Galactiquest

Another day, another party. Emil stepped down the stairwell, a box hidden behind his back, finally making his entrance. The usual suspects were there.

“‘Sup?” Jun scooped yellow powder into a bowl. “Rox, how many scoops did you want again?”

“Three,” Roxie tapped her fingers together like a villain, “and a half!”

Jun stopped to stare at Emil, equally as confused at what that was about, but just as amused. “Okay. You want any eggs, Emil? It’s my specialty. Kinda has to be, since it’s one of the only things I know how to cook.”

“Well, if it’s your specialty, how can I refuse?” Emil bowed slightly with a flourish of his hands. “Just one scoop for me. I’m tryin’ to save some room for the party later.”

“Oh yeeeeah.” Jun tilted their head back. “Will it be soon?”

“As soon as I can find the birthday boy.”

“You got my text, ri–?”

Emil and Jun stopped in their tracks once Aiden entered the kitchen. Only Roxie was oblivious enough not to notice the tension in the air.

“...Hey.” Jun awkwardly broke the ice.

“Hey, yourself.” Unless Emil’s eyes and ears were playing tricks on him, Aiden seemed to be in a much better mood than the night before last.

Even Jun was caught off guard. They almost asked him something but quickly changed their tune. “Want an egg?”

“If you’re offering.” Aiden shrugged, then ducked down into the refrigerator.

Emil decided to take advantage of his good mood. “Hey Aiden, have you seen Angelo?”

Aiden lifted his head. “Yeah.”

“...Where was he?”

“He and Rookie woke me up.”

“So he’s in you guys’ room. Got it, thanks!” Emil sped off toward the hallway.

Evil chuckling slowed him to a stop.

He looked over his shoulder to see Roxie steepling her hands. “Do… you know where Angelo is?”

“He is somewhere.”

“Yeah, I sure hope so!” Getting answers out of anyone this morning felt like pulling teeth. “You gonna tell me where he is~?”

“When the egg crystals reach their full potential, the muffin shall reveal himself.” Roxie tapped her fingers together individually. “Only then will a complete breakfast be assembled!”

“You’re really making me work for this, huh?” Emil sighed, though he was happy to see she was her normal, abnormal self. The next time she felt down, though, he’d be ready to get to the bottom of it. “I’m gonna go check his room anyway.”

He slipped into the hallway and moseyed on down to the first door on the left. Just before knocking, he heard part of an ongoing conversation.

“If I could warp back home just for today, I’d do it in a heartbeat… I’m sure wherever Ángie is, he’s thinking about us, too.” Even with the door muffling it, Emil heard a heaviness in Leon’s voice. He must’ve been talking to his parents.

In the meantime, Emil checked on Mia, who was reading in the next room over. She wanted no eggs. By the time he told Jun and came back, Leon’s phone call ended. He decided to knock a little more softly than usual.

“Ángie? You can come in.”

Despite not being Angelo, Emil opened the door. “Hey, it’s me.” He leaned into the doorway. “I thought I might find your bro here, but I guess not.”

Leon looked at him in pained disbelief. “Did he disappear again? But I thought we sorted things out…”

“It’s okay. At least one person knows where he is. She’s just not talking.” Emil stepped into the room. “You doin’ okay?”

“I’m trying.” Leon gave him a quick, weak smile.

Emil knew it wouldn’t be easy on Leon, but only now did he realize how much of a strain it must be to face his grieving family and not be able to say a word. If only he could offer words of encouragement vague enough not to make Lorenzo suspicious.

“What’s that behind your back?”

“Oh!” He forgot about the box he’d been holding. “I was planning to keep this a surprise, buuut,” but Leon could use something to cheer him up, “you can have a sneak peak.”

Leon gasped almost as soon as Emil set the box in his hand. “A model spaceship kit?” His face lit up. “He’ll love this!”

“I sure hope so.”

“No, seriously!” Leon examined the box. “This is one of the best gifts you could’ve gotten him! How do you keep knowing these things? I was just talking to Ángie about it. It’s like you’re magic!”

“M-Magic??” Something about the sincerity of Leon’s words and the sheer wonder in his eyes sent Emil into a fit of giggling. He really had to get used to these compliments, or else Leon might get the wrong idea. “Sorry, sorry, I’m not laughing at you, I swear!”

“It’s okay, I know it sounds silly.” Leon took it in stride. “But you might as well be!”

