Edith decided it would be better if she didn’t ride back with Naomi. It was something that seemed to put her in an uncomfortable position, and Edith didn’t like that. Uncomfortable points in her life were something she preferred to ignore or hide from, but when it came to family, it was a little bit harder.

“Elements can sometimes have trouble with their abilities. Naomi struggles with her ability to control ice. We don’t really know why, but it happens sometimes.” Michael tried to explain it in the calmest way he knew how, and hoped it was getting through to her. Edith stared out the window of the moving vehicle, suddenly finding the old gas station on Main Street incredibly interesting to look at.

“Why is it,” Edith began absentmindedly, “that I can’t seem to get anything right?”

Both of the boys in the front seat stayed quiet. There really wasn’t an answer, and they weren’t even sure if they were supposed to have an answer. Bear bounced in his seat beside Mael, who was strapped into the car seat. Bear looked as happy as ever, with a cheerful smile from ear to ear.

“Well you’re still here aren’t you? Even though my daddy didn’t want you to-” Bear was suddenly cut short by David, who made a sound resembling a pterodactyl screech to stop Bear from embarrassing Edith any further.

Edith was completely aware of that though. She knew that her child didn’t want her there, and that she was making everything just a little bit harder than it was before by being there. But what was family, if not relentless? Edith smiled at Bear, and for the first time since she had been there, she paid attention to the important part.

“You’re right, I am still here, aren’t I?” The trace of any guilt had been banished by a single sentence said by a six year old. David was impressed. The car pulled up into the driveway, and Michael was first to get out of the car, and started to unbuckle Mael from his car seat. David came around the other side to get Bear, but instead he saw Edith helping Bear out of the car after herself.

“Do I call you grandma or Edith? I’ve never had a grandma before, and you don’t really look like a grandma either but you’re older than daddy. Wait, how old are you? Is there a certain age you have to be before you become a grandma? Are you my grandma?” Bear was an intensely curious child, and even though his psychic abilities basically already gave him all of those answers, he asked them anyways. It was the thing that made Bear special in David’s eyes. Bear knew a lot, and could learn anything with his powers, yet he decides to ask questions to other people, not even really expecting actual answers.

“Grandma will do fine, sweety.” Edith felt overwhelmed by the small child’s ability to ramble on like he only had so many seconds to ask all of his questions. Edith’s fragile and slightly worn hand rested on Bear’s shoulder as they walked up to the house. Michael had already made his way to the front door, and unlocked it with only one hand.

Edith, Bear, and David strolled in after Michael and Mael, and the door was slammed shut by the wind that raced through the house.

“I’m going to have a little meat, want any babe?” Michael casually asked while staring into the fridge at the raw meat. Michael had merely forgotten that Edith had been standing right there too, and that adding “babe” onto the question made everything just that more awkward. David set his wallet down on the counter beside Michael's before wandering over and wrapping his arms around Michael’s waist from behind. Michael continued to stare into the fridge.

Michael’s cravings had again gotten worse. He was starting to crave more than the average two plates of raw meat that he usually had a day, and was starting to think about blood. David’s blood, in particular.

“Again? That’s your third plate today. Are you feeling alright?” David brought his hand up and placed it firmly on Michael’s forehead before Michael could stop him. David’s wrist seemed to hang right beside his mouth, and he could hear the blood pumping from just his wrist. He was tempted, and he felt his fangs grow a little longer, and his eyes darken.

Edith stood a mere four feet from them, and watched as Michael looked less and less like the average human. She saw his eyes, and his fangs. She noticed how his lips were parted ever so slightly, quivering like they could sense the blood in David’s veins. Michael knew that feeding in the house, around the kids especially, was deeply frowned upon. What was frowned upon most though, was even being tempted.

“David,” Michael was trying to chose his words carefully. “Come with me.” In a flash the two were standing on the second floor, in their bedroom. Michael now faced David, ashamed of the way he looked. David didn’t even look phased by the revelation. Instead, he seemed a bit cheerful.

