Sealed Fates Modern AU

Chapter 1: Get Ready For School

A hand reached out to turn off the alarm, set to go off in two minutes. There was no need for the blaring noise to wake up someone who wasn't asleep. Besides, it was annoying and loud. A young boy pulled his hand back from aggressively hitting the snooze button, and pulled the green comforter over his head. He had been sleeping on and off all night, trying to find a comfortable spot without much luck. On the bright side he was awake to turn off his alarm before it went off, but he also looked like a raccoon, which he would be scolded for when he went downstairs. That on top of the black eye and cut lip, he was tempted to just sneak out the window to avoid the two that would ask him about it. Being on the eighth floor of an apartment though posed a few issues.
He glared when he heard the door to his room open and the lights flick on. Footsteps moved towards the window and drew back the curtains. He ignored it.
"Good morning, Caliburn." Someone said, and paused, waiting for an answer. "I know you're awake. Your alarm didn't go off."
He can seriously hear that? Damn.
Cal growled.
"Go the fuck away Vixen." He snapped.
"You're being awfully difficult this morning, I thought you liked school?" He asked, cleaning up the room some.
Cal didn't answer.
Vixen sighed, leaning against the dresser.
"You should be able to move around good enough to go back to school now, right? You went yesterday for the morning. If something is still wrong I'll bring you back to the hospital instead and see if there's anything they can do to help." Vixen offered.
Cal shook his head from under the blankets.
"No way in hell. I'm sick of hospitals."
"Alright then, get up and get dressed. There's food downstairs when you're ready." Vixen said, closing the door on his way out.
Cal stayed still for a few minutes before finally dragging himself out of bed. He took his usual clothes out of the closet then went into the bathroom. Vixen and Varg lived in a huge fancy apartment, by far the nicest place he had ever stayed. He got pretty much whatever he wanted, and his bedroom even had a complete adjoining bathroom. Aside from school, he never had to leave. It was perfect. He broke free from his thoughts when he caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror. The black circle around his left eye only made the red iris look creepier. It had been a long time, and he didn't really care, so he couldn't remember exactly what had turned it red. Something about the medicine he was on at the time. Safe to say he stopped taking it. Apparently it wasn't actually red, just transparent. The blood behind his eye gave it that colour. No wonder everyone thought it was weird. It ended up causing more problems than anything else, it took more surgeries to fix the eye so he could see out of it better, more time in the hospital, more of everything he hated. He stared himself down in the mirror for several minutes, and eventually moved on to finish changing. Once he got most his clothes off, he turned away from the mirror. His skin looked so odd now, after the accident, he hated looking at it. He had always worn clothing that covered most of him, sweaters and long pants. He had added gloves to his outfit, and a turtleneck shirt to make sure he never had to look at it. His skin brushed against his clothes, making him cringe at the strange sensation. It was the reason he could hardly get comfortable enough to sleep, he never got used to the feeling of his burns meeting fabric. It wasn't painful anymore, it just felt wrong.
"Caliburn! Hurry up, you were already late yesterday!" Vixen called from downstairs.
He rolled his eyes, but moved a little quicker.
"Yeah whatever, I'll get there when I get there!" He shouted back.
He brushed some hair in front of his black eye, trying to hide it. Once he was finished, he went out into the hall, making sure to close his door on the way down. Instead of a second wall on the opposite side, there was a railing so you could see the main floor. Downstairs was the living room and kitchen, and a few other rooms behind closed doors. Linking the second and first floor was a spiral staircase, which Caliburn walked past. Instead, he climbed over the railing and jumped down. A tall man with back hair and gold eyes was drinking coffee at the table, and looked up when he heard the thud of Cal's feet against the floor. He glared.
"Caliburn! You're in no condition to be doing that!" He stood up and approached Cal, who met his gaze with an uninterested look.
"Shut up, I'm fine." He growled.
"You are not fine. Sit down and eat and don't do that again!" He ordered.
"You don't get to tell me what to do, Varg! Fuck off." He shouted, heading for the door.
Vixen smiled at the two. At first glance, it would seem like they were fighting. Technically, they were. But shouting and swearing meant Cal was feeling better. That was good enough for now. There was a sweet side to him sometimes, and with time and luck, that would come back too.
"Caliburn, there's some toast over here you can take with you, do you want a drive today?" Vixen asked, ignoring Varg as he glared.
"Vixen, give me a hand here!" Varg said, gesturing his arms to Cal.
"He's stubborn, just leave him be for now."
"I'll walk." He said, taking the toast and heading for the door.
"Wait, Cal. Come back here for a second?" Vixen asked, noticing something odd.
Cal grimaced and backed up, hoping he hadn't noticed his injuries.
"Turn around." Vixen ordered, though his voice was gentle.
Yep. He noticed.
"What happened to your eye, Caliburn?" Vixen asked, concern spreading across his face.
"What?" Varg chimed in, coming over to them.
"It's nothing now leave me the hell alone." He insisted, heading for the door once more.
"Caliburn, did someone hit you?" Vixen asked, making him stop.
"No, I walked into a door. And now I'm walking out of one." He stormed out.
"Cal!" Varg called.
"I'll talk to him when he gets home." Vixen said, placing a hand on his husband's shoulder.
"Screw that, I'm calling the school." He took his cellphone out of his pocket, only to have Vixen reach over and take it from him.
"Don't, that will only make him more upset. I promise, I'll make sure he's okay when he gets home."
Varg sighed, putting his phone back in his pocket.
"Ugh, why is he so difficult all the time?" He fell back into the couch, throwing his arms over the side.
"Hey, we knew what we were getting into when we officially adopted him. He's been through a lot already, we just have to keep making sure he feels loved at home, and most importantly, safe. He's a kid who has been running from everything for most of his life. We have to make sure he knows that this is home, and he doesn't have to run from it. We can do that if we keep trying, right?"
Varg paused, then smiled. Vixen was always really good at putting things in perspective.
"Yeah. You're right, of course we can." His eyes glanced over to the clock. "Damn, is that time already? I've got to get in to the office." Varg said, racing to grab his coat and keys.
"Are you gonna be late getting home again tonight?" Vixen asked, meeting him by the door.
"Probably, we just had a break in the case last night, it's a wonder I even got to come home." Varg sighed.
"It's alright, I've got things covered here. Good luck." He said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks. I'll try to be back as early as I can." He promised heading out the door.
As usual, Vixen was left home throughout the day, cleaning up and making lunches for Cal, and dinner for that night.