“Rookie, c’moooon!” A bit of coughing and ahem-ing, and Emil finally managed to pull himself together. “I wouldn’ta been able to plan out this stuff if it wasn’t for you.”

“Me?” Now it was Leon’s turn to be caught off guard.

“Yeah, you! You’re the one who told me what I needed to know.”

“I did? I don’t even remember that.”

Emil put his hands behind his head. “I try not to be too obvious when asking.” He held out one hand, and Leon gave him back the box. “Anyway, I’ll let you have some space. The party should start soon, but I’ll swing by to let you know before I pull out the ca–” A realization dawned on him. “The cake.”

“What about the cake?” Leon tilted his head.

“Good question!” Emil gave his best customer service smile as he backed toward the door. “Uhhh, un momento!”

He rushed to the kitchen and yanked open the freezer.

“If you’re looking for the cake, it’s in the fridge.” Jun looked over their shoulder while frying their first batch of eggs.

“Again?” He checked to make sure, and sure enough, the box sat dead center in the refrigerator. Upon cracking it open, he saw that it was completely thawed out. “Geez, at least someone’s on top of things.”

“Did Leon want any eggs?”

“Whoops, forgot to ask!” Emil slapped his forehead. “I’ll go do that right now.”

He made his way back to the hallway door but changed course when the upside down box nearby caught his eye.

“On second thought, I should prolly get rid of this box first.”

Setting down Angelo’s birthday gift on one of the other boxes, he lifted the upside down one with ease. Of course he did. It was empty. At least, that’s what he thought until he noticed a pair of panicked eyes staring up at him.

“Angelo??” Emil laughed in shock. “Again? What are you doing here? You can’t keep disappearing on us!”

Angelo slowly uncrumpled himself. “S-Sorry! But I–I did tell someone.”

“I’m someone~!” Roxie volunteered. “And do not worry, Junzie, his order has been accounted for.”

“Cool.” Jun barely acknowledged the spectacle.

Emil scratched his head. “Well, I’m glad you told somebody, but you know there’s no need to hide, right?”

“Yeah, but,” Angelo stared at the floor, “I-I’m kind of attached… But you can th-throw it away if you want!”

“Are you sure? You can keep it so long as you’re not camping here for days.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t have a problem with it.” Emil looked around. “Do you guys?”

“Let him have his enrichment!” Roxie cheered.

Jun shrugged, dumped their first batch of eggs on a plate. “No harm in letting him hold onto it for a while. Maybe he can take it as a souvenir.”

“Interesting idea.” Aiden found something funny about Jun’s suggestion. He then noticed Emil’s eyes at him. “Me? I don’t care if the kid camps in there or–Wait, camping?” His own eyes widened suddenly, somewhat disturbed. “You were living in there? I just thought–” He cut himself off.

“I-I promise not to do it ever again!” Angelo looked between him and Emil.

“You better not…” That came out more concerned than threatening.

“Well, the people have spoken!” Emil announced. “You get to go home with your very own brand new used cardboard box! Consider it a gift from the crew.” He winked.

“I feel like such a winner…!” Angelo took the box gingerly in his hands.

Jun clapped for him with a normal level of enthusiasm, while Roxie clapped as if her own child had graduated.

“But that’s not all!” continued Emil. “Look behind you for a bonus prize.”

Angelo’s head snapped toward the box behind him, where Emil had set his present. He used it to help him stand up, taking the gift along the way.

“What is…?” Angelo turned the smaller box around in his hands. Emil tried to play it cool while hanging on to every little shift in his facial expression. “A model spaceship kit.” Wide, shiny eyes glanced up at Emil. “Th-This is for me?”

“Yep! It’s all yours.” Emil held out his arms.

A weighty thud knocked the wind out of him. Angelo’s head buried into his chest, and his arms wrapped around his back. Before Emil fully registered what was going on, Angelo pulled away.

“S-S-Sorry! I-I completely misread th-th–I thought you—I’m–” Angelo’s face flushed bright red as he sputtered more half-sentences before a final, tiny, “My mistake.” His eyes darted toward the ground.

“Don’t worry about it.” Emil waved a hand nonchalantly, though he felt anything but. His heart warmed so much, it might’ve melted a little.

Angelo opted to hug his gift instead. “Th-Thank you. And,” he looked up at Emil, “thank you. I-I’m sorry.”

Something about how he said that last part made it clear to Emil that he wasn’t thanking him for the gift nor apologizing for the hug. “Ahhh, no need to apologize.” He gave the warmest smile and wink he could. “It’s all good.”

