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Chapter Text

Tuesday, July 4th, 2017

Sean was driving towards the border, he knew that it might be a bad idea, but the hole Daniel made on the wall was too far behind to risk going there. They don't have a choice, as always. He tried to cheer up Daniel, to ease both of their nerves away. It almost worked.

He saw dozens of police cars barricading the border, and what did he expect? he just allowed himself to have a little bit of hope, a lesson that no matter how much he was showed, he never learned. You would think that after everything the world made them suffer, he could breathe a bit.... right?

He slowed down, and like many times before, he didn't know what the fuck he was going to do. He felt defeated, hopeless. If there isn't really a way out, then he might stop being selfish for once and give up.

"Sean... we can't let them get us" Daniel said, a mix of fear and rage in his eyes.

Agent Flores talked to them, saying that they should give up. It's over, she said. Sean looked at Daniel, worry in his eyes. He turned off the car and rested his forehead on the steering wheel for a moment, thinking, his hands slipped down of it, his eyes closed, he doesn't have the strength for this anymore. He let out a big, frustrated sigh and straightened up again, looking at the ceiling of the car.

"You know that day...?" He said, and Daniel felt the whole world crumbling around them, he never liked when his brother looked like that, his eyes telling him that he was sorry for something Daniel never held against him. "In Seattle?... The day dad was shot? ...I think about it every day... and I would give anything to change what happened" tears started to roll down his cheeks. "But i can't" his voice cracked, not being able to handle all of his emotions, all of his frustration for not being able to give Daniel what he deserves, a happy life. "I'm sorry for my mistakes... I tried my best, I swear..." he said looking at Daniel.

"Sean..." Daniel manages to say in between tears. He wants to tell him that that's not true, that he appreciates everything that he has done. But the thoughts obstruct themselves in the back of his throat, and he can't get anything out but tears.

"But you're the one with the real power, and you know how to use it..." Sean kept going. More police cars arrived behind them, blocking their way out, if there even was one. "You're not a kid anymore" he said contradicting his thoughts from a few months ago at the weed camp, when he and Daniel drew apart because he wanted so bad to hold onto the reminiscence of his life in Seattle, a past life that seemed so fucking distant now. "If we surrender, they will separate us Daniel" the mere thought made his body tremble. He reached out and put his hand around his brother's shoulders "And if that happens, promise me that-" his hand went up to cup his nape. "-You will be strong... Be brave...Be a fighter, Enano, like you already are" Sean eyes were full of determination and Daniel didn't like anything about that. Why was Sean acting like they were actually going to be separated?

"Don't say that!" Daniel cried. "Let's just get out of here" He didn't want to even think about a possibility of them being apart, they fought so hard to get here.

Sean looked up and saw the cops slowly walking towards the car, guns pointing at them. "Whatever happens... always remember that you're Daniel Diaz..."

"I promise, Sean..." Promises had become an important thing on their relationship, but he didn't like this one. Seems like the final one.

"You can trust me!" Agent Flores kept trying to convince them. "Come on, there's no way out... This is your last order!"

"So..." Daniel looked at Sean and asked, "How does the story of the wolf brothers end?"

It broke Sean's heart hearing that. The story he told his little brother just to calm him down on the dark, lonely nights they spent on the run. He wanted more than anything for Danie to be fine, but he couldn't achieve that if he kept being selfish. He never really trusted agent Flores, even if she tried to be understanding she was on the police side, she wanted him to pay for something he didn't do. He would be thrown in jail for god knows how many years... would it be that bad for Daniel? maybe it was better if he was apart from him, his little brother could live a normal life. But no matter how much Sean though about it, he couldn't let his brother go, and he hated himself for that. He was being selfish again; he was willing to take away his brother's opportunities in life just because he also wanted one.

But then he thought, his brother wouldn't want him behind bars either, they had each other's back all the way down here. The world had taken everything away from them, over and over again, they only had each other and he was not going to let them go their separate ways, not again, no matter how selfish it may be.

"They make it to the other side" he said determined. Daniel understood, of course. He wanted them to be together too, even if Sean didn't agree with him, he was going to reach their happy ending, no matter what. "Be careful" Daniel nodded and stepped calmly out of the car. Sean knew it was a risk, but he also knew what his brother was capable of, he trusted him.

Daniel stood in front of the car, all the officers were pointing at them with their guns, they still didn't know how two kids could cause so much damage. Daniel looked back at Sean, who nodded in support, and then began.

He started with one officer, and then another. They freaked out, starting to shoot at him. Flores didn't understand why they were shooting at a kid. Daniel raised his hands and protected him and Sean from the bullets, he finished off the officers in front of him, he turned around, and took care of the cars behind them. He cleared the path for them and opened the main gate with a scream. He never really wanted to hurt anyone, but what choice did they have? They kept going after them, and they were not going to go down without a fight.

By the time the job was finished he was exhausted, he returned to the car and sat down. "We can go now" he simply said, an empty look on his eyes.

"Yeah. Let's go home" Sean turned back on the car engine and started driving through the broken pavement. Daniel looked down at the bodies from the window, not really knowing if they were dead or not. Sean noticed his distressed look and took his hand, squeezing it softly. No kid should ever feel like this. He knew Daniel didn't want all this to happen. He didn't either.

Daniel felt a bit better at Sean's touch, a remainder that the worst part was over. Maybe they could have a happy life after all.

They didn't speak of these events until days later.

Two hours after the events at the border

Sean and Daniel didn't say a word since they left the border, each of them drowning on their own thoughts. Sean kept checking behind him from the rearview mirror, but there were no signs of anyone following them. He really didn't know what they were going to do on Puerto Lobos, how would he get a job, how could he manage to do everything on his own. One step at the time, he reminded to himself. He was still zoned out from everything that just happened, it was so fast, he felt like it was all a dream.

Daniel, on the other hand wished it was a dream. He kept blaming himself for hurting all those people, but he would do it again if it meant keeping them safe. He didn't know if he would be able to fit in in Mexico, but Sean had promised to teach him Spanish. He was looking forward to that. He also wanted to help Sean more, but he didn't know how he could do that. Noticing Sean’s serious face, he knew his brother was concerned and afraid too, he always was, ever since the Seattle incident. Daniel was the first one to break the silence. "Are you ok?" he asked sweetly, stroking Sean's hand with his thumb.

Sean smiled, the question and warm feeling of Daniel's caresses pulling him away from all his stressful thoughts. "Yeah, I'm ok. Are you?" he asked sweetly too.

Daniel didn't know if he believed his answer, Sean always avoided talking about what was bothering him just so Daniel wouldn't worry, but Daniel only felt like he was making his brother suffer. "I am" he said, and after a few seconds of silence passed, Sean could feel something was bothering him.

"What is it Enano?" Sean asked. And Daniel smiled, he always caught him when he worried about something.

"It's just... What's our next step?" he asked, since he was also worried about that.

"Well, we drive down to Puerto Lobos, and then find Dad's home. We'll probably need to stop to refuel." Sean answered.

Daniel nodded slowly "But how will we know what house it is?" Daniel was still concerned.

"I think I got a mental image of what it looks like from one of the pictures dad had of it back home" He replied. When he was a kid, he used to love when his father told him little stories about his life in Mexico. One day he had showed Sean a photo of his old house, and Sean couldn't help but be fascinated by it. His dad let him keep it, and he had looked at it so much back then, so much that he still quite remembered it. He had wished back then that someday he could be able to go there... Life is a bitch sometimes, because he clearly didn't want it to be like this. "Don't worry Dan, Puerto Lobos is not that big, and even if we get lost, we can ask the locals. Maybe we'll make a friend or two" Sean smiled and nudged Daniel's shoulder softly.

"Yeah, ok" Daniel smiled too.

"It's over. It's going to be fine from now on" Sean say soothingly.

"I know" Daniel said softly.

They kept holding hands.

Six hours after the events at the border

They had stopped only once to use the bathroom and refill the gas tank. The day had been calm despite the rough beginning of it, a sunny one, clear sky. It felt odd, almost like a normal road trip. Despite Sean's paranoia, no one recognized them, no one was following them. No one even judged them for their looks, which was impressive. Sean wore his worn-out wolf squad signature hoodie, the image already fading, that was tried to be saved by some stitches here and there, some patches of dirt still linger on it. The hoodie had seen better days, and so did the owner.

Daniel’s shirt was a mess, all cut out and ripped by scissors they had used to reach his bullet injury on his shoulder from the ambush at the wall. He was covered in bandages, and some blood could still be seen through it. Sean made note to change them later. They weren't the most common kids to see around with that aspect, but if someone thought bad of them, they kept it to themselves. For a change.

They took longer than expected because Sean avoided taking main roads, so it was already nighttime when they reached the town. It was smaller than they had initially thought, but it still took them about forty minutes to find their destination. Part of that time was spent in buying Daniel clean bandages, which Sean remembered to do and had help Daniel change them in the car. They drove around by the coast for a while searching for their dad's home, and they eventually found it without help, it was almost at the end of the town, apart, and just around other small houses.

"I think it's that one" Sean said pointing it out when they were getting closer.

Daniel eyes widened at the sight "Are you sure? isn't it too big?" he asked.

Sean chuckled "Well, part of the space downstairs it's a garage, considering it served as a car repair shop once upon a time, but do you see any other house in such an abandoned state?" he said. "Besides, I'm pretty sure the red and blue paint was on the photo too. I didn't think it was actually on the beach though, I thought it was nearby" he said smiling.

True, Daniel realized, the house sure looked mistreated, the paint was worn, and some windows were broken. And he didn't even saw the inside yet. "I thought it would be in a better state..." he spoke his concerns, although he was impressed too with the nice location of the house.

"It hasn't been used in more than twenty years Enano" Sean said to reason. He pulled over and parked the car, they were still holding hands.

"This is ours...?" Daniel asked smiling at the building. A house... a home... after so long, they could finally settle down.

"Yeah..." Sean said, having the same thoughts.

"It will be a cool project" Daniel looked at Sean "Repairing it, I mean. We will make it our home" he said beaming.

"Hell yeah!" Sean hugged Daniel sideways "It will take some time, sure, but it's going to be fun" he agreed, basking on his brother's hope.

"Let's see it!" Daniel said joyfully and jumped out of the car, Sean followed after, and they encountered yet another obstacle: a closed door. "Ugh, come on!" Daniel protested.

"Can you try opening it without breaking the lock?" Sean asked hopefully.

"I can try" Daniel said and concentrated. After a few seconds, a soft click was heard, and Daniel opened the door. "Nailed it!" he bragged happily and entered the house.

Sean smiled at his enthusiasm, and then his face fell a little "Well..." he said surveying the place.

"Yeah..." Daniel agreed the unspoken words. Moldy walls, humidity stains, broken floors and ceiling, not to mention that the few little furniture that was left inside was covered in so much dirt and dust it was impressive. Insects of all kinds probably lived there with them now, but they had become accustomed to that at last. Nothing was a surprise though; they were expecting this.

There was a back door in there and when Daniel went to inspect, he lost it "Sean!" he beamed, and opened the door, running outside.

Sean chuckled and followed him "holly shit..." he said in awe, they had the beach literally at their back porch. Their own little piece of beach. It was like a small paradise, he thought. He felt joy, he felt happy for them both. He hugged and lifted Daniel from behind, laughing.

"Put me down!" Daniel laughed out loud, he was clearly enjoying it. He was happy too.

"We fucking did it..." Sean said softly with teary eyes. "Thanks to you Enano" he allowed his brother to be on his feet again.

"What?" Daniel said "Sean, you were the one who took us here, it was all thanks to you" he said turning around and hugging him back.

Sean smiled, he meant that it was thanks to Daniel and his powers. He was touched by how much Daniel had grown up, he was thinking less as a kid nowadays, and worrying more about him. It was a bittersweet feeling, he had to grow up so fast, it was unfair, but he was still proud. He had to grow up fast too.

"It was a team effort dude" Sean said, he cupped Daniel's head in his hand, as he always did when he hugged him.

They went upstairs and finished looking at the house, which was more of the same, deplorable rooms, almost no furniture, a useless bathroom. They'll eventually make it a functional house, Sean was sure of it. They grabbed the supply bags that were on the car when they left Away and they settled their tent that Karen provided in the main bedroom to rest, since there was only a rusty old bed frame in there.

"Hungry?" Sean asked while inspecting one of the bags.

"Starving" Daniel replied, they hadn't eaten anything at all since and even before the border.

"I can offer you some sandwiches, I think the bread is still edible" Sean chuckled.

Daniel chuckled too "Sounds good".

Seven hours after the events at the border

They had eaten a bit and then laid down on their sleeping bags, looking at the ceiling of their tent and talking.

"It's kind of like back at the weed camp" Daniel realized when Sean explained how they would be getting around without services such as water, gas or electricity, he was an expert surviving like that already.

"Yeah, but we have our own water filter now to use" he said happily. Karen had taught them a lot of survival tips, coming from a distant place like Away, she was quite prepared. He wasn't sure if he forgave her completely, but he was grateful for her help, and for delaying the police. Now she was in jail.

"Do you think mom is ok?" Daniel asked sadly, he had a soft spot for her. He got his mom again just to lose her back.

"I'm sure she is fine Enano, she is a tough woman" Sean said, trying to cheer him up.

"When will they release her?" he asked.

"I don't know Dan, but she didn't do anything, even if she took the blame for the church fire, it's not going to be long" he tried to reason.

Daniel nod and tried to let it go. "what's our plan for tomorrow?" he asked.

"Well, I was thinking, we could drive to the nearest town for thrift shopping, we need new clothes and maybe some materials for the house." Sean wanted Daniel to have something to wear that wasn't torn apart. "I have the money we saved from the pot farm and mom left us some more" Sean still felt guilty for not letting Jacob have the money for her sister, but he had said that he had a plan already, and he needed the money if they were going down to Mexico, he needed to put his brother and himself first. Excuses, he though. He just hopped they were ok. "I'll need to find a job or something eventually. But we can start with our house project! We have a lot of cleaning to do" he said smiling.

"Yes!" Daniel beamed, he didn't really like to do chores, but this was a fresh start, and it was going to be their home, so he was just glad to work on that. "But I'd like to help on everything I can, not just the house" Daniel said laying on his side to face Sean. Sean did the same to face him.

He thought it was awfully sweet of Daniel to offer that "That's really thoughtful Daniel, but you shouldn't be carrying that weight" he said.

"You neither" Daniel said frowning "You said that reaching this place was a team effort, but so is building our lives. Just let me help" Daniel said.

Sean was surprised by this behavior, but he still felt like Daniel shouldn't, he needed to enjoy what was left of his childhood "Daniel... you should enjoy being a kid, it's the least I can let you do" he expressed his thoughts. Sean always acted like he needed to pay for everything that had happened, and Daniel was having none of it.

"Your life was cut short too, Sean!" Daniel said. After the events at the church Daniel had a lot to think about, and he realized a lot of his mistakes, and a lot of what Sean had done for them both. "It isn't fair".

"No, it's not, but it is like this" Sean said.

"It doesn't have to be..." Daniel said sadly, he couldn't bear his brother accepting it so easily. "Let me help" he begged.

Sean suspected Daniel also felt guilty about everything that had happened, and not only for hurting Sean on accident. "You don't owe me anything Enano" Sean said tenderly.

"Were you owing me something when you took care of me?" Daniel asked. Sean thought that this was a different situation, but Daniel spoke before him. "No" he answered for him. Daniel just wanted to take care of him because he loved him, just like Sean.

Sean thought that he did owe him a good life, but it was also his job, he was the big brother, he was the older one, he needed to-

Daniel wrapped his arms around him and held him close, and Sean was once again pulled out of his mind by his brother's touch. "We're supposed to be a team. I'm not going to be less of a child for helping a bit. I won't let you carry everything alone" he said softly. Not anymore, he thought.

Sean thought this was a mistake, like he was failing him again, but Daniel won't change his mind, he could be stubborn when he wanted. He sighed and hugged his brother back. Daniel made Sean rest his head on his chest, and it seemed almost funny, after all the times Sean held Daniel like this, it was the other way around for once. Sean felt like he shouldn't let Daniel help him out like this, he was going to be a burden in the long term, but he couldn't remember when was the last time someone made him feel this safe, even if it was his ten year old brother, he craved it.

"Thank you" he whispered, even as he thought he wouldn't allow himself to let Daniel know about his concerns for the past and the future.

Daniel was happy that his brother listened and let him hold him for once, he knew Sean needed it, just like he needed it too. Even if it was because he was tired or he gave in just for this night, it felt like progress. He had hurt his brother physically and mentally over the past few months, and even if he understood what Sean had told him about being scared and young, about only being an accident, because he did love Sean and never meant to hurt him like that, he still told himself he'd make it up to Sean. He didn't know if he would ever forgive himself for that.

After tiring himself out thinking he should be the one holding Daniel, he felt so comfortable in his little brother’s arms that he just allowed himself to feel good, even if just for one night. There was so much to do still, but that would be tomorrow's problem. Right here, right now, in his brother's arms, Sean allowed himself to think for the first time, that it was indeed going to be ok.

Chapter Text

Sunday, September 25th, 2016 (The past)

Daniel was bored. Ever since the weekend started, he wasn't up to much, Noah wasn't available for playing Minecraft on the Playbox and his other friends had other plans. He did his homework already like his father asked, but that was it, today he woke up, ate and played with his toys a bit. School started just two weeks ago, and he already missed summer break. Sean had been inside his room all day, as he always was lately. Daniel thought that after their fight over the watch, Sean would let Daniel be around more, since he had understood that his brother needed his space too, but Sean was too occupied doing who knows what. His father kept working on Sean's car almost every free afternoon he had, aiming to finish it before Sean's graduation. He wondered if his father would make him something for his graduation too, but that was far away still.

Daniel got out of his room, he wanted to know if Sean wanted to do something fun with him, but he remembered his brother didn't like it when he entered without knocking. He had a tendency to enter without a warning because he got so exited sometimes. But if he was being honest, even if he knocked, he didn't know if Sean would like to be asked to play with him either, so he directed himself downstairs towards his dad.

"That you Dany-boy?" Esteban voice came out under the car.

"Yeah..." Daniel said lamely and sat on a stool nearby "I'm bored..." he sighed out.

Esteban chuckled, and rolled out from under the car he was working on to look at his youngest son. "Can't entertain yourselves anymore? Kids these days" he smiled and wiped his hands on the rag resting on his shoulder.

Daniel let out a dramatic groan again.

"Would you be interested in playing videogames with me?" he offered kindly. Truth to be told, he enjoyed playing as much as Daniel.

"You're on!" He jumped off his seat and ran upstairs to set up the console. He stopped midway with a sudden idea and busted into Sean's room. "Me and dad are playing games, you want in?" he asked excitedly.

Sean sighed, annoyed. "How many times do I have to tell you!" he said turning around on his chair to face his brother.

"Sorry" Daniel said sheepishly and stepped behind the doorframe. This was a recurrent argument.

Sean rolled his eyes, kid was lucky he wasn't doing anything important, just checking Facebook on his computer, and he did apologized. "It's fine" he mumbled "I don't have anything better to do" he said getting up from his seat.

"Yay!" Daniel cheered, running to the couch to meet his father, already settled in.

"Got a reclute I see" Esteban smiled at Sean arriving behind Daniel.

Sean plopped down on his usual spot, the armchair near the couch. He got comfortable and picked up his new sketchbook, the one his dad had gifted him a little over a month ago.

"Aren't you going to play?" Daniel asked when he saw this.

"You guys warm up the controllers, I'll join in a bit" Sean said. He was in the mood for drawing, which wasn't that much often, but he had become quite the expert on drawing his family, considering how much he saw them daily.

"Afraid I might beat you?" Daniel teased.

Sean just chuckled, and started sketching. He enjoyed watching from afar, like he was watching a movie. It made him realize how much fun his father seemed to have while doing something with his sons. He spent the next minutes drawing his family focusing on the screen, the controller, his hand. He tried to draw himself sitting and drawing on the chair.

"Got ya!" Daniel said, apparently he had won the match "Come on Sean, you’re next" He said smiling. He liked when they played games together, he didn't understand why Sean made it so hard to share like this sometimes. But on these moments, the wait was worth it.

Sean smiled and closed his sketchbook shut softly. "Alright" he said, and his dad lend him his controller.

Wednesday, July 5th, 2017 (The present)

Sean watched his brother from behind, a few steps away. But he couldn't move, he was inside the car. The border... Daniel, why did he do this? Daniel! he wants to scream, but his voice won't come out. His brother slowly turns around to face him, and all he can see is blood. Everywhere. His chest... his arms... He risked his brother's life and now he had nothing, they got them. Tears started to fall from his face, and he was having trouble seeing clearly... he touched them... blood? were his eyes bleeding?... Oh, that's right... he lost them.

Sean woke up agitated, his breathing uneven. He kept seeing with both eyes when he dreamed, but he never realized it until he woke up, it made him feel weird. He looked around, that's right, they were in their new home, in their tent. Daniel wasn't here though. He got out quickly, he knew his fear was irrational, but even so.

"Daniel?" he called. No answer. He searched the rooms quickly and when he didn't find him there, he went downstairs "Daniel?!" he was starting to worry. He saw the backdoor open and from it, Daniel sitting on the porch, looking at the ocean. His body relaxed, relief flowing through his veins. He didn't even know what he was afraid of. He calmed down and went out.

A few minutes earlier

Daniel woke up with his big brother still on his arms. He smiled and stretched himself, they were really here. He let Sean go and slowly and quietly crawl out of the tent trying not to wake him up. He went outside on the back of the house and smiled again at the sight of the ocean. A gentle breeze made up for the great heat of the morning. He took a deep breath. Peace, he thought it smelled like. He found a private corner to empty his bladder, and then sit down on the pavement floor of the porch, letting his bare feet touch the sand. He was eager to go swimming already.

The waves made a relaxing sound that could send him back to sleep already. He tried to remember when was the last time he felt this light. Maybe the month in Away, their mom took care of them... but they were recovering from something awful. Maybe the weed camp? It was a bit peaceful at times, but he and Sean were really distant. When they were in the cabin, he remembered he spent most of the nights crying about his father. It had to be when his dad was still alive.

A smile appeared on Daniel's face at a sudden memory. A lazy Sunday of videogames with his family. He even managed to get Sean to join them. Daniel laughed at the thought. Back then, he was so desperate to be around his big brother. He understood now, after what he went through in Humboldt, how important was to pay attention to those you loved, but to not drown them either. He knew Sean didn't know much more than he did, and in consequence of their miscommunication... what happened happened. Even so, he would always blame himself. He also understood now that his brother never meant to leave him behind, he was trying his best.

He wished life was simpler like Seattle. Gaming Sundays and warm family dinners. Maybe they could get them back.

He was a little startled when Sean appeared and sat beside him, his feet mimicking his own, playing with the soft sand. If Sean had said something, he didn't hear it. They spent the next couple minutes in silence, appreciating the view and nice weather.

"Did you sleep ok?" Sean broke the silence, putting his hand on Daniel's shoulder.

"I slept pretty good. You?" He asked.

"I think I slept mostly ok, until the end" he said honestly. He wouldn't lie to his brother again. "Weird dream" he specified.

"Oh" Daniel said, that would explain why Sean seemed worried when he sat down with him. Maybe he was thinking about his dream.

"Listen, Daniel" Sean looked at his brother "I'm sorry about yesterday. I seemed a bit worn out, it was a long day, and I had a lot on my mind."

Daniel looked at him confused "It was a long day for me too, why are you apologizing?"

"I understand that you want to help me, and I am willing to let you do that, but yesterday I..."

"Sean, you were tired. What is wrong with that?" Daniel really thought Sean was being silly.

"I just, don't want to make you worry with all my problems" Sean said.

"Sean, I can tell something is bothering you," Daniel said, putting his hand on top of Sean's "and I know you don't want me to worry about you, but that's just silly. I care about you, and I wish you'd see that." Daniel said.

"Enano, it's not that I don't see it, I know how much you care, but... it seems... wrong because..." Sean stopped.

"What is it?" Daniel pushed.

"Because you're a kid" Sean said sadly, "and I don't want to say that because it reminds me of our time at the pot farm, but it's true. You are ten years old, Daniel. I know you want to help, but you can't" He said, maybe a bit harshly.

Daniel was annoyed at being called a kid again, he didn't feel like kids his age. "You are not an adult yet" Daniel said sadly too. "You keep acting like you are, but you were no adult when we left Seattle, just like me".

"I had to take care of us..." Sean felt cornered.

"And you did great! but that doesn't make you skip years of your life" Sean thought it did, and Daniel wasn't sure, but he wanted Sean to feel a bit lightened for once.

"Why are you so insistent on this?" He asked, and after a bit of hesitation, he added, "Is it because you feel guilty?" he said.

Daniel was a deer caught in the headlights, was he that obvious? "And you don't?" he defended himself.

Sean didn't answer, and Daniel let it go. It was still a sensitive topic for them both, Daniel needed to be honest if he wanted to help Sean, but he didn't want to talk about himself and clearly Sean didn't either.

Daniel slid closer to Sean, touching his shoulder with his. "I am insistent because I love you, and I care about you" he said softly, he didn't want to fight.

"I love you too" Sean said and wrapped his arm around Daniel's shoulders.

They stared at the sea for a bit longer.

"When Dad was around, it used to feel this calm" Daniel said, recalling the same memory from earlier.

Sean nodded, finding more truth to that sentence than he wanted.

"How many people lived here?" Daniel asked.

"I'm not sure Enano, dad only told us he left after their parents died" Sean recalled.

"So... no family down here?" Daniel asked, he had allowed himself to dream of having some relatives.

"I don't think so, sorry..." Sean said.

"It's ok, I don't care, as long as you're around" Daniel said.

Sean smiled and squeezed his brother’s shoulders. "We should eat something, so we can head to the nearest town early, and then start on the house" Sean said.

"Sean, I really don't know any Spanish..." Daniel said afraid "What if someone speaks to me and I don't know what to say?" he said.

"I told you; I'll teach you" Sean said softly "It's going to be ok, just let me speak. You're going to be with me the whole time" Sean soothed him.

"Okay…" Daniel replied, because he was sure that if his brother was there, it was going to be ok.

They went to Caborca, the nearest town from Puerto Lobos, to buy new clothes, supplies, and since the trip was about more than one hour long, some lunch too. When they got back to the house, Daniel was wearing one of his new shirts to replace his old one. The one he was wearing now was a blue one, with a withe cartoony whale on it. Sean also bought him four more shirts along this one, and another pair of shorts. Sean got himself some goodies too. He managed to find five shirts he liked too, and two pair of shorts, since he only had his worn-out jeans, which are not great for the heat. The clothes were not the most fashion ones, considering they were used, but they were really cheap, and they stopped caring about that kind of stuff a long time ago. Sean also asked around for instructions on how to change a lock, install windows and such, since he didn't think he could pay someone to do it for him.

Daniel happily carried the bags of clothes upstairs to store them on their tent and Sean followed after with heavy buckets of paint, a broom, some rags, sponges, and few cleaning products they would need to start cleaning the house with. The paint was expensive, but Sean thought that so did other construction materials, and he did have money for now. He wanted the place to look as livable as possible soon, for Daniel.

Sean set around the stuff on one corner of the room and started inspecting the tent from outside and it's surroundings. When Daniel finished inside the tent, he got out and saw Sean inspecting it very closely. "What is it?" he asked confused.

"Just checking if everything is still here" he casually said.

Daniel chuckled "why wouldn't it?" he asked even more confused.

"House doesn't have any good locks bro, and a lots of windows are broken, who knows who could enter and steal our shit" Sean explained, he had experience attempting to steal and being victim of attempts of robbery. One of those times was on a shelter, on the first months of chaos, fortunately it didn't end bad.

"Oh" Daniel said, he hadn't thought about it "well, if I catch someone trying to steal from us..." he said and punched his palm to accent his intentions. He really wouldn't like to hurt anyone else, but if they messed with them...

"I think we're fine, Enano" Sean ruffled his little brother's hair "This place has been unoccupied in ages, no one knows we're here" Sean reassured him. "For now. What do you say if we start dusting this place off" he winked.

Daniel face lit up, and so they spent the rest of their day working on cleaning the house. They started with their bedroom, cleaning the floor, and then moved from room to room, sweeping the place while chatting and taking turns with the broom. They looked around for furniture that was worth keeping, and all the other things who were in rough shape, including the old rusty small bed frame, were stored in a room to toss away later. This task was incredibly easy for Daniel, who with the rise of his hand could lift the heavy pieces of furniture. By the time the sun was coming down, they spend a lot of hours working and yet they only managed to do those two tasks. Sean looked at the walls, the ceiling, the floor... all needed to be fixed if not replaced, he had no idea how the fuck would he do that, but they had time now.

"Huff" Daniel sighed exhausted.

"You did amazing Enano, you've been carrying around things like a pro" Sean smiled and nudged Daniel playfully.

"I'm all sweaty" Daniel laughed, he was proud of himself for actually helping Sean.

That gave Sean an idea "Want to go for a swim?" he smirked, he already knew the answer.

"Oh! Can we?" Daniel had wanted to try that out since they arrived, but there was always things to do and think first.

"Last one cleans the mold from the walls tomorrow!" Sean laughed and started running.

"No fair!" Daniel protested.

Echoes of laughter escaped from the back porch, Sean and Daniel racing towards the sea, leaving a trail of clothes behind them. They reached the shore almost at the same time, Daniel tackling playfully at Sean and both of them splashing in the water.

"I won!" Daniel shouted.

"No way dude, I was here first" Sean said.

"What? No you didn't" Daniel protested as they sank deeper into the sea. He splashed water at his brother.

Sean gasped and laughed "Oh you little-" He chased around for Daniel as the boy squeaked happily, laughing.

In was the first time in ages that Sean had heard Daniel laugh like that, being a little kid for once. At the same time, Daniel also thought that he never saw Sean this happy either, his smile, his eye, even his voice sounded joyful, he seemed like a little kid again, playing around. Daniel couldn't help it when a few tears escaped his eyes, Sean reached out immediately.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Nothing" Daniel sniffed, smiling. Sean understood, because he too, felt the same hope and happiness his brother was feeling. Because he too, missed being just a kid, even if only for a little moment. Because neither of them had felt like this in ages, and it felt so good, like a caress to the soul, that it was just overwhelming.

"Come here" Sean wrapped Daniel on his arms, and Daniel returned the gesture.

A few moments later Daniel spoke again "I do feel guilty" he mumbled.

"What? Sean asked, not because he hadn't hear him but because it came out of nowhere.

"Earlier, you asked if I was insistent on letting me help you because I felt guilty." Daniel clarified and looked up at his brother. "The truth is, I regret what I did at the weed camp, so much. I hurt you, Sean, doesn't matter if it was an accident, it still hurts" Daniel's eyes focused for a moment on Sean's eyepatch, Sean never let Daniel see the wound, either if it was because he felt self-conscious and didn't want Daniel to see it, or if he just thought seeing it would make Daniel feel worse.

Sean cupped Daniel’s face with his hands "It wasn't your fault" he said convinced. They talked about this many times before already, but he would tell his brother the same thing until he believed it.

Daniel shook his head slowly "And then at the church..." He really didn't like to talk about that, how could he be so foolish, to let those people turn him against his brother. "I messed up, Sean, it's the truth. But I don't just want to make it up for you, I want to help you because I'm really worried about you. The more time passes the more I realize how much you've done for me, and I don't think I thank you enough for it" Daniel cried out.

"You don't have to thank me, or make it up for me" Sean said.

"I know, but I do want to..." Daniel replied. "Why won't you just talk to me... we can do anything, as long as we're together, right?" he recalled one of the things Sean said when telling him the story of the Wolf Brothers.

"I'm worried about you too, and I don't want to hurt you" he said uncertain.

"You're hurting me because you're shutting me out" Daniel said sadly.

Sean sighed, he knew he was being stubborn, but he couldn't help it, he spend the last year trying to protect the only thing he had left, even from himself. But Humboldt had proven that not telling each other stuff was going to end badly. And back in Seattle, every time he fought with Daniel about his privacy, it could have been avoided if he just were a bit more involved in his brother's life. "Enano..." he said softly "I just… I've always been scared... and I just wanted to keep it together for you."

"And you think I don't know that? Sean we were both afraid. But it’s over now..." Daniel said.

"I just... feel like shit" Sean let go of his worries, he could try and see if he hurt Daniel by sharing his pain, but he recalled that his long lost friend Brody had once said to him, that grieving together would make them stronger. And they sure were stronger now than back then now. "I feel like I was a shitty brother to you back in Seattle, and it took a fucking tragedy to make me realize that..." he said in between tears "And I just feel like I failed you, over and over again. I led you apart in Humboldt because I wanted so bad to be normal again. I made you stay in that fucking church... I..."

"None of it was your fault Sean" Daniel said soothingly, mimicking his brothers words from minutes ago, but he understood how words weren't enough to ease the knot inside their heads. He felt it too. "We reached our destination, right? you helped me a lot already" Daniel said.

"We barely made it" Sean sighed.

"But we did. Sean, I wouldn't know how to handle half of the things you had to do. And think for a second, no one would. It's unfair for you to feel this way when you're so.... so... awesome." Daniel said, and Sean chuckled weakly.

"It's true!" he laughed a bit too "Because you didn't mean for the Seattle thing to happen, you didn't mean to separate us back in Humboldt, you didn't mean anything bad towards me. Just like I didn't mean to hurt you" He said.

"You're the awesome one" Sean said smiling, and hugged back his brother, He loved this kid so much it was going to be the end of him.

"I'm glad you can talk to me." Daniel said "Promise me to talk these things to me Sean, I don't like you feeling this way" he said

"Only if you promise to tell me when you feel bad too." Sean replied.

"I promise" Daniel agreed.

"I promise" Sean repeated, "I love you" he added.

"I love you too" Daniel said, They stayed like that for a few moments, basking in the peaceful moment, the sunset painting the sky with beautiful pink and orange tones. The water of the sea managed to cool them off after working hard. Daniel eventually ended the hug, feeling relieved they got this out of the way.

"We still have time to go and get to know the town if you want" Sean suggested, wiping of his tears

Daniel didn't needed to be told twice.

Sean was unsure at first if they could live here, it seemed like a ghost town, but the more he walked around, the more he fell in love with the place. Sure, it wasn't nearly as big as Seattle, it was a small town, but it was charming. He had expected to be populated only by old people in their retirement years, but there was actually quite the young life in Puerto Lobos. It was the kind of place where almost everyone knew anyone. There was a middle school and a high school on town, and Sean wondered if they had the records of his father there. He recalled his dad saying that he was the dodge-ball champion in high school, he would love to see the place. He thought maybe Daniel could get in school once they were settled too. They reached the town square, which had a beautiful water fountain displaying at the center. Sean realized that their home was located almost at the end of the city, and it was why it was almost the only one there and had a lot of poverty around, because true, the houses around looked better than theirs, but they weren't fancy.

"This is nice" Sean said surveying the fountain. He could definitely picture a life here now. He was afraid they would be isolated from the world, hiding for the cops for the rest of their lives, but the place didn’t seem bad.

"It is" Daniel said "Oh! Can we eat dinner on that restaurant we saw?" Daniel asked excitedly, it seemed really cool, and the menu looked tasty "If we have the money for it, of course" He added sheepishly thinking about it.

"Of course we have" Sean chuckled. It was true that he needed to save, but he did have enough money and hell, they fucking deserve it.

So they went and found a nice seat inside the place to eat. Both Sean and Daniel were exited, the last time they had dinner out was a long, long time ago. They made their choices, and had a delightful meal, laughing and talking the whole time.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, July 11th, 2017, One week after the events at the border

"En serio, a la gente le encantan! (I’m telling you; people will love these!)” Matias gave sound to his thoughts once again, inspecting Sean’s work in awe.

Matias was the son of the owner of the restaurant the brothers went eating for the first time in town, and a recurrent place since they didn’t have a proper place to cook. Because of their familiar faces, the young, friendly waiter became a trusted foe sooner than expected. He had talk to Sean about the town, its people and its job offers, upon Sean explaining their needs at the questioning about constantly returning to the place. Sean didn’t know his actual age, but he could guess he was a bit older than him, maybe two or three years tops.

His family was actually really nice, and it was a cute business that they all ran together. The place wasn’t small, and it was red-themed, which Daniel loved. It had a warm atmosphere, and calm music always seemed to be playing. Matias had told Sean he could go show his curriculum around in town, and surely someone would pick him up. But Sean had no way of doing one of those, and he was still skeptical about reveling more of his old life around here. He thanked him either way.

Matias thought Daniel was a shy kid because he never spoke much. And because of the appearance of both kids, scars and tired faces, he didn’t want to push any questions about why. He suspected they’d been through some shit, and it made him kind of sad, because from the little time he knew them, they seemed good kids. But it wasn’t uncommon seeing humble people, especially from the far side of the town, in which, as far as Matias knew, the brothers lived.

But the funny thing was that Daniel just didn’t understood even half of the things that were said to him in Spanish, so he didn’t reply. Despite Sean’s best efforts to teach him, it will take some time. So, for now, they hide under the excuse that Daniel was a shy, scared kid.

Daniel found it frustrating though, he was on edge all the time because he thought they’d get caught. Both he and Sean didn’t want to speak English in front of other people, just so they wouldn’t suspect. But he was making progress with his Spanish already, just basic stuff, but a start.

“De verdad? (really?)” Sean asked, inspecting his own sketchbook. It was lunch time and Sean and Daniel decided to take a break from their house repairing project and had gone to town to grab something to eat. He was sketching while he waited for the food and Matias had caught a glimpse of them, and an idea surged.

"Los turistas compran lo que sea. (Tourists will buy anything)” he said confidently “Y estamos en época de turistas, es verano, hay oportunidades. Apuesto a que incluso los locales están interesados. (It’s tourist season, it’s summer after all, you have chances. I’ll bet even the locals will be interested)” He said now setting the food on the table, task he originally had come by to do.

"Supongo que puedo intentarlo (I guess I can try)” Sean said, thinking about it. Sean had spent the last few weeks sketching nonstop, capturing the new landscape and people around it. He was working on a sketch of the back view of his house, the beach and the wide ocean, when Matias arrived with the food.

"Tienes talento, Sean (you’re talented, Sean)” he patted Sean on the back reassuringly “ah, y… no te preocupes por la comida, yo invito (oh, and… don’t worry about the food, it’s on me)” he said with a smile

"Qué? no! Van tres veces seguidas, tus padres me van a matar (What? No! That's three times already, your parents are going to kill me)” Sean said in protest.

Matias chuckled "Ordenes del jefe, lo siento (Sorry man, orders from the boss)" he winked and went to do other chores before Sean could answer. Sean knew that by ‘Boss’ he was referring to the owner, his dad. They have been so caring and loving so far and Sean didn't understand why. But whether it was from pity for their looks, because Daniel was just a kid and they were worried, or actually sympathy for them both, he was so fucking grateful, it sure saved them money.

"So… what was all that about?” Daniel asked for context.

"He thinks my art might have a chance to be sold” Sean whispered back happily. He was still worried about how this could be a form of living, but he could at least try, at least as he found something better.

”Really? That’s so cool!” Daniel said and started eating. “Can I help?” he immediately asked, not even knowing how.

"Maybe you could give me ideas, or help with the drawings” Sean said smiling. Over the course of the last few days, he was more open on working with Daniel than he ever was. Their promise really made them both more open to each other. And it actually felt nice, knowing they had someone to rely on, even if they knew that already.

"But I don’t even know how to draw” he said disappointed.

"Dude, I’ve seen some of your drawings, I’m sure you can help in adding details” Sean said smiling.

"I’ll try” Daniel smiled back.

"Besides, just having you by my side will attract the clients. No one could resist a cute kid” Sean chuckled.

"Not true” Daniel said embarrassed, but still laughed.

After they were done with their meal, Sean got up and prompted “let’s go cub, house is waiting.”

Daniel looked confused “what about… paying” he was sure they weren’t that short of budget.

"Matias said we don’t have to” he replied.

"Again?” He asked beaming, they were really cool.

"Yeah see? Your cuteness works” he teased.

"shut up” Daniel laughed.

Both brothers laughed and playfully nudged each other as they worked their way to the exit.

"Adios! (Goodbye!)” Matias waved from the counter.

"Gracias por la comida! (Thanks for the food!)” Sean smiled back.

Daniel understood that much, and happily added his “Gracias! (Thanks!)” too.

Matias smiled and went back to work.

Progress was made on the house, the rooms were now clean, all walls free of mold and stains, and the floors were swiped and moped, even though they were mostly broken. They sealed the windows with cardboard, tape and any piece of anything hard and thin they could attach to the broken parts.

There was still so much work to be done, but at least the house looked less… abandoned. And to keep it that way, today they were starting to paint the outside of it, at least the parts they could reach.

"Ok, you know how it goes, just try not to get paint on your new clothes” Sean said, handling one of the paint rollers.

"I’m not dumb, Sean” Daniel rolled his eyes.

"I never said you were dumb, I just said be careful. I have to be too, I do not want a permanent paint stain on my shirt either” Sean answered.

They were starting with the front of the house, they wanted it to look at least acceptable at first glance. And so they spend the next couple of hours painting the wall of the front door and a little bit of one of the sides of the house.

It was inevitable that some small drops of paint would make their way into their clothes.

"Sorry, Sean, I tried” Daniel said inspecting the little white dots on one of his shoulders. He really had, he didn’t want to be ungrateful about all the things Sean had got for them.

"Hey, it’s ok, it happens. I got stained too” he chuckled, then sighed. They had spent a lot of time, and yet they only managed to do the first lower part of the front wall, and half the lower wall of one side. Sean still didn’t know how they would manage to reach the higher parts, maybe Matias had a ladder he could borrow.

They put away the painting tools, cleaned themselves and then went to lay down on their tent to rest for a bit.

"I was thinking…” Sean said turning to his side to face Daniel. “Aren’t you kind of tired of sleeping on this tent?” He asked.

"Not really, we have been sleeping on tents since the beginning… wait, you’re not going to change it, are you? He asked worried.

Sean couldn’t help but laugh at his brother's innocent comment. “I meant it as: tired of sleeping on the floor” he added once the giggles stopped.

"well, aren’t you? I think I don’t feel my back anymore, so” he joked, but Sean felt his heart sunk. He hated that his brother had to sleep in such conditions for almost 8 months.

Daniel noticed Sean’s worries, because he always put on a serious face and zoned out when he thought about bad stuff. “Why?” He nudged his brother to pull him out of it.

"Well, I was thinking” he said again, smirking “maybe it’s time to get a real bed” he said.

"No shit? Really?” Daniel said exited.

Sean was a bit amused by the word but, he himself swore all the time and well, his brother had done way terrible things than swearing, for survival of course. “Yes shit” he chuckled.

"Do we have enough money?” Daniel asked concerned.

"Yeah. It’s a tough purchase but, we need to start prioritizing our comfort if we think about living here. We can keep buying stuff for the house once we have some income” he said.

"Okay, cool…” Daniel said, he wasn’t quite exactly sure how much money they had left, but he trusted his brother, and he was sure they wouldn’t have a rough time.

"So what do you think of going now?” Sean asked.

"Now!?” Daniel expected it to be at least tomorrow. “Yeah, let’s go!” He said getting up, not waiting for his brother to answer.

Sean chuckled again, he knew his brother would be thrilled.

They came back home two hours later, it was already late night. Daniel was bursting with joy when he got out of the car, he thought they would buy a mattress and sleep on it, that’s it, that’s what he considered a bed at least, but Sean had gone full on it. He bought a single mattress slightly bigger, because they couldn’t afford two beds just yet, and so he decided to share one for now, not that either of them minded, since they had been doing that for a long time. He also bought the bed frame and a sheet set with pillows to go with it. It was the full thing. A full bed. Daniel couldn’t believe it.

They carried the stuff up the stairs using Daniel’s power. They moved the tent out of the way and assembled the bed frame, put the mattress on it and made their bed as quickly as they could. Once it was finished, they dropped on it together, smiling at the idea of sleeping on it every night.

"thanks Sean” Daniel said.

"Dude, it’s for both of us, you don’t have to thank me” he said.

"it kind of reminds me of your bed in Seattle” Daniel said, resting his head on the pillow and looking at the ceiling. The size of the bed was pretty much the same one Sean had back then.

"yeah. I haven’t thought about that” Sean said, also resting on the pillow.

"You never allowed me to go in your room back then, and now we ended up sharing a bed” Daniel chuckled.

"I guess karma works like that” he said, regretting not being nicer when he had everything on his life.

"Hey! I’m not that bad” Daniel protested.

"No, you’re not” Sean smiled “wished I realized that sooner” he said, feeling guilty once again.

"Oh come on, don’t be silly, it’s not like you were in there all the time” Daniel said.

"I kind of was…” Sean said ashamed.

"Well, maybe the last couple of months yeah, but it’s not like you were always like that. Even if it was because you were told to, you did stuff with me. You took me to the park, you played with me, you taught me how to play basket, you taught me how to skate. You were there. You’re just focusing on what you didn’t do to feel bad” Daniel said and poked at Sean’s forehead with his index finger.

Sean had his eye teary from his brother’s words and all the memories that had brought. He hadn’t thought about that. Maybe he did get carried around by all the bad things that happened. “For the record, I did those stuff because I wanted to, not because I was told to” Sean said smiling “even if I groused about it, it wasn't like, a torture”

Daniel found those words cute.

"I think about what it could have been, you know? If dad never…” Daniel said sadly.

"Yeah, I do too” Sean said, holding his brother’s hand.

"Maybe... right know... we would be lying on your bed in Seattle instead” Daniel smiled “Dad would be making dinner, and we didn't do our homework because we played all day”

"Oh yeah?” Sean chuckled “What did we play all day?” Sean asked.

"well, over the past months we became closer. And now we spent a lot of time together.” Daniel smiled trying to imagine “We played video games all day, so Dad got a bit upset and sent us to our rooms. But here we are, in your bed chatting and loosing time” Daniel chuckled.

Sean’s breathing became a bit inconsistent, it was sad to think about it, because they didn’t have it anymore, but it was nice to bask in the familiar feeling of their old house, even if just on their imagination.

"But dad didn’t really get upset, he never does. Like the time he grounded you because I snooped on you for the weed I found, and then he got us to see that Lucha Libre match?” Daniel laughed sadly. 

"Yeah, I remember that” Sean laughed too. He was so mad at the time, but now it was just a distant funny memory.

"Chris was in town and so he was coming over tonight, and Lyla too! We were having a sleep over” Daniel said, smiling while tearing up. God, he missed them so bad, he wondered if he could ever see them again, if he could at least hear their voices once again, It seemed unlikely.

"That sure sounds nice Enano” Sean said simply.

"Sorry” Daniel said looking at Sean and smiling “I think I just miss dad” he sobbed lightly, hiding in his brother’s arms.

"I miss him too” Sean said softly and sobbed himself, holding Daniel close.

It was always hard to think about their past life, to think about what could’ve been, to think about what they lost. To think about their lovely dad, his past friends.

"But it’s no use thinking about all that, right? We’re here now, and we’re together” Sean said.

"Yeah, you’re right…” Daniel managed to calm himself a bit.

"What happened can’t be changed. We just, need to find a way to keep going, dad would have wanted that.” Sean said.

Daniel was feeling a deep weight in his chest, thinking.

"Do you think we’re happy in another universe?” Daniel asked softly.

"Why not this one?” Sean replied.

Daniel smiled “Okay” he said. He felt the weight on his chest dissolve away slowly. "You know what we haven't done in a while?" Daniel asked.

"What?" Sean said, already into Daniel's idea.

"Stargazing, we still have the book mom gave us, right?"

"We do. But we don't have a telescope" Sean warned.

"It's fine, I bet we can still see something, come on!" Once again, he got up from bed excited, and once again, Sean was only happy to follow.

They laid down on the old blanket they carried there from their old house and tried to look for constellations using the book. They were experienced already so they managed to notice a few. The night sky down here was amazing, bright and full of starts. Stargazing was an activity that both brothers had come to enjoy, it remind them of their shared moments in away, the calm before the storm, where they rested and for a single moment, dared to believe that there was hope for them.

When they got tired, they walked in town to buy something from a food truck, and ate and chatted as they walked back home, where they got to use their brand-new bed. They got comfortable and cozy on it, and they couldn't help but sleep with a smile that night.

Wednesday, July 12th, 2017

Sean woke up first, which was unusual. He smiled at the sight of Daniel snuggling on his side and sleeping peacefully. The bed was a success of course, since Daniel had apparently felt too comfortable to even wake up, Sean was glad, and for the light shining from the window he could tell he had overslept too. He questioned for a moment if it was worth waking up now, they could use some rest, but as adorable as Daniel was, the weather was hot already and he was starting to suffocate. He wanted to take Matias’ word and try to sell some art, so he eventually decided to wake up Daniel.

Once they got ready to head out. They built a sign saying they were selling drawings and Sean started doubting again. "I don't know dude" he said shyly.

"Sean, your work is amazing, even Matias said so. I'm sure at least some people will buy something.

"But they're just sketches, no color, and they're small" Sean said. He and Daniel had sorted the best drawings Sean had made of the place since they arrived here, but they were small, since he draw with what he had.

"But they're still awesome. It's going to be ok. Seriously, what's the worst that can happen?" Daniel reasoned. He dragged Sean out of the door and locked it with his powers. They made their way to the town square and found a nice little spot near the fountain to spread the drawings for everyone to see. Sean sat awkwardly waiting, he felt stupid, because of all the things he had done this should be the less scary one, but somehow it was terrifying to expose his work like this.

Matias was right, the place here was crowded with people, and eventually, people started to get nearby and look at the drawings. First it was a young lady, who seemed attracted by one of the beach sketches. She was apparently not from here since she spoke English.

"You drew all these?" she asked looking impressed at Sean.

"Yeah" Sean smiled.

She pointed at the one she found interesting. The shading was nice and even, though it had no colors it was amazing. "How much is that one?"

"Uhh..." Sean scratched the back of his head, he was so concentrated worrying about either if he had success with this idea or not, that he never thought about a price. He thought for a moment, Matias said tourist will buy anything, but how much was too much? He never sold his drawings before. "Considering that it's kind of small and has no color, I could leave it to you on... twelve bucks" he said, he had spent some decent time drawing it.

"Cool" she said and reached for her wallet, she gave Sean the money and Sean gave her the drawing. "It's a nice souvenir, thank you sir" she said smiling.

Sean nodded and smiled. Once the lady went her way, Daniel started to giggle "She called you sir" he said. He found this funny because he knew how old Sean was, and he didn't think of his brother as a full-grown ass adult, even if he acted like one.

Sean rolled his eyes and chuckled "Wait until they call you a baby" he said.

"That's not going to happen because I'm not a baby" Daniel protested.

"Sure..." Sean teased and Daniel nudged him playfully.

"I told you it was going to work" he said. "She loved your work"

"It was just one person cub, let's not get ahead of ourselves"

Soon enough, two more people got close to the display of drawings. This time it was a small boy accompanied by a girl. Due to their similarities, Sean thought they were siblings.

"Hi! My brother loves your drawings, and he was wondering if you could make a custom one?" She asked, the little kid hiding behind his sister.

Sean didn't expect to be asked to draw on the moment, but he wasn't opposed to it "Sure, no problem" he said smiling, taking a sheet of paper and his pen "Why did you have in mind little one?" He kindly asked the boy, but he only hid further behind.

"Come on, don't be like this. Sorry he's a bit shy" She apologized.

Sean chuckled, Daniel was the opposite when he was younger "No worries".

Daniel waved at the boy and the girl noticed him. "Is he your brother?" The girl asked Sean.

"Yeah, little guy is helping me out" He smiled proudly.

She explained his brother wanted some kind of superhero drawing. Daniel recognized what she was talking about and explained it. The boy nodded for confirmation and Sean got to work. The girl and his brother sat down, and Daniel chatted with them while Sean worked. Once he was finished, he showed the little boy the work, and he was thrilled. He charged them a price he considered acceptable for the work.

The day went on, they sold more than half of the drawings and Sean made more custom portraits and drawings too. Both Locals and Tourists bought from them. Sean was pleased to find that Matias and Daniel were right, there were a lot of tourists, they paid well, and his drawings were a success. He thought about buying paints and more materials to sell more expensive pieces. He found it odd, after all that had happened, he could see himself working on something he liked. It wouldn't make them rich, but they could get around. Sean smiled with nostalgia at the many conversations he had with his father about what he wanted to do, Esteban was a bit pushy, but he only wanted Sean to do what made him happy. Sean thought he could never reach that for his dad, but maybe, as it was happening more and more lately, he could.

Sean was motivated, and that night he spent most of his time doing new drawings, and putting all the efforts he could so they could look the best. Daniel smiled upon seeing his brother happy, he knew how much Sean enjoyed drawing. As they both snuggled on the bed and just rested, Daniel started to think that Sean deserved something nice, both because of all the sacrifices he did for him and because he always gave him nice things. His birthday was nearby, that could work, right?

Chapter Text

Friday, January 20th, 2017 (The past)

Sean was digging up a hole to set up a fence. He sighed. Shit has been tough, they had their first Christmas without dad and he felt so fucking useless for only being able to buy Daniel a burger. Then new year felt so empty, everyone had gone to celebrate, but they had nothing to be happy about. It was so hard to think about that just a year ago, just months ago, they were living with their dad in a cozy home in their cozy life. Last Christmas they tricked Daniel into thinking he only received socks and underwear, just to reveal a big, wrapped box that contained a brand new PlayBox. Sean has the video on his phone... had, he didn't know when he could get a new one, or if he even could. It was a shame that all those pictures and videos were now only memories.

They had stayed a while with their grandparents until everything went to shit again, they had to run. Daniel was feeling down about having to flee once more when he had a resemblance of his normal life again, and Sean was frustrated, his brother didn't deserve this, sleeping under cold bridges. They reached northern California and had found a job in a farm. It was illegal and didn't pay much, but he needed the job and the shelter. So, for the last couple of weeks, he had been working here, the other people were nice at least. It was weird not to be around Daniel all the time, he was reluctant to leave him alone at first, but he had no choice, it wasn't like he was going miles away anyway.

His body hurt, hard work that didn't pay well and sometimes was even unfair, that money wasn't going to help them reach Puerto Lobos, but it had to do for now. Days working and dying of boredom for just a few dollars per task. Sometimes people bring a couple beers to pass the time, or to chat while they worked. He wasn't that lucky this time, he was finishing it alone and the clock was around noon.

He finished setting up the fence, he was tired and sweaty already, but he needed to do a couple more tasks to gain some decent money. He walked over to the stand with the list of chores there were for the workers, the guy sitting in the chair, a not so friendly one, grabbed his clipboard and looked at Sean.

"I'm done with that fence" Sean said and signed the paper to record that it was done under his name. "What else is there for today?" He asked pointing at the clipboard the man had, it was routine at this point, the man was familiar with Sean's face and he as well as other workers did plenty of jobs during the day.

The man analyzed his clipboard and shook his head "Sorry kid, no more jobs for today" he said.

"What?" Sean frowned, it was the first time he has been told that.

"You heard, every job is taken already. You got to be faster kid" he said with a tone that annoyed Sean, like he was superior.

Sean was confused, there were always plenty of little tasks for everybody, considering they took advantage of people, they wanted them to work as much as they could, and they didn't even had to worry about paying much.

"Come on man, not even a single one?" Sean asked.

"I said no" the man answered harshly "today schedule was set for long tasks that require a bunch of people, and all positions had already been taken. Next time be quicker, now get out." he said waving his hand.

Sean was skeptical, he looked at the man for a couple of seconds and then retired. He was upset, he wanted to get done as much tasks as he could because today was Friday, payday, and he needed the money, but his plans were ruined. He found his way to the shelter and met Daniel.

Daniel looked confused at Sean "you're taking a break?" he asked. When Sean went to work at morning, he usually didn't come back until evening, so sweaty and tired that Daniel felt bad, but sometimes he came to rest a bit on the afternoons and then parted again, but it was too early for that.

"They said they didn't had anymore tasks right now" Sean shrugged and found a sit next to Daniel "I guess I'll try later" he said.

"oh" Daniel said understanding "well, are you taking your nap?" he asked. Daniel was alone most of the time, and he found his ways to entertain himself when Sean was working or napping on breaks.

"Nah, I'm not that tired" Sean said, besides, there was something about the situation that felt odd to him.

"Well, do you want to play Ship, Captain, Crew?" Daniel asked hopefully.

They still had the dices from the game they played at the cabin. Sean smiled, they hadn't been up to much because Sean was so busy, he felt bad for leaving Daniel alone for that long. "Sure, that would be nice" Sean smiled.

They played a few games and had a fun time. Eventually, a guy that worked on the farm and stayed at the shelter came in and looked at Sean.

"Sean!” he said surprised at the sight “taking a day off?" he asked confused.

"They didn't have any more tasks" he simply said.

"What?" the man almost chuckled, how could an exploding farm ran out of tasks "they just gave me one, I came here to change clothes" the man said.

"Are you kidding me?" Sean got up and immediately made his way out of the shelter and to the stand. Daniel was just confused.

"You again?" The man with the clipboard said "I told you I have nothing for you" he said.

"You just gave the other guy a job!" Sean protested, there was definitely something happening.

"I said I have nothing for you" He simply said "fuck off already"

Sean was so upset, but it was out of his control. He didn’t dare to keep discussing, these guys were scary. He spent the rest of the day with Daniel, chatting, sketching, just making time until it was time to go get his pay. When the time came around, he made his way to the place, and got in line with the rest of the workers waiting to get their money. When it was his turn, he stepped in, and the owner handled him a pity amount of money. This wasn't worth his whole week of work.

"That's it?" Sean asked.

"I've been hearing some things about you" The man started "Police is looking for you or something and I saw your face on the news. I can't risk my business kid" he said calmly.

Sean was stunned "You- You're firing me?" he asked, to say it nicely that is, he was being kicked out.

"I got more people in line who needs the job, and you're taking a spot with your little brother that doesn't work" he said.

Sean was starting to get angry "He's a kid dude!" he said.

"Then he shouldn't be here" the owner replied.

"What about the money? I did a ton of tasks this week!" Sean protested, waving the small amount of money he had been given.

"It's half,” the man said and leaned in intimidatingly “you're out kid" he said.

"Come on! That's why your stupid assistant didn't let me do more tasks today?" he asked annoyed "This is bullshit man!"

"You're starting to get on my nerves kid. I got a line with people waiting to get paid. You should be grateful I paid you something. You got a problem? Call the cops" he said.

Obviously, he couldn't do that, and that's why he said it. "Fuck this stupid ranch" he said getting out of line.

"Out of the shelter by night" the man ordered.

What a shitty person, he could leave a kid without a place to sleep just for his business. Sean came back with a face that told the tale.

"What happened?" Daniel asked confused.

"We got kicked out, pack your things" Sean said. Fuck this was so unfair, Daniel didn't deserve to live like this, but he wouldn't stress him out with all of this, he would find something, something better.

"What? Why?" he asked.

"They know they're looking for us, and they don't want to risk it." Sean explained.

Daniel looked worried so Sean hurried in "Don't worry Enano" he put a hand on his shoulder "We'll find something else" he said with a smile that could convince even himself. He wasn't sure, but he needed to be.

"Ok" Daniel said reassured. They packed all their things and by night, they were looking for another bridge to sleep under.

Friday, July 21st, 2017 (The present)

Daniel had been reading Sean's journal, the one he kept the whole way from Seattle to Puerto Lobos. It was full of sketches of the faces they met along the way, entries about things that happened, Sean and Daniel's full story. Daniel woke up feeling nostalgic and had asked Sean if he could read it, Sean agreed, he hadn't been sketching on it much since they got here, too many memories and feelings. Daniel loved to see all the drawings his brother made during their journey, even if the memories were bittersweet.

