i know i'm bad news (i saved it all for you)

By Berry's Ambitions

author's note: So my best friend and I watched HHE2 together last night - I've seen it before, of course, but it was her first time in ages. Understandably, she wasn't too sure what it was about the mine clan that I liked so much (can you blame her?), and I wanted to give her a little taste of what goes through my mind when it comes to writing these guys. Or, more specifically, my take on Chameleon and his relationship with his father.

So… here is a thing I spent the afternoon working on.

disclaimer: I do not own The Hills Have Eyes.

"If heaven's grief brings hell's rain,

Then I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday."

― Fall Out Boy, 'Just One One Yesterday'.

1974

"Chameleon, be careful!" Cora scolded gently. Her hands were folded over her heavily pregnant abdomen as she watched her two-year-old attempting to climb a rock. "I don't want ya to hurt yourself…"

"He won't."

The dark-haired woman sighed, looking over at her mate and meeting his amused gaze. Hades, who had rowdy little Letch on his lap, was also keeping a close eye on Chameleon. The smile on his lips was subtle, but Persephone recognized it nonetheless. "I have faith in our boy," he said. "He's a smart one."

Cora ran her fingers through her hair, knowing that Hades' words were true. Still, Chameleon was only a baby. Her baby, and she would fight tooth and claw to keep him safe from harm.

The sound of their precious baby's cry pierced their ears, and when their heads snapped in his direction, they saw that he'd slipped from the rock he'd been climbing and fallen. Thankfully it hadn't been very high up, but he still appeared to have a scraped knee.

"MAMA!" he wailed.

Cora's eyes went enormous with panic, her child's cry like a knife to her heart. But before she could so much as rise to her feet, Hades handed Letch off to her, springing forward and bounding over to their tiny child. He kneeled before Chameleon, knitting his brows together and gathering the little one in his arms.

"What happened?"

Even Cora was taken aback by the softness of his typically gruff voice. Not that she hadn't heard it before, but Hades was always different around the kids. More gentle and patient.

"I-I feh-down…" Chameleon sniffled, holding his leg. "Rwock was… was slippy…" Tiny tears slid down his cheeks as he cradled his scraped knee. It was a little raw, but it didn't seem to be bleeding too badly. He curled close to his father, sniffling into his shirt, tiny fist clutching the material as he cried.

Hades' expression gave away the sympathy he felt for the toddler. Trying to soothe his son, he gently rubbed his back with a large hand. "Do you mind if Papa takes a look at it?" he asked in a low voice. If the skin had broken, it would need to be cleaned. He hoped that wasn't the case, but he was prepared to take care of it if it was.

The little one shook his head, offering his knee for his father to see. "It's ouch, Papa…" he said softly, thankful to be held. His papa always made him feel safe, like nothing and nobody could hurt him when he was in his arms, and he knew it was true, even at such a young age. He'd seen his dad break objects other people couldn't even lift, let alone bend.

Hades examined the injury closely. It certainly looked like it stung, but Chameleon was lucky. There was a bit of blood, but no dirt or gravel-that was a good sign. It would make it much easier to clean. Sensing Cora's worry, he looked over at her, meeting her eyes as if to say, He's alright.

"That looks sore," he admitted, once he'd turned back to Chameleon. The large mutant rose to his feet, still carrying the little boy in his arms. "But we're gonna fix ya up, okay?" Affectionately, he kissed Chameleon's hairless little head.

"Okee papa..." Though his cheeks were still tear stained, a small smile crossed little Chameleon's face at the kiss. He nuzzled into his father's shirt, his tears slowing to a near stop.

Cora watched the scene, her heart feeling light inside her chest. She could feel the babies squirming and kicking inside of her womb, and she rocked Letch to stop him from fussing. "Do you remember where we keep the First-Aid kit?"

"Yeah," Hades answered gruffly, already beginning to carry Chameleon away. He was an absolutely tiny thing, especially in comparison to his father. "Under the bed. I got it."

Chameleon's eyes slowly but surely began to dry, though his knee still stung a bit, and he continued to huddle into his father a shirt. "Papa… s'Mama gunna has boys or girlies?"

