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 Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2023 3:53 pm
Devyn seemed thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged slightly. “Sometimes I got him to take a break by pretending like I needed one more. I knew he’d stop and slow down if he thought that’s what I needed. Sometimes a little dramatic flare can get you a long way. The thing about taking a break, though. It can be as long or short as you need. Sometimes we’d take a break for the night and slip out to go do something. Sometimes it would just be a picnic.”
He looked up at the sky and smiled softly, because he still had a strong recollection of those memories.
“I think you should do what feels right, Atticus. If you don’t want to do something, don’t do it. I might try to convince Elliot to take it easy until he heals up. But I don’t think that means you need to stop doing anything. If you still want to go do Knight things, I know you’ve got your Wonders you can take care of. Or, maybe you can come help me on Alastor, I’ve got a lot we could do. And I want you to practice using your magic more, the both of you. Somewhere safe, ideally. But we trust you boys. It’s your decision. We’ll support you however we can. Even if we might be feeling a little overprotective right now.”
He squeezed Atticus’ shoulder. “We just love you. You boys are still growing and getting in your experience. We’ll try not to hover. But I don’t want you to work so hard to get stronger that you two get hurt or forget to be kids. I want you to find a balance that works for you. I want you to go to the movies sometimes, I want you to come to the museums with me. I want to take you out to lunches and watch the world. I want you to have fun at Elliot’s games. I want you to find what makes you happy. What I don’t want is for you to have a hard time and not know how to handle it. I don’t want you to feel like you have to push through. But I’d be happy if you could just talk to me if something like that was going on. We’d figure it out together, and I’d support you. No matter what you want to do.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2023 5:22 pm
He chewed on his lip as he thought about everything Devyn said. It all sounded so nice. He wanted to be able to take care of his Wonder with Elliot, and he wanted to help with Alastor, and get stronger, and go to the movies and museums and out to lunch and Elliot’s games.
Atticus used the back of his pajama sleeve to wipe away more of his tears and mop up his face, but he was pretty sure he got tears on Devyn. Thankfully, Devyn didn’t say anything about it.
He didn’t want Elliot to think he couldn’t rely on him, especially when Elliot was the one getting hurt all the time. But if telling Elliot that he needed to slow down instead… If that worked in making sure Elliot took more time to heal, then Atticus was willing to make himself seem like he couldn’t handle everything like he wanted to.
Not that he could handle everything, but he wanted to be reliable and someone Elliot could trust. Someone their dads and friends could trust to help them. He would just have to practice his magic and get stronger, like Devyn suggested.
“Thank you, dad. I love you too,” Atticus said as he looked up at Devyn again and nodded. “I would like to do all of that. And help with Alastor. And learn how to use my magic. There’s a lot of stuff on Earth you haven’t experienced yet too, right? We could do all of that.” It would be nice. Atticus never thought he would have a family like this. He didn’t want to waste any moment.
“Thank you for talking with me,” he said again and reached around Devyn to squeeze him in a side hug, followed by a yawn. All of that crying must have made him tired again.
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Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2023 9:08 am
Devyn returned the hug and rubbed up and down his arm again. “I’ll always talk with you, Atticus. I like spending time with you. You’re already special, but I know you’re going to grow up to be someone amazing. But for now, you seem sleepy. Let’s get you back to bed so you can rest. You’ll need all your energy to grow big and strong. And keep Elliot from hurting himself.”
He gave him one last squeeze, gentle enough that he could keep his arm resting against him but not tight enough that he was preventing Atticus from getting up.
“Even in Destiny City, there’s a lot I haven’t experienced. So you’ll need some energy to keep up with me, too. I’ve got a whole list of things I want to do, and it’s only been growing. There’s a whole list of things I want to share with you on Alastor, too. I’m glad you’re in my life, Atticus. I can’t imagine what I’d do without you. I’d enjoy life a lot less if I didn’t have you around. The universe isn’t always kind, but if I’m glad I wound up here. We’ve got a good family. And they’re all going to be there for us if we need anything. Now, I could either talk until I put you to sleep out here, or I could go tuck you in. What do you think?”
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Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:26 pm
Everything Devyn said sounded wonderful, and Atticus had to try very hard to not start tearing up again. He wasn’t sure what he did to get so lucky, but everything came down to how kind Elliot had been to him when no one else would have. Back when he was still digging around in dumpsters for food, and trying to wash the hair he wasn’t allowed to grow out in the school’s bathrooms and locker rooms, and getting packed things like cans of corn with no pull top for lunch.
If he hadn’t been trying to visit Elliot that night, hadn’t been chased by that youma, hadn’t run into Devyn… well, things would have been a lot different.
“I would feel bad if I fell asleep while you were talking,” he frowned worriedly up at Devyn, giving him another squeeze before carefully pushing himself up and grabbing what was left of his milk to drink. “I think we can go back in. Thank you,” he said once more.
And once Devyn was on his feet as well, Atticus wrapped his arms around him to hug him tight. It might have been a long, scary day, and they might have a long way to go to get stronger, but Atticus was certain that as long as they had each other’s backs like they did now, everything would be okay.
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