Chapter Text
He arrived at Barbara Lake’s doorstep about half an hour later. Bracing himself, Krel knocked once on the wooden door. If she doesn’t open the door in the next 30 seconds, he promised himself, I’ll just go home. This was a stupid idea, anyways, and every one of his inner thoughts were screaming at him to turn around and leave.
To Krel’s great displeasure, the door swung open not more than 5 seconds later. To his even greater displeasure, Dr. Lake was not standing in front of him.
“Oh. Mr. Tarron, is it? How can I help you?” Walter Stricker peered down at him, clearly confused. He was wearing a bright pink apron and carrying a large bowl of some type of batter in the crook of his arm. In one hand he held a wooden spoon covered in said batter, and in the other hand he held a baby bottle. Krel could hear the wailings of a small child in the background. He looked under Strickler’s arm to see a baby in the kitchen, sitting in a high chair.
“I wanted to talk to Dr. Lake about something, if that is okay.” He was really regretting every life choice that had led him to this point. “Toby, um, recommended her as someone to vent to.”
It was clear from Strickler’s expression that he thought this was a little weird, but he accepted Krel’s response anyways and stepped back to let him inside. “Barbara will be home shortly. She left the hospital a few minutes ago.”
“Thank you,” He replied, and hastily made his way inside before he could think better of it.
Strickler retreated to the kitchen and reappeared a moment later, cradling the baby in his arms, now satiated with the bottle in her mouth. He ascended the stairs to the nursery to put the baby down. Once he returned, they sat together on the living room couch in silence.
“So,” Krel tried to think of a way to make conversation until Barbara arrived. What did the two of them even have in common? “Um, I heard rumours that you were going to return to the school in September. But you decided to go on paternity leave, right?”
“Yes, I did. I plan on retaking my position once the second semester begins.”
The thought of Senor Uhl no longer being his principal made Krel sadder than it should have.
Noticing his crestfallen face, Strickler snorted. “Not to worry, I will not be returning as the principal. Uhl excels far more at that role than I ever could. I’ll just be taking back my history class.”
Krel nodded and turned his gaze down at his hands folded in his lap. Brown skin, not blue, he noted. He asked suddenly, “Is it okay if I disable my transduction? I- I mean, my human disguise?”
Strickler looked caught-off guard by the sudden topic change.
“It’s just a lot, feeling… all kinds of emotions and trying to conceal them from my friends all day. It feels even worse knowing that I am wearing a literal mask over them, too.” Krel tried to explain.
“I understand. I’ll do the same.”
“Thank you.” He said gratefully. It was a relief to be able to shed his second skin and revert to normal. Afterwards, he reopened his eyes to focus on Strickler in his troll form, taking in the green-tinged stone for skin, the angular horns, and circlet of feathers around his neck. He still had the pink apron on.
Unbothered, Strickler picked up his bowl of batter from the table and began to stir it again.
Krel gave him a onceover. “So, what are you baking?”
“It’s something that Jim put in his recipe book. Carrot cake, a Lake family classic.” He chuckled, but it was in sort of a strained way. Like he was trying to hide all traces of his own emotions. “Barbara is a bit of a disaster in the kitchen, I’m afraid. She hasn’t had much luck in replicating any of his recipes.” He said carefully. “My own baking skills are only slightly better, but… well, today would have been when Jim started 11th grade. I know that Barbara is missing him terribly. We made plans in advance to call him and Claire today, after dinner, so I thought it would be a nice surprise.”
Krel felt unbelievably bitter for a second. What a kind gesture for Strickler to make for Dr. Lake and towards Jim, who wasn’t even his kid. Meanwhile, he had barely succeeded at cheering up Steve, he lied to Toby to come here and mope, and he couldn’t even get his best friend to call him back. Evidently, it was unfair for him to be sitting here, waiting for Dr. Lake to show up and miraculously solve all his problems, when his actions showed that he clearly didn’t deserve her help. He should just go home and stop intruding on this family.
The sound of a key turning alerted their attention to the front door. The lock clicked and turned as Barbara entered the house. “I’m sorry I’m late, Walt, I know we agreed on an early dinner. But there was a last-minute case with a man who accidentally sliced off the top of his thumb, and—" She shrugged off her lab coat and turned to face them.
“Krel?” She asked, mystified.
“Let me get your things for you, love.” Strickler rose to his feet, setting the carrot cake batter aside. He kissed her cheek and collected her bags and coat from her. His arms full, he gestured with his head to where Krel stiffly remained on the couch. “This young boy would like to have a word with you. I’ve got dinner ready once you’re done.”
To her credit, Barbara took this in stride and went to sit down with Krel right away. If he were to hazard a guess as to explain her blasé attitude about the situation, she was probably used to weirder things happening than a random blue teenager showing up in her living room.