The door opened, and Leon stepped in. “Good morning everyone!”

“Big Brother! Look at what I got!” Angelo rushed over to him.

“Oh yeah, Emil showed it to me. Isn’t it super cool?” Leon took out his constellation map. “He got this for me. Actually, I was meaning to ask you if you wanted to go looking for constellations with me.”

“Of course!”

He looked around. “You guys are all free to join us!”

“Yaaay!” Roxie cheered while she and Aiden got their servings of eggs. “Oh! Oh! Rookie, you should’ve seen his reaction! It was so cuuute!” She sounded close to tears.

“Really?” asked Leon.

“Yeah, it was way sweet.” Jun agreed.

His shoulders slumped. “Aww man, I wish I could’ve been here to see it.”

“Sorry about that.” Jun waved a scoop of egg powder. “Want an egg?”

The party hadn’t started yet, but Emil took a moment to enjoy his surroundings. The mood shifted drastically from the gloom and doom around Leon’s birthday. Genuine happiness filled the room–even Aiden seemed content while eating his eggs–and with the pride Emil felt while watching the birthday boy enjoy his gift, Angelo might as well have been his own little brother.

“Oh, Emil,” Jun turned around from frying a second batch, “do you know if the captain’ll want any eggs?”

“Yeah, hold on.” Emil waved his arms at the ceiling. “Hey! Hey, Captain Bro!”

No response.

He opted for a more professional approach. “Captain Galhardo-Alverez, would you like scrambled eggs?”

Still no response.

He turned back to Jun. “I’ll go check.”

“Cool, thanks–Shoot!” Something in the pan startled them. “Uhhh, I hope you guys don’t mind your batch being a little extra crispy.”

“I’m not afraid of a little extra flavor.” Emil’s own failed cooking attempts came to mind as he strolled toward the stairwell exit.

“Um, Emil?”

“Yeah?” He pivoted around to see Angelo standing behind him.

“Can I ask you s-something?”

“Sure! What’s up?”

“Um, can I…?” Angelo cupped his hands over his mouth. Emil took the hint and leaned down for him to whisper. “Can you play your guitar at th-the party? I-I think my brother could use that right now.”

Emil thought about the phone call as he looked at Leon. “You don’t need to tell me twice.”

Angelo stepped back. “Th-Thanks again.”

“Yeah, no problem. Anything for the birthday boy!” With one last wink, Emil left the kitchen.

On the way up to his room, Emil’s mind wandered to the night before. His conversation with Angelo shed a lot of light on things, and despite their obvious differences, they shared more than Emil cared to admit out loud. Though one difference stood out clearly in his mind: The poor kid would rather repent than relax. Not yet anyway. Emil promised to help him go easier on himself whether he liked it or not.

First, he needed to understand that mindset, and who better to help him than the knowledgeable guy he knew?

“Yo, Lorie!” Emil burst into the room, startling his brother.

Lorenzo shushed him, pointing at the cellphone he held up to his ear.

“Sorry.” whispered Emil.

“...W-With all due respect, I am an American officer on an American vessel. There is no–At least, I don’t believe there is any security threat in my being able to access this information.”

Lorenzo’s voice showed no emotion, which might be mistaken for confidence, but the stumbling of his words let Emil know the conversation went way off course from whatever script he’d planned. He silently cheered him on.

“...I understand.” His ultra-serious expression turned into confusion once he caught a glimpse of Emil. ‘What are you doing?’ he mouthed.

‘You got this! I believe in you!’ Emil gave him a big grin and pumped his fists.

Lorenzo’s ‘Thank you’ might as well have been ‘Okay.’ He continued his phone conversation. “Is there any way I might be able to get this information? It’s of grave importance to me. …I see. Your help is very much appreciated. …Goodbye.” After hanging up, he dropped the phone on his desk like a hot potato.

“What was that about?” Emil stepped into the room.

“Earlier this morning, I realized that if I’m correct about Ranger Summers being a minor, then he’d likely be a missing person.”

“Oh, smart thinking!” He smiled through the chill running down his spine.

“Unfortunately, I am unable to access any search results from his area.”

Instead of the ship’s camera feeds, the big screen in front of Lorenzo’s desk displayed a webpage that said something or another about a “United States Domestic Information Privacy Act.”

Lorenzo folded his arms. “The person I spoke to said there’s a possibility I might be able to access it from Lunaria, but it’s not certain.”