"How did you ever managed to stay calm through all of this?" Daniel asked flipping through the pages. Today they had been selling Sean's art at the town square and now they were back home, resting and chilling on their bed.

"Calm?" Sean chuckled "Well I'm glad I gave that impression"

"No, I mean, I knew you were stressed, I just... can't believe how you kept going"

"One step at the time, little wolf. I kept fighting for you. I'm not sure I’d had manage to reach this far if it weren't for you" Sean said.

Daniel stopped to think about that. He felt like it was sweet to know his brother loved him that much, but for some reason he felt responsible for what his brother had gone through, just to get him here.

Daniel kept reading until he reached the pages of their stay at the ranch. "Man, that place was ugly" Daniel said.

Sean peeked to see what his brother was referring to. "I do not miss that place, my back hurts just for thinking about it" Sean said.

Daniel felt bad again "I'm sorry" he said.

"For what?" Sean asked confused.

"I don't know, I guess I just wish I had done more back then" Daniel said.

"Come on, don't do that to yourself." Sean put an arm around his brother's shoulders.

"I know" He did know Sean was right "It's just... you worked so hard everyday and..." He didn't finish.

"Daniel, you were going through a lot, and you did help me later, at the pot farm, and now with my job and the house. You've grown up so much since then" He lovingly ruffled Daniel's hair.

"True" he said more convinced, that was the past, and right know he was helping Sean.

With the money Sean was making, he was able to buy materials to make small paintings and bigger drawings, and that have been paying off well. He felt good doing what he liked to gain some pesos, and even if he didn't make much, it was enough. They still had their savings and well, just being done with all the running felt like a relief.

Daniel was just glad his brother was doing okay, reading all the things he went through in this journal was sad. It was a nice change of phase, of people, he wasn't working for a pity amount of money anymore and the people around here were friendly. Specially Matias, the guy had been so caring towards the boys.

Daniel kept reading, Sean noticed him skipping through the part of their stay at the pot farm, and all that had happened next, even the part of Sean waking up in the hospital. He wasn't sure if it was because he felt guilty or if he was just curious to know what his brother was up to on their time apart and he couldn't wait, either way he didn't say anything, he could understand more than anyone how those memories could be difficult.

Daniel felt a pang of sadness when he read how Sean sneaked out of the hospital and drove with only one eye, and the headaches it caused him because it was so recent, just to find Daniel. Then something caught his interest. A single page and what it was written on it.

Let racists dickheads humiliate me so they wouldn't beat the shit out of me.

What? Sean never told him about this.

Hurts but I don't care
My only priority is Daniel

Shit... "Sean...? what is this?" He asked and held the page out to Sean so he could read it.

Shit. "Oh... um..." he took the sketchbook and looked at it. It was something he did not want to remember.

"What happened?" Daniel asked worried. He knew damn well how this fucked up world had been hard on his brother, he didn't dare to think he could have suffered even more.

"Just that. Didn't even matter, I had to find you" Sean said.

"Well, you did. And I think it does matter now" Daniel said sadly.

"It's over cub, doesn't matter anymore" he said and closed the sketchbook shut.

Daniel could tell he was nervous about it, and it made him worry even more, what the hell happened? 

"Are you ok?" he asked kindly.

"Don't want to talk about it" Sean said.

"But it's me, you said we would talk more, you said you'd tell me if something is bothering you! Well, you seemed bothered" Daniel said.

Sean sighed, his hands were shaking. Daniel took one and held it warmly, he never saw Sean like this. He waited expectantly.

"I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it yet Enano..." Sean said. Even thinking about it was hard, embarrassing. He didn't know he would be able to say it out loud.

"When will you? How do I know you're not just going to let it pass by, like you always do..." Daniel said. "I know you felt like you had to back then, but it isn't like that anymore... You don't have to hide things to make me feel better."

"I-I know... I just" Sean sighed again.

"Was it that bad?" Daniel said softly, hugging his brother sideways, one hand still holding Sean's.

"Kind of..." Sean said quietly.

"They messed with you, that's clear. But they can't hurt you here, they're far behind" Daniel tried to soothe him.

"It's not that... It's just..." Sean leaned onto his brother.

Daniel was sitting on the bed, his back against the headboard. Sean slides down so his head was at Daniel's level and rested it on his shoulder.

"I drove for so long since I escaped the hospital, all night and day, I hadn't slept at all. It was night again and I was just so tired, my head was killing me... I needed to rest. So, I pulled over, smoked a cigarette, cleaned my eye and fell asleep in the car. I assume I must have slept for fifteen minutes or so, then I was woken up by knocks on the window." Sean remembered it all too well, he just wanted to rest, he was so fucking done with everything, he only wanted his brother back. "They wanted me to get out of the car, I said I was leaving but they forced me out... they asked me why I didn't have the keys to the car... said that I was in their property... they went through my backpack... and then they started to make fun of me..." Sean continued.

Daniel could tell it was hard for Sean to tell the story because he wasn't making eye contact, just resting on his shoulder.

"He wanted me to say something in Spanish, to say… that …that wasn't my country and that I was a thief... I just wanted to leave" Sean said, his voice getting quieter.

"What a dickhead" Daniel said annoyed, he held Sean tighter.

"I was... scared... the... the younger one wasn't that harsh... but the other one..." Sean took a deep breath before continuing. "He wanted me... he wanted me to sing something, so he could laugh at me" Sean was starting to tear up at the memory "And it was that or he was going to beat me up... and I... I..." he shook his head before continuing "I didn't want to... but I was so hurt already... So I just sang" he was shaking, and couldn't hold back the sobs. Daniel did his best to hold him close, he never stopped holding his hand.

"It was... so... fuck. He just laughed at me and..." He tried his best to speak between tears "I felt out of myself... I couldn't think, I couldn't move..." He didn't say anything else, he just allowed himself to cry.

Daniel was angry, he wanted to make them pay for making his brother feel like this, for messing with a kid. And he didn’t know anything about this until now? "I'm sorry, Sean" he rubbed Sean's back trying to comfort him "God I wish I was there with you" he said.

"There's nothing you could have done" he sniffed and wiped his tears away "I'm glad you weren't there, you didn't saw me in that position and you didn't get hurt."

"Sean..." was the only thing he could say, he wrapped his big brother in his arms and held him close to him. He realized now that not only his brother suffered and put it all behind for him, for his sake, to keep him safe, but he also didn't care about it. Sean didn't care what happened to him, his goal was to keep Daniel safe and that was it. He was willing to do anything for Daniel. But he was hurting, and all these things leaved an inner mark on his beloved brother. It was obvious now that they had reached their home, that Sean still had ghosts chasing him, and so did he. Daniel wasn't going to stand still, he was going to help his brother.

"I love you," Daniel eventually said "So god damn much."

Sean smiled and looked up from the hug "I love you too cub"

"I feel even worse now, knowing how you... and I was sleeping comfortably on that house... and when you came to get me, I said no. And you did so much to get there" he said guilty, angry at himself.

"We talked about this Dan, that crazy woman tricked you into believing weird shit, believing that I was a bad influence." He said reassuringly "And well, I don't think I'm the best influence but," he chuckled "It wasn't your fault"

"Sean come on, I could have avoided all those hits you got" he said looking away. His brother was scarred.

"You were confused, that's all. They took advantage of you, they used you" Sean said.

That day was forever printed onto Daniel's brain. A memory that highlights both the unbelievable amount of love his brother has for him, and how he would always regret how he acted towards Sean at the church, at the camp, at home.

"Come on, let's stop thinking about bad stuff" Sean said.

"Yeah, enough for today" Daniel smiled.

"You know, the song I chose to sing was the one dad used to sang to us when we were little" Sean smiled at the memory.

Daniel frowned "what song?" he asked.

"Well, he used to sing it to me when I was like, four, and then when you were born, he did the same, maybe that's why you don't remember, you were so young" Sean explained.

"Oh, was it...?" Daniel smiled and started humming the melody, he didn't remember the words in Spanish, and he was still learning the language now.

"Yeah, that's it" Sean chuckled "I'm just glad the bad memory didn't ruin the good ones." Sean said.

"Why you picked that one?" Daniel asked.

"I don't know many songs in Spanish so it just kind of came up"

They settled in the comfortable silence, laying on the bed. The memories of Esteban singing that melody to them both filled Sean’s brain and heart, it was nice and not so bittersweet for once.

"We won" Daniel said after a while, smiling and looking up to Sean "Let's not forget that"

Sean smiled back "Yeah we did, we showed them. No one messes with the wolf brothers" Sean cooped his mouth and howled at the ceiling of their house "Aw aw aw-ooh!"

Daniel laughed and joined in on the howling. When they were done, Daniel looked dead serious to Sean.

"I'm hungry" he said.

Sean laughed "me too, how about some pizza at that place we liked."

"Really?" Daniel smiled. They had tried some of the places around to eat, since they couldn't cook on the house yet, and they found a place that had the most delicious pizza they ate in ages.

"Yeah, my art is selling well and... why not?" Sean said.

Soon enough they were on their way there. They talked about what was next for the house, Sean said it was a priority to find an alternative to cooking that wasn't eating out, Daniel said he could learn to cook for them, to be even more helpful, Sean just loved that his brother was so determined to help him. They ate a good meal at the place and walked back home, and with full bellies and a bit of weight lifted from both of their heads because of their earliest conversation, they slept warm and comfortable. Safe. Together.

Chapter Text

Saturday, July 22nd, 2017

The sun shined brightly on their bedroom, dyeing the space with a soft light red that threatened to become pink. The window, covered by a self-made curtain Daniel had the skill to put together with what they had on hand, was the cause for the room to gain such tint. Sean was the first one to stir awake, the sun uninvitedly making its way to his eye. He frowned and tried to move his right hand to cover his face, but he realized it was obstructed. He smiled, when he realized what was going on, and look down fondly at his little brother, snuggled to his right, resting his cheek ever so happily on Sean's chest. He pondered for a moment what to do, on one hand he should get up and start the day, organize his drawings, check on his drying paintings, on the other hand, he had been working so hard these past few days, planning and thinking nonstop for their future, he could use some extra sleep, a lot has changed so fast and his mind was still adapting. He decided, eventually, that weather he liked it or not, he had to get to work.

He tried to move slowly so to not wake up Daniel, but the kid was glued to him like a Koala. He made his first mistake when he tried to move away his right arm, moving Daniel away and making him mumble in discomfort. He made his second and last mistake when he sat up on bed, moving it and making Daniel open his eyes slowly.

"Sean...?" he asked, his voice a bit hoarse. He rubbed his eyes until they adjusted to the invasive daylight.

"Morning cub. Sorry, did I wake you?" Sean sounded genuinely sorry.

"What are you doing? It's too early" Daniel asked frowning, looking at the color of the early sky. To be fair, Daniel usually woke up first, and if he didn't it was because one, he was too tired, or two, it was too early, and he had a nice day with Sean yesterday so he definitely wasn’t that tied to had slept in.

"I just thought I could start going, you know, buy you some breakfast in town" he said.

Daniel closed his eyes and fell back to bed "We can start the day later, like normal people, come on" he insisted.

Sean chuckled "Doesn't hurt, it’s better if I start working earlier anyway"

Daniel sighed and raised his hand, in a single movement, he pushed Sean gently down with his powers and made him lay down.

"What are you doing?" Sean laughed.

"We work too much. On the house, outside. This was supposed to be our new start, our peaceful life" Daniel said, snuggling back next to Sean.

"Yeah well, a peaceful life isn't cheap, and we want a nice home to live at" Sean replied.

"I know, but how many times did we actually enjoyed the beach we have literally at our feet? Not many since we got here. I'm not saying we don't have to work, I'm saying we are fine now, we can take it easy, no one is pressuring us." Daniel said.

Sean, once again, was faced with the bittersweet truth of how much his little brother had grown. He thought about it for a moment, he needed to plan their future to not slow down, but Daniel had a point, if he slept a bit more one day it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

"I guess you're right" Sean said and got comfortable again.

"I did have fun working on the house, it’s something for us after all" Daniel said.

"But we deserve to enjoy a bit, you're right" Sean smiled "Why don't we take the day?"

"That would be nice" Daniel smiled back.

Sean closed his eye again "I'm glad you're here... I would be so lost otherwise"

"I'm glad too..." he mumbled, already hugging Sean and drifting back to sleep.

Sean smiled, even if the kid just convinced him to gain more sleep for himself, it was a valid reason. They needed to rest, they deserved it.

When Sean stirred awake for the second time that day, the sun was in a more acceptable place to start his day, a little pass his usual time he thought. Daniel was not on the bed, and by the whiff of delicious food that he caught it was clear he was making something. Sean smiled, his stomach started to wake up too and asked for a meal. He didn’t remember when was the last time he woke up to some warm food waiting for him. He didn’t know how Daniel managed to find a way to cook food in their primitive way of living, but the kid always found new and impressive ways to surprise him with his creativity.

He sat on the bed and his feet met the cold floor, it wasn’t that bad, since the weather in Puerto Lobos was almost suffocating sometimes. He made a mental note nonetheless to consider installing a carpet floor in the future, like they had back in Seattle. He found a pair of trousers to wear and made his way to the kitchen, only to find it empty. He followed the scent of the food downstairs and to the backdoor to their patio, there he saw it, Daniel was grilling something.

“What’s all this?” Sean asked smiling surprised.

Daniel turned his head to look at him “Oh! Morning” he smiled and returned the attention to his task “I thought we might eat breakfast at home, for once” he said.

Sean survived the area, Daniel was using the old grill they decided to keep, cleaned it up and managed to put in a good state, the plastic table had a handful of vegetables and a cutting board. Daniel was using the fire of the grill to cook on the frying pan some eggs and the vegetables. Sean was incredibly proud as well as impressed.

“When did you learn how to cook?” Sean chuckled.

“I don’t know how to cook” Daniel chuckled back “But I remember some things or two from our times cooking for all the drifters at the camp.

Sean nodded, the few times it was their turn to cook Sean would use the opportunity to teach Daniel something. He was glad he listened, and he was extremely touched at how Daniel was doing everything he could to help him out.

“Can you fetch some plates? Maybe we could eat out here” Daniel asked, keeping his focus on the cooking.

“Sure, I don’t see why not” Sean did what he was asked and grabbed two plates, some silverware and a bottle of water. The water was awfully warm, but no electricity meant no fridge, not that he could afford one but maybe at least a cooler, he needed to get on that soon, but for today, he would be fine taking it easy and lazing around.

He came back outside and set the table, he took a seat on one of the plastic chairs as Daniel served him some of the food on his plate and then on his own.

“Hope it tastes ok” Daniel said taking his own seat.

Sean took a big mouthful of the food and made it seem as if he was analyzing it “Hmm…” he said, “the vegetables could be crispier” he teased.

Daniel rolled his eyes, habit well learned from his brother. “Oh, shut up” he said munching on his own plate.

Sean chuckled “I’m kidding” he ruffled Daniel’s hair “It’s perfect Enano, haven’t eaten a home-made meal in a while” he said happily. “You had a great idea. I’ll… We’ll keep working-” Sean corrected “to load the house with supplies to cook and stuff, but it might take a while” Sean said.

“Cool, I think we’re doing fine, compared with other places we lived in…” He said taking another bite “But we have a system in the meantime, right?” He smiled up at Sean.

“Right” Sean agreed, taking a bite for himself.

Sure, it might be tiring to carry buckets of water to the bathroom to bath, or use the toilet, but it’s not like they weren’t used to that. Warming up the water sure took some time but that was ok too. They had candles to lit up their home when it got too dark. And they had their water filter. Slowly but surely, they’ll make this house a nice one to live at. With the covered windows and cleaned up rooms as well as little fixes here and there, the fresh coat of paint, it was taking form and it sure was lovely to both. But even if it was messier, dirtier, more uncomfortable, they both knew it didn’t matter. They had learned that the only important thing they needed to live was each other, the rest were just accessories, and as long as they stayed together, it was fine.

“What are you thinking of?” Daniel asked softly, they had ended their meal already and were just basking on the weather, under the heavenly shadow, looking at the ocean they had in front.

“Just us… I mean, how nice this is” Sean said, not taking his gaze away from the ocean.

Daniel smiled “What is on schedule for today?”

“Well, we said we’ll take the day so, we could go to town if you wanted” Sean offered.

“I think I just want today to be just us”

“Fair, well, there’s not much to do around here. We could swim?”

Daniel lit up, smiling and nodding excitedly.

“And then… we could take a nap” Sean planned their day at home “You know how to say ‘nap’ in Spanish?” Sean started a new lesson.

Daniel shook his head.

“Siesta”

“So.. Vamos a… tomar… siesta?”

“You almost had it!” Sean smiled, Daniel had always been a fast learner.

“It's ‘vamos a tomar una siesta’ but that’s way too formal, so we just say ‘Vamos a dormir la siesta’” Sean explained.

Daniel nodded, Spanish was a little confusing sometimes, but he was starting to get the hang of it, hearing it all the time sure helped a lot.

“Entiendo (I understand)” he said.

Sean smiled again. They washed the dishes and started getting ready for swimming, applying sunscreen on their skin. They had learned the hard way that their bodies were not quite used to the brazing sun of Puerto Lobos yet, Sean had a little sun burn on both shoulders and for Dan it was his ears that fell victims, fortunately nothing too serious, and they seemed to be quite healed by now. Sean was helping Daniel with his back when they heard a nock on the door. Daniel was startled and his body tensed.

“Relax, it’s probably a neighbor” Sean said calmly, walking towards the front door.

Daniel followed a little behind Sean, just to make sure he was ok.

Sean opened the door and smiled confused.

“¿Matias? ¿Qué haces aquí? (What are you doing here?)”

“Hoy no vinieron a comer, así que pensé en pasar a ver si estaba todo bien (You didn’t go to eat today, so I thought I might come check if everything was ok)” Matias explained, it was true that it was weird for the boys not to show around in town to work, much weirder not to eat.

“Oh” Sean laughed, he thought it was a sweet gesture “Estamos bien, solo descansando (We’re ok, just resting)”

“Matias?” Daniel chimed in besides Sean at the door.

“Hola Daniel, ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)”

“Bien, Sean y yo vamos a nadar (Good, Sean and I were going swimming)” he reported happily.

“Suena divertido (Sounds fun)” He replied politely, glad that the kid had gain enough trust to start speaking to him. Although the truth was that Daniel couldn’t speak at first because the language was new for him, but he was getting more and more confident.

“¿Cómo supiste donde vivimos? (How did you know where we live at?)” Sean asked suspiciously.

“Dijiste que vivías cerca del final de la ciudad, en la playa, y no hay muchas casas sobre la playa (You said you lived near the end of town, on the beach, and there isn’t many houses on the beach)” Matias chuckled “Además, es la unica casa en… reparación (Besides, It’s the only house… on repair)” He added.

“Ah” Sean thought that made sense, he didn’t even know why he was suspicious about a nice guy like Matias, but he couldn’t help himself, his trust had been shattered over time.

“Así que este es el Palacio Díaz (So, this is the Díaz Palace)” Matias smiled inspecting the outside of the house.

Sean was embarrassed at first, he knew the house wasn’t at its best right now and they had almost nothing, but Daniel answered before it could show.

“Increíble eh? (Pretty amazing huh?)” He was proud of what they had accomplished together so far.

“No tienen luz? (You don’t have any power?)” Matias asked inspecting the ceiling.

“Luz, agua, gas (Power, water, gas)” Sean chuckled “Pero nos las arreglamos, y en algún punto vamos a tenerlos (But we manage, and at some point, we will have them)”

Matias smiled “Le puedo preguntar a mi hermana si puede ver el cableado (I could ask my sister if she can check out the wiring)”

“No creo tener dinero para- (I don’t think I have money for-)” Sean was cut off.

“No seas tonto, no te vamos a cobrar, deja que pregunte y seguro podemos aunque sea instalarte una parte (Don’t be silly, we’re not going to charge you, let me ask and I’m sure we can at least install part of it)” Matías said warmly.

“¿Por qué son tan buenos con nosotros? (Why are you so nice with us?)” Sean knew exactly why.

Matias shrugged “Ayudamos en los que podemos, no nos cuesta nada (We help out in what we can, It doesn’t hurt us)”

They were worried, that was the truth, they were two kids living on their own, Sean always seemed to work hard to keep his brother safe, and honestly, they did not seem ok, all the scars, and the gaze they carried on their eyes? They were clearly tired, and had gone through something difficult, you didn’t have to be an expert to tell that much. But Sean thought that maybe that was a good thing, people around here were nice, and he could allow himself some help, he clearly couldn’t do all this by himself, and that was okay.

“Los dejo descansar (I’ll let you guys rest)” Matias said his goodbyes and leaved the boys to their things.

Sean closed the door and filled Daniel in, he caught the main words of the conversation but there were a few things he didn’t quite understand. He was glad that they were getting a little bit of help, they would need it if someday they planned on finish the house repair.

Matias family seemed quite big, he had three siblings, making a total of four kids. Sean and Daniel saw them all the time at their restaurant, they all shared some of the shifts and work there, but they had their own interests away of the family business of curse. The sister Matias was referring to was Luna, the oldest sibling. She was quite the charm, always busy with work though, Sean knew she worked at a construction site and so it’d make sense for her to come check the house. The other siblings Diego and Sergio were the ones that followed, they were close on age, and then came Matias, the younger one. Daniel liked that; he could see himself growing into an adult like that. All siblings had finished school and were either planning for college for the case of Matias and Diego, settling on the family business or working on something they liked. It was a nice family, and they seemed really caring towards the brothers.

Sean couldn’t help it, but the first few times he saw Matias, he reminded him of Finn. It wasn’t like there was so much resemblance, they looked different and although Matias had a confident personality, it wasn’t near as much as Finn’s nonchalant way of going around life. But seeing someone close to his age again, someone he was getting along with, someone who could become a friend, was a little scary for him. He knew they were getting settled now, that they had stopped running, but after the pot farm it had become a habit trying not to get attached to people, didn’t make sense if he was going to leave sooner or later, and last time he neglected Daniel… they knew how that ended.

It conflicted him, thinking about Finn, Cassidy, Jacob, Hannah… He missed them, and he hated himself for not being completely mad at Finn. He was mad, he was so angry at him, he acted selfishly, he fucked up so bad… but he was the one who helped a lot in the first place… He was angry at himself at the thought, Finn made Daniel go to that church, he had lost his eye, it was his fault. Sean tried to convince himself. He tried not to think to much about those times, they did have a good time before all went to shit, but… bad memories stand out more than peaceful ones.

“So, shall we?” Daniel pulled Sean out of his head and was holding his hand for Sean to grab.

Sean blinked, completely lost on his hurricane of thought but held Daniel’s hand without a second thought. Daniel guided them outside and onto the beach, and as they ran straight to the ocean, and splashed and smile like little kids, because they were little kids, Sean thought this was exactly what he needed, a way to relax with Daniel.

They spent the rest of the day playing games and just resting on their home, by the time they rinsed the salty sea water and sand of their bodies, it was already afternoon and they had eaten something for launch. Now they were lounging on the old couch they decided to keep, it wasn’t the most comfortable thing, and definitely not as comfortable as their bed, but it was what they had. Sean was sketching on one end of the couch, some silly doodles about him and Daniel, the scenery. Daniel was sitting on the opposite side, reading once more Sean’s old sketchbook.

“I miss Lyla” he said softly, he was reading about their time on the motel Brody got for them, when they had first arrived to Oregon. Sean had called her that night, Daniel had no idea. He knew how hard it must have been for Sean to stop seeing her best friend, they didn’t know if they’d ever see her again.

“Me too” Sean smiled fondly at the memories she had made with her.

“Do you think she’s doing ok?” Daniel asked.

“I bet she’s doing fine, little wolf” Sean continued sketching while he talked “She’ll be starting her last year of school soon” Sean smiled, and then it faded “I… I wish I could have graduated with all my classmates” he said sadly.

Daniel put his hand on Sean’s leg, just because he couldn’t reach his hand from here, and showed him his support.

Thinking about what Sean had missed out, what they both had missed out, was extremely heartbreaking, both boys thought his brother deserved better.

“It was nice those times you let me hang out with you two” Daniel remembered happily; it was always such a blessing when Sean let him in on his life back then.

“Yeah well, it was that or I couldn’t hang out at all with my friends” Sean chuckled “And you being there meant no weed or beers”

“Your friends loved me” Daniel pushed Sean’s leg playfully.

“Hey, watch it” Sean smiled, the movement made Sean do a wobbly line on his drawing “They did” Sean added more softly “I wanted to be alone so bad…” Sean chuckled and shook his head “I was so naïve, I could’ve just, find some time to hang out with you”

“Well, you hang out with me now” Daniel smiled.

“Yeah…”

“Hey, no regrets, we both didn’t knew much back then”

Sean nodded “Same thing applies for you; you don’t have to regret anything”

Daniel knew what Sean was talking about, all the destruction his power caused unintentionally. He nodded back. “We'll see them all again, right?” he asked after a minute of silence.

Sean answer came after a bit of thought “Yeah, I think. One day” he said hopefully. “In the meantime, we have a house to repair, and things to get used to.”

“I think we're doing ok” Daniel smiled.

“Yeah, but there's still a lot to do, and I need to get you into school”

“What?”

“Yeah cub, you need to finish school, it’s important” Sean closed his sketchbook, sensing an important topic surging.

“So, are you going back too?” Daniel asked.

Sean face fell “I can’t, I have to work and take care of us”

“Well, that’s not fair” Daniel protested.

Sean sighed “Enano, It’s important. You won’t get anywhere without school”

“That’s exactly why it’s not fair, you deserve to finish school, too!” Daniel recalled sadly their conversation a minute earlier about Sean missing out his graduation, he was clearly sad by that, he missed his friends, his life. If they were going to get a normal life again, that applied to both of them, no excuses.

Sean eyes widened, he thought Daniel was just mad he had to go to school and Sean didn’t, but he just wanted his brother to be okay too.

“That’s… sweet cub, but I can’t do everything”

“Exactly, and that’s why I’ll help you, and that’s why we'll let other help us” Daniel insisted.

“I just don’t think it’d work out”

“We can at least try”

“Daniel, I don’t know, I still have to figure out how to get you in”

“I’m not going if you’re not going” Daniel crossed his arms.

“You’re going” Sean said more sternly.

“Not without you” Daniel added equally serious.

Sean thought Daniel was being incredibly stubborn right now, he sighed “Whatever, we’ll talk about it later”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, looking down or just at the side, pondering. Daniel understood what Sean was saying, but he still thought it would be better if they could get all the normality they could, and like Sean said, it’s important, he would need it.

Sean knew Daniel was right, but he was afraid of not being able to do it all, it was such a challenge. That and to say he didn’t really want all the stares and questions about his past, teenagers could be such a thing to deal with, and Sean felt so out of place with them now.

“Sorry” They both said in unison, then laughed.

“I didn’t mean to get mad, I just… really think you deserve a chance too” Daniel explained.

“I know cub, I didn’t mean to either, I just… it seems like a lot to deal with, and I don’t know if I’m ready” Sean confessed.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to go back to school either… much less in a language I don’t fully speak” Daniel said worriedly.

“That’s why we’re waiting a couple months, get settled, comfortable, steady, and then we can continue ok? We’ll be fine” Sean soothed Daniel.

Daniel smiled, more calmed now “Well of course, we’re the wolf brothers” his smile widened, and he let out a heartly howl. Sean laughed and followed suit.

They shifted positions and shared a hug. It was almost funny, they couldn’t be mad at each other for long, not right now. Maybe someday they will feel comfortable enough to keep their banter and little fights for long, but for now, they needed to be together, they needed to stay together.

“Are we taking that nap?” Daniel asked hopefully.

Sean smiled “of course, let’s go” They made their way back to their bedroom and get comfortable in bed, and before long, they were both peacefully resting.

Daniel woke up around two hours later, Sean was making sounds in his sleep. At first, he didn’t think much about it, he just closed his eyes back and snuggled back to his brother, but then Sean made somewhat of a whining sound, and he was sweating. A nightmare, he concluded. Shit, Sean was having a ton of those lately, even more than himself. He himself sometimes dreamed about what happened at the border, but it was like once a week or so, Sean had a bad dream almost every night, he would tell Daniel all about it when they woke up, they were usually about a lot of things that happened to him, the church, Seattle, Humboldt, always the same memories. This time though, he seemed to be experiencing a pretty bad one, and Daniel wasn’t going to sit and let his brother suffer like that.

“Sean?” he shook him hastily.

“Huh?” Sean was pulled from his slumber. “Cub…?” he ask disorientated.

“I think you were having a bad dream?” he held Sean’s hand.

Sean sighed, he was all sweaty, he scratched his face uncomfortably “Yeah… but it was such a weird one, it was bizarre” Sean said.

“What was it about?”

“You and Dad… but I don’t really want to talk about it” he closed his eyes again.

“Okay” Daniel nodded, and after a moment of silence, he put his hand on Sean’s chest “It was just a dream”

Sean almost laughed, few months ago it was him that was soothing Daniel from a nightmare on the woods. Things sure change, he knew that.

“Thanks, Eanano, I know”

“Should we go back to sleep?”

“I think we can get dinner, and maybe hang out a bit more in town?”

Daniel smiled “Sure”

It was such a nice idea to take the day off, Sean spent some of his time doing new paintings and sketches to sell, they played and hang out a lot, and most importantly, they rested. It was difficult at times for Sean to think about all he had to accomplish, it seemed impossible, but if he took things slowly, if Daniel was there to help him, and Sean to help Daniel, it didn’t matter how long or how difficult it might be, it was the time they spend together that made it all worth it, and made them all more hopeful to get to the life they wanted.

Chapter Text

Monday, May 15, 2017 (The past)

It was early in the morning, yesterday Karen had been driving all day and so they stopped at a motel to sleep for the night, and now they kept going. Sean was in the backseat, head leaned back, eyes closed, Daniel was asleep, head resting on his brother’s left arm. Sean sighed while he thought about the past few days. Shit has been crazy. He had escaped from the hospital, drove and walked for hours in the desert and freed his little brother from a cult. He tried to avoid remembering all the parts when he got hurt though, his body was still screaming in pain.

Seeing Karen again was so weird, he still felt like it was some kind of sick dream. Oh, but it did not matter, he got Daniel back, he was safe, and that was all he cared about. Last night, before going to sleep, Karen had bought a few things from a pharmacy and Daniel offered to help cleaning Sean’s wounds. Sean thought it was such a sweet thing to do, but then, as Daniel ever so gently and dutifully wiped away the dried blood on his face, and applied the healing balm on Sean’s cuts, he could see all the guilt on his little brother’s eyes. And it made sense, he felt responsible for hurting his big brother and for not trusting him first thing when he saw him again. They had talked about it.

“There” Daniel finished treating Sean’s wounds and was smiling. “You’re all good”

“Thanks doctor Daniel” Sean smiled, and when Daniel didn’t show any signs of amusement, he asked “What’s wrong Enano?”

“Huh? Nothing” he said unconvincedly.

“Come on, I’m not dumb. You seem worried” Sean insisted.

“I’m just, sorry I… did this to you…” he said, tears already swelling on his eyes.

“What? No, Daniel, you didn’t hurt me… you saved me from that guy, actually” Sean tried to convince him.

“Stop it… Stop being nice to me!” he looked up at Sean, tears flowing down his cheeks. “I let Nicholas beat you… and, and… back at the camp… I hurt your eye…” he sobbed.

“Little cub…” Sean tried to reach for his hand, but Daniel pulled away. “None of It was your fault…” Sean said softly “That lady was crazy Daniel, she used you… made you believe all that weird stuff” he explained “But you believed me in the end, we’re together now”

Daniel shook his head “No…” he was struggling with all of that knowledge, he felt so foolish… so used… so guilty, how could he not trust his brother? “I still hurt your eye…” he kept sobbing.

“That was an accident, little wolf, I know you didn’t mean it. Shit got crazy back at the camp, it’s ok…” Sean reached for his shoulder and this time there was no fighting back.

Daniel kept crying, and Sean couldn’t handle seeing him like that. He embraced his little brother, and cradled his head close to him, like he always did while holding him warmly. “There is nothing you can do, that would made me love you less, ok?” Sean spoke softly, calmly “I love you… Nothing is ever going to change that… It was an accident, and I forgive you.” Sean sooth him, stroking his back.

Daniel clung to his big brother and let all his tears out. He couldn’t understand how Sean forgave him; he had caused his brother so much pain, and just now he was starting to see all the sacrifices his brother made for him. He knew he was forgiven, but he didn’t think he could forgive himself.

So, Daniel had been clinging to Sean a lot, and Sean was letting him, because they both needed to be close after what happened, and they both needed the reassurance. The next morning, when they had woken up on each other’s arms, their mom still asleep close by on the other bed, they started talking a bit while still lying down and resting. Sleeping close to Daniel again was indescribable, Sean could not remember ever resting so well, after all that happened, all the rough nights, lonely ones, despite the pain his body felt, he slept like a baby.

“Does it hurt?” Daniel asked, looking at Sean’s eyepatch.

“Nah, not much, it has healed pretty well” He replied.

“Can you still draw?” Daniel asked with a worried look.

Sean smiled, Daniel still felt guilty, and it would take a while for him to get the idea that he didn’t mean it, so Sean would do his best to make him understand. “Yeah, I mean, I need to practice, but I can still draw” he said, his perspective was off, but he could get the hand of it again.

“How… was it? Being in a coma, I mean” he kept asking about their time apart.

Sean sighed “I pretty much was asleep all the time… I just woke up and found out it had been weeks since Humboldt, and that you were missing”

“You must’ve been so worried” Daniel snuggled closer.

“I was. I had a rough time there, felt like I was going insane. And I thought I was going to prison for the rest of my life, so…”

“And how did you find me?”

“My nurse let me have my sketchbook, and I found a note from Jacob, and I just… escaped”

“God, Sean…”

“I bet you had a rough time too? After the explosion” Sean stroked his hair.

“I… I really thought you were gone…”

“I’m sorry…” Sean couldn’t imagine how scared… lost, his brother must have felt.

“I missed you and dad on my birthday…” He said sadly, it was his first one away from home, and without his brother and father.

“I’m so sorry I missed it… But hey, maybe we can celebrate it together, like a late party” Sean suggested.

“Really? That would be awesome” Daniel smiled widely.

And as Daniel slept besides him in the car now, still hugging him, Sean smiled at the thought of celebrating with him, it was better now than never, and it would be good for both.

“We’re almost there” Karen said, looking at him from the rearview mirror. They had been traveling all day since they left the motel, and it was now late afternoon, the sky growing dark.

“Okay” Sean said dryly. He still didn’t know how to feel about her, she had helped them, but that doesn’t dismiss all the years she decided to abandon them. All the years Sean spent blaming himself, all the years Sean spent convincing Daniel that it wasn’t his fault. She was selfish, and he didn’t know if he could pretend it was all okay. She might have her reasons, but he was sure that’s not how you handle a situation like that, you do not just, disappear out of your sons and husband lives.

At least Daniel seemed happy to have her back. For all he cared about, his mommy was back, his brother was back, he could have a family again. Sean didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, just to leave again, but he wasn’t about to destroy the little happiness his brother had left. He could let Daniel enjoy, for a while.

As Karen kept driving and started taking weird turns, Sean curiously watched the path they were taking.

“I don’t exactly live in a city” She answered Sean’s unspoken questions with a chuckle.

“Then where do you live?”

“It’s a small community, quiet. People go there for a fresh start; I actually like it. Feels like I belong” She explained.

But where exactly was that place? Soon enough, a few small houses appeared in the distance. The dessert? Sean almost laughed out loud. Of course she lived in the middle of the dessert. Whatever, it was the perfect hideout for them, they needed to rest now more than anything, and they could be safe here. And maybe for once, he’d be taken care of as well. He felt weirded out at the idea but, he needed it, at least for a little bit, until he got his strength back.

“Hey, cub” Sean spoke softly to wake up Daniel, moving his shoulder a bit.

“Hmm…” Daniel growled.

“We’re here”

“Really…?” He straightened and rubbed his eyes; he could use somewhere more comfortable to sleep.

“Come on” Sean grabbed his hand, and they stepped out of the car. People around started to approach them; Daniel hid behind Sean.

“I’m so glad you’re okay” A woman said, hugging Karen.

“I missed you, Joan” Karen replied.

“You brought company” A man smiled at Sean and Daniel.

“I guess these are the sons you told us about” Another man besides him added “Are they ok?” he asked worriedly. Sean realized that both of their aspects could tell the whole story, all the wounds, the tired faces, they way they kept their distance.

“Yes, Arthur, Stanley, these are my sons, Sean and Daniel” Karen introduced them.

“Hello” Sean said, Daniel only waved his free hand to them.

“It’s nice to finally meet you” Joan said smiling broadly.

“You brought more people?” A man who has been standing besides Joan decided to speak. He eyed Sean top to bottom.

“David!” Joan scolded quietly.

“Sorry, nice to meet you” He extended his hand to Sean with a surprisingly more friendly face, he nodded and shook it.

“I’m sorry I’m sure you all want to talk, but the boys need to rest, it’s been a long trip” Karen said. And Sean was thankful, he really didn’t want to see anyone right now.

“You’re right, we’ll let you rest” Arthur said.

“Call if you need anything” Stanley added.

Karen lured the boys into her place, it was small, not really a house, but Sean and Daniel spent nights in worse places, so this was nice.

“Okay, so, you boys can sleep on the bed, I’ll take the seats” Karen Said.

Despite really wanting the bed, and not wanting to be nice with Karen at all, he couldn’t help to protest “Are you… sure?”

“My bed is big enough” Karen nodded “I’m going to find something to eat at Joan’s place, you boys make yourselves at home, shower is in the back. Sean, leave the hoodie to me, I’ll take the blood stains off. Be right back.” She said and closed the door behind her.

Daniel plopped down on the bed and sighed in contentment, this felt nice. Sean took off his hoodie and left it on the seat.

“I’m going to take a shower, I need it” Sean said “And so do you” he playfully poked Daniel’s cheek.

“I know…” Daniel giggled, but he was too tired for that right now.

Sean looked down at his tank top, the collar was stained with blood that had dripped down from his face, he sighed and took that off too, leaving it on top of his hoodie, He was making his way to the bathroom when Daniel’s words stopped him.

“Sean!” Daniel almost shouted.

“What is it?” Sean turned around, worried.

“Your… your…” Daniel pointed out with his finger, almost horrified.

“Huh?” Sean looked down at himself, and then he realized, his chest, his stomach, was all covered in big, purple bruises, whoever looked at them would be surprised, like Daniel was now.

“How did…” he didn’t finish the question, because he could guess how. From the bastard of Nicholas, the farm explosion, maybe the days alone in the dessert?

“Dude, it’s fine” Sean tried to relieve him.

“Is it?” Daniel frowned “Sean, don’t lie to me” he reminded him.

“I didn’t! It’s fine. It… hurts, yeah, but everything else does, and I’ve been worse, it will heal in a couple of days” Sean said, and his face reflected his words, the reassurance.

Daniel nodded but could feel himself being teared apart from the inside. He seemed to realize even more with each passing day how badly his brother had hurt, the hard time he went through, and he felt it was all his fault.

Sean closed the bathroom door and sighed, he looked at himself in the mirror, took the eyepatch off, and looked again. God, he really was a mess, how did all of this happen? How did he end up like this? Did he deserve it? He hadn’t been a good brother lately, not ever, so maybe he did. Daniel would disagree on that; he saw Sean as his hero.

After his shower, he treated his eye, put the eyepatch back on, got dressed and stepped out of the bathroom. Daniel was sitting on the bed, lost in his thoughts.

“Wanna help with this?” Sean pointed at his face, healing balm on hand, he knew Daniel needed it to feel better, and as expected, it worked. Daniel beamed and set to work, taking care of his brother’s wounds.

“Okay, my turn to shower” Daniel said and took of his shirt, and this time it was Sean who was surprised. Daniel felt a gentle touch on his shoulder and looked at Sean.

“Sean?” he asked confused.

“I… forgot about this…” Sean said, Daniel had a scar on his shoulder where Merrill shot him. Sean felt terrible suddenly, it was his fault that his little wolf was hurt like that, and he had completely forgot about it with all the other things he had on mind. He left Daniel alone, with a bullet on his shoulder, walking alone back to camp, where Jacob found him.

“It’s ok” it was Daniel’s turn to reassure “It doesn’t hurt anymore, it healed well” he said convincingly.

Sean was sure of that, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that it was his fault all of this happened in the first place.

Daniel showered and Karen came back with a freshly cooked meal courtesy of Joan. They enjoyed it, and then went straight to sleep, extremely tired to do anything else.

While they got comfortable in bed, Daniel rested his head on Sean’s chest and Sean hissed in pain.

“The bruises…” Sean reminded.

“Sorry!” Daniel said worried.

Sean then let him rest his head on his shoulder, where there was no pain. After a few tiring days, finally having a place to rest properly, by each other’s side, they closed their eyes and drifted to a peaceful sleep in no time. Sean would need a few weeks to recover from his injuries, and Daniel would need that time too to process what had happened, and they could help each other with what they needed in the meantime. But they had a place to stay, and time to recover. That would do, for now.

Sunday, July 23rd, 2017 (The present)

A loud thunder stirred Sean awake. Water was pouring down with fury form the sky. Thunderstorms like this in the Summer of Puerto Lobos weren’t so uncommon, but it was the first one the boys were experiencing. Sean was glad he was awake now, even if it was the middle of the night; he was having an unpleasant dream about his time on the hospital. He got out from bed and walked the halls to their home in the dark, he wanted to make sure nothing was leaking, the walls and ceiling were not in its best shape. Fortunately, everything seemed in order, windows were sealed, walls seemed ok, and not a single drop of water from the ceilings. He made his way back to their bedroom only to find a few random things floating around.

“Daniel?” Sean asked confused, making his way to the bed. Daniel was still asleep, but moving uncomfortably, guess he wasn’t the only one having nightmares. Another loud thunder was heard, and Daniel almost hit a window with the things he was floating around.

“Enano” Sean poked him softly on the shoulder, and then laid back down on the bed to snuggle next to him again.

Daniel opened his eyes and looked around anxiously “Sean?” was the fist thing he called for.

“I’m here” Sean reminded him, the hug never breaking.

Daniel sighed, the objects floating around slowly made their way to the ground again. A loud strike from outside made Daniel jolt again. He didn’t know why, he was never afraid of storms back in Seattle, he’d seen a lot of those… but now, after so many nights sleeping outside, after all the unpleasant experiences, he couldn’t help but recall all the awful memories that came to his mind.

Sean understood why. It happened to him too. A loud sound like that could remind anyone of a gunshot. Anyone who heard one before, at least. And the brothers had experience with those, all bad ones. Sean couldn’t help to remember again the fateful day his father passed away. Because of a gun.

That’s why he could understand his brother perfectly and knew exactly how to sooth him “It’s just a loud storm, nothing else” he said calmly.

Daniel nodded, basking in the comfort of having a roof to sleep under, a comfy bed to rest, and his brother nearby. They were safe, he kept repeating to himself. And slowly, he found his peaceful rest again.

Sean stayed awake a few more minutes, just to make sure everything was ok, but Daniel didn’t seem to be troubled anymore. The storm didn’t have the intention to stop, or even slow down a bit. The rain always made him ponder, that’s why he always drew when it rained. He recalled with a smile, the memories of his other life, a quiet one, where he sat on a couch at his home on a Sunday like this, watching the rain from the windows, and drawing until he got tired. It felt extremely melancholic thinking about that, of his old life, it always did. Because he didn’t have it anymore. Because his dad wasn’t home when he got back from outside. Because he had no friends to hang out with. Because he wasn’t even the same person anymore.

He looked down at Daniel, peaceful on his sleep. His brother wasn’t the same either, the experiences had changed him. And whether how good or bad his decisions could be, he was just glad he managed to keep his brother with him. Even if it seemed a little selfish sometimes, even if Daniel would be better in another place.

He put Daniel trough a lot, made him face all those cops at the border… that couldn’t have been easy… maybe that is why his brother is so startled with the loud noises.

Before he could keep thinking about their journey, his decisions, his past life, Daniel turned around and hugged him in his sleep, cutting Sean’s train of thought. Sean almost chuckled at how Daniel always seemed to do the same in his sleep. He closed his eyes and concentrated in the present moment. The constant sound of rain splashing on the windows, the closeness of his little brother, the comfort of their new home, even the little thought that their dad might be here with them in a way. He soon found a peaceful sleep too.

Like yesterday’s morning, Sean woke up to the smell of a delicious homemade meal. He looked at the window from his bed, the rain had calmed down but not stopped at all. He made his way to the bathroom to take care of his morning needs, and then bumped into Daniel while walking into the kitchen.

“Morning, Sean!” Daniel said enthusiastically.

“Morning, little wolf” Sean answered with a much sleepier tone and a hoarse voice.

“Sit down, breakfast is almost ready”

Sean smiled and did what he was told, it was so pleasant seeing how much Daniel wanted to take care of him. He heard the backdoor from downstairs close, and Daniel approach the table with two hot plates of delicious food.

“You cooked outside with this rain?” Sean asked worriedly.

Daniel rolled his eyes, a little annoyed “I used my old coat, and I had a roof for shelter”

“I don’t want you to catch a cold” Sean said.

“With this heat?” Daniel chuckled “Sean it might be raining but it’s still warm as hell” he said and took his seat in front of Sean.

“True” Sean realized. He took a big bite of his food “Dude…this rocks…” he said in between munches of the food.

“Thanks” Daniel beamed.

“It’s really nice to eat at home again, especially in this weather”

Daniel agreed. It wasn’t easy to find an alternative, they didn’t have much, but it was working, and Sean could save money for not eating outside.

“I made a list with things we could buy, so I can cook us more things” Daniel reported.

Sean nodded “Good idea, we need a restock, we’ll go once the rain stops”

“If it ever does, it has been coming down ever since I woke up” Daniel joked.

“And all night too” Sean added looking at the window “I… might have to stay home again, I can’t sell my paintings in the rain, and I doubt there’s anyone to buy them” he was starting to regret staying at home yesterday, now they’d have two days lost of income.

“Well, we can work around the house some more, and maybe you can focus on your paintings, make new ones and all that.” Daniel suggested.

“Yeah… yeah that could do” Sean finished with his meal.

“You devoured that” Daniel laughed.

“I was hungry” Sean laughed sheepishly. “But now I’m full, thank you again for cooking” he sighed contently.

“We could maybe play some dice? Or something, like yesterday” Daniel suggested.

“Definitely, I’d like that” Sean smiled.

Once they finished their breakfast, they started to work on the house. Their current task was to inspect the walls, made sure which segment on the inside needed to be replaced, and measure it properly. They’d been doing it for a few hours, now focusing on their bedroom, last room of the house.

“Okay. Nice… and what about its width” Sean said, passing the measuring tape to Daniel, who ran to deliver the results.

“About… Ouch” he dropped the tape from his hand and hissed, inspecting his wounds.

“What happened cub?” Sean asked confused.

“I cut myself with something…” Daniel said.

Sean looked at the wall and sure enough, there was a spike of some kind, poking from the inside of the wall.

“Let me see” he stepped closer and looked at Daniel’s hand. It wasn’t bad, just a normal cut, a bit big if anything.

“Let’s go clean it, okay?” Sean led Daniel into the bathroom and rinsed the wound with some water they’d had in a container to clean themselves. After that, Sean reached for his backpack and found some things from a med kit his mother had left them when they left Away. He found a few bandages and applied them to Daniel’s hand.

“All set buddy”

“Sorry” Daniel said.

“What? What for?” Sean asked confused.

“We didn’t get to finish”

Sean snorted “Dude, it was the last wall. And you didn’t get hurt on purpose. I’m assuming” he said reasonably.

“I still took your time”

Sean smiled “Well, did you feel like I was taking your time when you took care of me in Away?”

“No…” Daniel knew what Sean was getting at to, and he knew he was right.

“Me neither, I do it just because I care for you.”

Daniel tried to understand that Sean was being honest, that he wasn’t a burden to his big brother.

“Okay” he said, erasing the bad thoughts away.

After lunch, Sean started to make some new paintings to sell while Daniel read some of the books they bought to teach Daniel some Spanish.

“What was the meaning of ‘ramera’ again? Daniel asked while frowning at the book.

“That would be ´harlot´” Sean snorted.

“Oh…” Daniel said surprised, he wasn’t following the book, clearly. “This sucks, I’m never going to learn anything” He sighed in frustration and let the book fall to the ground.

Sean looked up from his painting “no one mastered a Language in just a few weeks, you’re doing more than fine. And trust me, sooner or later you’re going to learn it, you’re living among the speakers”

“But will I learn it fast enough?” Daniel asked.

“No one is rushing you, cub”

“But you said I have to go to school again, I need to learn Spanish” he said concerned.

“I said you were going once you’re ready, once you feel ready. Doesn’t matter if that means months and months Enano, you take your time. And at some point, you’ll be ready” Sean said calmly.

That seemed to ease Daniel’s anxiety a lot. But before he could say anything else, a knock on the door was heard downstairs. Both brothers looked at each other in confusion.

“I’ll go get it” Sean said.

Sean went downstairs and opened the door, he was surprised again by Matias’ face, but not so much as yesterday.

“Hola, ¿qué estás haciendo en la lluvia? (Hi, what are you doing in the rain?)” Sean rushed Matias inside.

“Sean, esta es mi hermana, Luna. Te dije que le iba a preguntar si podía venir (Sean, this is my sister, Luna. I told you I’d ask her if she could come)” Matias said, coming inside with her sister.

“Eh… Si, si ¿pero no pensé que fuera hoy? (Uh… yes, yes but I didn’t think that was today?” Sean said, greeting Luna with a handshake.

Luna hugged Sean briefly before smiling at him “La ciudad está atascada con esta lluvia, así que tenemos el día libre, y como mi hermanito me pregunto si podía venir a ver la casa, hoy era el momento perfecto. (The whole town is stuck with this rain, so we had our day free, and since lil’ bro asked me to come check the house, now seemed a perfect moment.)”

“Oh… eh… te lo agradezco (I appreciate it)”

“No es nada, siempre los vemos en el restaurante, y cualquier amigo de mis hermanos es mi amigo también (It’s nothing, we always see you at the restaurant, and a friend of my brother is a friend of mine)”

Sean had talked to Luna before, as well as Matias’ other siblings, but they hadn’t developed quite the relationship that Matias had with him. Maybe because he was closer to Sean’s age, maybe because he worked serving the customers more, but he and the brothers had become close. Sean didn’t want to call him a friend, because they only saw each other when he went to the restaurant, and Matias had done so much for them Sean felt in debt. He'd like to hang out more with him, get to know him better. He was so focused on getting steady and looking out for Daniel that he had forgot about the other aspects of his life. He could use a friend, someone that made this place feel more like home, and Matias was a good person, he could see himself having a friend like him.

“Matias dijo que estaban reparando esta casa (Matías said you were restoring the house)” Luna said looking around the entrance.

“Si, no llevamos mucho, pero tratamos de hacer lo que podemos con lo que tenemos (yes, we haven’t done much progress, but we’re doing what we can with what we have)” Sean said.

“Ok, voy a echar un vistazo, puede que me demore. Y te digo lo que encuentro (Ok, I’m going to take a look, it might take a while. I’ll tell you what I find” Luna said and set to work.

Matias and Sean made their way upstairs and Daniel greeted them. They chatted while Luna looked at all the rooms of the house. Daniel taught Matias how to play Ship, Captain, Crew and as soon as Sean was finished with his stuff, he joined on the game too.

“Es un lindo lugar el que tienen (It’s a nice place you two have here)” Matias pointed out.

“Gracias, es lo último que nos dejó nuestro papá (Thanks, it’s the last thing our dad left for us)” Sean smiled sadly.

“Luna sabe lo que hace, estoy seguro de que puede ayudarlos con el lugar (Luna knows what she does, I’m sure she can help you with this place)”

“Espero, Daniel y yo solo queremos un lugar cómodo (I hope so, Daniel and I just want a comfortable place to stay)”

“Por fin (Finally,)” Daniel joked, and Sean laughed. There it was again, something about their past that the brothers didn’t feel comfortable sharing, and despite knowing them for a few weeks now, they haven’t told him anything. It was ok, he wouldn’t pressure them, but he wanted to be their friend.

“¿Como va la venta de retratos? (So, how is the painting selling going?)” Matías made small talk.

“Ah, muy bien en realidad. Tenías razón, los turistas pagan bien (Oh, really good, actually. You were right, tourists pay a lot)” Sean chuckled.

“Ey, siempre estás trabajando en tu casa, o en el parque. ¿Por qué no salimos y pasamos el rato un día de estos, para relajar un poco? (Hey, you’re always working on your house, or on the town square. Why don’t we go and hang out someday, to chill a bit.)”

“No se, tengo cosas que hacer (I don’t know, I have things to do)”

Matias looked at Daniel and nodded “Entiendo, pero no le haría daño a nadie (I understand, but it wouldn’t hurt anybody)”

“Vamos Sean, ya nunca haces cosas así (Come on Sean, you never do things like that anymore)” Daniel encouraged him.

And it was true, he might need that, but it was also true that he needed to work and take care of both of them. He didn’t have any time.

“Lo voy a pensar, pero gracias (I’ll think about it, but thanks)” Sean smiled.

Daniel frowned at his brother, but he could understand Sean’s reasons.

“Bueno (Ok, so,)” Luna finished inspecting the house and came to do her report.

She explained Sean the state of the wiring, a few things needed to be replaced. Most walls were ok, but some needed to be fixed or replaced as well, same with the ceiling. She explained the materials Sean would need and the things he needed to do on the house for the future systems that could be installed. Sean paid close attention to every single detail. She said the wiring was pretty much ok, if a little antiquated, but with a generator of some sort, they could probably get power on the house again. Sean didn't think he could afford that.

It would take some time to do all the repairing, but he could always ask for help and instructions, and with Daniel’s powers to help, the job would be lighter.

They thanked Luna for her time, and she said she could come by anytime if they needed help. She also said she would be coming back to check on the pipes of the house, maybe they could arrange something to have running water again, cold water, but water.

The list of things to do was huge, but they had a place to start at least. Slowly, and with time, they could make the house they wanted. Daniel was eager learning about all the ways his power could come in handy in the construction process. Sean was just glad that he had a more consistent plan for the house to look at now. And they could hang out together while they worked on all their tasks around the house, talking, working and just enjoying each other company, and that was entertaining enough. Even if the power or water will take a lot of time to have back on their lives like they had in Seattle, they didn’t need anything else, they were convinced they’d be fine, and they would, they are.

Chapter Text

Thursday, August 3rd, 2017

Sean looked at himself in the broken mirror, he tried to steady his breathing, but his limbs were shaking, and he couldn't stop feeling the knot in his throat. It had happened again. Fortunately, not what you would call a nightmare, but it was even more emotionally heavy than that. These past few weeks, he had been having a recurrent dream, but he never got to the end of it. In the dream, he was sitting on their Seattle porch, and he was watching Daniel play jovially around. It all seemed normal at first, until he noticed his dad was sitting on a nearby seat. Every time, he was shocked to see him, and when his father looked at him, his warm smile on his face, and reached for his shoulder, he woke up. Every time he saw his dad, it remained him of all the wrong things he had done up to this point. And seeing his dad like that, like he was still around, hurt so much. And to make things worse, this last week had been a nonstop of that, he had the dream every night, it was difficult not to think about it all day.

He grabbed the edges of the old sink with all his strength, until his knuckles were white. His heart kept beating faster and faster. He couldn’t calm down. He splashed some water from a nearby recipient onto his face, and tried to remember that it was just a dream. All the bad stuff has ended, they had a home now and they were ok.

Despite all his efforts, it still took him around twenty minutes to regain his composure. He looked at himself again. He was better. With a long sigh escaping his mouth, he opened the bathroom door and went out. Because of his dream, he woke up first than Daniel, so he thought it would be nice to wake him up with breakfast for once. His growing guilt on this last week had him thinking again that he should not be letting Daniel take this kind of responsibilities. He was the older one, it was his job.

While he worked around the tasks of making a warm breakfast, he kept thinking about what his dreams could mean. But dreams often did not make sense. Maybe he was stressing too much, but why dream about his dad? And he could sense this growing guilt weighing on him. The truth was, he felt like a bad brother. Daniel told him to talk about these feelings… and he had agreed, he had promised, but the more he did it, the more he felt like he was dragging his little wolf into something he shouldn’t be worrying about. He should be making friends, playing around, not helping his brother with his problems, and yet he spent most of the days close to Sean, repairing the house or working alongside him.

He had done things he regrets… he couldn’t afford to keep making mistakes, not at the cost of his brother… He should do better… He should stop-

“Sean?” Daniel’s voice from behind startled him, and he almost dropped the utensils he had in hand.

“Cub,” he said, quickly getting back to his task “good morning, how’d you sleep?”

“Good…” he yawned loudly “what are you doing up this early?”

“You always cook for us; I thought I might do it too” Sean smiled kindly.

“Yeah but, I do it because you take care of other chores, like doing laundry. It’s a fair trade” Daniel said.

“One time. I wanted to do it for you”

“You do plenty” Daniel rolled his eyes “leave the cooking to me, or do you not like my food, is that it?” he joked.

“I assure you that’s not it” Sean chuckled “you cook better than I did at your age”

“I learned a lot on the road”

“Tell me about it” he said not so enthusiastically “Go take a seat upstairs, this is almost ready”

They ate their breakfast, making small talk, and after that they gathered their stuff and walked down the town square to sell Sean’s paintings. He was doing quite well, tourists were all around the place, and despite his dad describing it as a small town, apart from the rest of the world, it seemed that in all this time the little town had grown a bit. It was still a small town, but not a village anymore, with quite the businesses around every corner. Sean would make a decent amount of money for his paintings and requested portraits per day, and it made sense; he had talent, and every day he was improving.

“Gracias, hasta luego (Thanks, goodbye)” Sean received the money and store it with the rest of his savings.

“People love those cartoony drawings” Daniel giggled.

“Old people mostly” Sean shrugged.

“Hey! I think they’re pretty cool” Daniel shoved playfully at Sean’s shoulder.

“Exactly” Sean laughed.

“You’re the one to talk. Don’t forget you’re older, Grandpa Sean” Daniel teased.

“Excuse me, I am a man, little kids wouldn’t understand” he said just to annoy Daniel.

“uh-huh” Daniel rolled his eyes “whatever, I’m going to the diner, it’s almost time for lunch anyway, see you there” Daniel said getting up.

“Hey, wait, why the hurry? We can go together” Sean said.

“I know, I don’t wanna” Daniel stuck out his tongue smiling and made his way to the restaurant they frequent.

Sean chuckled and let him go, purely because the restaurant was on sight from here, and he could watch his brother get there safely, and because he knew Matias won’t mind having him around. And it would be just an hour or so for Sean to go there for lunch so, it wasn’t that much time. Sean couldn’t judge his little brother for getting bored, he sat besides him while Sean sold his goods and didn’t have much to do around, so if he wanted to go play on the park, or maybe stay in the house someday, Sean wouldn’t protest.

But Daniel wasn’t actually bored, he liked being around his brother, he liked making sure nothing happened to him on this new place they were settling in, but he needed something important to take care of for now. It was something for Sean anyways. He made his way quickly across the town square and crossed the street, he opened the door and searched for Matias, he was doing something on the front desk, Daniel looked back, Sean had another customer, and it would take a bit longer for him to come get food, so he had time.

“Buen día (morning)” Daniel approached the counter.

Matias raised his head and smiled warmly at the voice “Daniel!”

“¿Cómo van los preparativos? (how are the preparations going?)” Daniel went straight to the point; he was a bit anxious and wanted everything to be perfect.

