This AU takes place in the beginning half of chapter 2, when Luca first found the borrowers. It's essentially a "what would have happened if Luca did things differently?" AU. Enjoy!

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Enzo was very confused. He thought it would be a relatively easy day. The Luca human was at that college thing, so Enzo figured he had a couple hours to do some borrowing.

He started with the essentials, heading into the kitchen for food and to refill his canteen. Harper did surprisingly well today, babbling softly in Enzo's ear as he climbed up to the counter. Luca even had a piece of waffle left over on a plate, and Enzo gratefully helped himself and Harper to some before sticking the rest in his bag.

They hadn't gotten to eat or borrow the last two days, as Luca had some friends sleep over. Enzo hated it when he did that. The Luca human himself was alright, but his friends were loud and unpredictable. Enzo didn't like them, and their voices scared Harper.

But that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was retrieving the paper clip Luca had dropped in the front hallway. Enzo figured it would be a good thing to have on hand in case his hook ever gave out. It would take some work, but he bet he could manipulate it into a hook shape.

And that's all Enzo remembered. He was under the side table, eyes fixed on his prize and then... nothing. Just a wave of dizziness and that was it.

Now, however, Enzo was lying in something soft. He kept his eyes closed as his brow furrowed in confusion. The nest? When did I head back to the nest? he wondered.

But the fabric he was lying in was warmer, softer, and clearly cleaner than anything he had in the walls. And the light filtering underneath his eyelids was brighter, too. Which meant... he was... outside of the walls?

Enzo's eyes shot open. "Harper," he gasped, feeling for the familiar small weight on his back.

It was missing, along with the wrapped harness he kept his baby brother in. He jolted upright, stretching his hands out in front of him and feeling around in the unfamiliar fabric.

"Harper?" he repeated, voice frantic. "Where are you?"

His hand landed on a warm little bundle in the fabric, and peeling it aside, his shoulders sagged in relief to find Harper snuggled up and fast asleep.

"Oh, thank goodness," he breathed, scooping his brother up and hugging him close.

Now that he had located Harper, Enzo uneasily turned his attention to trying to figure out where they were. They were nestled in what looked like a cardboard box, tucked into the fabric of what appeared to be the human's sweatshirt.

Enzo's heart thudded into his stomach as he pieced together what must have happened.

The human.

Luca had found them. After all of Enzo's efforts to stay hidden, one slip up was all it took to get caught.

Enzo's breathing came in short bursts, and he tried to calm himself and think rationally. Ok, he thought. Luca found us. He... he picked us up. And placed... us... where, exactly?

Enzo put Harper down and cautiously poked his head over the side of the box, noticing they were on the desk in the human's room. The box was surprisingly short. If Enzo had been standing, its walls would probably only reach his waist.

Ok, Enzo thought, encouraged. I can escape this easily. He glanced to the side and was surprised to discover a notch cut into the side of the box, perfectly sized for a person like him to slip in and out of. Almost... like a doorway.

If... if that's the case, Enzo wondered, then... does the human not want to trap us?

Enzo decided to worry about the human's motives later. His priority was getting out. Luckily, the box wasn't really the securest of prisons, so Enzo knelt down to scoop his sleeping brother into his arms, getting ready to run.

There was a small sound behind him.

Enzo whirled around, and to his horror, he saw that he wasn't as alone as he had originally thought.

The human sat at his desk beside him, and his eyes lit up when he saw Enzo looking at him.

"Oh, hey, you're up," the human said, his voice surprisingly quiet. "How are you feeling?"

Enzo just stared up at him in sheer terror, his eyes widening.

The human's friendly smile faltered a bit. "Umm, are you alright? You don't look so good." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I mean... that's understandable. I'm sure I'm pretty scary to someone your size."

He nodded, light eyes earnest. "But don't worry, I won't hurt you. I just put you in the box so that you could get some sleep somewhere safer than the floor. That's all."

Enzo's heart seemed to freeze. His muscles screamed at him to run, but he was locked into place, the human's huge form completely taking over his line of sight.

He instinctively pressed Harper closer to his chest and tensed, preparing to spring to his feet and make a dash for it, but he just... couldn't.

Instead, moving like he had no control over his own limbs, he found himself backing up and pressing himself into the farthest corner of the box, eyes still pinned on the human.

His breathing quickened, faster and shallower as he struggled for air. The human's concerned features swam in his vision, but Enzo couldn't seem to pick them out. Everything blurred together, and he realized his eyes were filling with tears.

