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“Wilbur, this is Gryllus.”
The boy in question was an odd one. He’d taken a step forward when Wilbur’s father brought a hand to his back, eyes cast to the side as if that would hide their stark red hue. His hair was pretty, pink and surprisingly soft looking given the bulky frame hidden under his white tunic, though it was cut jagged and ruthlessly short. His hands were stiff at his sides, bunched up in his black pants, and Wilbur could see the grip was white knuckled. The brunette smirked until his father gave him a stern look, in which it faded ever so slightly. He knew what that look meant.
Be nice.
“So uh…did you have to cut your own hair where you’re from?”
This earned him slightly narrowed eyes from his father. Meanwhile, one of the boy’s hands came up to brush through the uneven strands by his face. He gave a curt nod. Wilbur grinned.
“I figured. No offense, but it kinda looks like shit.”
“Wilbur!” His father scolded
“What am I supposed to say,” he retorted, “that it looks lovely? Come on, Dad, you didn’t raise me to be a liar.”
The man gave a sigh, hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “You don’t have to lie, but if you can’t say anything nice then leave it alone. Try something else. Anything else.”
He realized his mistake the moment he said it.
Wilbur smirked. “Anything?”
“Anything as long as you’re nice,” He corrected.
“I can do nice.”
Without warn, he closed the distance between the other child and himself and grabbed both hands in his own. A wide smile sat plastered on his face, and he spoke with venom laced enthusiasm. “Hey, kid who’s trying to make sure I get taken away from my dad, nice to meet you! I hope we can become good friends!”
The other boy, held captive by both Wilbur’s gaze and grasp, seemed to shrivel up where he stood. His shoulders raised, tense, and his arms pressed tightly against his sides. Both father and son could see that, despite his best attempts to hide it, Gryllus was shaking.
Wilbur’s father placed a gentle, but firm hand on his chest to force him back. He got the message and rolled his eyes, dropping Gryllus’s hands and raising his own as he backed up a few steps. After Will was a safe distance away, his father knelt down to meet the other boy’s gaze. It was now cast to the side and, as he suspected, the child’s entire frame was tense. He touched Gryllus’s cheek softly, which made him jolt. The man’s lips formed a thin line.
“Gryllus?” The boy’s red gaze took a full minute to meet his own. “How about you get settled in your room, ok? Will and I are going to have a talk. Let me know if you need anything. I know his attitude needs adjusting, but I promise that we’re thrilled you’re here.”
The boy hesitantly nodded, sparing a glance to Wilbur who grinned before turning to grab his single bag.
“It’s the first door on the right.”
Gryllus nodded once more before walking off. The man stood. Wilbur smirked.
“Can we just keep him in there? You’ve taught me enough about bricking, I could probably block up the door.”
“Alright, that’s enough out of you.” Without warn, he squatted down and wrapped his arms around Will, just below the waist. When he stood, Will went up with him, hanging off his shoulder like a rag doll. That didn’t stop him from kicking, however.
“Daaaad, put me down!”
“Nope,” he replied, “we’re going to have a talk.”
“Fine, but can’t I walk?? This is so undignified!”
“So was your behavior, so you’re going to have to suck it up.”
Will opened his mouth to retort, then shut it, then opened it again only to sigh. His father took him to the kitchen, in which he was placed in one of the three chairs at the table. Brown eyes stared back at him, narrowed in a glare.
“I’m not saying sorry.”
“Will,” his father warned. The comeback the younger had prepared died on his tongue, and instead he let out a short huff.
His father sighed, “I know you’re upset-“
“Oh, that's the understatement of the year. Is that all you feel at the idea of giving me away, Dad? A little upset?”
“-but taking it out on Gryllus, or me for that matter, isn’t going to help.”
He never rose his voice, never furrowed his brows or rose a hand to him- not that he ever would, but this time should have been different. When emotion was all Wilbur knew whirling around in his chest, how did he seem unbothered? The younger never stopped his glare, but his father met him with an even gaze. It was a few minutes before Wilbur’s eyes drew away and finally began to glisten.
“Do you…not even care?”
