Krisper Kreme, located beside Papa Joe, was quite the rage among the officers. Perhaps something about chasing after petty crime day in and out made them into donut junkies.
As Andrew expected, he saw a policeman exit the establishment, to the sound of Christmas jingles, with a fresh donut in hand.
"Good morning, officer!" Andrew waved, mouthing 'help'.
The policeman was a breath away from biting into his decadent donut with relish when he saw a young man with open wounds, silently crying for help.
Perhaps the young man was witnessing a murder and was trying to stealthily get his attention to avoid alerting the thugs. Or perhaps, he had a bomb strapped to himself and the perpetrator was observing him through a pinhole camera. Either way, he had to proceed with caution. Life was not a joke. Forget the weight loss program which stipulated that he should savor every bite. He crammed the entire donut down his throat, barely closing his lips over it. Duty called.
Andrew raised a brow at the officer dramatically tiptoeing over, snooping behind fire hydrants and telephone poles.
Why was he doing that? He looked utterly absurd, his extensive stomach and nose poking out conspicuously of every hiding spot.
Andrew shrugged and turned to smirk back at Lary, feeling smug he found a way to get rid of him without “calling” a policeman. His expression froze in disbelief.
The kid was hobbling away faster and less coordinated than a chicken fleeing from its tail on fire.
Plop!
Lary tripped, smacking his face square onto the cement sidewalk.
Lary scrambled up and continued to flee. He cursed his clumsy, chunky sausage stumps. If only he had some Essence left. Or if he wasn't so starved he could shift into a bird or rat. Either way he regretted taking the form of a feeble human child. So what if this world revered them? Clearly this guy didn't get the memo and was failing as a "mommy". Unlike other small animals, small humans couldn't even control their bodily fluids, let alone fight or flee. Would he be caught again but this time with no Essence to aid his escape? After surviving years of bullying and drowning, and only a smidgeon from power and respect, would this be how he died? All alone in a strange world as a freaking helpless human child? No! Not like this!
Fresh tears blurred Lary's vision. He tumbled onto the hard ground again, leaving miniature bloody handprints and the ill fitting shoes he'd dumpster dived on the sidewalk. His face was an explosion of tears and snot. But he didn't dare stop or slow down. He was transported to that night twelve years ago.
"Let's escape together. Just get to the gates and I'll be waiting for you there." she'd promised. What awaited him was torture. He was three. How could he have known that as a young, helpless pre-shifter, he stood zero chance at escape. His real purpose had been to distract the house guards, while she escaped.
Strong arms gently scooped him up. Lary fought, kicking and squirming. He was terrified. He knew what came next. Being tightly strapped upside down. Water. Endless drowning, suffocation, and helplessness.
The arms carefully cradled him so that his sticky cheeks were squished up against a sturdy chest. Th-thump. Th-thump. The steady beats pulled him back from the horrors of his past. He was surrounded by a mouthwatering scent of salty, cured meat. It was a familiar, calming smell. He felt gentle pats on his back and heard soft whispers. "Shhh, it's okay. You're safe now."
Warmth. Had he ever felt such warmth? As an outcast from birth he’d never been held so gently. Later, even as a future Morphosovereign, he'd still been the unwanted one. And recently, after he’d appeared in this strange world, he’d only ever shivered alone.
Lary stopped struggling and closed his eyes.
Tears streaked down his face as he let Andrew's body heat thaw his frozen body and heart.
*
When Andrew saw the little child flee in a crazed panic, he saw himself.
When he was 12 he was obsessed with dogs. While waiting for his dad to run inside the bank, Andrew spotted an unbelievably floofy dog that was an oversized teddy bear with a smooshed face tied to a pole. It was so cute, he couldn’t help but run over and pet it. By the time he registered the dog was growling, it was too late to scramble out of reach.
Andrew got six stitches that day and 7 years later, still had a thin white scar on his knee.
After that he was terrified of all dogs, big or small. But his parents believed "coddling would only make it worse" so ignored his increasingly debilitating fear. The moment he perceived a dog was nearby his hands would get clammy, his vision spotty, and his breathing strained as he relived the trauma and tried to escape in an all consuming panic.
At that time, all he'd wanted was to be hugged and comforted.
Andrew ran after Lary and scooped him into his arms. He held him tight and whispered calming words of comfort. "Shh, it's okay. Everything is going to be okay. I'm right here. No one is going to hurt you." He wasn't sure if he was saying this to Lary or to his child self, but as the child's cries turned to hiccups, and his ice cold body warmed, Andrew felt a part of himself healing.
Andrew smiled gently as Lary snuggled deeper into his arms.
It had been so long ago, but thinking back, he was pretty sure he would be terrified of dogs to this day if Big V hadn't stepped in. She never complained about him being “unreasonable” or “wasting her time”. She would silently reroute them whenever Andrew started trembling, and then one day, when he showed up at her house in Austine, he found a new family member.
Henry was an all black senior dog with gray patches around his eyes, mouth and chest. It took Andrew days before he was willing to approach Henry, but Henry spent his time napping in the sun and paid him no mind.
Over the next several months, Andrew came to love Henry more and more. He would read him his favorite picture books, cuddle with him, and play with his floppy ears. And when he'd finally passed from old age two years ago, Andrew had been inconsolable.
Andrew squeezed Lary a little tighter as he thought about how Lary’s fear of police was real. And it wouldn’t go away on its own. Lary didn’t have a Big V to step in. Maybe it was his turn to step up.
But how?
It wasn't like Andrew could adopt a gentle senior policeman.
Andrew felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up into the pudgy officer's face smeared with crystallized sugar.
'What's the emergency?' the officer mouthed.
Why is he mouthing his words? Andrew stared back blankly. Oh.... right. "Ah umm.." he hemmed and hawed as he tried to think of an excuse for why he’d mouthed ‘help’ earlier. "I am… lost! Do you know how to get to Papa Joe’s from here?"
“What?” The officer screeched, stomping his foot for emphasis. "That's the emergency?" He sputtered.
What about the murder? Or the bomb threat? Visions of being recognized for his commitment to the peoples’ safety went up in smoke.
The officer angrily jabbed a pudgy finger at the large "Papa Joe" sign directly behind the young man wearing a Papa Joe uniform. “You mean that Papa Joe?”
"Ahhaha.. I knew it was around here somewhere... Thank you for your service, sir!" Andrew saluted.
The officer nodded back, calmer and less red now that he was recognized for his sacrifice.
Andrew breathed out a sigh of relief when the officer finally turned away.
“I didn’t get to savor my donut. Let’s take it from the top. I gotta practice properly if I wanna show my face at the Weight Botchers meetup next month…” The officer muttered under his breath as he waddled back towards Krisper Kreme.
Andrew barely held back his laughter "See, policemen aren't so scary." Andrew whispered to Lary.
Lary snorted and looked away. He wasn't the sort to easily forgive. His insolent servant would regret this grave error! He vowed, as he snuggled deeper into Andrew’s arms.
Andrew chuckled at the child's pout as he bent down to pick up the small shoes Lary had left behind in his haste like a real life Cinderella.
He felt like something was weird about the shoes, but couldn't put his finger on what. He tried to help Lary back into them so his tiny little toes didn't get frost bite and then realized what the issue was. These shoes weren't baby shoes.. They were dog shoes..!
-- Little Theater
Cute little kid hangs onto him --> Andrew's like ew gross how do I get rid of him
Little kid terrified and flees --> Andrew's like aww I'll take him!
