Galactiquest

Sleep wasn’t enough for Angelo anymore. His eyes never stayed closed for long, whatever long meant. The line between sleep and wake blurred, trapping him in an endless limbo. Did he go to training today? Was the Clipper Man waiting for him around the corner? Anything’s possible at this point.

Strangely, this situation also brought him closer to dreams. He didn’t know whether the conversations outside were real or fake. They were pleasant, though. Among the voices, he swore he heard his brother’s laughter. Imagining laughing with him, with all of them, kept him somewhat sane through the dull aches, the hunger pangs, and the endless dark.

It could never be reality.

Maybe that was for the best. There was one conversation between Leon and Emil that he hoped he dreamt. At this point, it could’ve been hours or days ago.

Food might help clear things up. He lifted the box enough to take a peek at the kitchen floor. No one was there, but he thought he heard sniffling. Oh well. It’s not like he trusted his grip on reality anymore.

“Gyaaaaah?!”

The sniffling turned into a shriek when Angelo slithered out of the box. While he still didn’t know if he was awake or dreaming, that sounded like a bad sign. The laughter that followed, however, sounded so sweet that it almost didn’t register as one.

“M-Muffinhead?” The voice spoke between snorts.

“Ahhh!” When Angelo turned over on his back, he found Roxie peering down at him from the space between the boxes and the wall. It’s a good hiding spot, he had to admit.

“I found you!” She pointed triumphantly, a pom-pom-like ponytail bouncing on the top of her head. “I’m victorious! My name shall radiate with glory!”

As much as he adored Roxie, Angelo wanted nothing more than to crawl back into the box. Hiding for so long wore away his humanity, and he didn’t feel like enough of a person to interact with anyone.

Her smile disappeared. “Are you okay? Did I scare you? Was I too loud?”

Not shouting did make his head hurt less, but it didn’t matter much with the bright kitchen lights. Still, he shook his head.

“Good. Here!”

She extended a bare hand toward him. He took it with his glove, and she pulled him up. Together, they sat on the unopened boxes.

“May I see your hands?” she asked.

Angelo took off his gloves. A few remnants of blisters still remained, but otherwise, his hands had healed back to normal.

Roxie took one of his hands into her own to examine more closely. “Yaaay, no infections.”

The tender touch of another hand nearly brought him to tears. She didn’t know what kind of person he was or the terrible things he’d done.

One look at her stopped him from beating himself up any further.

Her eyes were red and somewhat puffy. He’d seen himself in the mirror enough to know she’d been crying. What could he do about it? He looked around for something to cheer her up. The open box caught his eye.

Angelo dug around in it. “Do you want some,” he pulled out a packet and checked, “cookies?”

“Muffinhead, we’re not supposed to eat those unless we’re in zero gravity.” She still found it in her to chide him playfully.

“Oh…” Even while hiding, he managed to mess something up. He put the packet back and sat back down.

Roxie spoke up before he could ask her any questions. “Roxie Safety Tip: If you’re going to hide, let at least one person know what room you’ll be in. Any room can be robbed of its oxygen if no one seems to be there. Luckily, you avoided a horrible fate!”

“Thank you for the tip.” Angelo looked down at his knees. “Th-There’s not many good places to hide here, though.”

“Praytell, what reason did you feel the need to cloak yourself?”

“Huh? Why’d I hide?” He thought over it for a moment before deciding that she might as well know the truth. “My brother’s mad at me.”

“Huh?” Her voice sounded so sad. “Why?”

“Because I ran away from home. And,” Angelo struggled to even begin to explain what he did with Leon’s phone, “I-I did some really bad things. A lot of lying. It’s terrible.”

“Oh.” A somberness crept into Roxie’s voice. “That makes two of us.”

“What?”

“Ahhh! I didn’t mean–Don’t worry about me!” She waved her hands, reassuring him. “There’s no heart-wrenching backstory to be had on my end.”

“Th-Then why’d you run away?” He finally gained the courage to look at her.