“Todo en orden señor (Everything is in order sir)” Matias joked “No te preocupes que todo va a estar listo para entonces (Don’t worry, everything will be ready for then)”

Daniel nodded “Gracias, de verdad (thank you, really)”

“No hay problema (no problem)” Matias said warmly “Es muy tierno que hayas planeado todo esto para el cumpleaños de tu hermano (It’s cute you planned all this for your brother’s birthday)”

“Se lo merece (he deserves it)” Daniel said. He wanted to explain that he had a rough year, they both did, and he wanted his brother to spend his first birthday away from home the best way possible, unlike Daniel, who spend it without his family. He had a great time with the kids at the church, but it wasn’t the same, he had cried all night after the party. But Daniel couldn’t reveal all those details, he was warned by his brother to not be suspicious, and besides, he didn’t know the words in Spanish exactly. It was quite a challenge to speak to Matias about all of this without getting caught, but it was worth it, and the books and comics he’d been reading had helped.

He was anxious and exited for the surprise he was preparing for Sean. He hopes he really likes it.

Sean wrapped up his things and got up to join Daniel at the diner. When he entered, he immediately spotted the table where Daniel was seated, it was their table, close to the window, so Daniel could see Sean when he came here early, and for the both of them to watch the town more closely. They thought it was the best place, a cozy little corner that at night was illuminated perfectly enough, not too much to ger overwhelmed, and not too little to be in complete darkness.

Sean made his way and sat in front of Daniel. “Ordered something yet?” Sean asked.

“Yup, when I saw you coming”

Sean smiled “Thanks”

“Sold well?”

“Yeah, I got a few paintings left but they sold alright. And I did a lot of portraits” Sean reported.

“How’s your hand?” Daniel didn’t want his brother to get hurt with all this working.

Sean snorted “It’s fine Enano, it doesn’t hurt, it never does”

Daniel didn’t know much about drawing, but he was well aware that your wrist could hurt if you used it too much or you did the wrong movements. Hell, it happened to him when he colored too long using all his strength.

“Ok, I just don’t want you to overdo it” Daniel said.

“I won’t, little wolf, stop worrying about me” Sean said, touched by his baby brother’s concerns.

At first, Daniel glanced at him in a way that could told him he was asking a stupid thing, how would he not worry?, but then he decided to make a joke “I’m not worrying about you. If you can’t draw anymore, we won’t be able to buy more food. I ain’t eating canned raviolis again” he teased.

Sean laughed heartedly; he was happy his little brother was back in the mood for making jokes. These past few months he was a little darkened, but maybe he really was happy here. Maybe Sean didn’t make a mistake.

Matias came over their table after a couple of minutes and served their food.

“Aquí tienen, llamen si necesitan algo (There you go, ask if you need anything)” Matias said and as he turned away to go attend another table, he spun on his heels again “Quería preguntarte algo (I wanted to ask you something)” he said to Sean.

“Qué pasa? (What’s up?)” Sean asked with curiosity.

“Hoy voy a salir con unos amigos, y ¿quería saber si estabas interesado en venir? (I’m hanging out with some friends today, and I wanted to know if you were interested in joining?)” Matias asked.

“Oh” Sean was surprised “La verdad… no se… (I… really don’t know) he said. He wasn’t really in the mood to meet new people, and he didn’t know how well he could maintain a social life after not having one for so long, and on top of that, he had a lot of work to do, other things to focus on. And he didn’t want to left Daniel alone. “Estoy un poco ocupado (I’m a bit busy)” he said, scratching his nape awkwardly in the way he always did when he was nervous.

“Está bien, otro día (No worries, another time)” Matias smiled and turned around to leave.

“What he said?” Daniel immediately jumped in.

“Geez, stalker” Sean focused on his plate of food.

“Come on, how am I supposed to learn then?”

“He said nothing important”

“I don’t care. I want to know” he protested.

Sean rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“I don’t get you, you wanted to teach me, but you won’t tell me what he said?” Daniel pressed.

“God!” Sean sighed “He asked me to hang out with him and his friends” he blurted out.

“And you said no!?” Daniel ignored the annoyance in his brother’s voice and went to the important part.

“Why do you care who I hang out with?” Sean said, he was getting flashbacks from Humboldt.

“When was the last time you hang out with friends, Sean?” Daniel said “The last time was at least a few months ago”

“Wait, you want me to go out?” Sean asked, surprised.

“Duh” Daniel said as if it were obvious “You work every day, we’ve been here for over a month, and you only talk to Matias”

“As if you talked to so many people” Sean protested.

“I can’t if I don’t know Spanish, and for the record I play with a few kids at the park” he crossed his arms in defense “but that’s not the point. You need time for yourself”

“I have time for myself, and I choose to spend it with you”

Daniel put on a face as if Sean was being incredulous “you wanted nothing but time apart at the weed camp, and in Seattle you were almost never around, and now you want to hang out with your ten-year-old brother?” he asked, and he didn’t mean it like reproaching, but it felt like it.

“Maybe things changed, Daniel” Sean said a bit harshly “Maybe I don’t want to keep being a shitty brother, okay? Maybe I’m sick of fucking things up, over and over again. So, excuse me if I want to do things right for once. The last time I wanted time for myself I almost lost you forever. And I can’t afford that…” Sean blurted out, his eye a bit teary.

Daniel stood in silence for a moment, he should have known that his brother was afraid of losing him, he saw it already. “Sean… where did you get the idea that you were a shitty brother?” he shook his head.

“Come on, now… I did nothing but mess up” he said quietly.

“I don’t see it that way…” Daniel said, in his eyes, Sean was his hero. He admires him and is grateful for what he has done “You saved me” Daniel said.

“I hurt you, Daniel. Put you in danger repeatedly.” Sean protested. He had made his brother gotten shoot, twice.

“Bullshit!” Daniel snaped “you took care of me…” he didn’t comprehend how his brother could not see it himself.

Sean just shook his head in silence, it was clear what he thought about that.

“What do I have to do for you to believe me?” Daniel asked.

“I want to see you doing okay” Sean said softly.

“I am okay” Daniel said.

Sean did not answer.

“You don’t… believe that I’m okay?” Daniel frowned.

“Drop it, Dan” Sean said sadly.

Daniel wanted to protest, but the look on Sean’s face was bad, and he didn’t want to make it worse. The rest of the meal went in a not-so-normal pace, they didn’t talk like they usually did in these times, joking around and speaking about everything they liked. They only made a few comments, and that was it. Sean paid for the food, and they walked home, side by side. They weren’t mad at each other, but it was clear that the wounds of their journey were still fresh, and neither of them knew how to approach them. What if talking wasn’t enough? What if they would never feel whole again?

“I want you to be okay, just like you want me to be okay” Daniel spoke once they were inside the house again “That is why I wanted you to go, I think you should have a good time”

Sean looked warmly at his brother “I know you do, but… I… don’t want to leave you alone. Maybe when we’re a bit more settled”

“I promise I’m not going to set the house on fire while you’re gone” Daniel joked.

“I have things to do anyway, paintings to do”

“One day only, you’re going to hang out, one day only.” Daniel insisted. “It doesn’t have to be long, just go, see if you can have fun. And we can hang out here once you’re back.”

“I… Already said I was busy…” Sean said. But Daniel was so determined for Sean to do this, and he was making that begging face again. “Fine” he sighed “I’ll go, to try or, whatever” he couldn’t believe he let his brother convince him of this, he really didn’t want to.

“Good” Daniel smiled and opened the door for Sean to go outside “Go, I’m going to be here all the time, don’t worry.”

“You better. And don’t open the door to any strangers, okay? And if something really bad happens defend yourself, you got your powers. And you can head to the diner after, they can take care of you” Sean stepped on full big brother mode.

“I know, I know” Daniel rolled his eyes, he thought Sean was being extremely exaggerated, but then he saw that he had his reasons “I’m going to be fine, you have fun” he shooshed his brother out of the house and closed the door.

Sean sighed, why did he suddenly felt like an awkward teenager again. He had walked back to the restaurant to tell Matias he had changed his mind. Matias beamed at this, he seemed really happy about it. He had told Sean they were meeting his friends at a bar near the diner. Sean waited for Matias to finish his shift and then they walked together to the destination. And now, as they approach the door, Sean feels a pang of conflicted emotions. He really doesn’t have the energy for this, and for some reason he really cares about what these friends of Matias would say about him. He looks like he has gone through something by his aspect. And he forgot how to do this, he doesn’t talk to people his age besides business since Finn and Cassidy, and he thought he was already awkward with them. But then again, what does it matter? He reached his destination and was making progress on settling on his new place, this should be by far the least scary thing he had to do. So why does his heart won’t stop beating so fast?

“¿Vienes? (You coming?)” Matias asked, gathering Sean’s attention. He had been holding the door for Sean to come in.

“Si” Sean quickly rushed to get inside.

Matias pointed towards a table, and they made their way over there.

“Por fin! (Finally!)” A girl joked when she saw him approach.

“Algunos de nosotros trabajamos, querida (Some of us have to work, Darling)” Matias replied “¿Cómo están? (How’s it going?)” He greeted the gathered members on the table, they weren’t much, just four, two guys and two girls. “Chicos, les presento a Sean, es un amigo mío (Guys, I want you to meet Sean, he’s a friend of mine)” he said smiling, and all eyes went to Sean, who blushed a bit at the attention.

“Un placer (Nice to meet you)” He waved in general, and he and Matias took a seat on the table.

“Hola!” A girl jovially greeted him “Te vi vendiendo dibujos en el parque ¿no? (I saw you selling drawings on the town square, right?)”

“Carla lo vas a asustar (Carla you’re going to freak him out)” A guy chuckled.

“¿Qué? ¿Por qué? (What? Why?)” She protested.

Sean chuckled, seemed like a friendly group so far “Si, era yo (yeah, that was me)” he answered her question.

“Soy Marcos (I’m Marcos)” The guy who had laughed before introduced himself “Y ella es Carla, que no sabe cuando callarse (And Carla here, doesn’t know her limits)” he teased.

“Exageras, me haces quedar mal (You’re exaggerating, and making me look bad)” she said.

“Si Marcos, no dijo nada malo (She didn’t say anything wrong)” A girl beside Marcos spoke.

“Gracias, Vicky (Thanks, Vicky)” Carla said.

“Ella es Victoria, le decimos Vicky (She’s Victoria, we call her Vicky,)” Matias continued the introduction since the others were worried about something else “Y este es Alejandro, le decimos Ale (And this guy here is Alejandro, we call him Ale)”

Sean nodded, taking the names in “Son amigos hace mucho? (You’ve been friends for long?)” he asked.

“Matias, Vicky y yo nos conocemos desde la secundaria, el resto vino después (Matias, Vicky, and I met in high school, the rest came after that.)” Marcos Explained.

“Conocí a Carla en la universidad, y como me cansé de ser la única chica del grupo, la invité (I met Carla at college, and since I grew tired of being the only woman in the group, I let her in) Vicky joked.

“Este se coló (This one snuck in)” Matias said pointing at Ale, and everyone laughed, including Sean.

“Era un amigo mío de la infancia, nos reencontramos hace tiempo, y aquí estamos (He was a childhood friend of mine, we met again a while ago and here we are)” Marcos explained.

Sean smiled, it reminded him to his group of friends, they were all highschoolers too, he hoped they were doing ok, he missed them.

“¿Y ustedes dónde se conocieron? (Where did you guys met?)” Vicky asked looking at Sean and Matias.

“Oh. Eh…” Sean shrugged “Supongo que fui a comer mucho a su restaurante, y siempre nos veíamos (I guess I went eating to his restaurant a lot, and we always saw each other)” Sean said awkwardly, he didn’t feel completely friends with Matias, he had helped them, and they had chatted, but never more than that, maybe that was why Matias wanted him to hang out with them.

“Venía todo el tiempo, día y noche, de verdad le gusta la comida (Guy here went there day and night, he really loves the food” Matias joked. Sean was glad he didn’t tell them the actual true, he had nowhere else to eat at the time.

“¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)” Ale asked.

“De aquí (here)” Sean answered quickly, and after a moment of silence he added “quiero decir, de otra parte de México, pero mi papá vivía aquí así que, decidimos venir (I mean, from another part of Mexico, but my dad used to live here so we decided to come)” He vaguely explained.

“Y, ¿Cuántos años tienes? ¿Diecinueve? ¿Veinte? (So, how old are you? Nineteen? Twenty?)” Marcos asked.

“Uh…” he scratched his nape again “Dieciséis… (Sixteen…)” Shit, did he looked that old? These people were around that age Sean assumed, considering Matias was Nineteen.

“Mierda, perdón (Oh shit, my bad)” Marcos chuckled.

Everyone at the table shared a laugh. “No te preocupes, te ves bien (Don’t worry, you look Good)” Matias said when he noticed Sean’s face.

“De verdad no pareces de dieciséis (You really don’t look like sixteen)” Carla said.

Suddenly, Sean felt like everyone around looked at him with pity. “¿Te puedo preguntar qué te pasó? ¿…a tu ojo? (Can I ask what happened to you? … to your eye?)” Ale asked, and everyone looked at Sean interested in the answer.

Matias shot a scolding look to Ale in an ‘are you for real?’ kind of level, but Sean answered anyway.

“Fue un accidente (It was an accident)” he replied honestly “Pero prefiero no hablar de eso… por ahora (But I rather not talk about it… for now)” he explained self-consciously. Everyone around understood that and finally stopped with the questions and moved into other topics to talk about. Sean thought they were good people, kind and cheerful, but he felt that he was out of place. Perhaps because he was the smallest one of them all, or because it’s been a long time since he hung out with anybody, but he felt on another space, different from all of them. He had a bit of fun nonetheless, they ordered a few drinks and chatted and laughed a bit, but after an hour or so, he decided to head back home after only one beer. The guys protested it was too early, but he said he had to check on his brother and that was enough for them to let it go. Matias offered to walk him home, but Sean declined his offer.

On his way home, he felt like he had disappointed Matias and Daniel. He had at least tried to… he was just too tired… too much on his mind. Sean knew Daniel was fine at home, but it was the first time in moths they had been apart. Since Haven Point. So Sean couldn’t help but worry. He tried to reason with himself, what the hell could possibly happen to him in a quiet neighborhood like theirs? When he knew Daniel could defend himself from everything, but what if Daniel was napping and didn’t realize someone was inside the house? or what if they were too many? … what if they saw what Daniel could do and they had to run away once again? Where would they go? Sean rushed back home.

“Daniel!?” he closed the door behind him and sprinted upstairs, he looked around the kitchen, he wasn’t there, nor in the living room. “Enano?” panic was spreading on his chest.

He entered their bedroom with a distressed look on his face, Daniel looked up from his comic book confused “Sean? Are you ok? What happened?” he asked quickly when he noticed his brother’s look.

Sean sighed in relief “Cub,” he smiled “Nothing happened… I just… was too tired to hang out for longer”

“Oh, that’s okay. Did you get to meet new people?”

Sean smiled once again at his brother’s worries “Yeah, Matias’ friends were nice”

“Cool” Daniel returned the smile “hey…” he added more seriously “Are you sure you are ok? You look…” ‘worried’ Daniel meant to say, but didn’t finish, he had an idea of what Sean might be worrying about.

“I told you cub, I’m just tired” Sean said, not wanting to admit his embarrassing, nonsense thoughts from before. Daniel had told him he was going to be ok.

“Well, maybe you should take a nap” Daniel suggested “You earned it bro” he smiled patting the spot on the bed besides him, he was so happy Sean listened to him and tried to make new friends.

Sean chuckled “Maybe a bit of resting would be nice” he said, stepping out of his shoes and getting comfortable “But don’t let me sleep too much, okay? I have paintings to finish” Sean warned, lying down on the bed.

“Sure” Daniel said, putting his attention back on the comic.

“I’m serious Daniel” Sean said.

“What? I’m serious too” Daniel rolled his eyes.

Sean smiled and sighed, resting his head on the pillow and closing his eye. Daniel was right, he definitely needed a nap.

Daniel was sitting on the concrete ground, playing with the toys he loved so much. Sean was sitting on their wooden porch, facing the house, just basking on the nice weather, the sky was clear and the sun was bright, but it wasn’t an overwhelming heat.

“Such a nice day, huh?” Sean was startled by his father’s voice beside him, he had his eyes closed sitting next to him, facing both of his sons. Sean was too tired to realize yet.

“It is…” He smiled, an incredible amount of comfort washing over him for some reason.

“It’s nice to finally sit down and chat mijo, you have been busy, eh?” Esteban smiled fondly.

“Yeah, sorry dad” Sean said vaguely, something didn’t feel right.

“So, tell me, how have you been…?” Esteban leaned closer to pay attention.

Sean felt like he needed to be honest “It’s been rough… so rough…” he said sadly.

“I’m sorry to hear that son. A lot happened since we last spoke?” he asked.

Sean remembered, faintly, when he spoke to his dad on a car on his way to Haven Point.

Sean nodded “But we made it… we reached your old house” Sean smiled.

Esteban chuckled “That old thing? Still in one piece?”

“Yeah” Sean chuckled back “Believe it or not. We’re repairing it. Trying to, at least”

“I’m sure you’ll leave it good as new” Esteban lifted his right hand and placed it on Sean’s knee, shaking it affectionately.

It encouraged Sean to open up more “I’m selling my art…” Sean said quietly “I know you always wanted me to do what I like… it’s not like I would’ve wanted to do it. But I have no other options.”

“That’s great news Sean!” Esteban cheered “And there are always other options”

Sean wanted to believe that so bad.

“Artist, mechanic or whatever you’d like to be, I told you I would always be okay with it, as long as is something you like” he said warmly.

“I know…” Sean said, the knot on his stomach starting to get heavy.

“How is Daniel?” Esteban asked, and the tone he used, so sad… so melancholic, teared up Sean from the inside.

“He’s… I think he’s doing fine too” Sean replied “I… he doesn’t look bad…”

“But?” His father pressed.

“But I don’t know if I made the right call” Sean admitted, tears forming in his eyes.

“Why do you think that?” Esteban asked, his voice soft, warm.

Sean sighed “I… think I was selfish…” Sean admitted “Maybe if I had turned myself in… Daniel would be in better hands” The tears started to pour “He could go to school, leave a normal life…”

“You don’t think he lives a normal life?”

“Of course not… Because… I… I dragged him into all of this… I made so many mistakes… I hurt him”

“Do you really believe that?” His father asked softly.

Sean nodded.

“And what about you?” Esteban asked, “You don’t think you hurt too?”

Sean was silent.

Esteban sighed and shook his head “Hijo, you are so stubborn sometimes” he chuckled sadly “you care for everyone except for yourself”

Sean dared to look at his father in the eyes for the first time since they started talking.

“I don’t think you hurt Daniel. I think you care about him a lot to make that happen”

“But I did… I didn’t mean to, but I did” Sean sobbed.

“We all make mistakes Sean. Daniel accidentally hurt you, right? And you don’t hold it against him. The only one holding things against you is yourself” he spoke calmly, like he used to do when taking care of him or Daniel.

“But did I do right by bringing him here? Wouldn’t he be better without me?” Sean asked in between tears.

“Let’s see” Esteban looked ahead, and so did Sean. They were on their concrete patio now, on Puerto Lobos, Daniel was running around in the sand, playing and splashing in the water, he smiled at Sean and waved. Sean waved back.

“What you did, you did to take care of him. To stick together. And Sean,” they met eyes again “I couldn’t be prouder” he smiled, and Sean broke. He grabbed tight onto his father.

“I love you…” He sobbed.

“I know” Esteban simply said.

“I’m sorry” Sean said.

“I know” Esteban embraced him and held him warmly.

“I miss you…” he clung at his dad’s back like a little kid “So much…”

“I know. All I ever wanted, was for my family to stay together. And you accomplished that, Sean. I won’t love you less for making a few mistakes.” He stroked his son’s back.

Sean missed this; he needed it so bad. He didn’t care if it wasn’t real.

“But now I’m making Daniel deal with all my shit…” Sean said.

“He does it because he cares, like you do” his dad explained.

“But should I let him?”

“I think he has seen and done worst things than helping his big brother, don’t you think?” He said sadly. “He loves you, so much Sean”

“I know, I love him too”

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with all of this, hijo. But you have become an incredible man, kind and strong” Esteban smiled “I wish I could be around too, but you’re doing fine, and you’ll do even better.”

“Wait… just a bit longer” Sean sobbed.

“I love you son”

“I miss you…” Sean sobbed once again.

“I miss you too, hijo”

Sean woke up alone in bed, his face wet from the tears. He sat and sighed, it felt so fucking real, so he thought he might as well believe all that just happened, that his father was proud and that he was still around in his own way, watching and taking care of both of his sons. Sean smiled, and despite the pain of not having him around, of not being able to hug him like in the dream, he felt comforted by his papito.

Sean walked outside the room and found Daniel in the kitchen gathering ingredients to cook dinner.

“Oh, you woke up, good.” He said not facing him “We really need to get a cooler or something” when he turned around and saw Sean’s face his eyes widened “What happened?” he rushed to hug his brother.

“I dreamed about dad” Sean said returning the hug.

“A bad one?”

“No” Sean smiled “A really, really good one”

Daniel smiled, for once Sean did not have a nightmare.

“Daniel…” Sean hesitated a few seconds “Are you happy?”

Daniel was shocked by the question, but answered quickly “Of course I am”

Sean looked down.

“Why?” Daniel asked now.

“I think you deserve better than… this… I could have given you more” Sean said sadly.

“Sean, you didn’t force me to cross the border. I finished those cops because I wanted a life with you. I also chose this. So, stop acting like I’m living a miserable life, because I’m not.” he said.

“But haven’t you thought that... maybe, if I had turned myself in… you could be at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, you could see Chris again… you… could have a normal life…” Sean said with teary eyes.

“You really think I would be happy with you in prison?” Daniel asked in disbelief.

“You would have better opportunities-”

“I don’t care about any of that!” Daniel interrupted before Sean could finish. “Do you really think that seeing you locked away from me for god knows how many years, would make me happy?”

“I-”

“I could only see you a couple times a year, we could only call each other. You… with… shaved hair again? In a prison suit?” Daniel’s stomach twisted only at the thought “No! No fucking way” he said firmly “I wouldn’t have it any other way. So, drop it. I am happy and I want to stay like this” he hugged his brother again.

Sean sighed, returning the embrace “I love you, cub”

“I love you too, Sean”

Sean thought about it, and maybe Daniel was right. Maybe neither of them would be happy apart, not after everything they endured together. The wolf brothers belonged together, they had fought for their way home, and they will continue to stick together. He realized that he had let his mind play tricks on himself, making him believe things that were not true, and making him worry more than he had to. Between his dream and Daniel’s words, Sean finally dropped a heavy weight he had been carrying on his shoulders, at least for now, and he could enjoy the rest of the evening with his little brother, eating together, playing some cards, and when bedtime came around, Sean managed to sleep all night like a log, no nightmares, no emotional dreams, just a peaceful and warm night of rest along his baby brother.

Chapter Text

Monday, August 14th, 2017

"Enano please, I'm tired, can we just go to bed?" Sean said, sitting in the new couch his good friend Matias managed to save for them, now placed centered in the living room. It was a little old, and a bit old-fashioned, but if Matias' mom didn't want it, Sean and Daniel would gladly take it, and they did. They were glad they were receiving this much help, Matias and his sister Luna were now common visitors in the house of the brothers, always showing up to check on the progress and help the boys with the work. So far, great progress since the first time the brothers stepped inside their father's old house has been made. The place was clean of dust and trash, all the broken and rusty furniture was out of the way, some of the windows were fixed, other ones were still covered, and most of the walls have been checked and treated accordingly, no more moisture and cracked walls or ceilings. The floors were still something they had to work on, but so does a bunch of other stuff. They even managed to paint all the outside of the house and most of the inside, so the place was certainly looking great, and both brothers were happy and motivated to keep going. They were far from finishing, but it was a great start.

"No!" Daniel giggled, "just wait a minute" He felt bad for making Sean wait, he worked all day as always, selling his art and repairing the house, he wanted to lay in bed and disconnect for the night, but Sean's birthday was in 5 minutes, and Daniel couldn't wait to start celebrating, he had a great day planned for his big brother. Daniel helped on what he could, of course, and with his powers, all the heavy work required to fix their home was a lot easier. Today had been a long day for both, but they finished working late, therefore ate late, and stayed up playing some card games, so five more minutes to wish Sean an amazing birthday was not the death of anybody.

Sean of course knew what his brother was waiting for, he was a bit anxious himself, it was his first birthday since his world turned upside down. His first birthday in his new town. His first birthday without his dad. His first birthday away from his friends, well, old friends now. He spent the last couple of days trying not to dwell too much on it, because it only made him feel sad. At least he had his baby brother, having him close made him feel better.

He was trying to have a good time, that’s why even if he was tired, he didn’t mind much staying up to celebrate. The clock on the wall struck midnight, indicating that a new day begun, and Sean was forced out of his thoughts by a sudden hug.

“Happy Birthday!” Daniel shouted gleefully and literally threw himself at Sean with his arms open. They fell roughly onto the couch.

After a grunt caused by the sudden knock of air out of his lungs, he laughed “Geez, Daniel. Careful, or I won’t be reaching my next birthday” Sean joked, he caught Daniel with his arms and hug him back.

“Sorry, I’ve been waiting a lot for this” Daniel smiled.

Sean was a bit surprised; he didn’t think Daniel was that exited to celebrate his birthday. “Really?” he asked, both still laying in the couch hugging, so they weren’t facing while talking. Although it shouldn’t surprise him that much, his little brother was always happy to be around him, he knew that.

“I have a lot of things planned for today” Daniel revealed. He was impressed by his own ability to keep it a secret for this long, he usually was too eager and impatient when either receiving or giving surprises. But living with a superpower taught him a thing or two about keeping a secret.

“You do?” Sean smiled “You know I don’t need presents cub”

“You so do! And I already have all of it ready” Daniel leaned back to look at his brother, beaming with pride.

So far, Sean only knew they were celebrating an evening together with Matias and his crew. Sean didn’t really wanted to, but his birthday came out in a conversation with them, and before he knew it, they had planned his whole day. He reckoned it was maybe for the best, maybe that way he didn’t have to think about all the negative stuff that came with it.

“Okay, little wolf. I’m sure whatever you did is amazing” Sean ruffled Daniel’s hair softly “Can we go to bed now?” he asked.

“Sure, get ready for tomorrow” Daniel grinned.

Sean snorted; Daniel was really into this. They made their routine before bed, and then they were both settled comfortable in their bed. But as the silence filled the room, and there was nothing else to keep him distracted in the darkness, Sean’s mind started wandering again.

He sighed, looking at their bedroom ceiling. He couldn’t help but think of how much things had changed in the span of just a few months. How fucked up could life get? No one warned him on his sixteenth birthday that his next birthday would be like this, in another country, without his friends. But he was supposed to feel happy, they had reached their objective; they were safe now. But all he could think about was all the things he was missing. He recalled with a pang of melancholy when last time, Lyla, Ellery, Adam and Eric went to the skatepark with him, they had some food outside and then they went to watch a movie before going to the party they prepared for him. It was such a simple day, how could all of that have ended?

He took it for granted, and now he wondered if he would ever have a birthday like that again. Probably. It will probably take years. He thought that it was awfully sweet of Daniel to have planned something for him. That would surely make the day better. He wasn’t so sure about hanging out with Matias’ crew, he honestly only accepted because of the free food, Matias’ family restaurant was the best in town, at least for him. They all have been really cool to him, but he still felt out of place among them.

And his dad. How he missed his dad. Last birthday he made his special barbecue for him, it was a tradition for Esteban to do that on his son’s birthdays. But now he wasn’t around anymore. Last time he gifted Sean a sketchbook, the one he used as a journal during their whole crazy journey. He thought it wouldn’t hit him so hard, since he was lately thinking less and less about him. But he was wrong. Maybe he was just burying his grief. Being here, in this house, after their journey, only made him miss him more. He wanted to celebrate next to him again. It felt wrong otherwise. He wanted his dad close again.

He felt bad for all the things he and Daniel had lost, he missed a lot of things of his old, distant life and he felt bad for missing it, because he should be more grateful about how they’re doing. To help let Daniel have a normal childhood.

Before his teary eyes could start producing full tears, he felt Daniel moving, apparently already asleep, and like he always does when sleeping next to him, he started snuggling closer to Sean, wrapping his arms around him

Sean smiled, and he no longer wanted to cry. The kid was so clingy, but he was used to it and to be honest, after Haven Point, he wouldn’t have it any other way. He felt better, it made him focus on what was happening now, and that was: his little brother was there with him, and they were both safe and doing great, and tomorrow they would have a good day. The though that they were together, was as usual, all that mattered to Sean, it made him feel whole, and soon he found the peace he needed to fall asleep.

Tuesday, August 15th, 2017

Sean stirred awake, slowly opening his eye and taking in his surroundings. Daniel was up already, owning to the empty space on his right. He turned his head, not lifting it from the pillow, and looked at the window. It was a bit late according to his inner clock, but it was still pretty early in the morning, and it was his birthday after all. The smell hit him then, a sweet, warm, scent of food. It smelled really good. Sean smiled.

He got up, put on some shorts, and lazily walked out of their bedroom and into the kitchen “Morning” Sean said smiling, watching as Daniel tried dutifully to decorate the plate of pancakes.

“Sean!” he was startled for a moment but smiled immediately. “Damn it, this was supposed to be a surprise” he whined. “I was supposed to wake you up with breakfast in bed”

Sean laughed “Sorry? I didn’t mean to ruin it”

“It’s okay” Daniel said dismissively “But now you’re here, and I made you a special breakfast, so what are you waiting?” Daniel grabbed Sean by the wrist and lead him to the table, bouncing excitedly.

“Okay! Okay!” Sean laughed once again. He took a seat and looked at the warm pile of pancakes in front of him, decorated with cream and syrup, it looked delicious “How did you-?”

“I borrowed some things from Matias” he cut short, giving the answer.

“Sometimes I think we take too much advantage of that guy” Sean said seriously, but thankful that he was on their lives.

“Oh, come on, he wanted to help you have a nice day” Daniel said.

Sean took a fork and sliced a chunk of the food “How did you even cooked this?” Sean smiled, and took a bite of the food, sighing in satisfaction.

“A great chef does not reveal its secrets” He smiled, but the cooler they got helped in storing their cold temperate goodies. It was a pain in the ass keeping it cold in this weather, but they’d managed. He then took a seat to delight on his own pile of pancakes.

“This are amazing Enano. You’re amazing” Sean praised. He was feeling lucky he had someone this nice by his side, and on this day.

“Thank you” Daniel beamed; the first step of his planned day was a success “So…” he said more cautiously “Are you working today?”

“I have to, cub”

“But Sean” Daniel whined “It’s your birthday, you should party, not work”

“There’s no one around to party” Sean chuckled “It’s a Tuesday, and we already have dinner planned with Matias and the guys”

“So? We could do something together” Daniel insisted.

“I’m sorry cub, but I really need to try and sell something” Sean explained.

“Not fair” Daniel pouted.

“No, it’s not” Sean mumbled to himself, quiet enough that Daniel couldn’t hear it.

“Well, I’m going with you to make you company” Daniel said firmly.

“I know” Sean smiled “You always do”

Sure enough, Daniel stayed right by Sean’s side as he sold his art, and as always, it was a really relieving company, they chatted a lot and passed the time lightly as Sean sold, talked and smiled to the customers. Matias made an appearance at lunch time to feed the boys and had stayed a while to make them company, and without realizing it, the time passed faster than he thought, and now they were packing their stuff and walking back home to prepare for the night. Sean had made a decent amount of money today, not a lot like other days, but not too little either.

“What are you going to wear tonight?” Daniel asked excitedly.

“It’s not like I have an elegant suit, cub” Sean joked.

“You know what I meant” Daniel rolled his eyes annoyed.

Sean shrugged “I’ll wear whatever it’s clean”

“You should wear something nice”

“I have no nice clothes, Daniel” Sean said confused, all the clothes they had were used, gifted or bought on a thrift store.

“You have perfectly wearable clothes, put on the ones you like most” Daniel said.

Sean smiled, Daniel wanted to make him feel good on his day and he was so happy that it was Sean’s birthday that it was actually making him feel good.

“Okay little wolf” Sean said as they reached their house, letting them both in “we have a few hours to kill before the party, what do you want to do?” Sean asked.

“It’s your birthday Sean, we should do whatever you want to do” Daniel said, putting away Sean’s stuff that he repeatedly insisted on carrying on the way home even if Sean was perfectly fine carrying it himself.

“I don’t know, I guess I’m feeling a bit lazy today” he said.

“The couch is perfect for that” Daniel smiled, and so they both spend a while just basking on the peaceful quiet life they managed to gain after their struggles. Sean sketched Daniel a bit to pass the time and then they played cards and dice games as usual. When the time came, they heated up some water and they took turns bathing for tonight’s party. Sean listened to his brother’s words and took the shirt he liked most, a black one with some white simple text on it, some nice jean shorts and his always reliable boots. He made sure his hair wasn’t a mess, and then made sure Daniel’s hair wasn’t a mess.

“We need a haircut” Sean chuckled.

“What’s wrong with my hair? I like it” Daniel said.

“You won’t like it when you can’t see anymore” Sean joked.

It felt nice, getting ready like this, fixing up a bit to look nice. It brought back a sense of normality, the one they both needed back so badly.

Sean expected it to be something small, just another regular meal, but as they entered the place they were received by a bunch of balloons of flashy colors, and all kinds of birthday decorations hanging around the walls of the building, including a giant sign that read ‘Feliz Cumpleaños’. In front of it Matias and his friends were waiting.

“¡Feliz cumpleaños! (Happy Birthday!)” They all said in unison.

Sean blushed immediately, not used to all the attention.

“Preparamos una mesa aparte para ti (we prepared a special table for you over here)” Matias started guiding him to the spot.

“Pero, ¿que es todo esto? (dude, what is all this?)” Sean asked, allowing himself to be lead away.

“¡Es tu fiesta de cumpleaños! (It’s your birthday party!)” Matias said happily.

“¿Pensé que solo me ibas a regalar una comida? (I thought you were only gifting me a meal?)” Sean said, taking a seat at the table.

“Ya hago eso todos los días (I do that every day already)” Matias chuckled, and Sean looked away feeling guilty “Fue idea de Daniel hacer todo esto, el pequeño planeó todas las decoraciones solo, nosotros solo lo ayudamos a poner todo (It was Daniel’s idea to do all this, little man planned all the decorations himself, we only helped him setting it all up)” he explained.

“¿Y tus padres están de acuerdo con todo esto? (And your parents are ok with all this?)” he pointed at all the balloons and decorations.

“Sip” he simply said “Si ya terminaste de quejarte, tengo que terminar algunas cosas, y después me sumo (Now, if you’re done complaining, I have to finish a few things, and then I’ll join you)” he said and went away to complete his tasks.

“No me estaba quejando (I wasn’t complaining)” Sean said, but Matias had already left.

“¿Qué te parece? (What do you think?)” Daniel asked, taking a seat next to his brother, the other guys took a seat too. It was a big, round table that would fit all of them perfectly.

“Estoy sorprendido, ¿Cómo hiciste todo esto? (I’m shocked, how did you do all this?)” Sean asked.

“Matias me ayudó, mucho (Matias helped, a lot.)” Daniel snorted “Le dije lo que quería, y él me ayudo a pintar el cartel. También consiguió los globos (I just said what I had in mind, and he helped me paint the sign. He took charge of the balloons too)”

Sean couldn’t believe that they had decorated the whole building just because of him, it was both embarrassing and weirdly pleasant.

“Así que…(So)” Vicky said “Ahora tienes diecisiete, ¿no? (you’re now seventeen, right)?”

Sean nodded “Todavía no legal (Not legal yet)” he joked to himself, considering he was marked as a highly dangerous criminal, and he did it all at the age of sixteen, that’s got to be a record, right?

“Juro que pareces mayor (I swear you look a lot older)” Carla said.

“Querrás decir más fuerte (You mean tougher)” Marcos joked.

“¿Querrás decir más apuesto? (You mean hotter?)” Ale teased “Cuando yo tenía dieciséis parecía un niño prepúber raro (I looked like a weird pre-pubescent kid at sixteen.)”

Daniel laughed heartly and Sean blushed again. He was certainly not proud of looking tougher or ‘hotter’ if that meant going through what he went through.

“No es broma, yo parecía una papa con pelos (No kidding, I looked like a potato with hairs)” Marcos joked.

“Ah, no nos olvidamos de tu fase ‘dejo crecer mi barba’ (Oh, we all remember your ‘letting the beard grow’ phase)” Vicky teased.

“Alto (Stop)” It was Marcos turn to feel embarrassed.

“Creo que tengo una foto (I think I got a picture)” Carla said looking through her phone.

“¡Alto! Soy el único que puede burlarse de mi (Stop! I’m the only one who can make fun of me!)”

Sean laughed amused at the conversation, and he laughed even more at the picture Carla showed him. They kept talking and joking, and Sean felt himself comfortable around the group, it reminded him a lot of the Humboldt gang, they were obviously a lot different from them, but it was a familiar sense of… belonging, like maybe he was wanted around, considering all they had prepared for him.

“Okay” Matias said sighing loudly and taking a seat, cleaning the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand “La comida está en camino, pedí tu favorito (Food is on the way, I ordered your favorite)” he said looking at Sean.

“Gracias, de verdad, por todo esto (Thanks man, really, for all of this)” Sean said. “Y a ti también Enano, eres increíble (And you too Enano, you’re amazing)” he smiled and hugged his little brother.

“De nada (You’re welcome)” Daniel and Matias said almost in unison, but they both smiled knowing there was more.

The wait was short, and the food arrived. Pizzas, drinks, fries, little snacks and main dishes, it was a feast, and Sean found himself enjoying everything he could.

“Daniel, ¿verdad? (Daniel, right?)” Marcos said to Daniel “Gracias por convencer a Matias de hacer esto (Thank you for convincing Matias to do this)” he said, taking another slice of pizza, while Daniel giggled.

“Si, pequeño (Yeah, little man)” Carla agreed.

“No se acostumbren, solo lo hice porque me cae major que ustedes (Don’t get used to it, I only did it because I like him more than any of you)” Matias joked “Y su hermano mayor, por supuesto (And his big bro, of course)”

“¿No hay comida para nosotros? (So, no food for us?)” Vicky said, “¿Ni siquiera en nuestro cumpleaños? (Not even on our birthday?)”

“No” Matias said drily, but a faint glimpse of his smile escaped his mouth.

“¿No trabajas a esta hora? (Don’t you work around this our?)” Sean asked.

“Mi hermano Diego me cubrió el turno. Le debo una (My brother Diego covered for me. I owe him)” he said.

“Gracias de nuevo por haberte molestado en hacer esto (Thanks again for going through all this trouble)” Sean said.

“Sabes que no es una molestia para nada, yo también la estoy pasando bien ¿si? (You know it’s not trouble at all, I’m having fun too, you know?)” Matias smiled.

Later, once the food was gone and they were all full and satisfied, Matias asked “¿Quién queire postre? (Who’s ready for dessert?)”

They all groaned in discomfort.

“No podría ni aunque Quisiera (I couldn’t even if I tried)” Sean said.

“Juro que nunca había comido tanto (I swear I’ve never eaten this much)” Carla added.

“No puedo respirar (I’m having trouble breathing)” Ale joked.

“¿Entonces quién va a comer el pastel que hizo mi mamá? (Well, then who’s going to eat the big cake my mom did?)” Matias asked.

“¿Tu mamá hizo un pastel? (Your mom made a cake?)” Sean asked surprised.

“Genial! (Awesome!)” Daniel smiled, apparently another success. And he was always ready to eat more sugar.

“Tienes que probar la comida de su mamá, hace los mejores pasteles de todo México (You have to try his mom’s baking, she makes the best cakes in all Mexico)” Vicky tuned in, apparently not so full anymore.

“Es en serio, voy a tener que hacer un sacrificio (No kidding, I’ll have to make a sacrifice)” Marcos laughed and picked up a fork.

Matias smiled “Así me gusta (That’s more like it)” he said and made signs for his brother to bring the cake. Digo started making his way to the table with the candles already lit on and started singing happy birthday, and soon, the whole restaurant was singing along with him. Sean could feel himself dying from embarrassment, he was never a big fan of attention. But he couldn’t help to smile, to laugh. To feel that maybe it wasn’t the same, but maybe it was okay. Maybe, he could get used to this.

“Pide un deseo (Make a wish)” Daniel said, smiling and taking his hand.

Sean closed his eye and thought about it for a moment before smiling and blowing out all the seventeen candles. He had his brother with him already, so maybe he could wish something for them both. Everyone clapped and then Matias started cutting slices.

“Chocolate” Sean smiled at the slice of cake in front of him.

“Daniel dijo que era tu favorito (Daniel said it was your favorite)” Matias said.

“Te dijo eso, eh? (He did huh?)” Sean said, already used at his brother’s thoughtfulness. “Thank you, cub.” he said, not even bothering to switch languages.

“De nada (You’re welcome)” Daniel beamed.

After they ate their slices, and now for sure couldn’t fit anything else in their bodies even if they wanted, it was… “Ahora los regalos! (Time for presents!)” Daniel shouted excitedly; he ran to get a box hiding behind the counter of the place. He returned and placed it on the floor next to Sean for him to choose along the variety.

“Estos son… muchos regalos (This are… a lot of presents)” Sean said looking down at the big box containing all sorts of different shapes wrapped in bright festive papers.

“Es de mala educación ir a un cumpleaños y no llevar un regalo (It’s not nice to go to a birthday party and not bring a present)” Vicky said, as if it were obvious.

“No tenían que comprarme nada, quiero decir… ya vinieron a mi cumpleaños hoy, y la estoy pasando genial (You guys didn’t have to buy me anything, I mean… you already showed up today, I’m having a great time)” Sean said, they haven’t met for that long and yet they were being so friendly.

“Que bien que la estés pasando bien, ahora abre tus regalos (It’s good that you’re having a great time, now open your presents)” Matias urged.

Sean snorted “Bueno, veamos (Alright, let’s see)” he leaned down and picked up a gift, he knew they were clothes as soon as he touched it, Sean was grateful. “Este es de… Vicky (This one’s from… Vicky)” he read out loud and teared off the paper “Mierda (Holy shit)” Sean said with widening eyes, he spread the piece of clothing on his hands and looked at it.

“Que genial! (That’s so cool!)” Daniel said surprised.

It was a jacket, light brown and stylish, and it looked of good quality.

“Esto es increíble (This is amazing)” Sean said in awe.

“Me allegro que te guste (I’m glad you like it)” Vicky beamed “No estaba segura del talle, pero si no te queda se puede cambiar (I wasn’t sure on the size, but if It doesn’t fit, you can change it)”

Sean immediately tried it on top of his shirt and smiled, it was maybe a little bit big, but it fitted well enough.

“Te ves bien, Sean (Looking good, Sean)” Marcos admired.

“Definitivamente te pega (Definitely fits you)” Carla said.

“Muchísimas gracias, esto es… (Thank you so much, this is…)” Sean was truly happy “Espero que no hayas gastado mucho (I hope it didn’t cost you much)” he said, feeling a bit guilty, why they were spending so much if they just met?

“Es tu cumpleaños, Sean. No tienes que preocuparte por esas cosas (It’s your birthday, Sean. You don’t have to worry about that stuff)” Vicky said dismissively “Pero no, no gasté mucho (But no, I didn’t spend much)” She clarified to ease Sean. It worked.

Sean picked up a card from the box and examined confused “Es de Matias (It’s from Matias)” he said.

“No es exactamente un regalo, pero podría ayudar, si lo aceptas (It isn’t exactly a gift, but it might help, if you want it)” he said.

Sean kept reading the card and was once again impressed “Estás… Me estás…? (You… are you…?)” he took his eye off the card and looked at Matias “ofreciendo un trabajo? (offering me a job?)”

“Si, Luna ya no está por aquí seguido, y a veces Diego o Sergio no pueden venir, así que hablé con mis papás y están de acuerdo en que podríamos tener un empleado. Es solo un par de horas a la tarde, ubicas a las personas para sentarse y tomas sus pedidos, sirves la comida, cosas simples. (Yeah, Luna isn’t around here lately, and sometimes Diego or Sergio can’t make it, so I talked with my parents and they agreed we could use an employee. It’s just a few hours on the afternoon, you guide people to sit down and take their orders, serve the food, all simple.)” Matias explained.

“Le regalaste trabajo? (You gifted him work?)” Marcos teased.

“Cállate (Shut up)” Matias said.

“Que amigo (What a friend)” Carla teased too.

“Gracias (Thank you)” Sean finally said “Creo.. Si creo que puedo hacerlo (I… yeah I think I can do it)” he said. He was doing okay with selling his art, but a solid job sounded nice too, and a few hours in the morning to sell his art and a few more in the afternoon to work here definitely would help them afford more things.

Matias smiled “Lo vas a hacer bien, créeme (You’re going to do great, I know it)”

Sean leaned down and grabbed another gift. “Daniel.” He read from the tag “Enano, tu turno (your turn)” Sean smiled when he read the label, he couldn’t imagine what his baby brother had made for him. It was a solid one, no clothes, so maybe a framed drawing? He teared off the wrapping to find out and was received with the smile of his dad. This picture… “Estaba en mi pendrive (It was on the flash drive I had)” he smiled.

“Si, lo vi cuando estábamos en Away… y pensé que sería lindo tenerlo en un cuadro (Yeah, I saw it when we were in Away… and I thought it would be nice to have it framed, you know?)” Daniel explained.

“Bien pensado (Good thinking)” Sean smiled, fighting off tears. The picture of the Diaz family, the three of them in height order, from Esteban to Daniel with Sean in the middle. It was so nice to look at… comforting in a way.

“Hay una más (There’s one more)” Daniel said.

Sean was so focused on the picture in hand that he forgot there was another one, he laughed immediately “Por supuesto (Of course)” he said picking it up. The other picture in the flash drive was one of him and Lyla, his good old best friend. It was a nice picture. “Gracias Daniel (Thank you, Daniel)” he felt like it was the 10th time he had said that to his brother today, but he meant it every time.

“De nada, Sean (You’re welcome, Sean)” Daniel hugged his big brother noticing the happy tears he couldn’t hold back anymore.

He felt stupid crying in front of everyone like this, but no one judge him, no one commented on it, they just understood and showed support.

“I love you” Sean said, hiding his face on Daniel’s neck.

“I love you so much too” Daniel smiled.

After the emotional moment, he finished opening the rest of the gifts. He received some new paints for his business, two nice shirts and a nice-looking necklace. He was grateful for all of it, and for the party, and their time and the meals. He wasn’t expecting to have such a great time. His brother really went all out. Once they all said their goodbyes they started heading home, the party was over, but Matias stepped closer to Sean before going outside “Hay una cosa más que tu hermano planeó (There’s one more thing your brother planned)” he smiled “Así que los acompaño a casa, si no te importa (So I’m going home with you, if you don’t mind)”

“Otro más? (Another one?)” Sean smiled amused “Claro que no me importa (Of course I don’t mind)”

“Prometo que es lo último (I promise it’s the last thing)” Daniel beamed.

“Ya me hiciste un día increíble, Daniel (You already made an amazing day for me, Daniel)”

Sean looked happy, and Daniel was proud.

They walked home, and now they were sitting on their concrete patio, feet on the sand under the immense night sky full of starts.

“Listo? (Ready?)” Daniel asked, the distant sound of the waves crashing on the shore were calming for Sean.

“Si (Yeah)” he nodded.

Matias pulled out something from his pocket and hold it towards Sean. It was his cellphone.

Sean looked disorientated.

“Puedes hacer una llamada (You can make a call)” Matias said.

“Que…? (What…?)” Sean was not following.

“¿No crees que sería genial llamar a nuestros abuelos? ¿Decirles que estamos bien? (Don’t you think it’d be nice to call our grandparents? Tell them we’re ok?)” Daniel said.

Sean got a bit nervous, they weren’t supposed to talk about this in front of people.

“Daniel… that’s a nice thought but I don’t…” he looked at Matias to make sure he wasn’t understanding what they were saying, even if it was suspicious that they were speaking in English he needed to say this without him understanding. He then looked at Daniel again “I don’t think we should”

“What? Why?” Daniel asked.

“It’s not safe” Sean replied.

“But how would they know?” Daniel insisted.

“Daniel…”

“They won’t know it’s us” he pressed.

“We don’t know that” Sean shushed him. “We don’t know how this works”

“Sean” Matias put a hand on Sean’s shoulder “¿No crees que estás siendo un poco paranoico? (Don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid?)” he wasn't exactly sure what they were talking about, but he could sense what was Sean’s worry.

“No sabes nada (You don’t understand)” Sean said annoyed, but he couldn’t explain it.

“Quizá si (Maybe I do)” Matias said.

Sean looked at him “No sabes (You don’t)” he said firmly, he couldn’t judge him for being careful, for not wanting to throw away the safety they’d built on this little house. He won’t risk it.

“¿No eres de Mexico verdad? Eres de Estados Unidos (You’re not from Mexico, right? You’re from the US)” Matias said.

Sean stayed quiet.

“¿De verdad pensaste que no me iba a dar cuenta? Pensé que era raro que no tuvieran familia. Que estuvieran solos aquí. Que parecieran… (Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? I thought it was weird that you didn’t have any family. That you were here all alone. That you looked…)” he looked at Sean’s eyepatch and then away again “Herido (Hurt)” he finished “Una búsqueda en google y encontré un montón de historias (One google search and I got a bunch of stories)”

Sean stiffened, his heart starting to pound out of control “Did you tell him?” he asked Daniel in panic.

“No! I Swear!” Daniel said.

“Sean, no voy a hacerte nada (Sean, I’m not going to do anything to you)” Matias said worried but calmly, but Sean pushed himself away anyway. “Te conozco, y sé que no eres capaz de hacer todas esas cosas que dicen que hiciste (I know you, and I know you aren’t capable of all of those things people are saying you did)”

“No lo sabes (You don’t know that)” Sean said, hands shaking.

“Se lo suficiente (I know enough)” Matias said calmly “Mira, no me importa conocer la historia completa, o si lo hiciste o no. Solo sé que eres una buena persona, cuidando de tu hermano y siendo educado y amigable con todos. Lamento lo que hayas que tenido que pasar, pero no creo que puedan atraparte aquí. Incluso si rastrean la llamada, está a mi nombre, ¿Qué pueden decir? (Look, I don’ t care about the full story, or if you did it or didn’t do it. I just know you’re such a nice dude, taking care of your brother and being polite and friendly with everyone. I’m sorry for whatever you had to go through, but I don’t think they can get you here. Even if they track the phone call, it’s on my name, what can they say?)”

“I can’t risk it! I don’t want to run away again” Sean said.

“Okay, Sean.” Daniel took Sean’s hand in his “You don’t have to call if you don’t want to… it was just an idea” he tried to calm him down, even if he was upset and sad that he won’t be able to make the call.

Sean took deep breaths and managed to relax a bit. “Perdón, por no contártelo todo antes (I’m sorry, for not telling you everything)” Sean said to Matias “Estaba… Estoy asustado (I was… I am scared)”

“Lo sé… Está bien, de verdad (I know… It’s fine, really)”

“Quiero contártelo todo… pero… no hoy (I want to tell you everything… just… not today)” Sean said.

“Está bien, cuando estés listo (Okay. Whenever you’re ready.)” Matias nodded.

Sean took a few minutes to think about it. It was bad enough that Matias figured it out, what if other people reorganized them. He tried to shake the fear away. He felt bad for keeping secrets, but Matias seemed to understand. He seemed to know a lot about the story already, about the mysterious incidents, the running away… the cop. Sean sighed “¿Estás seguro de que no pasa nada si llamamos? (Are you sure it’s safe if we call?)” Sean asked eventually.

“Eso creo. Incluso si siguen buscándote, no van a poder saber cada detalle por una sola llamada (I think so. Even if they’re still looking for you, they won’t be able to know everything from one phone call)”

“Fine” Sean sighed “I’ll do it” because as scared as he was for getting them or their grandparents in trouble, it would certainly feel good to hear familiar voices again.

Matias handed the phone to Sean “Les voy a dar un poco de espacio (I’ll give you guys some privacy)” he said, and walked away closer to the shore, and waited for the boys to finish.

Sean stared down and the phone “Well… it’s fine” he tried to convince himself. Daniel’s hand on his was helping. “It’s okay”

He pressed the buttons and numbers, and pressed call. He was thankful he still remembered the number after all this time, but after what happened when he called Lyla from his grandparents’ house, he couldn’t forget it. That’s why he was afraid to call again, but they were far away now… right? Either way, he and Daniel were going to fight if something were to happen. They won’t let go of their place that easy. Sean just hopped he wasn’t making another mistake.

He put the phone on speaker, and it rang, and rang, for a long time, it was late after all. Until someone picked up.

“Hello?” It was Claire “Who’s calling at this time?” She sounded upset.

“Hi Claire… It’s us” Sean said.

“Sean? Oh my… Is that really you?” She no longer sounded upset at all, she sounded surprised, and worried “Where are you? Are you okay?” she asked.

“We are doing okay. We reached our destination” Sean said.

“Is Daniel there with you?” She asked.

“Hi grandma” Daniel said next to Sean.

“Oh… I’m so glad to hear you boys” Claire said, she sounded emotional “Stephen! Come over here, It’s our grandsons!” She shouted.

Soon, Stephen voice came through the speaker “Boys? Are you ok?”

“Hi grandpa. Yes, we’re doing fine. We just wanted to call because well, we didn’t spoke in a long time and well… since it’s my birthday, we thought…” Sean explained.

“Of course,” Claire said “We were just thinking about that today… praying that you were having a good time. Happy birthday, Sean” she said with love dripping from his voice.

“Happy birthday Sean. Did you boys celebrate?” Stephen asked.

“Daniel planned a whole day for me… and our new friends made us go to a restaurant to celebrate, it was so nice” Sean said jovially.

“New friends?” Clarie asked “Are you boys really doing fine? You’re not starving, are you? You have a place to sleep?” she asked worried.

“We’re okay grandma” Daniel said “Sean is working a lot, and we have a place to stay and definitely enough food” he giggled.

“Yeah, we don’t have a lot, but we have the essentials” Sean added “We’re still working on setting up running water and electricity on the house, but we’re doing fine, I promise”

“Well, that’s a relief to hear” Stephen said.

“It sure is, but boys, I don’t like you living on those conditions” Claire said still concerned.

“It’s okay grandma, it really is” Sean said.

“Yeah, it’s not like we’re suffering” Daniel added.

“And it’s a matter of time, soon enough we’ll have those things” Sean said.

“Maybe we can send you some money…” Stephen said out loud.

“No” Sean said quickly “That’s too risky, what if they caught you? No way, not worth it. I told you; we’re doing fine, I swear”

“So, tell us about it, tell us what you do, how you spend your days” Claire asked.

“We live on the beach!” Daniel shouted.

“Oh?” Clarie said.

“Yeah, our house its on the beach” Sean confirmed. He was sure that wouldn’t be risky to reveal, there were lots of beaches in Mexico.

“That sounds lovely” Stephen said.

“We sometimes go take a dip in the ocean, when it’s too hot. It’s really cool” Daniel explained.

“Yeah, mornings here are beautiful. The view is gorgeous.” Sean added.

“I’ll bet” Stephen said.

“And what else do you do?” Claire asked softly, wanting to hear everything about them.

Daniel immediately jumped in, and started telling all about their afternoon activities and the things they’ve done since they got here, how they were working around the house, how Sean was teaching him Spanish, and how he was getting so good at it. He also told them about the party they had today, and all the things he planned for Sean, including the call. It was so nice to speak with them after all this time. They sounded so happy about their grandsons being safe, and although Sean knew they loved him, because of their family history he didn’t know how much. A lot, apparently, they wanted to visit them so bad, and they made sure to get the message to Sean, they definitely loved him and Daniel, so much. They talked for about two hours, it was getting late, and Matias was still waiting alone, so they started to say goodbye with teary eyes.

“We promise we’ll call again as soon as we can” Sean said.

“Oh boys, I’m so glad you’re both okay” Claire said almost sobbing, but truly relieved.

“You boys take care of each other, like you always do. And who knows, maybe we’ll see each other someday.” Stephen said.

“That would be awesome grandpa. We miss you two so much” Daniel said, wiping away tears.

“We miss you boys too” Stephen said.

“Goodbye, we love you” Sean said with a heavy heart.

“We love you too, Sean, Daniel. Take care” Claire said, and the call ended.

Once they calmed their hearts, they walked towards Matias, who was laying down on the sand, stargazing. On his view of the sky above appeared two silhouettes, smiling down at him.

“Gracias (Thank you)” Daniel said.

“Si, y perdón por hacerte esperar tanto (Yeah, and sorry for making you wait that long)” Sean handed the phone.

“No hay problema, entiendo (No worries, I understand)” Matias took his phone back. “¿Y? asumo que salió bien? (So? I’m guessing it went well?)” He said getting on his feet.

“Fue genial (It was awesome!)” Daniel said beaming.

“De verdad fue genial, lo necesitaba (It really was, I needed that.)” Sean said. Even If they had to be careful because they couldn’t give details about where they were or specific information that might be dangerous, it was still nice.

“Me alegra escucharlo. Me tengo que ir a casa, es bastante tarde, pero espero que hayas pasado un buen cumpleaños Sean (I’m glad to hear that. I’m going to head home now, it’s pretty late, but I hope you had a great birthday Sean)” Matias said.

“Gracias por ayudar a mi hermano, de verdad la pasé bien (Thanks for helping my brother, I really had a great day)” Sean said, going for a hug which Matias accepted mindlessly.

“Claro (Of course,)” He said “Y no te preocupes por la llamada. Estoy seguro de que está todo bien (And Sean, don’t worry about the call. I’m sure it’s okay)”

Sean nodded and let go. Then it was Daniel’s time for a hug.

“Gracias por ayudarme, todo salió increíble (Thank you for helping me, everything went amazing)” Daniel said.

“Un placer pequeño (My pleasure, kid)” Matias replied, and when the hug ended, he started walking home “Los veo luego lobos (See you around wolves)” he threw a peace sign and turned around.

The brothers made their way inside their house again. They changed, brushed their teeth and went to their room. Both of them smiled at the sight of the framed pictures now standing on top of the dresser they kept their clothes in. The picture of their dad and them, and the one of Sean and Lyla. Sean grabbed Daniel and collapsed together on the bed.

“Sean!” Daniel laughed.

“Thank you so much… for everything” Sean said, still hugging him “I was a bit sad today… thinking about if I would have a good birthday after everything that happened… but I had an amazing day cub, all thanks to you”

“I’m so glad you liked it” Daniel smiled satisfied.

“I really did. I won’t ever forget it. I mean it, the gifts, the call, the decorations… Thank you. I love you”

“I love you too Sean” Daniel kept smiling, proud that he managed to keep Sean happy for his birthday. He deserved to feel all the attention. And for this night, instead of Daniel, it was Sean who couldn’t stop holding his brother, snuggling and pressing his body against him, resting his head on him, and Daniel was only too happy to hold him in place. They settled into the bed and both of them drifted off quickly to sleep, since it was already late. They ended Sean’s special day sleeping satisfied and happy. It was a great day for them.

Chapter Text

Friday, September 22nd, 2017

When Matias said he could have a shift at the restaurant, Sean expected it to be a maximum of two times a week, since he was supposed to be a replacement for when a proper member couldn't make it. But here he was, about to finish his last shift of his full week. Apparently, keeping the family tradition of being in charge of the restaurant wasn't something the family was very invested on, but logically, each son and daughter wanted to pursuit their own dreams. Everyone was busy figuring out their lives and didn’t have much time to stick around the diner. Matias just didn't know what he wanted yet, that’s why he was working hard at the restaurant, it helped him keep his mind busy.