Come on, not now! he yelled at himself. You have to get away! You have to protect Harper!

But he couldn't move at all, and after a few moments of mind-numbing terror, the panic suddenly leeched away, swallowed whole by a feeling of deep, abject hopelessness.

I can't run, Enzo realized, dread filling his limbs and making them leaden. I can't fight. This... this thing is colossal. All he has to do is reach out a finger, and I'd be crushed underneath it. There's... there's no winning here. I... I can't do anything. Not for me. Not for Harper. We'll both be dead. Or... or worse.

His lips quivered, and all of a sudden, he just desperately wished to be home, desperately wished for his mom and dad. The thought that he and Harper might be meeting them soon made the dam burst, and he bowed his head over Harper, squeezing his baby brother tightly while hot tears coursed down his face.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, over and over again into Harper's patched shirt. He kissed his brother's hollow, tear-stained little cheek. "I'm so sorry. I've killed us both."

He kept one hand on the back of Harper's head, holding him tight with the other as he sat scrunched in the corner of the cardboard box.

Maybe if I hold him tight enough, he won't feel what's about to happen, he thought tearfully.

Enzo stayed hunched like that for what felt like an eternity, waiting breathlessly for human hands to poke him, prod him, pick him up, wrench Harper from his arms.

But no human touch came, and after a while, Enzo's tears simply petered out, leaving him still afraid, but also confused and more than a little bit curious.

If the human wasn't making moves to grab him... then what was he doing?

Sniffling back the rest of his tears, Enzo hesitantly raised his head to peek at the human. Luca was sitting quietly at his desk beside their little box, writing something in a notebook. Enzo had seen him do that before, working on something called homework.

After several minutes of staring, the human eventually glanced at them. The suddenness of his pale gaze made Enzo start, and he quickly hid his face back in Harper's boney little shoulder.

"Hey," came the human's soft voice. "You feeling a little bit better? There's water and tissues next to you, if you need them."

Curious, Enzo poked his head up again, and sure enough, a bottle cap with water sat there, along with a few pieces of tissue, torn down to his size.

He glanced back up at the human, but Luca had already turned back to his notebook. Satisfied that the human wasn't paying attention to him, Enzo crept up to the items, snagging a tissue and mopping up his face.

The water posed an issue, though. He couldn't lift up the bottle cap without putting down Harper, and there was no way in hell he was letting go of his baby brother with a human in the room with them.

Spying his borrowing bag beside him, Enzo slowly reached for it, keeping an eye on Luca. When the human still didn't move, Enzo grabbed his canteen from his pouch and unstopped the lid, taking a long drink from it.

With the canteen half empty, Enzo held the mouthpiece below the water in the bottle cap to refill it, taking another long drink before filling it again. Belatedly, he felt a pair of eyes on him, and he looked up sharply to see the human staring at him.

The human blinked, seemingly startled when Enzo didn't look away this time. His eyes quickly softened. "Better?" he asked, voice gentle. Enzo nodded mutely.

"Do you feel ok enough to talk, then?" the human asked next, and Enzo shrugged.

"Ok, well, I'll go first, then, I guess." The human seemed nervous, though Enzo had no idea why the person who had total control in this situation would be nervous.

"I'm really sorry I scared you," came an unexpected apology. "I'm sure waking up here was terrifying, but I'm not going to hurt or trap or keep you, I promise."

Enzo's eyes flickered to the box walls around him, and the human noticed.

"Like I said, I only put you guys in the box because I wanted you to have a safe place to sleep," he added quickly. "I was worried you'd wake up and be so scared that you'd run right off the table without stopping to realize how high up you were," the human said, in response to Enzo's skeptical look.

"But see," Luca pointed at the little notch that was cut out of the side of the box. "You can leave whenever you want." He nodded at Enzo's satchel. "Your hook is still there, too," he mentioned. "I didn't take anything."

Enzo just stared at him, the gears in his head grinding sluggishly. The fear was still there, lingering like a rust that made his thoughts muddy.

"...why?" The word slipped out, so quiet that Enzo wasn't sure if the human heard it.

But Luca did. "Why what?" he repeated, cocking his head. His messy brown hair fell into his eyes, and he brushed it away as Enzo watched.

Enzo frowned. "If you're just going to let us leave, why did you pick us up at all?" he asked.

"Oh." Luca nodded, the softest look passing over his face. "I just wanted to see if you were ok," came the astonishing answer. "I found you passed out under my table, and you wouldn't wake up. And... well... no offense, but you look terrible, like you haven't slept or eaten in weeks."

