Chapter 18
Wade Winston Barnes was now in more trouble than he’d ever been in his life.
Or at least that’s what it felt like - being handcuffed at school and all.
You see, it wasn’t technically actually his fault cause he didn’t start it.
Carl Thompson had started it by picking on his friend Charles, who was in a wheelchair, mixed in with some mean comments about both Clint and James, and ended well...with Wade not having a scratch on him while Carl had a broken nose and an eye that was swollen shut. The security guard put Wade in handcuffs after she pulled him off the other boy.
And here he sat, hands cuffed behind his back like in the movies. Sitting across from Carl and his fuming Omega mother. Waiting in the front office until his parents showed up.
He didn’t regret what he did, but he wasn’t entirely sure how his parents would react.
I mean, Wade had a good reason, right?
...wasn’t his fault no one had taught the bigger boy how to fight. Or block.
It was only a minute or so later when his Daddy came through the door, saw the state of the pup and immediately started growling. And it wasn’t at Wade.
“Why the fuck is my six year old son in handcuffs?”
“Mr. Barnes, so glad you could join us. Please refrain from cursing in front of the children,” the principal said smugly. The grin fell off when his Alpha went over to the security guard standing on the other side of Wade.
“Mr. Barnes we heard a commotion while the kids were playing recess. I found your son on top of the other boy, punching him repeatedly in the face,” Ms. Karen explained, not as cocky as she was when she yanked the pup’s arms behind his back earlier.
“That’s your excuse for handcuffing a six year old? Release my son, this is me asking nicely. And trust me, I’m the least of your worries.” A smile slowly spread across the pup’s face as the door opened again. And in walked his Mama, who was very pregnant, and already very angry. But at the sight of Wade in handcuffs, the Omega’s change in scent had even the pup shaking a little in fear.
“Mrs. Jackson, would you like to tell me why my six year old is in handcuffs?” Mama asked the principal in a quiet but scary tone. “On second thought, no. James, be a dear and get photo evidence of this. Then send those pictures to our brother in law. And you,” the Omega growled at the Beta who looked like she was going to pee in her pants. “You have five seconds to release my son or I swear to Lucifer I will rain down hellfire upon you until the day you die.”
Wade smiled and maybe even kicked his feet a little when the Beta rushed to uncuff the pup.
“Your son is an animal! He should be locked up!” Carl’s mother shouted, going so far as to stand up against his Mama. And oh man was this about to get good.
“Let me see, pup,” his Daddy said, blocking Wade's view as he gently grabbed the pup’s wrist to look at them, the sounds of angry Omegas behind them.
And well...the marks kind of looked worse than they were. See the cuffs had been actually pretty loose around him, but for the last half an hour, he’d been straining behind his back to see if he could ninja his way free. So looking at the red marks now...it made it look like they’d cuffed him tightly and hurt him.
It got a questioning brow from his Alpha while his Omega raged on about the ‘wrath’ he was going to bring upon them. So Wade just winked at him, since his Daddy could see that the cuffs had been loose. And the Alpha just smiled slowly, winking back at the pup before adding more fuel to the fire.
“Clint, honey look at our baby’s wrists!” Daddy cried with a frown as he took more photos of his 'injuries'.
Wade had never thought that an Omega could go ‘feral.’ He hadn't thought it was possible, on a primal instinct for Alphas. But apparently a pregnant one could. The pup did his best to keep a sad face, but it was hard when he just wanted to laugh. His Mama’s eyes didn’t go red, but he listened as every grown up got the butt-chewing of a lifetime. Along with questions everyone stuttered to answer.
Why was brutal force used on a six year old?
Did anyone bother to ask why a six year old and an eleven year old fought in the first place?
Who did they think they were handcuffing a six year old?
Pretty repetitive stuff. Then the front desk phone rang, which the innocent secretary watching this whole time answered.
“Avengers Middle School, how can I help you? Oh, why yes Mr. Stark. One moment Mr. Stark. M-Mrs. Jackson, Mr. Stark is on the phone for you…” the Beta handed the cordless phone to the Alpha principal, whose face had gone hilariously white.
“Grab our pup, we are out of here! I will not listen to one more second of this screeching old hag or her ugly runt of a son.” Wade was quickly lifted into his Daddy’s arms, one holding him safe on his hip while the robot one grabbed his Mama’s hand.
The pup wrapped his arms around the Alpha’s neck, smiling and listening to the sounds of his Mama yell promises and insults while Daddy tried to drag both of them to the car. Once they were outside the school, Mama turned to them and started talking to the Alpha.
“You saw her, I could’ve kicked her ass, right babe? The absolute nerve of that woman! I should’ve punched her lights out. Tried calling me fat?? When’s the last time that cow looked in a mirror? She’s lucky pups were there or I would’ve throttled her, right honey?”
“Of course doll, you could’ve taken her easily. It’s why I had to drag you away from that woman. Would’ve kicked her ass all the way to China,” Daddy said in a fake stern voice, which had the pup covering his mouth to keep from giggling out loud.
Mama talked the whole way home, switching from threats to made up cases of him ‘kicking ass and taking names’, all the while his Daddy agreed with him and winked at Wade in the rearview mirror. Wade’s mood was lifted up high ever since he realized his parents were mad at the grown ups and not him.
But when they finally got home, the demeanor and smell of the Alpha and Omega changed.
Wade had been scared his parents would be mad at him for getting in trouble. But it wasn’t even that, they smelled...sad? Like they were disappointed?
Which, turns out, was a hundred times worse than them being mad.
