The Witty Hyena And The Uncouth Teddy Bear

A/N: Thanks for reading and commenting!! :) :)

@Gslinger: Well I'm glad you still decided to go for it; I hope you keep on liking this one!!

@S.S: The twins were a tough one... I didn't really know if I wanted to keep them or not but they sort of grew on me... so I'm always happy to see people liking them too! :)

@JtheChosen1: Thank you!!! :)

@kylee: so glad you like the twins as well ;) And yeah I'll correct that; it's cause I was hesitating about their age and then settled on 6 years old but I forgot to change it... thanks for pointing it out!! :)

Alright, I hope you all enjoy this update as well!


*********************************

Chris had just dropped the twins over to their grand-mother’s for the week end. He’d gotten them to promise to be nice but the mischievous look in Alec’s eyes left him with an uncomfortable sense of foreboding. Luckily, he knew Francesca was a strong woman and that she loved the boys very much.

The young man had been worried at first to leave Alec and Salem for an entire week end with the old woman; after all, supervising two five year olds at the age 93 when confined to a wheelchair left Chris justifiably apprehensive. But Francesca had arranged a hired help and the few days had gone by uneventfully, the boys coming home exited from their trip to the ‘countryside’ as they called Larchmont.

Although now that the boys were more comfortable with the old lady, the 26 year old was very much afraid of the potential liberties they would take. Alec was a prankster through and through and Salem was excellent smooth talker material so Chris was afraid they would overwhelm Francesca… Nevertheless, he was glad for the respite.

Chris was troubled by the fact that Sarah (the boys’ social worker) still hadn’t given him any word regarding the surprise he wanted to give Alec and Salem for their birthday. He still had a few weeks, but if he didn’t get an answer soon, he would have to find something else.

Also, Jack and his well known tact had told him at lunch with an awkward look and a blush that he was still discreetly probing Kristine about going out with Chris and that he was getting some very positive feedback. While his ‘friend’ coughed, Chris hadn’t known whether to cry or snort but he could see how Jack would consider the feedback positive.

Exhausted and needing to get his mind off things, Christopher had dropped his things home, gone for a run, took a nice long shower and decided to go rent some movies and stuff himself with cheap Chinese take out. Grabbing his keys and wallet, he left the house in high spirits.

The young man, a regular at the Movie Night video store nodded at the cashier before exploring their vast area. The place looked a little run down and archaic with its neon yellow lights and bold writing but it had an incredible choice of movies, old and new.

As he meandered through the suspense section of the video store, Chris regularly shot envious glances at the two teenage girls squealing over a Hugh Grant movie in the next alley. Finally, he decided to temporally drop the ‘I’m a tough action movie loving kind-a-guy’ pretence and stepped over to the romance section. As the girls walked away, he quickly grabbed Love Actually, Emma, and the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. He then discreetly made his way back to the suspense section, taking the detour through the action section and ostensibly shifting through some Schwarzenegger movies.

At the pay desk, he handed the three movies over to the cashier who checked them and raised an eyebrow at the choice of movies. Actually, Chris wasn’t exactly sure she really had raised an eyebrow but decided he should justify his choice just in case.
“For my girlfriend…” He grumbled, a blush creeping up his cheeks. The cashier looked up at him with a knowing smile and Chris wasn’t entirely sure he had pulled off his farce. Giving the money due, he grabbed the DVDs and practically stormed out of the store, occasionally slowing down when he remembered to act normal.

Watching these movies had been his Friday night activity with his sisters and mother back when he was still a high school student. It was the One-Friday-A-Month-Pizza-And-A-Romance-Movie night and he’d always loved it. He enjoyed other types of movies as well but whenever he needed to get his mind off of things, he always went back to his favourites and of course his Mr Darcy. But he wasn’t about to explain all that to cashier.

On his way back, Chris took his time, walking slowly and enjoying the dusk air. The colours of the sky were beautiful and he decided to make a detour and take the river walk so he could see the Manhattan skyline. As the light reflected off the UN building in tainted green highlights, Chris heard some voices. Intrigued by the leering and harsh laughs, the young man followed the sound until he came near a small deserted park where 3 dangerous looking guys had a small teenage boy cornered. The kid looked scared out of his mind and was gripping his bag with all his strength as if it would protect him from the 3 thugs.

