Chapter Text
Riiiiing Riiiiiing
“Hello! You’ve reached Dr. Picani’s office, this is Emile! … Oh hey! … …oh. I.. I see. … Of course, of course. Send me the case files. I’ll be ready by tomorrow. … Right, I’ll be there. … Yes, of course. Okay, see you in the morning. Goodbye.”
That was the phone call that Emile Picani had received that changed absolutely everything. He spent that evening reading through every single word in those two case files, doing his best to prepare himself. …However in his line of work, he knew there was only so much you could actually do in that regard.
He arrived bright and early the next morning at the social services building, making his way to his colleague’s office. The therapist knocked on the door before pushing it open, his heart not having been prepared for what met his eyes once he’d done so.
His colleague was there, of course, but the two small boys who turned their large eyes on him when he opened the door nearly completely melted him into the floor. Seeing as he was the newest person to enter, and that he was a complete stranger, he was unsurprised when the larger of the two moved to put himself between the therapist and the smaller boy.
Emile turned his attention to his colleague, the social worker immediately beginning introductions. But Emile didn’t need them, he knew exactly who was who after having read those files the night before.
The larger boy was Virgil Osborn, only six years old. He was a bit on the thin side and while his skin was pale, his hair and eyes were strikingly dark. Emile had read he’d been removed from his home after his family had been deemed unfit to provide him with care. In the best case scenario, these situations were met with attempts to fix the problems at hand so the child in question could return home. In scenarios like Virgil’s… It was more than fair to say he would be needing a new home.
Cowering behind him, two small fists balled up in the back of the larger boy’s hoodie for comfort and safety, was Roman Reyes, age four. He’d been in the system almost his entire life, and had already been to a few different homes. And, like Virgil, there was no where for him to go back to. He was looking up at Emile from beneath messy brown locks of hair, just dusting big green eyes that shone bright against his warm, bronze skin.
Emile had been told these two little boys had glommed onto each other after spending some time in a group home setting and did not do well separated, which had made things a bit difficult as far as placing them somewhere new. A few of the workers saw this as nothing but inconvenient, but Emile immediately saw them for what they really were. They were brothers. He knew it and they knew it. And they were not to be separated. It simply wasn’t an option.
While the therapist had done everything he could think to do in preparation for a day like this one - having gone through all of the steps to become a registered foster parent, made sure he had some essentials in his guest room, taken CPR and other emergency training… Actually being face to face with these two little faces was a completely different story.
Despite having just been introduced, it didn’t feel right not to say something himself. He carefully and slowly crouched down to their eye level, smiling softly and warmly. “Hello Virgil, Hello Roman. Like Ms. Hall said, I’m Dr. Picani. But you can call me Emile if you like, okay? I know this is all new and scary right now, but I’m here to help as much as I can. Ms. Hall and I are going to take you to go see my house and then if it’s alright with the both of you, you can come stay with me for a while.” He explained.
Roman seemed surprised, his big shiny eyes seeming somehow even bigger as he peered around his older brother a bit and looked up at him questioningly, never letting his vice grip on Virgil’s hoodie go. Virgil was clearly more wary, something that broke Emile’s heart just that bit more - that he had had to learn to be this way at his age, but he slowly responded. “…Both of us? We.. Both stay?” He asked, eyeing the doctor carefully.
Emile nodded softly. “Of course, I promise. We‘re all going to go together so we can show you where you’ll be staying, if you want to stay with me. Is that alright?”
The two boys looked at one another before looking back at him with little nods. “Okay.”
That had both the social worker and the therapist smiling, them explaining that they’d be riding with her over to his house. Once everyone was on the same page with the plan, they all set off. Ms. Hall got the boys into the car and then followed Emile’s car back to his home. He’d spent some of the evening before tidying up, wanting to make things tidy and nice, but not shockingly clean. The goal was to make things feel homey and welcoming without too much mess, not sterile and too pristine to touch. Thankfully with his warm colors, plentiful soft surfaces, pillows and blankets, it wasn’t too much of a task.
Emile led the other three of them inside, carefully watching the boys’ reactions to their surroundings, but making sure not to stare. Once they looked to him, he gave another warm smile. “How about a little tour? It’s not too big of a place, but I do think you should know where everything is.” He received little nods in response and led them off.
They were standing in the living room, the two adults watching as the smaller ones continued to take in the space. Emile’s house was obviously not something that they had been expecting. There was a stuffed animal here or there - a Stitch plush on the couch, a Pua on the armchair, some somewhat minimalist art on the walls that were all stylistically simplified characters with sayings - a notable one being the blue and yellow shape clearly meant to be Dory alongside “Just Keep Swimming” that was near the front door. Things like these were all throughout the home. The kitchen had playful towels and oven mitts, the shower curtain was an animated ocean scene, the bookcase in the dining room was home to only bright and colorful books - several of which appeared to be closer to their age range than Emile’s. His office was a bit more serious, with diplomas and certifications on the walls, and more serious looking books on the bookcase, but there was still that playful flair with his pens and a few more framed character prints.
All throughout the tour, the two boys seemed to be looking around for something. Emile couldn’t place exactly what it was, but he could tell that they were expecting to find something specific as they were looking over everything around them.
The final room they came to was the spare bedroom. It wasn’t as decorated as the rest of the house, though it still had that same warm, comforting color palette and soft, plush surfaces. “This is… Well, if you’d like to stay, at least for now, you’d share this room. There’s only one bed right now, but I’ll get another one as soon as I can so you can both have your own.” He gestured into the guest room. It was fairly plain, but warm and inviting enough to be comfortable. The boys walked in to look, peering all around the space and then back to each other a few times. Emile decided to continue. “I know it’s not very decorated right now, but I can take you to pick out some things to make it feel more like it’s yours’.”
That seemed to surprise them both, two sets of eyes immediately gluing to Emile’s. Virgil spoke up again. “…We get to pick?”
The therapist’s heart was threatening to melt once again. “Of course. It’s for you. You get to choose.”
After another prolonged staring match between the two boys, they did eventually head back to the entry way, the social worker crouching down to speak to them both. She explained how they could leave right now if they wanted, but if they wanted to stay, she’d check in tomorrow and again in a week. And that Emile had her phone number if they ever wanted to talk to her or to leave. But even after double and triple checking, the two of them had decided to stay. …At least according to Virgil. Roman still hadn’t spoken up at all.
Even still, the social worker said her goodbyes and headed out, leaving the boys with Emile. The three of them stood there a moment, not exactly sure what was going to happen next. But now that they were staying… They were definitely going to need to figure that out.