Everyday Daniel would join Sean for work, although Sean had explained to him that it was unnecessary, because he just got to seat on the office or near the counter and do literally nothing while he worked, Daniel insisted that he won’t leave Sean go alone. So, he would bring his materials to draw and try to keep himself entertained for the five hours Sean’s shift lasted. Sometimes he would walk around and talked to Matias’ dad or help Sean with the orders, carrying the note his big brother had written to the kitchen or helping get the check delivered when its solicited.

But even if he didn’t expect to be working every day of the week around here, Sean wasn’t complaining. It was a solid job, and a solid income. He needed to adjust his schedule a bit, but he would simply sell his art on the morning for a bit, and then walk to the diner to start his afternoon shift.

Daniel wanted to call his grandparents again, ask about Chris again, but Sean wanted to wait a bit longer, just to be sure. So far, no one had contacted Matias about the call, and there were no suspicious activities around them, but Sean just needed to be sure, he couldn’t risk it. He told Daniel that Chris was okay, that his grandparents were okay, that’s what they had told the boys when they had asked, but those weren’t Daniel’s concerns, he just missed them, and just like Sean, hearing their voices, their love, felt so good. But he could wait, just like Sean said, soon they could call again, and maybe start doing it often. They’ve endured worse.

“Just twenty more minutes cub, hang in there” Sean whispered, seeing Daniel resting his head on his arms in the counter.

“It’s fine Sean” Daniel said, “I’m not bored, just tired”

“Well, we’ll do something fun once I finish, I promise.” Sean assured, he knew his brother just didn’t want to say it, but staying around while Sean worked wasn’t something considered a fun activity, but if Daniel insisted…

Daniel smiled, admiring how Sean moved gracefully from one point to another at full speed, taking care of all the tasks in hand.

“Actually, I was thinking of inviting Angel to hang out around the house… is that okay?” Daniel asked.

Sean smiled “Of course it is, as long as he asked his parents” he was so happy Daniel made a friend of his own, and he could understand now why Daniel wanted him to have some friends. He started worrying about him a bit, because he spends his days clinging to Sean. He enjoys Daniel’s company, but he thought it wasn’t healthy that his world revolved only around his big brother. He realized his own world couldn’t revolve only around Daniel either, most of it yes of course, he took care of his little brother after all, but he needed to take care of other aspects of his life in order to be able to do that. Matias was helping a lot in that aspect, after his birthday Sean started to open up a bit, he didn’t tell him everything about their past, but he could talk about how he felt, and Matias was surprisingly good at listening, and sometimes he even managed to cheer him up.

Daniel met Angel one day at the town square, he was fascinated by Sean’s art, and he stayed and chatted with them for a bit. He was only a year older than Daniel, and they just clicked, kind of like when he met Chris. For the past two weeks now, Daniel hangs out with him around the little plaza while Sean works and keeps an eye on them. Angel lives around there, an apartment it seems, and Sean had only spoke to his parents once, the first time Angel went to his home. They weren’t much confident on letting his son go, Sean couldn’t miss the judging looks they gave him, couldn’t blame them either. A minor, alone, in charge of a little kid his son had just met, and the eyepatch didn’t give him a serious aura…but after one more week of begs from both Daniel and Angel, they relented and said yes, and now it was kind of a regular thing.

“I have to go do something around here” Sean said once his shift was over, taking off his apron uniform and folding it “I won’t take long, would you be ok with Matias for a little bit?” Sean asked.

“Yeah but… where are you going?” Daniel asked, he wasn’t a fan of being apart, but if Sean said it would be only for a little bit… he trusted him.

“I just need to figure something out, boring stuff, don’t worry” Sean smiled.

“Okay, but hurry” Daniel said, his tone serious.

“I’ll be as quick as I can” Sean leaned down and kissed his forehead “Promise”

Daniel nodded and hesitantly let go of Sean.

Sean then walked to Matias, “Gracias por cuidarlo un segundo (Thanks for keeping an eye on him for a sec)”

“No hay problema Sean, en serio (It’s no problem, Sean, really)” Matias said kindly, and with that, Sean walked outside and made his way to his destination.

Sean was nervous. As he made his way to one of Puerto Lobos Public schools, he kept thinking this was a mistake. Maybe they would recognize him, their names… could he even make Daniel enter school without proper documentation? But he needed to at least ask. He wants his brother to have everything he himself can’t.

He took a deep breath, but his heart wouldn’t relax, beating so fast he could feel it bouncing on his chest. He approached the building, the one he considered the best choice because it was close to the town square. Close enough in case something happened. He took yet another deep breath, fixed his clothes and hair, and went inside. It was pretty late by now, so he was lucky the place was still open.

He stepped slowly inside, eyeing for someone who could answer his questions.

“Hola, ¿lo puedo ayudar en algo? (Hello, can I help you?)” A kind looking woman approached Sean as soon as he entered the place, she looked back and forth between the eyepatch and his good eye.

“Hola…” Sean smiled, and suddenly felt out of words, like he forgot how to speak Spanish. His heart doubled the beating “Quería… Quería saber si podía inscribir a un niño para el próximo año… (I wanted to ask if it would be possible to matriculate a child for next year…” Sean managed to say.

“Ah” The woman said in surprise “Estudias aquí? (Do you study here?)”

Sean sighed, despite what his friends might say, he was still a kid, he looked like one. “N-No…” he said quietly, feeling self-conscious.

“Okay… bueno… si, las inscripciones están abiertas… ¿cuántos años tienes? (well… yes, inscriptions are still open… how old are you?)” She asked, and Sean could feel the misunderstanding.

“No es para mí, es para mi hermanito (It’s not for me, it’s for my little brother) Sean specified.

“… Entiendo… (I see…)” the woman said, even more confused than before “¿puedo preguntar dónde están tus padres? (Okay, may I ask where your parents are?)”

Did he really have to explain this to a stranger? But what other explanation should he give, “Nuestro… papá… falleció el año pasado… somos solo nosotros (Our… dad… passed away last year… it’s only us)” Sean said heavily.

“Lamento mucho escuchar eso… okay, si, pase por aquí y estarán con usted enseguida (I’m so sorry to hear that… okay, yes, come over here and they’ll be with you in a moment.)” The woman, suddenly understanding why a teenager was asking to enroll his little brother at school, lead him to seat inside an office.

Sean waited for a few minutes, minutes that felt like ages as he looked around the office. His hands won’t stop moving, fidgeting and wanting to do something, anything. What if they recognized him? What if they called the police? Maybe he should’ve brought Daniel with him just to be sure, they can’t go separate ways again, they-

The door opened and a different woman seated in front of him at her desk. She opened her laptop and aligned some paper on a clipboard “Hola, soy Susana y te voy a asistir el día de hoy (Hello, I’m Susana and I will assist you today)” She said with a smile “Me dijeron que quieres inscribir a tu hermano, ¿verdad? (They told me you wanted to enroll your brother, right?)” She, as well as the fist woman, seemed kind, but Sean once again noticed her lingering gaze on his eyepatch.

Sean nodded “Así es (That’s right)”

“Okay, perfecto, ¿cuántos años tiene? (Okay, perfect, how old is he?)” She asked and started to write on her computer.

“Diez (Ten)” Sean kept looking at the desk, never meeting the woman’s gaze, it felt wrong to share all this information, it felt like he was walking towards death.

“Okay, ¿y a qué escuela asistió antes? (Okay, and which school did he attend to before?” She asked “¿O es su primera vez? (Or is this his first time?)”

“No, no es su primera escuela (No, it’s not his first school)” Sean replied.

“Bien, bien… entonces, ¿Cuál es el nombre de su antigua escuela? (Great, great… so, what’s the name of his old school?” She asked.

Sean froze. He couldn’t really say that, right? Without just admitting they’re from the US.

“¿Señor? (Sir?)”

“Eh… perdón… no me acuerdo (Um… sorry… I can’t remember)” Sean said awkwardly, he wasn’t sure the woman bought that.

Susana nodded “Okay, no hay problema (Okay, no problem)” She typed something on his keyboard “Voy a necesitar tus datos y los de tu hermano (I’m going to need yours and your brother’s information)”

Sean just nodded, he couldn’t recall a time where his body had shaken so much, like it was doing now.

“¿Tu nombre? (What’s your name?)” She asked.

“Sean…” he said with a shaky voice.

“Tu nombre completo, por favor (Your full name, please)”

Sean sighed, his breathing trembling “…Sean Eduardo Diaz”

The woman typed this in on his computer “Bien, ¿a qué te dedicas? (Okay, what do you do for a living?)”

“… Trabajo en un restaurante… mesero (I… work at a restaurant… waiter)”

“Bien, y ¿cuántos años tienes? (Okay, Good, and how old are you?)”

Sean felt like he was going to puke. He squeezed his knees, his knuckles white.

“…Señor…? (…Sir?)” She asked confused one again.

“Di- Diecisiete (S- Seventeen)” He could tell his shaky voice was definitely not hard to miss. The woman surely noticed.

Susana just stared at him for a few seconds and then smiled sweetly “Okay, tengo entendido que son solo tú y tu hermano… pero debido a que eres menor de edad, voy a necesitar, además del acta de nacimiento de tu hermano y sus Claves únicas de registro de población, un documento legal que indique que estás a cargo de su cuidado (Okay, I acknowledge that is just you and your brother… but due you’re a minor, I am going to need, aside from your brother’s birth certificate and both of your Ids, a legal document where its stated that you’re his legal guardian)”

“¿Un documento legal…? (A legal document…?”) Sean asked, terrified.

“Si, si todavía no lo tienes, tienes tiempo, no hay problema (Yes, if you don’t have it yet, don’t worry, you’re still on time)” She clarified.

“Y… que pasa si… no tengo su certificado de nacimiento… (And… what if… I don’t have his birth certificate…)” Sean asked, at this point, he had hurt his own hand because of the fidgeting.

The woman stared at him for a few seconds again, then sighed “Está bien, por qué no me dices el nombre completo de tu hermano, su CURP y el tuyo, lo isncribimos, y cuando solicites tus papeles, los presentas, ¿qué te parece? (Okay, then why don’t you tell me your brother’s full name, his and your ID, we matriculate him and then, when you ask for your documents, you bring them, How’s that sound?)” She suggested, typing on her computer.

“No… No tengo nuestros CURP… (I… I don’t have our IDs)” Sean said embarrassed.

The woman looked surprised once again “¿Entonces no son de aquí? (So you’re not from here?)” She asked, it was the only logical conclusion she could think of, that or that Sean was just irresponsible with his documentation.

This was too much; he was saying too much.

“No puedo inscribirlo si no tienes esos datos, lo lamento (I can’t enroll him if you don’t own that information, I’m sorry)” she said, her tone clearly suggesting that she couldn’t help him in that.

Sean just looked away.

“Mira, hay soluciones, si son inmigrantes hay muchas cosas que pueden hacer para solicitar sus documentos o para ingresar al sistema educativo, ¿Necesitas ayuda para- (Look, there’s always a solution, if you’re immigrants there’s a lot of things you can do to request your documentation, or to request access to the education system, ¿Do you need help to-)”

Sean stood up quickly from his chair, he made up his mind. This was a fucking mistake, and he was so stupid to think it would be that easy, to regain a normal life. They could never have a normal life, they’re illegal immigrants. They were exiled from the US.

“Gracias por su tiempo. Me pondré al tanto con mi documentación para volver con todos los datos (Thank you for your time. I’ll get current with my documentation so I can come back with all the requested information)” Sean said quickly, agitated. He turned around and speeded through the door, not giving the woman a chance to answer.

“Señor! Espere! (Sir! Wait!)” She said, but Sean was already out of her office.

“Adiós! (Goodbye!)” Sean smiled and went out the door of the building, the first woman who received him looked at him confused, as he ran past her.

Sean walked outside and started jogging, then running, fast, faster than he ever ran. Like he was back in Seattle at one of his meetings for his track team. He ran and gasped for air, but his lungs were already full and yet he felt like he was asphyxiating. He didn’t know how, or when, but he reached the town square, and then realized he couldn’t go meet Daniel like this, he’ll know something had happened, or at least would pester Sean until he told him so. He sat down at the fountain and squeezed his chest. His heart hadn’t stop beating like this since before he entered the school. He tried to take deep breaths, but with no use. His mind kept thinking about how he fucked up again, maybe they suspected of him now. And the worst of it all, Sean couldn’t give Daniel the life he deserved. There is no way he could go ask for an ID, they would know… they would caught them. Was he brave enough to gain fake IDs? He didn’t want… need any more trouble, not in this town, their fresh start. Were they going to hide for the rest of their lives? Was that even living? He had expected, naïvely, that he would be able to give Daniel, slowly but surely, a normal life, that once he finished high school he could go to college, that he would have an opportunity in life… and not having to pick whatever shitty job he could find, like his big brother. But he doomed his brother, he ripped his innocence away the moment he took him in his arms back in Seattle and fled away. Foster care… happy or not… he would’ve been better… he made a selfish choice.

The thoughts were too much, the tears won’t stop pouring, and he felt so exhausted that his heart hadn’t calmed down yet. He felt sick and didn’t know how he hadn’t vomited yet.

Matias was now starting to worry, Sean had told both him and Daniel that he would be out ten minutes max, so when the clock hit twenty, and Daniel started asking questions and getting really anxious, he couldn’t avoid thinking something had happened. Matias calmed Daniel, he knew Sean was headed to school to ask a few questions, nothing dangerous. But then twenty minutes became thirty, and then forty, and that was definitely a worrying amount of time for a guy who said he wasn’t going to be long.

“¿Te dijo a dónde fue? (Did he tell you where he went?)” Daniel asked exasperated.

“Solo me dijo que iba a preguntar algo a la escuela (He only told me he was going to ask something at the school)” Matias confessed, Sean said not to mention it to Daniel, but the kid looked really worried. “Daniel, seguro que está bien (Daniel, I’m sure he’s okay)”

School? Sean went to school? Why didn’t he tell him? If this was for him Daniel should be there too. Such an asshole, but right now he was more worried than angry “Qué escuela (Which school)” Daniel asked, his tone grew dark.

“Sean quería que lo esperemos aquí… (Sean wanted us to wait here)” Matias tried.

“Mi hermano salió hace cuarenta minutos y no sé dónde está, no lo voy a esperar (My brother went out forty minutes ago and I don’t know where he is, I’m not going to wait for him)” Daniel said firmly, and started to head out of the restaurant. What if he was hurt again? Or stumbled across some mean people again, like when he came across those racist assholes on his way to Haven Point. He promised he wouldn’t let Sean hurt like that again… he couldn’t stand it.

Matias rushed out of the place with him, Daniel was right, fuck what Sean said, where the hell was he?

“Y? ¿A dónde fue? (So? Where did he go?)” Daniel asked impatiently, looking at Matias, he wanted to rush and rescue his brother, but he didn’t know in which direction he went.

“Okay, me dijo que iba a… (Okay, he told me he was headed to…)” Matias said out loud, recalling where the building was “Es por aquí (This way)” He said pointing, and as both looked towards the signaled position, the fountain, they saw Sean, seated on it, hands on his knees, looking down… and he seemed… out of it.

“Gracias a dios (Thank god)” Daniel sighed and broke into a run towards the fountain, Matias right behind him.

“Sean! Are you ok?” he asked, he didn’t care about the Spanish right now.

“Daniel? What are you doing here?” Sean asked confused, his voice raspy, his eyes red.

“Me? What are you doing here?” he said, mad “You said you’d be quick! It’s been almost an hour!” Daniel protested.

“Huh…? Really?” Sean asked. He definitely lost track of time.

“Sean… are you alright?” Daniel asked, now worried, he didn’t just seem out of it, he was out of himself, looked like he didn’t know where he was, and he could tell Sean had been crying. He reached out and grabbed his hands, and looked for any injuries on his face, but the only thing he managed to find were some small scratches on his hand.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good” he said softly. And Daniel didn’t believe it for a moment, but before he could start protesting, Matias spoke.

“Sean, ¿que pasó? (Sean, what happened?)” Matías asked, he seemed genuinely concerned, and Sean guessed he wasn’t fooling anyone, he must look like a mess, he is a mess.

“Nada… muy malo (Nothing… too bad)” he explained lazily.

“So no one hurt you?” Daniel asked, hands on Sean’s shoulders.

Sean managed to chuckle weakly, his brother was too sweet “No Enano, no one hurt me”

“Then what happened?” He insisted, and like Sean predicted, he wasn’t going to stop until Sean told him what happened.

“I’ll tell you later, okay? Now we must go pick up Angel, we’re late and his parents already think I’m irresponsible” Sean said, getting on his feet.

“Was it really nothing bad?” Daniel insisted.

Sean smiled softly “Yes, I promise, and I’ll tell you later” Sean assured him.

“Okay” Daniel said. He wasn’t sure why his brother was like this, and after supposedly going to school. Knowing Sean maybe he got sentimental? Too many old memories? That happened to Daniel too. He hated Sean didn’t want to talk about it, and he hated he went to school and didn’t tell him, but they could talk about it, like Sean said, later.

“Los acompaño (I’ll go with you)” Matias said, following the brothers.

“No es necesario (It’s not necessary)” Sean said.

“No tengo nada importante que hacer (I’ve got nothing else to do)” Matias smiled, playing dumb.

Sean suspected he didn’t want to leave him alone because he looked bad, but he hated to be treated like a baby. And he knew he would have to explain what happened.

Angel’s parents weren’t happy about Sean showing up late, but an excuse of a busy shift at the diner was credible enough. He promised he’ll take care of both boys and then they walked back to their house.

Daniel looked happy as he played with his new friend on the sand, and Sean couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Seated in the concrete patio Matias joined his side after grabbing some sodas. He handed one to Sean before speaking.

“Necesitamos sillas para tu patio (Man, we need chairs for your patio)” Matias smiled.

“Una cosa a la vez (One thing at the time)” Sean chuckled “Todavía tengo muchas cosas más urgentes que hacer en la casa antes que nuevas sillas (I still have to do a lot more urgent things around the house than new chairs)”

“Ya lo se… Quizá pueda conseguirte algunas (I know… maybe I could get you some)” He thought out loud.

“No, para, ya me conseguiste un sillón (Dude, stop, you already got me a couch)” Sean protested.

Matias snorted “¿Te refieres a la cosa vieja que mi mamá quería que tirara a la basura? (You mean the old thing my mom wanted me to throw away?)”

“Jódete (Fuck yoy)” Sean laughed “Es cómodo (It’s comfy)”

“Probablemente tenga unas sillas de plástico para darte (I probably have some plastic chairs for you)” Matias insisted.

Sean looked back at Daniel, apparently another kid from around the neighborhood has joined their games in the sand. Daniel waved jovially at Sean, who smiled and returned the gesture.

“Tu hermano es bueno haciendo amigos (Dude, your brother is good at making friends)” Matias laughed.

“No me digas (you tell me)” Sean smiled “Déjalo solo dos segundos y vuelve con un grupo entero (Leave him alone for two seconds and he brings back a whole group)” he chuckled.

“Es encantador (He’s charming)” Matias admired.

Sean nodded “Lo es (He is)” Sean kept his eyes on his brother “Se puede hacer amigo de quien sea (He can be friends with anyone)”

“Era más fácil socializar cuándo éramos niños (It was easier to socialize when we were kids)” Matias said.

“Aprende rápido tmabién… en poco tiempo aprendío a hablar español como si nada (He learns quick too… in a few months he learned to speak Spanish like nothing)” Sean admired, proud of everything his little brother did “Él fue quien me animó a salir contigo y tus amigos (He was the one who encouraged me to hang out with you and your friends)” Sean admitted.

“En serio? (Really)”

“Si… Yo no tenía ganas pero insistió en que me haría bien (I didn’t want to but he insisted that it would be good for me)”

“Me alegro que le hicieras caso (I’m glad you listened to him)” Matias said “El grupo quiere que nos juntemos pronto, si quieres (The group wants to hang out soon, if you want)”

Sean nodded “Me caen bien (I like them)”

“Entonces… (So…)” Matias started awkwardly, taking a sip from his soda can. “¿Quieres decirme que pasó en la escuela? (Wanna tell me what happened at the school?)”

Sean sighed; there it was. Now, how could he explain it to him. Maybe he could just say it, Matias knows he’s nor from here, and he rarely questions him when he talks about his past. He silently took another sip. Then shrugged “Me alteré sin ninguna razón (I just freaked out for no reason)”

“No se veía como nada (It didn’t seem like nothing)” Matias said looking at him “Además, no existe una razón específica para alterarse, cada quien con sus cosas (Besides, there’s no specific reason to freak out, everyone has their own shit)”

Sean’s mind was still a fuzzy mess, he was still tired from his early body reaction, the shaking, the breathing. “No lo se… me puso mal no poder darle a Daniel la vida que se merece (I don’t know… It made me sick not being able to give Daniel the life he deserves)” Sean explained.

“¿No lo pudiste inscribir? (You couldn’t get him in?)” he asked just to confirm.

“No puedo si no tengo documentos (I can’t if I don’t have documents)” he looked up to meet Matias’ gaze “Y no puedo ir y simplemente solicitar uno (And I can’t just go and ask for one)”

Matias nodded, thinking for a moment, he could tell why it was a difficult situation.

Sean kept going “Y me asusté… porque dije datos sobre nosotros… y no quiero que todo se vaya a la mierda… no de nuevo (And I got scared… because I gave them information about us… and I don’t want everything going to shit… not again)” his heartbeat was racing again.

“¿Por eso estabas mal? (That’s why you were upset?” Matias asked, not judging.

Sean nodded “Supongo que estaba muy alterado… entrar ahí fue demasiado… y el hecho de que Daniel no pudiera tener una vida normal… me superó… no podía… (I guess I was already upset… going in there was too much… and then, the fact that Daniel can’t have a normal life… it surpassed me… I couldn’t…)” Sean took a deep breath before continuing “No podía respirar… mi corazón latía demasiado (I couldn’t breathe… my heart beating like crazy)”

“Es válido… a veces las cosas nos superan (It’s valid, sometimes things surpass us)” Matias tried to comfort Sean.

Sean shook his head in defeat “¿Qué voy a hacer? (What am I going to do?)” he sighed. Of course reaching Puerto Lobos wouldn’t magically solve all their problems… but he hoped it would “No quiero que Daniel termine como el fracasado de su hermano (I don’t want Daniel to end up like his fuck-up brother)”

“Ey, ey, ¿Quién dijo que eres un fracasado? (Hey, who said you were a fuck-up?)” Matias frowned.

“No puedo hacer nada bien (I can’t do anything right)”

“No estás siendo un poco duro contigo mismo? (Aren’t you a little hard on yourself?)” Matias asked.

Sean looked down “Daniel dice que si… (Daniel says so…)”

“Deberías escucharlo (You should listen to him)” Matias said firmly “Siempre me dices que todo lo que hiciste lo hiciste por él (You always say that all of what you did, you did it for him)” Matias pointed at Daniel.

“No significa qiue haya hecho lo correcto (Doesn’t mean I did the right thing)”

“Quizá no, pero tampoco significa que hiciste todo mal (Maybe, but it doesn’t mean that you did everything wrong either)” Matias pressed.

Sean just stayed quiet.

“¿Te parece que está triste? (Does he look sad to you?)” Matias asked.

Sean glanced at Daniel, running around the sand with his friends. “No” he said weakly.

“No lo está (He’s not)” Matias assured “Y a juzgar por el esfuerzo que hizo para festejar tu cumpleaños, te ama. Mucho. Y no creo que piense que hiciste las cosas mal. Tengo entendido que el también cometió errores. Todos cometemos errores (And judging by the effort he put into celebrating your birthday, he loves you. A lot. And I don’t believe he thinks you did things wrong. I from what I know he made mistakes too. We all made mistakes.)

“Pero quizá cuando crezca se dé cuenta de que la cagué… (But maybe when he grows up he’ll realize I fucked up” Sean said stubbornly.

“Sean… de verdad estás dudando del cariño de tu hermano? (Sean… are you really doubting your brother’s love?)” Matias said smirking.

He was right, all his brother ever said to him is how much he appreciated him, and was always clinging to him, always trying you be there for him, just like he tries to be there for Daniel.

“Esos pensamientos intrusivos son los que te impiden ver las cosas con claridad (Those intrusive thoughts blind you from reality)” Matias explained “Y… lo que describiste antes… podría ser un ataque de pánico (And… what you described before…could be a panic attack)”

Sean was a bit surprised, even though he deep down knew something was not okay with him. Because it’s his body, he notices how he shakes and gets all freaked out when he’s nervous or feels in danger. And that didn’t use to happen before.

He sighed “Tenía una amiga que tenía ataques de pánico (I had a friend who had panic attacks…) Sean remembered sadly.

Matias looked at him curiously.

“Siempre me contaba lo mal que lo pasaba… espero que ya no los sufra más… Nunca pensé que viviría uno (She always told me how bad they were… I hope she doesn’t get them anymore… Never thought I’d experienced one)”

“La vida puede ser… inesperada (Life can be… unexpected) Matias said.

“Si, quizá demasiado (Yeah, maybe too much)”

Daniel tried to play and distract himself, but his eyes were darting over and over towards Sean and Matias, they were talking, probably about what happened, right? Sean promised he would tell him later, but he just wanted to comfort Sean now. He needed to calm down, Matias was good with them both, he will probably cheer Sean up, and Sean really didn’t seem physically hurt, at least that was something. If he said no one hurt him, then that was it. Daniel took a deep breath, neither brother knew, but they were starting to do that when they got anxious, and they unconsciously did it the same way, eyes closed, hand on their chests.

“Daniel? Estás bien? (Daniel? You ok?)” Angel asked, snapping his fingers.

Daniel nodded.

“Tu hermano está bien? (Is your brother ok?)” he asked, clearly noticing Daniel’s concerns.

“Si… si está bien (Yes… yes he’s ok)”

“Mis papás estaban enojados porque llegó tarde (My parents were mad because he was late)” Angel blurted out.

“Les dijo… su trabajo se alargó (He told them, his shift got busy)” Daniel kept the excuse.

“Lo se… pero mis papás pueden ser… molestos (I know… but my parents can be… annoying)” Angel said “No quiero que me prohíban verte (I don’t want them to keep me from hanging out with you)”

“Harían eso? (They’d do that?) Daniel asked surprised.

Angel shrugged “Dicen que parece irresponsable (They say he looks irresponsible)”

Now Daniel was getting mad “Qué? ¿Cómo es trabajar más algo irresponsable? (What? How is working more an irresponsible thing?) He asked annoyed.

“No lo se. Dicen que se preocupan por ti, quieren saber si vives bien (I don’t know. They say they worry about you, they want to know if you live okay)” Angel asked.

Daniel frowned “Por qué no viviría bien? (Why would I not be living okay?)”

“Dicen que son pobres…? (They say you’re poor…?)” Angel said cautiously.

Daniel blinked a few times “Por qué no le dices a tus papás que se metan en sus propios asuntos (Okay, why don’t you tell your parents to mind their own business)” Daniel said angry.

Angel looked down “No quise ser grosero… es que ellos dicen… perdón (I didn’t mean to be rude… is just that they say… I’m sorry)”

Daniel sighed “No es tu culpa… es que… estoy cansado de que la gente siempre asuma lo peor de Sean… de mí (It’s not your fault… is just… I’m tired of people always assuming the worst of Sean… of me…)”

“No creo que tu hermano sea malo (I don’t think your brother is bad)” Angel smiled “Me encantan sus dibujos… quiero dibujar como él (I love his drawings… I want to draw like him)”

Daniel smiled “Yo también… (Me too)” Daniel then looked back at Angel “Y para que sepas, Sean cuida muy bien de mí. Es un hermano excelente (And for the record, Sean takes good care of me. He’s a good brother.)”

“Lo se (I know)” Angel noded “Nunca lo dude… él es increíble, siempre te deja ir con él y jugar cuando queiras (I never doubted that… he’s so cool, he always lets you hang out with him and play whenever you want)”

Daniel smiled proudly; he also believed his brother was cool.

“Creo que mis papás están celosos de que tienen una casa enorme… Y nosotros vivimso en un departamento. Además, si fueras pobre no estarían reparándola, verdad? (I think my parents are jealous because you have this big house… and we live on an apartment. Besides, if you were poor, you wouldn’t be fixing it, right?)” Angel smiled.

“Verdad (right)” Daniel replied.

“Me gusta tu casa, Podemos jugar en la playa (I like your house, we can play on the beach)”

See, this is why he liked Angel, he wasn’t bad at all, but his parents were annoying. He hated when they looked at Sean’s eyepatch with those faces… like he was weird. Made him want to blast in anger. But he couldn’t hurt his friend’s parents now, could he? So he swallows it. But he doesn’t like them one bit, and by the things Angel tells him, they’re pretty strict with their son too. But angel doesn’t seem to agree with their parents, he told Daniel he liked hanging out with him, and why would he if that wasn’t true. Despite the worrying parenting, Angel always seemed on a good mood, always ready to play, and always had nice things to say about others.

After a while, another boy slowly approached them while they were playing and asked if they wanted to play with him. Of course, they said yes, and soon the three of them were running around and sharing a nice afternoon, kicking around the ball his new friend brought with him. Apparently, he lived nearby.

After quite some time, it was time to head home. Matias offered to walk Angel home so Sean could rest. Sean was unsure at first, didn’t want them to think Matias had to do it because he couldn’t, but then again, why did he owe those strangers. They could think what they want, they don’t know where he has been.

So he said yes. Daniel said his goodbyes to his friends and now it was only Sean and Daniel. And of course the first thing Daniel wanted to know was:

“What happened today?” he asked desperate.

Sean chuckled “I just got overwhelmed, needed to calm down”

“Why?” he asked.

And Sean had promise to be honest with him “I couldn’t get you into school… we don’t have any documentation and… I just got sad because I think you deserve better… And I can’t give it to you” he explained, and no matter how much he tried to sound normal about it, his voice reflected the pain he felt.

“Sean, I don’t need to go to school to have a normal life…” Daniel reasoned.

“But you deserved an opportunity… to do whatever you want”

“So do you” He simply said.

“I still feel bad I can’t give that to you”

“Sean… you’re being silly again, How was that all on you? You didn’t ask for what happened” Daniel tried to reason.

“It doesn’t matter Daniel. I still want the best for you” Sean said.

“And I want the best for you too!”

Sean sighed.

“We can’t just… control everything…” Daniel said, it was one thing he learned on their journey.

“I know…” Sean said, pulling his brother into a hug “It still feels like shit”

Daniel hugged him back tightly.

“… I think we can find our own kind of normal” Daniel smiled “I mean, we live on our home… you have a job… maybe I could get one when I’m older… and we just live like everyone else” Daniel said.

Sean laughed softly still hugging his brother.

“It doesn’t sound bad, right?” Daniel said.

“I guess so… I would’ve wanted something better… but… we could make it work…” Sean pulled just enough to meet Daniel’s eyes.

“We will live okay” Daniel said confident.

Sean nodded. It will take some time to get used to… because he wanted Daniel to do something he liked… he… he would’ve wish for himself to do something he liked. But it’s not like they were going to live like shit… if they had each other, they could find their happiness. It sure felt like that sometimes. Comforting. They didn’t ask for all this shit to happen to them, but they had two choices, remain sad about it, wishing it’d be different, or try accepting it, and embrace that this is how they live now. Sean knew which one was best for them both.

“Okay, enough emotions, what do you want for diner?” Sean asked.

Daniel snorted, then smiled.

Yeah, they needed to figure out a lot of shit. But he felt the same as Sean, hopeful, because they were together.

Chapter Text

Friday, September 30th, 2016 (The past)

“Ok, ok- look” Sean laughed and took the pencil from Daniel’s hand. “If you want it to look better, you can always add little details” Sean said, starting to sketch on top of Daniel’s drawing “…And some shade… and there” he showed the sheet to Daniel.

“Ugh, not fair” He pouted. “You improved it in just a few seconds, I’ll never be as good as you” Daniel said resigned.

“Dude, you totally will! It took me a lot of practice to draw like this” Sean tried to cheer him up. He knew his own abilities weren’t the best, but on Daniel’s eyes his drawings had no flaws.

“How much is a lot?” Daniel asked.

Sean snorted “Dude- I don’t know, months, years?”

“What!? That’s too much! I don’t want to wait that long…” he crumbled the paper and threw it away.

“Don’t get mad at me” Sean chuckled “You were the one who came to me for help”

“I know… I just… wish I could draw like you…” Daniel said.

“And I told you, you will” Sean shook his shoulder affectionately. An idea occurred to him then “What if… I teach you.” Sean proposed “Like small lessons, so you can start improving.”

“For real?” Daniel asked excitedly, already past his anger.

“For real” Sean nodded. After their fight last month, Daniel had said to Sean that it was like he wasn’t around anymore. They made peace, and Sean had let Daniel take the watch, problem solved, he didn’t owe him anymore. But what Daniel told him had stayed in his head, was he being shitty? He just wanted some time alone for himself and his friends, he looked after Daniel every day, and a little bit of space won’t hurt them, right? But Sean had convinced himself to try better, the little time he spent home he could be with Daniel, and this was a perfect opportunity to do that.

“You won’t forget…?” Daniel asked hesitantly.

Fair, Sean thought, he wasn’t the most reliable one lately, but that’s why he was doing this. “I won’t Enano, come on, we can start now” he took a fresh sheet of paper and placed it in front of Daniel, and then he took one for himself.

Daniel smiled enthusiastically and waited for instructions.

“So, what do you want to practice?” Sean asked.

“Superheroes! I want to draw Power Bear!” Daniel shouted.

“Ok” Sean chuckled “But remember, you may not get it right on your first try, ok? And that’s fine”

“Yeah, I know” Daniel said, but he was pretty sure that with Sean as a teacher he would do fine, just like when Sean helps him with his math homework.

“We can start by looking at a reference” Sean pulled out his phone from his hoodie and started typing on the browser.

“Reference?” Daniel asked, looking up at him with curiosity.

“Yeah, a picture, an image, so we can be accurate” Sean explained.

“Are we… going to copy an image?” Daniel asked confused.

“No dude” Sean found an image they could both work with and placed the phone in the middle of their paper sheets. “If we’re going to draw Power Bear, we need to know what he looks like. We can’t just do it from memory… or I guess we can, but it wouldn’t turn out as good.” Sean continued explaining.

“Oh, that makes sense” Daniel nodded “And we won’t mess up his arms or legs either” Daniel noted.

Sean smiled “That’s right, it’ll help us with proportions. Good job Daniel”

Daniel smiled proudly “So... how do I start” he asked.

“Well, I usually start with the head. You’ll want to draw carefully, don’t press the pencil too hard or you won’t be able to erase it if you mess up” Sean instructed “I start with a circle, which the head will be formed from” Sean said as he sketched a simple circle in the paper.

“Ok…” Daniel said, and concentratedly drew his own, wobbly circle in his sheet. “What now?”

“You draw like you normally do. Just look at the image and try to draw it. It’s easier if you draw basic shapes first, it helps you to start and gives form to the drawing, and then you can slowly give it details so you can tell what it is” Sean explained and started sketching “You can look how I do it, to get an idea”

Daniel watched intently at his brother’s hand as he sketched slowly on the paper. Sean went slower from his usual pace so Daniel could follow his movements. Remembering everything Sean had just explained, he started to sketch on his own paper, looking every now and then at the image on Sean’s phone to determine if it was accurate.

After a few minutes of silence, Daniel leaned back on his seat to look at his drawing from a distant “Is this good?” he asked, he had only drawn the head of Power Bear, the rest of his body were still shapeless lines.

“Yeah dude, you’re on the right track” Sean surveyed Daniel’s drawing and nodded in approvement.

Esteban then came from downstairs and found his two sons sitting on the breakfast counter, drawing. “It’s been ages since I last saw you two drawing together” he smiled.

“Sean is giving me lessons so I can draw better” Daniel told his father with a satisfied grin.

“You don’t say?” Esteban said in a bit of surprise. He was glad his conversations with Sean had made him think.

“Yeah well, I was just tired of his ugly drawings” Sean teased.

“Hey!” Daniel looked annoyed at him.

“I’m just teasing you, god” Sean rolled his eyes.

“Well, let me see” Esteban walked closer to them.

“It’s not finished yet” Sean said.

“Yeah, we just started.” Daniel added.

“Looks good so far” Esteban noticed.

Sean snorted “You like everything we make”

Esteban chuckled lovingly “You’re right, I do”

“Hey, why does yours looks better” Daniel noticed when looking at Sean’s drawing.

“It’s because I added a little bit of details” Sean explained “They can really make the difference. Why don’t you add some thin lines like this?” Sean showed “To give the effect of fur. And you can add more around the facial features” Sean pointed them on his drawing.

“Oh” Daniel nodded and tried it on his drawing, and soon, it was improved. “It looks good!” Daniel said proudly.

“I’m telling you dude; your drawings were fine before and now they’re even better” Sean smiled.

Just then, Sean’s phone buzzed. A Lyla’s message notification presenting on display.

“Oh, is that Lyla?” Daniel asked, “What’d she said?”

“Dude” Sean took his phone to look at the message “Don’t be nosy”

Esteban chuckled at Daniel’s questions; curiosity always got the better of him. Sean read the text and typed back.

I’m so excited for tomorrows gig

Thanks again for this

You’re the best!!!

I am 😎

Best way to end the summer

I bet

Help me chose an outfit?

I got news on Jenn

“So?” Daniel tried to peek at Sean’s phone.

“Dude! Stop!” Sean blocked his phone annoyed.

“Daniel” Esteban said in a slightly scolding tone, like a warning.

“I just wanted to know what she said” Daniel pouted.

“It’s about the concert we’re going to tomorrow, none of your business.” Sean said harshly at him.

“Speaking of, I have a few things to speak to you about that” Esteban said.

Sean groaned dramatically “oh come on”

“Hey, I already said you could go. I just ask you to come back home on a decent hour, ok?” Esteban asked, “And not wasted this time, please?”

Sean remembered that; his first hangover, his dad had scold him but had also made a bit of fun of him. “Yeah yeah, I’ll be careful, I promise.” Sean said in a non-convincing tone.

“It’s all I ask for” Estaban said.

“Ok Sean, how do I start with the body” Daniel asked, a bit impatient that his lesson had been interrupted.

Sean’s phone buzzed again.

Wow, I said Jenn and you disappeared

Desperate much?

Its cute don’t worry

Tell me when you’re done getting off

Sean snorted and started to type a reply.

“Sean?” Daniel asked.

“Huh?” Sean looked up from his phone.

“The drawing lesson?” Daniel asked.

“Oh, yeah uh…” Sean looked at his phone and then at Daniel. “Yeah just, start with the chest first, and then you can add the arms and keep going, you’re doing great” Sean said.

“But I don’t have the image” Daniel said.

Sean sighed “Right… uh, well I need to go do things so, we can continue tomorrow” Sean said standing up.

“What? But we just started! And I can’t improve if you don’t instruct me” Daniel protested.

“Tomorrow Daniel” Sean said and walked to his room.

Well, Esteban thought at least he tried. And he did, he had tried to stick around more with Daniel but, it was hard. The lessons never continued, and the drawings remained unfinished. And a few weeks later, their lives would change forever.

Wednesday, October 25th, 2017 (The present)

“Looks great, cub” Sean smiled at Daniel, sitting at the counter and drawing, as he did so often now while Sean worked his shift.

“Thanks, the eyes look a bit weird tho” he said.

Sean finish putting away some stuff and walked closer to Daniel, surveying the drawing while he put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder,

“hmm” he pondered out loud “Maybe they’re too close, try spacing them” he advised.

Daniel took the eraser and did what Sean instructed, and sure enough, it looked way better. “Yeah, that’s so much better, thanks Sean”

“Don’t thank me, I only gave you some advice, you did the drawing” Sean smiled “You’ve improved a lot, Daniel, it’s amazing”

“You think so?” Daniel smiled.

“I know so. Everyday you’re getting better” Sean said, and he wasn’t just being nice, Daniel really took his advice at heart, and his abilities and creativity were amazing, so for a ten-year-old, his drawings were good.

“Sean, Puedes limpiar esa mesa porfa? (Sean, could you clean that table please?” Matías asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“Si, claro (Yeah, of course)” Sean said and patted Daniel on the shoulder before going to do his assigned task.

This week have been rough, or well, more accurate the whole month. The month when his lives took a dark turn. The month when their dad passed away a year ago. It has started normal enough, even if a bit down on mood, but as the weeks passed and the day came closer, the brothers turned silent, their looks contemplative and far away, and their faces only showed sadness. They both know, of course, that the day was close, and they both knew the other knew, because it was painfully obvious, but they won’t talk about it, afraid the old unhealed wound will burst open again like nothing.

“Sean?” Matias asked.

“Si?” Sean turned around to look at him, the table has been cleaned.

“Te llamé varias veces, ¿estás bien? (I called you a few times, are you ok?) He asked, because he noticed, of course he noticed, Sean has been distracted more and more lately.

“Si, perdón (Yes, sorry)” Sean shook his head and listened to his new instructions.

Daniel saw the whole thing and had a feeling of what could be taking so much space on Sean’s mind. It was on his too, after all.

They were home now, and the silence was louder than ever. Sean hated this, hated the tension, because they become so close since the Seattle incident, that acting like this… distant, was tearing him apart. So, he pushed back all his feelings of grief away, and thought of something they could do together, something to ease their minds.

“Ok cub, I need to start a few paintings, but when I’m done, we can play something together or, whatever you want to do” He suggested.

Daniel looked up from the couch, where his lost gaze lingered “Can I help you?” Daniel asked.

“Hm?” Sean asked, not following.

“With the paintings” Daniel clarified “I promise I won’t ruin them”

Sean snorted “I know you won’t I trust you, but are you sure you want to?” Sean felt obliged to ask, because lately he felt like all that Daniel wanted to do was to make Sean feel better, and he would feel incredible guilty if he let him do that, because the last thing he wanted was for Daniel to forget about himself to help Sean.

“Yeah Sean, I like drawing. You can teach me, like old times” Daniel smiled.

Sean returned the smile, his failed attempted at trying to be a better brother He wasn’t sure he had accomplished that now though. I mean, Daniel always said he was, and that he loved him, and he believed his words, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t fucked up. Badly. Several times. So, he wasn’t sure about being the best brother, but he was sure that he was trying now, hard.

“Ok, yeah let’s go” Sean said. And it was a great idea. They spent a good amount of time working on sketches and colorful paintings.

“You think they’ll buy these?” Daniel asked, inspecting his work.

“They definitely will. They’re good Enano, trust me” Sean said.

Daniel looked uncertain still.

“But I think I’m going to keep this one” Sean said, picking up one of the paintings Daniel had worked on, one of a palm tree.

“What for?” Daniel asked.

“For me” Sean said simply “I’s really good, and I want to have one of your drawings”

“Really?” Daniel face lit up.

Sean chuckled softly “Yeah cub, I love it”

They carried the paintings and set them on a room to dry over the night, so they would be ready for tomorrow. While accommodating them, Sean accidentally kicked a small can of black paint they had in the room, along other painting supplies they used to paint the house. He knew what they could do together.

“Hey” he smiled, picking up the can. “Want to sign the house?”

“What?” Daniel asked confused.

“Leave our mark, to claim our lair. Like we did on that abandoned cabin in the woods” Sean explained.

“Oh! Yeah! This is the wolf’s lair; they should be scared.” Daniel smiled.

“They should” Sean agreed. That’s right, no one could tear them apart. They raced downstairs, out the concrete patio and around the house staring at one of the white walls on the side of the house. “Where should we do it” Sean asked Daniel.

“Hmm, not in the center, the rest would feel empty… how about” he walked closer to one of the corners, the one closer to the backdoor “Here?”

“Looks good to me” Sean said, moving over. He opened the can and grabbed a small brush “What should I write?” he asked.

“Wolf… um… The wolves…” Daniel thought out loud “Can we put what we wrote on the cabin?” Daniel asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Sean smiled “Which one?”

“Keep out: Wolves Inside”

Sean smiled; he liked that one. With the brush, he traced the outlines of the phrase, writing ‘keep Out:’ above and ‘Wolves Inside’ in the lower part, he tried to give the letters a sharp outline, like if they had been scratched into the wall.

“That looks so cool” Daniel approved. Sean had made the warning pretty big on the wall.

“Here,” he handed Daniel a brush “let’s fill it all”

Daniel hesitantly took the brush “What if I mess up?” he asked worriedly.

“You won’t” Sean said “And if you do, we’ll fix it”

Encouraged, Daniel copied his big brother moves as he soaked the brush with paint and started filling the letters. And so for the rest couple of minutes, they focused on the task at hand. When they finished the top part, they stepped back to look at their progress.

Daniel smiled, clearly excited “It’s going to be amazing”

“Yeah. Want me to add little wolves to the side?” Sean asked.

“Yes! And make them intimidating!” Daniel asked.

“Sure thing sir” Sean chuckled and started working on it while Daniel continued filling up the letters. And as they chatted and smiled and felt relieved after for liked it seemed a while, they finished before they knew it. They stepped back once again and looked at the full masterpiece. The phrase, marking the place as their lair, and the two wolves faces, growling and showing their teeth, one smaller than the other.

“I love it Sean, the wolves look amazing” Daniel said, going for a hug.

Sean accepted it pleased “Now they’ll think twice before coming near us”

“As it should be” Daniel smiled.

“Carry the stuff upstairs? And we can chill for a bit out here” Sean said, both of them were pretty exhausted from working under the sun.

Daniel nodded and grabbed the stuff, and quickly ran upstirs and help himself with his power to put the stuff away faster. By the time he came back down, Senn was already seated in one of the plastic chairs, facing the huge sea. Daniel stepped outside and stopped when he caught glimpse of a paper stuck under one leg of their plastic table. He crouched and grabbed it, it was a newspaper, crusty and barely legible.

‘Masacre en la frontera con Estados Unidos (Massacre on the United States border)’

Daniel froze.

“What did you find cub?” Sean asked when he saw his brother crouch.

Daniel turned around and simply handed him the paper, before he took a seat next to him.

Sean read it and fell silent too, the picture… the place… the broken pavement and cars like a bunch of grenades were thrown around. He crumbled the paper and hid it tightly in his hand “Come on, what are the odds we find such an old newspaper” he said annoyed.

“We look like terrorists” Daniel said quietly.

Sean looked at him in horror, the sentence reminding him about the time they were, once again, deprived from their happiness. This one hurt more because they were about to be there… they were so close… but they had to ruin everything. They even shot a little kid, and that women voice… “Now, is not legal to blow up walls. That’s called “terrorism”.” She had said, pressing harshly on Sean’s head against the wall. Her mock full of hearted… she didn’t care that they were kids, nor listened when Sean said they were trying to leave. If she and his pathetic accomplice wouldn’t get in the way, none of this would have happened, they could’ve spared the lives. But thinks happened like this, and now who knows the amount of people talking shit about him. Whatever, they were here now, together, and Daniel had paid revenge on the cell of the police station later.

“We’re not terrorists” Sean said frowning once he regained his thoughts.

“We are to the rest of the world” Daniel said.

“But we know the truth. They don’t” Sean insisted.

“But we did illegal things” Daniel looked up at him.

Sean sighed “We did. To survive.” He said convinced “The whole world was traying to get us, and we fought back”

“I know… I… I really didn’t want to hurt people but, they had it coming” Daniel admitted.

This was the first time they talked about that day, full of different and complicated feelings.

“I know, you did what you had to” Sean placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t regret it… any of it… I just wish I could’ve things… like getting shot just when we were going to leave… the pot farm… the church-”

“Hey” Sean shook his shoulder “Those things were out of your control. Yes, I wish things had gone differently too, but they didn’t, so, no point on dwelling on it, right?” Sean tried to reassure him.

“Do you think people would think less of us if they knew what we did?” Daniel asked.

Sean immediate thought of Matias and smiled “Real people will see us for who we are, not for what we’ve done” he said.

“Yeah. Real people know we did what we did to stay together” Daniel held Sean’s hand.

“And we did, little wolf” Sean smiled.

“Just so you know, there were things out of your control to. It was all bigger than us” Daniel said.

Sean stayed quiet for a moment, when did Daniel became so… thoughtful. He acted like a kid, he played like a kid but… sometimes his mind seemed wiser, maybe from the fucked-up things he had to endure. Seans heart clenched at the thought. “I know” he said eventually. “Let’s not focus om what the news says, or what people think.” Sean continued “It’s just you and me” he smiled.

“Always” Danile returned the smile and howled, cupping his mouth. Sean followed him, emptying his lungs at the sky above them.

“The wolf brother’s rule. No one can’t stop us” Daniel grinned, and after a few minutes of silence, both of them looking at the sea horizon of the California gulf, still holding hands, he spoked up again “So… are we… doing something this Saturday?” he asked.

“Yeah, I was thinking what we could do but… nothing seems right” Sean said.

“I know… I kinda just… don’t want to do anything… I mean… it’s not a happy anniversary after all” he said.

“Yeah me too… I’d feel bad to go out and… act like were celebrating… even if I think that’s what dad wants” Sean squeezed Daniel’s hand. He still has nightmares every now and then, but after that weird dream with his dad… they seemed to slow down. He tried to remember what his dad said, even if it was just a dream, he holds onto those words heavily, because they made him feel better. Although sometimes the guilt sill won.

“I think he should want us to be together, make it trough whichever way we can” Daniel said.

Sean nodded “That’s also true” he agreed “Let’s just take the day then”

It would be hard, bittersweet. To have to endure that, was just too overwhelming. But they could face it.

Friday, October 27th, 2017

Sean was just out if himself, and it wasn’t even the day yet. Daniel too, just tried to focus on his drawings. Matias could sense the mood, but he didn’t understand why.

“Pasó algo entre Daniel y tú? (Something happened between you and Daniel?)” he asked Sean when he found it looking away at a blank point again.

“Eh? No, no” Sean replied.

“Entonces qué pasa? (So what is it?)” Matias pressed.

“Nada (Nothing)” he said dismissively.

“Claro (Sure)” he definitely didn’t buy it. He thought of something that could cheer them up. “Los chicos y yo vamos a juntarnos mañana en la casa de Vicky, vengan los dos, vamos a comer cosas ricas, escuchar música quizá hacer karaoke (The gang is going to meet up at Vicky’s place tomorrow, you two shpuld come over, we’re going to eat tasty food and listen to some music, maybe even do some Karaoke)” Matías offered chuckling.

Sean smiled weakly “Suena divertido, pero mañana no podemos… es un… día importante (Sounds fun, but we can’t tomorrow… it’s an… important day)” Sean said.

“Oh, que celebran? (What are you celebrating?” Marias asked.

“No celebramos… es… (We’re not celebratin… it’s…)” Sean sighed; this was dumb. What was he hiding from him? He had already talked with Daniel, it was not a tense subject anymore, just a sad one. “Es el día en que falleció nuestro papa, hace un año (It’s the day our dad passed away, a year ago)” Sean confessed painfully.

Matias face dropped, all made sense to him now, the mood, the silence “Lo siento… (I’m sorry)” he said “Si necesitan algo, solo avisen (If you need something, just call)” he offered.

“Gracias” Sean said grateful for the kindness.

“Y si necesitas tomarte el resto del día, adelante, no hay problema (And if you need to take off the rest of the day, go ahead, it’s no problem” he offered Sean, thinking the brothers might want to be tighter now, more than ever.

“No, está bien (No, it’s ok” Sean declined politely “Me ayuda a distraerme (Helps me stay distracted)”

Saturday, October 28th, 2017

Ever since they woke up, they haven’t moved from bed. It was harder than they though, because it was all they could think about. That day. They shared their memories of his dad, their chests hurting with every single one of them. Every little laugh at a fond memory turned into a sob at the painful reality that all of that was now gone. But either way, they remembered their happy days in Seattle, because now, more than ever, they wanted to feel close to his father.

“I remember… one day, when we were drawing together, you said you’d teach me and never did by the way” Daniel reproached mid memory.

Sean chuckled weakly “Yeah I remember… I wasn’t a great brother… but I teach you now, right?”

“You do” Daniel tightened his hug at his brother “And you’re a way better brother”

“I try…” Sean voice came out with pain.

“You went to talk to Lyla… and I was sad because I thought we were going to start doing things together again” Daniel continued.

“I’m sorry… Daniel-” Sean couldn’t help but apologize.

“Hey… that’s way past now” Daniel smiled “You do plenty of things with me now” Daniel reassured. “The point is… Dad stayed with me then… we made another drawing together… it made me feel good” he smiled.

“Yeah… he always knew how to cheer us up. When I broke my leg, he would spoil me rotten with things I liked” Sean smiled, and once again it turned upside down as some tears escaped his eyes.

“I miss playing videogames with him…” Daniel said “Well, I miss videogames in general”

Sean snorted weakly “I know… the master of Minecraft needs its place back” Sean smiled and stroke Daniel’s back reassuringly “You’ll play again, we’ll do. Promise.”

“Remember when Lyla stayed over to watch that creepy movie?” Daniel said fondly “I remember Dad loved it for some reason”

“You mean the time you clung to my arm so hard you hurt me?” Sean teased.

“Shut up! That’s not true, I wasn’t that scared” Daniel protested.

“The bruise in my arm said otherwise” Sean smiled. He was annoyed at the time, because Daniel wouldn’t stop moving and speaking and preventing him to watch the movie. Now he found it endearing.

“What was the movie called?” Daniel asked.

“I can’t remember… it was so cheesy tho” Sean put a fake disgusted face, even if Daniel couldn’t see him because he was snuggled to his side.

“Yeah” Daniel chuckled “That’s why dad loved it”

A nock on the door interrupted them. With a groan Sean got up, and Daniel told him to hurry up. He went downstairs to open the door and was surprised to find Matias. Upon his questioning look Matias explained “Seguro que no tienen muchas ganas de cocinar, así que les traje algo para que coman, lo hice yo mismo (I’m sure you don’t want to cook so I brought some food for you to eat, I made it myself)” he smiled proudly.

Sean took the warm plastic containers of the meals Matias prepared “Gracias” he said, touched by the gesture “Quieres pasar?” he offered.

“No, yo ya comí, y seguro necesitan tiempo a solas (No, I already ate, and I’m sure you need som time alone)” he said.

“No se… podríamos aprovechar un poco de alegría (I don’t know, we could use a bit of joy” Sean smiled.

Matias smiled back. He entered the house and followed Sean to their room. Sean was suddenly self-conscious about his state, all messed up and with dirty clothes.

Daniel sat up in bed when he saw them coming. Sean got back in bed next to Daniel “Matias brought us some food” Sean said, opening one of the containers. Daniel thanked him and the brothers started eating slowly, as much as their stomachs were feeling up to, and praised Matias’ cooking. Matias sat on the other end of the bed, legs crossed, while the brother told him all about his dad, like an introduction. What was he like, how he talked, his sense of humor, their fond childhood memories. Sean was right, it helped lightening the mood, and he was a close friend, so the brothers didn’t mind sharing this vulnerability with him, the tears, the sobs. Matias listened attentively through all of it, adding on it when he had the opportunity, and made them company as the brothers talked, napped or cried trough the day. When they slept, he would simply go around the house fixing small things or cleaning it to make some time, until they woke up again. He even cooked them dinner that night. Sean said he didn’t need to, but he insisted on it. He felt embarrassed but couldn’t deny it felt nice to be cared for. And Matias surely didn’t mind. The day was hard, but manageable, and Matias had become a really close friend, being the only one who knew about these things, a bit about their past, and he didn’t judge none of it, he just saw them for who they were. He was one of the real people.

Chapter Text

Sunday, November 12th, 2017

“Catch!” Sean threw the little green ball at Daniel, knowing damn well he wasn’t paying attention, to busy looking at the calming waves upon them.

The ball hit the back of Daniel’s head softly, snapping him away from his moment “Ow- hey!” Daniel said annoyed, but there was a smile displaying on his face.

“Gotta think faster lil’ bro” Sean shrugged playfully.

“Ha!” Daniel laughed indignant “I have incredible reflexes, don’t know what you are talking about.” he said picking the ball from the sand.

Sean knew that, of course, he had seen his brother stop bullets with his powers. Still, he wasn’t going to give up yet. “Hmm didn’t seem so just now” Sean kept teasing.

“Look out” Daniel smirked and threw the ball around his back, like if he was doing some kind of trick shot. The ball launched in the opposite direction of Sean, but it instantly came to life and redirected towards his big brother.

“Hey-” Sean tried to cover himself raising his hands in the direction of the ball, but the ball just spun around him and hit him on his uncovered side. “Dude, you’re just cheating” Sean laughed “that ball changed its course like 6 times”

“You covered yourself and I still got you. Great reflex” Daniel smiled proudly.

“I don’t think that’s how it works.” Sean said chuckling.

“I reacted fast and changed the course to hit you” Daniel explained.

“Yeah. Cheating” Sean said again. “That was your powers, not you”

“What? Who do you think controls them? You’re just mad I’m right.” Daniel answered.

Sean rolled his eyes “Yeah well, who trained you?”

“Uhh, me? I practiced on my own a lot” Daniel said.

Sean snorted, hours of helping Daniel control his abilities. “Yeah sure,” he said and walked closer towards Daniel “Come here you ungrateful little...” Sean started to chase his little brother around the beach.

“No! Get away!” Daniel shouted in glee, giggling joyfully.

“Your powers might be fast, but I still run faster than you!” Sean caught his brother and raised him in the air while he hugged him from behind. Daniel’s feet hanging above the sand. He never had a chance, not when Sean used to be a member of the track team, even if that was a long time ago. That and, he was still much older than him.

Daniel laughed deeply and was thankful that this wasn’t a tickle attack, that’s why he had pleaded Sean to stop before he caught him. When Sean put him on the ground, he took a moment to breathe, ruining barefoot on the sand wasn’t easy, and he had sprinted with everything he had to get away, in vain.

Sean took a deep breath himself caused by the run and looked back at the house. He chuckled, they were supposed to be fixing up the place today, but instead, Daniel had convinced him to play with him outside with the ball his new friend Angel had gifted him. Sean wasn’t complaining though, the day was comfortably warm for this time of the year, and he always loved spending time with Daniel.

He was still getting used to the heat upon him all year, every month of the year carried with it a consistent warm temperature. He wasn’t particularly bothered by it, only complaining when the heat made his work at the diner a suffocating cell, but other than that, he actually enjoyed being able to live outdoors most of the time. Like a free spirit. Although Daniel kept saying he would miss the snow around Christmas time, which wasn’t far now, and he found himself realizing that he would too.

It was a good feeling, this. A normal feeling, a sense of belonging. Maybe he was still having trouble with some things, but to live a day like this, felt like a blessing. Because only four months ago, the uncertainty of what his life was destined to be was unbearable. But now, already settled and building their little quiet life, felt fucking great. Sean closed his eyes took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the beach, the ocean, peace… and then let go, opening his eyes again, taking in everything they had in front of them.

“What you musing about” Daniel nudged Sean, barely enough to get his attention.

“Oh…” Sean smiled at his brother, out of his thoughts “just enjoying the moment” he said.

“The house is looking great” Daniel said, the fresh paint and fixed walls from outside gave it a nice look, even if there was still work to do on the inside.

“It is” Sean smiled once again at the thought of their house. Their home. Their place. “The job Matias got me is great. A steady income, we’ll get the place as good as new eventually”

Daniel nodded “Right”. He had helped working on it as much as he could, eager to own a home along Sean. It lacked some furniture maybe but comparing it on how it was when they first arrived, it was a huge improvement. The place was clean, all the trash and old broken furniture gone. Some rooms were fixed, and the windows sealed. As far as Daniel was aware, they had a nice home to keep them warm, and a roof to sleep under. And also, a comfy bed, the only big thing they really inverted in since they got here, because it was the priority. He didn’t need anything else. So, he would just focus on help Sean and keep building their lives here.

“Honesty, what else are we aiming for other than new windows” Daniel gave voice to his thoughts.

“Well, water for a start. We really need a more comfortable bathroom.” Sean said.

