do this. At least he could tell that he was reaching the final few layers. The shit eating grin stayed permanently on Cain's face, all the way until the final layer. 

At this point Elijah was swimming in wrapping paper, left with a flat box that was in the center of it all. He inspected it's sleek black outside before peeking in, face lighting up at the contents. 

"Aww," he pouted, looking over to Cain with a fond expression.

"What is it?" Millie asked curiously, peering over the piles of discarded paper all over the couch.

"New tools." Elijah explained. His old lino carving tools had broken apart from the metal to the wood, and he'd been meaning to replace them for a while now. But these ones were proper carving knives and chisels, their unblemished metal glinting in the light. They were probably a little more than their personal Christmas budget, but he figured it was too late to change that now. He smiled wholeheartedly, moving to clean up the mess of paper around him.

Sam had never seen so much clutter in one living room before. He'd been laughing to himself as Elijah tore through layer after layer of the packaging, seemingly no end in sight. He shrunk back slightly as Cain stood back up, but the human only went to retrieve a bag to make the cleaning easier.

In just a few minutes Millie had opened her other present, and they had all of the wrapping paper  finally cleaned up. The household was a bundle of smiles all morning, an unexpected but much welcomed environment change on Sam's half. He thought back to Elijah's proposition to stay, the invitation sounding better and better by the minute. 

Things had calmed down once more, but Elijah hadn't forgotten about Sam's gift. 

"Ready for yours?" He asked the borrower, who wasn't expecting to be addressed. Sam blinked once in surprise, before nodding eagerly. After seeing the presents the family had gotten for each other, he was extremely curious to see what Elijah had made for him. 

"Alright, I'll grab it," the human smiled, standing up and walking over to the sliding glass door that led from the living room straight into their backyard. "But it's not wrapped," he continued, "so you'll have to close your eyes or turn around." 

Sam didn't understand why he had to, and for a moment a spike of fear coursed through him thinking it could be some sort of trap, but he quickly pushed the worries away. Everything had been wrapped not just as a tradition, but to protect the secrecy of the gift, he figured. He wasn't super big on surprises, but he figured that he could make an exception. 

Never in his life did he think he'd have the courage to sit in a room with three humans with his back turned to them. But here he was, facing the far corner of the room opposite to the doors, silently hoping that he wasn't making a mistake.

When he heard the sliding door finally re-open and Millie's gasp of excitement, his ears twitched in interest. It took everything he had not to instinctively turn around, to assess the threat approaching him. He clenched his hands into fists, not liking his lack of vision, but also not wanting to ruin the surprise and, by extension, the human's attitude towards him. 

Elijah picked up on his frigid body language however, and spoke up in reassurance. He hadn't meant to scare the little guy.

"I'm just going to place it behind you," he said softly, "and then you can look." 

Somewhat fearfully, Sam nodded. He trusted Elijah.. there's no way he'd betray him just like that.

A few seconds later he could feel footsteps approaching, these ones much heavier than Millie's had been. Sam could tell that Elijah was trying to walk carefully, but each step still rattled the floor and sent shivers up his spine. 

He was completely tense as he heard the sound of something being set down behind him, something big. He could feel the thump of it vibrate through the floor, and could only wait a few more seconds before his curiosity got the better of him and he turned around. Elijah had backed up a little by the time he looked, his figure disappearing behind the roof.

Wait… roof?

Sam blinked at the building suddenly in front of him, sliding off the pillow in surprise. His eyes grew wide, mouth slightly parted in shock. It was just plain wood, with a door hole and a few windows cut into it, but it was perfectly his size. Hesitantly he reached out to touch it, afraid that it would shatter under his hand and he would wake up back home, like this was all just some crazy dream. 

His chest tightened with emotion. Elijah had made an entire house just for him?

He felt undeserving.

"So… What do you think?" Elijah asked, his tone hopeful. "I know it isn't much right now, but it's probably better than the couch.." He laughed. "We can also paint it and decorate it how you'd like, if you want to stay." 

Sam was speechless.

"Wh... I.." He started, but his voice closed up before him. That tight feeling in his chest rose, until he felt tears pushing at the corners of his eyes. 

He couldn't really compose his words, but didn't want to leave Elijah hanging.

"W-what do I think?" He repeated, gaze switching between the house and the humans. "It's.... beautiful. I-- I can't…" His voice began to crack and suddenly the barrier behind his eyes broke, the tears spilling free. 

As honoured as Elijah felt at the compliment, he raised an eyebrow at Sam's response.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, voice dripping with concern.

"You don't understand.. this is.. everything.. I.." Sam tried to choke out an explanation between sobs.

The family only stared, not expecting this reaction of all things. None of them were really sure of what to do to comfort him, so they just let him feel it out.

After a minute or so Sam composed of himself once more, taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. 

"I-I'd be so glad to stay here, if you'd let me." He sniffled, voice still shaking.

"...My father kicked me out," Sam explained somberly, looking away once more as he wiped his eyes. "Because of my sexuality. A-and seeing you two being happy together has never felt so good. I wish I could tell him that he w-was wrong…" 

The two parents share a glance that lasts not even a heartbeat, but holds a thousand words. Both of their hearts ached at the sight, knowing far too well the feeling of being alienated for who they are. 

It was Cain to speak up first. 

"Of course you can stay with us." He reassured with a smile. 

"Aw kiddo, I'm so sorry." Elijah said empathetically, on the brink of tears himself. He couldn't fathom a parent being shitty enough to kick their kid out in the dead of winter, especially when said kid was only five inches tall. If Millie hadn't found him, he might not have made it through the night. Elijah felt a rage bubble inside him at the injustice of it all.

"Your father's an ass, screw him." Cain stated plainly, putting Elijah's complicated thoughts into blunt words. "We'll be your dads from now on." He offered, still smiling. "...If you want." 

Sam could only nod vigorously, more tears pouring down his cheeks. He'd found more acceptance and love here in one mere morning than he'd felt in his entire life living under his dad's roof, in the absence of his mother. They were respectful towards him here, always making sure that he felt safe before they did anything, always taking him into consideration.

He didn't think he'd ever admit it, but he loved these humans.

Elijah perked up at Sam's acceptance to stay, visibly ecstatic. 

"You're always welcome here," he reassured. "We can put your house wherever you feel the most comfortable with." 

Cain only nodded in affirmation. 

Again Sam's chest ached, not used to so much niceness. 

"Thank you.." he said earnestly, looking back up at the two humans before him. "For everything. I just… feel bad that I have nothing to give in return.."

Elijah shook his head and waved his hand dismissively, the universal sign of 'don't worry about it'. 

"Well, you could tell us a little bit about yourself." Cain offered with a shrug. He was always quick and to the point. "We're still very curious about you."

Sam paused for a second, barely having to think it over before he agreed. This family wouldn't do anything to hurt him, that much he knew was true. So if they wanted to know a little more, he could oblige. As far as Sam knew, him and his father were the only borrowers on this street. So even if he told these humans about them, the chances of them finding another were very, very slim.

Cain smiled at his acceptance. 

"Alright then, who wants brunch?" He asked, earning two very eager 'ME!'s from Elijah and Millie. Sam didn't know what 'brunch' was, but agreed to it as well at the others' excitement; there was so much happiness radiating around the household.

Slowly, a smile spread across Sam's face and he wiped the last of his tears away into his sleeves. 

Living here was going to be so, so good.