Emil sure hoped it wasn’t.

The big screen switched over to the camera grid. Lorenzo enlarged the feed for the kitchen, where everyone had gathered except for the two of them and Mia. Emil leaned on the back of his brother’s chair to watch it with him.

“I see that Ranger Summers is present.” Lorenzo didn’t take his eyes off the screen “Did you find him?”

“Roxie found him in the kitchen last night. I just happened to show up a little after.”

“I’ll have to ask her where she found him. Do you know why he was hiding?”

“Uhh,” Emil thought for a moment, “he seems really shy to me.” Technically not a lie.

“Hmm. Regardless of his reasoning, it won’t save him from punishment. I’m planning it as we speak.”

“What??” Emil leaned over the chair. “C’mooon, on his birthday? All he did was hide. He even showed up for jet training!”

“Wrong.” Lorenzo looked up toward him. “He did not respond when I called for him at his brother’s birthday party. That is a major infraction. The law doesn’t stop for birthdays.”

“Can the law at least wait patiently until after the party?”

No response from Lorenzo.

“So is that a yes, or…?” Emil leaned further.

Lorenzo simply stared ahead.

Letting go of his chair, Emil sighed and made a silent apology to Angelo. He sat there on screen eating eggs with the others, entirely oblivious.

Oh right, Emil had a question to ask.

“Jun wanted me to ask if you wanted any eggs.”

“You came all the way up here for that?”

“Well, you obviously weren’t looking at the cameras.” He stooped down near his bed to grab his guitar and amp.

Lorenzo closed his eyes. “There’s no sense in having you run all the way downstairs when I can just make my own eggs.”

“So you do want eggs! How many?”

“Just one, but–”

Emil hurried over and turned on the intercom. “Our beloved captain would like one scoop of eggs, please?”

Jun finger gunned. “Got it.”

Lorenzo shook his head as the intercom clicked off.

“See? I didn’t hafta run downstairs.” Emil fastened his guitar strap on his shoulders. “Anyway, I’ll prolly take the cake out after everyone’s done eatin’ eggs. You comin’ down with me?”

“I will after I decide on a punishment. It will most likely include furnace duty, but what else…?”

Emil sat on his bed. “All this talk of punishment just reminded me of something Mom told me about you. You take guilt really hard.”

“Hmph. Her assumption is based on how I was as a child.”

“Hey, it’s not like she completely dropped out of our lives. She knows us,” he stood back up to pace, “and you’re still like that. I remember times you’d do push ups before Dad could even assign them to you. Sometimes for things he never thought of punishing you for!”

“Pushups, why didn’t I think of that?” Lorenzo muttered to himself as he typed something into a document.

Emil continued regardless of whether or not his brother paid attention. “Or when we had the simulation glasses, you’d always set your damage settings to Shock.”

“That’s also an interesting punishment…” Lorenzo kept typing.

“I’m surprised you let yourself off the hook after running indoors at the Moon Base.”

Lorenzo sat up from his laptop, staring into space.

“...Lorie?”

“I got so caught up in the theft,” his eyes shifted, “I ran upstairs. And I instructed Summers to do the same…” He turned on the intercom. “Ranger Kim, on second thought, I do not want any eggs.”

“Now hold on–!” Emil leaned over Lorenzo and took the intercom microphone. “On third thought, I do believe the Captain wants eggs.”

“You can’t take back my decision!”

“You can’t deny yourself breakfast over a little mistake!”

“Yes I can, and it’s not a little mistake. I went astray. Worse, I led my subordinate astray.”

“You ran up a coupla stairs, Lorie–”

A cough came over the intercom. “Sorry for the interruption, but we can like, hear you guys. Also I can’t unscramble these eggs.”

“My sincerest apologies to everyone for having heard that.” Lorenzo hurriedly turned off the intercom. He looked like he wanted to retreat into his hat.

“Well, you heard them. There’s no unscrambling an egg, so it’s better not to let it go to waste. The cake either.” Emil predicted his next move. He leaned toward Lorenzo, sympathetic. “Why do you do this to yourself?”

“Self-discipline is an important part of being a star ranger, let alone a captain in my position. But also,” Lorenzo rested his chin on a finger, “does it not feel bad to do the wrong things?”

“The wrong things as in…?”

“I don’t understand how some people are able to go on after doing something they’re told not to. Facing punishment is the easy part. It’s… freeing.”