They were used to it, this life wasn’t something new for them, but still, Sean wanted the best life for Daniel. The best one he could give to him, at least.

“Maybe. How’re we doing that?” Daniel asked.

“Well, Luna already checked the pipelines. Says it seems pretty good, only a few spots to change.” Sean explained “Crazy how hidden towns like this make the best building jobs” He chuckled. The house was pretty old, but it maintained itself. “So, we would need to do that before getting running water.”

“Cool, she’s nice, just like Matías” Daniel said excitedly.

“Just like his whole family, they’ve done a lot for us” Sean agreed. “Don’t worry cub. Little by little we will make this a comfortable place to live”

“I know” Daniel said happy. “Catch!” he said suddenly. Sweet, sweet revenge. He made the ball fly towards Sean with his powers, to catch him off guard, just like his brother had done to him a couple minutes ago.

Sean turned quickly to where Daniel was pointing, and the ball accidentally hit his good eye. “Oh-” he protested when the ball touched his eye, and his hands flew instinctively to cover it.

“Sean!” Daniel said in panic, rushing to see Sean’s eye up close “I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t mean to I-”

“Hey, hey” Sean said calmly “I’m fine Enano. Sand didn’t even get into my eye” he informed.

Daniel kept looking at Sean’s eye in concern, looking for any sign of damage. “I’m sorry” he said again.

“No need to apologize” Sean said as he put his hands on each of his brother’s shoulders “A little soft ball isn’t going to hurt me” Sean assured smiling.

“I…” Daniel thought for a moment, but Sean truly seemed ok. “Ok…” he let out a relieved sigh.

“Come on now… drop it” Sean said and pulled him into a hug, because he knew what was on Daniel’s mind. Because he knew he still beat himself up for hurting Sean.

Daniel tried to do what Sean told him. To drop the thought. But he felt his world vanish in front of him for a second or two, because if he really hurt Sean again… he… he…

Daniel returned the hug and took a deep breath. Not think too much of it, Sean had said. To not question why his brother had forgive him, or how much pain he had to face in order to keep him safe. His skin now adorned with small, medium and big scars. How could he pay him back? He didn’t need to, Sean had said. But it just wasn’t fair.

“Come on, I got something to show you” Sean said, leading the way into the house once the hug broke.

Daniel followed right behind him. They went upstairs and into their bedroom, the most fixed up place of the whole house.

“Look what I got” Sean said and started to scrounge around for something in the room. “I thought we could use a bit of fun ambience” he said and produced a little small radio and hand him to Daniel.

“Whoa” Daniel said as he took it in his hands.

“When was the last time we listened to music huh?” Sean smiled. He fucking missed listening to his music. He had hope he would hear it again at some point, but for now the radio music will do.

“Like, forever ago!” Daniel said enthusiastically and turned the switch button to turn it on. Nothing happened. “Um…”

Sean chuckled “It didn’t had batteries, that’s why I didn’t show it to you before. But guess who bought them yesterday” he said and looked around for the batteries to give them to Daniel as well.

Daniel grinned “What? When?” he said taking them and turning around the radio to take the little plastic cap off.

“On my shift break” Sean said. Daniel hadn’t even realized Sean had gone out of the diner.

Daniel finished putting the batteries on and the radio started doing some static noise. He pressed a few buttons but nothing else was coming out of the speaker.

“Here” Sean said and pulled the little antenna in place. The radio started to catch some signals. Daniel searched until music started to sound.

“It’s in Spanish” Daniel giggled.

“Well, yeah.” Sean giggled as well as his brother’s comment “What did you expect?”

“I’m still not used to it” Daniel said. He hadn’t consumed much media since he got here, and whenever he did, it was still unexpected when the voices were in Spanish.

Sean turned up the volume and placed the radio aside, just so he could start dancing around the room energetically.

Daniel laughed “What are you doing?”

“Dancing” Sean said simply, shaking his limbs with the beat of the song.

“You call that dancing?” Daniel teased.

“Come on. I recall there was a time you begged for me to join you dance” Sean said smiling, extending his hand out for Daniel to take.

“I’m not a little kid anymore” Daniel said but was still smiling.

“I know, and I’m not either. What’s that got to do with dancing?” Sean asked.

Daniel took his hand and rushed up the bed, Sean followed instantly, and they both started to jump and dance to the song they had found on the radio, like they had done a long time ago in a little motel room in Oregon that had become their safe place for the rest of the night. Didn’t matter if they were jumping on the new mattress, or that they might get a bit of sand in it. Sean mission was a success, he had made Daniel feel better, making his lingering bad thoughts go away. Because he knew of course how guilty his brother could feel about his past mistakes, even if Sean held nothing against him. Because he felt guilty of a lot of things himself, and he understood what it was to no be able to ignore it. He struggled with it; he didn’t want Daniel to suffer the same feeling as him.

Seeing Daniel right now, jumping and smiling because he was with his big brother, made him feel full. These little moments allowed him to feel that he had made the right choice in keeping Daniel with him. He was happy, even if he didn’t live like a “normal” kid. Yet.

Sean took off his eyepatch to wash his face. He splashed his face with water from the little container and dried it with a little towel. When he put the towel down, he was faced by his own reflection on the little old mirror that they kept in the bathroom. It had scratches and a broken edge, but it served its purpose. He stared at himself. He changed. I mean, who doesn’t? But… it was barely a year since he was forced to change… and he’s so different now. There was a time where he wanted to be as far apart from his little brother as possible. Now, he can’t bear the thought of not being with him, weather it was from obligation or realization, it didn’t’ matter, he loved him, he always did. He looked at his eye socket, it has healed pretty well. Only a vertical scar remained to be seen, apart for the obvious lack of eye. Daniel would never catch him staring at it, because he knew his brother would feel horrible, even if Sean was only inspecting it and not thinking bad about it.

To be honest, Sean hadn’t processed much the fact that he lost an eye. He was always too busy with something more important than himself to be preoccupied. He missed having both eyes of course, but he was now used to the lack of peripheral vision. And he managed to avoid headaches now, only getting them when he really forced to focus. His main concerned is that… he did look like a criminal, or at least more intimidating by it. He was self-conscious about that. He wondered if he would have to cover it forever, or if there was a person out there who wouldn’t mind it, and would accept all of him, mistakes and everything. Scars and everything.

He didn’t want to be alone forever… Even if his main objective right now was to build a steady life for him and Dan, eventually he’d have free time to do normal activities, right? It was still scary to think what life had prepared for him, so he didn’t think about it too much.

Daniel accepted him, his eye, and his mistake. That felt good. He knew his brother loved him unconditionally. Would protect him from everything.

He never considered himself attractive, or more accurately, he never gave it much thought. But now he couldn’t help to wonder if the scars made him less… desirable. If the eyepatch was something that scared people away.

He took the eyepatch in his hand, looked at it. Looked back at himself in the mirror. He sighed. What had he done to deserve all the punishment. Probably being a shitty brother to Daniel. He felt like life had dragged him around on the pavement until he was nothing but dust. But dust or human, someone needed to keep an eye for Daniel.

“Sean?” the kid’s voice came from his side. Sean turned around to find Daniel looking at him with a sad expression on his eyes. The door was ajar, and he didn’t know since when Daniel was staring.

“Buddy” he said opening the door fully. He quickly put the eyepatch back on. “What’s wrong?”

Daniel was silent for a moment. “Do you hate it?” he asked.

“What?” Sean asked, not following.

Daniel pointed at his own left eye.

“Oh. What? No, of course not” Sean said smiling reassuringly. “It’s unfortunate yeah, but nothing we can do about it”

“Don’t lie” Daniel said frowning.

“I’m not” Sean said, because he really wasn’t… he was just… avoiding telling everything. Because he won’t deny he was feeling bad about it just a second ago, but if he admitted that to Daniel, the boy would be crushed. So what could he do apart from reassuring him with things that were true?

“I saw you looking at it” Daniel said.

“Yeah, I was. Gotta check everything’s in order.” Sean replied.

“But don’t you feel bad about it?” Daniel pushed.

This is exactly why Sean didn’t want Daniel to see him staring. As always, putting Daniel’s feelings first. And now he was in trouble. Because yes, he did, of course he did, but not because of Daniel, because it was just a bad thing to had happened, but there was no was Daniel would understand that. He would feel bad because Sean feels bad, and he caused it.

“I…” Yeah, that was answer enough, Daniel’s eyes filled with tears. “But it’s not because of you!” Sean rushed to say.

Daniel simply took a step closer, and slowly removed the eyepatch from Sean’s head. It caused a few tears to fall. He stared at his brother’s scar with a painful look in his face, one Sean couldn’t bare a second longer. Sean avoided not using his eyepatch around him for this exact reason, he didn’t want Daniel to see it and feel guilty, but mostly, he didn’t want to see Daniel suffering because of it. The eyepatch was a mix of a lot of things really. Shame because of his look, protecting him and Daniel, and a way to keep the dirt and unwelcome things away.

“I don’t feel…” he stopped before sating ‘bad’ because that would be a lie. “I just…” Sean stammered, for the first time in a long time, he didn’t know what to say to his little cub.

The lack of reassurance made Daniel feel worse, of course. Sean did feel bad about it. He felt guiltier than ever.

Seeing Daniel’s broken face pulled Sean out of his locked state. He had to be honest… even if it hurt. Daniel endured much worse things. He was a big boy now. And he would reassure his love as many times as Daniel needed to made him feel better.

“Enano… little cub…” Sean said softly, cupping his brother’s cheeks. “It was an unfortunate accident. And yeah, I feel bad about it. I lost an eye.” Sean said and Daniel closed his eyes in pain, like he received a punch in the guts. “And I know you feel bad about it, but you don’t have to. You didn’t mean to-”

“But I did it!” Daniel interrupted with a shaky voice.

“But you didn’t mean to hurt me” Sean repeated. “Just like I didn’t mean to push you away at the camp. I hurt you too, I know I did. But you showed me multiple times that you don’t care about it anymore, it’s past us. You only care about the now. About us being here. Am I right?” Sean asked.

Danie nodded slowly.

“I don’t hold anything against you either. What happened is in the past. And I’d like for us to move past it. I don’t like you blaming yourself, makes me sad. Could we just… accept that I love you? I love you Daniel, and I don’t care about a mistake.”

Sean was almost pleading, and the last thing Daniel wanted was to make Sean sad again. “I’ll try…” he said quietly.

“Thank you” Sean said softly, wiping away Daniel’s tears with his thumbs. “I just feel bad about what happened in general. We all made mistakes. Finn, you, and me. But we’re humans, we’re meant to do that. To learn. And I think you and I learned a lot together, and now we’re stronger than ever” Sean ruffled Daniel’s hair affectionally. “What we went through? It’s a lot… but… we need to keep going.”

Daniel walked closer and pulled Sean into an embrace. Sean hugged him back.

Daniel… felt less bad thanks to his brother’s words. He was sad about everything that happened, and so was he. Sean understood him, of course he did. They had both made wrong choices. It was in fact, unfortunate… and as hard as it was to accept it… it was not his fault. It was neither of their fault.

“Let’s go to sleep yeah?” Sean broke the silence. Daniel nodded. They made their way from the bathroom to their bedroom and settled comfortably under the covers.

“You should wear the eyepatch less often” Daniel said, they were both lying on their side, facing each other. Sean had taken the eyepatch off again to sleep.

“Why?” Sean asked.

“I don’t think you should hide it. Or be embarrassed by it. It doesn’t look that weird” Daniel said.

“I don’t know… it might scare people away.” Sean said.

“That’s their problem” Daniel said. Now that he knew Sean felt bad about the eye, he could tell that sadness wasn’t the only thing he felt. He hid it most of the time. The thought of Sean being embarrassed of himself was painful, specially if it was for something he unintentionally caused. “I think it looks nice”

“Nice?” Sean couldn’t help but chuckle at that, it surely wasn’t something nice to look at.

“It’s badass, like a cool tattoo” Daniel assured.

Sean laughed amused at the comparison “Like this one?” Sean showed his wolf tattoo that Cassidy had made.

“Yeah!” Daniel said. He really thought Sean was the coolest person in earth. Sean smiled at the sweetness of the thought. “You act like is something disgusting, but it’s not”

Sean never thought of it as disgusting, not really, but he was worried about how it looked. “Thanks, Enano, but the eyepatch attracts less eyes from people” Sean said. He got plenty of looks already, some curious, some judging. He knew having the scar in full display would be a show of attention. He didn’t want that.

“Well, I don’t think its weird” Daniel said, brushing his finger softly against the scar, he hadn’t really touched it since they were back in Away, where he helped Sean clean it sometimes.

Sean smiled at the caresses. It still felt weird letting Daniel see it, specially knowing he felt bad about it. But they needed to. “Thank you” Sean said.

“And you’re more than normal, a scar wont’ change that” Daniel said.

Sean chuckled at his brother’s new task of wanting him to feel better “Thank you” he said again.

It would take time for Sean to accept he lived without an eye and learn to love himself despite it. Or learn to love himself in general. And It’d take Daniel time to accept Sean felt bad about the incident, and not about Daniel doing it. But time had proven to ease some of the burdens of their past, even if just a little bit. They gathered strength from the fact that they were not apart. They’ll continue to struggle. For a while. But they could help each other through it and find happiness in the little moments they remembered the peace they had achieved.

Sean found himself amazed most of the times from how Daniel seemed to have grown up in some ways. It was bizarre, how a little kid could understand emotions like that, but at the same time, most kids didn’t live what he did. Daniel was still a kid, played like a kid, acted like a kid… but sometimes he thought and spoke with wise.

They were forced to change after all. They were forced to grow. That’s why Sean wanted to give Daniel the last years of his childhood back, just so he could enjoy it for a little bit.

“Maybe I’ll wear a prosthetic eye” Sean said softly, “So I don’t have to hide it, and people wouldn’t stare”

“I haven’t thought about that. Yeah, you should” Daniel smiled.

Sean closed his eye “See you in the morning little wolf…”

“Good night, Sean” Daniel closed his eyes too. Their minds tired from the thinking and the complicated emotions from their complicated experiences.

Despite his own body feeling exhausted and his mind fuming from tiredness, he couldn’t fall sleep. The conversation had him thinking, and his mind wouldn’t shut up.

Lucky Sean seemed to be resting peacefully next to him, but this time his calming breathing and warm closeness weren’t working to calm him down.

It was the memories. Things he remembered occasionally, but now that they had this conversation about Sean’s eye, they were repeating on his mind like a movie.

He felt happy that they could talk, but he still felt guilty about it. Ugh, why couldn’t he just fall asleep. He hadn’t had this much trouble with it since he was in Haven Point.

Daniel turned around for the fifteenth time. He stared at the ceiling.

Friday, February 24th, 2017 (The past)

Whatever Daniel thought. He was arms crossed, pissed expression as he always had these days. Sean didn’t trust him, felt like he wanted to get rid of him. He was excited when they first came here, but now Sean won’t stop hanging out with Finn and Cassidy. They don’t play like they used to. And now they won’t even train, Sean says it’s too risky.

Finn was the cooler one from all. At least he treated him like an adult. And maybe, if Sean had too, and included him for once, Daniel wouldn’t have felt the need to get into Merrill's house to see what they were doing. Daniel had worked too! He had the right.

But they had gotten mad, and now they were fired. He didn’t mean that… and he was scared they were going to hurt him so he used his powers… and now Sean had a bruise on his eye and three people knew about his powers.

He didn’t see the big deal about the last part, but Sean seemed scared. He did feel bad about needing to find a new place to hide. He was struggling here, but he didn’t hate it… not completely.

Sean wasn’t mad at him, he said so. But he could tell he was pissed. Maybe because of him, maybe because of losing the job. He said they didn’t have enough to reach Puerto Lobos.

Now Daniel was annoyed and sad. He ended up looking like a stupid little kid who messed it up again. He needed to make it up for Sean. He needed to prove himself. He was trustworthy, he could do literally anything with his powers. That’s why, when Sean was distracted and not paying attention to him, he walked towards Finn, sitting on a log and drinking some beer.

“My favorite person” Finn said cheerfully, rising his can, even if he looked a bit down. “How’re ya enjoying your party. ‘S a shame you guys need to leave… I’m gonna miss you.”

“Yeah, it sucks” Daniel said kicking the dirt on the floor “I messed it all up again”

“Come on now. You didn’t” Finn said in his usual nonchalant tone, Daniel wished he could not care as well.

“Sean thinks I mess up everything. He won’t stop treating me like a kid!” he protests, not for the first time with Finn.

“I’m sure Sean doesn’t think that. He just has a lot on his mind.” Finn said. He knew the brothers were facing a lot right now, and they both had things to worry about. But he didn’t doubt the care they had for each other.

“I want to make it up for him” Daniel said, ignoring Finn’s attempt to make him feel better.

“Aww, I’m sure ya will. But Sean doesn’t need you to make it up for him, he just wants you safe” Finn said, bumping his fist softy against Daniel’s shoulder. Finding Daniel’s words sweet.

“But I know I can” Daniel said determined. “The safe, you said you know where it was, and I’m one hundred percent sure I can open it, you saw me! I lifted way more heavy things.”

“Whoa, whoa there” Finn said, smile fading. “I have no doubt you can do it, but you heard big bro, he said no. And Cassidy would kill me”

“We need the money. I want Sean to be safe too… And maybe with that he would begin to trust me again… please Finn, I need your help” he clasped his hands together in a plea.

Finn thought for a moment. On one side, Sean could be pissed, maybe even would want to punch him in the face for doing what he so explicitly prohibited Finn to do just a minute ago on this log. But on the other side, if they got the money, maybe he won’t be that mad. He cared about these boys, they faced so much shit just because, and he wanted them to arrive safely at Mexico, and visit them when they do.

“I can fend for myself. With my powers no one can hurt me” Daniel said, he was thinking of going anyway, even if Finn didn’t agree.

“Fuck, ok” Finn said serious “But we gotta be careful, otherwise if its not Cass who kills me, it’s gonna be your brother.”

Daniel beamed “Really? Thanks Finn, seriously.”

“Come on, we don’t have much time” he said, getting on his feet.

Daniel kept staring at the ceiling. Sean’s soft breaths next to him. He sighed. It had been such a stupid idea. Of course, that’s why Sean didn’t want to go along with it, because it could go well, or it could go wrong. It went incredibly wrong, but Daniel hadn’t stopped to think about the consequences at the time, he just wanted to prove his brother that he could be useful, that he could be more than a bother.

That last one, Sean blamed himself for. He had tried to push Daniel away in Seattle, saying he wanted more time for himself and his friends. But ever since his mother had left, he was obliged to take care of his little brother. That’s why Daniel, after loosing everything he knew, and feeling like Sean was neglecting him, was so desperate to prove himself worthy. Even if he was pissed because he thought Sean was being a dick, he wanted his brother to pay attention to him.

But Sean couldn’t really blame himself for it, could he? He was a kid when he had to step in to take care of Daniel while his father worked. It wasn’t fair, he deserved a bit of living too. But… yeah, he messed up. The whole heist incident wasn’t anything but his own fault. He didn’t mean to push Daniel away; he hadn’t thought he was. That much he had assured Daniel in one of their talks. But he had definitely relaxed on giving Daniel attention.

Sean made a soft groaning in his sleep that caused Daniel to look at him. Sean had a slightly frown that disappear eventually. Daniel kept looking at him, to be sure. When nothing else happened, the thoughts came back. His eyes darting to Sean’s scar on his eye.

It all happened so fast. Sean suddenly arrived with Cassidy, and they started to argue. Daniel might have got a little carried away, tired of Sean treating him like he was immature, and busted through the door. He had wake up Merril, he had a shotgun. Daniel was scared. Merril was going to hurt Finn, and Sean told him to use his power. He got shot in the shoulder. His head was a hurricane, and his powers were manifesting it. He was pissed. That had hurt. His plan was ruined, Sean still thought the only thing he did was mess thigs up. And maybe he was right, because he had messed up things yet again. No everything was even more complicated for them.

Before he knew it, he had unleashed a powerful wave of invisible force, and an explosion sound-like deafened the air. He crumbled to his knees, panting. Wood and dust still falling to the ground, settling.

He looked up, Merril wasn’t moving, that was good. To his left was Cassidy, and further away was Finn, they weren’t moving either “Finn” he called weakly. No answer.

His heart started to beat fast with panic. “Sean” he called next, alarmed. He turned to his right and… “Sean!” he cried, running next to his brother “Sean… NO! no… no…” he shook him, but Sean wasn’t responding. “Please…” this couldn’t be happening.

Sean had tiny little cuts from glass everywhere, but most horrifyingly he had blood coming out and splattered around his left eye, where a big shard of glass was cutting into it. He placed his hands on Sean’s shoulder, not even daring to touch his face. He had messed up. Again. And this time Sean couldn’t fix it. Because that’s what Sean always did, right? Fixed all his mistakes, ever since he accidently killed that cop back in Seattle. Well, congratulations. You have really outdone yourself.

Tears fell from Daniel’s cheek as his stomach stated to feel sick. He had killed his brother. He didn’t mean to… he didn’t… but he was angry… and he really wanted to blow stuff up, hadn’t he? Sean was only worried for him, and he had hurt him.

Daniel got up and walked backwards. Limbs shaking. He had first lost his father… and now he had lost his brother. He was all alone… and it was all his fault… what is he going to do now. He ran outside and collapsed near a tree, he started to throw up. He felt all kinds of sick. Once he stopped. He got up to his feet again.

Run from danger

The voice of Sean appeared in his head. The rules. He never really understood what that meant… he always followed Sean when something bad occurred… but now… Is that what it meant? Sean’s plan was always for him to run away if something really bad happened? Did he know something bad would happen?

Police were dangerous. The noise, the dead people, someone will find this eventually. He had to go somewhere. He started walking, weak and holding his right shoulder.

Daniel held his now healed shoulder, thumbing at the scar. He really thought Sean was dead, that everyone was dead. In the shock of everything, the thought of hurting Sean that bad… kept him from thinking straight. He never stopped to check his breathing, or his heartbeat. But what if there was none? That would’ve been worse.

Sean protested again in his sleep, turning a bit. Daniel looked at him concerned. Another nightmare? Sean had those sometimes. He placed his hand on Sean’s shoulder, considering waking him up, but eventually he calmed down, although the frown was still on his face. Daniel did what his dad and Sean did when he had nightmares, hold his hand. Usually, his dad and Sean hugged him, but he didn’t want to disturb Sean’s peace, so he opted for just holding his hand, and it seemed to have worked. Sean was breathing normally again, and a more eased expression showed on his face.

Daniel’s eyes traced again to the little marks the glass cuts had left on Sean’s shoulder. He traced them dedicatedly so to not wake Sean up. He wondered if Finn or Cassidy had some. Probably.

Daniel had been walking. He didn’t know how long. His mind was blank, he couldn’t even feel bad about what happened. He just followed the dirt road in silence, waiting to find something eventually. He did. He found the path back to camp. When he stepped in, it was dark, just like the whole way here. People had already gone to sleep. He stood there for a few moments, not sure of what to do.

“Daniel?” A voice startled Daniel, who turned quicky to the voice. It was Jacob, who’s eyes widened as he saw the blood on Daniel’s face and his shoulder. “Are you ok? Where’s Sean?” he asked concerned. He had trouble sleeping, still freaked out by Daniel’s powers, and so he decided to take some fresh air outside, until he found Daniel.

At the mention of Sean Daniel started to tear up again. Now Jacob was scared, Daniel looked in a state of shock, and if he was hurt…

“He’s… he’s…” He couldn’t finish.

He didn’t need to, Jacob understood perfectly. His heart sinking. “Y- You sure…?” he asked horrified.

“H-he… he had a glass stuck in…” he sobbed.

“But was he breathing? Was- was his heart still beating?” Jacob asked hurriedly.

“I… I don’t know… I…” he was confused now. He hadn’t checked. But Sean wasn’t moving, no one was… and he had so much blood.

In the state Daniel was in, Jacob didn’t need much more to tell something awful had went off. “I…” he thought quickly. “I know a place you can be safe. Both of us” he said. This couldn’t be a coincidence. He has been thinking about It all night. Daniel was special, and he needed to protect him. He came to the woods to find an answer, and this was it. His signal. Jacob rushed to Sean and Daniel’s tent. He took Daniel’s backpack and a blanket hurriedly and surveyed the stuff gathered around the floor. He met the envelope Sean kept his money in… he took a peek inside… it was a lot of money, he couldn’t leave it here… and if he really was dead… he needed it to keep Daniel safe. But if he wasn’t? Daniel doesn’t seem to be sure, but if he wasn’t waking up… Either way, police would come looking for him, and he was in no right to keep him from his brother. A note. He needed to leave a note to let him know where he was. He searched into Sean’s backpack, found his sketchbook. He garbed a pen and started writing on an earlier page, he had to be discrete, if the police searched this, he didn’t want them to catch Daniel too. He left the note in a code he was sure Sean would understand. He just hoped he could wake up and see it before the police arrived. He couldn’t be dead.

Conflicted about Daniel or not, about not knowing if he was being selfish or helpful, they had to go. He packed all of his belongings fast, and started to walk towards his car, it was a bit of a long walk, but after they reached it, Jacob could drive them away.

“Hey…” Jacob said eventually, trying to comfort Daniel “I’m sorry Sean got hurt… but I doubt he’s dead. He’s tough”

Daniel wanted to believe that, but it was hard to, considering what he saw. He just wasn’t sure anymore, and if Sean was indeed alive, he was leaving him alone.

“He’ll come looking for you once he wakes up, but right now we need to be safe, just in case” he said. Jacob was trying, but Daniel hadn’t shared much about what had really happened, nor did he knew the wound from his shoulder was from a gun.

Daniel sobbed softly as he followed Jacob. He was tired, and scared, and he only wanted Sean to be ok, but he looked everything but ok. All his feelings about feeling neglected seemed like ashes now, compared to the problem in hand. He should’ve been more careful. He should have thought more.

“Don’t be scared…” Jacob stopped walking to face him fully. The sight and sounds breaking his heart “It’s going to be ok…” he said, putting a hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

Daniel launched himself at Jacob, hugging him, seeking for any comfort he could get. Jacob was startled but obliged in the hug. “I’ll keep you safe until Sean comes back. Promise.

Daniel didn’t think it’d be ok. Wasn’t sure Sean would come back. But he was exhausted, and tired of arguing with himself and the world. So he just leaved it there.

Daniel kept holding Sean’s hand as he thought. The awful feelings on his chest still lingered from that night. He remembered everything vividly. And the concertation he had tonight with Sean kept his mind awake. Because how could he not feel guilty about what happened. He had thought he killed his brother. And he was so grateful he hadn’t. He didn’t know how he would have survived without him. Or if he even would have survived.

He had told Jacob what happened at the farm eventually on the way to Haven Point. When they reached there, they treated his wounds, and they really took him in. They were all really nice. Or so he thought in that moment. He was vulnerable, and people took advantage of it. Jacob made him show his power to Lisbeth, and it felt incredibly wrong to disobey Sean like this, when he knew his had hurt his brother. But days passed and then weeks, and Sean never came. And a lot of other inner turmoil surged.

What If Sean was dead? Really dead. He had killed. His own brother. At the time he believed in sins, and that made it all worse.

His second fear was that Sean was alive, but he simply did not want to see Daniel. And Daniel couldn’t argue with that. He had ruined everything for Sean. Always has. And he had badly hurt him. If he wanted to continue on his own… then that was… fair. Even if his heart shattered at the thought.

Lisbeth seemed to lean more for the second option, always painting Sean as the bad guy who had corrupted Daniel. But Danile knew deep down that wasn’t true. No matter how persistent Lisbeth was in telling him Sean just didn’t want anything to do with him.

So when Sean did showed up, he felt the weight of his shoulders ease. He felt like breathing for the first time in a long time. But when he looked how hurt Sean was. The scars, the burns, the cuts, the bruises… he knew. Even if his brother didn’t notice yet, he knew the problem was him. No matter what he did, intentionally or not, he would always hurt Sean. And as much as he wanted to stay with Sean… he knew it would be the end for his brother. He was nothing but an unstable destruction machine. So he had refused, confused as well, from all the things Lisbeth had told him. He was convinced Sean was a sinner. At least partly, but he knew his brother, and he knew he was bad himself… so he was having trouble believing anything.

He now realized that he only messed up even more. He had hurt Sean again when he pushed him away, making him worry to death… and then… he was beat multiple times until Daniel finally decided to stop it. Because Sean was ready to die for him, no matter how messed up he was. He blamed himself for that too, for not seeing clearly. They had talked about it as well, but not as much.

Now Daniel wanted to be the best brother Sean could have, because he owed it to him. To him and to himself. To make amends with the past and keep Sean safe from the world. He learned his lesson and wouldn’t let his brother hurt anymore. He made up his mind when he held Lisbeth with his power on that burning church. Anyone who dared to mess with Sean, with the wolf brothers, would pay.

“Nghh” Sean protested once again in his sleep. The hand helped him stay calmed for a while, but now he was back at dreaming again.

Daniel’s heart sunk in sadness, he didn’t like his brother having bad dreams, and he knew it was because of the horrible thing he lived. Things he had to face in order to bring Daniel here.

“Sean” Daniel said softly and rocked Sean until he woke up.

“Hm…” Sean rubbed his eyes. “What’s wrong?” he asked, thinking Daniel had woken up for a reason.

“You were having a bad dream…” Daniel said.

Sean sighed, yeah, he was. He was sick of it actually, months of nightmares since they arrived here. They were always messed up horrifying events he had lived, twisted up in a way that always kept his anxiety at peak. It was always Daniel being hurt or being taken away. He even dreamed of Dying and leaving Daniel alone to fend for himself.

“I’m not now” he said softly, pressing his head back into the pillow. He then noticed Daniel’s hand on his, and Daniel’s eyes and face. He seemed quite awake, not his grumpy sleepy face. “What time is it?” Sean asked.

“Uh… not sure… maybe three or four a.m.?” Daniel said. He knew he had been thinking for a while now.

Sean was alarmed. “Why are you awake?” he asked.

“Couldn’t sleep… kept thinking about what we talked about. And… that night, when I hurt you” he admitted.

“Cub…” Sean said sadly.

“I just… it’s still horrible, remembering it. And I try not to think about it but… I really messed up… and them I tried to push you away and-”

“Hey… shhh… it’s ok” Sean said softly. “I know it was horrible… we experienced a bunch of bad things. But if we just get tangled on those memories, we will feel bad forever.” Sean said, brushing Daniel’s long bang away from his forehead, as if to scare away the thoughts. “Let’s try to focus on the here and now.” Sean said, scooting closer to his brother.

As expected, Daniel found Sean’s voice calming, his words and actions putting a stop to his train of thought. He leaned further, hiding his face on his brother’s chest. He hadn’t done that in a while, he had forgot how nice it felt. How soothing it was. Sean stroked his hair, helping him relax further. The steady beat of Sean’s heart was grounding, a reminding that he was ok. He was in no pain, and they were together. They were safe. He kept that in mind, guiding his mind to the present.

“Thanks Sean…” Daniel said, relieved to feel sleepiness find its way to his body. If he had remembered how quick he falls asleep hugging Sean, he would have immediately done it, avoiding the restless night. But no use in dueling on it, it already happened, right?

Daniel fell asleep first, Sean following right away. Sean also felt grounded to the present when he held Daniel close. It reminds him that he is safe. He is ok. The night continued peacefully, no more bad thoughts, and no more nightmares, just soft breaths feeling the air of the silent night in the Diaz brother’s household.

Chapter Text

Friday, November 24th, 2017

Sean looked at the clock in the wall, his shift had ended. He stretched, his ankles cracking as he stood on his tiptoes and his knuckles doing the same as he held his intertwined hands high above his head. He sighed, cracking the rest of the knuckles that hadn't give in and walked behind the counter, where Daniel sat.

“Hey bro, time to go.” Sean said, patting his back to get his attention before taking off his apron “Let me just freshen up a sec.”

Daniel nodded and got to his feet to wake up his legs. He had been unusually sat almost all day. Usually, he was excited to help Sean in whatever way he could around his job. Sean figured that maybe the heat made him want to sit still, or maybe he just didn’t feel like it today, but his big brother instincts told him that there was something else to it.

Sean walked to the bathroom, where he splashed his sweat-covered face with water, and he sighed in relief as he felt the air cooling down his skin. Temperatures of the town were going down by now, but it was still a bit warm, add that to the fact that he must run from the kitchen to the tables and to the counter repeatedly to do his work, and yeah, Sean could sweat his ass off working here. The environment indoors wasn’t precisely cold.

Once he felt cooled down enough, he exited the bathroom. Looks like Daniel was already waiting for him outside. He made his way over to the door, waving at Matías as he passed by, when he called for him.

“Espera, Sean, ¿puedo hablar contigo un segundo? (Wait, Sean, could I talk to you for a moment?)” He asked, waving Sean to come closer.

Sean obliged, walking closer to him.

“En un mes es Navidad, y quería decirte cómo nos vamos a organizar. Generalmente esta época del año se llena de gente. No te preocupes, ni se parece a como cuando es Verano (So, Christmas is only a month away, and I wanted to tell you how we’re going to arrange the schedule. Usually, this time of year gets a bit crowdy. Don’t worry, it’s no way near close to how it is in summertime)” Matías chuckled.

Sean’s curiosity peeked, because if he needed to work more, he would. Everything for extra money was welcomed. Might as well do for a great gift for Daniel. “Ok, qué va a cambiar (Ok, what’s changing)”

“Mis hermanos y yo vamos a estar juntos aquí para la semana de Navidad. Mamá dice que tenemos que mantener a la familia cerca en estos tiempos y así. Pero bueno, todo debería quedar igual hasta esa semana, que me gustaría que te la tomes libre. (So, me and my siblings are going to stick together in here for the Christmas week. Mom says we gotta keep the family close in such times, whatever. Anyway, everything should stay the same until that week, which I’d like you to take off)” Matías explained.

Wait… “Que?” Sean asked, surprised. That was definitely not where he thought this would go.

“Si, por más tedioso que sea, mama tiene razón. Es época de compartir en familia. Además, con toda mi familia en el lugar, no tendrías mucho que hacer. (Yeah, as much tedious as it is, mom’s right. It’s a time to share with family. Plus, with all my family being around, you wouldn’t have much to do).” Matías giggled, there were too many hands for the work.

“Entiendo… pero ¿seguro que no hay nada en lo que pueda ayudar? Necesito el dinero (Oh… I understand. But… are you sure I can’t help with anything? I need the money)” Sean asked hopeful.

Matías put on an empathetic expression. “Te voy a pagar la semana. Eres amigo, y eres confiable. Es mi regalo de Navidad, tómate la semana para estar con tu hermano (I’m still paying you the week. You’re a friend, and you’re trustworthy. It’s my Christmas gift, take the week to be with your brother.)” He said. Matías knew Sean was doing his best, he had just started his new life here, and he was working hard for it, but he was still so young, he deserved to have a break.

“Estas seguro? Puedo trabajar, eso no es problema (Oh… are you sure? I mean, I can still work, that’s no problem.)” Sean expressed. It didn’t feel right to just not work.

Matías laughed softly “Estoy seguro. Y, además, eres el único recibiendo privilegios. Son los beneficios de ser mi amigo (I am sure. And besides, you’re the only one getting the special treatment. That’s the benefits of being friends with me)”

Sean was conflicted. He felt amused by that, and completely grateful for it. This kind of attentive actions he had reminded him a lot of Lyla, and how she was literally the kindest person by his side. She would always help Sean when he was feeling down, and Matías was not staying behind.

But apart from that, he also felt kind of bad. He didn’t want anyone’s pity. He didn’t want to look like a homeless, one-eyed freak that couldn’t fend for himself. A guy who always took the easy path. Or in better words, he didn’t want to take advantage of Matías. But it would be rude to just point that out when Matías was doing it as a gift, because he thought it was something Sean could use, and not something that would make him feel useless. That was obviously not the plan.

“Ok” Sean opted for saying instead. “Gracias… No sé por qué eres tan bueno con nosotros. (Thank you. I… I don’t know why’re you so nice with us.)”

Matías crooked his head in confusion “No necesitas ser un dios para merecer cosas buenas, Sean… Lamento que hayas aprendido lo contrario (You don’t have to be a god to earn nice things Sean… Sorry you learned otherwise)” he said sadly.

“Bueno… (Well, I mean…)” That was a bit too accurate “Quise decir porque nos conocemos hace poco (I meant because you met us not so long ago)” Sean said, but truth so be told, he realized that this wasn’t the first time a stranger helped them. But considering everything he lived, it was hard to trust anyone.

“No te ofrecí trabajo al minuto en que te conocí ¿o si? (I mean, I didn’t offer you work the minute I met you, right?)” Matías giggled. “Eres una buena persona Sean, Y sé que pasaste por mucho (You’re a lovely guy Sean. And I know you’ve been through some things)”

“Lo sé (I know)” Sean simply said. “Es que no estoy acostumbrado (I’m just not used to it.)”

Matías nodded “A otra cosa. Estoy considerando ir a la Universidad. (Hey, onto another thing, I’m co considering going to a university)” Matías said.

“Wow, en serio? Que bien, deberías. (Wow, really? That’s good man, you should)” Sean smiled.

“No decidí nada todavía, pero es que mis hermanos me estuvieron presionando para elegir de una vez. Pero no estoy seguro de qué me gusta. (Nothing’s decided yet, it’s just that my brothers had been pushing me to choose something already, but I’m not quite sure what I like.)” He said.

“Bueno, pienso que sí deberías elegir algo, pero no te apures. Debería ser algo que te guste. (Well, I think you should totally choose something, but don’t rush it. It should be something you like tho)” Sean encouraged. “Mi papa me dijo eso. Siempre quiso que eligiera algo que a mí me gustara (My dad told me that. He always wanted me to do something I liked)” He added, the words escaping him before he could think them through.

“Gracias Sean… Lo seguiré pensando. Ahora ve con Dan, sigue esperando (Thanks Sean… I’ll keep thinking about it. Now go with Dan, he’s still waiting.)” Matías waved him away.

Sean nodded and said his goodbyes, walking to the door. He was now regretting ever saying anything about his father. Because the thought was opening a void inside his chest, threatening to consume him whole. He wondered if there would ever be a time where he could think about it, and not feel like he was going to crumble.

College. In another universe maybe. Seemed hilarious to think about it now, he? In college? Yeah right. But it had been a possibility back then. Dad was working hard for him to go to whichever place he chose to apply to. He was really the best. And Sean was feeling now, not for the first time, that he could’ve been more appreciative of that.

Art, mechanics, running… it was all a confusing spiral in his mind. What did he want? But that worry had banished a long time ago, he never really got to choose something before he had to run away. And now it didn’t matter what he wanted. He didn’t have time for college, only to keep looking forward. His art was selling well and adding that to the money he earned on the diner, he was doing pretty well.

All his interests had gone to a second plane of priorities. Surviving being the first. It always has, keeping Danile safe.

“Took your time” Daniel said when Sean exited the place. Not bitter, just surprised.

“Yeah, Matías wanted to talk to me” He explained.

“Oh, everything good?” he asked as they started their walk home.

“Yeah, just about Christmas week and his family coming here. He said I won’t have to work that week” Sean said.

“Awesome!” Daniel cheered “We can celebrate together”

Sean chuckled “I was going to celebrate with you either way, but I guess we do have more time” He smiled.

“Hey… about celebrating…” Daniel started looking down, but then he was interrupted by some guys, speaking not so subtle to them. They had just walked halfway across the town square.

“Gringos. Nos invaden como cucarachas (Gringos, they invade us like cockroaches)” One said, the other looking. Both with a disgusted face.

And it was the same story all over again, Sean feared. Because being part Mexican and part American, wherever they go, they would always be judged by one half or another. Esteban taught them to not be ashamed who they were. He never wanted his boys to suffer that.

He was exiled because of hatred, and now he was apparently being judged for speaking another language. But Sean long ago stopped being hurt by that, the world didn’t see humans. Disliking was easier.

“¿Le falta un ojo? (He’s missing an eye?)” one guy said.

“Si, tuerto. Feo (Yeah, one-eyed. Ugly)”

Sean instinctively reached to touch his eyepatch, the phrase made him feel exposed, but it was still covered.

“Ey! Iméciles! (Hey! Assholes!)” Daniel suddenly shouts to them.

Both Sean and the two mans were surprised. The guys didn’t expect them to know Spanish it seems, but one of them quickly found the situation amusing. The smirk, Sean thought, was the one of a person who wanted to hurt. He knew, he had saw it before. He put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

“¿¡Qué les pasa!? (What’s wrong with you!?)” Daniel shouted, eyes flaming in anger, because he wasn’t about to let these people talk about his brother like that.

“Daniel!” Sean scolded; they didn’t need anymore trouble. And a few people were looking because of the raisin voice.

One of the guys, the one with the smiled, laughed loudly “No sabia que hablaban español. Ahora me gustaría hablar, ¿algo que quieran decirme? (I didn’t know you spoke spanish. Now I want to talk. Something you wanna say?” he asked, walking closer.

Sean just grabbed Daniel, hugging him around the shoulder and pulling him close to him, and started walking.

“Wh- Sean?” Daniel said confused.

More laughing was heard behind, and more talking, but Sean was just preoccupied on leaving the place.

“Sean!” Daniel said annoyed “We don’t-”

“Daniel, please” Sean just said.

Daniel opened his mouth to protest but then closed it. The last time he did what he wanted without thinking…

“They were mean” Daniel said.

“I know” Sean sighed and stopped to look at his brother.

“But engaging with those kinds of assholes is what we mustn’t do. We know better. We’re new around here. What do you think it’s going to happen if we put up a fight? What’s that going to look like? Do you want to run away again?”

“No, of course not” Daniel just wanted to stand up for Sean for once. He ha let Sean hurt enough.

“Then drop it” Sean said. He didn’t mean to be mean, but they’ve been here before. Being reckless had awful consequences.

“Sean, I just-” Daniel started annoyed, but was cut off.

“We probably should start speaking Spanish in public. To avoid things like these” Sean said.

“What? But I like English, it’s what I grew up with” Daniel protested.

The only reason Sean let him speak English in public was because Daniel was still learning at the time, but now he knew enough to hold up a conversation.

“I’m not saying you have to stop speaking it. Just not where people can hear us.” Sean said.

“I am sick of hiding things” Daniel crossed his arms.

Sean sighed “I don’t like it either. But we have to”

“You act like I can’t take care of myself” Daniel said.

“What?” Sean asked

“I can take care of you too. I thought we went over this already.” He said.

“I- I know, I don’t doubt that, but-”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like it” Daniel said bitter.

“Daniel, I… I can see what you’re trying to say. And I understand, but it’s not that I don’t trust you. I swear it’s not. But talking back like that, I mean… where did you want to go with that?”

“I just wanted to clarify some things for them” Daniel said. “I wasn’t going to let them touch us, I was prepared to stop them with my power.”

“That would’ve been a spotlight of attention Enano, we don’t want that.” Sean said.

“So what happened to ‘no one messes with the wolf brothers’ then”

“Daniel…” Sean took a deep breath for the third time by now “That stands. No one messes with us, but they didn’t hurt us” he said.

“No, but they did mess with us.” Daniel turned to look at the guys from earlier, now seated in the fountain, already moved on from the brothers. “We don’t want the spotlight. Got it.” He said, closing his fists and concentrating.

Sean recognized that humming sound immediately “Daniel, stop” he put a hand on his shoulder. Sean was terrified. “Please!” because they couldn’t allow more mistakes.

The guys fell inside the fountain. No one was seeing them so, from what people can tell, they just fell in. Daniel smiled in satisfaction as they climbed out, soaked wet and cursing.

“There. Now we’re even.” Daniel said turning and walking away.

Sean stood there for a moment, having trouble to think, and then followed Daniel.

Sean worked on a new painting outside, concentrating on mixing the colors properly to a point he was satisfied with them. Drawing always helped him relax, think, process. That’s the main reason why he kept track of their journey in his sketchbook, it was his way to not go insane in the middle of the chaos.

Daniel sat on the concrete floor, feet always on the sand. He’d never get tired of the soft feeling. He was just tracing lines in the sand, looking to the sky, the floor, and the ocean in turns.

They were both used to a comfortable silence, giving how the spent every day together, sometimes you just ran out of things to say, and it’s simple enough to just keep silent and enjoy each other's company. But this wasn’t a comfortable silence. Sean felt it. It was a tense one. So many things left to say about what happened, but he didn’t know where to start, and so he was blank, working in his painting like nothing had happened. But he didn’t want things to remain unsaid. He had promised that to Daniel.

They hadn’t really fight since they got here. Not since after their reunion in Haven Point. Was that good? Bad? Sean wasn’t sure. Sometimes he felt like they depended too much on each other, sometimes, it just felt right, the world had failed them after all. This felt important to Sean. He wanted to help Daniel; he didn’t want to fail him again.

He placed his tools down, and walked over to Daniel, sitting next to him, and joining his brother into feeling the sand with his feet. “Can we talk?” Sean asked softly.

Daniel looked up to him, then at the floor again “Yeah” he said.

“I do trust you” he started with that “I don’t want you to doubt that… and I’m sorry if I sometimes show the opposite. It’s just… I get scared sometimes… I don’t want to fuck it all up again… I want to keep you safe. So, when shit like what happened earlier happens, I totally know you can send them flying without a thought. But if the aftermath put us in danger. Puts you in danger…I don’t…”

“I wasn’t thinking” Daniel said, now facing Sean “We were going to be the spotlight, and then what? … I would’ve ruin everything you worked so hard to get.” Daniel shook his head in guilt “I’m sorry”

“Hey, you worked for this too…” Sean said, putting an arm around his brother. “I don’t blame you for anything Enano. We all learn. And I am sorry, for acting like a dick. I got scared, but that was no excuse... I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”

“It’s ok, I get why you were scared Sean.” Daniel said, putting an arm around Sean now “You’re right… I am reckless… and that hasn’t led to good things.”

“I think you were right too… We shouldn’t let anyone mess with us. I’m tired of that shit… No one messes with us” Sean smiled and ruffled Daniel’s hair affectionately. “And what you did was perfect. No one realized, and those assholes got what they deserved for calling me ugly”

“Ugh, don’t remind me” Daniel picked up a rock between the sand with his powers, and launched it towards the ocean. The rock landed on it and splashed as it did, which was impressive considering how far it was. “I wish I could’ve done more than just getting them splashed with water.”

“Maybe next time” Sean chuckled “We’ll think of something, together.”

“For the better of the world, let them pry there is no next time” Daniel laughed in return and hugged Sean fully “Thanks Sean, and I’m sorry again. I don’t like fighting with you.”

Sean embraced his little brother with practiced ease, and the same amount of love. “I’m sorry too, I don’t like fighting either.”

They hugged for a minute longer, and then parted away. Not before, of course, Sean delivered a soft kiss on top of Daniel’s head. A reassurance for both of them.

“And they were wrong, you know?” Daniel says. “Your eye doesn’t make you ugly. I think it’s a part of you that is nice just because it’s part of you. Because, you know, you’re just nice” he looked away, embarrassed at having to say that, but he would rather die than to let his brother think bad of himself.

Sean chuckled and of course, took the chance to tease “Thank you. Don’t worry, I don’t pay attention to assholes. But my brother saying I’m good looking? Should I make a wish?”

Daniel rolled his eyes and smiled, shoving Sean gently “Shut up, I tell you you’re nice with me all the time. And just because I said you’re not that ugly, you don't get to brag”

“You do say it all the time” Sean smiled “So it must be super true, I am really the best”

Daniel giggled, it only felt nice to say it when he knew Sean needed to hear it. “I’m gonna stop saying anything” he said feigning annoyance.

“Even you don’t believe that.” Sean pointed out. “But don’t worry, I think you’re nice too. And adorable, specially when you try to act all tough”

“Ok, I’m done” Daniel said standing and walking away.

“Yeah, it’s cute when you get annoyed like that too” Sean kept teasing.

Daniel just entered the house and started walking upstairs.

“Wait” Sean called laughing, “Seriously, I’ll stop. Our fight wasn’t the only thing I wanted to talk about.”

Daniel stopped on his tracks. He hesitated, not really feeling the need after their playful banter, but it must be important if Sean had asked. That was enough reason for him to turn around and walk his was back downstairs, leaning on the doorframe of the patio looking at Sean. “What is it?” he asked.

“You seemed a bit down today. You didn’t spoke much during work.” Sean pointed out “Something on your mind cub?”

Daniel sighed, walking closer and sitting back down next to Sean “I… Yeah I guess I feel a bit sad”

“You want to talk about it?” Sean said pulling Daniel close.

“No… Yeah. I don’t know” Daniel sighed once again and covered his face in annoyance.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I know how it can feel to just not know how you feel. Try just saying what comes to your mind. Doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense. And if it’s something about me, don’t be afraid to make me feel bad. I promise I won’t” Sean said, because he knew Daniel could hide his guilt just because he didn’t want Sean to feel bad. He knew because Sean did the same to Daniel.

“It’s not about you” Daniel said, taking his hands away from his face, instead using them to hold his knees close to his chest. He felt vulnerable for some reason, but he knew if there was ever a person to share it with, Sean was it.

“Ok” Sean said, glad that it wasn’t some sort of guilt for a change “Then what is it?”

“You know how last month was Dad’s…” Daniel stopped, not really sure how to say it, but Sean didn’t need more to understand.

“Yeah?” Sean nodded. This was about dad?

“Well… ever since we got here, we’ve been so busy working hard to make our lives here comfortable. And it’s been fun… but… with my head thinking about all that, our new home, dad’s anniversary… I got distracted and I…”

Sean gave him time to think, to finish his sentence. But he showed his support by rubbing small circles with his thumb on his shoulder.

“I forgot about Halloween” he finished. “Part of it because… I don’t like to think about that time of year… being so close to dad’s… but I always enjoyed it… and it was the second time I don’t celebrate it and… I don’t know. It’s silly but it just really made me sad.” He explained.

“Oh… little wolf” Sean said sadly, pulling him even closer to him. It was true, first he couldn’t celebrate it because they had run away.  They were in the woods; Sean was scared and didn’t know what to do. And now, with so much stuff going on at the same time, Sean hadn’t even thought of it. Daniel had always enjoyed Halloween. Had always beg Sean to take him trick or treating. A pang of sadness hit Sean at the thought, because he was always so annoyed by it, it had felt like a chore when he should had enjoyed the childhood moments they had left. But he couldn’t have known. He tried to think of himself as not so much of a bad brother back then, even if it was really hard.

“I’m sorry, we should have done something” Sean said.

“No… I don’t think that would’ve feel ok either” Daniel said sadly.

“But you always loved dressing up and making fun costumes” Sean remembered.

“Now they’re nice?” Daniel chuckled, remembering how Sean always refused to wear what Daniel had made.

“They were always fun. I just didn’t know better” Sean said with guilt.

“It’s fine. I don’t care about that” Daniel assured, resign his head on Sean’s shoulder.

“We should celebrate it” Sean said.

“What? When?” Daniel asked.

“Today” Sean said smiling.

“Sean, it’s the end of November” Daniel giggled.

“So? We make our own dates. We celebrate when we want. Wolf brother’s stile” he said.

Daniel laughed more at that “Are you serious?”

“I’m as serious as I can be” he said, but he was also laughing “We shouldn’t stop celebrating Halloween. It sucks that what happened was around that time, but I don’t want that to dye one of your favorite festivities. I won’t let it” Sean said firmly.

“But we don’t have costumes, or anything like that” Daniel said.

“We’ll make it work.” Sean said determined “I already have an eyepatch, we could do something pirate related. And we’ll buy candy. And I can’t promise a horror movie but maybe we can read a horror comic”

Daniel smiled “That isn’t as scary as a movie”

“We’ll have to find an extra scary one then” he smiled and got to his feet, handing out his hand for Daniel. “Come on, let’s hurry before the stores close.”

Daniel laughed “Sean, I don’t need to celebrate Halloween that bad”

“Well, I do. Come on” he encouraged.

Laughing, and feeling a lot better, Daniel took Sean’s hand and got up. It was always crazy how Sean always knew what to do or say. He hoped he could be the same for Sean one day.

Daniel was wearing Mushroom’s bandana around his neck like he used to back in Humboldt. He had put on a plain black tank top to make it highlight. Sean just wore a shirt with skull, glad he had at least a piece of clothing that matched the vibes.

They walked inside their first shop. Once they never went in before. Usually, they just get groceries at the nearest store, this one was more centric on the town.

“{Haha, look!}” Daniel pointed out. He spoke Spanish like Sean suggested. He was right, it would be less suspicious and would produce less questions. Matías had caught them after all.

A shelf with accessories and party stuff was on the direction Daniel pointed at. Probably things that hadn’t sold on Halloween.

“{Perfect}” Sean said, walking right to it. “{What screams pirate the most}” he said looking through the stuff.

Daniel joined in the search, they had quite the variety. “{Unicorn horn isn’t very piratey}” he giggled, putting away the headband.

“{Maybe you want some animal ears}?” Sean chuckled.

“{Maybe, are they wolf ones?}” Daniel asked.

Sean laughed at that, he wasn’t being serious “{I think so, werewolf. But that isn’t a pirate either}”

“{Who says so?}” Daniel smiled “{We can be pirate werewolves!}” Daniel said excitedly “{We are celebrating late already, we make our own costumes. Wolf brother’s stile}”

Sean laughed fondly “{You’re right}” he nodded and picked up two set of wolf ears. As he did so, he accidentally grabbed something else from the shelf, and it fell to the floor. Sean crouched to pick it up and when he grabbed it, he couldn’t help but smile. “Look!” he said showing it to Daniel.

“{Oh. My. God}” Daniel beamed and grabbed it “{We can match!}” he said, looking at Sean with joyful eyes.

“{And it’s pirate themed}” Sean smiled. They were lucky to have found that, and pretty happy about it.

“{Come on}” Sean said walking away from the accessories.

Daniel noticed Sean picked up two set of wolf ears “{You’re getting one too?}” he asked.

“{Of course. We’re matching, right?}” he smiled.

“{Yeah, we are.}” Daniel beamed even more.

They stopped in front of the treats section. Sean grabbed two big bars of chocolate and kept eyeing for things they liked. “{Go ahead, grab something you like}”

Daniel started looking, nothing really catching his attention until… “{Oh my god. Sean!” he pulled Sean’s shirt in excitement. “They have Chock-O-Crisps}”

“{Oh, yeah, they do}” Sean looked at them, he wasn’t sure they were going to be down here. Some brands were different, but big ones stayed.

“{Can we get some? Please}” Daniel clasped his hands and look pleadingly at Sean.

“{Stop the show Enano}” Sean chuckled “{Of course we can get some, we’re celebrating.}” he said.

“{I haven’t had one in so long…}” Daniel couldn’t wait anymore.

“{I know…}” Sean said. This time Daniel was right, it had been a while and not just two days.

Sean grabbed a full box of them.

“{Woah… that many?}” Daniel asked.

“{Yeah, I want some too, and you deserve it}” Sean said smiling.

“{That’s awesome but…}” Daniel looked at the price tag, not really sure yet how much was what, or if it was expensive “{Can we afford it?}” he asked.

Sean melted at his brother’s concerns “{Of course we have, I promise. We haven’t made big expenses these last few months.}” Sean assured.

“{Ok…}” Daniel said, still hesitant.

“{We only used our savings to get a mattress, and small things. We’re fine Enano.}” Sean tried to convince.

Daniel knew Sean sold his art in the morning and worked at the diner in the afternoon, he was always there with him. Sean was right, they didn’t spend much, only doing small fixes here and there around the house. Sean had said they would be doing some carpeting now that the walls have been mostly fixed up. Luna, Matías’ sister, was great at giving instructions on how to do it. Sean said they’d get new windows and also a railing for the balcony, and that couldn’t be cheap, but they hadn’t spent the money yet, and Daniel didn’t think Sean would waste money if they didn’t have enough.

“Ok” Daniel nodded more secure now.

Sean, now glad that Daniel had a smile on his face again, grabbed a bag that contained various candy, and walked a bit to search for salty treats. He grabbed a classic bag of chips and a flavored one. “{Something else that catches your eye?}” Sean asked.

“Hm…” Daniel made a quick glance to the food “{No, I think that’s it}”

They went to checkout and paid for their stuff. Once outside the store, Sean pulled the accessories out of the bag. Handing Daniel, the eyepatch and werewolf eras and keeping one set to himself. They put it on, looking at their reflection in the window of the store. Sean smiled, Daniel had put his eyepatch on his left eye, and with the ears, they looked so much alike. Sean and a smaller version of Sean, or Daniel and a bigger version of Daniel.

“{Awesome, we’re real wolves now}” Daniel said.

“{Real? We were always real wolves, AWOOOOO}” Sean cupped his mouth and let out a big howl.

Daniel giggled amused, looking around for people. “{You’re crazy!}”

“{Maybe I am, come on}” Sean nudged Daniel softly and then they both howled to the sky. Some people looking over where the sound was and smiling when they saw the brothers with matching ears and eyepatches. Some of them even let out small “aww”

They started walking again, Sean guiding them to where he thought he remembered a bookshop. “{Sorry it has to be a comic, but it’s all the horror I can get}” he said.

“{It’s ok, as long as it has creepy images. I’ve never read creepy comics before, only hero ones.}” Daniel said.

“{Well, they probably have something. I know horror mangas exists.}” Sean said.

Daniel dug out a Chock-O-Chrisp from the bag and opened it, eating the first half in one bite, moaning in satisfaction at the missed flavor “{Oh my god…}” he closed his eyes “{I missed this so much}”

Sean laughed at how much Daniel enjoyed those things “{Well, we have tons now}”

“{Yeah, I wish we didn’t have to wait so long}” Daniel said, still smiling and eating his treat.

“{Sorry… I guess I never really thought of candy… I should’ve got more stuff for you}” Sean said, feeling bad for not realizing.

“{What? No. Sean, you had plenty of stuff to take care of first, it is all still too new}” Daniel tried to reassure “{And you did buy stuff for me, I sleep on that mattress too}” he giggled, “{besides, I hadn’t thought about it either}”

“{Well, we can get more things now that we’re doing well. It’s always nice to have things for ourselves, right?}” Sean smiled “{And don’t forget Christmas is close, so we actually get more excuses to celebrate and get things}”

“{Sean, I don’t need more things}” Daniel said, because he didn’t want Sean to spend money only on him, especially on their situation.

“{Well see}” Sean smiled grew wider.

They reached the bookstore, stepping inside proudly with their new looks. They started looking for the comic section.

“Los puedo ayudar en algo? (Can I help you find something?)” A worker approached them, it was a man, probably around his thirties, a big smile on his face.

“Si, estábamos buscando comics de terror? (Yes, we were looking for Horror comics?)” Sean asked.

The guy smiled even more, noticing a pattern with the boys. “Si, temenos (Yeah, we have those.)” he said pointing them and guiding them to a shelf full of comics and showing them where the horror ones were. “Son hermanos? (Are you brothers?)” he asks.

“Si” Daniel smiled.

“Qué nos delató? (What gave it away?)” Sean asked chuckling.

The man laughed as well “Me encanta la combinación (I love the combination)” he said, pointing at the ears.

“Somos hombres lobo pirata! (We’re pirate werewolves!)” Daniel said excitedly.

The man laughed even more, finding the boys adorable. He then let them look at the comics.

“{Look, this matches the vibe}” Daniel said, picking up a werewolf one.

“{Yeah, but that’s not really scary, is it?}” Sean said.

“{You’re right}” Daniel agreed, putting it back.

“{What about… this one?}” Sean said, holding one that starred a haunted house or something paranormal.

“{Could be}” Daniel nodded, still looking “{Oh, look at his one}” he said, pulling out and showing it to Sean. It was one that seemed to contain a classic cliché, friends hang out together, and something happens to them. In this case, a psychopath was trying to murder him inside their house?

