Orin had his fair share of things that he was grateful for. He had a father who loved him, a home that was very nice, good friends at school, a crush on a great girl, and the best almost-mother anyone could wish to have.

He knew Senshi and Knights and Cats and good people that were fighting ever day for the good of the people around them. People who were getting hurt for—dying for—the people of Destiny City.

Orin was grateful that he knew those heroes.

But things weren't always as easy as that, and he found himself wondering about those other people. The bad ones. The ones who made him grateful to even have his life.

Which was something that, quite honestly, scared him.

He was grateful to be alive. Grateful that his friends and family were alive. And unharmed. That he got to come home every day.

Orin had started worrying about his father, now. His father who often worked double shifts, late shifts, to make sure that he could afford everything Orin needed. The house, the food, school bills—and anything Orin wanted.

Orin pretended not to know, but he knew. And so he never asked for much, because he never needed much. His father loved him and he was happy just to know that his father was happy. But they were both good liars, even to each other.

His father hadn't had Thanksgiving off, and for as much as the holiday was about spending time with your family, Dresden never really got to spend it with his son. He was estranged from his parents—people Orin had never even been able to meet.

Orin usually wound up spending his Thanksgivings either being babysat by a neighbor or in the break room of his father's work. He was never lonely, but he missed his father. Sometimes, when he was watching his father bustle around to keep the other families happy, he was a little mad.

They didn't always treat his father nice, but his father always wore the same, hopeful, kind smile even when they were making his life awful and running him around like crazy.

But his father never complained, and Orin loved him even more for it.

If Orin had ever needed to pick a single thing in this world that he was grateful for, it would have been the father that raised him by himself. The father that worked himself half to death and sacrificed everything he had ever dreamed to make sure that his son was happy and taken care of. That loved him unconditionally, supported him through everything, and who had made sure that his son was the best person he could be.

Orin had thought a lot about this while he paced around his house, alone, on Thanksgiving. Now that he was old enough to be by himself his father had trusted him to watch the house, but it wasn't good enough for him. Orin usually didn't mind being home alone, but he was here, relaxing, with all the food his father had prepared for a thanksgiving meal, and his father was off at work. Even though he'd left handwritten instructions on how to heat everything up safely (and Orin had smiled about that), it didn't seem right.

He got to stay home and watch television and worry about people bossing his father around, knowing his father would come home dead tired and maybe not even make it out of bed?

...Maybe not this year.

His father wasn't going to be home until after midnight, and Orin was trying to make up his mind. Did he pack up this food and deliver it to his father so they could have a meal together, or did he wait until his father got home and try to surprise him with nice, re-heated food?

...Well, there was the problem that Orin knew that if he took a nap to stay up late, he wouldn't wake up for his alarm at all. And there was the problem that he also knew he was in no way capable of actually staying up that late without a nap, so there was really only one option--and he had known from the beginning that it was the right option.

With painstaking care, Orin followed each and every instruction his father had left him for reheating the food. It wasn't as fancy as all the movies--instead of a turkey, they'd had little hens. There was a green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes, and Hawaiian bread rolls. There wasn't a pumpkin pie because neither him nor his father cared for it, but instead Dresden had made sure he had a very delicious, very gooey chocolate cake. It had nothing to do with Thanksgiving and everything to do with it being Orin's favorite.

So it was perfect, in every way.

The meal was small, but Orin made sure it was extra hot before he wrapped it in aluminum foil, and then packed it in his lunchbox.

His father walked to work every day, but Orin had the convenience of a bike. He knew the way, so he loaded everything into his basket (including two cans of soda and a thermos of his own special homemade chocolate milk), and a card he'd made for his father expressing all his love and adoration.

Orin knew that the restaurant would be busy, but it didn't matter. He'd made sure the food was as warm as it could be and wrapped it as safely as possible. He could wait a while--hours, if need be. As long as it meant that he got to spend it with his father. He had allowance--he could even order something, and sit in the diner like a real adult.

...But he probably wouldn't. He'd sneak into the break room and wait for his father there to surprise him. He knew the other workers well enough, so it wasn't like they were going to throw him out. He supposed they'd probably all be busy working, anyway. He parked his bike in back, locked it up, and snuck in through the employee entrance.

People were bustling around enough that they didn't notice him, and he settled himself at the table they all shared. He'd brought his DS and his favorite Pokemon game, so he had plenty to keep him company. He just wanted to be there to surprise his father and show that he was thankful. And anyway, if his father was going to be forced to spend all night here, it wasn't like he couldn't do the same.

…Even if he had an ulterior motive.

Ever since his run in a few nights ago, it hadn't been sitting right that his father, unpowered, was walking home by himself. Not when there were people like that Negaverse Lady who had just stolen someone's starseed like it was nothing.

His father was an easy target that stood out like a sore thumb—a tired guy trudging through the dark of the night at unreasonable hours? His father wasn't old but he wasn't young, either. He didn't know how to fight. His father was the sort to bend over backwards to keep someone happy, and Orin just couldn’t see him hurting someone else. Well. Unless they tried to hurt him.

Orin wanted to walk him home tonight.

He didn't want to think about the lady who had been left on the rooftop. About her family, that would never see her again. Who might wonder what happened to her. Who would miss her.

He didn't want his father to wind up like her.

Orin swallowed as he thought about exactly what he didn't want to think about and turned on his DS as he settled into his chair.

He just needed to make sure that his father made it home. And he knew he wouldn’t understand, but Orin would stay here as late as his father had to. He had the rest of the week off from school so he wasn't worried about missing sleep—and it wasn't like his father could even kick him out now that he was here.

Orin couldn’t protect everyone. This was a truth he had learned in a very, very hard way. But he would do whatever he could to protect the man who had given up everything to keep him safe. And even if he didn't want to reveal his other life to his father, he would if it meant keeping him safe. Even if it meant all the explaining, all the worrying and nagging.

He knew his father wouldn’t understand right away, and that it would only lead to more worrying, but…

If it had to happen, it would.

Orin couldn't lose him.

And it was his turn to be the over protective mother hen.

Orin sighed and looked at the clock. He had no idea how long he'd have to wait until his father got his first break, much less lunch.

But he had a full battery and fruit roll ups in his pocket, so he was set.

Thank goodness.

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