Picking Up A Stray

(Another picture I found from a while ago when my roommate was babysitting. Rip Mr. Snowman.)

"Yes sir, I think we'll be able to close the deal at that price."

Church could hear Hanna flopping around on the carpet behind him, making just about as much noise as he could without actually talking. It was blatantly obvious that he was bored, but he wouldn't let him take him to the company's daycare so there wasn't much else he could do.

I can't play with you all day.

He almost wished that Hanna was still afraid of people to the point of sitting in the corner silently like he used to. That would be nice. He'd previously also never cared about playing with anything and would just sit in Church's lap all day without a word.

"I think your boy has had about enough of this meeting. Shall we shake on the price and end it here?" the man across from his said with a hint of humor to his eyes.

Giving a tired nod, Church grasped his hand firmly and put a strained smile on his face.

"Sorry about him."

The older man gave a deep chuckle as he glanced over at Hanna.

"It's quite alright. Yours?"

"Uh... babysitting indefinitely."

He gave another laugh and stood, his balding head reflecting a small shine from the ceiling lights. Church stood with him and took his hand one more time.

"It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Remaro."

"It has been my pleasure, Mr. Green. Have a good day."

"You as well, goodbye."

Church gave him a nod and short wave, waiting until the door to his office clicked shut before he spun around in his chair and opened his arms.

"Come here, brat."

Hanna jumped up instantly and scrambled into his lap with a little help. It had already been about a week and a half since his accident and Church had taken the bandages off earlier that morning. He was definitely going to have a scar, but the injury had stopped bleeding so he had just scrubbed it clean again and then put some antibacterial ointment on it, then left it uncovered.

"How is your forehead feeling?"

"A wittle hurd."

Church smiled and ran his thumb beneath his bangs, lifting them gently so that he could see the full wound.

"It looks really good."

When he didn't reply Church let his hair drift back down against his forehead and looked him in the eyes.

"Hanna?"

"Em..."

Ah, he wants to ask me something that he knows I'll likely say no to.

"What is it, Hanna?"

"Em... Chesh, can go chesh?"

They hadn't gone all week, and perhaps that was why he had been so restless.

"Alright, fine. We'll go."

"Yay!"

He threw his hands up with the shout, making Church roll his eyes as he lifted him up and stood. It was a relief to finally have the deal with the other man settled. Now there was only one more important thing to take care of, but so far it won't let anyone near it besides him.

As he carried Hanna from his office and toward the elevator, Church couldn't help but become a bit frustrated. Hanna had been doing somewhat okay with Michael, but none of the other fifteen people he'd previously tried to hire could get within ten feet of him without him screaming his head off.

This kid is a pain.

Once in the elevator Church leaned over just enough so that Hanna could press the Close Door button, then the First Floor one. At first he'd wanted nothing to do with anything in the weird moving box, but after Church had hit the buttons a few times and they lit up, he got intrigued and started trying to smack them all. So, he figured that it was just easier to let him push the ones they needed instead of having a fuming Hanna for half the day because he didn't let him make the buttons light up.

The bell above the door chimed, letting them know that they were now on the first floor. A few of his employees nodded or waved to them as they made their way through the main lobby. Church nodded in return and Hanna, being Hanna, just hid against his chest, halfway inside his suitcoat.

When they finally got outside where he had parked that morning in his rush to get ready for the meeting, he quickly got Hanna buckled into his car-seat and handed him a few crackers for the drive. He crunched away at the last couple ones from the package as he got them to the church. They both finished their food by the time he pull his car into the only available cramped parking spot on the street.

"Alright, ready? This is the late service so if you get tired just tell me and we can go home."

When Church got out and opened the back door to get Hanna out of his seat he was already free and jumping out of the car. He barely managed to catch him before he landed right in traffic. Giving a very angry growl, Church had to fight against his demonic side to not throw him back in the car and spank him for that!

