Chapter Text
Gray sat on the table in Zayne’s examination room, doing his best not to swing his legs as the doctor pressed a stethoscope to his heart. Caleb sat on a chair by Zayne’s desk, having it turned towards them.
Eventually, Zayne stepped back with a smile. “Well, everything looks just fine,” he said. “You’re free to go.”
The boy looked nearly relieved as he hopped off the table, scurrying to the door as Zayne walked back to his desk. “Go ahead and wait outside with them,” Caleb told him. “I’ll be right there.”
“Sure,” Gray nodded.
Caleb smiled, reaching out to ruffle his black hair before letting him step out of the examination room, where Solana and her mother waited for them eagerly. Almost immediately, the young girl decided to bombard him with questions about how the appointment was and whether he had achieved superpowers yet. Gray, as usual, was still a bit dumbfounded by her.
“I was surprised they came to the appointment today.”
Caleb stood up just as the door closed, turning to see Zayne, standing as well, leaning against his desk and looking towards the door with a small, fond smile. “Are you not returning to Skyhaven immediately?” the doctor inquired.
He shook his head. “Gray and I are taking the last train back,” he explained. “There’s a flower viewing happening in Linkon, and we thought we’d take the kids while we were here.”
Zayne nodded. “It’s a good idea. Are you heading there at once?”
“Yeah.”
“And Sylus?”
“He’ll be meeting us there. Just has to finish some work first.”
Zayne didn’t ask any further questions, something he had learned over the ten years plus he’d known the crime lord. Asking questions normally made him regret asking them, simply from pure exasperation.
Instead, he crossed his arms and turned to Caleb. “So, how’s parenthood treating you?”
Caleb gave a chuckle, but didn’t move to correct him that he was simply the boy’s Guardian, not a parent. “Well,” he began, “we’re still finding our rhythm, you know? It’s still too soon to tell.”
Zayne nodded. “For what its worth, Gray seems to be doing a lot better in these three months since you took him in,” he said. “I remember when he couldn’t even speak a word to anyone but you and me.”
Caleb nodded, resting his hands on his hips with a sigh. “He’s a good kid, even easy. Likes his books, likes his plants, listens to what I say without questioning it much.” He glanced at Zayne. “He reminds me of you, actually.”
Zayne raised an eyebrow. “Me?”
Caleb nodded. “I remember a young version of you who was always buried in his books and kept to himself.” He gave a small chuckle. “The only thing is…I don’t know if its him, or the result of what happened,” he admitted, the teasing glint falling from his voice as he confided in his oldest friend.
Zayne said nothing much, only nodding. “I suppose only time will tell,” he mused.
“Sometimes, I wish he was more like Sol.”
Zayne glanced at him at that. “Like Solana? Aren’t you always complaining about how she’s an unstoppable ball of energy?”
Caleb laughed lightly. “She is,” he said. “But she’s also very direct and expressive about what she feels. If she thinks something, she says it.” He looked back at the door. “I didn’t think I’d miss it until I met Gray. He holds himself back, doesn’t say what’s actually on his mind.”
Zayne observed him for a moment before giving a small hum. “I would say its only a matter of time.”
“Why so?”
“Take it from an outside observer, you’ve done a great job with him so far.” Zayne moved around to his desk to take a seat. “He’ll open up soon.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Caleb then stretched his arms above his head for a quick moment. “I should go,” he told the other. “Otherwise they’ll start to wonder whether I’m sick.”
Zayne’s lips quirked in a smile. “Have fun.”
They had barely stepped into the park when Solana grabbed Gray’s hand and pulled him along to see the flowers, completely disregarding his protests. To his credit, he himself wasn’t resisting much. Either that or he had already resigned himself to his fate.
The trees around them bloomed like pink fireworks, flowers moving softly with the wind. While Solana pointed out and exclaimed about their beauty, Caleb noticed Gray staring up at them, a small smile on his lips.
“This is good for him,” he told his childhood friend who walked beside him.
She chuckled. “He really likes flowers, huh?” Her tone was fond. Since they had met, she had grown increasingly concerned for the boy, especially over their shared heart condition. Seeing him like this, in a rare moment of peace, made her truly happy. “We should do this more often.”
Caleb nodded. “We really should.”
Normally, he would have avoided moments like these, times of simple calm, when they could just walk through a park under the canopy of flowers. No Deepspace Tunnel, no Wanderers lurking, no backstabbing, no backroom politics. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, letting himself relax for the first time in a while.
She checked her phone. “Sylus is done with his work,” she informed. “He’ll be here soon.”
Caleb gave a mild scoff. “I’m almost afraid to ask what his ‘work’ was.” He was truly aware of the situation he was in, where somehow, he now had a crime lord for a brother-in-law.
“It’s good to not question it.”
“That tracks.”
Solana then came up to her with Gray (dragged him over like he was a dummy). “Mom! Can we get sodas?” She pointed to a food cart filled with delectable treats and delicious looking drinks.
Her mother bent down to brush a few petals off her hair, humming. “That’s a great idea. Let’s find a table and we’ll get you kids a snack too, shall we?”
They split up for a moment, with her mother taking the kids to find a table seated perfectly in line of sight of the cobbled path. So that when Sylus eventually arrived, he’d be able to find them with relative ease. Caleb, in the meantime, went to order some sodas and some finger snacks.
By the time he returned, however, drinks and food in hand, the kids had somehow gotten into a verbal spat with another boy seated at a nearby table. The kid was rough with his language, with his parents clearly not caring, noses buried in their phones.
Caleb set down the items with a raised eyebrow as Solana’s mother gave him an exasperated sigh. “They’ve been at it for the last ten minutes,” she groaned, rubbing her temple. Behind her, the unknown boy threw more insults at Solana and Gray, while Solana shot back with equal barbs.
He slid a soda into the mother’s hand in silent solidarity.
“Your wiener’s the size of a tic-tac!” the boy yelled at Gray.
Caleb rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his own soda. What a juvenile insult. He’d certainly have words with that boy’s parents once he was done with his drink.
He expected Solana to shoot back, all fire and sass. What he didn’t expect, was Gray – calm, quiet, plant-loving Gray – to step forward, cup his hands around his mouth, and yell, “That’s why your mom’s breath smells so good!”
Caleb spat out his drink.
“Yeah! You tell him, Gray!” Solana chirped with happiness as her mother was torn between stepping in to chastise the kids for language and aggressively rubbing Caleb’s back. Caleb, himself, was doubled over the table, coughing violently.
He, a Major General of the Farspace Fleet, brought down by the absolute absurdity of children.
In the meantime, Sylus had already arrived and was standing by. Clearly having overheard everything, he rubbed his chin slowly, lips curling into a smile.
“I think I like the boy,” he mused.
Caleb stared at him like he’d grown a second head.