Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

006 they called him .
Dangerous or manipulative was one of his impressions
But he wasn't any of those .
He was a child that needed to stay strong for his brother.

032 was his name .
Underestimating him is a usual thing .
He's barely a teenager but he experienced more than someone would experienced his whole life.

005 they called her .
Underestimating her was also common .
Her being only a young woman wasn't helpful as well.
After all she's been through she's still standing tall and strong but for how long ?

008 was his name.
He was strong not only from the outside .
But he didn't need to be strong he needed someone to care about him .
But how could he be so careless and think that ?

016 they called him .
He seems so emotionless but it was only because someone
took his happiness away along side his childhood .
He wasn't even a child and still they found a way to ruin him.

018 was his name .
Kids need to learn and play , they don't need to fight for there existence .
But he didn't had a choice .
He fought so hard for his life but somehow they feel so pointless.

004 they called him .
Reckless and Crazy was his nicknames .
A few years before that he had a future and more than that he had a purpose .
He had no other choice he needed to be crazy because being crazy is better than
being hunted.

002 was his name .
His life turned upside down and he had to survive .
He didn't even knew why he needed to survive
but he needed to in order to keep him sane.

001 they called him .
Nobody knew who he was before being called 001 .
He had many names , Recruit 982 , Rookie , haunting dog and more ...
He did some shameless things to be called those names because he knew his life couldn't end there . He knew there was somone waiting for him . He knew he had a real name.

They all have their own trauma and additionally to their shared trauma .
They we're each others family in the hardest times of their life but are they still a family ?
They need to be healed from their past in order to move on but is it even possible ?
Child soldiers will never recover fully because They're too wounded from the inside to even bleed .

Chapter Text

It was just after they got rid of mad dog .
It didn't seem like it was affecting them but it was .
He is the person that ruined their life but still he took them in when no one else didn't .

006 woke from an instinct when a bird made some noise.
It was 7:00 am , not too late but not too early.
Liam liked the morning , it was quit peacefull.

He was glad that 032, 018 and 016 didn't woke up because they really needed those hours of sleep.
He went to the kitchen carefully trying not to create any noises that'll wake up the kids.

He saw that 005 was already awake. She always was an early bird.
Liam started making breakfast silently, still haven't said a word to Maya.

It was a bit overwhelming for him . Getting to live their own peaceful life like they didn't ruin many other peaceful lives.
He didn't even knew how to live a normal life or how to raise 3 teenagers .
He knew he didn't had to look after them and take care of them but it just felt like its the least he could do , after the hellish things they went through.
They've basically a big happy family .
Well not happy but they're getting there.

Not so long after Liam made breakfast the boys woke up.
It was very awkward for them.
Yes they grew up together but it feels weird now that they're actually living together.

" Good morning guys how about we start an actual conversation instead of sitting in silence all day! , sounds great right ? " Maya said in a loud voice hoping that it would spark a conversation.

She was lucky because 016 started talking " I really don't get why you didn't let us go with 002 and 004 , don't you think we're old enough to decide that? " His voice was a bit harsh but Liam chose to not make a big deal out of this.
" Because you're all still kids and until you're 21 you're at my coustedy "

The room went silent
Now it was 018 that started talking " You did what !? " He shouted obviously angry

" someone have to take care of you kids and I'm your last hope . You know that you're all wanted in 16 different countries !? I can't let you go with 002 and 004 because they don't care if something happens to them but you have a whole life Infront of you , if you go with them you'll ruin your life completely and I won't be there to save you this time ".

The kids were in shock and even Maya , they didn't knew he cared that much about them.

" I'm going for a walk . Feel free to do whatever you want" Liam said driely and left .

Maya sighed, if she knew this was gonna happen she would drink a much stronger coffee.
" look I know that he's a sack of emotions but he do care about you and I'm sure you have a tiny bit of you that cares about him too"

" doesn't mean he has to control us " 032 said kind of whispering

" it's a new concept for all of us , it's his first time doing this too , please just be less harsh on him he wants you to have the childhood he didn't have even if it's just a part of it "

Oh.

The boys fell silent and helped Maya do the dishes and clean, right after that they went to their rooms to do who knows what.

" they should pay me for this stuff " she Mattered under her breath and took a sip from her freshly made coffee.

