"Ugh...What the hell happened?" Kaedan groaned groggily, blinking to try and adjust to the light. He felt the bed dip next to him and felt a hand on his forehead, checking his temperature.
"How do you feel, babe?" Xander asked, cupping his face. Kaedan stared at him for a minute, and then Xander sighed. "Stupid question?" Kaedan nodded. Xander rolled his eyes and leaned down to peck his cheek.
"There's your compensation, now, can I have an answer?"
"I feel absolutely shitty. You, on the other hand, look amazing." Kaedan was openly checking him out.
"You like?"
"Well, with the button down, the shorter hair…Honestly, I am living." Kaedan grinned, grabbing at him. Xander smirked and pecked his lips.
"Don't worry, babe. You can get your makeover as soon as Miss Nurse Mina has deemed you healthy enough. Wait until you see Nia and Owen, the kids went drastic," Xander grinned.
"Oh no. Am I going to go Papa Bear when I see them?" Kaedan asked, sighing.
"Probably," Xander shrugged, but smiled sweetly and leaned down. "Don't worry me like that again. I love you so much, I can't lose you again," He murmured. Kaedan smiled and nodded, leaning up to press his lips to Xander's. The older man cupped Kaedan's neck, his hand moving into the other's hair as Xander kissed him back gently.
Xander helped Kaedan sit up slowly enough that the injured man wouldn't feel pain, helping him rest against the headboard of the bed. He gently held Kaedan's face with one hand, kissing him softly. Kaedan's hand managed to slip into Xander's now short hair. And as if on cue, Lumina walked into the room, "Guys, come on. Seriously? Kaedan, you just woke up!" She groaned, throwing something at Xander. The man let out a small "Ow", and pulled back while Kaedan sighed in annoyance.
"Come back later," He mumbled, trying to pull Xander back on top of him. The older man rolled his eyes.
"Later, alright babe? After you've seen everyone and they all know you're alive," He said softly, and Kaedan groaned. Xander smiled and kissed him gently. When he pulled away, Kaedan was sure he had an idiotic smile on his own face.
Kaedan looked at Lumina, and her change in appearance wasn't as obvious as her cousin's. Her hair was still down to her mid-back, though it seemed like it was back to its natural chestnut color now. With the black corset top, white skirt that lightly hugged her thighs until they cut off just about a third of the way down to her knees, and a matching white formal suit jacket that stopped above her waist, all in all, she couldn've passed for a high-end CEO.
"You look ready to run a business. What's up?" Kaedan asked Lumina. The woman just shrugged.
"Oh, nothing," Then, her face split into a grin, "I'm just going to go get payback from our rich-ass family for—Well, everything. I think we'd have to make an actual list of everything they've done. And nothing would piss them off more than finding out that the niece they tried so hard to screw over actually ended up becoming hella rich. Also, I'm going to bully them into giving me their house because I deserve it and they don't."
Kaedan high-fived her, "You go, girl. Get us that fucking house," Lumina nodded and waved.
"Ciao, suckers. And make sure you actually go downstairs, I'd rather the other find out Kaedan is awake by actually seeing him and not other reasons," She left before Xander could yell at her.
The dark-haired man rolled his eyes, "I swear, the attitude that woman has, you wonder who raised her."
"...Alex, love, you raised her."
"...Hey, you know what, you ready to go downstairs, babe?" Xander said with a sheepish grin.
"I'm honestly very concerned about what you said about Nia and Owen earlier but yeah, I guess I'm ready," Xander helped Kaedan stand up, a hand around his boyfriend's waist to support him and lead him down the stairs.
Kaedan glared at the stairs, "These fuckers will be the death of me, I swear," He muttered, and Xander looked a bit confused but shook his head.
"At this point, I've known you long enough not to ask."
"Oh my God, you're not dead," Risále said as she watched Kaedan come down the stairs.
"Thanks, honey," Kaedan muttered, rolling his eyes at her.
"Oh, ok. So, he's completely back to normal, gotcha. What's next? Also Xander, great choice in outfit. Kaedan must be enjoying this." Risále laughed.
