A/N: We are in the endgame now!

"So… who's the bitch?"

Jordan said unceremoniously. Tyler smacks his arm harshly and mutters in hush tones to his mouthy husband.

 Having sent the three youngest members up to bed, left the rest to do the muddy talking. Eli thought this was all a dream. He really did. When he woke up on the couch he swore Lee spiked his drink or Harvey's air humidifier or something to justify his facade. 

Thus, here he is. At a table with women he chose to forget even existed. The sick twist of it all is that she is looking at him like she wasn't a fucking menace.

"The bitch, you fag, is Trisha Jackson." Trisha says, raising her pencil drawn, spider leg like eyebrows.

Jordan turns back to Tyler mouth agape. Tyler shakes his head. Jordan grumbles, "ooo I'm gonna fight that bitch "

The large attorney, who introduced himself as Mr. Bell, spoke. "Please note that this conversation can be used in a court of law."

"Court of Law my ass." Jordan snapped.

"J, c'mon. Calm down." Rhys says. "I don't like none of this either but we need to hear what the fuck my father did."

"How do you know your father has something to do with this?" Kique asks.

Rhys folded his arms. "When has he not had a hand in something? It's too much of a coincidence."

Kique nods slowly to that and looks to the two unwelcome guests. "I suggest you start speaking."

Mr Bell sits up to begin to speak but is cut off by his client. Eli swore he saw the man roll his eyes when she began to yap from her pink stained lips.

" I'm here to get my baby back after you kidnapped him", she states, pointing a crusty nail at Rhys.

"Bitch please." Rhys began. "If anything, you were being negligent and allowed your so-called son to wander the streets alone!"

Mr Bell clears his throat. "Mr. Jackson, when you found Eli wandering the street did you contact the police or take him to the station?"

"After a day or two I did begin looking for any missing child reports. There weren't any matching Eli's description. " Rhys said. "Even after, everytime I tried to take him, he used to just cry and shout in such a terrified way."

Trisha rolls her eyes before casting a pointed look at Eli. "Of course. Eli has always been temperamental. Not as much Malik. Lord knows what a fucking terror he was."

Out of the corner of Eli's eye, he could see his dad's closely knit eyebrows. Fingers gripping Harvey's fine wood table like a vice. It continues to remind Eli just how much he hates this woman. 

Fucked up old bag. Drugged up. Strung up. Beat up.

Eli finds the old pains of the past aching his feet. He was young. He was just responding to his emotions. Eli grips his sleeve as he slowly slips back into that time. A time before he found the people he has grown to call home. He didn't realize he was grinding his teeth until Rhys placed a gentle hand on his thigh. He flicks his gaze up to him. A warm look enraptured his face, calming the irate teenager down.

Only for the lady to still yap her motherfucking mouth. 

"Look lady, I could care less about what you got to say about Malik. I want to know why you could even think about getting Eli back." Kique spoke, sitting up straight. "You already got one kid taken away for neglect. Why the hell would you want another?"

"Now wait a goddam minute you hippie looking bitch!" Trisha shouted. "I ain't never had none of my kids get taken away for neglect. Get that straight in your grape looking head."

Now that causes Eli to look at this woman full on. Before Eli could give this woman his two cents before his one , two, he was interrupted by an unexpected booming voice. The sound of a chair being flung back became the lightning to the thunder of the voice.

"You were never home!" Malik bellowed to the stunned woman. "Always out, strung up on fucking acid. Always out and on some shit!"

All eyes, even the attorney, were blinking up at the towering angry man. Kique looked taken aback, Jordan whispered to Tyler and Rhys? Rhys was at a loss of words. Not because he was scared. No, he would never be scared of his husband. 

Worried. That's what he is.

So very worried.

"When you were home, wish you weren't. Always brought men! They look at you and focus on me." Malik continues.

"That was not true! You wooed them. Wooed them just like you did-" Trisha is cut off.

"My father? Right? You was gonna say that?", Malik challenged.

Trisha's lips pressed firmly together. "I hate you. I hate looking at you. I hate how I see him in you." 

Malik shakes his head slowly. "No you don't. You was happy I got him to stay. Sad when-"

An abrupt slap echoed around the room. Trisha stood bent. Arm still extended from the slap she delivered. Malik lets out a deep huff of air. It was almost like a steam engine coming to a stop. Malik's tight grip on the table went slack. He pushes the large table forward, causing Trisha to fall back in her chair, and walks off to the bedroom area. A loud bang of the hardwood door signaled for anyone to move.

Mr Bell tapped on the desk. "Let's take a break."