At Enzo's look of disbelief, the human rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Umm, of course, that could just be how you normally look, but... I wasn't sure, so... I just wanted to ask if you needed help. That's all."

He looked Enzo in the eye now. "So, are you ok? Do you need help?"

Enzo could only stare back, speechless. But the genuine concern in Luca's voice pricked at the frightened, overwhelmed part of his heart that he'd kept locked back since his parents died, and he found his eyes refilling with tears.

Not out of fear this time, but at the gesture of compassion being offered to him. It had been so long since he had someone to check on him. He hadn't realized how much he needed that until the words were actually said aloud.

"I'm not ok," Enzo found himself whispering, voice shaking. He tried to stop himself, but the words just tumbled out of his mouth. "I don't know what to do. I'm scared, and... I... I need help."

He rubbed his eyes, still shaking like a leaf. He knew he looked pathetic, but... well... that's exactly how he felt. "Please... can you... can you please help me?"

Asking for help from a human... Enzo had never felt so low in his life. But sitting in this little box with nowhere to go and no one to turn to... it really put into perspective how few options he had left.

The human looked startled by Enzo's confession, but he quickly schooled his features. "Of course I can help you," he answered. "What's wrong? What can I do? What do you need?"

I need... a lot of things, Enzo thought. I need my parents. I need someone to hold me. I need to sleep. I need to eat. I need fabric for the nest. Fabric and thread for clothes. I need someone else to help Harper when he cries. I need... I need...

"Just some food," Enzo said softly.

"Ok," the human agreed. He pushed himself to his feet slowly, being careful not to bump the table and rattle Enzo and Harper. "Is there anything that you want? Or anything that you can't eat?"

Enzo shook his head, unable to stop his shivering at the shadow the towering human cast over him. He'd never felt more miniscule in his life. "I can eat anything," he said. "I'm not picky."

"Gotcha." The human was already heading towards the door. "Be right back. Stay safe, ok?"

Enzo watched him go, his mind fuzzy from the residual adrenaline in his system. Now that he was coming down from that initial jolt of fear, he just felt a bone deep exhaustion.

He briefly considered running away while the human was gone, but as he tried to get to his feet, his legs were so wobbly that he couldn't even stand up. So, he collapsed back down in the corner of the box, staring at the little doorway to freedom that he was simply too tired to reach.

He waited quietly, glancing down to check on Harper. Somehow, his baby brother had slept through that whole ordeal, though his cheeks were tearstained. He must have been crying at some point.

Probably while I was passed out, Enzo realized unhappily. He gently pressed a fingertip against Harper's swollen eyelids. He must have cried really hard, too.

As he moved his hand back, he noticed what looked like cracker crumbs around the corners of Harper's mouth. Frowning, he pinched one up and put it in his mouth hesitantly. Yup. Crackers. He studied his little brother's sleeping face.

How would he have gotten those? Enzo wondered, wracking his brain. We were under the table, nowhere near the crackers in the kitchen.

A soft sound at the door startled him, and he looked up to see that the human was back. "Hey," Luca said softly. "Can I come in?"

Enzo cocked his head, finding it more than a little funny that the human was asking for permission to enter his own room. But he nodded anyway.

"Here." The human approached slowly and placed a small plate in the box, keeping a careful distance from Enzo.

Enzo stared at it, eyes widening. Fresh food. Not crumbs. Not scraps.

He picked at the food hesitantly at first, unsure if it had been drugged or poisoned. When nothing tasted off, he quickly devoured it, remembering at the last minute to break off a piece to save for Harper.

When Enzo finished, he pushed away from the plate, suddenly feeling much, much better. Better enough to ask the human another question.

"Was Harper crying when you found us?" he said quietly.

Luca looked confused, and Enzo pointed at his brother. "Harper. He's my brother."

"Oh." Luca's face cleared. "Yeah, he was." He looked nervous again. "So... umm... I picked him up and got him some crackers and water," he said. "I hope that was ok. He fell asleep pretty quickly after that."

"Hmm." Enzo looked over Harper again, but the only sign of his little adventure with the human was the cracker crumbs around his mouth. There were no bruises, nothing mangled or broken. Luca must have been extremely careful while handling him.

"Umm, so I don't know if you already know who I am, but I'm Luca," the human offered. "What's your name?"