“So, Krel,” She said pleasantly. “You’re friends with Toby, right?” As if she knew him from that and not from the giant clusterfuck of events that had happened at the end of July. Krel appreciated her trying to normalize their conversation anyways.
“Yes. Um, I’m not here for anything related to him, though.” And with that, he hesitantly began to explain his situation. Barbara listened attentively and nodded every now and then to show that she was paying attention. She mostly let him talk it out without offering any comments. Regardless, it made Krel feel better, and he silently thanked Toby for his recommendation. She was a comforting, motherly presence; one that he hadn’t been around in months.
“I felt weird when Steve was talking about how much he missed Aja and Eli.” Krel continued. “O-of course, I miss Aja, too.” He added quickly. “That goes without saying. But we talk so frequently, and we have the wormhole, and it’s not like I can fault her for the few times she has to skip out on our calls. Really, I’m just grateful that we’re still talking! I mean, I shirked my duties in the very way that I always gave her sh-” He remembered that he was speaking in the presence of an adult. It seemed as though Steve’s foul-mouthed tendencies had finally begun to rub off on him. “I always gave her a hard time for it.” He said simply.
“I miss her, but not as much as Steve does and… that makes me feel guilty. And I thought that was the only reason why I’m upset, but now I think it is something more than that, except I don’t know what and the fact that I don’t know is making me feel even worse.” He finished, the frustration ringing clear in his tone.
Barbara gave a slow nod, looking thoughtful. “Let me ask you this. Do you miss Akiridion-5?”
“To some extent, I suppose. I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would.” He looked outside into the Lakes’ backyard. It was a lot darker out than he expected. Had so much time really passed? “The things that made Akiridion-5 my home aren’t all there anymore. My parents are gone, and I do not want to go back to a world built around worshiping them. It’s… too soon for that. I’m not strong like Aja is.”
“Knowing that my remaining family is together, and more importantly, safe, means that I don’t have to worry as much about being there with them. I realized this summer that home is where your friends are.” He shrugged helplessly. “And soon after I made that realization, I realized that I never had any real friends on Akiridion-5. How could I? I was a royal.”
“I used to think Aja was strange for wanting to run away from being queen, but it makes sense to me now. I think I was just living in denial. I never made my mark or even wanted to since I already had all my duties laid out for me from birth. I was content to just do what my parents wanted, because that’s what a good son does, and that’s all I wanted to be. Here on Earth I have so much more freedom.”
“It makes sense that Aja wanted to go back, to right the Voltar situation and everything else that our parents mishandled.” Against his will, he began to smile. No matter the turmoil he was feeling inside, it seemed as though Aja could cheer him up in some way - even through his own memories of her. “She would never go back just because it was what our parents wanted. She needed to find her own reasons, while I am much more… uh, what is the Earth expression? Go with the Joe?”
“Go with the flow.” Barbara corrected him gently.
“Yes, that. This is my home. For now, I am happy with my current goal being to figure out who I am – outside of what my parents wanted for me. So, no, I do not miss Akiridion-5. What is there that I’m missing? I only wish that I had Aja, Varvatos, Luug, and Zadra with me here.”
She took a moment to digest this information. Krel had been quick to answer, and he seemed to believe in his response strongly. His words lacked the uncertainty and aggravation that had been rolling off of him in waves when he had first stepped into her house. So, the problem must lay elsewhere.
“Then if it’s not Aja or your home, what are you missing?” She urged him to consider.
For some reason, that was the tipping point for Krel. “I don’t know!” He exploded, all four arms lifting into the air in exasperation. If he knew, he wouldn't be here, venting all of his problems to a person he barely knew. Barbara’s presence was helpful, but he still didn’t have anything close to a grasp on the different emotions swirling around inside him. All he knew was what he physically felt.
“It’s like there’s a hole in my chest. Like I’m bleeding out. It’s been getting bigger all day, but I know that it is not because I’m thinking about Akiridion-5 or Aja.” He stopped, tried to think harder about what he was feeling. His description felt inaccurate somehow. “Actually,” He amended his words. “I don’t just feel like I am missing something. I’m not sad, I think… I think I may even be angry.”
“It hurts, and it’s frustrating, and I don’t know how to fix it or make these stupid feelings go away. It’s like I have all these things I want to say but I don’t know what they are.”
“Or,” Barbara began. She had started to put the pieces of the puzzle together as he talked. “Maybe you just don’t know who you want to say them to.” Her eyes were twinkling like she already knew the answer, which Krel found very annoying. If she knew, she should tell him immediately so that he could stop feeling like his insides were rotting.
“What do you mean?” He scoffed. “I am not mad at Aja, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just said that I understand why she had to go back. I left her – of course I’m not mad!” He stood up off the couch to punctuate his point. He was getting more and more agitated by the minute.