She whined. “I don’t want to make you sad about it.”

“But I-I thought you said—” Angelo dropped it. “It’s okay. You can’t bring me down any more th-than I already am.” He smiled.

Roxie twirled a strand of hair around her finger, deep in thought. “This is all top-secret information. Hnnn, but I already told you I ran away, which is top-secret information. Just promise not to tell anyone, okay?” Her words pleaded, and so did her eyes. “Not a soul.”

“My lips are sealed.” Angelo stared straight at her.

“Ahh!” She flinched. “So intense!”

“Sorry.”

“No, no. You have my trust.” Roxie looked toward the microwave clock. It read 11:44 PM. “Jun’s one of my best friends. When I heard they signed up for this ship, it scared me.” She frowned, adjusting the sleeve of her pajama shirt.

“Me too! Th-That’s what I felt with my brother.” He realized that he may have interrupted. “S-Sorry.”

“You understand my plight.” She laughed until a tear rolled down her cheek.

Angelo jumped up, sprinted over to the sink, and grabbed a paper towel to present to her.

“Waaah, so polite! Thank you.” She dabbed her eyes. “Jun’s independence is unmatched. I knew I couldn’t change their mind if I wanted to. When I got offered to be a part of the same mission, I took it as a sign. If I didn’t go, we’d never see each other again. Did that happen to you, too?”

“No, I didn’t realize th-this was my brother’s ship.” answered Angelo. “But my family worried about him, too. My mom really tried to convince him out of it, but–S-Sorry. This isn’t about us.”

“That’s fine! I wish I had Rookie’s undying optimism, but the truth is, I’m scared. And,” she sniffled, “if I’m scared, I know my dad will be terrified. So I never really told him where I’m going…” Her voice petered out.

“He doesn’t know where you are, either?”

“He knows I’m on a ship. Just not this one.” Roxie pulled her knees to her chest. “It’s not a lie I want to keep up, but telling the truth might just shatter his heart. I know I’ll have to tell him soon. I’ve been thinking about it all week, plus some other things.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be! The other things cleared up. I just wish this was as easy. To be honest,” her voice quieted down, “I’m not sure I want to be on this ship. But Jun’s here. And Mia, too. Her presence here surprised me.”

She gave a saddened smile to Angelo.

“And the rest of you, my heart couldn’t take leaving you all behind. If only I could clone myself.”

“If only…” Angelo thought more Roxies in the world would be nice.

“But I think I’d like immortality more. That way no one would ever have to say goodbye!” Her eyes sparkled.

“I-I don’t know about immortality,” he shrunk into his shoulders, “but it’d be nice if there was some way to make it so that our loved ones can never leave.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how creepy his dream sounded compared to hers.

“Actually, th-that would be bad. Free will is good!”

“No, no, you are onto something, my muffin-haired friend.” Roxie stroked her chin. “What if we just scooped everyone up into a ball, and then we’d roll together wherever we wanted to go?”

“That’s a nicer way of putting it.” Angelo marveled at Roxie’s ability to turn his serial killer-esque wording into a silly fantasy. His mind wandered back to the rest of the conversation. “I wish there was a way to roll your t-troubles into a ball and make them disappear.”

“Don’t cry for me.” Her smile grew sad once more. “There’s no stopping the inevitable.”

Those eerie words did nothing to deter Angelo. For someone as kind as Roxie, he wanted to at least give it a try. How dare the inevitable make her cry? He’d fight it himself if it came down to it.

“But one thing you can do,” she perked up, tapping her chin, “is be my henchman!”

“Of course! I-I mean okay.” Angelo tried to sound less obsessed. “...Sorry, henchman for what?”

Roxie chuckled as if she knew something he didn’t. “The Great Roxaelia is always in the mood for having a sidekick or seven. Besides, you’re so cute, I can’t help but recruit you!”

“Th-Thank you!” he spat out, flustered and frankly confused.

