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Byron had just got done with a brawl, and was walking back to his shop to re-open it for some more customers today. His business was pretty successful, and while this wasn’t the most busy he’d ever been, it was pretty high up there. On his way, he saw many Brawlers hanging out near him, most of them were just speaking to one another and having fun. He looked over and sighed. He really needed to speak to other people more often…
“WOAH, REALLY?! THAT’S AWESOME!!!”
A familiar loud, high-pitched voice graced his ears. Looking over to his right, beyond some plants and benches, he saw his eldest child speaking to her “bestie”, Angelo. He never quite understood that friend, but they were a good brawler, and Colette was adamant he respected them. Not like he ever planned on disrespecting them, he was just still a bit confused on a lot of these kinds of things.
Byron watched as the two excitedly spoke about something he was too far away to overhear. He wasn’t in any sort of rush to get to his shop, so he took the opportunity to check if he had everything, which he did. After a minute or two, he looks up again to find Angelo pointing him out to Colette, who turns around to look at him as well. She gasped, smiling, before waving her friend away and running towards him.
“PAPA!”
He couldn’t resist the smile that washed over his face as his eldest threw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly while swaying back and forth. After a bit, he returned the hug. Byron was 6’0, but Colette was a bit taller at 6’3. Her height was intimidating, but everything about her was a bit intimidating. To others, at least.
“HI PAPA!”
Colette pulled away from the hug, smiling brightly and holding her scrapbook.
“Hello, my dear. I’m assuming you’re on break?”
“Yeah, but it’s almost over now, so I'll have to go back to the gift shop soon! I have to work until 6:30 today.”
“I see we are in similar situations. I was planning on returning to my shop to reopen it until about when you get off your shift.”
“Cool!”
“Mhm. I’m assuming you’ve been well today?”
“Yeah! I’ve been doing great! Angelo’s been doing great too! I’m so happy for them!”
“What happened with them?”
“Well, so you know how I told you they liked someone?”
“Mhm.”
“They asked him out, and he said yes! It was so cool! They were so excited!”
“I see. I would be, too. I’m glad they had the courage to do something like that.”
“Yeah! I’m so proud of them! Oh, by the way, is it okay if I stay over at your house tonight maybe? I’ll ask Edgar if he wants to come too!”
Colette and Edgar shared an apartment. They split the bills but it was technically Colette’s place, since Edgar moved in after they’d bought it and had already been living in it for a while. Byron’s other child, Gus, lived with him, but he would occasionally stay with Buster since he saw him as an uncle figure. Together, they were all a family, but they didn’t live super close, so it was a bit difficult to visit each other regularly outside of Starr Park. Especially since they both had their jobs to attend to.
“Of course you may stay here. Is it your day off tomorrow, or could you stay a little longer?”
“Yeah, we both have days off! Tomorrow’s Labor Day, and while Griff’s a greedy guy who likes to overwork young people, he also really wanted to take that day off, and he says we can too.”
Byron snickered a bit during that. While Colette loved all Brawlers, she couldn’t hide her disdain for Griff. She loved him as she loved all Brawlers, but he was the one she disliked most. Which wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, as they overwhelmingly liked most Brawlers.
“What? It’s true!”
“I know, my dear. But yes, you may stay. Edgar may stay as well, I would like to see him too. I don’t want to leave him alone at your apartment or anything.”
“Okay! We’ll come over at about 7. I have to go now, so bye! See you later!”
“I shall see you then. Goodbye.”
Colette waved, then ran in the opposite direction, seemingly in a rush but it could also be just because she wanted to get to the Gift Shop quickly. Byron simply continued walking to his shop, impatiently waiting for the next few hours to go by so he could see his children for a while.
~
Byron walked out of the shop, now closing it again. He quickly made sure everything was stocked properly and locked before he left, bringing his personal items with him. It was 6:30 now, and he needed to go back home before Colette and probably Edgar arrived. His shop wasn’t too far away from his house, at least. He could definitely get there in time.
Gus was near the door as he walked into his house. The small child immediately got up and hugged him, making sure Spooky got the chance to hug him too. Byron carefully hugged both of them, patting Gus’ head.
“Your siblings are coming over.”
“Really?”
“Mhm. It may be just Colette, but I think Edgar will be here as well.”
“Yay!”
Gus didn’t get to see them too often either, especially since he was younger and couldn’t really go out by himself. He hugged Spooky and ran back to the living room where he was playing before he realized Byron would be home soon. Byron walked with him, picking up a book from a nearby shelf and reading it to pass the time for Colette’s arrival.
Eventually, he heard a knock on the door. He placed down his book and ran towards the doors, opening them.
“Hi dad! Look, I brought Edgar!”