~

Harvey leaned against the curved bar of his kitchen. He pours crystal glasses of whiskey before downing the remainder of the bottle for himself. No one commented on the reasoning of drinking at a time like this. They just took the glass and tried to make sense of what just occurred.

Mr Bell and Trisha were in the dining area still. Kique glances at them with a scowl from the crack in the partition. She take a long sip of her drink before saying,

"This shit sucks."

"You think?" Tyler says, leaning his head against the wall.

"She is right, Ty. This shit sucks ass." Jordan replies.

Rhys slumps down onto a bar stool staring down into his glass. Jordan places a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

"What about you? You okay?", he asks.

"I just don't get it. I have never heard Malik talk like that. It's just hard to grasp." Rhys admits.

Tyler pushes himself off the wall. "Well, it's not the first time Malik has acted like this."

That is true. Eli, for all his life with his family, never saw his dad even raise his voice. Hell, there were times where Eli thought he would deserve a stern talking to. This was a mess. Truly it is. He leans in from his corner in the room to listen closely.

Tyler drains the rest of his glass before speaking. "Malik was the last person ,before you, to join living with the Bolts. I was about thirteen and J was about twelve when he came. "

"Think he had just made fourteen because I remember Trent being on our ass about not touching the cupcakes he bought." Jordan pipes in.

Tyler mouths a small "Shut it." to his husband before continuing. "Malik, when he first came, was very…hostile. Very on edge. Silent like a waiting land mine. Couldn't touch him or get too close without him lashing out."

Rhys sets down his glass. Worry stains his face with lines that run deep between his knitted eyebrows. 

"What changed?" Rhys finally asks.

"When his dad died, we thought it helped him. It was like a switch flipped. He just chilled out. We thought he just got closure on what happened. Whatever it was that happened. But I guess…" Tyler takes a long gaze at the partition. "He just pushed it down."

Rhys stood up firmly from his seat. "I'm going to talk to him."

"I think you should." Ty reaffirms.

Rhys makes his way up the stairs to the bedrooms. It didn’t take long to find Malik. Even in a rage, Malik wouldn't disturb a space he wasn't allowed to enter. Rhys pushes open the door to face a hunched figure sitting on the floor at the edge of the bed. Shoulders shaking as the man before takes deep and labored breaths. Rhys rushed over to cup the crying man's face. 

Malik's eyes darted away. 

"No, you look at me Malik." Rhys says.

"Not like you seeing me like this." Malik replies bowing his head.

"Love, you always tell me it's okay to cry. And now I'm telling you. It's okay Malik. " Rhys reassures.

Malik shakes his head. "Don't know why I am crying. I feel so stupid. Let her get to me."

"You're far from stupid Malik!"

Malik huffs. "She is building me up all over again Rhys!" He takes a deep breath trying to calm his rising emotions. "She is trying to take our son! She's gonna mess him up like she fucks up everything!"

Rhys rubs his back with a soothing palm. "No, No, Malik. She can't do anything."

Malik shakes his head again. "Eli's our son. Not hers. Ours! She doesn't deserve him." Malik's voice takes a fall. "She just doesn't."

Rhys fully enraptured his arms around  his love, his light, his Malik. Holds him tight as he rests his head upon his shoulder. Minutes stretch until the stairs of tears on both of their cheeks dry into streaks.

"Rhys…" Malik whispers

"Yes Malik?", Rhys replies.

"How did you do it? Get over Oscar so easily." Maliks says.

Rhys takes a long pause. He pulls back from their embrace. A brief look of panic comes to Malik's features before being wiped away by Rhys' soft smile.

"You don't get over it. Not really. You work with it. Accept things you can't do because of it. Like go on a road trip or do anything in  bdsm to be brief." Rhys says.

Rhys presses his palm to Malik's chest.

"You don't bury it though. When you bury it, it just sits there like a gaping wound with a bandaid. Waiting to seep through under pressure." Rhys says.

"Hell, I'm not better yet. But I have you. And you have me. We have our family. That is what will get us through this. No matter what." Rhys concludes.

Malik stares at Rhys with his mouth a gap. He wonders everyday how he got this red head in front of him to notice hum. He places his hand over his love's and smiles.

"Our family is fucked up. But, would never change that for the world." Malik says.

Malik brings the hand up to his mouth and kisses every freckle going up the exposed flesh of his arm. Rhys gladly gets dragged into the others embrace. Lips touch and move in a well known rhythm. 

"Uh…are you guys having make up sex now?" Eli ask standing by the doorway.

Both adult push themselves away like teenagers. Eli shakes his head and goes to the floor in between his two Daddies. 

