"Max! wake up! my parents are here!" David grinned walking into the room. he paused and stared. "M-Max...? what happened to your room?" David said.

"I can't find him David!" Max cried from under the bed.

"Max?" David ask, crouching down beside the bed. "Max? what are you doing?" David ask.

"I can't find him!" Max cried, crawling out from under the bed, he grabbed hold of Davids shirt. "where. is. Mr.Honeynuts?!" Max screamed in his face. David looked confused.

"what are you talking about kiddo? he was right here in your bed last night." David said.

"well he's not here now!" Max shouted.

"Davey?" a female voice ask.

"just a sec mom!" David called. he gripped Max's shoulders gently. "we'll find him. I promise. just come on down stairs, we'll find him when my parents leave okay?" David ask.

"no!" Max shouted. "I have to find him..." Max grew quiet staring up at the door. who the hell knew Davids dad was so.... manly. David was a twig but this man was freaking huge and reminded him of his own father in a terrifying way. Max shuffled closer to David, who turned his head.

"oh! hey, sorry." David said standing. Max was immediately uncomfortable.

"David..." Max trailed.

"he calls you by your name?" the man ask.

"yeah dad, I told you, I adopted him. he's more comfortable calling me David. lets all go down stairs." David said looking at Max's dirty room.

"you don't tell him to keep his room clean?" his mother ask.

"normally its clean he's just missing something important." David assured. he knelt. "Max, why don't you see if Gwen knows-" David started.

"she better not have fucking taken him!" Max shouted, running towards the door. he paled slightly and carefully inched around David's dad nervously, slowly backing away from the man, before running down the hall. David sighed slightly and pinched the bridge of his nose. he opened his mouth to speak, but paused when he heard the loudest scream from Max he'd ever heard. David shoved past his parents and ran to his adopted son. there was stuffing everywhere and Davids heart sank.

"oh no..." David swallowed. he heard an odd noise come from his son and he suddenly fainted. Gwen was quick to catch the boy. Davids nephew was on the floor playing with what was left of Mr.Honeynuts. "h0-how did that get down here?" David ask, kneeling beside Gwen and Max.

"I washed it... he smelled David, like he'd never been washed. so I washed it and fixed it up and I got distracted before I could take it back to Max so I left it on the counter and I didn't think he could reach it!" Gwen said nervously.

"okay look you take him back to his room and lay him down... I'll see if I can salvage Mr.Honeynuts." David said taking everything he could find. Max whimpered quietly when Gwen scooped him up gently and carried him off.

"you allow him to just-" his mom started.

"this bear is the last thing he has from his dead mother. it's the only thing he brought with him when they brought him to me. this and the clothes on his back. its all he had." David said. he headed to the kitchen quickly.

Gwen laid Max down on his bed gently. she tucked the boy in gently. Gwen sighed slightly and knelt beside his bed, looking around his room. it was usually neat and oddly organized, probably something his abusive bio's forced on him. she stood slowly and started cleaning. it was her fault after all. she knew the boy wouldn't react well if he woke up without the bear and she had honestly meant to bring it back, she'd just simply forgotten. Max shifted, just as Gwen finished the room. he whimpered and slowly sat up rubbing his head.

"hey kid." Gwen said, crouching beside the bed. Max blinked at her confused and looked around. his eye's widened in horror.

"Mr.Honeynuts!" Max said, scrambling to find the bear in his bed, repeated 'no' over and over as he searched the bed.

"Max, kid its-" Gwen started. Max grabbed her shirt collar and yanked her closer.

"WHERE IS MR.HONEYNUTS!?" Max cried.

"you're going to have a panic attack kid. David has him." Gwen assured. Max jumped off the bed quickly and raced down the hall, running down the stairs as fast as his little legs would go. pushing Davids parents out of the way, though they didn't fight much and simply stepped away.

"give him back!" Max shouted running into the kitchen. he slammed straight into the table head first and moaned in pain as he collapsed onto his back.

"Max!" David got up quickly and leaned over him. "Max? are you okay?" David ask. Max's eye's flew open.

"where's Mr.Honeynuts!?" Max shouted, sitting up. there was a red mark across his forehead.

"he's on the table. I'm almost done buddy." David assured scooping the boy up and sitting in the chair. David knew Max would be much calmer if he could see the bear, even if David was still putting him back together. Max sat silent, staring down the parts of his bear and David's hands. emerald eye's following the sowing needle carefully.

"whose the bratt?" Max growled. David sighed slightly.