While he didn’t look as bad as the first time they met, he had been sleeping in a box for days and couldn’t fully remember the last time he showered. He smelled of cardboard and sweat, his hair was a mess, and he suddenly became aware of the crust on his face.

He darted off to the sink to wash his face off with a wet paper towel.

Roxie continued the conversation. “I have a few other sidekicks on this ship, whether they know it or not. Like–Oh, like him!”

The sound of the stairwell door opening prompted Angelo to lift his face from the paper towel. His eyes met with Emil’s. Both stopped in their tracks. Ever since he boarded this ship, Angelo understood more and more how it felt to be Sasquatch.

Emil hung his head and sighed. “The day I decide we split up again and you find him first.”

“Tee hee~ Glory is mine, fair and square.” Roxie celebrated.

“Isn’t it late for you, though?”

“Ah, why y-yes it is!” She yawned, and Angelo heard the sound of boxes quickly shuffling. “Since I’ve already achieved victory, I shall bid you both goodnight.” The hallway door opened. “Nighty-night~”

“Night, Roxie.”

Roxie left the room, with silence entering in her place. Silence and tension. Angelo wanted to run away, but his muscles forgot how to move.

Emil’s didn’t. His footsteps made their way into the kitchen. “You don’t hafta stand there like a statue. Why don’t you take a seat?”

Angelo’s legs carried him to the nearest end of the table. He sat down as told, watching Emil move over to the sink area to grab some utensils. Emil grabbed not a knife, but a fork. With it, he grabbed a plate and something from the refrigerator to set down on it.

Emil placed a plate of cheesecake down in front of Angelo, topped with lemon glaze.

Angelo looked between him and the slice. “...Is it poisoned?”

“No??” Emil laughed. “Why would I do that?”

Angelo was just as confused. “Why would you give me cake?”

“‘Cause it’s your birthday.” Emil sat backwards on the chair at the far end of the table.

“It is?”

“It just turned midnight, so technically it’s August 23rd.” He studied Angelo. “But judging by your face, that doesn’t clear much up, does it?”

Only how long Angelo had been inside that box. Five and a half days, if his math was right. “Sorry, not really.” He took off his gloves to look at his hands. “Why are you being so nice to me? I-I don’t understand.”

Emil folded his arms over the seat back. “Is it really so weird for me to think people should get to be happy on their birthdays?”

“It is when you know they’re a monster.”

“Huh.” He tilted his head. “You got a point.” A smile crossed his face. “But I don’t know that, do I?”

“Um.” Angelo looked around for signs of a prank. “What?”

“I don’t know much about you at all. Not first hand, anyway. That’s what I came to find out.”

Angelo eyed him and the cheesecake with suspicion.

“It’s not poisoned!” Emil reassured him. “Go on, have a bite.”

“I-I’m sorry but,” he pushed the plate away, “I can’t.”

“You really think it’s poisoned? I mean, I’m no expert on murder, but doing it on this small ship? Where my bro can see all the cameras? Not a great idea. If I killed you, I’d be next.” Emil laughed.

“No, I believe you. Th-That’s why I can’t.” Angelo’s eyes fell toward the table. “Give it to my brother. He deserves it more than anyone else. He deserves so much more…”

“Hey, c’mon, lift your head up. There’s always the other half.”

“The what?” That did get him to lift his head up.

“The other half of the cake. For your birthday~ I made sure there’s enough for everyone to get two slices, even you!” Emil winked.

What kind of game was Emil playing? They both knew what he saw. Or was he really that oblivious?

Angelo finally shook himself out of disbelief. “He can have both of mine, too.”

Emil dropped his head some, pouting. “Well gee, that wouldn’t be fair to everyone else.” Genuine concern showed on his face as he straightened up his posture. “Besides, aren’t you hungry?”

“Th-The others can have some too if you want.” Angelo ignored the question. He didn’t have the strength to argue with his hunger pangs. Even now, he gazed longingly at the boxes in the corner, wishing he could levitate chips over to himself with his mind.

“Wait, were you the one that’s been rifling through the boxes?”