Instead, he set Hanna down in his car seat and made sure to hold his wrists tightly until he met his eyes.

"Do not ever do that again, do you hear me Hanna? Do not unbuckle your seatbelt or get out of the car without holding my hand."

He'd nearly had a heart attack.

Hanna looked taken-aback at the sudden outburst but he needed to learn that he had almost just killed himself. Forcing a sigh from his lips, Church made his shoulders relax and slowly got himself under control again. Hanna was sniffling and blinking back tears, but he didn't regret what he'd said.

"I'm really sorry, Hanna. You just scared me. Please, next time just wait for me to come get you, okay?"

It took the boy a minute to calm down again, but eventually he nodded and Church carefully released his wrists and tugged him into his arms for a hug.

"Do you want go home and have some ice cream for dinner, or want to still go to church for a little bit?"

He sniffled one last time and shook his head.

"Wans go to chesh."

"Alright Hanna."

Church carefully stood up, holding him with his right arm so that he could shut the car door easier. When they got up the stairs he expected to see Michael standing there greeting people, but another person, an older woman with glasses and a bright yellow flowered dress was there offering up a smile instead.

Hanna's face seemed confused at first, but when the woman started reaching out a hand towards him he squeaked and hid his face in Church's shoulder.

"Nod Migal!"

The woman flinched, looking up at him in surprise.

"Uh, he's not good with people."

She offered a small smile and nodded at that before gesturing towards the main hall doors.

"That's okay, have a good time you two."

Church forced a smile and walked past, feeling a little bit uncomfortable. Hanna actually mentioned Michael. Did that mean he was okay with the man even after he'd caused him to get hurt? He wanted to ask him, but the service was already going on so he couldn't talk as they took a seat in the back so that they wouldn't disturb any of the other people there.

Hanna seemed a bit distracted during the first half the service, making Church lean over after twenty minutes or so to whisper in his ear.

"What's wrong, Hanna? Want to go?"

He shook his dark reddish brown hair and turned, getting up on his knees in Church's lap so that he could whisper into his ear.

"Where Migal? I not see him."

Church tilted his head, nudging Hanna's hair aside a little so that he could talk into his ear again.

"I'm not sure, would you like me to find out?"

Hanna sat back down in his lap and nodded.

Guess I can ask the greeter since she's still probably by the door.

"Alright."

scooping Hanna back up, Church carried him into the middle hall and walked over to the greeter.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

The woman turned from an older man she was speaking with and smiled, giving him her full attention as the gentleman walked into the service.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask where Michael is? Does he not come in on Wednesdays anymore?"

The woman's face fell a little and she gave him a sad smile.

"He said he wouldn't be able to come in for awhile since he needed to find a new job. The poor lad was kicked out of his apartment the other day. I tried to offer him some money to pay the rent for this month and he could just pay me back another time, but he was adamant about not taking anyone's money."

"He's homeless?"

She pursed her lips and nodded sadly.

"It's such a shame. I hope he finds himself a well-paying job soon, he doesn't deserve to be living out of his car. He's a nice young man."

Church's stomach twisted into knots as he nodded and immediately stepped out of the building.

"Chesh?"

Hanna's little face looked up at his worriedly.

"Migal 'omeness?"

"Yeah, Hanna."

"He not have home now? Why?"

Because I fired him for an accident.

"Let's go take a drive, okay?"

He seemed confused that he had dodged his question, but nodded anyways.

"Otay."

Church got Hanna buckled up in his seat and then slid in behind the wheel, pushing the button to roll the window down. It was a long shot, but he began to sniff the air as he drove around, doing his hardest to weed out the fumes and nasty human musk while trying to find Michael's personal scent.

It took nearly an hour to finally catch it. He smelled just like the old church. How cliché. Taking a left, Church pulled into a shopping center parking lot and easily found his car parked farthest away from the stores. Leaving his vehicle on with the air conditioning running, Church looked behind himself at Hanna and grinned.

Already asleep.