The words were faint, barely whispered under his breath, but his father caught them regardless. His expression softened.
“Oh, Will…” he knelt down to be level with his son, and wrapped him in a tight hug. He didn’t feel it returned, but the warmth and newfound wetness on his shoulder told him the affection was reciprocated regardless.
“Of course I care. Do you know how overjoyed I was when you said you wanted to apprentice under me? You could have done anything you wanted in the whole world, but instead you chose to study boring rocks and house designs. I know you, Will. You didn’t do that lightly, and if that’s what you want then they shouldn’t deny you.”
“Sure,” Will’s voice came out muffled from where it was buried, “but you did everything you could to reject a placement, and they still gave that kid to you. What can we do if they decide I need to go somewhere else?”
His father’s grip tightened. “They won’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
“We’ll find a way. But I promise, the entire Protectorate will have to come for us before they make me let you go.”
At that, Will’s arms drifted upward. They hesitated, clearly unsure, before suddenly wrapping around his father. The boy’s grip was tight as he cried.
“I don’t want to lose you!”
A calm hand rubbed circles into his son’s back.
“You won’t, Will. No matter what, I’ll make sure you don’t.”
As he said this, however, blue eyes caught a glimpse of a shadow in the light of the doorway. It wasn’t there for long, only a flash in the plethora of minutes Wilbur’s father comforted him, but it was enough to make the man let out a deep breath through his nose. Seemed he wasn’t done consoling tonight.
—————
The door to Gryllus’s room opened with a creek. A short ruffle of sheets told him the boy had flinched, but he couldn’t see much more than shadows in the dark room.
“Gryllus? What are you doing sitting in the dark, Mate?” He lingered in the doorframe, and the silhouette of the boy’s head turned to face him. It wasn’t long before it drew away though.
“Gryllus?”
Still nothing.
The man took a step into the room, which prompted another rustling of the sheets. He could feel red eyes on him again. He held his hands up.
“It’s just me; Wilbur’s gone to bed. Can I sit with you?”
The silence lingered for longer than he would have liked, but eventually the younger turned his head away and nodded. The man wasted no time before walking over to the bed and lowering himself on the other end, a good foot away from Gryllus.
The two sat in the quiet for a long while, blue eyes resting on the child in front of them, and the child in question looking solely at the floor. The shadow of his hands gripped his knees, and though he couldn’t see it, he knew the boy’s frame was tense. He’s not much older than Will, he mused, but he seemed so much smaller.
“Phil?” It was the blonde’s turn to jump now. “Can I…“ Gryllus’s voice was gravelly, which didn’t surprise the other in the slightest. He hadn’t spoken since they’d met that morning, and who knows how long before that. “Can I ask-“
“What’s up, Mate? You can ask whatever you want.”
“Ask…ask something…” the boy shook his head, hunched over, and the grip on his knees tightening if the rubbing sound of the fabric was any indication. “…something of you.”
The faintest of smiles found its way to Phil’s face.
“Of course,” the tone was fond. “What do you need?”
“Please… p-please don’t-“
As the boy continued struggling through his sentence, the elder’s smile slowly dropped. His brows furrowed, but he said nothing on the matter. Eventually Gryllus’s struggle wound to a close, and he was able to get the main idea across.
“don’t- Please d-don’t- don’t lie-“ he took in a shaky breath, and turned his head away. “Don’t l-lie to me. Please.”
“Lie?” He internally sighed in relief when his tone came out more curious than worried. “What do you mean?”
The younger retracted as if he’d used all of his courage to utter the few words he had. His mouth clamped shut, his gaze returned to the floor, and he hunched even further in on himself. Phil frowned.
“Come on, Kiddo, I can’t help if I don’t know what you mean.”
He didn’t receive a reply.
“Does it have something to do with my talk with Will?”
Nothing, then the faintest of nods.
His soft smile resurfaced. “I guess I owe you an explanation, don’t I?”
Gryllus snapped his head toward Phil, and in turn Phil could feel red eyes boring holes into his figure.
He shrugged, “You’re part of this family now, you deserve to know what’s going on.”