Sean chuckled “{That’s scary?}”

“{The though of being stalked in your own house, or a person being inside your house and you not knowing is a creepy though, don’t you think?}” he said.

Sean nodded “{I guess you’re right}” he said.

“{I don’t know which one to get thought…}” Daniel said, looking between the ghost one, and the murder one.

“{Let’s take both}” Sean said.

“{You sure?}” Daniel asked surprised.

“{Yeah, in case one of them suck}” Sean said, and handed them to Daniel.

“{Ok, yeah}” Daniel took them and nodded.

“{You sure you can handle it? And it won’t be like the last time we watched a horror movie?}” Sean teased.

“{Shut up}” Daniel rolled his eyes “{I’m noy a kid, and this isn’t a movie.}”

“{Yeah, ok}” Sean smiled. They went to checkout and paid for the comics, and Sean additionally got a book about construction, repairing and that kind of thing. He figured the knowledge would come in handy as they progressed with the house. At that, Daniel got an idea. To get a cooking book for himself, so that maybe he could learn to do more than basic stuff and prepare more tasty meals for Sean.

Daniel had maintained his smile since they got to the house, and to be honest he was having a great time himself. They both tasted more chock-o-crisps and shared a bag of chips now. The first comic they read was not that good in terms of scary. It had a good plot, but the ghost thing wasn’t really that present, only a few paranormal things happening. Sean and Daniel took turns to make the voices of the characters, that had been fun and really helped to immerse into the story.

And it was funny how Sean did the different voices, reminds him of when they played together when they were kids. Sean would always make the best voices, and the funniest ones too. He still had the touch now.

“This isn’t working” Daniel laughed, they had finished the comic and was glad Sean decided to get both “I mean, how can a comic make you scared? It can’t make you jump”

“Horror isn’t about how many times a movie can make you jump out of your seat, the ones that abuse that recourse are usually awfully made. Horror is about how on edge they can put you, when you start hearing more sounds than usual and feel like something’s behind you” Sean explained, opening the big bag of candy.

Daniel takes one for himself. “I guess you’re right, but can a comic do that?” he asks.

“If books can do it, I guess comics can too. And if not, at least we’re having a nice time, right?” he said.

“right” Daniel smiled.

They read the second comic, and it was much creepier. The shots of the person watching the group of friends from the dark rooms of the house made Daniel get goosebumps a time or two. By the time they finished, he was on alert, like Sean had said. It didn’t help that it had already gone dark when they started reading it and now it was pitch black, their space only lighted by a flashlight.

“This one was cool” Sean said once they finished.

“Yeah, I liked the voice you made for the killer.” Daniel smiled; Sean had used a deep disturbing voice.

“Thanks” Sean smiled “this was more graphic than I expected” Sean said, the murdering scenes were not nice to look at.

“Yeah” Daniel giggled “I didn’t like those” The brother’s had shared grossed out looks as they went through the pages of the screaming and cutting.

“You’re hungry?” Sean asked, it was time for dinner.

“Nah… we ate these things” Daniel said, looking at the candy. They hadn’t eaten everything, but they had tasted some.

“Yeah, me neither” Sean agreed.

“Let me see if I can prepare some sandwiches with what we have” Daniel said standing up and grabbing the flashlight.

“I’ll help” Sean said getting up, but Daniel pushed him back down to the couch.

“You know the rules” he smiled “I cook for you”

“I don’t feel ok just not helping” Sean said.

“Deal with it” Daniel smiled and walked away, because Sean always made everything for him, like this whole day.

“I’ll get bored” Sean protested.

“Read your new book” Daniel said and entered the kitchen, leaving Sean in the dark.

Sean didn’t feel like walking to their room to get the other flashlight, so instead he just lied down on his back. He really wanted to help and not be useless, but he understood Daniel had the same needs.

Daniel found that they had the ingredients to make two simple sandwiches and started working. This wasn’t really cooking but since they were not that hungry, it was fine. He could prepare something nicer tomorrow with his new book. He really wanted something to keep things cooling, having to buy things every day to use in the same day was annoying, but they didn’t had electricity and much less a whole refrigerator, so it would have to do. At least for now.

A sound caught Daniel’s attention, and he looked to the balcony window where it came from, waiting silently for it to repeat. It didn’t. He started working on the sandwiches again and he heard it once more. He looked over again. “Sean, you heard that?” he asked.

“Hear what?” Sean asked from the couch. So he wasn’t messing with him.

“Never mind” Daniel said, but as he was finishing, he heard another noise, this time inside the house. He froze for a bit, trying to no freak out, it was probably what Sean had said, the comic put him on edge, and now his thoughts kept drifting to someone stalking him from the shadows. He took the flashlight and pointed it at the door, but of course there was nothing.

A crack noise was heard behind him, and he instinctively reached out and held his hand to push whatever it was away. It was just an old plank of wood that they used to cover the broken part of the kitchen window. With the force of his power, it fell and made a loud noise.

“Daniel?” Sean asked, getting to his feet and walking to the kitchen, he arrived when Daniel was setting it back up.

“I accidently threw this” he said embarrassed. “Food’s ready” he said closing the sandwiches and handing one to Sean.

As they settled on the couch with the flashlight Sean spoke “You got scared?” he asked smiling.

“No” Daniel said biting his food.

“You were asking if I heard noises” Sean smiled more.

“Shut up” Daniel blushed at being caught.

“You better not wake me up at night if you have a nightmare because of that comic” Sean teased.

“Shut up! I won’t” Daniel said.

Sean chuckled “What are you scared of dude? You can throw anything away with your powers”

“I’m not afraid” Daniel protested, “I just heard a weird noise behind me and my power slipped.

“You’re lucky we don’t have much around the house to break. Like that window on the old cabin in the forest?” Sean teased.

“Stop!” Daniel huffed.

“I just hope we don’t have to ban horror comics at night”

“Oh my god, you’re so annoying!”

Sean laughed once more and decided that was enough teasing. “Hey… It’s my revenge from when you scared me at the cabin. I really thought a person was outside”

Daniel smiled at that “Heh, yeah. You got really mad”

“Yeah, I was scared of running away” Sean said.

“Worth it” Daniel said, still smiling. “Sean…?”

“Yeah?” Sean asked, finishing his sandwich.

“Thank you… you were right, I didn’t want to stop celebrating Halloween. This day was amazing.”

Sean smiled “You’re welcome little wolf, but I had an amazing day too”

They shared a hug and made some time before deciding to go to bed. Daniel hated to admit that he would probably be scared to sleep on a different room tonight, and as much as he liked to say he wasn’t a little kid, he was glad Sean was here with him. Because he knows there’s no creepy man inside his house, or after him, and if there were, he can easily take care of it, but his mind was getting stubborn to convince otherwise. And with the excuse of wanting to cuddle just because and not a particular reason, he snuggled close to his brother smiling at the warm of the closeness and the feeling of safeness. Because being close to Sean always made him feel safe. Sean smiled when Daniel got close, and didn’t hesitate on returning the hug, because scared or not scared, didn’t matter. As amusing as it may be, Daniel needed him, and he was going to be there for him. And he would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t felt nice or safe around his brother’s presence either.

Chapter Text

Saturday, December 24th, 2016 (The past)

Sean dusted his hands off and wiped away the sweat on his forehead. He put the tools back in place and walked towards the stand where a man organized the chores for the workers. Sean signed up a little post-it note that they used to indicate what job was made under what name. He used fake names for Daniel and him, they didn't care, didn't even ask questions, but it was better safe than sorry. Sean determined that it wasn't wrong to be cautious for his brother in such a dangerous place.

The man simply nodded and gave Sean the amount of money the job costed. Sean counted the money quickly, finished in a second since it wasn’t a lot, and pocketed it. Every task was awful, some harder to do than others, and the pay was always shit. But they didn’t have other choices. This little farm will have to do, for now.

“Any jobs for tomorrow?” Sean asked, eyeing the clipboard. He had to know what was available and how much would it pay to organize and stuff as many tasks as he could in one day. Otherwise, they’d never reach Puerto Lobos.

The man looked annoyed at Sean and then grabbed the clipboard “The usual” he said reading the paper “Placing fences, yard work, move furniture… Just be sure to be on time to sign up for the job”

“Ok, thanks” Sean said and turned to make his way to meet Daniel at the little wooden walls they sleep into, shared with two other people. It was uncomfortable, weird, but it was the place they let them stay in.

Sean wasn’t happy leaving Daniel alone while he went to work. After living close to him 24/7 it felt weird to have some time alone. It was nice in a way, but the feeling of Daniel being in danger was always present in such place. Sean knew Daniel could probably defend himself with his powers, but that was maybe more bad than good. They didn’t need another reason to leave already, not after what happened at Beaver Creek. They were lucky to find this town to stay in, and to find this job. Well, “lucky” was as positive as Sean could think of. It could be way worse, that’s for sure, but it was still awful.

Sean entered the little place and found Daniel, laying on the stiff mattress they shared on the floor, and reading some of the comics Sean had bought him so he wouldn’t get bored waiting for him all day long. They had to be careful on how they spend the money, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t buy things to make his little brother’s life less miserable. And Sean knew he had to spend money on Daniel, this day more than any other. It was Christmas eve, their first one without Dad, and ever since Sean started working on this farm, they started spending less time together. And Sean could tell Daniel was having a rough time. Having made a friend back in Beaver Creek and had to leave it all again, and now he was alone most of the time, and Sean couldn’t do shit because he had to work all day long for them to eat. Sean felt like drowning deeper every day that passed, but he couldn’t give up if his brother couldn’t fend for himself, the thought alone scared him. So, for now, he wouldn’t pay attention to how badly his chest felt like falling apart when he thought about their situation, about his dad, how scare he was. He would bare it and try to look strong for Daniel. His little brother, who was now feeling miserable, and Sean had to do something about it.

“Little cub, I finished for today” Sean said, sitting at the edge of the mattress and placing a hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

Daniel closed his comic book and gave his full attention to Sean. He heard him arriving but was too concentrated on his reading.

“Are you enjoying that?” Sean asked, pointing at the comic now placed flatly on the mattress.

Daniel smiled “Yeah, it’s really good. I missed reading Hawt Dawg Man comics! Last one I read was on Chris’ house. Thanks again Sean” Daniel said beaming.

“Of course,” Sean smiled softly, glad that his little brother had something to be happy for.

“Hey, you’re here earlier today” Daniel noticed, checking the fact by looking at the watch Sean had gifted him back in Seattle.

“Yeah, it’s Christmas eve, I thought we could maybe do something…” Sean said, scratching his nape.

Daniel was immediately into the idea “Really?” he asked hopefully, sitting straight in the mattress now.

“Yeah” Sean chuckled “I know I haven’t been around much… with all the work and stuff” Sean said sadly.

“I know…” Daniel said. He wasn’t a fan of the situation, but he couldn’t get mad at Sean for it, even if he did feel angry in general.

“So, what do you say if we go eat some burgers?” Sean asked.

“What?” Daniel almost jumped from excitement “Are you for real? I haven’t had one in ages” Daniel said.

“I know, me neither, but we deserve it.” Sean said. And at that, Daniel launched himself to hug Sean. Sean laughed and returned the hug. “Come on, I saw a place we can go to”

They walked for some time into the city until they found the place. A small, fast-food place no one seemed to know it existed. At least not today, when everyone was in their homes having a nice evening and not out eating junk food. Sean told Daniel to order whatever he wanted, and Daniel beamed even more. But Sean’s heart broke, because Daniel was acting like this was the best gift he had ever gotten. Because they were having such a rough time that his little brother was settling with the simplest of things. Sean felt awful, for not being able to do more for Daniel, for not being able to do something special for him.

Daniel ordered a double cheeseburger with fries and a soda, and Sean settled for a simple cheeseburger and a coffee. He paid for the food, waited a few minutes, and they seated on a little table outside to eat. The weather was nice, a bit chilly for sure, but no more snow now in California.

“You always order the same burger” Daniel notices, munching happily on his Christmas treat. He remembered that Sean had ordered a simple cheeseburger back in October, when he had thought they were only camping.

“Yeah, I’m a simple guy, not like you little starving boy” Sean chuckled.

“Whatever” Daniel rolled his eyes, but still smiled. “This is amazing… So delicious” Daniel said, making a mess as the grease and condiments dripped out of his mouth.

Sean pulled a grossed-out face and laughed “Dude, you eat like a pig” he said, taking a bite of his own burger.

Daniel ignored him, feeling too content with his meal. Sean got an idea, and as they both enjoyed their Meal, he started sketching the happy Daniel what was in front of him. He laughed to himself as he sketched the coffee he ordered; he would’ve never guessed he was going to drink these like his dad used to. Maybe it was one of the things that came with growing up.

Daniel looked at the table in front him, feeling awful when the thought came to his head. “Sean… It’s… our first Christmas without Dad…” he said out loud. He knew it of course; he had thought about it before. He had felt the same paining feeling as he and Sean decorated the tree back at his grandparents’ house. But it still hurt to think about.

“Yeah…” Sean took a deep breath, easing the pain on his chest away.

A moment of silence passed. Thinking maybe of past memories, or ones that would never exist now that his father was gone.

“What do you think he would have gotten us this year?” Daniel asked, his voice softer than before. The last time he always looked at his father when he thanked Santa, figuring that his dad was the mastermind of how he knew exactly what they wanted, even if Esteban denied it.

Sean smiled, remembering last Christmas “I don’t know… knowing him he’d probably tried to surpass last Christmas. But that’d be hard though”

Daniel giggled “Yeah. I still think tricking me into thinking I only received underwear was not funny though”

“Of course it was, you should’ve seen your face” Sean laughed “God… I had the video… I wish I still had it” Sean recalled to the time he had to ger rid of his phone. He had lost so many videos, photos… memories, moments of their dad. His eyes got teary at the thought, he missed him so much, and most of the time he felt like a little scared kid, hoping for his dad to come rescue him. But no one was coming to save him now.

“I think he would have gotten me new games for the PlayBox” Daniel said thinking.

Sean nodded. “Probably. Maybe he would have bought me a new phone or something. Mine was getting old. It would probably pass on to you”

“As always” Daniel rolled his eyes.

Sean chuckled “Hey, you were the one begging for a phone back then, be grateful”

“You don’t even have it anymore” Daniel smiled, pouting a bit.

“Or maybe he would have settled for something simple, like new art supplies. He was always working to get us what we wanted…” Sean said, his throat closing at the last thought. It was still all too fresh, too recent. Too unfair.

Sean wished he could have experienced what was like to make a big Christmas gift for his dad. To thank him for everything, to show him that he also loved him. To return even a slightly part of everything Esteban had done for him, and he had taken for granted.

“I wish he was here” Daniel said, voice coming out shaky.

“Me too…” Sean said, forgetting for a moment that he had to be strong for him.

“I wish we could have spent Christmas with grandpa and grandma. I was excited about it.” Daniel said.

“I know…” Sean said sadly, he was happy too… but that had become only a dream. Daniel would have been so happy with what their grandparents bought him, they spoiled him because of the lost time. But he never got to see the presents, only Sean saw them, hidden in the closet in their bedroom, and he wouldn’t tell Daniel, that would make him sadder. It was heartbreaking, because their grandparents really were planning on keeping them safe for a long time, despite the reluctance at first, they loved them and were going to help them whatever it took. Maybe things could have resolved, with time, and what happened would only be an awful situation they had to endure, and they could live normal again. But it didn’t, they had to run away again, and this nightmare was still going.

They weren’t ready yet, to think about how things may have gone if nothing bad had happened that fateful day. To imagine how they could be living in their cozy home, under the love and protection of their dad.

Thinking about all the things they had lost was hurting them worse than only missing Esteban. Sean knew he couldn’t make this Christmas happy for Daniel, and he hated that. But there was nothing he could do when both of them felt the same awful pain.

Daniel looked at his brother, assuming he was thinking sad things as well, and tried to do something to cheer him up. Because although Sean never showed it, or maybe just bared it better than himself, Sean must feel awful inside too. He had said it, he had cried with him. Just not as much as him, “Thanks Sean, for the food, it was amazing” he said, realizing that Sean had only made this for him, spending money they probably shouldn’t have. He was grateful for that, and he wanted to show it.

Sean smiled, Daniel usually just enjoyed what was given and not looked beyond that. Maybe he was growing up. “You’re welcome Enano” he said. Daniel had eaten all his food and had drunk all of his soda. Sean finished his food and coffee too. He had the slightest feeling of hunger still, but he had long ago come to terms with the fact that he didn’t always need to feel full. What he had was enough and it will have to do because they didn’t have much. He preferred dealing with that and not to have his brother starving.

“You know… Maybe it isn’t all good right now… But I still had a good time” Daniel said.

Sean smiled even more “I’m glad” he said relieved, even if he still felt guilty for not giving his brother something better. They walked back to the farm after the food, tears, and grateful words, and settled to sleep for the night. Tomorrow Sean will have to wake up again to go work all day like usual, and Daniel will have to wait all day to spend some time with his brother at night. Eventually they’d get kicked off the place, ran onto Finn and Cassidy, and Daniel would only feel drifting apart from Sean even more, living him to deal with a lot of complicated emotions he couldn’t place in words, and developing into an angrier version of himself. He didn’t want to be mad at Sean, but he was mad at the world. Things weren’t nice anymore.

Sunday, December 24th, 2017 (The present)

“It’s lopsided!” Daniel laughed from the couch and pointed at which direction the tree was leaning into.

Sean took a step back and exanimated it. It was in fact, lopsided. He groaned in frustration; this was the fourth time he would have to try to accommodate it.

Daniel laughed again “Here” he said and with a raise of his hand, he made the tree regain his proper balance. After his hand retrieved back to his side, the tree kept its positioning.

“Thanks” Sean said and walked over to seat besides Daniel on the couch. “You couldn’t have made that before?”

Daniel shrugged “Didn’t think about it” he said, and he was genuine about it, even if watching his big brother struggle with the tree was funny.

“What do you think, looks good?” he asked looking into the corner of the house, where the Christmas tree stood. It was a plastic three, and they weren’t used to it, but it seemed like real pine threes weren’t a proper business on the little town. So, after a long search they settled with a plastic one, which was still pricy, considering what it was, but Sean had the money and wanted them both to have a nice Christmas. It was tall and they had bought a couple ornaments to hang onto the branches, but it still didn’t seem like a Christmas tree without light, so Sean got to work to fix that.

He bought a small generator, one that functioned with solar panels. It was a big purchase for them, expensive, and the generator couldn’t take charge of the electricity of all the house, but it was a much-needed thing, Sean thought. After five months in here they had reunited quite the money and adding that to the savings they had from Humboldt, it was time for them to do more for the house already. A step closer to their comfortable life. Sean had a contact who traded him the dollars for pesos. Illegally of course, and he didn’t like to go to the place, always full of people with probably not good intentions, and they of course always took part of the money as payment, but as long as Sean didn’t mess with them, they wouldn’t mess with him. He didn’t like taking Daniel with him, it seemed too dangerous, but Daniel wouldn’t let Sean got alone either, and that was fair.

After a bit of wire checking with the help of Matías and Luna and installing the whole ordeal in the rooftop so it could reach peak performance, they had electricity for the lights of the tree.

Daniel was bursting with joy the day they installed the generator, helping with it and doing everything that was required. Didn’t matter that the big lights still didn’t function, or that even if they had things that required power they couldn’t plug much at once. But electricity was still that, and Daniel had missed it.

He and Sean chose the brightest and most colorful lights they could find and added to the tree, turning them on and beaming with happiness at what they had achieved.

That was weeks ago though, today it was Christmas eve and Sean had bought a few more things to hang on the three, as he was doing almost every week now. Today he bought some little white wolves that matched perfectly with them, but adding more things to the already stuffed tree, made it lose its balance, and that’s why Sean had been struggling to put it back in place.

“It has a lot of things” Daniel giggled, it didn’t have much that you couldn’t see the dark green branches anymore, but it had quite the variety of things hanging from them. “But I do like it, and the lights are awesome” Daniel said, he could look at them for hours and not get tired.

Sean nodded; he was proud of the tree they had made together. Assembling it, decorating it together was such a joyful moment for them. Their first Christmas in Puerto Lobos, a happy one to make up for the last one they had. Sean knew he would keep the memory of laughing and roughing with Daniel as they worked on the tree.

He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought about a generator before, it solved much of his problems. But he couldn’t be too mad with himself, he was still figuring out a lot of stuff and settling down wasn’t easy, having a never-ending list of things they had pending to do.

Sean had bought a minifridge after they’d gotten the generator working, and having a place to store the food was a blessing. They could now buy things meant to keep on the fridge and keep them cool too! And if that wasn’t enough, Sean bought a little fan to help them bear with the heat. And god, did they not know how bad they needed it. They could not live without it now, always looking for that little breeze of blissfulness when they were home.

Sean had also brought a small coffee table to keep in the living room in front of the couch, Daniel was both happy and impressed at how much Sean was spending, but he trusted his brother with the money. It was just that going form not buying much to suddenly have stuff was still something to get used for him.

“And, do we have a nice pile of presents” Sean said beaming to the gifts placed bellow the tree. There were only five of them, three from Sean and two from Daniel, all of them wrapped in the same paper Sean had bought. The last one felt bad when he realized Sean had gotten him more stuff, but big brother was quick to assure Daniel that it didn’t matter, and he was so pleasantly surprised when Daniel had put his gifts under the tree. Not that he didn’t expect Daniel to do something, not after his surprise birthday party, but it was still good to see. His brother was growing up so fast. The same thought that occurred to him almost every day now.

“We do… and the living room feels better with this much stuff around” Daniel said. They still had a lot of empty space, but going from having only a couch to have a coffee table in front, a fan in the corner, and the three facing the window of the balcony so it can be seen from outside, it was quite the change.

“It does” Sean smile. He loved their new house and was happy to finally have a home to stay in. But sometimes it was still hard to not look at the Seattle house like home too. Because as much as he liked this new place, he would always love his old one too, the one he grew up in, the one that held all kind of memories, happy, lovely, sad and awful. That was still his house too, right? His home. Even if he could never go back there, or if he didn’t know what had become of the place now.

“I can’t wait for you to open my presents” Daniel said excitedly, pulling Sean away from his musings. He had planned them carefully and worked hard to keep it a surprised. He had trained his patience with the whole Sean Birthday party thing, but it was still hard to not give in into the temptation of just telling Sean. But he knew it would be much more significant if Sean opened it and saw it himself.

Sean laughed at that and ruffled Daniel’s hair affectionately, it was an act he started doing lately and he couldn’t stop now. “I can’t wait to see what you got me either” Sean smiled, but he was quite excited to see Daniel’s reaction to his presents too. That would have to wait though, right now they had the whole afternoon and evening to celebrate. They hadn’t gotten any decoration from the house apart of the tree, but it didn’t matter, they didn’t need it.

“So, what are we doing until then” Daniel said, turning to face Sean expectantly.

“Well, I’m not sure” he said leaning into the back couch to think. He had the last week off since Tuesday, and he had tomorrow to stay home as well. First, he dedicated the time to stay with Daniel, play around the beach, let Daniel and friends come home to hang out. It was ok, but Sean didn’t feel good not working, so he started to sell his art at the fountain again in the morning, even if he didn’t have a shift at the diner after. Daniel of course accompanied him on that, waking up early and helping Sean to carry the things to sell to the fountain. It was still nice; it was a good portion of time he and Daniel had free to do what they wanted. It was honestly freeing, not having to work for so many hours, not that he minded, he would, he will, so they could have the life they wanted, but it felt nice to have a break. It was all still happening too fast.

“When is Matías coming again?” Daniel asked then. Matías was spending the day with family but had offered to give the brothers a homemade meal, a recipe from his mother. Daniel was reluctant at first, wanting to learn and cook together with his new book, but that was still hard if they didn’t have the proper tools to do it, so he ended up agreeing. He wanted Sean and him to have a good meal and a great night.

“Around eight, I think, maybe earlier” Sean said looking at the clock in the wall.

“Cool, ok. Maybe we could… bath? Get ready for tonight. Look nice, you know?” Daniel said.

Sean first chuckled at the idea, he never thought Daniel would want to bath, but then he realized how sweet that sounded. Daniel wanted this day to be happy, to be a proper celebration, even if everything was different now. Even if their family was far away now.

Daniel pouted at Sean’s laughed “What?” he asked.

That’s when Sean’s laughing stopped, and he shook his head. “Nothing, you’re right, we need to look good” he said, and they definitely needed a bath too, those weren’t common when you didn’t have running water.

“I’ll heat the water” Daniel said standing up.

“Ok, sure. You can go first” Sean said.

Daniel looked back confused, but didn’t say anything. Sean understood right away and giggled.

“I already have to share a bed with you Enano, I’d like to keep my privacy, well, private” Sean said.

Daniel rolled his eyes “You know I don’t enjoy it either! But what about the water? Do we have enough for two baths?” he asked.

Sean nodded “Yeah cub, we have” he assured.

Daniel nodded and went to start heating the water. There was a time where they had to share a lot of things, being in the run had taught them to endure that. There was nothing they could do about it. Even after they arrived here, they still were accommodating and had scarce resources, having to share the little water they had. At that point it wasn’t a big deal, they had shared a tent after all, and the bathtub was big enough that they could focus on their own business. But now things had changed, and they didn’t have to share as much as they used to. Not that the brothers minded, whatever they had to endure so the other could be ok, but it was still nice.

Daniel didn’t take long after the water was heated, he closed the door to the bathroom and started to work on getting himself clean, using the products Sean had bought for them. It felt nice, getting all the sand or salt the Sea might have left. Sean proposed to build a little outdoors shower on the side of the house so they could swim more often. Daniel agreed immediately. It was going to be an easy task, considering there was remnants of a precious one being there, but without running water that wouldn’t do much. Sean was working on that, he had told Daniel, the pipes were looking mostly fine, and it would only take the help of Luna to settle it all properly to the main one, and that would be enough to have it at last. But Luna was busy most of the time, and the brothers were working on other stuff too.

After Daniel finished his bath, he dressed in his best-looking clothes, mimicking the same outfit he had used for Sean’s birthday, and stepped out of the bathroom renewed.

“Whoa, you look ten skin tones lighter” Sean joked.

Daniel laughed and rolled his eyes “Shut up” he said going downstairs to get more water to heat for Sean. And the process repeated. Once the water was properly heated, this time Sean closed the door of the bathroom and worked on getting himself clean. Like Daniel, he felt an immense relief when he washed all the grime away.

He also chose his best-looking clothes and combed his hair. But as he looked at himself in the mirror, he eyed at his hair. It was long. A bit longer than when he had it on Humboldt, and it clicked for Sean that nothing was stopping them for getting their hairs cut. Before they couldn´t because they were on the run, of course. But now they were free. Maybe at first, he didn’t want to look suspicious, but after five months, the little town knew mostly knew them, and nothing bad happened. There was no excuse.

He stepped out of the bathroom and walked to Daniel, who was waiting on the couch. “You need a haircut” Sean said.

Daniel looked surprised, then frowned. “Uhhh, you too” he said crossing his arms.

Sean chuckled “Yeah dude, we both need it.” Sean looked at the bangs of Daniel hair, they mostly covered his eyes if he didn’t push them away. He felt bad for not realizing sooner “Come on, we might still get a chance to if we hurry”

“What? You mean like, get one right now?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah, little wolf, come on. We need to look good for our first Christmas here” Sean said, and that was enough to convince Daniel. They went downstairs and traveled through the town to look for a place to get a haircut. When they found it, they simply went in and asked for what they wanted. Daniel went first, he usually liked it longer than Sean, so the haircut was noticeable, but nit much different from what he had before.

Sean, instead, was a whole other person, he cut off a good chunk of his hair, despite Daniel saying he liked it longer on Sean, and went for the same haircut he got all his life. Maybe not as short as he had it back in Seattle but close. He had gotten used to having mostly long bangs, so he felt weird when his forehead showed too much now.

Sean paid and soon they were both walking home again. “{You look so different” Daniel giggled.

“{I like it}” Sean said lifting his own hand to his hair.

“I never said I didn’t. It’s just different}” Daniel said.

“{Yeah, I know. Ever since we left home my hairstyle had been through a lot}” Sean chuckled.

“{Not as much as your old hoodie}” Daniel laughed “{That thing really went through it}”

Sean chuckled, that was true “{Wanna talk about your old shirt?}” he smiled. The thing had been left in ruins, all tore apart and cut.}”

Daniel giggled “{Yeah, they’re fighters. No, survivors}” he said.

“{We’re fighters and survivors}” Sean said, putting an arm around his brother’s shoulder as they walked home. That gave Sean an idea. Something to commemorate their journey, their struggles, and how they’d came up on top of all that.

“{Yeah, we are}” Daniel agreed smiling.

They arrived at the house just in time to see Matías knocking at the door. Daniel ran out to greet him with a hug once he saw him. Sean arrived shortly after their hug had broken. “Hola” he said, greeting with a hug of his own.

“Hola Sean” Matías said returning the hug happily. After they parted, he gasped. “Te cortaste el pelo! (You cut your hair!)” he said smiling.

“Si” Sean said, raising his hand once again to feel his own hair. “Teníamos que estar presentables para Navidad (We needed to look decent for Christmas)”

“Te ves diferente (You look different)” Matías said, used to look at Sean with longer hair. “Pero no feo. (But not bad)” he added quickly.

“Gracias (Thanks)” Sean chuckled and watched as Matías also complimented the looks of his little brother.

“Les traje su comida. Todavía está caliente (I brought you your food. It’s still warm)” Matías smiled.

Daniel took the food covered in aluminum paper greedily and beamed.

“Gracias” The brother said in unison, and the three of the chuckled.

“Los chicos dicen que quieren verte (The gang says that want to see you” Matías informed. Sean nodded, the last time he saw them was in the beginning of the month.

Sean then looked at the food Daniel held and thanked again, “De verdad gracias, siempre… (Seriously, thanks, you always…)” Sean shook his head to gather his thoughts “Siempre nos ayudaste, desde el día que nos conocimos, y sé que lo repito mucho. Pero de verdad gracias. (You always helped us, since the day we first met, and I know I say this a lot but. Thank you, Truly)” Sean said and leaned in to give Matías another hug.

The hugged boy was impressed at first, but then returned the hug equally. “Siempre ayudo a mis amigos. (I always help my friends)” he said

“Igual (Still)” Sean said, voice muffled because his face was pressed on Matías shoulder. He was always grateful, and he wanted to show it. He felt like he didn’t do enough, since he couldn’t do much for him at the moment, so he hoped an honest hug could transmit that. Now days his brother was the only person who got them.

The hugged lasted for a bit longer, Daniel standing there and eying the two. After they parted Matías spoke first.

“Ok, me tengo que ir. Espero que pasen linda noche, y que disfruten la comida (Ok, I have to go. I hope you have a nice evening and enjoy the food)” he said before giving Daniel a short hug and then turning away to go back. The brothers stood for a moment watching him, before Sean grabbed his keys and let them both into the house.

“{He was dressed nicely, wasn’t he?}” Daniel said closing the door.

“{Sure, its Christmas, everyone is trying to look their best}” Sean said walking up the stairs.

“{right, right}” Daniel said. Sean looked at him confused but Daniel didn’t say anything else.

They settled on the couch, their favorite place to eat since they didn’t have any table to. Daniel placed the warm food on the coffee table.

Sean noticed Daniel’s smirk and suppressed giggling. “What is it?” he asked, switching to English when he felt something was weird.

“Nothing” Daniel giggled “Let’s eat” he said.

“Nothing huh?” Sean smiled and shoved Daniel playfully.

“It’s just, the way you hugged him…” Daniel said.

“What about it?” Sean asked confused.

“You know. It was a special hug” he giggled.

“Well yeah, I was trying to say thank you” Sean said.

“Yeah, only that” Daniel said.

“What?” Sean asked.

“You two hugged for so long” Daniel teased.

Now Sean got it “What- come on. It wasn’t like that.” He said quickly.

“I don’t know, you seemed to really enjoy that hug” Daniel kept teasing.

Sean rolled his eyes “Dude, knock it off. It was just a friend’s hug. We hug all the time”

“Yeah, but not like that” Daniel giggled even more.

“Whatever” Sean said, and started to reveal the plate of food, the smell invading their noses. “Besides, even if I tried the hug to mean something else, I don’t think Matías would like it”

“Why not?” Daniel frowned.

“Because we’re friends Daniel, and he’s helping us out not because he likes me. He’s just a good person.” Sean said

“And what about you?” Daniel asked.

Sean just sighed “I told you. I was only being nice to him, like he’s nice to us all the time. I don’t know where you got this idea”

Daniel thought for a moment and decided to ignore Sean “I think he likes you” he said crossing his arms.

“Yeah? Then you’re way off path in catching signs” Sean rolled his eyes yet again.

“Mhm, or maybe you’re the one bad at catching them” Daniel said.

Sean laughed “Shut up already” he said and grabbed an empanada for himself. Daniel might have a point in saying that Sean wasn’t good at catching sings, after all he still remembered all the ordeal with Cassidy and Finn back at the weed camp. But this was different, Matías was a friend just trying to help them out and that shouldn’t be confused as him being into Sean.

Right?

Daniel took an empanada for himself and bite it, sighing in satisfaction. Sean followed Daniel’s actions, almost mimicking him. “So good” Daniel said.

“Yeah… these are really good” Sean agreed.

“This definitely beats last Christmas” Daniel smiled.

Sean nodded “Yeah… sorry about that” he thought the burger wasn’t half bad though.

“Come on, don’t apologize, it wasn’t your fault remember?” Daniel said.

“I know that. I just… well, it seemed unfair I couldn’t give you more than a burger” Sean said.

“A double cheeseburger” Daniel clarified “And it was good. It was unfair for you too, then. You deserved more than a simple burger too. But at least we were together…” Daniel said, recalling his birthday apart from his brother.

“I know… you’re right” Sean said smiling, Daniel once again proved how much he had grown since then.

“Wait…” Daniel said suddenly pulling the pieces together “Why did you let me order a full meal and you only got a burger?” he asked.

Sean frowned, not being able to recall as clearly as Daniel. “Dude, I don’t know. I was probably not hungry; I had a lot in my mind at the time” he said, taking another bite of the food.

“I don’t believe you” Daniel said sadly.

“What?” Sean asked and looked concerned at his brother when he noticed the tone in his voice.

“Weren’t we saving money? I didn’t even think about it at the time, but we shouldn’t have had enough” Daniel said, almost facepalming at the realization. “You always ordered small things because we needed to save the money” Daniel said looking at Sean, who sat still at being caught on that. Since Daniel never questioned a gift, he always took it gladly and asked no questions. But that was before.

“When we first ran away, you also bought me a burger and a shake, but you always ordered the cheapest things!” Daniel kept going.

“I ordered a shake too!” Sean tried to defend himself, because he knew Daniel would feel bad about this.

“I’m so stupid! How many times have you done that? How many times have you put me first and let yourself behind!” Daniel said with teary eyes. Sean wanted to be honest, to say he had always done that because he loved him, but that would only make things worse, so he kept his silence.

“How many… When we had so little to eat… I probably didn’t even notice that you were eating less to give more to me…” Daniel said, a tear escaping his eye.

“Daniel…” Sean tried to get close to him.

“You’re a dick!” Daniel said, then covered himself in his hands. He felt worse than ever, because this meant Sean had literally, always, did everything in order to keep Daniel safe. He gave up everything for him. And Daniel didn’t notice it, didn’t appreciated it, and worse, he had been an asshole to Sean. “You make me look like the worst person ever…” Daniel sobbed softly on his hands.

“Hey… No, don’t say that” Sean scooted closer and hugged Daniel close to him “First, you’re no stupid you hear me?” Sean said firmly “And Daniel… You were a kid, we already discussed this. Of course you weren’t thinking about that stuff, no kid your age was” Sean said softly. “They actually weren’t many times where I did that. We never really went out to eat much. I swear, and the times I did, it’s not like I was starving Daniel, so stop acting like it was. I was just saving money, that’s all. I promise I never suffered any pain so you could eat. We both had enough. And now we had enough here, right? Matías food is plenty for us”

Daniel wiped away the last tears and broke the hug “You’re right… It’s just… It hurts… all of what you had to do. Because I never wanted you to suffer, just like you didn’t want me to either. But I failed…”

“Hey… we both lived awful things, but it was out of our control…” Sean said, he was working on believing that. Daniel helped.

“And you’re also right that we have plenty now. This food is amazing” Daniel said, taking another bite. “Sorry for…”

“It’s all good” Sean said, stepping in when Daniel couldn’t finish “I understand” he did. Maybe some day they’ll feel in peace at everything that had happened. But that would take more time.

“You know… I actually thought about dressing nice today because of what you said when we celebrated Halloween last month” Daniel said.

“huh? What did I say?” Sean asked.

“You said I shouldn’t let one bad memory ruin things I like. I like Christmas. I didn’t like spending them alone last year, and I don’t like that dad is not here. But I’m trying, and I think it’s working” Daniel smiled “I want to have good times, make new memories, and keep the old ones too, even if they’re now sad ones” he said.

Sean nodded; he knew what that was like too. Fun memories, cozy ones, marked forever since the day they had to run away. Now they had another color, and they might never look the same again, but maybe, some day they’d be close to how they were before.

“I don’t want to let bad memories ruin things either” Sean nodded “Last Christmas felt so empty, but I don’t want that experience to ruin this one. They’re different ones.” Sean smiled.

They finished their food and spent the rest of the night sharing said memories. Images from their old lives in Seattle. Happy ones that now also brought tears to their eyes. Memories about their last Christmas with Estaban. Memories of the bad things that they had gone through in their journey.

And maybe they were scarred, marked forever. Maybe there was an empty space in their hearts, so big and consuming, leaved there by his father when he had to go away. And maybe it would never fill. But despite that, despite how broken the brothers sometimes felt, they also felt strong. Because they had survived all of the bad things life throwed at them, and even if sometimes didn’t felt like it, they knew. They were together now, and were working hard on healing their hearts and minds.

Midnight had arrived, and Daniel rushed to kneel next to the three. Sean followed him, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to him. They had made little cards to attach to the presents, indicating from who they were with love and to who it was for “Who should go first?” Daniel asked.

“You go first. If I start, then you would have to open twice in a row” Sean said.

“Oh, right. Smart” Daniel said and grabbed the biggest of the boxes. Sean smiled. “I hope you didn’t spend much, I still want running water” Daniel said, and Sean chuckled.

Daniel ripped open the paper to reveal a cardboard box, inside, a nice new socker ball with a bright orange pattern. “Woah, it’s like, a real ball” Daniel beamed.

“Yeah, I figured we needed an upgrade from that old small rubber ball. To play on higher leagues you know.” Sean smiled.

“It’s awesome, I love it. I Can’t wait to use it, thanks Sean” Sean said and hugged Daniel. Already excited to try it on the beach with Sean. “Ok, you next” he said once the hug ended.

Sean picked up the smallest of them all, it was plain and had a weird shape.

“Ok” Daniel giggled “It’s a handmade thing so don’t laugh too much” he said.

“That will depend” Sean smiled, but deep down he knew that whatever Daniel made he was going to love it.

Sean teared the paper and looked at the little wooden piece in his hands. It was carved with two wolves outlines. The bigger one running and the little one following behind. It touched Sean’s heart. “Oh… this is… did you do this?” Sean aske impressed. Daniel had even carved the year on the bottom.

Daniel nodded nervously.

“It’s amazing cub, I really like it” Sean smiled, still inspecting the piece, it was really well made. You could tell what it was too. “With what knife did you carve it?” Sean asked.

“None, I used my powers.” Daniel said proudly “It was hard at first, but then I got the hang out of it”

“That’s impressive Daniel, thank you” Sean said in awe. It explained in part how the lines were so well made; Daniel could do amazing things.

Daniel basked in the proudness he felt and grabbed the next gift from under the tree. It seemed like a small box. When he teared up the paper and opened the little box, he found a new watch inside. “What? Oh my god” He beamed happily.

He stopped wearing the watch Sean had gifted him because it was too tight, and Sean hadn’t had the chance to buy him a new one. But now he did, and it was perfect. It was more grown-like. It didn’t have any of the bright colors kid’s watches had. It was a nice black, the material imitated leather. It was still a kid watch, Daniel could tell by the size, but it was a step closer to being more grown up.

“Thank you so much Sean… I’ll always wear it” he said, putting it right on.

“I always keep my promises” Sean said, receiving yet another eager hug from Daniel.

Now it was turn for his other gift. He took it in hands and could already tell it was something framed. Sean smiled, thinking what picture could be already. But when he opened the present, he was surprised. A portrait of him, in black and white, from the waist up and doing a peace sign, like a photo. Sean admired the work, Daniel had used everything Sean had taught him, every little tip his brother had said to him while Daniel practiced at the diner, and it looked amazing. The shading, the proportions, the details. It was all worked with so much love and patience. It was hard to say this was done by a ten-year-old.

On the side of Sean’s body, some words written.

‘To my brother, my hero’

Sean’s tears splattered on the glass, and he immediately raised a hand to stop them.

“Sean…?” Daniel asked.

“God… I… I love it…” Sean said with a shaky voice.

Daniel rushed to hug his brother close and tight.

“I… I wanted to write so much more, but it would’ve ruined the drawing…” Daniel said, stroking his brother’s hair to try and soothe him. “But it’s true. Every day I realize more and more of… how amazing you are Sean. All of what you did… for us…” Daniel got teary himself “You’re the bravest and strongest person in the world” he said firmly “I might have the superpower, but you’re the real hero. I… I admire you, for being so strong… and I wanted you to know” Daniel expressed, as much as a ten-year-old could.

But Sean got the message. And his chest ached in pain and relief. He let himself sob softly in his little brother’s arms. Because the guilt he felt every day was maddening. To feel all of what happened in the first place was his fault for kicking Daniel out of his room was driving him insane. He tried to ignore it. To ignore that mistakes and the ones he did after. But to have proof of his brother’s love despite it all. To hear him say he didn’t blame him for anything, just as him didn’t blame him, was an incredible feeling.

He knew, his brother had told him. But now he had physical proof of it. Now he could look at the drawing and read the words and know that his little brother loves him for what he did. He had called him his hero. Daniel saw him as the person who saved him. He didn’t know if it was true, but he would try to believe it, because Daniel sure felt it.

“This is so sweet…” Sean said once he had calmed down a bit. “And it’s… amazing Daniel. You’re amazing.” He parted the hug and looked at his little brother. “Thank you…”

Daniel smiled softly and nodded “I didn’t mean to make you cry, but I’m glad you like it” he said.

Sean chuckled and wiped the tears away. “Come on, one more present left” Sean said

Daniel nodded and grabbed the last present. It was almost like a frame of some sort, but it wasn’t solid at all. Daniel’s curiosity peaked and when he opened it, he had even more questions. He had a little carpet in his hands, but it was so small he couldn’t picture where it was meant to go.

Sean couldn’t resist and laughed at Daniel’s confusion. Daniel laughed too and asked, “What’s this?”

“That is a carpet sample” Sean said. And when Daniel turned his head in even more confusion, he explained. “I couldn’t fit all of it in the present so I had to put something” Sean chuckled “It’s so we can install a carpeted floor.”

“What? Really?” Daniel smiled.

“Yeah, I have it all planned already. We can go get the carpets and the vinyl floors and then install them, it shouldn’t be so hard” Sean said, he had the books and Luna’s help.

“Sean this is… amazing!” Daniel beamed, the house would start to look like a real house, and the carpet floor would be so much more comfortable than the cold concrete floor. “But… are we good in money…?” Daniel asked worried, “We spend so much this month, with the generator, the mini fridge… now the gifts… and now this?” he said holding up the piece of carpet.

Sean smiled softened “Yes, we have enough. We’ve been saving, and we have a house to fix up. We’re slowly doing it cub.” He assured.

Daniel smiled “Ok” he nodded and gave Sean another grateful hug. They cleaned the torn paper on the floor and started settling for the night.

Despite the empty feeling, and the bittersweet memories the day had come with, both brothers could agree that they had a nice day together as a family, sharing good food and nice conversations. They lives had changed, that much they knew, and it will not be the same as they once knew. But they could find their own happiness. They were already doing it.

“Ok, carry me to bed now” Daniel said tiredly once they finished brushing their teeth in the bathroom.

Sean snorted. “Yeah sure, you’ll sleep on the couch now” he said rushing towards they bedroom.

“What? But Sean, It’s Christmas!” Daniel pouted, following quickly after Sean while his big brother made a show of locking himself inside the bedroom, knowing well Daniel could tear the door apart. But he wouldn’t destroy the house. And despite Sean’s reluctance to open the door to let his little brother in, he seemed to enjoy more than he would ever admit to have the presence of his little brother close to him as they both slept through the night.

Chapter Text

Being in this room made Sean feel a thousand years younger. Made him feel at peace. It was warm and comfortable, and despite the untidiness he never seemed to care enough to clean, he felt like no place could feel better. His walls were full of posters of the bands and movies he liked, and he had drawings scattered all around his desk and on top of his laptop. His work uniform hanged on the wardrobe door, and he set his phone aside on his nightstand when his father walked closer to him.

“Everything good?” Esteban asked.

“Sure. Why?” Sean said.

“Just checking in” he said. It was that simple, he just cared.

"I… I was wondering..." Sean said, sitting up in bed as Esteban sat at the edge of it.

"What is it? You don't need the small talk to ask me for money" his father teased.

"No, it's not that" Sean giggled. "I was just wondering if... you know, checked on Daniel too"

"Well of course I do, we live in the same house, don't we?" he said, patting Sean's ankle.

"You know that’s not what I meant" Sean said, staring down. "He needs it too"

"I know, but he doesn't blame himself as much as you do" his dad said, slightly more serious now but still carrying the warm tone he always used when speaking to his sons.

Sean kept his silence for a few seconds before replying, "He blames himself for a lot of stuff" Sean said.

"So do you" Esteban said simply, calmly. “But he doesn’t blame himself because of what happened to me” he spoke softly.

Sean kept his silence once more, not really knowing what to say.

"It's fine mijo, things were rough. Tell you what, I'll make you your favorite dish tonight" Esteban smiled.

Sean sighed, because he knew that wasn't possible "Dad, please, can you just-"

Monday, January 8th, 2018

Sean stirred awake, blinking a few times and rubbing his eye until he was conscious enough. It was still dark outside, but he had woken because of a sound. He looked around the room, but nothing seemed off. Until he heard it again, a muffled sob. Immediate worry surged in Sean as he turned around to look at his brother, facing away from him and shaking slightly, the outcome of trying to keep quiet while crying.

“Little cub? What’s wrong?” Sean asked placing a hand on his arm, the dream he just had already forgotten. The voice startled Daniel for a moment. He sniffed and cleaned his wet face before speaking.

“Did I wake you up?” he asked.

Sean thought for a moment, deciding to be honest. “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to” Daniel said sniffing again.

“It’s ok, really” Sean assured again “Did you had a nightmare?” he asked.

Daniel shook his head.

“What’s wrong then…” Sean asked softly, scooting closer.

“It’s… weird” Daniel said.

“We dealt with weird things before. Come on… just tell me” Sean encouraged, after all, Daniel had helped Sean with his nightmares when he had them, so he wanted to help his brother too.

“I dreamed about dad” Daniel said.

Sean stayed quiet for a moment “Like… did you talk to him?” he asked, because maybe these weird dreams he has from time to time are happening to his brother too, and Sean still didn’t know what to make of them. They are confusing and unrealistic, and sometimes it seemed like his dad was just playing a scene, saying and doing things Sean remembered he did. But sometimes he spoke so clearly that it really felt like he was there. Sean didn’t know if he missed him so much he was going crazy, or if it was something more.

“Not much…” Daniel mumbled “I just… saw him, and he was joking around… and I felt so weird and happy at the same time and… and” he turned around, his voice having trouble to come out of his throat with the lump forming on it “I miss him” he managed to say with a voice.

Sean’s heart sank for a moment, before hurrying to sooth his brother “I know Daniel… I miss him too” he said, wiping the tears away from his brother’s face. It remined him of the time they spent in that abandoned cabin in the woods. He’d wake up and hear Daniel crying in the middle of the night, and Sean didn’t know how to make him feel better, he felt like a shitty brother for not being able to, he was still processing it after all.

And it made sense Daniel felt this way, the Holidays were fun and all, but once again empty in some way. It was hard not to wish their dad could celebrate with them, in his house. They missed enjoying that time with dad, and they regret they didn’t enjoy every second of the last one they spent together, because if they had the chance, they would take in every moment.

“Is it ever going to stop hurting?” Daniel asked, pulling Sean from his thoughts, and he seemed so hopeless, so vulnerable.

“I don’t know” Sean sighed, because he really didn’t. Maybe time would ease the pain, but he wasn’t sure if it would ever stop it, and that sucked.

“I wish we could had celebrated New Year’s with him… in this house…” Daniel sobbed.

“I know… I wish that too… everything seems more… dull since he’s not around, like life lost most of its colors. But we are here, the two of us, remember? We are still together” Sean said, because it was a thought that helped him feel better when he was sad, and he knew it might help Daniel too.

“Yeah… yeah we are” Daniel said weakly.

“I still miss him too Enano, I always am, I always will. Just… take your time” Sean said, rubbing his hand soothingly on Daniel’s arm, knowing how that pain feels. And if Daniel needed to get it out, then he was going to be there to hold him.

“Thanks Sean” Daniel said, he needed the comfort.

“Of course,” Sean said, resting his head back on the pillow.

Daniel closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, then took Sean’s other hand in his. After a few minutes, exhaustion got the better of him and had drifted off to sleep. Sean stayed awake a few more minutes, just to make sure Daniel was really ok, and when he determined that he was indeed fine, he closed his own eye.

It was hard for both, and somedays it hurt more than others, but they always tried their best to make the other one feel less alone. They had lost a piece of their life when they lost his father, and they lost a few more fragments across the long road down to Puerto Lobos, so it was easy to see everything negatively. But if Sean had followed that path, he wouldn’t have found the strength to make it where they are right now. Life might have lost a bit of its brightness, but the love and care the wolf brothers have for each other is enough to keep it shining, to keep going, to make it worth living it. Sean had figured that out a long time ago, somewhere in between their father’s death and the absolute void he felt when he lost his brother back in Humboldt; Daniel made his life worth living in a world where he had nothing left to look forwards to. He was the one that kept the colors in it. He was the one that made it enjoyable.

Later in the morning, Sean woke up on an empty bed, his hand was still warm so Daniel must have woken up recently. He stretched his limbs, yawning as he did so, and then sat on the edge of the bed, letting his feet touch the soft, new, comfy carpet floor. He smiled, still not used to it.

After Christmas, Matias had come over to help the boys set up the floors, they took a break for New Year and then kept going, and after some days most of the floors of the house were replaced. The brothers no longer walked in cold concrete, and now they even woke up to a soft floor to step in.

New Year had been great. Matias family invited them to celebrate with them, and the brothers were only pleased to accept. It was a great night, full of charm and good times. The food was delicious, and everyone seemed happy to receive the brothers in the celebration.

Sean stopped relishing in the soft sensation of the carpet and stepped off the bed to walk towards the kitchen, where he saw Daniel trying out the new portable stove Sean had bought. It was meant for camping, but it served to the brother’s needs.

“Morning Sean” Daniel said when he heard Sean approach.

“Morning cub” Sean said, stretching a bit more.

“I wish we thought of buying this earlier” Daniel said beaming, showing his cooking meal, excited to the more comfortable method to cook.

“Yeah, my bad” Sean chuckled.

“It’s ok, we have it now. And some electricity.” Daniel said and turned his face to the little fan on top of the kitchen counter so it could blow a soft cooling breeze to him. “This is life.”

Sean chuckled again, glad that Daniel was happy with the recent improvements regarding their lives. But he understood, he also was thrilled to have a home too, to have these little things that made every day comfier, to have a place they finally own and it’s not falling apart.

Morning then rushed by, Sean was occupied selling his art while Daniel played around with Angel, little kid was luckily around and Daniel was, of course, happy to run around and spend time with him. Then the shift from the dinner started and they had to say goodbye, but even so, the rutinary work passed fast enough even for Daniel, it helped that Matias was their friend, and they could have fun while they worked.

“Estuve revisando carreras (So, I’ve been checking off careers)” Matias said to Sean as he quickly tided up the place, today they were closing early because there wasn’t much staff, apparently Matias’ mom was sick and had stayed home, and his dad stayed to take care of her too. He said it was nothing serious, but without the leaders to manage the place the place had no other option than to close early. It wasn’t much of a difference, and it would probably be for one or two days only.

Sean smiled; he was the one who encouraged Matias to go to a university after all. “Encontraste algo interesante? (Did you find something you like?)” he replied, working on a table nearby.

“Creo (I think so…)” Matias said.

“Prepárate, es increíble (It will blow your mind)” Vicky said. She wanted an excuse to drink something and talk to her friends, so she made time to come to the place.

Matias giggled “Mentira, no son tan raras (It won’t, they’re not that weird)” he said.

“Ya cuéntamelo (Well, tell me already)” Sean said.

“Miré el programa de gastronomía, de professor de música… y el de ingeniería en sistemas (I looked at the gastronomy program, the music professor degree… and the systems engineering one)” Matias explained.

Sean’s eyes widen as he snorted “Que variedad (That’s quite the variety)”

“Te dije (Told ya)” Vicky laughed.

“Que tiene? Me gustan muchas cosas (What about it? I like a bunch of stuff)” Matias chuckled and defended himself.

“Nada. Es genial que sepas qué te gusta (Nothing, of course. It’s cool that you know what you like)” Sean assured.

“Tienes que elegir una (You gotta pick one though)” Vicky reminded.

“Lo sé, sigo trabajando en eso. No sé si voy a seguir con esto, tendría que irme de la ciudad y la verdad es que no quiero (I know, it’s still a work in process. I don’t know if I’ll even go through with it, I mean, I’d need to move out of town, and I don’t really want to.)” Matias admitted.

“Te tendrías que ir? (You’ll need to leave?)” Daniel attention perked up at that.

“Si… No hay universidades en Puerto Lobos (Yeah… there are no universities in Puerto Lobos)” Matias confirmed.

“Quizá deberías ir, los cambios son buenos (Maybe you should leave, changes are good)” Sean said.

“No todos (Not all of them)” Daniel said.

Vicky snaped her fingers at that, pointing at Daniel “Sabio (Wise)”

Sean chuckled and rolled his eyes “Mati, se nota que estás emocionado, deberías ir (Mati, I can tell you’re excited, you should go)”

“No sé… no quiero alejarme de mi familia (I don’t know… I don’t want to go away from my family)” he said unsure.

“Tus hermanos no tuvieron problema (Your siblings didn’t hesitate) Vicky giggled.

“A veces pienso que me hubiera gustado ir a una universidad. Vivir la experiencia de joven universitario. Pero pienso si realmente hubiera querido ir o solo siento esto porque me lo arrebataron (Sometimes I think i would had liked going to a university. Live the young student experience. But then I think if I really wanted to go, or I just feel that way because it was taken away from me)” Sean said. He knew he would be in high school now, but he felt much older than that, and he wondered what he would’ve wanted for himself. He never kept the thought for much, because he was here now and couldn’t do anything about it, so no use on loosing time on that.

Vicky whistled and took a sip of her drink. Sean didn’t meant it to come out as a sad comment or one to bring down the mood, he just wanted to say his point of view.

“Quizá pueda ir (Well… Maybe I will go)” Matias said.

Daniel groaned “No quiero que te vayas (I don’t want you to go away)” he said “Sean! Por qué quieres que se vaya lejos(Sean! Why are you so determined to send him away!)” he scolded.

Everyone in the room chuckled.

“Quizá no le cae bien (Maybe he really doesn’t like him)” Vicky joked.

Sean laughed “Cállate, sí me cae bien. Solo quiero que haga lo que le gusta (shut up, of course I do. I just want him to do something he likes)”

Daniel rolled his eyes “Haciéndote la víctima y diciendo que debería ir porque tú no puedes? (By playing victim and saying he should because you can’t?)”

“Qué? Nunca me hice la victima… solo quería que lo considerara (What? I’m not playing victim… I just… wanted him to consider it.)” Sean defended himself.

“Pero es su decisión (But it’s his decision)” Daniel said.

Sean turned to Matias again “No quise presionarte (I didn’t mean to pressure you)” he said.

Matias smiled “No me presionaste, en serio. Mis hermanos fueron peor, tu solo me alientas. Y mi voto final es el único que cuenta cuando se trata de mi vida (Sean, you didn’t. Trust me, my siblings were a pain in the ass, you’re just encouraging me. And I appreciate your point of view. And my final vote is the only one that counts when it comes to my life.)

“No te vayas (Don’t go…)” Daniel pouted.

“Tú eres el que se hace la víctima. Es su decisión (Dude, you’re the one playing victim. It's his decision)” Sean said smiling, mirroring Daniel’s words from earlier.

Matias chuckled and ruffled Daniel’s hair as he walked past him “No te preocupes, no tengo nada decidido todavía (Don’t worry, I’ve got nothing decided yet)” he tried to ease the pout, although it was funny experiencing other brothers bantering.

Vicky finished her drink and handed to Sean so he could go clean the glass. She was the only customer inside only because she was a friend. She stood up so Matías could finish cleaning her table and then said her truth “Bueno, lo que sea que elijas va a estar bien. Y si elijes no ir, también está bien (Well, whatever you chose, it’s going to be fine. And if you chose not to go, that’s fine to)” she expressed.

Sean nodded in approval hearing from the kitchen, and Daniel nodded too, but not so firmly. It’s not that he didn’t want Matias to do what he enjoyed, but he was sick of saying goodbye to people he cared about…  and he really thought that would change now that they were here, but maybe life was always meant to get rid of the people he wanted close. And that was scary because he really didn’t want to stay away from Sean like he had to do with his mom and his grandparents.

Sean and Matias finished tidying up the place, and the close it for the day. The brothers said goodbye to both of their friends and then started they walk back home.

{Want to play football in the beach?} Daniel asked as he noticed they still had a few more moments of shiny sun before it went down.

{Sure cub, I’d like that} Sean smiled.

When they reached their house, they went to the back patio and into the beach to start playing as planned, using the new ball Sean had gifted Daniel. “So” Sean said, starting out slowly to warm up “You feel better today?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Daniel said, snatching the ball from Sean’s feet and walking away with it.

“About tonight? Did the pain ease?” Sean asked, walking behind his brother.

“Oh… Yeah, I feel better… Still miss him but…” he continued.

“I know” Sean said, moving quickly and recovering the ball for himself, and going away. “I do too, and it’s ok to feel that way”

“Yeah. Thanks for being with me last night” Daniel said, chasing for the ball as Sean moved away.

“Always cub” Sean said, facing away from Daniel to try and keep the ball.

Daniel moved quickly and snatched the ball anyway, and now the chase was reversed. Despite Sean having advantage because he was older, taller, Daniel knew how stand at his level, running around fast and dancing his legs around the ball to fool Sean until he lost the ball again.

“You’re getting taller” Sean noted while Daniel was facing away from him, protecting the ball.

“Really?” Daniel beamed; it always made him feel important when Sean said that. In the middle of the distraction, Sean managed to get the ball away from them both, and after a short race, Sean got it back.

“Yeah cub, really. I told you you’re not a little wolf anymore” Sean said smiling.

“But you keep calling me that” Daniel said feign annoyance.

Sean chuckled “You’ll always be a little wolf for me. You’re my little bro”

Daniel shoved Sean playfully and got the ball. “Whatever”

Sean laughed “But it’s true you are getting taller”

Daniel smiled again “I can tell this year is going to be better”

“why’s that” Sean said, trying and failing to kick away the ball from Daniel.

“Because we’re here now” Daniel stopped moving to turn and face Sean “and it’s going great. It’s a fresh start” he said.