“Really?” Emil believed he meant every word. That didn’t mean he understood. Did Angelo feel the same? What could he do to help either of them?

“Don’t you ever feel the same way?”

“No.” He stepped away from the chair. “I was always too talkative, not obedient enough, too emotional, not smart enough. My brain developed wrong, and according to a lotta people, so did my heart! If I let myself feel guilty about everything I do ‘wrong,’ I wouldn’t be able to live with myself! Heck, it’s hard enough–” He stopped himself before he said too much.

Lorenzo looked up at him expectantly.

“Nevermind.” Emil didn’t feel the need to go into his past sorrows. Not yet. Still, it meant the world that he could even think of telling Lorenzo about them. His fingers plucked at guitar strings as he watched his brother deeply consider the feelings he would’ve dismissed before.

“I think guilt is necessary. It guards against carelessness and crime. I can also understand that feeling guilt for things you can’t change isn’t ideal.” The gears in Lorenzo’s head struggled to turn with each word. “But how do you allow yourself not to feel guilty? That sounds like a recipe for disaster.”

Emil pulled on a curl. “It’s not like I don’t have a conscience.”

“I assumed that much.”

“Heh. Glad’ja have faith in me!” He winked, then walked around for a moment while trying to figure out how to explain what he felt. “I got it! Okay, so running in halls is bad, right? ‘Cause someone can get hurt.”

“Yes.”

“So say I’m in a hurry to get somewhere and I run indoors. I almost run into someone carrying a ton of glass. Yeah, I’d feel bad about doing that, but it’s helping no one if I’m still beating myself up a year later over it when I can just be more careful.”

“Hmmm.” Lorenzo looked deep in thought. “But what if you had run into that person and gotten them severely injured?”

“Then I’d have a reason to feel guilty for a long time. But I didn’t do that.”

“But you could have.” Leave it to Lorenzo to lecture him on a hypothetical situation. “Every rule is in place for a reason, and anytime you break it can risk your life or someone else’s.”

“Not every rule is in place for a reason. Don’t tell me you still believe Jun was in the wrong for sneaking into the IF.”

“The gender restriction was there for a reason, though a faulty one.” He folded his arms. “Had it not been faulty, Ranger Kim could’ve seriously risked their health.”

Emil opened his mouth to defend them.

“That being said, their actions led to beneficial changes for the Interstellar Forces.”

“Glad we’re on the same page there.” He shrugged. “I woulda felt bad having them cook eggs for you if we weren’t.”

“Then maybe you should’ve let me cook my own eggs. Speaking of which,” Lorenzo looked at the kitchen feed, “they seem to be done.”

“Oh yeah, we should prolly head downstairs, huh?”

Ever the dependable one, Lorenzo stood up from his chair, put on his cape, and opened the door for Emil and his guitar.

“Thanks~” Emil started downstairs with a pep in his step. “Excited for the party?”

Lorenzo followed. “With Ranger Summers accounted for, I have no reason not to go.”

“Great! I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Emil heard his brother breath through his nose. “C’mon, it’ll be a good time!”

“For you, it will be.” It was hard to tell if Lorenzo was being snide or just factual. “But I was just thinking–”

“Yeah?”

“--with how invested you are in these parties, I’m surprised you keep forgetting to defrost the cake.”

“Me too, but you know my mind’s all over the place.” He shrugged.

“That’s why I took it out.”

Emil spun around to face him. “Lorie?” His voice squeaked a little more than he intended. “You did that for me?”

Lorenzo awkwardly looked away, but nodded. Though even in this moment, he stood strong and tall. It didn’t matter that they’d be roughly the same height if they were standing on the same step. His presence stood taller, enough to seem distant and uncaring at times. Even still, he found the time to care for a little guy like Emil.

“Thanks.” Emil spoke from the bottom of his heart, but just in case that didn’t get across, he hopped off the bottom step and played a guitar riff. “That’s for you.”

Lorenzo stared down at him, mildly confused. “Thanks.”

Leaning on the door to the meeting room, Emil waited for his brother to catch up. In the meantime, he decided to bring the guilt conversation back to life. “What if there was a reason where you had to break the rules?”

“Why would you need to break the rules?”

“Going back to the running in the halls situation, what if I was running from a serial killer? Should I be guilty then?”

Lorenzo walked up to his face. “You should be running.”

That got a laugh out of Emil. He held the door open this time. “So even you think there’s things more important than rules.”