“And I have been good about it, too! We text all the time, talk every night, and, and of course it’s not like that’s a burden or anything, I love her, and I’m doing everything to make sure that we stay a family, 10 000 light-keltons away! I just wish… I wish…”
Barbara raised her eyebrows.
“I wish other people would do the same.” He muttered.
Strickler poked his head out of the kitchen, no doubt alerted by the sound of Krel yelling. He wore a slightly troubled expression. “Everything ok?”
“We’re fine.” Barbara smiled at Strickler in that dopey, lovestruck way adults sometimes do, and something clicked for Krel.
He was already standing, so he excused himself quickly. “Dr. Lake, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. It helped me greatly, but I have to go now. I’m sorry for the intrusion, and for leaving so abruptly.” He turned to Strickler. “Good luck with the baking.” Barbara looked confused about that, but he had already left the house and closed the door behind him before she could ask any follow-up questions.
Krel made his way to the edge of the street and sat down on the curb. The street light flickered above him and turned on, casting a wide yellow glow to ward off the shadows that crept at his feet. He had stayed much longer at the Lakes’ residence than he had originally intended. Luckily for him, Steve would be out all night, so he needn’t worry about receiving any angry texts asking where he was. On the other hand, Coach Lawrence would come looking for him if Krel didn’t show up at the house before he and Mrs. Palchuk left for dinner. Apologies. Krel sent his thoughts their way. But there is one last thing I have to do before coming home.
He took out his phone and pressed the first person on his speed dial. She picked up after 5 rings.
“Hi, Aja. Can you get Eli on the line for me?”
“Little brother!” Aja was obviously delighted to see him. “You picked a good time to call! I just finished making my schedule for tomorrow’s meetings, so I do not have any more work for the evening.”
“Eli.” He repeated. “I really need to talk to him.”
“Oh, I’m sorry Krel, but he is in another meeting right now. I believe it is supposed to go on for another 3 hours. Maybe you can talk in the morning?”
“Aja, please, just interrupt the meeting and get him.”
“What? I cannot do that.”
“You’re the queen, you can do anything you like!” Frustration started to seep back into his voice before he could help it.
“Did you just snap at me?” Aja looked offended. “You are acting very strange about this. Are you on your period?”
“What?”
“The boys in class always asked me that when I got upset. I think it is some sort of Earthling disease that everyone gets once a month.” She supplied helpfully. “You should eat some chocolate, it helps.”
Mary had been correct. High school boys were, in fact, the worst.
He shook his head violently, trying to stay focused. “Aja, I’m fine. I’m sorry, I just have to talk to Eli.” Since asking nicely didn’t seem to be yielding any results, he decided to spring for a different tactic. “Remember that time I broke into Steve’s locker in gym class so I could find out what type of deodorant he liked, and you could buy him the proper month-iversary gift?”
“Yes?”
“Well, now you owe me.”
Her face twisted, and it looked like she might push back one more time, but eventually the girl released a sigh and waved a hand dismissively. “Fine. Just know that interrupting her subjects in their very important, very private meetings is not the kind of thing a queen should do.”
She disappeared from view. Krel heard some shuffling and irritated, muffled whispers, followed by a blur of motion as the phone was pushed into someone else’s hands. The background lightened, hands being lifted up from where they covered the screen, and suddenly it was Eli’s face gazing back at him.
Krel didn’t give him a chance to speak. His temper was already through the roof.
“You’ve been a really shitty friend lately, do you know that?” Steve would be so proud of him for using his first Earthling expletive. “You never text or call first, and you don’t even answer when I do it.” He hissed, stabbing an angry finger at the phone screen. “How hard is it to send a “Hi, Krel, what’s up?” or a “Sorry I can’t talk right now, let’s do it in an hour”? But no, I always have to hear from Aja that you’re busy,” He practically spit out the word. “And that “he’ll call you when he can”.”
“It’s bullshit!” Another point to Steve. “I know you’re busy, I know that you have meetings to go to and high-ranking Akiridions to talk to and all these important things to do, because guess what? A few months ago, I was still doing all of those things because I was the prince of the planet that you’re on. And guess what else? When I was the prince, I still made time to hang out with Aja, because friends matter more!”
He just kept talking, and eventually it spiraled into yelling. He yelled about how sad Eli had made Steve and Toby, and how hard it’s been for them. He pointed out that Toby already had to deal with losing his two best friends, and Eli wasn’t making it any easier by not staying in touch. He told him how Steve thought the whole situation was his fault, and that he had been beating himself up for Sekklos knows how long about Eli’s departure. He mentions biology class; how hard it’s been for him.