Sean also stopped “You’re right. It almost seems like a new life” he said. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the recent New Year or just the feeling of finally settling down and doing good, but it felt like that.

“It kind of is. Another language, another country” Daniel shrugged.

“Well, yeah. But we didn’t choose this did we? Although it’s not so bad” Sean smiled.

“No, it’s not” Daniel smiled back.

Before he could react, Sean snatched the ball away from his feet and ran away.

“Hey! We weren’t playing” Daniel said going for his brother.

“We are now!” Sean laughed.

When Daniel finally managed to get the ball back after a few minutes of trying, he kicked the ball and hit Sean’s knee.

“Ow!” Sean protested, but it hadn’t hurt that bad, he was still smiling and laughing.

“That’s what you get for cheating” Daniel said.

“We’re playing rough then?” Sean smirked.

“Try” Daniel replied. And the game turned a bit more moved, running faster and pushing rougher while both brothers smiled and had fun under the settling sun.

And it was sometime around looking at that same sunset, that Daniel realized something. Thinking about last night, about how he felt, and how Sean had said that it felt like life lost a bit of color. He was right, it did feel like that, it felt empty sometimes, but this view in front of him was damn colorful. Because of Sean. Sean managed to make his life better, to bring up almost all the color in it. And if Sean was important for Daniel before that realization, now he’s even more. Daniel was always grateful for having him around, and always enjoying the moments they spent together, not waiting for them to go away and miss them before relishing on them.

“Cub?” Sean asked. Daniel was staring at the view towards the sunset, game forgotten.

“Yeah, sorry. Just-“

“That’s an amazing view” Sean agreed, now admiring it too.

“Yeah, wish we could take pictures of it.” Daniel said.

“Maybe someday, when we get a camera. But I can draw it” Sean smiled.

“Yeah, you sell lots of sunset paintings” Daniel giggled. “Hey… speaking of pictures…”

“Yeah?” Sean turned his head to look at Daniel.

“I wish we had more of dad” Daniel said sadly. The only one they had was the one Sean carried with them the first half of the journey, before being left in the tent in the camp after the incident. Jacob took Daniel away and Sean was transferred to a hospital. They never knew what the police did with most of their stuff.

“I know…” Sea said, he felt bad for loosing that photo because they couldn’t go to their Seattle home to grab the ones there. Fortunately, they had the one in Sean’s USB memory that Daniel had printed. But it still felt like they should have more. That gave Sean an idea.

“What if I draw a portrait?” he asked.

“What? You sure?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah, I can. I know his features” Sean confirmed.

“No, I meant. Do you want to? Isn’t going to… hurt?” Daniel asked.

Sean thought for a moment. “Maybe a bit, but you’re right, we need more of him. So I do want to”

Daniel looked unsure.

“It’s fine, and it’s gonna be nice to have him around more, right?” Sean tried to convince.

“Ok… if you say so” Daniel accepted.

“Come on, you can help” Sean said picking up the ball and walking to the house.

Daniel snorted “Yeah sure. You’re the pro”

“Hey, you can draw well yourself, come on” Sean protested.

It wasn’t that Daniel thought he was bad, it’s just that he really wasn’t sure how could he help Sean, but if Sean wanted to include him, then that’s ok. Maybe it would help Sean feel better about their dad if he drew him.

“When was the last time you draw him?” he asked once they were settled on the outside table with Sean’s drawing materials.

“I don’t think I ever made a detailed portrait of him” he thought “It’s definitely time” Sean said.

“And sketches?” Daniel pressed.

“I don’t know, sometime on our way down here on my journal” he said and started drawing a big circle to begin sketching.

“We need to frame it after you finish.” Daniel said.

“Of course, that’s the plan. It’s gonna take me a while though” Sean said.

“It’s ok, worth it” Daniel smiled. Maybe Sean just wanted the support and not be alone while he did this. Maybe it was something he wanted to do but was hard to get done. Not because of skill but because of the heavy emotions it represented.

And it was hard to draw. Making the image of his father take form before his hands made him sad. Because he really wished his dad could be here, and when you think about that; all the memories, good and bad, come rushing to you, and you feel an impossible tight knot on your throat. Multiple times Sean had to stop to wipe away his misty eyes, because he didn’t want to ruin the drawing.

Daniel helped, talking with him to keep him distracted enough, driving his mind away from his dad and into the silly things Daniel had to share.

“Should I put the dates. Like when he was born and when…” Sean said when he was finishing the sketch after a long time working.

“No. I don’t want to think about that when I look at it. Just that it’s our dad” Daniel said immediately.

“Good call” Sean nodded and agreed, because it was some sort of tribute to their dad, but it didn’t have to represent that he was gone.

He started adding lights and shadows, and his father’s face was really coming out great. Sean worked on his hair, his stubble beard, his eyebrows, his eyes. He loved what he was creating so much, but it stung his heart in a painful way. But then he sighed and let his back fall back into the seat.

“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked.

“Nothing. The sun is already too low to draw outside” Sean said, he didn’t want to force his eye in the low light “And… I thought I could finish today but it’s a big drawing and… it’s harder than I thought” he sighed.

“Hey, it’s fine. It’s turning out incredibly nice. And you already made huge progress. I can’t wait to see it when it’s done. We can continue tomorrow” Daniel assured smiling. It hurt seeing his brother’s drawing too, so he understood how hard it must be for Sean to do it.

Sean smiled softly “Thanks… And thanks for staying while I draw. I know you get bored”

Daniel giggled “I don’t, promise. And I enjoy talking to you” he said. Used to it at this point, they shared so much together.

“Yeah, ok” Sean nodded “Come on, let’s get inside and make something to eat” Sean said grabbing the drawing. They both got off their chairs at the same time and put them in place, but before they could get to the door, a female voice was heard.

“Sean?”

Both brothers turned their heads at the same time.

A familiar voice. Sean had to let his brain process it before turning fully. And there she was.

“Cassidy?” he said in shock. The same person that helped the brothers back then. She had shorter hair and different clothes from when they were in Humboldt, but aside of that, she looked the same. Sean couldn’t relate. Last time he saw her, he had two eyes. Last time he even knew something about her was from a letter she sent to Away. How did she find them? And what was she doing here? And the scariest of all: Was Sean ready to talk to her? Was he ready to remember what had happened? Because he was sure things were weird between them after that awful night went down.

And on this day of all, when Sean was really tired after his father was a recurrent thought trough the whole day, he wasn’t sure he had the energy, nor capacity to deal with this. That is, of course, if his brain can comprehend that the sight in front of him is real and not a hallucination. Because this feels surreal.

Chapter Text

Thursday, January 11th, 2018

History tends to repeat itself, they say.

“You can’t act like this” Sean said frowning, arms crossed.

It might be true.

“Like what!?” Daniel asked in annoyance, moving his arms hysterically around in the air.

But we’re meant to learn from the past, from our mistakes.

“Like a little kid, Daniel! A kid who can’t bear to not have all the attention all the time!” Sean exploded.

The lesson is shown until its learned.

“Isn’t that what you wanted? What you always say? Then act like it” Sean said, a bit sad, a bit breathless, and a bit hurt, because Sean wanted Daniel to be a little kid, to grasp to the last remains of innocence he hasn’t lost yet, but Daniel only proved to be past it over and over again.

Daniel stood there, eyes misting. He opened his mouth to argue back but regret it at the last second. He glanced at Cassidy, awkwardly sitting on the couch while the brothers argued. He didn’t resent her, he never meant to. But the last thing he wanted was to be separated from his brother again. It was his fear, one that had become true, and a fear he swore it would never threaten him again. With a sigh, he turned around and walked away, closing the door loudly shut as he ran down the stairs and into the back patio.

Sean sighed, a hand in his hip and the other covering his face.

“I think it’s probably for the best if I go” Cassidy said, rubbing his arm.

Monday, January 8th, 2018 (Three days earlier)

“Cassidy?” Sean had asked in shock.

“Oh my god you guys!” She smiled and walked closer, hugging them both at the same time. “I missed you. I’ve been looking for you the whole day.”

“You have?” Sean asked, still smiling in disbelief.

“What are you doing here?” Daniel asked, mirroring the same smile as Sean.

“It’s kind of a long story.” She said chuckling “What about you guys? Bet it’s been a ride” she said, sadly.

Both brothers nodded as Sean answered the question “It has” then Sean looked at the setting sun almost disappearing into the distance and had an idea “Hey, we were about start on dinner, you can join us if you want, maybe we can talk about what we missed” he offered.

“Oh, I mean… If it’s no trouble” Cassidy hesitated.

“Not at all! Come on, I’ll show you the place, it’s still a work in progress but we managed to…” Daniel grabbed Cassidy’s hand and lead her inside and up the stairs, showing her proudly the house both brothers had worked hard on.

Sean chuckled, it was kind of a switch in the way Daniel used to treat her back in Humboldt, but things change for the better sometimes, and his little wolf was growing more and more every day. He could tell. With a slightly more relieved spirit, Sean stepped inside and closed the door. He was glad things weren’t completely awkward, and it would remain that way if they don’t bring up Humboldt in the conversation, so all he had to do was to avoid that, right? He could enjoy having an old friend back and avoid talking about the things that hurt them all.

“You guys got quite the mansion” Cassidy said, walking in the kitchen alongside Daniel. The tour had concluded, and Sean was already working on the cooking.

“It’s not a lot” Sean chuckled at his house being called a mansion, and it kind of was for them, their own little paradise. “But it’s ours”

“If you did this in such a little amount of time, I can’t picture what you’ll manage for the end of this year” Cassidy said.

Daniel beamed “It’s going to be a proper house by the end of the year” he said confidently.

“We’ll definitely work on that” Sean smiled.

It was already an amazing house for both, more than they could ask, and turning out better every day.

“I’m so grateful you guys could make it here; I was worried sick for months” Cassidy admitted.

“We’ve been doing great since the last time we saw you.” Sean said, facing at the food again “I mean, it probably got worse before getting better but…”

“We made it” Daniel finished with a smile.

“Yeah, and not only made it. You’re living like kings” Cassidy chuckled “I don’t know what I was worried about. This is all you guys deserve” she said with a smile “But now, you gotta tell me what the hell happened” she added and took a seat on a little stool nearby.

Daniel laughed “What happened when? A lot has happened”

“Everything” Cassidy said, still smiling “I read the news about the border you know? My little boys became fugitives” she said with a mocking proud mother’s voice.

“Shut up” Sean laughed “We were already fugitives back then too” he said.

Both Daniel and Sean felt uneasy at the prospect of people reading and knowing what they had done at the border. They found the page themselves, they read it, but of course they looked like complete criminals from the way they wrote it. They didn’t have the brother’s part of the story, didn’t know what the world had done to them. What the people of that country had made them endure. They were just kids. Frighten kids. But if they wanted them so bad to be the villains, they could play villains. After all, they were the ones leaving in peace here.

But Cassidy didn’t seem troubled by the things they said about them. Since she got here, she only seemed relieved that they weren’t hurt. And she already knew about Daniel’s powers. Nothing to be afraid of, nothing to hide. She knew them for what they really were.

“How about you start on whatever you want to tell first” she said to the brothers.

Sean wanted to start from the beginning, of course, but that would mean he had to talk about the accident… and he didn’t want that to become the topic. He had to be careful then. Felt like dancing on a loosen thread to speak, but Daniel made up his mind quicker than him and started to relate his side of the story.

With a sad tone, and constantly reminding himself that he was much better now, he told vaguely what had happened after the accident and how he reached Haven Point. Then, feeling slightly more comfortable, he told Cassidy about the life he lived there, even though it still made him angry and uneasy.

“Wait, wait- hold on” Cassidy said with a frown “They made you ´repent for your sins’?” She said in disbelief.

“Yeah” Daniel nodded.

“You won’t believe how fucked up the people there were” Sean added.

“That’s such a dirty move. To implant guilt on someone. Someone who was already hurt” Cassidy said annoyed.

“She saw him as an easy prey” Sean nodded.

“And I fell for it” Daniel said angry, looking down.

“Hey, come on dude. It wasn’t your fault, you know that” Sean immediately reassured.

“Yeah Daniel. God, that’s bullshit. If I were you I… I don’t know how I would’ve kept going, I mean… You were alone, needed some comfort. Wasn’t your fault that you took the only one they offered you, even if it was bad. You’re only human.” Cassidy said softly.

Daniel felt much better. It was one thing for Sean to say it wasn’t his fault, but for other people to agree? Seemed much truthful. And they way Cassidy said it ‘I don’t know how I would’ve kept going,’ was exactly how Daniel felt when thinking about Sean. Maybe he was strong too, like his big brother.

“It’s fine… I wasn’t there for too long, a month maybe. Then Sean came to rescue me” Daniel said.

“Of course,” Cassidy smiled “Big bro always looking out”

“Yeah… he wanted us to go together… But I was so confused… so afraid. I didn’t know what was true or not…” Daniel said with a hand on his forehead, it still hurt his brain to think about it.

Sean, once again, stepped to comfort him “It’s ok cub, I told you, I understand how you felt, she was keeping stuff from you.”

“But I pushed you away when you only wanted to…” he shook his head “You must’ve felt so… desperate” Daniel said with guilt.

“I was” Sean admitted and pulled Daniel into a tight hug “I just wanted you safe, and you are now” he said softly “I know you’re sorry, you know I am too. But you don’t have to”

Daniel returned the hug and took deep breaths to calm the heavy sensations on his chest. He wanted to believe Sean, but the chocking pressure on his body made it difficult to. He felt guilty, and he was starting to feel like it was going to stay for a long time, but he would try to listen to Sean’s words, after all, they were a mirror of his own protests from when Sean felt guilty for not taking better care of Daniel. He knew that was bullshit, Sean was the best, so Sean must thing he feeling like this is also not fair, right?

Cassidy’s heart broke at the sight of the brother’s hug, it was such a contrast from the moody boys they were back at the farm. Daniel seemed happier, and so did Sean, but at the same time, they seemed more fragile. The things they went through must have left a deep scar in them. She didn’t judge them for being moody in the past, they had recently lost their home and father, and they were just learning how to survive. But now she sees that they had come a long way, not only to this town, but on their relationship. And it only made sense, it was logical, that after almost loosing the only thing you care about in the world, you would keep it safe with you the rest of your life.

“Before I arrived there though, I had spent the last week on a hospital” Sean continued the story.

“Yeah, same one we all went to. Sacred Home Hospital, I think” Cassidy nodded.

“Yeah, that’s the one. You didn’t stay as long as me though, they were going to send me to juvie. Imagine that. And I didn’t know where Daniel had gone” Sean said, squeezing Daniel tighter.

“They wouldn’t say anything about you, or where you were. I was so mad, I just wanted to see you” Cassidy sighed “they let me go soon enough, Finn wasn’t so lucky. Considering the dumbass was the one behind all the trouble, and he had criminal records because of his stupid father”

“Yeah I… I saw him, when I was escaping the place.” Sean said.

“You did?” Cassidy asked surprised.

Sean nodded “I didn’t talk to him… didn’t want to raise any suspicious, I was already complicated enough… That and… well… I didn’t know if I would yell at him or-”

“I was so mad at him” Cassidy sighed “He was such an asshole… he costs us all-” she stopped herself before continuing, looking at Sean’s eyepatch and then shook his head in disapproval “How did you escape?” She asked, diverting the conversation. Because she, like Sean, didn’t want to talk about that. She had amended stuff with Finn, but she didn’t know if Sean was willing to, and she would not judge him for any resolution nor interfere in his thinking. If Sean wasn’t ready, she wouldn’t bring that out.

Sean, glad because Cassidy had made it easy on him to talk about something else, began to narrate his experience. About how he found out about where Daniel was. How he managed to reach the place, and all the trouble he encountered in the way. And from then, he vaguely and shortly told her how he managed to take him back with the help of Jacob and his mother. He held Daniel close to him while he spoke, both because he didn’t want him to feel guilty or bad from the situation, and because he also needed to reassurance, to know it was all in the past and that they were safe now.

“Holy shit…” She said when Sean finished. She felt angry, sad, surprised. She didn’t even know how to summarize all her thoughts. “You guys… that’s rough… you two are amazing”

Both Sean and Daniel chuckled. The little one finally letting go of his big brother, the last one still hesitating to let go, but allowing Daniel to go.

“I mean, burning down a church? That’s badass” she said.

“Yeah well, the cops didn’t think so” Sean said, even though it wasn’t really their fault.

“What’s new? Besides, it wasn’t really a church, was it? If that weirdo only wanted to benefit herself. I mean what kind of psycho uses religion to take advantage of innocent people.” She said annoyed “Oh boy I wish I could kick her ass”

“It’s ok. Not necessary anymore…” Daniel said, and he didn’t want to specify why, not really. Sean knew though, and so he placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, she won’t be able to bother us” Sean nodded. They had taken care of her.

“Yeah. No one can get you here” Cassidy smiled. It still pained her that the brothers had to suffer that hell, considering how good souled people they were for her.

Sean and Daniel talked about their recovery time in Away and how they had crossed the border, feeling that it was the end for them, but then it wasn’t, thanks to Daniel. The story was long, Sean had finished cooking with the help of Daniel, and they had all eaten together while the brother told her all about what they’ve been doing here, meeting people, working on the house, building a life. Cassidy enjoyed the rest of the story, she was glad they were ok now, she felt like they deserve it.

“What about you though?” Daniel asked her.

“Yeah, what have you been up to?” Sean asked, they had finished eating.

“And why did you came looking for us?” Daniel added.

Cassidy smiled “Well, I told you. I was worried, I needed to know you guys were doing ok, and I’m so glad you are. And in comparison to your story, I haven’t done much”

“Come on, I’m sure you have stuff to tell us” Sean chuckled.

“Well, after I got out of the hospital and the police stop bothering us and the gang, we kind of kept going without Finn. It was hard… conflicting… definitely awkward but… we managed.” She explained. She thought for a moment and decided to avoid the part where she and the gang met Finn again, worried she might say something the brothers won’t take well. “Those were the last few months, you know us, traveling and living free. I can’t imagine settling down anywhere right now” She smiled.

“Well, I definitely thought so at the time. But this isn’t half bad” Sean smiled, they shared different styles of lives, maybe because of their different forced circumstances, but they both were good at adapting by necessity. Another forced skill.

“Anyway, I have wanted to come here and check since I heard you made it… It was just really difficult to get done… but I made it!” She smiled.

“Yeah you did. How long are you staying?” Daniel asked.

“Just a few days. I’ve got to return to the gang to keep down our path.” She said.

“Well, I’m glad you came, it’s nice to see a familiar face. Where are you staying?” Sean asked.

“Oh, well, I arrived in town today, I haven’t found a place yet. I was too worried looking for your house.” She said chuckling.

“Well, you can stay here” Sean said.

“What?” both Daniel and Cassidy said in unison.

“Yeah, you won’t be able to find a place to stay this late. And we have a whole house” Sean explained.

“But Sean-” Daniel tried but was interrupted by Sean’s enthusiasm.

“We have the couch for you to sleep in. I’m sure we have a blanket around here.” He continued.

“Wow, ok. Thanks, you guys, really” Cassidy said smiling.

“Of course.” Sean smiled and got up “I’ll go find that blanket”

Danie stayed still for a moment, and then went following on Sean’s tracks, hoping Cassidy would think he was going to help Sean.

“Sean” Daniel said stepping into their room. Sean was rummaging around their stuff.

“Yeah cub?” he asked, not lifting his head.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Daniel asked.

“What do you mean?” Sean asked confused, still focused on the task at hand.

“To let people stay over” Daniel said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“It’s just Cassidy, we know her” Sean said reasoning.

“You didn’t even ask me if I wanted to. I live here too” Daniel said crossing his arms.

“Don’t be rude Daniel” Sean found the blanket and finally turned around to look at his little brother “She was the one that helped us and found us a job and a place to stay when we needed it. This is like returning a favor” Sean said to him.

“But…” Daniel tried to argue, but he didn’t find a reason for Cassidy not to stay.

“Don’t be selfish” Sean said “It’s only a few days cub, come on”

“I’m not!” Daniel protested “But… yeah, it’s fine. You’re right, only a few days” Daniel shook his head and let it go.

Sean smiled and walked part Daniel, patting his shoulder. For a moment he thought Daniel would start acting like he did when Sean spent time with his friends in Seattle, or when he started hanging out with Cassidy at Humboldt. But his little cub has grown since then. He was able to see past that.

Daniel sighed. He felt annoyed with himself. Cassidy was nice, and Sean was right. And it would only be for a short amount of time. Then why did he feel uneasy at the prospect of her stating on the house… It didn’t make sense to him; he was just acting dumb. He needed to let it go.

Tuesday, January 9th, 2018

Daniel woke to the sound of soft laugher. He looked around and found out he was alone. Sean had woken up first. Weird. He stepped out of the bed, not bothering on putting socks since they now had nice floors. He made he’s way to the kitchen, lazily scratching his head as and rubbing his eyes, he glanced to the couch and saw the blanket Sean had given Cassidy thrown messily on it, but she wasn’t there. When he stepped inside ha saw her, holding a mug with some drink on it, and Sean by his side, they were chatting softly, probably wanting to avoid waking up Daniel. They were oblivious about Daniel’s presence for a moment. Sean noticed him first.

“Morning cub, slept good?” he said.

“Morning” Daniel said waving to them both. He made his way to start preparing some breakfast. “You want pancakes?”

“You know how to cook?” Cassidy asked surprised.

“Yeah?” Daniel replied, a bit annoyed, he wasn’t stupid.

“We’re fine cub, we were just finishing” Sean said.

Oh. That’s the first time Sean had breakfast without him after so long. It’s whatever. Daniel prepared some for himself, and as he was eating, making small chat with Cass and Sean, his big brother had the worst idea.

“Hey, so, now that Cassidy is here, you can stay here while I go to work. You won’t be bored” Sean suggested.

Daniel felt annoyed at the prospect, because it sounded like Sean wanted a babysitter for him, but then he thought that maybe Sean just thinks he goes with him because otherwise he’d be bored here all day. “No, it’s fine. I don’t mind going to work with you. I like it” Daniel said.

“Oh, ok then. Will you be ok here?” Sean asked Cassidy.

Daniel felt the same pang of unease at the idea of Cassidy staying in their house alone. Like she owned it.

“Actually, I was thinking I could accompany you guys. If that’s allowed, it could be fun” She asked. Sean had told her he sold his art in town, she actually liked that, when Sean showed her his drawings she was always impressed. To know he was getting some money for it was incredible. And then he had a shift at the restaurant, she didn’t think it would be a problem if she just made him company.

Daniel didn’t know what was less annoying, she staying in their own house alone, unsupervised, or she sticking around with them all day.

“Well, if you really don’t mind, then ok” Sean agreed.

Daniel couldn’t protest if he wanted. After all it was Sean who was working and not him, even if he helped a bit sometimes.

So, the three of them parted to walk and start the workday. Daniel certainly did not enjoy it. And he felt bad about himself for it, because it wasn’t like they were ignoring him. They included him in everything they talked about, and he hated it even more. Because why did he just not want her around? Was he really that selfish.

Just a few days, he reminded himself, he could play it cool until then.

“You know anything about Jacob?” Cassidy asked when Sean was on his break at the restaurant. He had presented her to Matias, and he was glad to meat some of Sean’s old friends. She didn’t speak Spanish, so the conversation was short, because even if Matias spoke a bit of English, he didn’t feel comfortable enough to sustain a full conversation, but even so, both liked to meet another person who had helped Sean.

“No, actually” Sean answered. “After Haven Point, we parted ways. He wrote us when we were in Away, but I didn’t know anything else from him. I hope he’s doing well though. I feel bad for not giving him the money… they really needed it, maybe more than us.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself about it, He didn’t even ask for it, he gave it back, right? He’s a friend, he knows you needed it. Otherwise, I imagine it would be hard to start a new life here” She tried to reason.

“Yeah, I guess” Sean nodded, believing the words “I would feel really bad if they’re doing bad tight now though”

“You’re so sweet Sean. You cared about them even as you were having a rough time yourself” Cassidy smiled, putting an arm around him.

“I understand how he must have felt about his sister being sick… and not being able to help her” Sean sighed.

“Yeah… makes sense” Cassidy nodded, looking to Daniel sitting on the counter, focusing on one of his drawings.

Daniel noticed how close they seemed to get, and flashbacks from Humbolt flooded his head. She had literally noy changed at all. Before he just thought they spend a lot of time together because Sean was tired of him. And maybe that was a bit true, btu now he was starting to have suspicions about them having feelings for each other. Made sense. He didn’t like that. Why though? If his brother wanted to find someone to be happy with, he should, he deserves it. It wasn’t like he would disappear or something. They would still be brothers. He knew that. But the feeling of discomfort didn’t leave him.

“Oh my god” Cassidy said, pulling Daniel away from his inner turmoil. “I didn’t know you could draw?” She said surprised.

There it was again, that tone. Did she really thought Daniel couldn’t do anything besides being Sean’s brother?

“Yeah, Sean had been teaching me since we got here. He’s the best teacher” he said, admiring his work.

“That’s because you’re a fast learner” Sean chimed in, getting ready to get back to work.

“Well, both of that makes sense” Cassidy chuckled, “either way, this is amazing Daniel, really”

Daniel smiled at the compliment, feeling nice about himself. “Thanks”

The day finished normally, keeping Sean company and chatting with Cassidy and Matias with no major problem surging. When they arrived home, Daniel played with Angel and Mateo, the kid that lived nearby. Daniel invited Angel over to play for a bit and they went to look for Mateo to join them. They were playing with the ball Sean had gifted Daniel for Christmas.

“Quién es esa chica? (Who’s the new girl?)” Mateo asked, looking over to where Sean and Cassidy sat on the patio.

“Es su novia? (Is it Sean’s girlfriend?)” Angel asked, not meaning to tease, he was genuinely curious, and at their age, boy hanging out with a girl equals dating.

“Qué? No! (What? No!)” Daniel answer quickly. “Es una amiga que vino a visitarnos (She’s just an old friend that came to visit)” he explained.

“Chido, de donde es? (Nice, where’s she from?)” Mateo asked.

“Viene de Estados Unidos (She came from the US)” Daniel said drily.

Both boys were not too impressed with that, there were actually a lot of tourists from all around the world in the Summer, and US citizens where the most common. Mateo noticed how Daniel had replied and had to ask “No te llevas bien? (Do you not get along?”

“No es mala (She’s nice)” Daniel answered, looking at the ground.

Both Mateo and Angel shared knowing looks, Daniel was feeling down about something.

“Vamos (Come on)” Angel said, “Juguemos a ser superhéroes (Let’s play superheroes)”

“Si! Yo quiero ser un mago (Oh yeah! I want to be a wizard)” Mateo said, jumping in excitement. They knew Daniel loved playing this, and it was a good way to cheer him up.

“Ok” Daniel said smiling.

Meanwhile, Sean and Cassidy were having a conversation of their own, Cassidy took the chance now that Daniel was playing with his friends to ask him about him.

“So, how are things going with Daniel. I can tell you two seem closer now” she said.

“Great actually” Sean smiled, looking at Daniel while he ran around with her friends. “We both learned a lot together… so we now understand more things”

“Yeah. It’s nice that you still have your signature brotherly banter” she smiles “Some things don’t change, no matter what”

“We’re still the same Sean and Daniel I suppose” Sean chuckled.

“Better, I’d say” she smiled and started to take something from his back pocket.

Sean laughed when he saw what she was looking for “A joint, really?”

Cassidy chuckled and shrugged.

“How did you manage to bring that here?” Sean asked.

“I have my contacts” she said playing mysterious.

“You’re such a stoner” Sean laughed once again.

“Yeah well, you want a drag or not?”

Sean smiled and produced his lighter from his pocket. He hadn’t some for such a long while, not worrying to buy cigarettes for now because he wanted to save every penny for what’s important. He hasn’t smoked a joint since the farm, a longer time even, but he always carried his father’s lighter with him, it was nice to think he was with him in that way. He lighted it up while Cassidy held it out for him. She took a drag first, then Sean.

“Déjà vu” she said quietly.

Daniel watched them from afar, trying to concentrate on their friends. Once the sun was starting to set, their friends returned to their houses, and Daniel returned to Sean.

“You’ve smoked” Daniel said, it wasn’t a question, he recognized the smell.

“Yeah” Sean said, he thought this shouldn’t be news to his brother.

Daniel nodded slowly “It’s been a while”

“Yeah” Sean repeated. At least Daniel wasn’t nagging him to let him try anymore.

“I’m gonna start dinner” Daniel said and walked past them, hearing them laughing softly behind him.

Wednesday, January 10th, 2018

Daniel was finding it harder and harder to his annoyance. He really didn’t want to be a dick, but he felt… ignored. Which was selfish because they weren’t actually ignoring him, but Sean was spending so much time with her it was starting to make him feel the same angriness he felt back in Humboldt. And he really thought he had grown up since then. He wasn’t making any sense, he knew it, and that made him even angrier.

This morning, he had woken up not only to an empty bed, but an empty house. A note in the kitchen counter said they didn’t want to wake him up, and that Cassidy had gone with Sean, even after Daniel specifically told him he wanted to go with him. He didn’t have breakfast, too occupied on thinking what to do. He was mad, he wanted to stay here alone, wanted to show Sean he had hurt his feelings, but he also didn’t want his brother to be alone, because what if something bad happened and Daniel wasn’t there to protect him. After a while of thinking, he decided not to risk it, and walked towards the town center to meet Sean.

“Daniel” Sean said surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? Why did you leave without me?” Daniel asked annoyed.

“I don’t want you to feel like you need to help me.” Sean said.

“I told you I want to!” Daniel replied raising his voice.

“Sorry Daniel, I told him to” Cassidy chimed in.

“Wh-” Daniel froze for a second “Why?” he asked frowning,

“I just thought that maybe you needed some space. You two have been together and sharing everything since you got here. And Sean agreed to” Cassidy said looking to his side, and Sean nodded.

“I thought that maybe… it was ok that we didn’t spend all the time together… I don’t know” Sean said rubbing his nape.

“But I want to!” Daniel said. Great, now he did look like a little kid.

“Sorry Daniel” Cassidy said.

“You. Why don’t you mind your own business, no one asked you to do anything for us” Daniel said harshly. Cassidy just stayed quiet.

“Daniel!” Sean scolded.

“It’s fine” Cassidy said.

“I’m not a kid Sean, I can make my own decisions.” He said taking a seat next to them.

Sean wanted to argue, but he thought he’d just make things worse. Maybe Daniel was feeling jealous again. And here he was, thinking that his brother had moved past that.

The rest of the day kept going with a tension in the air. It felt like a ballon that kept getting inflated and would pop at any second now. Their conversations were now shorter, with both Sean and Cassidy. And Sean seemed to get annoyed by how bitter Daniel was acting.

That night, as they both Settled in bed, Daniel had the need to ask him, because they were close all day long.

“Are you dating her?” he asked, looking at his brother in the eyes.

Sean burst out into laugher “What? Really? Is this why you’re mad about?”

“You know it’s not” Daniel rolled his eyes “You just seem to be really close to her”

“We’re not” Sean replied, “And I’m not sure I like her that way, at least not anymore.”

“Not anymore?” Daniel asked surprised.

Sean chuckled embarrassed, “She told me she liked me back in Humboldt… but I had so much going on in my head, and we were leaving, so… I just let it go” he explained.

“I didn’t know that” Daniel said. That sucked, that Sean couldn’t focus on what made him feel good, even if he didn’t like Cassidy back then.

“Yeah… but now… I mean she’s nice and all but, I’m still occupied with other stuff, there’s so much to do” Sean said.

Daniel felt his heart broke at that, because it sounded like Sean was just no living part of his life just to take care of him. He didn’t want that, he’d felt guilty “You should, date her, I mean. If you like her”

Sean chuckled “I don’t even know if she still likes me dude, and besides, she’s leaving in a few days.” He explained “What’s the deal with you? I thought you hated her?”

“I don’t” Daniel frowned “She’s just…” Daniel sighed; he didn’t even know.

“Just?” Sean pushed.

“I don’t like that she gets involved in our stuff” Daniel said “What does she knows about what we want?”

“He was just trying to help dude. She didn’t mean any harm” Sean tried to reason “And I genuinely believed that maybe it was better for us not to be so… dependent” Sean said. It was something that was lingering on his mind for a while now.

“Well, she was wrong” Danile said.

“Ugh, I hate it when you are so stubborn” Sean said annoyed. “She isn’t bad”

Daniel knew that. He turned around, facing away from Sean “If you just want to spend your time away from me you can just say so”

Sean rolled his eyes “You know that’s not true”

Daniel just shrugged.

“I do not understand you sometimes” Sean said and turned around, facing away from Daniel too. Was he really jealous again? Because he was spending time with other people? They were mostly ok now, they had a nice place. And Daniel knew Sean won’t leave him. Cassidy was just starting over for a couple of days. He didn’t act like this when he went out with his friends, Daniel encourages him even. So what was the difference with Cassidy? He even suggested dating her. Sean was at a lost.

Thursday, January 11th, 2018

At least this morning Sean hadn’t left without him. Still, Daniel barely talked during breakfast, Cassidy and Sean seemed to entertain themselves enough. He just replied to whatever they said to him with vague words or a simple move of his head.

He spent most of his time trying not to be rude, trying to keep himself busy. At the restaurant, Matias noticed his unusual silence, because he was usually so eager to chat and have a good time.

“Qué pasa? (What’s wrong?)” he asked softly, sitting besides him at the counter.

Daniel raised his head to look at him, then he looked at Sean, doing usual chores while Cassidy trailed after him chatting. Both of them talked, laughed. Matias followed his gaze.

“Tu hermano está perdido eh? (Your brother is lost huh?)” he smiled. Because he noticed too. Ever since this Cassidy girl showed up, Sean only speak to him because they worked together, he seemed to have forgotten about the world, and he had a feeling that’s what had Daniel so upset.

Daniel just nodded.

“Te entiendo, pero no puedes evitar si estás enamorado (I get it… but you can’t help if you’re in love)” Matias said.

“Sean dijo que no quiere eso (Sean said he doesn’t want to date her)” Daniel said.

“Ah” Matias said surprised, thinking for a moment before returning his attention to Daniel. “Bueno, se va en unos días no? (Well, she’s leaving in a few days anyway, isn’t she?)”

Daniel nodded again.

“No puede ser tan mala (She can’t be that bad)” Matias said.

“No. Ese es el problema. Parezco un idiota estando enojado (She’s not. That’s the problem. I look like an asshole being mad)” Danile admitted.

“No lo eres. Sean te presta menos atención y estas molesto. Parece normal (You’re not. Sean just started paying less attention to you and your upset. Seems coherent)”

“Pero pasamos mucho tiempo juntos, no debería (But we spend so much time together, I shouldn’t)” Daniel sighed.

“Quizá, pero pasar de compartir siempre a casi nada tan pronto, no está bien (Maybe, but going from sharing time always to almost not at all, is not ok)”

Daniel thought for a moment. Even if Sean was not so apart as he was in Humboldt, he still had put a bit of distance between them. And Matias was right, it was so sudden it hurt. Cassidy wasn’t the problem. It never was.

That day, after Sean finished his shift, they walked together, the three of them as it was lately, and arrived at the house.

“Sean, let’s play outside” Daniel said.

“I don’t know Daniel, I’m kinda tired today” Sean said.

“Oh, that’s fine. Should we do something less hectic?” Daniel asked.

“I was just going to smoke with Cass” Sean said.

Cassidy sat on the couch meanwhile, looking for the prize they needed to start that activity.

“Again?” Daniel rolled his eyes.

“What? Why can’t you stand me being with her?” Sean said, pretty annoyed by the way Daniel had acted all day. The tension in the air began to thicken, the balloon would definitely explode this time.

“I told you it’s not that! But you always pick something I can’t do! You don’t care about being with me anymore!” Daneil said, his voice raising.

“You can’t act like this” Sean said, crossing his arms in annoyance.

History tends to repeat itself, they say.

Daniel sighed frustrated “Like what!?” Sean did not understand what he was trying to say. He had lost his patience.

It might be true.

“Like a little kid, Daniel! A kid who can’t bear to not have all the attention all the time!” Sean exploded.

But we’re meant to learn from the past, from our mistakes.

“Isn’t that what you wanted? What you always say? Then act like it”

The lesson is shown until its learned.

Daniel’s eyes filled with tears, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door with his powers. He did look like a little kid… maybe he hasn’t grown up at all, he thought.

Have I learned nothing?

“I think it’s probably for the best if I go” Cassidy said, sitting awkwardly on the couch. She felt so bad for being the cause of the fight. Her presence was definitely not welcome.

I made the same mistake.

“No… please don’t… just… let me talk to him” Sean said and went after his brother, rushing down the stairs. He wasn’t on the back patio, and when he looked around, he found him far away, standing on the shore.

Of course he’d felt like I would put him aside. I even have the same fear… I… I’m such an idiot. Sean thought as he made his way closer to Daniel. History has repeated, because he hasn’t learned his lesson, and he couldn’t afford to make more mistakes, not when the last ones cost both of them so much.

When he reached the shore, he stood behind Daniel, leaving a few steps between him. Danil had his hand lifted, holding a rock above the sea. It wasn’t big, but it wasn’t minuscule either. It was just an average brown rock. Sean could feel the humming of Daniel’s power in the air, and he thought that was strange, he usually doesn’t need that much force to lift something so light for him like a rock. The humming intensified, a bit of sand around Daniel’s feet started to rise, and Sean knew his brother was angry.

“Daniel-” he tried to talk, but his voice was cut by the loud sound of the rock being destroyed. Daniel had closed his hand in a fist, and the rock burst in an instant. What at first was a rock now was millions of little grains of sand, not a single big piece in sight. It dispersed as the wind blow, and the sand was carried away until it all sunk in the ocean.

Sean was shocked. The amount of force Daniel would have needed to apply to make a rock into sand in an instant was insane. And he did it. Daniel was panting, it had taken a lot of him apparently. Maybe the anger helped. Sean wasn’t scared though. He knew his brother would never hurt him. The last times were just accidents, and he was sure Daniel is so much careful now because of how guilty he feels.

“Daniel…” Sean said.

Daniel turned around, he was pissed.

Sean sighed “Let’s just talk”

“I know I’m… I know I’m still a kid…” Daniel said, tears falling down his cheek “I know I say I’m not but… the truth is that I don’t know. So much has happened and I thought I had learned. I did. I learned a lot, but… I’m still childish. And I can’t help but to feel bad when you… you spend so much time away…” Daniel said looking down.

“Little wolf… You are only ten years old… soon you’ll be eleven. Of course you are ‘childish’ and that is not a bad thing. You want to play superheroes, learn things, explore… but you have also grown up” Sean said softly, stepping closer “I can tell that. Every day, with the things you say and do… you’re definitely not a little kid anymore. You’re so caring and… you deal with a lot of feelings you shouldn’t” Sean said tearing up himself. “And I fucked up. Again, because that’s all I can do apparently. You’re right, I shouldn’t stop spending time with you. I was so excited to ser her again… and since it was only a couple of days, I thought it would be nice if I just pretended to be a teen again.”

“I don’t mind you spending time with her. I don’t think she’s bad. But I… ever since…” Daniel struggled “ever since I felt like you were tired of me in Humboldt… I really felt like you would leave at any moment… And I’m sacred. Because I don’t want you to leave me like dad did… like Lyla… like Grandma and Grandpa… like Mushroom, like Chris… mom…” Daniel wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand “And when I was in Haven Point, I really thought that was it… that everyone was better without me. And now… when Cassidy showed up… all the fear intensified and… I…”

Daniel didn’t need to say anything more. Sean just held him close in an embrace, cradling his head like he always does. “People didn’t leave you… you’re not the problem… it was a rough situation… we were always running away… But I’m not going to leave you… no matter what. You’re the only one I care about… I love you Daniel” Sean squeezed his little brother while he hugged him.

“I love you too” Daniel said muffled.

“And I’m so sorry for being an idiot. I was so wrapped up in my head and the idea of just… being carefree.” Sean shook his head “But I did the same that I had done back then…”

“Everything is so complicated… and I’m sick of it…” Daniel sighed.

“Would you forgive me…?” Sean asked.

“I do” Daniel said, of course he would. Sean was the only person he cared about too. “Would you forgive me because I got mad? I just didn’t really understand why I was so afraid”

“That wasn’t your fault little cub…” Sean said, rubbing his brother’s back soothingly. Sean felt really guilty about this. He had to make it up for Daniel, he thought.

“Come on, let’s go back inside, and we can do something together… something we can all enjoy” Sean said, guiding Daniel back to the house with an arm around his shoulders.

When they got back and walked up the stairs, they found the living room empty.

“Cass?” Sean called.

No answer.

“You gotta be shitting me” Sean sighed.

“Where she go?” Daniel asked.

“I told her to wait… this wasn’t about her after all.”

Daniel felt even worse, he didn’t want Cassidy to feel like this was his fault. Running back down and going out the front door, Daniel started looking for her. Sean running right behind him.

“Cassidy!” Daniel shouted, looking in every direction he could.

“There!” Sean pointed, a figure in the distant with purple hair.

Daniel sprinted with all the energy he had, trying to catch her. “Wait!” he shouted.

Cassidy turned around.

Daniel reached her, and panting, he rested his hands on his knees “Don’t leave…”

“I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable Daniel” She said.

“You didn’t. You don’t” Daniel said “I like your company Cass… I just…” Daniel flushed in embarrassment “I just… didn’t like Sean not wanting to be around as much…”

Sean had arrived as well. “I promise” he said “Come on… let’s go back”

“Are you sure?” he hesitated.

Both brothers nodded.

“I was a dick to Daniel…” Sean admitted.

“And I shouldn’t’ have gotten mad” Daniel added.

Cassidy smiled, they had definitely learned. “Ok, yeah. I’m sure your brother really wants that joint” she teased.

Both brothers chuckled.

“Shut up” Sean said.

“You’ve got to let me try it someday” Daniel said hopeful.

“Keep dreaming little wolf. You’re way too young.” Sean said.

And it was probably true, but Sean had said that he had grown in other aspects, and that made him feel good. When they arrived at the house again, they all played a boardgame, and Daniel found out that Cassidy was really cool, she was funny. And she helped to tease his brother.

It was all still too much for Daniel. He didn’t understand most of the things that happened to him. He felt like there was so much in the air around them… but it was unreachable. Would it make sense someday? Or would it never. Sometimes he felt like a kid. Sometimes he felt like he maybe knew too much. He wasn’t sure where he was standing. He wasn’t sure he could always be reasonable. He understood now that he and Sean had a lot to talk about. Why couldn’t they just leave ok?

Sean saw Daniel spaced out, and scoot over on the couch. He wrapped his arms around him to distract him. It seemed to work. Daniel giggled and returned the hug.

“I don’t like fighting with you” Daniel said.

“Me neither little cub” Sean agreed.

“You guys are going to make me melt.” Cassidy teased. “I’m glad you made up.”

“We’re the wolf brothers, we’re a team” Daniel said.

“Hell yeah!” Sean got on his feet, still holding his brother, his feet dangling above the floor. Sean ignored Daniel’s protests about putting him down, and he spun them around, resulting in a new round of giggles from Daniel. Maybe both of them were a mess, and maybe thy didn’t know yet how to talk about certain things. But nothing could ever made them stay apart again.

Chapter Text

Friday, January 12th, 2018

The sounds of distant movements around the kitchen seemed to stir Sean awake from his slumber. He blinked a few times, getting used to the light and instinctively lifted an arm to cover his eyes while the other reached for Daniel. The spot next to him was empty, and now the sounds in the kitchen made sense, Daniel always wants to do things for Sean, even if the later one says it’s not necessary.

Since lately Sean had been waking up earlier in his excitement of having an old friend round, it would make sense that after a few days his body is now begging him to return to his normal routine, staying in bed for a bit longer. Daniel usually raised first, like today. Or maybe it’s that they all went to bed so late yesterday, after the brother’s made up and the tension disappeared, they all seemed to enjoy each other’s company, chatting, eating snacks and playing games to pass the time. Daniel passed out first, and after a last beer, Sean decided to call it a night, since he had to get up early to work, and carried his little brother to bed.

Sean got out of bed, he put some shorts on and walked towards the kitchen only to be pleasantly surprised by Daniel chatting quietly with Cass while he prepared breakfast. Sean smiled at the sight and cursed himself internally for neglecting his little brother once again. He hadn’t meant for things to escalate like that, and the guilt of committing the same mistake twice was stacking on top of the rest of things that makes him feel guilty that he tries so desperately to ignore. Having a sense of normality was nice, of the teenage life he never had, but things were different now, he had to take care of Daniel, and he had to be the role model. Sean felt like he deserved to have his time with friends, but just not all the time, not when his brother felt on edge when Sean did so, maybe it was some sort of trauma. Sean didn’t know how to take care of that if that was the case.

“Morning bro” Daniel said smiling when he noticed his still sleepy brother standing on the doorframe.

“We thought you’d never wake up.” Cassidy chuckled “We didn’t drink that much yesterday; didn’t know you were a softie” she teased.

Sean giggled “Shut up, I don’t drink much, I have to work” he said stepping in the kitchen.

“Well, you should. Get some pressure off” Cassidy said.

Sean then looked at the clock outside the room and saw it was pretty late by his standards, he should be already selling his art. “It’s so late! why didn’t you guys wake me up?” he said turning back to face them.

“You deserved the rest” Daniel said. In his mind Sean always was worthy of some rest because he always worked too much “And after how I acted yesterday… I assumed you were tired” he added. Apparently, Sean wasn’t the only one feeling guilty.

Sean was conflicted for a moment, because he wanted to rush to work immediately, but he did feel tired from last night.

“Let’s eat something and get going” Cassidy said, apparently not in such rush.

“I’m almost doner here” Daniel said.

And since Sean didn’t want to look freaked out as much as he felt, he decided to take a breath and play it cool. He couldn’t feel this anxious about being late… but he felt like he had to work hard every day, it was his life now, and Daniel needed him to do so.

They were at the fountain when it hit him. Two guys had walked by and, liking Sean’s drawings, they asked for a portrait. Making small talk he discovered that they were here to visit family, and they were father and son. Sean smiled at the sight, even if he felt a bit empty inside. But the thought invaded him suddenly like a blow that took all the air out of him. He was so occupied with all the new changes, the holydays, the arrival of Cassidy and the conflict he and Daniel had, that it completely went pass him. Yesterday it was supposed to be their dad’s birthday… and he forgot about it.

The pencil slipped from his hand and bounced on the floor. Daniel garbed it for him and hand it over. “Todo bien? (Everything ok?)” he asked.

“Si” Sean replied, taking the pencil back in his hand and focusing back on the drawing. His mind wondered back to his father and if Daniel realized that they missed it, if he just didn’t say anything because Sean hadn’t, or if he just didn’t know. Was it worth it to bring the topic out? Sean didn’t want Daniel to grieve alone, but if he just didn’t know about it the realization might just make him feel worse.

And Sean already felt bad himself, he was even drawing a portrait of Esteban, one that he hadn’t had the courage to keep going since Cassidy came over. How could he have forgotten about it? He missed him every day, felt an emptiness that nothing could ever fill, and he-

“Sean?” Daniel asked, looking at his brother with concern, he had been working on the drawing unevenly now, and it was unusual for him.

“Hm?” Sean replied, getting back to the present and continuing the drawing.

“Qué pasa? (What’s wrong?)” Daniel whispered, so neither Cassidy nor the customers would hear.

Sean just shook his head and smiled. It wasn’t worth it to talk about it here, or now. He finished the drawing, doing an effort to suppress his thoughts, and then handed it over. The two were pleased with the result, and they even gave Sean a tip.

“I recall you doubting your skills back at the time” Cassidy smiled, remembering how shy Sean had acted when she tried to look at his drawings.

Sean chuckled “Well, I had to get money somehow” he simply said, even though it wasn’t as easy as it seemed, he still remembered the uncertainty of the first times he did this.

“{You work at the diner now, why are you still selling art?}” Daniel questioned “{Are we that bad in money?}”

“{No Enano, we’re not short on money}” he assured. Sure, they didn’t have that much but they were doing fine, and they still had some savings “{But every little thing we can get is welcome at the time}”

Daniel nodded “{Well, I’ll help, when I can get a job}”

Sean’s heart melted at that, Daniel was so sweet, but he should definitely not be thinking about work. “{It´s alright, you help plenty enough}” he said and ruffled his little brother’s hair.

“Hey, mind joining me in the conversation?” Cassidy joked.

“You really need to learn Spanish, how did you manage to get here?” Sean teased.

“The power of love” she said nonchalantly. “And money”

Both Sean and Daniel chuckled at that. “Daniel learned a lot of words the first days we came here already” Sean pointed out. He was still impressed by how quickly Daniel had gotten the hang of it.

“Well, can’t compete with the smart ones, can I?” Cass winked to Daniel “I learn the hard ways”

“Guess we all do in some ways” Sean said softly.

The day carried on, and Sean had Esteban on his mind the whole time. Would his dad be mad that he forgot about him? Would he be glad he was moving on? But he was definitely not… he still felt so lost sometimes, feeling like he was pretending to know what he was doing…

“{Sean, you hungry yet?}” Daniel asked, after he realized it was past noon and they’ll need to head to the diner soon. He always tried not to rush Sean, but he was really hungry now and couldn’t wait any longer.

Sean contemplated the idea for a moment, and concluded that it was a nice time to end his art selling for the day “{Sure cub}” he nodded, “{let’s go get some food}”

And so, they carried on with their routine, they’ll have lunch for a break and then Sean would start his shift. They didn’t always eat in there, sometimes preferring to prepare their own snacks, but the majority of the convenience of just order food was stronger.

“Sean, Daniel” Matias greeted with a nod when he saw them arrived. The brothers and Cassidy sat on their usual spot and Matias went to fetch them some food. The brothers were never picky about what they were fed, grateful enough that Matias insisted on bringing them available food.

“It’s really nice of him to feed us” Cassidy said, she had watched how Matias acted towards the brothers, and she was glad they had found some help.

“He’s the best” Daniel beamed.

“He really is, I pay him when he lets me” Sean chuckled.

“Did I mention how tanned you guys are?” Cassidy said and Sean laughed, she had definitely mentioned it.

“Yeah, like, ten times by now” he said.

Cassidy laughed “Well, it’s true! You guys look good”

“It’s impossible to avoid this sun” Daniel said, but he was not complaining. Sure, sometimes it could be a bit overwhelming, but he did not dislike it entirely. It was nice to be able to be outside most of the time, he was used to after their whole journey.

“And you weren’t here in summertime” Sean pointed out, when they had arrived the heat was almost unbearable.

“Well, am I tanned yet?” Cassidy joked, smiling and looking down at her arms while extending them for the brothers to see.

“You’re as white as ever” Sean teased.

Matias then arrived with three plates of warm food for them. The rest of the meal passed by fairly quick, and Sean was quieter than usual. Cassidy might just think Sean is just tired from yesterday, but Daniel knew something was going on. He only talked when he was talked to. Maybe Sean just didn’t want to tell him around Cassidy.

“Ok, I’m going to get started, don’t miss me too much” Sean said getting up to go get ready for work, and as he did so, Matias came around and handed Cassidy a small paper. The check.

Sean was taken aback for a moment because Matias never cared for the boys to pay, always saying that Sean did enough by working here.

“Su total, señorita (Your total, miss)” he said, and Sean realized it he was only making Cassidy pay, and that felt a bit rude. Cassidy didn’t seem to mind as much, or didn’t show it. Daniel on the other hand did think it was strange.

Once Matias walked away Sean followed after him, and when he was sure they were far enough that Cassidy wouldn’t hear, he spoke to him. “Qué fue eso? (What was that?)”

Matias turned around and just shrug “Le di la cuenta (I handed her the check)” he said with a confused look.

“Sabes que no me refiero a eso (You know that’s not what I meant)” Sean said, surprised by the way Matias was acting, almost like he was… angry.

Matias sighed, he knew he should give some explanation “Yo los quiero ayudar, y nunca los haría pagar. Pero ella no necesita mi ayuda… no puedo regalar platos de comida a todos tus amigos (I want to help you, and I'd never make you pay. But she doesn’t need my help, I can’t gift around food to all your friends.)”

Sean nodded slowly “E- entiendo (I- I understand)” he said sheepishly. The least he wanted to do is make Matias think they were taking advantage of him and his kindness.

“Bien (Good)” Matias said and ended the conversation, turning around and going to continue his job.

Sean turned around to face Daniel, who was looking at him expectantly. Sean shook his head and shrugged. He was also at a loss with how Matias acted. But with no time to waste, he put on his uniform and started his shift.

Sean was seemingly distracted the whole day, Matias noticed, but decided not to say anything. He figured that he was struggling again with something about his past, and he didn’t blame him. Sometimes Sean got too deep into his head.

Sean on the other hand was both worried about having missed his father’s birthday and now Matias acting strangely, with a serious face and not talking much to him. Besides rehearsing how or if to speak to Daniel, he kept thinking Matias was angry at him, but that didn’t seem accurate either. He wasn’t mad about Sean forgetting stuff for the millionth time today, never even commented about it… but he was also distant, more serious.

On the walk back home, after Sean had concluded with his day of work, Daniel needed to comment on it.

“{Was something wrong with Matias}” he asked.

“{He was… weird today}” Sean admitted “{Maybe he just had a bad day}”

“{Maybe}” Daniel said unconvinced.

“{I should’ve asked but…}” Sean stopped talking before he could finish.

“{Your mind is busy today.}” Daniel was sure of it “{What’s wrong?}” he asked, looking at him.

Sean sighed, “{I… Yesterday-}”

“What’s that?” Cassidy asked pointing ahead of them.

In the distance, where their house was, there were two guys seemingly vandalizing their walls with black spray paint.

“HEY!” Sean shouted, sprinting towards the house. Cassidy and Daniel following after him.

“Qué mierda!? (What the fuck?!)” he shouted and, at realizing they were caught, both guys started to run away, laughing and pushing each other like it was the most fun thing in the world to do.

Sean pondered on chasing after them, but they had a big lead, he wouldn’t catch them. So he stopped, slowing down as he reached the house. Cassidy did the same, looking worriedly at Sean. Daniel on the other hand ran a bit longer “Imbéciles! (Assholes!)” he shouted. With a lift of his hand, he made a close pebble lift from the ground and with a grunt, the rock made a beeline right to the back of one of the guy’s head. The man stumbled a bit, but kept running nonetheless.

Daniel panted, and finally stopped. He walked back to where Sean and Cassidy were, examining the damage, and when he saw it, the rage he already felt was increased considerably. The painting he and Sean had made, the one featuring the wolves drawing and a warning to stay away, was all crossed out and around it they were all kinds of words in Spanish that went from simple ones like “I rule” to insults like “Bitches” and of course, dicks drawn around everywhere.

“Who where they?” Cassidy asked.

“I don’t know” Sean sighed. It could be anyone from what he knew, starting from stupid teens joking to people that knew who they were and where they lived. His chest tightened at the last one.

“Why? We worked so hard on this” Daniel sighed and thought out loud.

“Don’t worry Enano, we still have paint left. We’ll leave it good as new” Sean assured, trying to make the mood lighter despite what he himself felt.

“I swear to god if I find them…” Daniel said with clenched teeth, the hum of his power getting louder.

“Come on… It’s fine… It could’ve been worse” Sean tried to calm his little wolf.

“Yeah, no one got hurt” Cassidy said trying to help.

“And we don’t want any trouble, right?” Sean remined Daniel.

Daniel nodded “We don’t. But if they do something else…”

Sean smiled “I know. By the way… that throw was amazing”

“Huh?” Daniel looked up at him, confused.

“The rock you threw. They were so far away, and you hit him. I didn’t know your powers reached that far. It was impressive” Sean explained.

“Oh” Daniel beamed, he didn’t know Sean had seen him “Thanks, I didn’t know wither” he said, if he knew he would’ve caught both of them in his hands with just a thought. “I hope it hurt at least”

“I bet it did” Sean smirked “and yesterday on the beach… when you crushed that rock… It… it was incredible too. You’re getting stronger every day little cub” he said shoving Daniel softly. The truth was that Sean wasn’t a huge fan of Daniel using his powers in public, but no one was around those times, and he wanted to calm Daniel down after this awful moment. Sean was angry himself, but also tired of having to deal with so much shit, he just wanted all to be ok.

It worked, Daniel wasn’t angry anymore, and he had his proud face on full display, glad that someone acknowledged his strength.

Once they entered the house, Sean made a beeline to the couch and threw himself on it, laying on his stomach. Today had been a little too much for his mind, even though nothing severe had happened. But his head wouldn’t stop all the thoughts and worries about how to talk to Daniel, and then he didn’t know what was up with Matias, and he was still tired from yesterday, and now the paining-

Daniel moved his brother’s legs out of the way, making Sean turn and lay on his back instead. Once Daniel found his spot on the couch, Sean let his legs rest back down, Daniel let him put them on his lap, and he rested his arms on top of them.

Cassidy turned on the little fan they carried around the rooms when Daniel noticed a little mark on the back of her upper arm. “What’s that?” he asked pointing, because his curiosity was always too much to contain.

Sean pulled his arm down “We don’t point to people, that’s rude”

“I didn’t say anything wrong” Daniel protested softly, but he wasn’t annoyed.

Cassidy, in the meantime, had looked behind his arm and noticed what Daniel was talking about. “Oh… this is a scar” she said simply.

“Oh” Daniel never noticed it before “I have one too” he said showing his shoulder scar.

Sean chuckled “I think I might have one but I’m not sure” he joked.

Daniel playfully shoved Sean’s legs a bit “What is it from?” he asked her “Mine’s from a bullet” he said like it was the coolest thing ever. He was able to think that now, a few months back he still remembered the situation with fear every time he looked at it.

“Um…” the problem wasn’t really telling where it was from… it was the repercussion it might have that worried her.

“Do you have more?” Daniel asked before she could answer.

“Dude, you’re going to make her uncomfortable” Sean scolded.

Cassidy laughed softy “I don’t mind” she said and showed that in both of his arms she had small and medium similar scars.

“They look so similar” Daniel voiced his thought.

“They were from the same thing” Cassidy explained.

“Damn, where did you fall” Sean chuckled, still lazily lay down and looking at his side to see Cassidy’s arms.

“Yeah, what happened” Daniel asked.

She didn’t really have a way out “It was from… that night at Humboldt” she said as casually as she could.

Sean grew quiet.

“Oh… well that makes sense” Daniel figured. Honestly, they were similar to Sean’s, so he should’ve guessed.

Sean and Cassidy both let out a relieved breath when they confirmed that Daniel wasn’t affected by it. At least not much. Sean especially avoided the subject because he knew how guilty he felt.

“They look like Sean’s” Daniel continued, turning to face Sean and with an extended arm he traced one of the little marks in his neck. “Sorry” he added sadly “To both”

“Oh sweetie, it wasn’t on purpose, it was a crazy day.” Cassidy said with a smile.

“Yeah, like I said. It was an accident” Sean assured, taking Daniel’s hand on his.

Daniel nodded, but he still felt bad. Especially because of all the people that got hurt Sean was the worst one. And he wishes that wasn’t the case, so maybe he could feel better about himself.

“They’re barely noticeable” Cassidy said looking down at her arms a back to Daniel, smiling.

Daniel appreciated the effort into trying to make him feel better, but he was sick of always being the fragile one… that was why Lisbeth had taken advantage of him. He wanted to be useful for once. He wanted to really pay back Sean for all he did for him.

“You never told me what was wrong” Daniel said softly, resting his head back into the couch and looking at Sean.

Sean looked at him and smiled “No. You’re right” he answered with a tired voice.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Daniel asked warmly.

“I’m not sure… but maybe it will help” Sean concluded. He was up for a nap, he was mentally exhausted, but he couldn’t deny that talking to his little cub made him feel better.

Daniel turned to him slightly, still holding Sean’s legs in his lap, and looking ready and eager to hear whatever Sean wanted to talk about.