Edgar looked up from his phone and waved. Both of them were still wearing their work uniforms, but they had brought changes of clothes among other things since they planned on staying here. Gus had also ran towards the doors and he was now hugging Colette’s leg. Colette picked him up and hugged him tighter as Gus giggled and smiled brightly. After she put him down, he ran towards Edgar, who gave him a normal hug. Afterwards, Byron went and gave both of them hugs, greeting them both as he brought them inside.
Edgar and Colette chose spare rooms to put their stuff in while Gus spoke to them and Byron started to make dinner for all of them. Colette and Gus were excitedly talking about Spike as Byron read a recipe book. He knew Edgar was staying in his chosen room with the lights off listening to music or something. He didn’t mind Edgar’s whole “emo” thing. He could have an attitude or he’d say mean things, but he’d usually secretly apologize after it happened, and he never really meant the things he said. A good amount of the things he did were always to either look cool or mysterious to others; Not a lot of people even knew Colette was his sister, or that Byron was his father. To other people, thinking that a teenager might be totally alone except for the other brawlers was quite a bit worrying. But he didn’t care, and neither did Byron. As long as he still had his son.
Byron got some cooking utensils out, and he began preheating the oven.
~
Moving into a new store was exhausting.
All the boxes for the shelves had been moved in, but the shelves had to be assembled, and the people he’d hired for that and some other things would only come out tomorrow. As Byron moved one of the last boxes of items for the shelves into the storage closet, he sighed. He wanted to start selling as soon as possible, but that most likely wouldn’t happen for at least another few days.
His son had come with him. Right now, he was being interviewed for a cashier job. He was proud of him for wanting to do that, especially after what they’d been through in the past while. Gus had suddenly disappeared recently, and Colette had already been gone for 3 years. He hoped neither were dead, but it’d been three years, and Gus was only a child. There hardly seemed to be any other answer.
No, no, Byron. Stop thinking about that. You’re going to cry again.
He felt like a horrible father. How could he let Gus get lost? He knew he had a knack for that, he’d seen it multiple times. He looked everywhere, and yet he couldn’t find his own son. Hopefully all that news coverage would help. And the last time he saw Colette…he knew she’d never be the same again. Jet black hair reminding him of his younger years was slowly becoming lighter in shade. Teeth that were normal now resembled those of sharks, and her voice was so much higher. She’d gone almost entirely insane. He wasn’t sure what exactly happened to make her like that, but he visited her a couple times in that mental institute before that accident happened which led to many of the people inside escaping, and she only barely resembled what she had been just a couple days earlier. And now he was going to become a vessel for entertainment for the same place his daughter got messed up in. Wherever she was now, he hoped she was alright.
Walking into his office, he picked up his staff, surveying his desk to check he’d put what he needed inside the drawers. After that was done, he went about putting up a clock on the wall. It was simple, but it’d do the job just fine. He hung it up, but that was all he felt like doing for now. He stepped back, looking at his office, sighing again.
“Papa…?”
He froze. He took a few seconds to recognize the voice and to process what was said. He knew it wasn’t Edgar, but it also wasn’t Gus, or any of the other people he’d met so far. The voice’s high pitch felt familiar to him.
Byron slowly turned around, staff still in hand, to see a shaking girl. Her white hair was tied in a short, low ponytail, she was holding a scrapbook of some kind, and she had a nervous but happy smile.
“Do you remember me?”
“...C-Colette?!”
“Hi papa!”
He couldn’t believe the sight. His child was alive. He was finally seeing her again. He felt weak, he dropped the staff and his child ran into his arms. They both wrapped each other in the tightest hugs either of them had ever given or received. Tears were streaming down Byron’s face into Colette’s shoulder, and he could hear Colette crying as well. The two of them stayed like that for a while, just wanting to feel the other’s touch again.
“I-I thought you were dead, my dear! I-I can’t believe- you’re here!”
“I can’t believe you’re here too, papa! I missed you so so much!”
“I missed you as well, Colette. Oh, where have you been?”
“I’ll t-tell you later, papa. I- I just- I-”
They couldn’t get it out before starting to cry again.
“I-...I’ve changed so much from when you saw me last…I’m so-”
“Nothing is wrong. You’re perfect just the way you are. You’re as beautiful as the day I lost you.”
Byron continued to hug her while holding the back of her head as they cried into each other’s shoulders. The two continued their reunion in the small office, and the only thing each of them cared about was finally being together after so long. Nothing was wrong in that moment, and after he found Gus, nothing would ever be wrong again.
~
“Papa?”
Byron was startled back to reality. He looked around. Gus and Edgar had already finished eating and had gone to their spaces, and while Colette was done as well, she seemed to be more focused on him at the moment. He himself wasn’t done eating, and as he was going to continue, he noticed Colette seemed worried about him.
“Yes?”
“Are you okay? You kinda zoned out for a moment there…”
“Well…yes, I did.”