“S-Sorry!” His head snapped back over to Emil.

“It’s okay. I’d rather you do that than starve.” Surprisingly, Emil didn’t seem mad at all. “Why were you hiding in the first place? Were you in that cramped box the whole time?”

“How’d you know where–?”

“Found out last night. But back to you.” Emil pressed his fingertips together. “Why were you hiding?”

“You already know.”

“I wouldn’t be askin’ if I did. Unless you’re confirming what Leon guessed last night.”

“What he guessed…?” Something stirred in the pit of Angelo’s stomach. It wasn’t hunger pangs this time.

“Shoot, did you hear any of that?”

A flood of memories came back to Angelo, enough to overflow his brain. Leon’s confession, his sobs, and his complete loss at how to begin cleaning up the mess Angelo made. Dread paralyzed him. All he could do was sit there.

“Ange?”

“I heard…” Angelo’s head moved up and down.

“Cool. That means there’s less catching up to do.” Despite saying that, Emil looked more worried than relieved. “Uh? You gonna be alright?”

Silence filled the air. Emil almost spoke up.

“How can I show my face again?” The words fell out of Angelo’s mouth.

Emil took a moment to answer. “Well you can’t hide in a box forever.”

“I-I won’t eat the food packets anymore, I promise.” Angelo felt himself regaining some control over his actions. “But I can’t ever show my face again. To him or anyone. Not after what I did!” He shook instead of being unable to move, so that had to count for something.

“Hey, hey, it doesn’t hafta be like that. I can’t guarantee I can get you off the hook, but I’m not letting you waste away.” Emil lowered his voice, switching to Spanish. “Also if we’re gonna talk in detail about this, we should keep the conversation in Spanish. You never know who’ll wake up.”

“...Comprendo.”

“Very good.” Emil made an okay sign with his hand. “I know we’ve been avoiding each other for a while now, but we might as well get this over with. Let’s talk about what happened.”

Angelo nodded. He’d rather not, but what choice did he have?

“First thing’s first. I don’t think I got a clear answer on why you were hiding. Is it because you’re afraid of Leon?”

He shrugged. “Sort of.”

“‘Sort of’ isn’t enough to drive someone to live in a box for 5 days. What’s the real reason?”

“I messed up really bad. There’s no point in me saying sorry, so the next best thing is staying gone. M-Maybe he can be happy again someday.”

Emil started to say something, but seemed to change his mind. “You seem like you care about him a lot.”

Angelo nodded again. If there was anything he thought he was good at, it was caring about Leon. Now he’s not sure if he even got that right.

“That brings me to my next set of questions.” Emil tapped both feet aimlessly. “First, the big one. Why did you run away? I think I caught some of it, but not the full story.”

“I’m weak. I wanted to b–to be able to fend for myself. Just in case.”

“Just in case what?”

“Just i-in case I’m alone.”

“Huh. Were you worried about how your family might react?”

Angelo nodded. “But I’m doing this because I know they’re tired of me.”

“Tired?” Emil’s expression softened. “Any reason you feel that way?”

“A few, actually, but I don’t want to make you sit through my s-sob story.” Angelo smiled to lighten the mood. “I’m already depressing enough. Plus,” the smile dropped, “there’s things I’d rather not talk about.”

“I understand.” Emil thought for a moment, bounding a leg. “Let me know if this falls under ‘things you’d rather not talk about,’ but I did catch Leon saying that you guys’ grandfather calls you some really nasty things.”

“Oh, absolutely.” Angelo answered without hesitation.

“Does he have to do with why you came here?”

He nodded. “He’s a horrible person, but he’s willing to tell me things everyone else is too nice to say, like how much I need to toughen up if I wanna s-survive. He doesn’t believe I can do it. Neither do I.”

“If you don’t believe you can do it, why did you try?”

“I thought…” Angelo stared at the table. “I thought… I don’t know what I was thinking anymore.” His hands held his arms. “I’m s-sorry. Even when I try to help, it just makes things worse. I should’ve never come here!”