Getting out, he left his door open and walked over to look into Michael's car. It was pretty full except for the back seat. Michael was curled up beneath  a dark blue comforter sleeping soundly... in a damned parking lot.

Groaning to himself, Church ran shaky fingers through his hair and immediately regretted the idea his brain came up with to solve the little issue.

"I'm an idiot for even considering this."

Using a tiny fraction of his demonic strength, he gave the car a hard shove, knocking it enough to rattle Michael awake.

As soon as the man realized who was outside, he lunged for the door.

Unlocked, hm? Not smart, Michael.

Church pulled the door open right as Michael was about to flip the lock. He came to a stop on his hands and knees, panting from surprise and fear as he stared up at him.

"What are you doing here, Michael?"

He sat back on his heels and looked at him like he was crazy. Considering their current situation, he probably was, but that's an internal conversation for another day.

"Um, I was sleeping?"

"Idiot."

He scowled at that, shifting so that his legs were back in front of him. Then he hugged them, looking just like Hanna when he was pouting about Church forgetting his evening cookie after dinner.

"I'm not giving you a cookie."

"Huh?"

"Dammit. Just get behind the wheel already!" Church growled.

Michael jumped, scowling as he scooted out the other door and slid into the driver's seat.

"I'm here, now what do you want?"

His annoyed attitude wasn't going to beat how pissed Church was.

"You're going  to follow me back to my apartment."

He seemed to choke on his own spit at that... which was rather humorous to see.

"Do I need to repeat myself? Because my patience is draining fairly quickly."

"No..." He growled out.

Smart decision.

"Good."

Shutting the door, Church walked back to his own car and slid in behind the wheel. Hanna was still out cold when he looked in the rear-view mirror, so he turned the radio off and drove carefully until they were back home.

When Michael parked in the spot next to him Church got out and moved a finger to his lips, signaling to Michael, as he got out of his own car, to be quiet. He gave him a look but when Church pulled a sleeping Hanna from the backseat his expression softened. It turned a little guilty, too, but Church just ignored that as he nudged the door closed gently and headed up to his apartment. He could hear Michael following him up and once they stopped outside his door Church took his keys from where he'd tucked them between his teeth and unlocked it, then let the man in before following behind.

He got the boy tucked into bed, deciding to skip the bath for the night since he'd picked up a guest. Once Hanna was situated and comfortable Church pressed his lips to his forehead and walked out, switching the light off after checking that his new nightlight was working.

When he came back into the living room Church could feel eyes on him from the direction of the sofa. Michael was there, his expression confused but a little more relaxed than before.

"You're staying here for the night."

"But!"

"Shh! Hanna's sleeping."

His eyes cut to the hallway but quickly returned to Church as he pulled off his suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt a little to get more comfortable.

"It wasn't a suggestion. It was a fact."

"I'm not sleeping on your couch, Church."

Church's feet stopped right before they got to the kitchen.

Really? He was going to do this now?

Turning, Church walked over to Michael and tossed the guy easily over his shoulder. His left hand burned a little where it touched his pants, but he managed to get him into his room and toss him on the bed before there could be any lasting damage to his skin.

"There. Now you're sleeping on my bed. Want to complain again? 'Cause I'm sure I can find several other places to put you."

When Michael wisely didn't say anything, Church smirked and tossed his jacket onto his dresser, then pulled his shirt off.

"I-I'm not sleeping with you..."

"Glad we both agree with that little piece of information."

Church turned toward him with a cocky chuckle.

"I would never find myself in bed with such a holy human, either. So your virtue is safe."

Michael scowled, making it that much more humorous.

"Go to sleep, little priest. You are waking up at six."

Michael groaned as Church walked out, shutting the door behind himself. He had a feeling that he would be up much earlier since his sofa wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing. Oh well. He had no idea what he was going to do with the human, but at least he could help him deal with Hanna tomorrow, because god, and his priest, both probably knew just how much he needed it.