“Wade,” Daddy said in a sad tone as the pup was letting Lucky lick his face in greeting, “puppy why did you box the crap out of that boy? I didn’t teach you to box so you could use it on your classmates.” He watched silently as his Mama went to the kitchen before coming back with some kind of cream in his hands.
Mama had sat on the couch with a huff, pretending like it wasn’t his belly that made him that way before crooking his finger for Wade to join him. With his head down, the pup did that, not sure how to answer his Daddy’s question while Mama gently rubbed the cream on his wrists.
“Carl deserved it. He was being mean to my friend Charles,” Wade mumbled eventually, leaning into his Mama’s side.
“That sweet boy in the wheelchair?” Mama asked, putting the cream on the table when he was done before putting an arm around the pup who nodded in response. His Daddy sighed, walking over to sit on the other side of the pup.
“Son, that still isn’t a good reason to beat the snot out of another boy...”
“He’s bigger than me! And in my defense, I told him not to fight me. But he tried pushing Charles out of his wheelchair! And he said some things about you guys when I finally got him away from my friend,” Wade growled, anger in his smell and tone. The pup was looking down at his feet and couldn’t see his parents sharing a look over his head.
He did, however, feel slightly better when both parents wrapped him up in a hug. There was still anger in his tummy even when he felt kisses on his hair. They stayed like that for a long moment, anger turning a little into fear as the silence grew.
“Can you guys tell me what my punishment is already?" the pup blurted out, never one for subtly. They had promised from the beginning they wouldn’t hit him. And they were unlike any other set of parents he had ever had, actually holding on to their promises. Never once actually giving him a reason to call Scott. But the fear was still deep down in the puppy’s gut from years of betrayal. It made him feel bad on top of every other feeling swirling in his chest.
What didn’t help, was the way they froze around them. Their scent changed to shock and...hurt.
If it wasn’t for the love he felt for them, he might’ve bolted to his room. Hearing how disappointed they were in him was not something he wanted on top of whatever punishment they could come up with.
Wade kept his eyes down when he felt both of them pulling away from him.
“Well doll, what do you think? What’s an appropriate consequence for our boy?” Daddy asked his Mama, who hummed before responding.
“I think...Wade only gets one ice cream sandwich for dessert instead of two.” Wade hadn’t even realized his eyes were watery until he looked up at his Mama - who was blurry in front of him. A gentle hand wiped his tears away before bringing him up to the Omega’s neck to scent.
Still confused, a tearful Wade laid limply in his Mama’s arms, whining softly when he felt a metal hand gently rub his back.
“You’re okay, puppy. Remember what we talked about when you first came to live with us? We will never punish you, but there will be consequences for your bad actions. And there will be a long talk next time you go to the gym with me about defense versus offense. But bad actions don’t make you a bad pup because we’re all allowed to make mistakes, right?” Daddy asked as Wade slowly pulled away from his Mama’s neck, not wanting to admit he felt better after scenting.
The pup nodded as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, letting out a giggle when a metal hand appeared in front of his face. Grateful, Wade grabbed the robot hand before shifting to lean into the Alpha’s side.
“Now that you know you’re not in any trouble, are you ready to tell us what he said that made you so upset?” Mama asked as Lucky suddenly moved from his spot on the floor to on top of the pup. The family giggled together as Wade was thankful for the distraction. But after letting Lucky lick the pup’s face, Daddy gently pushed the dog away.
“Your Mama asked you a question, kiddo.” Feeling more calm, safe and mostly tired, the pup took a breath and played with the robot hand before answering.
“He said...he said you two were disgusting for adopting me. He called you guys...pedofeels! And I know what that means! That’s bad people that touch pups! And you guys only good touch me! What if I get taken away cause -”
“- that will never happen, Wade. We adopted you, remember? No one is taking you from us,” Mama said with a growl. Wade could see his Alpha reached his free hand over to grip the Omega’s hand.
“He’s right, baby. You’re right too, only good touches,” Daddy said with a funny feeling in his tone. Wade practically purred from it, realizing after a moment that that was the Alpha’s Voice. He heard it from other Alphas, but this one wasn’t even close to being scary. The added kiss to the top of his head had the puppy purr in his father’s embrace. “And since we don’t do bad touches, then you have nothing to worry about. We got the receipt, puppy, you’re stuck with us forever. Or until you’re at least eighteen.”
“Or, you know, twenty five, thirty…” Mama teased, getting a laugh from the two as his Daddy also rolled his eyes. Wade meanwhile wiped his, feeling extra tired and relaxed.
“How about you take a quick nap puppy. When you wake up we’re going to talk more about using your boxing powers for good, not for evil. And ignoring ignorant dumbass kids.”
“James, I swear to god!” Mama huffed and swatted the Alpha, who then used the pup as a human shield. “Don’t use Wade as a shield when you’re the one that can’t stop cussing!”
“Doll! We just talked about good touching!”
“Good touching doesn’t apply to dumb Alphas that need bad touches!” Mama shot back with a laugh, grabbing a pillow to swat the Alpha with.
“Alright alright I give! Wade isn’t going to last much longer!” Daddy cried as Wade was then able to escape the Alpha’s grip and roll off the couch. “No! Betrayed by my own child!” Daddy yelled as he lay back dramatically, where his Mama kept hitting him with a pillow. “Alright sweetheart I give!”
“Well now I’m exhausted. Help me up Alpha, and I may consider letting you nap with us.” Wade watched with a smile and a slight bounce where he stood, so relieved and happy with everything. No one was mad at him.
Well, no one that mattered anyway.
And while he wasn’t looking forward to the talking that will come after, he was excited about what his parents called ‘the love sandwich’ as he took a quick nap with them.