ajr chaos [crackfics condensed]

smol ajr chronicles pt ii

"You keep me young and that's how I wanna be"
-Sober Up

"Hey Jack, we're back!" Ryan called into the apartment. "Are you home yet?"

"How would he answer if he wasn't?" Adam asked Ryan, carrying several paper bags of groceries.

Jack had told Ryan and Adam he was planning on going out, not for long but just around the city a little. The two of them were okay with it, but informed Jack they were planning on going shopping, and to be back before they got home.

"Well I don't know," Ryan said. "I just thought I would— WHAT THE FUCK—"

In front of Adam and Ryan was Jack, but... smaller.

"Mommy says that's a no-no word." The small Jack smiled helpfully.

Adam carefully put his bags down on the counter, before walking over to the small Jack and squatting down in front of him. "Well hello! What's your name?"

"Jack!" The kid smiled, revealing several missing teeth.

"And, uhh, Jack..." Adam spoke gently. "How... how old are you, bud?"

"I'm six!!" small Jack said, proudly, like it was his greatest accomplishment.

"You... you're six?" Adam asked.

Small Jack nodded. "Yep!"

Adam glanced at Ryan, who looked just as confused as Adam felt.

"Hey, bud, I have to...talk to my brother Ryan really fast. Can you go sit on the couch for a second?" Adam asked.

Small Jack nodded again, before happily bouncing over to where the couch was and sitting down on it.

Adam got up from his squatting position, and looked at Ryan, concerned. The two brothers looked at each other, before Ryan broke the silence.

"What are we going to do?"

"We take care of him." Adam said, simply. He leaned over to look at small Jack, who was kicking his feet back and forth happily on the couch. "I mean, we can't just leave a six year old by himself in the middle of New York."

Ryan looked briefly like he was considering it, but Adam glared at him and reluctantly he agreed.

"Fine, whatever." Ryan sighed. "But you're in charge."

Adam scoffed. "When am I not?" He smirked at his younger brother, who only rolled his eyes in response.

Adam took this opportunity to take charge, and walk back into the living room, where small Jack was still sitting happily on the couch, waiting patiently.

"Hi!! Are you done talking to your brother now?" Small Jack gave Adam a happy grin.

"Yep!" Adam smiled back at the kid. "I think we're gonna have a lot of fun together."

Flash forward a couple of hours, and Adam was absolutely NOT having fun. Small Jack was an absolute menace.

Adam had forced Ryan to tag team, so currently Ryan was dealing with the small child version of their brother, while Adam was in the kitchen, drinking some coffee. If he was going to be dealing with that gremlin all day, he was gonna need some more caffeine.

Suddenly, Ryan burst into the room, with his hair messed up, breathing heavily.

"I don't remember Jack being such a little shit." Ryan commented, sitting down in a chair to catch his breath.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure he was always a little shit." Adam added, holding back his laughter for his brother's sake. "I just think that you were also a little too chaotic to realize."

Ryan looked slightly insulted, but a loud crash came from the other room and the two adults rushed over.

"What happened?" Adam asked, concerned.

Small Jack was standing over a mirror which used to be on the wall, but was now shattered into a million pieces on the ground.

"It... uh... it broke." Small Jack said, apologetically, looking down at the mirror.

"Yes, I can see that." Adam said sternly. "How did it break?"

Suddenly, Small Jack's face twisted, and he started bawling. Loud.

Instantly Adam regretted every decision he'd made up to this point, and tried to calm Small Jack down. "Hey, it's okay. Don't cry." He crouched down next to little boy, brushing his hair out of his face gently.

Sniffling slightly, Small Jack looked up to Adam, wiping his tears out of his eyes. "You're not mad?"

Adam bit his lip, trying to avoid saying more words, but Small Jack seemed to realize this. Instantly, his eyes started tearing up again, and Adam rushed to reassure him.

"No, no, I'm not mad." Adam explained hurriedly. "I'm just... concerned. For your safety."

Another sniffle. "You promise?" Small Jack asked.

"Yes, I promise, I'm not mad." Adam repeated. "Now, why don't you go to the bathroom and clean yourself up?"

Small Jack stopped crying almost immediately, and with a smile, skipped off towards the bathroom door.

As soon as Small Jack had left the room, Adam walked over and slumped down on the couch. "Holy shit that child is a lot."

"I told you that, didn't I?" Ryan said, with a slight grin.

The two brothers sat on the couch, just enjoying the silence for a moment, before the door to the bathroom opened, and Jack — their Jack — walked out.

"Jack!" Adam and Ryan exclaimed, mostly in relief.

"You— you're not little!" Adam felt himself start to smile. Thank god he didn't have to deal with that gremlin child anymore.

"You really were a little shit when you were a
kid." Ryan added, also feeling a little more at ease.

Jack chuckled. "Really? Well, it's not like you
two were any easier."

That confused Adam and Ryan, and they shared a glance. When they looked back, Jack was lying down on the floor, looking up at them. "Please don't give me responsibility anymore. I don't like having to be the oldest, Adam can keep that."

Adam laughed. "I don't think you've got to worry about that.

Jack nodded solemnly. "I'm not doing that ever again."