“We all make mistakes. Yours is… pretty big, not gonna lie, but I don’t have to tell you that.” Emil tilted his head back and forth, then took a deep breath. “I guess I should phrase it this way. Do you think you’re worthless?”

Angelo froze. He stared up at Emil through teary eyes.

“Or you feel like the few skills you do have don’t really matter? That if you were to be yourself, no one would like you? Maybe you even feel like the family mistake from time to time?”

The tears dropped away. He was too shocked to cry.

“Judging by the look on your face, I’m gonna guess that hit close to home. Hey, real quick, can you smile?”

“...I-I don’t know if I can.”

“That’s exactly why I’m asking. Really give it your all, as if you’re feeling fine.” Emil pumped his fist.

“What?” Angelo had no idea what Emil wanted to get from this, but it wouldn’t be a convincing smile. He only had the power to muster that for one person.

Emil leaned forward. “Pretend I’m Leon.”

Just when Angelo thought Emil ran out of ways to freak him out, suddenly he could read minds.

“Don’t worry about how I know this. I can’t read minds.”

Angelo squinted in disbelief, then mouthed an apology after realizing how rude that was. Taking a deep breath, he decided to get this over with. He smiled a smile as calm as could be.

Emil sucked air through his teeth with a wince, muttering something that sounded like ‘so that’s what he was talking about.’

He folded his hands together professionally and finally spoke. “Okay, so some people can smile through the pain without anyone noticing. You are not one of those people. At all. Not to be rude, but you look like you’re on your last straw.”

“Oh…” Angelo couldn’t even fake a smile right.

“I think that’s a good thing.” Emil made eye contact, dead serious, yet still smiling. His expression softened. “That way the people who care about you know when something’s wrong.”

It didn’t feel like a good thing.

“I know it prolly doesn’t feel like a good thing, though.” Emil continued with his freaky mind-reading powers. “But around the right people, it really is. Trust me.” He folded his hands over the chairback. “I can tell Leon cares about you a lot. It might not hurt to open up to him a little bit.”

That proved Emil couldn’t read minds that well. If he did, he’d know better.

“You don’t think so?” He was still scarily good.

Angelo shook his head. “He has his limits. Even if he doesn’t think so. E-Everyone in the world has limits.”

Emil glanced down at the table and sighed. “I wish I could argue with you. All I can say is that you’ll never know what people’s limits are until you test them. Only do it when you’re ready, though.”

“I’ve done more than test them.”

He gave him a look of sympathy. “Take it from me. People can surprise you with what they’re willing to stick through. Even people you’ve known all your life.” He winked. “Even you!”

“I-I guess that’s true.” Even though Leon’s fondness had limits, it’s a miracle he stuck with Angelo as long as he did. Still, he wasn’t the one who surprised Angelo the most right now.

There’s a question he’d been meaning to ask Emil.

“Emil?” Angelo’s knuckles brushed against each other.

“Yeah?”

“A-About last night. I-If I remember correctly, you promised to help us keep this secret, right?”

“Yes I did.” Emil smiled as if he had no regrets.

“Why? Do you know how much trouble you’re going to get in if we get found out?” Angelo’s question turned into more. “And like you said, you didn’t know much about me when you made that promise. What if I’m t-terrible? Why would you agree to something that risky?”

They must’ve caught Emil off guard. His smile wavered, and he didn’t answer right away. Most of his actions so far made little sense to Angelo, but one phrase made a lot of pieces come together.

“You said you couldn’t let a sad face stay around the ship. Did you…” Angelo’s concern and horror grew, “Did you agree to that just to cheer my brother up?”

Now Emil looked like Angelo read his mind.

“No. No, please.” Angelo shook his head. “Please say you wouldn’t go that far. That’s–I think my brother deserves the world–I promised I’d give anything just to make him happy, but you–”

“–Ange–”

“It’s not good for your health.” He pointed at his brain. “Please don’t do this to yourself. You’ve only known him for two months.”

