A Stark Love

“Little Fox!” A voice boomed through the vast field. The grass had been recently cut low which only made the open area seem larger. A man walked from the large mansions patio deck onto the grass, his eyes scanning the area intently, “Little Fox!” He was a very lean, tall man with a muscular build who glided across the grass quickly. His eyes morphed into fear as he scanned the area more frantically moving in a light jog, “Little Fox!” He jogged into the middle of the field, turning his body around in a full circle to get a 360 scan of the area.

“Boo!”

He whipped around to see a young girl standing to the side of a large tree stump. She covered her mouth as she giggled, her bright eyes full of life and joy as she looked up at him. Her eyes always captivated him – one emerald green, the other a deep blue. His shoulders relaxed as he grinned, picking her up swiftly, “There’s my Little Fox!” She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck, laughing into his ear, “Did I scare you, Papa?” With one arm cradled underneath her little body, the other wrapping around her back as he placed his hand on her head, kissing her hair, smiling faintly at her question. “Yes, Little Fox. You scared me.” She leaned her head back as he began to walk towards the mansion, her tiny hands cupping his cheeks, “I’m sorry, Papa.” She pulled his face down and kissed his forehead, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck once more, “I won’t scare you anymore.”

He kissed her hair once more, eyes shut in a loving embrace as he moved across the field, “Good.” A woman stepped out from behind a sliding glass door on to the patio, her arms crossed over her chest as she smiled lovingly at the two. He turned his face into the little girl’s, mouth by her ear, “Go to Mama.” He kissed her cheek quickly as he set her on the ground. The little girl turned around, her chestnut hair swirling in the wind as she ran towards the woman, “Mama!”

The man stopped walking briefly to gaze at the two of them. Her tiny arms stretched out to her Mother. Her Mother laughing loudly as she raced down the patio steps, kneeling in the grass with her arms stretched out to welcome her. His heart lunged after them, a smile forming on his face as his eyes softened watching the two embrace. The woman picked up the little girl, giggling widely to each other, turning her head quickly to face him, “Roderick, are you coming?”

Her words woke him from his private moment as he nodded, “Yes, Dear.” He jogged over to the two, arm wrapped around the woman’s waist as they walked back into the mansion. The little girl gave a detailed account of her hiding place to her Mother as they continued through the mansion into a large family room. Two teenage boys ran pass the three howling obscenities to one other. “Careful!” Roderick barked, causing the two to slow their pace and nod respectively. “Sorry, Papa!” They yelled over their shoulder as they continued their adventure. Roderick shook his head, brow furrowing as he watched another three boys come trudging through the family room. A nine year old and two tiny five year olds that mirrored the little girl, “Where are you three going?” The three boys stopped in their tracks, eyes on him intently, “We’re going to play with Alek and Lucca.”

The woman smiled, holding back a laugh as she swayed to and fro with the little girl, looking over to Roderick. “I don’t think that’s a wise idea. Why don’t you all play here?” Roderick asked as his eyes softened. The three boys began their protest howling over the other to command attention. Roderick sighed, shaking his head as he looked over to the woman, “What do you think, my love?” She smiled at him, her gaze going back to the three boys now huddled around her legs, “Why don’t you wait for the Grey’s to get here? Don’t you want to play with James, Vincent, and Demetri?” The boy’s faces morphed into excitement as they jumped up and down.

Roderick let out a hearty laugh, “Okay, Okay, calm down! They’ll be here soon!” The boys clapped their hands beaming up at their Father as they shot question after question to what they could do once they arrived. Roderick looked over to his wife, “Elena...help, please?” His eyes widening as the boys hung from his legs. The little girl buried her face into her Mother’s neck, smiling as she watched the scene unfold before her. “Oh, you’re on your own, Darling.” Elena laughed, winking at him. Roderick let out a playful groan picking up the two five year old boys, “Caius and Elias, stop biting. It’s not nice.” Elena walked over to a couch, keeping her hold on the little girl as she sat down, “Sonja, don’t you want to play with your brothers?”

The little girl picked up her head to look at her Mother, “I like being with you, Mama.” Elena’s eyes softened, kissing her daughter’s forehead, “I like being with you too, Sunny. Now, go play. Enjoy yourself.” Sonja kissed her Mother’s cheek as she wiggled off of her and towards the pile on her Father. A man marched into the room, a guard, “Mr. Stark, the Grey’s have arrived.” The children dispersed, huddling around their Father to let him sit up, “Bring them in, Maxwell.” Maxwell nodded his head as the boys ran over to him, barking questions. Sonja kept close to her Father as he forced himself to stand. Maxwell did his best to hide the wide grin on his face as he motioned for the Grey’s.