"As I said before, I am living," Kaedan reiterated as he looked at Xander again. The older man's hair was much shorter now, only barely coming past his shoulders, and its natural dark brown shade made the melanin in his skin practically glow. His light beige button-down shirt was tucked into black jeans that accentuated his small waist and he had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
"Babe. Babe, you're staring," Xander snorted, crossing his arms.
"Mhm, I'm aware, sweetheart. Don't they say you should take your time to appreciate a masterpiece?" The other man grinned, sneakily wrapping his arm around his boyfriend's waist.
Risále whistled, "Damn, that one was smooth. If y'all weren't together and I didn't know Kaedan the way I do, I would definitely be swooning."
Xander glared at her, "He's mine, get your own man. I'm sure a certain somewhat tall blonde twink would be happy to take that position."
"Did you just call him a twink—" Kaedan laughed, "You know what, actually, you're not wrong. God, it's moments like these that remind me that I liked you for more than just your pretty face."
At this, Xander pouted, "Well, I do have a pretty face, don't I?"
"Yes, love, very pretty," Kaedan leaned into him and whispered, "Makes me want to mess you up a bit."
The older man choked on air and Kaedan cackled, "You're the fucking worst, you bastard," Xander muttered, pinching his boyfriend's side.
"I don't even want to know, honestly," Risále sighed, running her hand through her hair. Kaedan saw one of her sleeves ride up and his eyes zeroed in on something that wasn't there earlier.
"You got a tattoo?"
"I'm not the only one. You're not gonna be...Surprised...When you see the others," Risále smirked, tilting her head to Xander.
"You got another one?" Kaedan asked, surprised.
"He has other tattoos? I thought the one on his other arm was the only other one!" Risále exclaimed, the surprise on her face apparent.
"Oh no, honey, he's got quite a few but that's for me to know and you to wonder about," Kaedan grinned before turning back to Xander, "Show me. Now," Xander sighed and reached up to sweep his hair away from the right side of his neck, revealing a small tattoo. Kaedan let out a low whistle, "Hm, Capricorn. Actually, that gives us matching ones, doesn't it?" Kaedan reached up to touch the side of his own neck, the letters inked onto his skin, "It suits you, sweetheart," He leaned in, "I hope you know I will be taking full advantage of the fact that you're going to be sensitive there for a while."
Xander glared at him, "Behave, Kaedan. You're still recovering."
"Looks like you're up and running. How are you feeling, buddy?" Mina walked into the room.
"Holy shit, you got a face tattoo!" Kaedan yelled, and Mina giggled. It was a simple design, one thin triangle above her eye and under, across from each other, "I am really starting to get jealous here. I wanna get a makeover too," Kaedan grumbled, looking at Mina.
She laughed. "Okay, okay, Mr. Grumpy. You can get one soon, I think you're basically good to go now," She replied.
"I can't wait till he sees Owen and Nia. He's gonna flip," Risále giggled.
As if on cue, Owen, Nia, and Fenix walked into the room and Kaedan's jaw dropped, "Oh my God, what the hell did you do to your hair!" And that exclamation set off the laughter, even from Leon who hadn't even seen the scene yet, but was currently coming down the stairs, "Wait. Don't tell me...You guys have tattoos too..." Kaedan muttered.
"Hey, the legal age for tattoos here is thirteen. I don't have one yet personally, but Owen has one on his shoulder and Fenix's goes from his neck to his chest, right, Owen?" Nia asked, and Owen nodded. It was quite funny that neither of the boys seemed to pick up why Nia was asking Owen about the location of Fenix's tattoo.
"I somehow feel betrayed that you didn't ask the adults here for permission," Kaedan muttered under his breath.
Fenix raised his hand, "I'm technically an adult."
"Put your hand down right now, you and I know very well that you don't count."
"Yes, Owen," The ginger didn't hesitate to put his hand down, "But additionally, I did actually ask one of the real adults. Xander said yes," And cue the death stare from Kaedan.
"Babe, look, I was worried about you and wasn't paying attention to what he said and it just ended up being this way," Xander held his hands up in surrender.