“Almost three.”

“You haven’t even known me for a month. And you want to help us do crime??”

Emil didn’t answer.

“You don’t deserve to get caught up in this. It’s a–It’s all my fault. J-Just rat me out! Maybe we can make up a lie that’ll spare my brother. We could say that we’re long lost brothers, and he wouldn’t kn–he wouldn’t know I’m a minor.” Angelo’s voice quieted down. “Or something like that… S-Sorry.”

Emil gave him a tired smile. “You done?”

Angelo nodded. “S-Sorry again.”

“One,” Emil held up a finger, “that lie won’t work. You guys have the same address, and he’s talked about you quite a bit. Two,” he held up another, “I’m not ratting you out.”

“Please…”

“No. No changing my mind.” Emil waved a finger. “Sure, you’re more correct than I’d like to admit, but making Leon happy wasn’t the only reason I did what I did.” He stared at Angelo. “You seem like a well-meaning kid who's going through some things. I don't want to risk sending you to prison.”

“But i-if that’s what I deserve–”

“You don’t.”

“You don’t know that. You don’t even know what happened to my grandfather.”

That took Emil off guard for a second. “Okay.” He leaned forward, folding his hands together. “Then tell me what happened.”

“I… I don’t know.”

“You don’t remember anything at all?”

Angelo thought back to that fateful day three weeks ago. “I hid in the bathroom, and when I came out, he was… he was just lying near the door. I-I called the ambulance.”

“So you didn’t even do anything for him to get hurt?”

“That’s what I don’t remember. He grabbed my backpack, and I pushed him away to lock myself in the bathroom. M-Maybe that did it.” Angelo grabbed his arms. “I-I don’t know…”

“Hmmm.” Emil rubbed his chin. “Not the best alibi, but even if you did hurt him, you didn’t mean to.”

Angelo shook his head. “I don’t wanna get locked up over him.”

“So you called for help.”

“Yeah, but I lied. They thought I was there with him when I had actually gotten picked up by my Dryver.”

Emil winced. “That’s not great, but you still might’ve saved his life. Still, I don’t think you deserve jail time, and even if you do, we don’t want Leon’s job at risk, right?”

Angelo sighed. If Leon hated him now, he’d only despise him if he shattered his dreams.

“Looks like we’re on the same page!” Emil breathed a sigh of relief. “One more question. Why were you hiding in the first place?”

“He… He chased me around the house with scissors.”

“What??” His eyebrows shot up in horror. “I think you should be the one charging him!”

Angelo waved his hands. “He wasn’t going to hurt me or do anything illegal. J-Just–” His hands trailed up his arms. “I-I don’t want to talk about it. It’s silly.”

“You sure aren’t laughing. But I won’t pry."

Emil had no idea how grateful he felt for that.

"Oh yeah, from here on out, mind the cameras.” Emil pointed to the ceiling. "If you have to talk about this situation with me or Leon, keep it hushed. Otherwise, don't. In English or Spanish. Maybe we can make a code or something. We'll play by ear."

Angelo didn't like this plan at all, but he didn't have any better ideas. So he went along.

Emil sat up, switching to English. “That's it. No more questions. You’re free to go.”

“Th-That’s it?” Angelo followed his lead. “No punishment?”

“N–Actually…” Emil pulled at one of his curls. “Since you want a punishment soooo bad, why don’t’cha take a bite of that cheesecake?”

Angelo had almost forgotten the cheesecake even though it sat in front of him. He saw right through Emil, but he couldn’t stare at the guy who was putting his neck on the line and disobey. One thing held him back, though.

He’d never eaten cheesecake before. The texture looked weird. What if he didn’t like it? The last thing he wanted was to crush Emil’s hopes and dreams with his picky eating preferences. Still, he picked up the fork, dug it into the slice, and finally brought it to his mouth.

Tears welled up.

“Not a fan?” Emil tried to hide his disappointment.