As they pushed him around and humiliated him, Chris snapped and stepped in.
“Stop.”
All three goons stopped laughing and turned around to look at the fuckhead who had dared interrupt their fun. Checking him over, they decided that even though he was tall, he probably wasn’t much of a threat and tacitly agreed to switch targets. It’d sound better if they bragged about beating the shit out of a large, strong adult rather than a scared tiny 15 year old boy.

As Chris watched the hesitation in the men’s eyes turn into satisfied cruelty and had to hold himself back from gulping loudly. Before he knew it, a whooshing sound was heard just as the kid ran past him, tears streaming down his face.

Chris didn’t even have the possibility to feel relieved as he belatedly registered that his DVDs were strewn haphazardly near the brick wall where the kid had accidentally sent them flying out of his hand and that the men had just circled him. Deciding that positive thinking was probably the only constructive thing he could do, he figured that a) the kid was gone and out of harm, b) at least the DVDs were safe for now and c) these thugs probably weren’t going to kill him. Maybe.

“So. You tryin' to play the fuckin' hero shithead? You think you can take us on all by youself?!” The one Chris identified as the leader sneered, cracking his knuckles.
“Huh fucker? Aren’t you gonna answer that?” The second one, smaller than the other two, added.
“Yeah fucker aren’t you gonna answer?” The third one repeated.

Before Chris could make a sound, a white hot pain spiked in his left temple as his jaw simultaneously snapped harshly. The first man had punched him hard in the jaw, snapping his head against a tree. Before Chris could react, the third thug kicked him in the stomach and then the other one punched him in the jaw again.

Chris doubled over, coughing blood and holding his stomach. Apparently he had bit his gums pretty hard but before he could fully process his condition, a second kick had hit his solar plexus and the red head was fighting for his consciousness, collapsing on his knees. Because of his size, people tended to overestimate his strength and the few times things degenerated into fights, he always got more hurt than he normally would have had he been smaller.

“The fuck are you doing?” A deep voice asked calmly, if a bit annoyed, from behind them.

“What does it look like fuckhead?” Thing 3 answered.
“Yeah shithead, you want a piece of this?!!” Thing 2 added, brandishing his fist.
Chris couldn’t see his potential saviour but he was glad someone was there.
“Stay out of it. Unless you want to join?” Thing 1 leered.

“Pfff.” Potential Saviour laughed. “I’ve got better things to do.”
Chris was too numb to react properly but something about that answer did register as oddly callous.
“But see, you’re dirtying my neighbourhood with all the blood you’re splattering. So get take this somewhere else before this gets really ugly.”
Chris didn’t know what it was Potential Saviour had done but the thugs eyes widened and the started stepping back, stuttering.
“Sorry sir, but t’was self defense!” Thing three mumbled wide eyed.
“Uh… yeah!! Really! We din’t do notin’! Not our fault he’s bleedin’ on you’s grass…” Thing 2 confirmed.
“Shut the f*ck up and run you morons!” Thing one yelled as he sprinted to the other side of the alley, his fellows following behind him in a mad run.

“Why the f*ck were you in an alley at 10 o’clock on a Friday night?” Potential Saviour asked, crouching to look into Chris’ face. Some shuffling and Christopher saw something shiny and large disappear into the man’s pocket. He was so close the red head could feel the man’s breath. The young man’s eyes widened as he realised Potential Saviour was really Tissue Prick.
“DVDs.” Chris vaguely gestured to the white plastic bag on the other side. “And take out. Junk food for the soul…” He slurred.
“Huh. You’re the moron from Monday at the park… as pathetic as last time I see. One would think you’d be able to at least defend yourself with your huge fuckin size…”
“Are you always this rude?” Chris had to concentrate very hard to understand what he was being told; he hadn’t figured
“Well. If you can talk, I suppose you’re fine. Bye now.” The man got up, straightened his clothes and left.
As Tissue Prick/Potential Saviour (who had just been upgraded to Unsavoury Saviour) walked away, Chris wondered what it was the man’s breath smelled like. It had an oddly familiar slightly spicy feel to it, but Chris couldn’t pin point it. It was the last thing he thought as he fell into unconsciousness.