Owen's laugh caused Kaedan to turn and glare at him. The teenager quickly hid behind Fenix and whispered, "Save me. Please," To his friend. Fenix, who looked even more emo, if that was possible. He finally seemed to have put an earring in that piercing and added a lip piercing along with it. He could see the tattoo Nia was talking about, peeking up from under his shirt. There was a design of a clock on his neck, and he could almost swear that it had a name in the middle of it.
Now, Owen was a whole different story. His hair had been dyed a minty green color, and Kaedan, for some reason, was very tempted to call him mint-head.
"Alright. That's it. I'm going over the top with this as well," Kaedan threw his hands up in exasperation. He grabbed Owen. "You're going with me to the barber. And a tattoo shop."
"Hey, wait, I'm gonna come too. I've been trapped here for way too long. Besides, I'm out of eyeliner," Leon came rushing down the stairs. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt and a light denim jacket with matching light jeans, and Kaedan noticed that he had a black choker of flowers around his neck…
"Oh my God, that's not a choker."
"No, it is not," Leon grinned, "Surprise? It's uncommon, I guess, even the tattoo artist was surprised when I asked for it."
Suddenly, Xander's phone vibrated. He checked the message and sighed, "Not great news. Lumina needs backup, which means things are either going splendidly in her favor or things are going not so great. I'm gonna go in case it ends up being the latter."
Mina immediately responded, "Well, what are you standing around here for? That family mistreated you, too. It's time for you to get your revenge."
Xander grinned, "Right, see y'all later," He leaned over and kissed Kaedan quickly before winking at him and walking out, "See you later, Kae."
"Ugh, I never thought I'd end up this pathetically in love," Kaedan grumbled, but he still had an idiotic grin on his face. Owen looked at Kaedan and wondered if that was what he looked like when he was with Fenix.
He hoped not. That would be too obvious.
"Risále, you wanna get the movie tickets while I'm out? We can head out and see it today if possible," Leon asked the young woman.
"Sure, I don't see why not," She shrugged and smiled.
Fenix grinned, "What movie are y'all watching?"
"It's this really old Korean movie that I loved to watch," Leon explained. "It's that movie about nuclear plants and everything goes great and absolutely nothing goes horribly wrong," He glared at them, daring them to say anything against the movie.
"Oh no. Oh, you sweet, sweet child." Kaedan turned to Risále. "Get tissues. You'll need them. That movie only brings waterworks and a broken heart."
Risále was very concerned, "Kaedan, not another word out of you," Leon threatened the older man before smiling at the others, "So, we'll be heading out, see you all later!" He grabbed the two guys and ran out the door, dragging them with him.
Risále and Fenix looked at each other before shrugging and going off to do their own things.
Mina shook her head and sighed. Then, she smiled, "Seems like things are starting to get back to being normal, huh?" Nia turned to her.
"I think this is the most relaxed I've seen you guys in all the time that I've known you. Granted, it's not very long, but still," Nia smiled.
"Hey, it doesn't matter how long it's been. Even if you feel like an outsider, just know that you're one of us now. By the way, that's sort of a threat, you can't get rid of us. And if anything, anything is ever wrong, feel free to talk to us. I'm open all the time and don't mind lending an ear," Mina smiled.
"Are you sure? Because listen, there's a lot of baggage here, and trust me when I say I think I'm going crazy at times—" Nia started saying but Mina stopped her.
"Naenia, a while ago, I had a mental breakdown because I forgot why I'd left Sector 2. Me, the person who was probably screwed over the most by this Sector. I had a whole mental breakdown because I was afraid I was going to forget something else. Granted, I've stopped forgetting things and more like...Remembering things that never happened—Not the point, do you know what Lumina told me? She said no matter what, even if I forget, everyone will always be here for me, even if they have to make new memories with me. And that's the same treatment for you. You're not going crazy. There's just something bigger going on that I don't think we have the capacity to understand yet," Mina said to her.
"Well...Not all of us. I think there's someone who understands a lot more than they can let on," Nia said cautiously.
Mina sighed, "Don't bother him about it. I have a feeling that if he's not talking about it, he's got a good reason. Besides…" Apocalypse's words echoed in her mind, "It's all happening for a reason. All we can do is go along with it."
Nia sighed, If only you knew what I know about Leon. Then maybe he wouldn't feel so alone.