“You’re being so open and upfront with me, and I’m glad. Now come on, I keep an emergency blood supply for times like this.” David grabbed his hand and lead him to the connected bathroom, and sat him down on the edge of the bathtub. Michael watched as the excited David dug to the bottom of his seemingly bottomless laundry hamper, and pulled out a small metal box.

David sat next to him and opened the box up. The rush of blood oozed out of the box, as did some kind of freezer liquid that was keeping the blood fresh. The box itself was small, and a small bag filled with blood, not even a cup, lay inside. There were two others beside it, and Michael wanted all of it, but he told himself to behave. Emergency blood had to be for an emergency.

David took out the top bag and handed it to Michael. David then pulled out a small yellow capri sun straw and poked a hole right into the blood bag for Michael. The mere thought of actually drinking blood from a capri sun straw made him laugh. It was as if David saw exactly what Michael needed, a sense of humor.

“How’d you know?” Michael, like Bear, was a curious person. Michael had been sure that he’d concealed his cravings better than he had in the previous years, but somehow, David still knew. David shrugged his shoulders as naturally as he could, trying not to make it a big deal.

“You were having too much meat. You’re reaction this morning was the moment I really saw it though. How come you didn’t say anything? You know I would do anything to help you, right?” David’s eyes were more nervous and unsteady than they had ever been before. Michael knew he shouldn’t have hid it, and now that he was feeling better he was sure he wouldn’t lie to David again.

“I know. I just got nervous. I know you don’t like the kids around when there’s blood in the house.” Michael’s voice had gone up a tone too high, and then ended in a kind of nervous wreck. The shame in his voice was evident to, and David felt it.

“It’s not that. I just don’t want their memories of their dad to be all about his eating habits, you know? And honestly, I’m thinking of waving one of these bags in front of Mael’s face to see if we get a reaction.” David’s humor sparked back up again, lighting up his entire face like nothing Michael had ever seen before. Michael thanked his own stars that he was this lucky to be with David.

“We’ll have to do it sometime.” Michael laughed, sucking down the rest of the blood juice box and throwing it into the small waste bin beside the toilet. The two laughed until they found themselves walking back down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Edith still stood.

For a few blissful moments, the house was at a normal volume. Bear and Mael were playing a game they dubbed “Superheroes”, in which they saved their older sisters dolls from impending doom. The cat that made its home on the porch meowed softly. And then there was David’s mother.

“Where did he bite you? How much blood is gone?” She paused in her crusade to look sternly at Michael, who looked even paler than usual. “How dare you bite my daughter! Werewolf blood? That’s a sin among the werewolves!” Now normally, Michael wouldn’t have said a thing. He would have sat back and taken it, but when she said “My daughter”, he seemed to lose all sense of sanity.

“Daughter? Daughter?” Michael asked so sternly that it nearly scared Edith back into her shell. She retreated a little bit, but didn’t give up her stance. Not once had she said son, and it was starting to drive Michael a little insane. David stepped in between the two hotheads before anything stupid happened.

“Girls, you’re both pretty.” David started off with a joke, classic. “Mom, he didn’t bite me. I just got him some blood from an emergency kit. No harm done.” David showed both sides of his neck to her. Now, David knew there were more placed for a vampire to bite than his neck, especially since he’d received several love bites in his inner thigh. Edith didn’t know that though, and David used it to his advantage. David swung his head over to Michael.

“Also, I am a man, I can handle my own pronouns, thank you very much.” David said to Michael, who nodded, agreeing. David was completely capable of standing up for himself, and wasn’t afraid to do it, but something told Michael that he’d better do it anyway.

“Mom, why don’t you make some grilled cheese for Bear? I’ve got a little work to do, but please, play nice.” David excused himself, and Michael received a full fledged glare from Edith before turning to the cupboard and pulling out a loaf of bread.

Michael wasn’t sure if he could survive this without David’s help.