Silence lingered, as if the boy was expecting more, but that was all the elaboration he gave. Slowly that intense gaze withered and died. It returned itself to the floor. While he wasn’t as tense as a moment prior, the affection prompted him to curl in on himself ever so slightly. Phil let the silence linger. His hand twitched, gripping and letting go of the sheets as if that would lessen his desire to comfort the child unceremoniously dropped into his care. Neither kept track of the time they stayed like that, but both would say it felt like an eternity. Eventually though, Gryllus turned his head, ever so slightly, and opened his mouth as if to speak. It was hard for Phil to see, given it was little more than a slightly darker shadow, but he caught how it remained for just a moment before closing again.
“Do you want that explanation?” He asked softly.
A curt nod.
“You know how you chose architecture during your rite, and got placed with me because of it?”
He received another nod in reply, though the other’s lingering gaze returned left the floor.
“Well, when Will was old enough to understand the gravity of it all, and I told him how the rite and all that works, I simplified things to two options. He could either choose whatever job he liked, and get placed with a family that knows how to be whatever he wants to be, or he could choose architecture and apprentice under me. Now look, I made it very clear that no matter what, he would still be my son. I told him I’d visit whenever I could, that we’d write letters, I assured him that even if he was placed across the country, he would still have me by his side one way or another.”
The story was met with silence.
“Of course, I also let him know that it would be a roll of the dice. The Church is pretty good at keeping kids out of bad homes, but I think everyone has heard of families that cut the kid off from their old one in the name of learning or some shit.”
He got a nod this time, which let the shoulders he hadn’t even realized were tense relax.
“I know it must have taken so much courage for you to choose what you wanted over staying with your family. Even the most faithful people I know have had trouble when the rite came for their kids, I can only imagine how it affects you.”
At this, Gryllus’s brows furrowed. He spared a glance to Phil, which the other caught immediately. He again averted his gaze. Phil smiled.
“Oh, yeah, I never went through a rite. That’s a story I’m fine with telling, but I want to focus on you right now, ok?”
A soft nod was his reply.
“What I’m trying to get at is Will is a really emotional boy. He’s a good kid, but when his feelings take over, there’s really no containing them. Right now they’re going wild because neither of us expected you. He’s scared he’s going to lose me, and I won’t lie to you and say I’m not worried about losing him. However none of that is your fault. You didn’t choose where you were placed, and even if you could have you had no way to know the circumstances you were walking into.”
Another nod.
“I’m not asking that you excuse his behavior. You deserve respect and I’m going to do my damndest to make sure he gives it to you. But I do ask that you take the things he says with a grain of salt. Right now he’s hurting, lashing out, and that has absolutely nothing to do with you, ok?”
Silence. The two stayed like that for a while, as Gryllus seemingly thought things over. There came a time where long became long enough, however, and the soft creek of the bed exhibited this when Phil stood. The younger jolted when the sound aired. He jolted harder, head jerking away when the elder knelt to meet his gaze.
“Gryllus?”
He kept quiet. Phil moved into his range of sight. Blue met red, and when the child retreated the man met him every step of the way. He gave a sympathetic smile.
“I’m gonna need a yes or a no on this one, Mate.”
Slowly, Gryllus nodded. Phil again smiled, nodded back, and stood.
“Good. Just give him some time to get used to you, I’m sure you’ll be palling around in no time. Until then, if he lashes out at you, let me know and I’ll set him straight.”
The boy nodded once more.
“Breakfast is at 8. I don’t mind if you come later, I just don’t want your food to get cold. Do you have a preference on what I make?”
He received nothing at this. Phil sighed.
“Worth a shot. I’ll scrounge up a variety, ok? I want to make sure I have at least one thing you like.”
With that, he walked over to the door. He stopped there, resting a hand on the frame. The younger pulled his bag onto his lap, and began to search through it.
“And Gryllus?”
The boy’s head perked up to see Phil looking back over his shoulder. The shadow of red again met blue, but unlike before Gryllus didn’t try to turn away.
“I don’t lie to my kids. When I said I’m glad you’re here, I meant it.”
With that, the man stepped out into the hallway and let the door fall shut.