A couple walked into the room, both very lean and elegant. The man strode over to Roderick just as he was picking himself up from the ground, “Roderick, always good to see you, Brother.” The two pulled each other into a deep embrace before breaking apart, “The same for you, Jonathan. Where are your little ones?” The woman walked over to Elena as three boys followed close behind her. The three Stark boys ran after them yelling out, “Tag!” Dispersing quickly as two of the Grey boys lunged after them. Elena and the woman laughed, sitting down to chat. The woman held on to the smallest boy’s hand, one close to Sonja’s age.

Jonathan laughed watching his two eldest sons James and Vincent run around with the three young Stark children, “They’re a mess, aren’t they?” Roderick laughed, patting his back, “They wouldn’t be ours if they weren’t.” Their eyes skimmed over to their wives and the little boy huddled close to them. Jonathan sighed, “Demetri...” Roderick’s eyebrow rose as he turned his head to look at Jonathan, “Still won’t let go.” Jonathan’s jaw tensed as he nodded, “Ever since that damn wolf. He just can’t shake it. Plus, it’s the first time he’s agreed to come here without crying. It’s all new.” Sonja leaned against her Father’s leg as she watched Demetri with curiosity.

Roderick placed his hand on Sonja’s head, his thumb caressing her hair, “Why don’t you go play with your brothers, Little Fox?” She jerked her head up to look at her Father, her face blushing, still shy in front of Mr. Grey. Jonathan smiled softly at her, winking to assure her. Sonja nodded her head slowly, her tiny hands letting go of the hold on her Father’s leg. She began to walk carefully to the huddle of boys howling and sprinting across the room. She turned her head to look back at her Father, nervous. He smiled genuinely, his eyes soft as he dipped his head to encourage her to move forward.

As Sonja turned her head to look forward, she caught a glimpse of Demetri who was now staring at her intently. She stopped in her tracks as she stared back at him, her tiny hand rising in the air to wave at him. Demetri cuddled closer to his mother’s side as he watched Sonja intently with curiosity and a tang of fear. Roderick cut his eyes slowly, curious, as he watched his daughter. “Seems she caught Demetri’s interest,” Jonathan cooed playfully. Sonja walked slowly over to Demetri, stopping to stand before him. Roderick stood tall, his shoulders back as he watched the two of them. Elena and Clara, Jonathan’s wife, watched just as intently to the two children. “Introduce yourself, Darling.” Clara whispered to Demetri. Elena glanced over to Roderick, shrugging her shoulders lightly as she returned her gaze to Sonja and Demetri.

Demetri looked up at his mother for a moment before he pulled away from her, letting go of her hand, moving closer to Sonja. He reached his tiny hand out, palm open to shake hers, “I am Demetri Grey.” His voice was strong, speech formal for his age, though it came out as a tiny whisper. Sonja reached her hand out and clasped around his, “I’m Sonja Stark.” The two shook hands slowly, “Nice to meet you, Miss. Stark.” Elena and Clara put a hand over their mouths to stifle the giggles as they smiled brightly. Sonja looked at Demetri quizzically, unsure of why he was so formal, but smiled at him nonetheless, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Grey.”

Jonathan slapped Roderick’s back, mouth agape, “Are you seeing this!?” Roderick’s shoulders softened as he smiled lightly, “Yes, I am.” Demetri and Sonja let their hands fall back to their sides as they stared down at the floor, embarrassed. “Do you wanna play checkers?” Sonja asked shyly. She looked over at him, seeing his wide eyed stare and smiled ever so slightly. He nodded his head to her, his hands at his sides clenching and unclenching. She smiled brightly, “Let’s go!” She grabbed his hands and pulled him to the opposite side of the room. The four adults gazed at each other completely astonished by the little event.

The men walked over to their wives, sitting at their sides on the couch as they watched Sonja and Demetri intently. “I can’t believe she got him to play,” Clara whispered, her eyes swelling with tears, “He never plays.” Jonathan wrapped an arm around his wife, pulling her close to kiss her head, “Looks like he found a new reason to start.” Elena smiled brightly, clapping her hands, “This is wonderful!” She looked up to Roderick whose face was stern and questioning. She nudged him, breaking his focus, as he looked down to her apologetic.

The other three began talking again, the nose of the children surrounding them, as Roderick stared intently at his only daughter and the disturbed little boy. He sat back into the couch eyes searching for the why and how. It was a moment that would change their lives – forever.