"thats my nephew, that makes him your cousin. his name is Alex. be nice to him. he's only 4. he doesn't understand. it's alright Max, I'm almost done kiddo." David assured gently. Max crossed his arms over his chest and watched David.

"how'd he get down here anyway? did I sleep walk?" Max ask.

"oh, Gwen washed him." David said.

"WHAT?!" Max hissed.

"shhh, Max my ears." David said. "he needed a wash you've been here for nearly a year and we've never washed him." David added.

"he doesn't get washed!" Max growled. David cut the string and tied it off. he lifted the bear with a smile.

"there. done." David smiled. he handed the bear to Max, who immediately hugged the bear as David put him on his feet and patted his head. Max shot him a dirty look and smacked his hand away.

"don't touch my hair." Max growled.

"come on, its time for you to actually meet my parents." David said.

"why do they have the little shit?" Max ask. David sighed.

"first, it's Alex. don't call him that Max. second, my sisters at work. they have him today." David said. Max glared at him. "okay, you don't have to talk to them." David assured. Max nodded slightly and they headed back to the living room. Max clung to Mr.Honeynuts and huddled to Davids legs. "alright. todays been a little crazy. mom, dad, this is Max. Max this is my parents." David said. Max looked up at them with his signature glare.

"hi Maxwell." Davids mother smiled.

"Max." Max corrected. "got names?" Max ask as David sat on the couch. Max climbed up onto the arm of the couch and watched the two.

"you can just call us your grand-" his mother started.

"names first. formalities come with trust." Max replied. they looked at David.

"he still calls me David. I don't intend to force anything on to him." David said. they frowned at him and Max didn't like that look.

"I'm Devin and this is Derek." David's mother said.

"whats with the D's?" Max muttered. Alex screamed at waved his arms at Devin, who scooped him up with a smile.

"awww what a little cutie." she smiled, cuddling him. Max rolled his eye's.

"cute my ass little monster destroyed Mr.Honeynuts." Max hissed.

"Max, please, be nice." David said. Derek gave a dirty look.

"maybe we should settle down for a movie." Devin said.

"Nemo!" Alex squealed.

"no!" Max shouted. Alex screamed angrily.

"don't worry Alex, we can watch Nemo. David put Nemo on." Derek said.

"we don't watch Nemo in this house. Max's mom used to watch that with him. this is Max's house and we don't watch Nemo. sorry dad." David said. "but we can watch something else." David assured.

"Nemo!" Alex screamed. David sighed at looked at Max, who was glaring daggers at the small boy, but there was a hurt behind his eye's. hurt, like he expected his feelings to be pushed away and ignored like he was so used to. the small child was sobbing about Nemo.

"David you can't just watch Nemo once?" Devin begged slightly.

"no I'm sorry. it makes Max uncomfortable." David said. he grabbed the remote. "how about Monsters Inc?" David ask.

"he's a baby. we don't want to scare him." Derek said. David clicked on the movie anyway. Max cuddled to his adoptive father, who grinned and pulled him into his lap, hugging the boy. Max narrowed his eye's a bit, but let David hold him. he smacked the mans hands away from his hair and Mr.Honeynuts but sat quietly. David moved the hair from Max's face and looked his forehead over. there was a bruise forming across it. Max moved his head away from the hand.

"don't that hurts." Max mumbled. David nodded slightly.

"I told you not to run in the house Max." David chided.

"you had Mr.Honeynuts. rules be damned. he's mine." Max glared. David shook his head slightly and held the boy, ignoring the dirty look from his more traditional mother. his and Max's relationship wasn't traditional, but he loved his adopted son with his whole heart. it was rare moments like this where it felt like he and Max were actually connecting. when the boy cuddled up to his chest, up under his chin, bear clutched in his arms, watching a movie. despite what he always said, moments like this were more home than Camp Campbell. David smiled slightly.

"I brought popcorn." Gwen said, handing out a few bowls. she put one in Max's lap. the boy looked at the bowl watching David grab some. Max leaned back against Davids chest, pushing the bowl into David's lap and curling up. Max didn't enjoy popcorn. Gwen sat in her usual chair. she watched the movie, but her attention kept returning to Max and David. both appeared to be falling asleep. she smiled, this isn't how David pictured Max meeting his family, but it was still pretty good, even with that giant bruise across Max's forehead. hopefully next time max met them, things would go smoother, but for now, she was content to let her boys sleep. she smiled and turned back to the movie.