The fork trembled in Angelo’s hand. “It’s… It’s delicious.”

The smooth sweetness of the cheesecake tasted like heaven on Earth. It was too good for him, but his hunger wouldn’t let him push it away. He shoveled forkful after forkful in his mouth as tears ran down his face. Soon, he found himself crying too hard to eat. He didn’t know why.

A hand offered him paper towels.

“Here you go.” Emil stood next to him now instead of sitting all the way across the table. The ceiling lights backlit him like a halo. How could such an angel spend his kindness on someone pathetic enough to cry over cheesecake?

Angelo took the paper towels and dried his face.

“Remind me to give that bakery a good review.”

That got Angelo to laugh, which made Emil smile.

Instead of returning to his seat, Emil strolled around the kitchen. He came to a stop at the boxes. “I should prolly take inventory for these again. Normally, I’d be a little annoyed, but I’d rather do this than night patrol.”

Night patrol. Angelo wondered why Emil walked around at night talking to himself.

Angelo solved that mystery just in time to watch in horror as Emil began to sit down on the upside down box. Without his body in it, it collapsed underneath him. Angelo’s voice hadn’t come back yet, so he mouthed profuse apologies instead.

Emil just laughed. “Whoops~ Shoulda been more careful. I’m surprised I didn’t sit on this while you were in it.”

Angelo averted his eyes.

“Wait, did I?”

He confirmed it with a nod.

Emil laughed again. He found another box to sit on. “Well, I guess that makes us even.”

No longer crying, Angelo slowly but surely worked his way through the rest of the cheesecake. It made him feel better, which was probably Emil’s plan all along. Whatever. He could win this time. After finishing the slice, he washed off his dishes.

“Glad you liked the cake. That was a fake punishment, by the way.” As if Emil had to tell him. “Your real punishment is to apologize to Leon.”

Angelo’s shoulders tensed up.

“I know you probably don’t believe this, but he’d appreciate it.”

Angelo vaguely remembered hearing Leon say that. He still didn’t believe him. If that’s what these two wanted, though, he’d do it for them. He nodded.

Unsure where to go now, he stood awkwardly at the sink, awkwardly watching Emil. He’d gone back and forth between thinking Emil was a complete oddball and a saint. Maybe he was a little bit of both. Either way, it didn’t sit right with Angelo how well he was able to relate to him.

Emil was talented, fun to be around, and kind–too kind for his own good apparently. He had so many good traits that set him and Angelo worlds apart. It should be a crime to make someone like that feel bad about himself. If only Angelo had his voice back, he could tell him that and also thank him for everything he’s done for Leon.

No. That’s too bold. Saying it in writing might be better. On second thought, the last time he made someone a card didn’t work out well. Maybe–

“Ange?” Emil looked up from the list in his hand. “Did’ja wanna help out or somethin’?”

Yes! Why risk tripping over his words when he could just show Emil how he felt? If he practically read minds anyway, he’d understand. Surely he’d understand better than Leon.

Angelo took a step forward before realizing something that turned his nod into a shake of the head.

“Huh? You changed your mind?”

He pointed at himself, then pinched his nose.

“Oh!” Emil caught on. “You haven’t had many chances to shower, have ya?”

Embarrassed, Angelo nodded.

“Well, you don’t have to hide anymore, so you can take care of that if you want. Now’s prolly a good time. I was gonna ask if you wanted a hug since I offered one to Leon, but uh..”

He waved his hands to assure Emil it was fine, then headed toward the door, making sure not to get too close.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll finish sorting these out. You go sleep in your room, okay?” Emil gave him a wink and a thumbs up. “Goodnight!”

Angelo waved him goodnight, then left into the hallway. He had to think of some way to show Emil the appreciation he deserved. A glimpse at the infirmary door reminded him of Roxie too.

As much as he hated to admit it, staying on the Celestion-5 would better ensure Leon’s happiness. He might as well make sure Emil and Roxie’s kindness didn’t go unpaid.

But first he had to make sure he went unsmelled.