Work Text:
"Why do we have to move?" Neil asked in the car as he headed to his new school in Texas
"Because Candy got a job here as a hostess" Carl said
"And we're a family so we move together" Nikki said with a smile
"Enjoy school, your classroom is on the second floor class 12-A and you have the schedule in the office" Candy said waving to her children as she left them in front of the new school
The two children looked at each other, grabbed their backpacks and entered the new building
It hadn't been hard for them to find their class or get their schedule, after a quick introduction to their new classmates, Neil and Nikki sat in the back at the tables their teacher had indicated to them
Only 10 minutes had passed in class when there was a knock on the door and the teacher said "come in"
"I'm sorry Miss Mastin, there was an accident on the main street" a boy said apologizing for his lateness
"It's okay Max, don't worry, your father already told me the reason for your absence "late" the woman said smiling at the boy
Nikki and Neil watched as a boy slightly taller than Nikki with wavy black hair wearing jeans and a forest green sweatshirt sat at the desk next to Neil
The teacher turned to continue writing on the board and both boys saw the boy notice the two new kids when he finished putting things on his desk
"Max!" They both whispered
"Guys?!" Max whispered back
The three of them looked at each other and continued with class but now happier than before
At lunch time the three of them sat on some abandoned swings with their food
"And what are you doing here?" Max asked taking a bite of his sandwich
"We moved because of my mom's job" Nikki said
"Oh Candy and Carl stayed together? Good for them" Max said
"And you?" Nikki asked
"We haven't heard from you in a year" Neil said
"We never found out how the adoption went in the end" Nikki said swinging a little
"The adoption is fine, much better than my biological parents and our old house burned down so I lost my phone and computer and we moved to Texas" Max said shrugging
"So who's your adoptive father anyway? You didn't tell us before radio silence" Neil said
Max smiled and said "you'll find out at the end of the day"
The siren blew and Max broke away as he was part of the wardrobe assistants for the school play while Nikki and Neil went to their Biology period
At the end of the day Max was He said goodbye to Preston and Harrison at the entrance of the Institute. They both stayed to help with the work and he went to look for Nikki and Neil.
The two children followed Max to a red car where a tall man was chatting with a black-haired woman.
"Dad, dad, पापा" Max said, pulling on the red-haired adult's pants.
"Yes, Max, what's up? Oh, what a surprise?" David said when he saw the two people accompanying his son.
"Did David adopt you?" Neil said, pointing at the man.
"Yes," Max said with a smile.
"And you didn't kill him?" Nikki asked.
"No, who better than David to take care of me. He already knows me," Max said, pointing at the man.
"Thanks for the trust, Max," David said, stroking the child's hair lovingly.
The adult turned to look at them and said, "And you kids around here?"
"Mom got sent to work here so we moved" Nikki said
"Oh well good for her I guess" said the black haired woman the kids discovered was Gwen
"That hair color looks horrible on you" Nikki said with a smile
"I told you so" Max said
"Thanks for the compliments" Gwen said sarcastically with her arms crossed