Chapter Text

It's been a week since the last conversation they had and nothing changed. Every morning, the same misunderstandings, the same little fights over everything.

Liam thinks he might explode if it continues this way.
He needs a job and the kids need to do something that's not illegal or dangerous.

Instead of talking to them directly, he decided for the first time in his life to consult with 005.

She sipped her usual coffee at her usual spot in the house. Surprisingly she adapted well to this environment.

Liam didn’t notice that he shot her a rude stare.
" How are you doing this? " slipped out of his mouth before he noticed. Strange. This had never happened before. If this had happened in camp, he would have been badly affected by it. Could mean beating,even death.

Her eyes met his " doing what? " she shot back
Not judging just listening , she became more tolerable.

" You know .. Adapting " he said awkwardly
" isn't it great that you can enjoy a coffee and a magazine peacefully instead of a glock 16 and a bullet in your hand? "

Liam understood what she says but still how could he- " you're ‏thinking about it way too much just enjoy it before someone ruins it " ‏she interrupted his thoughts.

" oh and another thing maybe take it easy with the kids ya know? It's new to them more than it's to us, you can't expect children who grew up in the battlefield to become normal kids with butterflies and rainbows over their heads "

And by that she left him alone to think about this.
He decided he should put the kids first in his priorities, they deserve this life way more than him and they should at least find their places in here.

He went to the room where the kids basically stayed in for 24/7.
Every step closer to their room is closer to another possible fight with them.

' It will be alright ' he repeated in his head.

He knocked and then opened the door and he was greeted to the 3 bored teenagers he basically adopted.

They looked at him waiting for him to say something.

" Wanna grab a beer? " he offered awkwardly but surprisingly they nodded , probably out if boredom.

He went back to Maya but this time not alone , but with three teenagers behind him.

" We're going out " he declared
" Where to " she asked curious
" to grab a beer " 016 said careless
" you know you're not in the legal age in here to drink " 005 shot back
" Well fake ID is a thing " 018 smirked
" And you thought of going with out me?! Respect your elders " she yanked him with her foot and got up

They made their way in the unfamiliar streets into a local bar

They somehow had a conversation about some old memories of them drinking booze because it was the only clean source of something to drink.

" I swear it was so stupid of them , who gives a camp almost full of men booze ? " 016 said and they started laughing

" 0-Liam ? " A familiar, surprisingly friendly voice greeted him

He turned back to see no other than 001.
It seems like he was with a group of people his age , probably his friends.
" Ijin " he said back to him trying to sound friendly

While ijin's group of friends continued talking
Liam and the others put their guards up.
" What a pleasant surprise , we just moved in the area " 005 smiled back at him.
Maybe too much , but with 001 you can never know. Better safe then sorry!

" Where were you heading to? " 001 Asked curious

" to grab some beers! " 018 said with a proud smile

It seemed to catch the attention of ijin's friends

Maya sighed to herself " god you jerk " she whisperd

" You're ijin's old friends right ? " a redheaded boy that looked 016's age said with a naive smile.

Ijin's and the numbers glared at each other for a few seconds " Yeah something like that " 032 said. It was the first thing he said today.

" You look ijin's age how are you going to drink it's illegal " he said with a certain look that didn’t say im judging you it's more like where and how ?

" didn't stop us before " 018 said smirking

" Will you learn to shut your mouth you frickin' alcoholic ?? " Liam sighed loudly

" ignore him he's an idiot the only thing he's going to drink tonight is juice " he continued hoping that he saved them just in time

" he's all talk no game " 016 added

" I'll show you what is no game you jerk- " 018 succeeded to say before he was being muffled by 032 who seemed annoyed by the situation.

" i guess it our time to leave bye! " Maya said trying to run away from this interaction

" Wait! Do you want to go with us to the convenience store? " another one of ijin's friends asksd

They became tense the minute the question was in the air, the last thing they need is 001 being angry at them
The numbers looked at ijin's waiting for him to get an expression that will say if they should reject the offer or go along with it.

" it can be .. nice " Ijin said with an unreadable expression.

" then off to the convenience store we are! " Liam said with a fake smile.

018 was still grumpy but went with it because no one wanted to disobey 001.