"So, what are we doing about the bitch downstairs?" Eli asks.

"Firstly, language. Secondly, we are going to fight her. Legally." Rhys says.

"Think we can stop her. I mean…I don't want to be near her. She stank." Eli says.

Rhys stifles his laugh in favor of being the high road. "We are going to do everything in our power to not let that happen."

Malik wraps an arm around his son's shoulder. "Never."

A smile breaks out on the young boy's face. "Love you dads." He says.

"Love you too Eli."

Eli grins. "You know, I feel much better about you guys having another baby now."

Malik blinks. "What baby?" He says and eyes his husband.

Rhys lets out a shallow nervous chuckle. 

"Surprise!"

~ 

Harvey leans against his balcony with his glass finally filled with something other than alcohol for the night. He brings the cup of ginger ale up to his mouth and takes a long sip. 

"You know ginger ale is the cure to most ailments." Mr Bell says as he walks up from behind.

Harvey rolls his eyes. "So I have been told." He responds.

Mr Bell nods his head and leans against the railing besides Harvey. He looks out aimlessly at the night sky.

"Beautiful night. You could probably see Venus from here if you look just right." Mr Bell says.

"Maybe." Harvey says.

"I told my client that. She asked me if that was a new Samsung phone." Mr Bell sighs. "I hate dealing with craziness."

Harvey laughed. "Then you would not like my line of business. "

Mr Be joined in the laugh. "Least I don't call them crazy anymore."

Harvey pauses at that before staring back at the sky. Mr Bell turns to face him.

"Are you going to keep acting like you don't know me?" Mr Bell asks.

"It's easier this way," Harvey responds.

"You aged very well, Harvard. I would say you are more beautiful than the last time I saw you." Mr Bell says.

Harvey stifles a chuckle. "You don't look so bad yourself."

Mr Bell shifts closure to Harvey. "I'm going to take my client back to the hotel. If they wish to communicate more to discuss this situation again, here is my card." He slides a black business card out of his inner jacket pocket.

"Feel free to call me there." He says. "I'll see us both out."

Harvey finally turns to look at him.  "Very well."

Mr Bell turns and begins walking towards the door.

"Theodore." Harvey stops him. Mr Bell turns to face him. 

"I'm sorry."

Mr Bell nods slowly. 

"I understand."

~

Three Months Later

"Eli! Take your foot off the gas." Malik says holding the dashboard for dear life. He wonders to himself how he agreed to teach this boy how to drive.

"Chill Dad. I got this." Eli replies with a grin.

"Your daddy won't like it if I come home in a casket." Malik replies, trying not to look at the speedometer anymore.

"No need to worry about this. I can handle this speed. I'm barely pushing 40 in the 50 zone. " Eli replies.

Malik just shakes his head. Eli turns the corner coming into the residential area. As he slows the car down, another car comes up the road full speed. Eli pushes the break just in time to prevent a complete crash. However, the car got nicked in the front. Both males exit the car to find the driver of the white sports car.

Said owner looks unfazed as he slips put of the car with an indifferent expression on his face. 

"What the fuck man! Didn't you see us?" Eli says in a blaze.

The male tilted down his glasses to eye up the man before him. Eli crossed his arms and stared at him the same way.

"I know you from somewhere." The man finally said.

"What does that have to do with anything? You scratch my dad’s car!" Eli retorts.

"Just tell me the price and I'll send you the money." The man says with a bored look on his face.

"Not a big scratch. No need." Malik says. He places a hand on his still fumed son. "What's your name?"

"Pond." He grits out.

"Pond? What kind of name is that? Is it like an Asian custom name?" Eli asks.

Pond scoffs. "Now I remember you. You're from football tryouts."

"I never tried out for football?" Eli responds.

Pond crosses his arms. "Soccer." He drags outs.

Eli lights up. "Oh yeah. Sorry I didn't remember you. I don't usually remember arrogant bitches."

Pond lets out a breathy laugh. "You got jokes?" He moves closer to Eli.

Eli moves closer in defiance of his dad's hand. "Got plenty."

"Nice meeting you…fox."

"Fox?" Eli questions.

"You look like one. Take it as an Asian custom name." Pond laughs and goes back into his car.

Malik holds his enraged son from going after the boy. Eli puffs his cheeks with anger.

"Fuck you Pond!"

A/N: We have finally made it to the end of this book. I want to thank everyone for sticking by this book to the bitter end. I hope you have enjoyed this story and will continue to stick around for book 2.

Title: Fox

[Also Q&A on my profile]

Goodbye for now!