“That’s an extreme situation.” Lorenzo’s cape dragged behind him as he passed through.

“I agree.” Emil lifted the cape out of the doorway before closing it. “On the topic of extreme situations,” He swallowed his nerves as he tried to craft the perfect hypothetical to mirror Leon and Angelo’s situation, “what if I, in self defense, punched a guy, and the cops were looking to send me off to prison?”

“What?” Lorenzo stopped in front of the panel leading to the stairwell.

“And what if I went home to hide? If the police showed up, would you turn me over to ‘em? Even if it meant I went to a big, scary prison with guys who could snap me in half like a twig?”

“Who did you punch?”

“I dunno, the president??”

He squinted at him.

“In self-defense, though!” Emil lifted a finger.

“If it’s self-defense, it wouldn’t be a crime, would it?”

“But it’s the president.”

Lorenzo shook his head. “Then you’d get arrested no matter what I do. Hiding you would just prolong the inevitable.”

“But is it fair for me to get arrested for it? If I hadn’t punched him, he would’ve killed me.”

“The president??”

“Yes!”

Lorenzo sighed. “It’s hard to say who’s in the wrong if I don’t know why the president wanted to kill you, but regardless, I feel like you could get a trial to clear your name.”

“Do you think they’d take my side over the president’s?”

“If you’re truly innocent.” His unwavering belief in the law baffled Emil more than sometimes.

“Okay,” Emil shifted gears, “but what if you didn’t know you were hiding me?”

“How would I not know?”

He circled his brother. “Let’s say I made sure you didn’t know I wasn’t in trouble, and we lived somewhere the police wouldn’t find easily.”

“Wouldn’t they have our address?”

“Dad finally figured out how we can live off the grid in this situation!” He lifted his hands in exasperation. “Anyway. It takes a week or two for them to find me, and by that point, they think you’re hiding a fugitive.”

Lorenzo squinted. “Then that’s your fault.”

“Yes.” agreed Emil. “But there’s nothing you can say to prove you didn’t know. You did nothing wrong, and you’ll still get arrested and prolly go to prison cuzza me!” It didn’t mirror Leon’s situation exactly, but a life without space would be prison for him. Just like Lorenzo. “Would that be fair?”

“Of course not.”

“And while it’s wrong of me to trick you, I’m just trying to protect myself from getting unfairly locked up.” He placed a hand on his chest. “If I was sure I’d get a fair trial, I wouldn’t do any of that.”

“I don’t see what any of this has to do with guilt.” Lorenzo opened the floor panel.

Emil froze. “...Okay, I may’ve lost the plot. Wait, no, this is still relevant!” He rushed downstairs after him. “You said you feel guilty about breaking rules, so I was just tryin’ to explain that sometimes the law’s not always on your side, or a situation is complicated.”

“Of course things are complicated. That’s why we have rules.” Lorenzo stopped to look toward him. “If everyone did what they were supposed to, it would be a lot simpler. I’m just doing my part.”

He turned away, gripping the stair rail. Emil nearly said something, but Lorenzo spoke up instead.

“Things are more complicated than I would like to admit.” He looked back up. “Did I ever tell you what Commander Bellamy told me would happen if a complaint were filed against a captain?”

“Not that I can remember. Is it bad?”

He stared into space. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I can see the practicality, but…” His head shook. “Nevermind.”

Emil walked down a few steps. “Hey. You’re smart. You’ll figure it out.”

“Thank you for your confidence. And strange hypotheticals aside,” Lorenzo continued walking downstairs, “I trust that you’re doing your best as a person.”

“Thanks.” It warmed Emil’s heart to hear that, but not enough to stop the chill that came after.

Trust. Not an easy thing to gain from Lorenzo and very delicate. Yet Emil would have to juggle it with his promise to keep Angelo safe. He needed to be clever and probably lie, but who better to have a battle of brains with than the most knowledgeable guy he knew?

Anyone else.

On the stairwell floor, he caught Leon waving at him. Angelo lifted a hand. He technically caused all of this, but Emil couldn’t find it in his heart to blame the kid. It’s a miracle his 16-year-old self didn’t do something so catastrophic. What he would’ve given for more helping hands. Right or wrong, that’s what Angelo needed.

“Are you going in first?” Lorenzo waited off to the side.

“Oh!” Emil tried to play off his being distracted. “I thought you were going in first, but if you insist~”

He’d already put all of his eggs in one basket. There’s no unscrambling them now.

“It’s showtime!”