Work Text:
It takes Teo a few days to work up the courage to ask. He isn't sure why; he knows Huemac will say yes, that the priest already wants to do it anyway and is simply waiting for Teo to ask. Perhaps it's because of everything that happened. Perhaps it's because Teo is afraid to let go of his mum's constant presence that's not even here right now.
When he does ask, though, it's during dinner at the temple. It still feels lonely without his mum, but Huemac keeps it as lively as possible. Now, the light feels too bright, but perhaps it's because it was broken during the apocalypse and the bulb got replaced mere days ago. Teo wishes the bulb that was here when his mum was, too, was able to stay.
"Hey, Huemac?" Teo starts, using the fork to push the mashed potatoes with peas around his plate.
The priest looks up from his plate. They usually ate in silence since the apocalypse ended, so this came as a small surprise. "Yes?"
"I was thinking, since mum is gone now for most of the year... Would you adopt me? I know I'm almost eighteen, but... well, I do still need a legal guardian until then and I want it to be you."
The young semidios will be glad to have the priest for his guardian. Huemac spent most of his life raising and taking care of him, anyway. And he proved himself to be very good at it, too. What's more important, he truly loved Teo, like Teo loved him.
Huemac smiles warmly. "Yes, I'll adopt you."
Teo returns the smile. "Thank you. And, uh, I also wanted to say that... when you get so old you can't take care of yourself, I'm going take care of you," he half-jokes. The closest he comes to a joke since the apocalypse.
The priest laughs, the spind coming deep from his chest. It's a nice thing to hear. Teo hasn't laughed in a while. "Don't count on it just yet, troublemaker. I'm old, but not that old. I'll be taking care of you for a while."
Teo throws his arms around Huemac, breathing in his smell. Since he returned to Quetzlan a week ago, he had little comfort. Everything reminded him of his mum. But, with Huemac, the grief and the guilt feel less suffocating. "Really, thank you."
Huemac hugs him back. "It's nothing, boy. It'll be okay." The priest pats the young boy's back. "And you should eat your greens."
Teo chuckles, but barely. "Yeah, yeah, my greens." As they last word leaves his mouth, he starts crying. The tears have been building up for some time, but he hasn't allowed himself to cry before.
Huemac pats his back gently again. "Cry it out, son," he says softly. "Yes, cry it out."