Enzo glanced back up. Luca was staring at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. "Enzo," he finally got out. "My name's Enzo."

"Enzo," Luca tried out the word. "It's nice to meet you." He smiled a bit. "Though given your initial reaction, I'm guessing the feeling isn't mutual."

Enzo blinked in surprise before feeling the faint twitch of a smile play around his own lips. It had been so long since he smiled. "Being found wasn't... ideal," he admitted, ducking his head back down. "But... maybe... it's not... terrible?"

He peeked at Luca again, who just looked amused.

"Not terrible?" Luca repeated, grinning broadly. "Gee, thanks for your glowing review. It means a lot."

Enzo actually did chuckle at that. I must be losing my mind, he thought, the exhaustion from the fear and unexpected events of the day catching up to him. Talking and laughing with a human.

Luca noticed the way he fell silent. "You probably want to go home, huh?" he asked, and Enzo glanced up with a start. Luca nodded encouragingly. "You can leave," he assured Enzo. "I'm not keeping you here."

"Umm, yeah, we should probably get going," he confirmed.

This sweatshirt is warmer than the scraps of fabric in the walls, a voice spoke up in the back of his mind. Enzo waved it away. He was not about to be tempted to stay out of the walls. No matter how nice this human was or how warm Enzo felt in his sweatshirt.

"Well, here," the human said, suddenly holding his hand out. Enzo couldn't help but flinch, but the human was just offering him a cracker.

Luca nodded at Harper. "Little man over here liked this a lot," he mentioned. "Why don't you take this back with you for when he wakes up?"

Enzo took a deep breath and shakily accepted the cracker before tucking it into his bag. He pushed himself to his feet on trembling legs. He was able to stand upright this time, though barely.

"Can I help you get down?" Luca asked. "Or are you good?"

Enzo waved him off. "No need," he said, pointing at the outlet level with the desk he was standing on. "I can get home through there."

Luca seemed surprised. "You live in the walls?"

Enzo was busy wrapping Harper up in his little carrier and slinging him over his back. "Mhmm. You didn't think we lived out in plain sight of humans, did you?"

It didn't really matter if Luca knew they lived in the walls. He'd never be able to pinpoint the exact location of their nest, and he'd certainly never be able to reach it.

"Huh." Luca watched him pick up his bag and hook, settling them both over his shoulder. Done with gathering his belongings, Enzo stood there and stared up at the human uncomfortably.

"Well, can I get you anything else?" Luca asked. "Do you need any supplies for your home? Any food or water to take back with you?"

Enzo hesitated, more requests on his lips, before he shook his head reluctantly. "No, thank you." He patted his bag. "The cracker is more than enough."

Luca didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyway. "Alright." He shifted a little, face suddenly looking earnest. "But if you guys ever need anything, please just come tell me," he said. "If things are bad, there's no point in suffering through them on your own, especially since I'm right here. I'm more than happy to help in whatever way you need."

Enzo definitely wasn't planning on seeking out the human again, even for more help. In fact, he was seriously considering packing up Harper and their meager belongings and leaving the apartment immediately. That's what his father would have wanted him to do, anyway.

But Enzo didn't want to offend the human by blatantly turning down such a generous offer, so he pretended to consider it.

"Ok," he promised, confused by the pinprick of guilt he felt at the lie. He shouldn't feel guilty at the methods he used to survive. Especially when the only collateral damage was potentially hurting the human's feelings. "I'll come see you."

He lifted a hand awkwardly. "Then... bye," he said before trailing off towards the outlet.

His heart hammered in his chest as he turned his back on the human. It's ok, he's fine, he hasn't done anything to you yet, he reminded himself shakily. He's not going to just randomly grab you now.

But honestly... if Luca was going to grab him, it was now or never, before he disappeared into the walls forever. Enzo shuddered at the thought, shaking his head to try to dismiss the thoughts.

However, he couldn't resist peeking over his shoulder at Luca, just to make sure he wasn't reaching for him. But the human was just sitting there, hands in his lap, looking thoughtful as he watched Enzo walk away.

When he noticed Enzo looking back at him, he smiled and lifted a hand to wave. "See you around, man," he said. "Take care of yourself, k?"

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A/N: Enzo in his 20s isn't a crier, but 15-year-old Enzo certainly is. He's just a poor, overwhelmed, overthinking baby bean who is starving, grieving, and scared to death. Luckily, Luca's there to take care of him, even though he doesn't realize it yet.

This extra has 3 parts, so keep reading to find out what happens next!