“What were you thinking ‘bout? Mortis?~”
Byron exhaled, watching as his child giggled, putting her sleeves near her mouth as she smiled wide. He’d recently started dating his long time friend, and it seemed she couldn’t help but tease him about it.
“No. I was thinking about the first time we’d met in three years, all that time ago.”
“OH-”
She continued giggling, but it was a bit more awkward now.
“Oopsies!”
She sighs, still smiling. Byron simply kept eating.
“I still remember a lot about that day though! I remember my jaw DROPPED when I saw you and Edgar, it took me a lot to not like cry on the spot! I was just really really happy I finally got to see you again!”
“...I was too. I was under a lot of stress and pain at the time, especially with the moving. Being able to see you again really helped with all of that.”
“Yeah. A lot happened to me too during those years. Seeing you made everything alright again.”
“I felt the same way at that moment. Colette, I know I don’t say this nearly as often as I probably should, but I am so proud of you. I will, forever and always, love you more than anything.”
Colette smiled wider, tearing up a bit.
“I love you more, papa. Thank you for being the best dad ever.”
The two of them stayed silent for a while, Byron smiling almost as wide as she was. He finished his food in the silence.
“Oh, um, papa? Can I maybe ask something? It’s fine if no, I don’t want to annoy you.”
“Of course. You could never annoy me. What is it?”
“Can I like…maybe…sleep in your room? I keep having dreams that range from really weird to really bad, and I either want to have a normal dream or no dream at all.”
Byron was surprised. It was an odd request. But he didn’t mind.
“Sure.”
“Really? You don’t have to.”
“I do not mind at all.”
“...Okay! I’ll probably stay in my room for a while, I only really need to sleep in your room.”
“You could also put your belongings in my room. I wouldn’t mind that either.”
“Okay! I’ll do that then!”
Colette picked up her plate and silverware and put them in the sink, before going past the table to exit the kitchen and go back upstairs. Byron watched her leave, staying at the table for a while, but eventually standing up to put his own dishes away and to call Mortis. He went to the counter to dial his number, which he’d had memorized for what felt like forever. The phone rang for a while, before eventually someone picked up.
“Um, hello?”
It was Emz.
“Oh…hello. I intended on calling Mortis.”
“He’s busy at the mortuary right now. Call in the morning or something. I’ll tell him you said hi though.”
“Alright. Thank you, Emz.”
“Whatever.”
The other line went silent. He sighed.
He simply put the phone away and went upstairs, wishing to change out of his more formal attire into a more relaxing outfit. He overheard Edgar and Gus watching a horror movie together, and he made sure to check if they were doing alright, which they were. Edgar was actually embracing his much younger sibling, which made Byron pretty happy. After some reassurances and “I love you”s, he left, closing the door. Entering his room, Byron found Colette had already made the place somewhat hers. She was sitting in his bed, watching something with headphones on, wearing a pink long sleeve sweater and gray sweatpants. She’d even brought some plushies, half of which were brawlers, and the other half were various cute animals. They were all tightly held in her hands. Her hair was down as well, which was a somewhat rare sight. For how creepy and awful he knew her to occasionally be, she looked adorable.
She looked up and noticed him, smiling and waving at him. He nodded back and went to change into different clothes. He changed into a t-shirt and more comfortable pants, and he took off the small spectacles he wore. It almost felt unusual to Byron to wear anything that wasn’t his suit, considering he wore it so often. He sat on the side of his bed, on the side opposite of the one Colette was on, who was now putting her phone away and taking some of the blanket.
“Papa? I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Me and Edgar have barely gotten any sort of raise working at the gift shop, and our rent is getting higher like every year, and it’s getting a lot more difficult to pay the rent and eat food and exist without having to work 60 hours a week. Is there a chance we could move in with you at some point if we need to?”
Byron stayed silent for a while.
“I’m sorry I keep asking you about things, it’s just-”
“I entirely understand, my dear. If you need to, you may, and if you want to, you also may. It would be lovely to have all my children in the same house.”
“I really want to live with you, but Edgar wants to hold it out for as long as he possibly can because his ego would probably never recover if he had to move in with you.”
“Well, my offer still stands. You and Edgar may live here if you ever need or want to.”
“Thanks papa! You’re the best dad ever!”
“You’re welcome, Colette. You’re the best child I ever could have asked for.”
After she said that, Colette turned off the lamp on her side of the bed, and she turned liver to face Byron, now lying down.
“Goodnight papa.”
Byron turned off his own lamp, fully climbing into bed so he could reach other and caress Colette’s head, pushing her hair slightly out of her face.
“Goodnight, my dearest. All the best dreams to you.”
She smiled at that, closing her eyes and hugging her plushies a bit tighter. Eventually, Byron went to sleep as well, but not before making sure to cherish these past few hours. His children meant the world to him, and it meant the same amount to be able to spend some quality time with them. After all, he’d already lost Colette once, and he never wanted to lose her again.