“Look, dude, I’m sorry!” Eli finally managed to get a word in edgewise. He gestured wildly with his hands. “I really have been busy, okay! For what it’s worth, I text Steve and Toby when I can, and—”
In the back of his mind, Krel had always suspected this. He’d gotten confirmation when talking to Steve today. Krel already knew this, okay, he had seen how suddenly their eyes would light up during class and they would shoot a fleeting glance in his direction before quickly going to answer their phones. He had told himself that maybe it was someone different; maybe it was news about one of their silly sci-fi movies getting a sequel. Even though he was already aware of it all, hearing Eli’s admission out loud somehow hurt more.
“Yeah, but you never text me!” He interrupted. “And you never even asked me about going to Akiridion-5!”
Now it was Eli’s turn to look mad, and Krel kicked himself mentally. That wasn’t what he had meant. Eli didn’t have to ask him for permission to do things on his own. He tried again. “I know that your whole world is about aliens and cryptids, and it’s probably your dream to go to another planet. I know that, like me, you’ve never made much of a mark anywhere and that you can finally accomplish that as an Earth ambassador. I get it, okay, I really do. And I tried to be supportive, at first, for that reason.”
“But, Eli… I didn’t know that you leaving Earth would be the same as you walking out of my life forever.” His voice cracked. “I thought we were best friends.” You’re still not being honest, a voice in the back of his mind said. He ignored it.
“How could you do that to me?”
Eli was silent for a good few minutes. Krel actually thought the video call might have frozen.
When he went to defend himself again, his voice was soft.
“I missed Earth too much.” He confessed. “I miss Steve and Toby and my moms, the awful food they serve in the caf, Miss Janeth, and I really, really wish I was around for bio because I was so looking forward to learning about Krebs cycle.” He cracked a smile. “See, it kinda sounds like a cross between your name and kleb. I-I wanted to see your reaction when we started that unit.”
“I never go to the wormhole reunions because I’m worried if I go back to Earth, even for just a few hours, I won’t want to come back to Akiridion-5. And I can’t self-sabotage my own dream like that.” Eli got even quieter. He seemed to debate with himself about whether to keep speaking, but then pressed his lips together and gave a determined shake of his head. “I’m so sorry, Krel. It’s just that…” Another few seconds of hesitation. Eli swallowed and sucked in a deep breath.
“I missed you way, way more than everyone else. It hurt too much to call or text or see you in person, and I know that’s a cowardly thing to say, but-” He shrugged helplessly. ”-I was hurting, and I did an awful, mean thing. I don’t want to keep making excuses. It was wrong of me and I really am sorry.” He said sincerely, looking deep into the other’s eyes. “I remember being so happy to find out from Kubritz that you called me your best friend, and well, maybe I missed you more than a normal best friend would…”
Alright, it was now or never. The perfect chance for Krel to finally be honest with the both of them about what he was feeling.
“You stupid idiot, I like you.” Krel told him, once he noticed that Eli’s eyes had begun to glisten.
“You WHAT?”
Krel tried not to be embarrassed. He had never been interested in girls, or dating, or anything like that… but clearly, Earth had shown that it could bring out anything him.
Or maybe one Earthling in particular could.
“Yes, I like you.” He confirmed. “Like like you, I believe is the human expression. I forgive you, too.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” Eli breathed, and his eyes were only getting wetter.
“Please, don’t cry.” Krel said quickly. “I have had my fill of trying to console others today. I’ve concluded that I am not very good at it.”
Eli choked out a laugh at that. “No, don’t say that. You’re good at anything you put your mind to. It’s, um, one of the things that I like about you.” He said shyly. “Your determination, I mean.”
“Yeah? Well, I like how intrepid you are. I have never seen you shy away from investigating something, no matter how dangerous the odds.” Krel replied, assuming that this was some sort of human game. A courting ritual.
Eli opened his mouth to respond, but he barged on. “And I like that you have a natural curiosity for almost everything. You are more intelligent than you give yourself credit for.”
“I like that you always opt for the compassionate, thoughtful route rather than one of aggression.”
“You are the first to offer someone help, before they can even think of asking for it. I wish I had your ability to empathize with people.”
“I admire how you put in twice as much training as Steve and Toby to keep up at their pace.”
“And I think the way that you adjust your glasses when you’ve just figured something out is cute.”
“Can I kiss you?” Eli interrupted. He had stopped tearing up, but now his face was turning an interesting shade of pink. Krel touched his own cheeks, feeling that they were beginning to heat up. That was new. His chest was also starting to feel as though it was aflame.
He pretended to think about it. “Eli, this is just a video call. Maybe at the next wormhole reunion.” He arched an eyebrow. “Assuming that you will be attending this time?”
“Krel!” Eli laughed. “Yeah, okay.” He sobered up a bit, dragging the heel of his hand across his face to wipe away any tears that had escaped. “I do have to apologize to Steve and Toby for being a bad friend. I’ll text them tonight, I promise.”
“I’m glad.”
“That can wait, though. Let’s just… talk. I want to make up for lost time.”
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.”