Hades smiled at him, making his way through the various crooks and crannies that made up their home. Fortunately, they weren't too far from the bedroom he shared with Persephone, so it wouldn't be much of a walk. "Dunno," he answered truthfully. "We won't have to wait too much longer to find out, though." They're almost ready to leave her belly."

Chameleon smiled. "I'm gun' has more bruvors or sisers!" he chirped excitedly.

Hades' smile widened as they entered his bedroom, where he would patch up Chameleon's knee injury. Carefully, he set his son down on the bed, getting on his knees as he pulled out the First-Aid kit and set it down on the old mattress. Brushing some dust off of the cover, he opened it and began rummaging through the supplies, trying to find what they needed.

"We're gonna have to clean it," he warned Chameleon, holding up the bottle of peroxide for him to see. "It'll hurt a lil'."

Chameleon's smile faded as he eyed the peroxide warily. "But… it a'ready hur's papa… Do we gotta?"

Hades looked into his son's large blue eyes, his expression stern. "It'll hurt worse if ya don't," he reminded him. "And it only lasts a few seconds, and then it's over. A'right?"

Cham looked away for a moment, then looked back at him, giving a small nod. "Okay…" He reluctantly held out his small leg to give him better access, hoping it wouldn't hurt too badly.

Silently proud of his boy for being brave, Hades gave a nod of his own, rolling up Cham's pant leg a little more. "Hold still."

Cham held onto the edge of the bed tightly, trying to be brave for his papa, watching with worry in his eyes.

The cap was removed from the peroxide, and Hades held it over the scrape, spraying a reasonable amount over it. He braced himself, knowing his boy might cry out. He was still very young, after all.

Cham cringed, muscles tightening as he bit his lip, knuckles white as he clenched the bed. A small sound could be heard from him, but he refused to cry out. He wanted to be big and strong and brave like his papa.

Chest swelling with pride, Hades put the peroxide back in the First-Aid kit. Out came a small cloth, which he used to carefully dab the blood away, before he extracted a small bandage as well. He was beaming. "That's my boy. Not so much as a peep outta ya."

Chameleon smiled brightly, watching him put the band-aid on before hopping up and wrapping his little arms around his dad's neck, nuzzling into him. "I wann' be big 'n srong like you. I lub you, Papa."

Hades tensed a moment, not at all used to this kind of contact. Reminding himself that it was only his child showing him love and affection, he returned the embrace, careful not to crush him by accident. He only hoped Chameleon's wish would come true, for all their sakes.

"I love you too, Cham."

1978

Chameleon, now about six years old, shuffled into his father's room in the middle of the night, tentative, and a little curled in on himself. His eyes were wet as he softly called, "Papa?"

Slowly, Hades turned his head, his palms resting against the table of which he was standing over. His eyes were narrowed, and shadows overcast his face.

"What?"

In that one word, all the exhaustion and pent-up anger he was feeling became evident to them both.

Cham's puffy eyes landed on the floor as he spoke. "I-I hurt myself… can… can you help me clean it? I spilt it on accident last time…"

Hades still didn't so much as look at him. His grip on the edges of the table tightened, his voice hard and cold as he spoke. "You know how to do it yourself. If your hands didn't shake so damn much, maybe you wouldn't spill it in the first place, Chameleon."

Chameleon shrunk in on himself further, fresh tears welling in his eyes. "Y-Yes Papa..." he murmured, turning away to shuffle to the First- Aid kit. He silently wished his father would be happier. He missed those days they spent together before. The boy's breath hitched, and he tried not to stumble again as he continued on, tiny liquid plops trailing on the ground behind him.

Meanwhile, Hades listened as his eldest son's footsteps faded away in the background, his jaw tightening and his hands clenching into fists.

The silence that followed seemed endless, but it was better that way. For both of them.

2007

Chameleon sat numbly on the rock, idly stroking the rough texture, remembering when he fell from it all those years ago. It was like a knife to to his heart as all the other memories came rushing back, his eyes brimming with salty tears. None of them had been the same since… since she died. Especially Papa… he didn't even feel like Papa anymore…

Just Hades.

He didn't think about the good old times often. It was too sad, but he couldn't help it when he'd scraped his knee on this ol' rock again. His head whipped over his shoulder as he heard an enraged yell, the knife in his heart twisting deeper as he turned away, going back to pouring a decent amount of peroxide onto his wound.

His hands remained still.