Cassidy silently left the room and walked downstairs to the patio, realizing maybe the brother’s wanted some privacy. It was true that ever since she came here, she was always around them, maybe that was part of the reasons that made Daniel mad on the first days. She didn’t want to be a bother to them. So he just sat on one of the plastic chairs, lit up a joint and enjoyed the view until she was sure the brothers were done. One thing she learned from them is that siblings need their time together. Sean and Daniel had got so much closer not just because the horrors they experienced together, but because they shared so much time. Happy, sad, lazy or just quiet in the same room, it was all moments that helped them bond.

“Well…” Sean said and looked around, he hadn’t noticed Cassidy left until now, even though he didn’t mind her hearing it. But it still made him feel safer in a way to only talk to his brother. “Why do you enjoy being my therapist so much?” Sean smiled sweetly.

“I’m not your therapist, I’m your brother. And I want to be here for you, for whatever you need.” Daniel said, “You listen to me too, right?”

Sean nodded and started moving around and changing his position. Finally, he was opposite of what he was like moments before, now his head resting on Daniel’s lap and his legs were his head was. Daniel immediately replaced his hand on his legs with his hands on his hair, stroking the locks of hair away gently.

“Is it hard to talk about?” Daniel asked softly.

“No, not really… It’s just… You know what day was yesterday?” Sean asked.

Daniel thought for a moment “Did I miss something?” he asked, a bit worried but still stroking Sean’s hair.

“We both did, Enano” Sean said with a soft sigh, he didn’t want to tell Daniel and make him feel bad, but they were already talking about it “It was dad’s birthday”

“Oh my god… you’re right” he said, half surprised and half melancholically.

“And I completely forgot about it… I was so worried with…” Sean trailed off.

“Me” Daniel giggled.

“Not just you, my job, this new life, the holydays… I…” Sean sighed once again “We could’ve done something at least. For respect.”

“So are you sad because we didn’t do anything for dad’s birthday?” Daniel asked, nonjudging.

“Yeah…?” Sean said embarrassed. Saying it out loud sounded silly.

“Sean… We can still do something” Daniel reasoned.

“I know… I just feel bad that I completely forgot” he admitted.

“Well, we didn’t do anything last year either” Daniel pointed out.

Sean knew that. His death was still recent, and they were still on the run… they didn’t want to talk about it and so they let the day pass like another normal one.

“Well, we can still do something… we could make it a thing” Daniel smiled.

“I don’t want to, like… celebrate…” Sean said.

“Me neither… but we can…” Daniel thought out loud.

“We could have a little meal on the beach?” Sean suggested.

Daniel thought about it for a moment and nodded “Yeah, that sounds nice”

“And I could finish the portrait… to have it hanged in the house” Sean added.

Daniel nodded again, smiling and liking the idea.

“Do you… not feel bad about forgetting it?” Sean asked, still feeling silly.

“A bit… but I mean… we’re busy, building a new life, right? And I don’t think he cares about his birthday, if he is even around in some way.” Daniel explained, looking down at his brother “And I avoid thinking about dad in general… it still hurts”

Sean looked sadly up at Daniel’s eyes “Yeah…”

“You punish yourself for no reason. You didn’t do anything wrong. But if it makes you feel better, tomorrow we can have lunch at the beach while you finish his portrait. And we can do something next year on time, and the next, and every year if you need it-” Daniel was cut off by Sean’s soft laugh.

“God… why do you have to be so nice” Sean said with teary eyes. But what he truly was wondering was if Daniel’s innocence was still in there somewhere or if it was lost completely. Did Daniel even need him anymore? He was certainly stronger in every way. Wiser than any kid should be at his age.

“We talked about this already” Daniel smiled softly “I care about you”

Sean nodded and closed his eyes, relaxing with the soft strokes of Daniel’s hands on his hair. He was right, talking did help. He felt silly for worrying too much about it now, when there was nothing wrong with doing something, even if it was a day later. They were busy after all, and he liked to think his father was just happy that they were doing well enough on their own.

“Thanks… I needed this” Sean said, eyes still closed. He knew he needed it… it was just hard to ask for it still. When Daniel responded with more gentle caresses he added “So you noticed Matias acting strange too?” Sean asked.

“Yeah,” Daniel nodded even if Sean couldn’t see it.

“Maybe it’s nothing… I don’t know” Sean didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, maybe he was just tired today.

“I think he’s not mad at anyone… but at the lack of attention” Daniel said.

“What do you mean?” Sean asked, confused.

“Like me” Daniel explained “We haven’t been talking to him much since Cassidy is with us, right?”

Sean opened his eyes at the realization. “You’re right” Maybe Matias felt left out now that Cassidy was around. Sean then looked at Daniel in awe. Why was his ten-year-old brother so smart when he wanted. Lately, he was always helping Sean see things in a different way, things he hadn’t thought of looking at from other angles. “I’ll talk to him… we don’t want to look ungrateful with all he’s done to us”

Daniel nodded and resumed his caresses on Sean’s hair. Because even if the chat was over, he knew Sean had a tiring day with all his thoughts he stubbornly didn’t let go, and after a day of work he wanted his brother to be able to relax. Sean let himself relax, and not long after closing his eyes, he fell asleep. Cassidy returned moments after back to the room and melted at the scene.

Daniel carefully got on his feet without waking up Sean and started on the food for the night. Sean was woken up by Cassidy offering a warm meal for him, and after the three had their meal, they got ready for bed and soon enough, the house was filled with peaceful silence while everyone slept.

The brothers had shared their plans for the next day to Cassidy, and she assured Sean by reinforcing Daniel’s words, that he had done nothing wrong and that he was still in time to grief whatever he needed to. There was no specific time for that. That is why, she had woken up earlier this time and went out to buy a frame for the portrait the brothers would be doing, so that when it was finished, it could be ready to be displayed on the house.

Daniel awoke when Cassidy had already returned, and they prepared breakfast. Sean joined them not long after that. Morning was nothing out of the ordinary, and when time came for them to have their planned lunch on the beach, Cassidy handed the frame.

“What’s this?” Sean asked, taking it in hand.

“A frame, for the drawing” She smiled.

“When did you get this?” Daniel beamed up at her.

“Earlier this morning. So I could show my support in this. I’m sorry for all you guys went through” she said.

“Wait, you’re not coming with us?” Sean asked.

“I think you guys don’t want me there. It’s your family” she smiled politely.

“Well… I could use your full support” Sean looked from the frame to her.

“Yeah, it will make things lighter” Daniel added.

Cassidy was surprised at this, she figured the brothers would definitely want the time for themselves, but if she could help, she was up for it.

“Ok then. If you don’t mind” She accepted.

Once outside, they walked towards the sea from their house, and a bit pass the middle of the distant, Sean asked “What do you think? Here?”

Daniel looked around “I was thinking something nicer. We eat in front of the house a lot already, don’t you think? We played around over here too.

“Well, I don’t know where else we could go.” Sean said.

“We’ll find something, come on” Cassidy said walking towards the shore.

They walked for a few minutes, enjoying the soft breeze and looking for a nice, different spot to remember his father.

“It’s a nice day” Sean noted quietly.

“Yeah” Cassidy said, looking towards the open sea.

Daniel smiled, feeling glad that the day accompanied their intentions. To enjoy a nice lunch remembering their dad.

“What about there?” Sean asked pointing to a spot.

A bit distant from the shore there was a little hill with a giant rock on top. It made a perfect little shelter from the breeze and a quiet spot for the brothers to enjoy. They’d have a nice view over the immense sea and a comfortable place to eat.

“Perfect” Daniel beamed.

A few minutes later the group made it on top of the little hill, Sean spread a blanket for them to sit on and started unpacking the food with the help of Cassidy. Daniel meanwhile walked towards the edge and looked down and then in front of the sea.

“Don’t get too close to the edge” Sean warned, feeling a familiar fear, even though Daniel had never done this before.

Daniel stepped a few steps back, closed his eyes and took a deep breath while he extended his arms to the side, letting the calm of the beach fill his lungs. He exhaled after a moment and let his arms fall back to his side “Do you think dad would’ve taken us here?” he asked softly.

Sean looked up from what he was doing, and then walked closer to Daniel “I don’t know… he always played so mysterious about his life here” Sean smiled, putting an arm around his little brother.

Daniel giggled softly “True. Maybe if we insisted enough”

“I’m sure he would’ve been pleased to show us around” Sean smiled grew wider “Bet he would be so happy if he knew we are here” he added more quietly.

“Proud. I would be so proud if I were him” Cassidy added from his place on the blanket.

“Ok, you hungry?” Sean said turning around to go sit.

“Very” Daniel said following him.

They had prepared a variety of sauces and arranged tasty ingredients to make the sandwiches how they liked most. They had brought fruit to have after that too, and some water bottles to wash it all down.

Sean started on the drawing while he ate, careful not to leave any stains on it, and taking bites between minutes interrupted by his concentration on the drawing. Daniel rested his head on his shoulder while he worked and examined his brother’s amazing skills. Cassidy also looked at the drawing, she had never seen their dad and was quite curious to know what he was like.

“I miss him” Daniel knew they knew, but he wanted to say it either way.

“Me too…” Sean said sadly, adding details to their father’s lips. God… when was the last time he even received a kiss from his dad… he was so worried with being cool and then… he was gone. Tears filled his eyes, and he forced them back, he really didn’t want to ruin the drawing this far in.

“What I wouldn’t give to see him once more” Daniel sighed, voice shaky. He lay down on the blanket and looked at the clouds.

“I think I miss his hugs the most” Sean said in a whisper. Sometimes he felt like a kid wishing it so badly. He missed the warmth, the comfort it provided. He just wanted to hide in his chest once more… to feel it once more.

“Yeah” Daniel said with a shaky voice “I miss his voice. It was always so calming”

Cassidy put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, hearing this was crushing her soul.

Sean nodded “It was… not when he got angry thought” Sean chuckled weakly.

“We made him lost his patience more than once” Daniel chuckled in the same manner as he explained Cassidy.

“He couldn’t stay mad for too long…” Sean smiled.

“I recall him inviting you to a lucha libre thingy even when you were grounded” Daniel smiled at the memory.

Sean laughed softly “He did. He always loved it. It was the last one we saw”

“I miss movie nights” Daniel said.

“I miss them too. You know what? I promise that we will bring them back when we have a TV” Sean said.

Daniel spirits lifted at that, clearly liking the idea.

Sean kept sketching slowly and delicately as they shared their thoughts. They had talked about it already, they knew, but it still felt like they needed to. “I miss his cooking” Sean said.

“Oh! His pasta recipe!” he smiled and looked at Cassidy “It was incredible”

“It was” Sean smiled “he never had much time to cook, always working. But when he did, he made the most incredible food one could eat”

“Do you still remember how to do it?” Daniel asked.

“Maybe… He had written it down, and I helped him plenty” Sean thought.

“Could we do it? Together, I mean” Daniel asked.

“Yeah… we could” Sean smiled at the idea.

“I’ll have to come back someday then. Can’t miss that” Cassidy said smiling.

Daniel sat up from the floor and leaned on Sean again. “God… it’s turning out so good. I missed his face” Daniel smiled.

“Yeah, it’s nice to see him” Sean smiled. He paused for a moment to look at the sea. It was sad of course, to not have him around, but as they shared his memories of him, he found himself feeling both soothed and sad. The memories brought comfort to him, but they still came with a sting. But it was a new way of looking at them, nonetheless.

“Something I do not miss of him is his singing” Sean chuckled, and Daniel followed with his own giggles.

“Dude, at least he tried. He wasn’t that bad” Daniel said in defense of their dad.

“He didn’t care. He would sing loudly to any song he knew on the radio” Sean remembered fondly.

“Can I just say it’s impressive how amazing you draw with one eye?” Cassidy suddenly pointed out.

Sean chuckled “I couldn’t even draw a circle when I first woke up”

“I’m just so glad you still can” Daniel said, he would definitely not forgive himself if he had taken that from Sean.

Cassidy then stated to ask questions to get to know Esteban, and the brothers gladly told her all about him, much like they had done with Matias on the one-year anniversary of his death. There were still moments when Sean felt his throat tighten, or Daniel felt the tears threatening to escape from his eyes, and they did, for both of them, but they also enjoyed talking about him. Sean hadn’t had much trouble finishing the drawing as he thought he would. It was still hard, but not soul crushing.

Adding the final details of the hair, Daniel was finishing telling Cassidy how his dad managed to have his own auto repair shop when Sean had the realization that they stopped looking at it with only hurt because they know had a nice memory accompanying the portrait too. And they had all their happy memories of Esteban too.

With the portrait now finished, a beautiful drawing of Esteban’s face smiling softly with an incredible amount of detail, Cassidy handed over the frame to Sean. Sean handed both the drawing and the frame to Daniel, who was only pleased to put them together.

Sean had spent quite the time working in the drawing, in an hour or two the sun would start to set. They walked back home, Sean with a relieved heart that they had done something for his dad, and Daniel happy to have shared this day for his father’s birthday, and happy to have helped Sean.

Once back home, Sean hung the frame immediately with the help of Daniel. It was in their bedroom, they had debated putting it in the living room where it could be more looked at, but after Cassidy said it should be something for them to look at, they both agreed that they wanted it close to them. The wall opposite their bed was chosen so they could look at it when they just lay down, woke up in the morning, or last thing before closing their eyes. And Esteban, if he was somewhere around, could look after them in their sleep.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, November 8th, 2016 (the past)

Sean was still having trouble believing his luck. They had found a house yesterday, an abandoned cabin. It was perfect, they could stay low for a bit, at least until the cold temperatures were over. The place was a mess, as expected from an old house let forgotten for years, but nothing a little tidying up couldn’t do.

The sliding door was locked, so they had to use force to get in. It took a while, but the door was open at last. The place was a mansion for rodents, “the mice palace” they decided to call it between fits of giggles. They arranged the place, moving and stacking the trash away, setting the old mattress near the fireplace, and checking all the cupboards and corners to get rid of the little intruders, although Daniel felt bad for invading their place.

It wasn’t perfect, it was all still so dusty and a mess everywhere, but they would have a shelter for themselves at least. Part of the reason Sean decided to stay here was because they could make a little fire to keep the house warm, that was essential.

Daniel had made one of the rooms his little playroom, setting up the tent and arranging it as he liked. Sean used a corner of it to put all his stuff too, along with some other stuff he found in the cabin. Mushroom spent all the time sniffing and getting to know every single inch of the new environment she was in. They had a bathroom, but it didn’t have running water of course, a back door that’s locked, and another room they just decided to keep shut because it was cold, a stream of air from one of the broken walls was responsible.

It was something at least, Sean thought. They needed the rest. He needed the rest. They were both tired from all the running away, getting into weird and potentially dangerous places to seek shelter. Sean felt like a mess, it was all happening too fast, and he didn’t know how to keep looking strong for Daniel. He didn’t have time to be sad, but at least he could use the physical rest for when they’d need to keep walking.

The only problem was that they needed food. Before he could settle completely, he needed to stack on supplies considering this place was in the middle of the forest and he was sure getting food would be difficult. The previous town was far… but he was sure he could get what he needed there. Sean made his resolution before going to sleep last night. Today he would go back to fetch some food for them.

“What are you doing?” Daniel asked, blinking his eyes repeatedly as he got used to the light. Mushroom was still curled up close to him, afraid of being left alone. He was woken up by the sounds of Sean moving around, only to find him packing up stuff in his backpack. One of those things was one of the canteens they had found here too.

“Hey cub” Sean said looking up “We’re low on food, so I’m going to go get some” Sean said.

Daniel needed a moment to process the information, his brain was still waking up. He looked at the fire, barely on. Sean had cut the firewood yesterday, only the necessary for the night. It was hard, and a job he would need to get better at if they were going to stay here.

“Where?” Daniel asked eventually, he was sure they were in the middle of the forest.

“I think last town we saw is an option” Sean said, still occupied with his backpack.

“What? but we just got here! I thought you said we would stay for a bit?” Daniel whined; he was not looking forward to moving again.

“I know what I said, and it’s true. We are stopping a bit, but we need the food.” Sean said logically.

“This suck” Daniel said rolling over in the mattress. “I don’t want to” he said. He just wanted to have a house, if only for a little while.

Sean rolled his eyes. “Who said you’re going too?”

“What?” Daniel looked at his brother again.

Sean didn’t really know how to approach the subject. He hated the idea, he hated himself, and the only way he found to say it was through the little banter. “I think it’s better if I go alone” Sean said, scratching at his nape like he did when he was nervous.

“You’re going to leave me alone? In here?” Daniel asked horrified.

Sean felt like he could die from guilt, but he had his reasons to make this decision “I know, I know… But we need someone to stay here to look after our stuff. And if I go alone, I could walk faster. I promise I’ll be back in no time”

“How many hours would you be gone?” Daniel asked, preoccupied.

Sean looked away “It would be more than a few hours…”

Daniel started to panic “what? you mean as in… days?”

“No… Daniel…” Sean walked closer to the mattress and sat next to Daniel. “I won’t leave you for days” he assured with a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“I don’t want to be alone… what if something happens?” Daniel asks, not reassured at all.

“You’re safe here cub. I promise, and you have the last bit of food to eat” Sean tried to assure again.

“When are you leaving?” Daniel asked with a shaky voice.

“I have to go as soon as possible, so I don’t take too long” Sean answered.

“Why are you leaving me?” Daniel asked.

“I’m not-” Sean sighed “We need the food Daniel, and I think this is the safest option.”

Daniel stayed silent, and eventually Sean got up and finished getting ready. When he went to inform Daniel that he was leaving, he found it in the tent, mushroom by his side, his back facing Sean. He was playing with some toys, or at least pretending to.

“I’m leaving now” Sean said.

No response. Sean sighed again; he didn’t want to leave Daniel any less than Daniel wanted to be left alone.

“Please promise me you’ll eat something” Sean tried again.

Nothing. Why couldn’t Daniel understand he was doing this for them. He reached out to him but then retrieved. He wanted to assure his little cub, but he needed to get moving quickly. He hated this. He hated himself. And he hated the fact that he was going to be apart from his brother for a bit, with all the fears that grew in him, and now Daniel was mad at him. It was unfair. But could he blame him?

With a heavy mind, he stepped out of the cabin. He made sure to leave firewood for Daniel to make a fire, they had practiced a lot while in the forest and Daniel already knew how to do it effortlessly. Sean pulled out his sketchbook and drew a little map where the cabin and river were visible and he started walking, hoping, praying, he wouldn’t get lost trying to reach the town. He couldn’t leave Daniel waiting for him. He couldn’t get lost.

The first hours weren’t so bad, he was still mad at Sean and scared of being alone, but he knew deep down Sean was right, they needed food and if Sean went alone, it would be faster. That didn’t ease the way he felt upset about the whole ordeal.

The silence was deafening, only the wind was heard and that made Daniel uneasy. Mushroom felt he was upset and tried to stick up even closer to him. He tried to play with the new toys he found in the cabin, but he couldn’t get his chest to stop feeling weird. He was anxious. He wanted to cry, and he hated it because he didn’t want to look like a little kid that couldn’t stand being alone for a while. But this was different, wasn’t it? They were homeless now… Daniel doesn’t know what to do if Sean’s not around, his brother always seems to know what to do.

He can notice the weary look in Sean’s face when he’s not looking, he knows he’s tired, but he assumes his own must look almost the same considering how tired he feels too. They were all but worried and scared lately.

He tried to use his powers, that’s how he decided to call his abilities. He hasn’t really tried much after what happened at the motel room, but he tried when he was bored enough. So far, he seems to be able to push leaves, but not lift them, the movement confused by a soft breeze. Maybe the house wasn’t really a good place to try to do it, after minutes of trying and failing Daniel was starting to feel frustrated. Until a sound made him startle, in his fear, he turned around and screamed, an empty bottle on the kitchen counter flew around it, throwing most of what was on it on the floor, sounds of plates and cups braking filled the air, until the bottle shattered on the wall near the sliding door. Daniel stood still for a moment, trying to hear something else over Mushroom’s barking, but nothing else caught his attention. He assumed it was just a branch or something, he should be used to weird sounds of the forest by now.

He took a deep breath to calm himself, but he didn’t dare to check outside to confirm that it was nothing, instead he crawled into his lair to hide away from any possible threats, holding Mushroom close to him. He hoped Sean wasn’t mad that he broke a few things, he decided to not use his power again. It was when it started to get dark that Daniel began to freak out. He didn’t dare to step out of the tent, he lit a candle to keep his little safe place visible. He was hungry, but he didn’t want to go to the fireplace, it was so dark out there, and he’d had to make a fire too.

A few hours went by, and he was now starting to get cold, his coat was in the other room and Mushroom’s warmth wasn’t enough. His belly wouldn’t stop begging him to eat something, so, putting on a brave face, he crawled out of the place with his candle and walked into the other room. He lit a few more candles just to be sure and started working on the fire. He grabbed a can of food, one of the two remaining, and poured its contents into a pot and put it on top of the fireplace, like Sean had done yesterday. He looked outside of the sliding door, not too close to it, and looked at the bright night sky. The stars looked shiny and pretty, but that didn’t catch Daniel’s attention. The thought of his brother alone in the forest did. What if something happened to him? What if he never came back?

With a racing heart, he forced himself to eat the food he made, sharing it with Mushroom, which she appreciated enthusiastically. He hoped Sean would arrive soon… he really didn’t like to be alone. He hugged Mushroom close to him as he tired to sleep, he settled on sleeping in his tent and not the mattress, it just seemed safer that way, he had four close walls protecting him.

Sean walked over a mile wondering if he was making a mistake, but it seemed stupid to put Daniel in danger when he could just stay safe in the cabin. If they were going to stay there for some time, they wouldn’t need to go to get food together. But that thought didn’t ease the feeling of anxiousness in his chest.

He made memory of the path they had taken until they found the cabin, and as he walked, he took notes of approximate distances and hours for reference. He found the little bridge they had crossed, and then he walked for over an hour to the right from there until he found a road. It should be easy enough from here on, Sean thought. He just needed to remember on the way back where to turn on the side of the road so he would find the bridge again.

He walked for hours, the cold was starting to bother him, but he was doing his best to go fast, he wanted to be at the cabin and back to Daniel by nighttime, but it seemed more and more impossible as time went by. The town was pretty fucking far.

A few cars passed by, but nobody seemed to care that he was walking on the side of an uncommon road for people to walk on. Either way, Sean pulled up his hood, because he was cold and because it would keep his face more hidden.

Finally, he arrived at the little town. It was getting dark already, but Sean couldn’t go any faster. The walk was across the forest and the town was fifteen miles from the cabin or so. But he couldn’t let his worry distract him for the task at hand: Get food and don’t get noticed. He definitely couldn’t buy much, he had less than ten dollars… so he would need to resolve to another method.

The first store he entered was pretty small, but there were more people than Sean thought it would be. He figured he’d look for the less recurrent stores if he was going to steal, the last thing he wanted was to get caught, not when he knew Daniel was alone. He looked around for cameras, there were two, unfortunately, but he figured he could find a blind spot. He walked around, looking for things they could use and spotted a few vegetables. Maybe that could work. There were no people around this area and if he just turned his back to the camera he could grab something. So that’s what he did, and when no one was looking he managed to steal some potatoes. He was really nervous about being caught, but he tried to act normally, he didn’t want to raise suspicions. He managed to steal some crackers too and decided this store was just too hard to steal, so he left, but not before buying some bananas to pretend he got what he wanted to.

When he was outside again and on a safe alleyway, he transferred the food he stole to his bag and then moved to find the next store.

That’s how he spent the last three hours; finding stores, checking if they were safe to enter or not, and if they were he stole a thing or two and then move to the next one. Sometimes he found stores that he thought he could manage to steal, but because of the people near him that would see him, or just the employees looking intently at him, he left without anything. It wasn’t easy, he was dirty and looked homeless… of course they’d think of him like a criminal, they always did.

The sun was long gone, and judging by how mad Daniel had been when Sean left, he assumed he hated Sean even more now. Sean knew it was a long walk, and didn’t care at this point if he had to walk until morning to reach his cub as soon as possible, but when he decided that he had enough for them to last at least two weeks on supplies and started to head back, he was soon faced with the fact that he just couldn’t. As he looked ahead into the road he needed to follow, he understood why he couldn’t, the road was pitch dark, with no streetlights guiding it. He had no flashlight, and considering he had to walk across the woods too, it was just impossible. There was no way he wouldn’t get lost in the dark. With hesitation and a deep sigh, he turned around to find a place to sleep for the night.

It didn’t take long; the city had a lot of empty spaces and alleys. He settled in one, hoping no one would find him there. As he sat alone in the shadows, he rested his head on his hands, tears starting to form in his eyes. Was this what his life had become into? Was he destined to live like this? To sleep on the streets? At least Daniel was safe and warm and had food to eat. That did nothing to ease the still growing worry and guilt he felt since he left. He just hoped Daniel would forgive him…

He lay down on the cold floor and used his backpack as a pillow. He curled into himself to reserve his warmth. The shining stars above him did not get Sean’s attention. His stomach protested loudly, he was hungry, but he didn’t have a way of cooking the food he got, and besides, he didn’t think he could eat without throwing up right now.

Wednesday, November 9th, 2016

Daniel stirred awake with Mushroom still in his arms. “Sean?” He called; his first instinct was to know if his brother had returned. He got out of the tent and walked into the main room only to find it empty. He could feel his heart sinking. Thousands of worries and thoughts arrived in his head. What if something happened to him? What if he got lost? What if he got caught? Or maybe he just didn’t want to return to him. But Sean wouldn’t do that, right?

A whine and a little paw scratching the door got him back to reality. He opened the door for Mushroom to go pee and then refilled her plate of water. He sat on the mattress and sighed, trying to ignore the aching in his chest. Because what would he do if Sean didn’t return?

The rest of his day was miserable, he didn’t want to eat, he couldn’t. He just looked every two minutes at the door, hoping to see Sean arrive. He fed Mushroom and then sat to wait for Sean in front of the door. His mind couldn’t be distracted with the new toys or comics they found here… he was so scared.

Hours passed and Daniel felt like he was going insane. He had stopped trying to act like it was ok and was now openly crying, just scared to be left alone forever. He looked at the stars once the sun started to go down again and wished Sean would just appear.

He pressed his forehead on the door in defeat, he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t go look for him. Maybe… maybe tomorrow he’d be back, yeah. He walked to their tent again and lay down, closing his eyes. It was still early, but maybe if he went to sleep now the day would end and he didn’t have to wait anymore.

Sean overslept. He couldn’t sleep and he just resolved to wait until the sun showed up to head back, but he lost his battle against tiredness just before the sky started to lighten. When he opened his eyes, the sun was more than awake, and so he quickly started his way back, only that this time it was much slower. He was so tired, his head hurt, and he was hungry, but he needed to go see Daniel first, he knew his brother was scared alone by himself, he was a little kid after all.

He couldn’t remember where to turn on the road to walk to the bridge. He didn’t know if he had passed it or not. He started to panic, but he scolded himself. He was just tired and anxious, he needed to get his thoughts in order and think. He read through his notes again and again, trying to find his way. He walked a little further but realized that he must have passed the spot, considering he saw a sign he hadn’t seen before. So, he turned around and walked back more, only to realize he had definitely passed it again, he was walking far too long.

With a frustrated sigh, he turned back and after a bit more of walking, he made his decision: He would walk into the woods, and if he didn’t find the bridge, then he’d walk back. He lost time for getting lost, it was starting to get dark, and he couldn’t afford to get stuck in the middle of the night here.

He ventured into the forest, walked for an hour until he finally found the little river and eventually the bridge. From there he knew exactly where to turn to find the cabin.

At last, he had arrived, the sun was mostly gone, and the stars were shining brightly above him as he admired them. He smiled and sighed in relief for finally being back. He made his last steps closer to the cabin and entered the door.

“Enano?” Sean called, the place was dark and that made him worried. He found his lighter and lit a candle, finding no one in the mattress he moved into the other room and was pleased to find Daniel okay and sleeping close to Mushroom in the tent.

Sean started a little fire to warm up the house, considering Daniel apparently didn’t care to take care of himself and then went to try to make him move rooms so he would be warm.

“Hey” Sean placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

“Sean?” Daniel beamed immediately, all his worries and stress disappearing at the sight of his big brother. “you’re back?” he said in awe most to himself.

“I am. I told you I was” Sean said “I got us some food” he smiled. “Come on, let’s get you to the other room, it’s warm”

Mushroom licked Sean’s hands and wagged her tail as he petted her. He was surprised she was glad to see him, considering she was always close to Daniel. The three of them settled in the other room. Daniel didn’t seem to be mad anymore, and that made Sean feel glad. He wouldn’t bring the topic though, better leave it alone.

For Daniel, he didn’t want Sean to know he felt so scared, and how desperate he felt being alone, so he also didn’t say anything. Better just enjoy that it’s over and his brother didn’t leave him.

“What did you buy?” Daniel asked and Sean handed his backpack to him to investigate. Daniel did, and was glad Sean managed to get something.

Sean wouldn’t tell him he had to steal and look in the garbage for them.

“I’m hungry.” Daniel said as he surveyed the food.

“You didn’t eat?” Sean asked annoyed “I told you to eat something”

“I did!” Daniel protested. In fairness, he had… yesterday.

“I’m hungry too, I’ll make something” Sean said getting up from the mattress. He didn’t have time to eat out there. Ashe placed the food on the counter he realized there was broken glass and stuff on the ground. He sighed. He would ask what happened later, they still had plates and cups, so it didn’t matter.

“Thanks” Daniel said suddenly.

“Huh?” Sean turned around distracted.

“For making dinner” Daniel said.

“Oh” This was the first time Daniel thanked him for that “Sure little wolf, no problem.”

To be honest, Daniel didn’t just say thanks for the cooking. He wanted to let him know he needed him, he was relieved to have him, that he was ok, that he found food, and that he appreciated the things he did. But he just didn’t understand all of that, or how to say it. So he just settled on thanking Sean for making him food. Now they could lay low for a while and rest as the winter passed by, they had food and warmth… they’ll be ok.

Sunday, January 14th, 2018 (The present)

“I’m glad you convinced him to stay” Daniel said to Cassidy. They were both outside, basking in the nice weather, looking at the waves crashing on the shore. “I swear he always goes selling his art even on Sundays.” Daniel rolled his eyes.

Cassidy smiled “Well, I’m sure he just wants to do his best to provide for both of you”

“I know that, but he does too much.” Daniel sighed “After everything… I just want him to rest a little too. I wish I could be more of help”

Cassidy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder “I think you’re not giving you enough credit”

Daniel looked at her confused “I only made things more complicated for both of us. Even now, when I got mad at him a few days ago” he said embarrassed, rubbing his arm.

“You care about him, and it shows” Cass tried to make him understand that everything he did wasn’t hurting people. “You may not see it, but you help ease Sean’s burden with your actions” she smiled.

“Yeah right” Daniel said dismissively, he knew sometimes Sean was glad to have him around, but that wasn’t because Daniel did things for him, it was just the natural form of his brother: loving.

Cassidy shrugged, walking in front of him with her hands in her hips “You made him feel better the other day” she said.

She had a point; Sean had been acting weird and he help him think of a way to feel better “I guess so… Maybe I’m just not good at seeing things.” He said. He had missed all the sacrifices Sean had made for him. He should’ve let him know how much he appreciated them. He felt foolish and ungrateful. Ashamed of a lot of things he did and said.

“Wrong,” Cassidy said looking at him sternly “I think you see everything around you. Listen, maybe you missed things before, but you’re so mature now. I know it, I’ve seen it.” She said and then puy on a face that made Daniel uncomfortable. It was pity, he received a lot of those “And I’m sorry for that, you were forced to learn and grow up. But the bright side is…  You can help Sean now. You are.” She said with a smile.

Daniel couldn’t help but form a smile of his own. He was always happy when someone acknowledged his maturity. It was still hard to believe that he was able to relieve some of Sean’s worries, at least not like Sean does for him. But it was a nice thought.

“Thanks, but I wish I could help more, still” Daniel said looking down.

Cassidy rolled her eyes and chuckled “God, you and Sean are the same”

Daniel laughed himself “What?”

“I swear, you’re both so stubborn. You’re always drowning in guilt no one but yourselves put inside your brain” she shook her head. “Always wanting to do better for the other. But I guess resolving it so you can feel better is out of my hands” she said. It was something for the brothers to talk about.

Daniel was speechless for a second, he knew Sean felt guilty, but to hear he always felt like he wanted to do better for him made it so much more real. Daniel was trying to always remind him how great he was, but maybe he had to do it more.

“Anyway, what I’m saying is: don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re still learning, we all are.” Cass said softly.

“I’m sorry” Daniel said out of nowhere “for making thins awkward.”

Cassidy laughed “It’s ok dude. I’m glad we can talk to each other.”

“I just feel bad for being mean in the past. And because well… I didn’t manage things well. But you’re really cool, I just didn’t want Sean to forget about me. Silly, I know” Daniel admitted blushing.

“Trust me, Sean was always worrying about you, there was no way he could forgot about you.” She said.

“I know, I see it now” Daniel said.

“You’re cool too. Not everyone can learn this fast from the pain” she said with admiration.

Footsteps made both Cassidy and Daniel turn around. It was Sean, trotting towards them after he said he needed to go to the bathroom.

“Took your sweet time” Cass said.

“I hope you didn’t kill any living form with your stink” Daniel teased.

“Shut up” Sean laughed, shoving him away playfully.

“I don’t want to hear about your poop” Casidy laughed.

“Wasn’t me!” Sean protested while laughing. He was a bit concerned when he left them alone, worried that they might not get along, but they were just talking and laughing when he got here, so maybe he was just worrying over nothing.

“Whatever” Daniel chuckled “Since you finally agreed to take a day off, what are we doing?”

“Not fair cub, I had taken days off before” Sean said crossing his arms.

True, he had listened to Daniel, but he just didn’t like taking days off every week. Even if he didn’t work on the diner on Sundays, he wanted to go sell his art at least.

“I know, but you should take more” Daniel said.

Sean rolled his eyes, but he wasn’t mad at all. “When did you want to leave?” he asked Cassidy.

She initially intended to part in the morning, but after Sean convinced her that he would drive her closer to her destination, she agreed to stay for a few hours more.

“Around three or four p.m. or so” she said. If Sean was going to give her a good start avoiding her hitchhiking, then she wouldn’t be wasting time by staying.

“Ok, good. We have a few hours for fun” Sean said smiling.

Cassidy had gone on a last dip in the ocean with the brothers, and then they just enjoyed what was left of their day together. The mood was a bit sad because she was leaving, but they tried to make the best of it.

“Ok, I think we should get going” Cassidy said.

“Yeah, ok, let’s go” Sean agreed.

They all got ready, Cassidy had already packed her belongings and clothes, Sean was just putting on his shoes when Daniel came running down the stairs.

“Ready!” he said.

“Oh, Sorry Dan, but I think you should stay” Sean said,

“What?” Daniel said frowning, “But I want to go!”

“I’m probably going to arrive late at night, I’m not just driving for a little bit, you’re gonna get bored” Sean said.

“But Sean” he whined.

“I want you to look over the house” he said with a gentle but serious tone “And to eat something for dinner, ok?” he was sure nothing bad would happen, nothing ever happened. But since they had vandalized their walls, it was better to take care of the place and not leave it alone for much. Sean knew Daniel could do it.

Daniel crossed his arms.

“Promise me?” Sean said.

“Yeah” he sighed “Promise. But you better eat something too” he said pointing at him.

Sean nodded “I will, promise.”

Daniel didn’t like to be apart from his brother, but Sean was trusting him with the responsibility of looking after their house, and he didn’t want to disappoint him.

Cassidy giggled and stepped closer to say his goodbyes to Daniel “Sorry Daniel, but it’s really a long ride” she said “I’m going to miss you, I had such a great time here. And I’m so happy you and your brother are doing good” she said.

Daniel smiled and gave her a polite hug “I’m glad you’re ok too. And I liked having you around” he said. Sure, it was awkward at times, and they weren’t super close, but that was just normal after everything their relationship faced. If everything, Daniel was just glad they were ok now and that they could share time together. Cassidy seemed to feel that way too.

The hug ended “We’ll see each other sometime” she said.

Daniel nodded, he didn’t know how it’d happen, but he knew this wasn’t the last time they’d see each other, “Bye Cassidy” he said.

Sean stepped up next and embraced Daniel in a more emotional hug. “I’ll be back soon, ok?” he said.

“Ok” Daniel said, hugging Sean with the same emotion. Sean placed a little kiss on top of his head.

Sean and Cassidy got into the car, and they drove away, Daniel stayed on the sidewalk and waved at them for a bit, and then went back inside. Home alone, whoa, he’d never thought about it before. He didn’t really want it. He could survive a few hours alone, right? He was older now, when he felt desperate at that time at the cabin it was a completely different context. Now they were safer, and he knew Sean would return…

So why did his chest start to feel heavy again?

The steady sound of the wheels turning against the pavement filled the car. It was a strange sensation; Sean hadn’t really used the car since they settled into their new house. In this weather and town, it seemed just a waste of gas when they could just walk.

“He’s going to be fine” Cassidy said to him from the passenger seat.

“What?” Sean asked looking to the road.

“Daniel, he’s going to be fine” she said.

“I know, that’s why I told him to stay” he said.

“Then what are you so worried about?” She asked curiously.

Sean felt embarrassed at being so obvious, “I don’t know” he said, because he really didn’t. Everything was fine, so why did he feel uneasy.

“Sean, I get that he’s your brother… but I see you… I see both of you stressing out. You’re acting as if the wind itself could take your brother away, and that’s not going to happen.” She said “You can’t live like that… you need to take it easy”

Sean frowned, that was the first time he was bothered by her ‘flowing’ form of living “Take it easy?” he said.

“Yeah, to not think about him all the time” she said,

“You don’t know what you’re talking about” Sean said.

“Huh?” Cassidy looked at him surprised.

“You didn’t live what we lived… You don’t understand, I don’t want to lose him” Sean said.

“But you won’t” she said.

“You don’t know that. We have lost enough. And I’m sorry if you think we can’t live like this, but I’m scared. I’m scared and I’m trying to deal with everything at once. So I’d say it’s not my number one priority right now to ‘take it easy’, okay?” Sean said without taking his eye from the road.

Silence grew between them for a bit. “I didn’t mean to offend you” Cassidy said quietly.

Sean sighed “I’m sorry. You didn’t offend me. But there has been a lot of shit in our lives that we’re still trying to figure it out”

“I get it, I just… I don’t know. I just wanted to help” she said.

“He’s all I have” Sean said softly.

Cassidy nodded.

“I know you’re right… that I… we worry too much. But we’ll sort it out, eventually.” Sean said. He hadn’t meant to leash out at her like that, but he felt like his pain was being ignored, and he had enough of that already. He sometimes ignored it himself.

“Sorry” they said at the same time and then laughed.

“I knew you didn’t mean any harm” Sean said.

“And I know you experienced a lot of bad stuff. Seriously though, I’m so impressed by how strong you are” she said.

Sean didn’t know if he’d ever be proud of that. He just had to be. He was forced to be.

The house was so quiet, he wasn’t used to being alone. He didn’t like it. He thought it was weird to always want to be close to his brother, he felt immature about it, but it wasn’t just because it made him feel safe, it was because he wanted to protect Sean too. He knew he could.

He didn’t want to lose him, and he’d stick to him forever to avoid that. A few hours apart shouldn’t be a problem, he entertained himself with some comics Sean had bought and some books to practice his Spanish. He felt comfortable with his language, and Sean always praised him for how quickly he had learned. It was awkward at first, but Daniel mastered it in the time they’d arrived until now.

Hours passed quickly enough, and it started to get dark. He wasn’t hungry, not really, but it was because his stomach fell all weird with all this anxiousness he was feeling. He had promised Sean he would eat, and he intended to keep it, so he forced himself to make small sandwich and ate it alone in the kitchen. The silence left him alone with his thoughts, and that was scary.

…He wished Mushroom was here to distract him.

It was already night when they arrived at the motel, around 10 p.m. They had a few stops to rest and had passed plenty already, but Sean wanted to help Cassidy reach her destination as much as he could. It was Cassidy who had to tell him to stop, or he wouldn’t get back home in just one day.

Sean agreed, Cassidy paid for her room and Sean found them some food to eat in the meantime. Now they sat outside the room, looking at the stars.

“Daniel loves watching constellations. I love them too. We have this book that says everything about them” Sean smiled.

“Stars are surely beautiful” Cassidy said, but she wasn’t looking at the stars, she was looking at him.

Sean noticed this and became a bit flustered. He felt back in Humboldt again, acting like an awkward teenager. He said nothing and bite at his food.

Cassidy chuckled and looked at the sky. “You changed a lot, and yet you’re still Sean Diaz”

“What does that mean?” Sean smiled.

She shrugged “You may be more tanned, mature, strong, and therefore hotter, but your still awkward as hell” she laughed.

“Shut up” Sean laughed as well but couldn’t help but feel incredibly embarrassed at being called hotter. Cassidy didn’t act like this back in Puerto Lobos, was it because of Daniel?

“See? You don’t know what do with your hands” She chuckled as Sean placed them on his lap, scratching his knee, to then lifting them to grab his food and back to his lap again. “It’s cute” she said.

“Now you’re just doping it on purpose” Sean laughed.

“Maybe” Cassidy said taking a bite of her food and then looking at the sky again. “We were looking at the stars the last time too”

Sean looked at her confused, and so she explained further “Back at the lake in the camp” She smiled “I made you go skinny dipping with me, I’m proud” she teased.

Sean blushed “Oh, that, yeah” he had a found memory of that. Peace in the middle of chaos.

“You told me you were too complicated to date at the time, maybe it was your subtle way to say you didn’t like me back” She smiled.

Sean chuckled “I was definitely with a lot of worries in my mind, I didn’t know what to do or what I wanted” he said.

“Well, what about now?” she asked.

Both of them stopped looking at the stars and faced each other, Sean now aware of the closeness between them.

“I… Uh…” Sean said and cursed himself for being that pathetic.

Cassidy giggled “Maybe you prefer boys” she teased.

“No I… I definitely like girls too… but I…” What did he want? He liked Cassidy back then, but then he thought he’d never see her again and now… did he even like her? She was pretty, sure, and charming and considerate and kind. But… if he said yes, what would that do? Cassidy is leaving, they wouldn’t see each other for so long… and he was so occupied with settling down now that dating seemed kind of impossible even if she’d stayed.

“Ok, whoa.” She chuckled “It’s cool man, really. I just… needed to know”

Sean felt bad that silence was his answer. “You’re fucking awesome Cassidy… But I don’t see myself dating right now. And I see you more as a close friend… someone I can count on” he tried to be as gentle as possible.

She nodded “Yeah, I like that too. I guess it’s a bit selfish of me for bringing this out right now… considering all the… complications. But…”

“It’s ok. Promise” Sean said smiling.

Both of them looked at the sky painted with bright stars again.

“I’ll make time to visit again… it might just take a while” Cass said.

“I look forward to it”

Daniel sat on the patio, looking at the dark ocean and the stars above. He was agitated, it happened so fast. He was having trouble trying to relax, and the next thing he knew was that he was too suffocated. He ran outside to look for air, and after a few breaths he started to calm down.

He felt silly for feeling so and about being alone. It’s just that he didn’t want to be left alone. Not again. Everyone he ever met left his life over and over again. And then the last time he was alone… he was at that cult… And he knew Sean wouldn’t leave him. He knew Sean cared for him and protected him because he was his whole universe. He knew because Daniel felt the same about Sean. He knew he wasn’t in danger, and he knew Sean would come back, he said he’d arrive late at night. But his irrational fear didn’t care about all of that. As the hours went by, he felt more and more on edge until he started to feel his chest tight and needed to go outside.

He knew he couldn’t wait for Sean all night; it was pointless.

Sean drove back home in silence. He said his goodbyes with Cassidy and started to head back home. He felt weird about what happened, he had no idea Cassidy still liked him, it made him feel good about himself for some reason. After all that time she still was interested on him, she had made Sean strip naked to swim after all… he was still embarrassed. But he had fun.

They were so different now. He had liked her back at the time, but didn’t have the energy to do something about it… and now… well, he was busy, and he didn’t like her that way anymore.

Luckily it didn’t end awkwardly. Cassidy was cool like that, and Sean was happy with the fact that they could stay friends. He didn’t have many.

He didn’t make as many stops on the way back as he did with Cassidy, just wanting to get home now. He was tired and his head was hurting for forcing his eye too much. But it was just a few more hours.

He felt a bit dumb, because he wanted to reach the house just to know Daniel was okay, even if he knew there was no reason for Daniel not to be okay. But the silence didn’t help quiet those thoughts. Cassidy was a good company and distraction, but now he was just by himself.

It reminded him of the time he went to look for Daniel to Haven Point. It was hell, literally. But he was more tired and in pain that time. Now he was driving back home. It shouldn’t feel the same, and yet the darkness of the road made him anxious. He was scared, but he didn’t know of what, the past?

He arrived around 4 a.m. Exhausted, but happy to have been able to help Cassidy. He entered the house and walked up the stairs, straight into their bedroom. He found Daniel peacefully sleeping, and he let out a breath of relief.

See? He’s fine. Sean told himself.

He took off his shoes and pants and climbed into bed, ready to crash. Daniel awoke to the movement.

“Hey” he smiled.

“Hey” Sean smiled back, but then he noticed the marks of dried tears on Daniel’s eyes and the little wet spot on his pillow. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah” Daniel nodded happily “I am now”

Sean thought for a moment. Maybe he wasn’t the only one feeling anxious. “Did you eat something?” he asked.

“Mhm” Daniel hummed “And you?” he asked.

“I did, me and Cass ate something” he assured.

“Good” Daniel said.

“You sure you’re ok?” Sean asked.

“Yes. I just…” he looked away “I felt a little… weird” he admitted, embarrassed.

When Sean didn’t respond, he just turned around and closed his eyes “I’m glad you’re back. See you in the morning”

Sean scooted closer and hugged him slightly “I felt weird too” Sean admitted in a whisper. He just knew weird meant that he missed him, even if it were just a couple of hours.

Daniel turned around. Of course his brother understood him. He should consider stop acting this childish around Sean, he was growing up… but he just wanted to feel safe, and Sean seemed to want that too.

So Daniel scooted even closer until he was snuggled on Sean’s side. His brother just rested his hand on his hair and kept it there, lazily caressing his brother’s hair to ease his worries. They didn’t need words, they just knew. Sean knew it wasn’t healthy, but they couldn’t really blame themselves. They had struggled a lot, so what if they needed each other to feel safe. The world had let them down, and they would stick with the things that made them happy. Now snuggled close, Sean still stroking his brother’s hair and Daniel hugging Sean sideways lazily, the brother didn’t care about anything else, they were reassured, they were together again, they felt safe, and they didn’t need anything else.

Chapter Text

Monday, March 26th, 2018

The last two months happened like a blur for the brothers even though a lot has occurred. After Cassidy left and the brothers settled on their normal routine, Sean soon noticed something was odd when a conversation with Matias didn’t came out like it normally would.

“No te imaginas lo que nos pasó (You won’t believe what happened)” Sean had asked when he got to work that afternoon.

“Hm?” Matias hummed questioningly, not looking up from the glasses he was drying.

“Unos imbéciles rayaron el dibujo que hicimos con Dan, los vimos justo cuando llegábamos. Daniel les aventó una roca (Some jerks messed with the painting we did with Dan, we saw them when we arrived home. Daniel threw them a rock)” Sean explained the events of that day, giggling a bit with the last sentence. He didn’t want any trouble, but he couldn’t deny it was amazing seeing Daniel stand up for himself.

Matias looked away from his task to face Sean, a surprised look on his face “Están bien? (Are you ok?)”

“Si, huyeron (Yes, they fled)” Sean informed.

Matias nodded, focusing back on his task “Mejor, la gente aquí puede llegar a ser un poco… violenta (Good, is for the best, people here can be a bit… aggressive.)”

Sean nodded slowly, he hadn’t seen much aggression apart for some mean words or gestures. “Estamos bien (We’re fine)” Sean repeated.

Marias nodded again, reaching to the next dish to start drying.

“Planeábamos arreglar la pintura pronto, Daniel parece entusiasmado (We’re planning on fixing the paint soon, Daniel seems excited)” Sean added.

“Genial (cool)” Matias replied, again, not looking back at him.

Sean frowned confused “Puedes ayudarnos si quieres, será divertido (You can help if you want, it’s gonna be fun)” Sean offered.

“Creo que estoy ocupado, perdón (I think I’m busy, sorry)” he said.

Sean nodded “oh, okay, no pasa nada. Que tal el sábado, ¿estás- (Oh, okay, no worries. What about Saturday, are you-)”

“Cliente (Costumer)” Matias said pointing to the girl who had just entered “Podrías? (do you mind?)” he asked and returned to his task.

“Claro (Sure)” Sean said and went to do his work.

He hadn’t thought anything about it at the time, maybe Matias was just distracted, or maybe he just wanted to be alone. Somedays are better than others, Sean knew that much.

But it didn’t stop there, Sean noticed how Matias started to get more distant, just speaking to him at work. He didn’t even came around the boy’s home as often as he used to.

“Puede ser una persona difícil (He can be a complicated person)” Carla told him when Sean expressed his concerns with her. She was Matias’ friend, so Sean thought they would know what was going on. “Cuando le pasa algo suele cerrarse y no habla con nadie (When something’s on his mind he locks away and doesn’t speak to anyone about it)” she explained.

Sean could tell how that was like and could conclude that it wouldn’t do him any good, just like it didn’t do him any good until he spoke with Daniel. He wanted to help Matias, he was the most generous and kind person he knew around here. Sean was more friends with him than the rest of the group, since he joined in late and didn’t hang out as often, he wanted to provide the same support Matias showed him. So he tried to speak with him at the beginning of February:

“Noté que estás un poco distante… o quizá triste. (I noticed you’ve been a little distant… or maybe sad.) Sean started, rubbing his nape. He always thought he was awkward and bad for this kind of conversation, but he learned to have them along the way here. “Está todo bien? (Is everything okay?)”

Matias looked at him for a brief moment, thinking, and then avoided his eyes “Estoy bien (I’m fine)” he assured, but Sean thought he wasn’t convincing even for himself.

“Sabes que me puedes contar cualquier cosa no? Hemos hablado mucho juntos (You know you can tell me anything, right? We’ve talked a lot together)” Sean chuckled softly.

“Lo sé (I know)” Matias gave a polite smile and walked away.

That hadn’t gone anywhere. But when he tried again…

“No estás bien (You’re not okay)” Sean said a few days later.

Matias looked at him, taken by surprise. “Que?”

“Te pasa algo, y no quieres hablar (Something’s wrong, but you don’t want to talk)” Sean said confident about it. “Y está bien, pero no deberías aislarte (And that’s fine, but you shouldn't isolate yourself)” Sean learned that the hard way. He was still learning.

Matias stayed silent for a few seconds before answering. “Tienes razón, no quiero hablar (You’re right, I don’t want to talk)” he said dryly.

Sean sighed. “No eres así, algo te pasa. Estás enojado? (You’re not usually like this man, something’s up. Are you mad?)”

Matias sighed as well, “Estamos trabajando Sean, ahora no (We’re working Sean, not now)”

“Cuándo entonces? (Then when?)” Sean said frustrated “No quieres ver a nade fuera del trabajo (You don’t want to see anyone outside work)”

Matias had simply walked away, leaving Sean even more confused as to what was happening to him.

Valentine’s day came around then. Sean was now annoyed by Matias attitude, and they barely spoke to each other, which sucked, because Sean didn’t want to be mad at him, but he was being a jerk. Streets and stores were celebrating love, Sean had to do a couple of drawings for the couples that wanted one together, he even spotted a couple of two girls. He was pleased to know there was still a little bit of variety on this town… despite how forgotten in time it seemed at times. That didn’t meant there weren’t people pointing and judging, the place still had a long way to progress in that regard.

Daniel seemed to take charge of the few people pointing at the girls, with a subtle movement of his hand, he made one of them trip over, and then the chain of pushing and falling take charge of the rest. Sean noticed it was Daniel, but he didn’t say a word about it, Daniel didn’t know if it was because he approved his actions or he just didn’t want to fight about it.

Truth was that Sean, despite the things they had talk about, didn’t mind it this time. It was a well-deserved action, and Daniel was so subtle about it that it couldn’t be mistaken by anything but an accident for part of the other people. They just tripped and fell. It didn’t solve anything, but they weren’t exactly being nice and so they got a little bit of justice, and a good laugh from the girls Sean was drawing.

Not everything was fun though. Sean didn’t know the day would drain him up until, well… until he started to interact with a ton of couples that wanted to go out on dates. He had seen dozens of people holding hands and hugging and being affectionate, all celebrating their love together, and as Sean saw them around every corner, he couldn’t help but feel a bit… lonely. It’s not like he had fully romantic valentine’s day before, but he always had Lyla and the others to hang around with, or to make plans for asking girls out. Like that time when they were thirteen and Lyla encouraged him to go ahead and do it, and so that’s what he did. It was just a kid’s hang out, he didn’t know exactly what he was supposed to do, and he never asked her out again, but it had been fun.

He didn’t have Lyla around anymore, or a girl to ask her out. He wasn’t sure what he liked anymore, Jenn felt like a ghost he once knew. Everything changed when he met Finn, he never contemplated the fact that he might be into boys until he had show up in his life. Of course it had all went to shit, and he never had the opportunity to talk about it with him, and he was also confused about how Cassidy made him feel.

And now he probably didn’t have time to figure it out either, he was busy with work or taking care of Daniel, that’s how it has been since he left Seattle. He didn’t mind that part, he was glad they made it safe to their new home and that they were both together. If he had to do it all over again, he would, for Daniel. Every sacrifice was worth it, and there was nothing that made him happier than his little cub’s smile and comfort. He wanted him to enjoy the last time of childhood he had.

But it saddens him, nonetheless, the fact that he had to cut his so short. He missed fooling around with his friends, he missed having dumb crushes and being so anxious about it. It was so simple. He was pass that dwell, he knew he took it for granted at the time, he knew he wasn’t really to blame for that, but it was still a sad thought.

That day Sean just got over his job with patience, trying not to think about the dark thoughts too much, and then went home exhausted with Daniel. His brother, of course noted he wasn’t on his normal mood, Daniel was more attentive than ever with Sean, he didn’t let anything slip past him. So he made Sean a warm meal and kept him company for the rest of the night, and it actually helped. Sean hadn’t thought about how sad he felt in the morning, maybe the fact that there weren’t happy couples everywhere he looked helped a bit.

He thanked Daniel for that and paid him with a welcomed hug they both share with enthusiasm. They stayed like that for a while, Sean hugging Daniel close to his chest, like he always did, like he was the most precious treasure he had, and they talked about the day’s events, Daniel swapping places to be the one holding Sean to his chest in the same manner. Sean found it both comical and adorable, but felt safe in his arms, knowing that his cub really means it when he said he can protect him now.

Sean had talked about Matias with him back at the middle of January, before Sean got annoyed by his attitude, knowing he could share everything with Daniel. It was the day they decided to fix the painting that was vandalized, covering it all and starting the drawing again, giving life again to the wolves heads and warning.

“Did you talk about it with him?” Daniel asked, facing the wall, being careful with the black paint, not wanting to color outside the lines Sean drew.

“I tried, his friends say that he does that sometimes” Sean said, paying attention to the task at hand as well.

“Well, then he should be fine?” Daniel tried to see the best of the situation.

“I don’t know, I’m worried. You don’t just… stop talking to people” Sean worded his concerns.

Daniel smiled softly, Sean was always worried for everyone else, that’s why he felt he had to be the one looking after Sean.

“It’s like, when we first came here. You told me you needed me to be honest with you, to talk about what I was feeling. And I felt so bad because I thought if I did that, I was going to be weak and vulnerable” Sean explained, still working on the wall “But that wasn’t true, and I actually felt a lot better knowing I wasn’t as alone as I felt”

Daniel stopped painting long enough to give Sean’s free hand a gentle squeeze of support. He was proud he had achieve that on his own. “I get it, you don’t want him to push you away” Daniel nodded, he definitely understood that. “I think you should try talking again... I honestly miss him being around the house, and I want him to be ok too” he said, Matias was so kind to them, he was grateful for it. He didn’t want his friend to be alone if he was having a rough time.

Sean smiled and ruffled Daniel’s hair lovingly, touched by how caring his brother had become, he even dared to think it was him who set that example, the first good one, he supposed.

“I still have trouble understanding how you managed to realize that hiding my feelings to you was hurting you, and making you feel bad” Sean said, he always questioned that. It was a complex situation and the fact that Daniel could read it, could realize Sean was hiding his grief, was always impressive to him.

“I told you, I used to not see a bunch of stuff… but then I thought you were gone forever. And now, I only become more and more aware of all the things you did… of how you must’ve felt.” Daniel said sadly.

“Hey, I didn’t do all the work. You did plenty of stuff” Sean smiled, putting a hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

“Damn right” Daniel smiled back. He was still feeling guilty about how he had failed Sean in so many ways, but he was open to acknowledge that he had at least helped at times.

Sean also felt guilty for failing Daniel in so many ways, but he didn’t let the weight of his regret slow him down, he still had work to do, for the both of them. For their comfort.

“I swear, if I caught the ones who did this, I’ll destroy them” Daniel said, looking back at the painting.

Sean chuckled “Come on, we can leave it good as new.” Sean said “You know what? we can even add more stuff to it! Make it a proper mural” he smiled.

“Really? What else would we add?” Daniel said enthusiastically, hugging Sean sideways.

“I’ve got a few ideas” Sean said and put away his brush for a moment to hug Daniel properly. He wanted an embrace after their honest talk, the ones that became more common as time went on.

Sean cradled Daniel’s head, and Daniel hugged him tightly in return. It was silly for the both of them, and they would never say it out loud, but the scent of the other brought a sense of home and safety they didn’t quite know how to explain. It was simply a familiar one.

The brothers had since then set to work on the new project, it wasn’t a big and complex mural, but they did want to add more to it. It required a little more time though, so they worked on it when they felt like it and had the time to spare. In the meantime, Sean had tried to talk to Matias, but that’s what gotten him annoyed after the conversation. He was frustrated about the situation, but reckon it wasn’t going to be like that forever. But the fact that it had already lasted a month was suffocating enough.

Another incident happened with the mural, and it wouldn’t be the last. It was the middle of February when Sean and Daniel came back from work to find their mural vandalized again. This time there was no one near to chase after. Daniel was furious, Sean had to convinced him to stay because he was so determined to go find them.

“We’ll fix it” Sean had said, looking at the damage. Fortunately, it seems this time they weren’t as worried about drawing or writing things, they just covered part of the drawings with lines of graffiti paint. It was meant to be just annoying, and for what? Didn’t matter, Sean was sure he could repaint the damage easily.

“That’s not what I’m mad about. They can’t just get away with it” Daniel said, still furious.

“It’s not like we can install cameras.” Sean said shrugging. Yes, it sucked, but they didn’t seem to be a threat, just dumb people. That didn’t mean that if they caught them, he wouldn’t put up resistance. It was their house they were screwing around after all, and he didn’t like that.

“You think it was the same people?” Daniel asked.

“I don’t know. There’s no way to tell” Sean explained. He hoped they were, he didn’t want more people messing with them. He knew Daniel probably could handle it now, he himself could too, but that didn’t meant it made him any less anxious or scared. He didn’t want any trouble, he just wanted to be left alone.

Then it happened again, a few days later. They were barely done fixing it up when they found it damaged again, and no signs of people. Sean was fuming, but he didn’t know what could he do, maybe it was best to just not do the painting, but Daniel wasn’t going to be stopped from doing the mural.

“There’s no way we’re not doing it!” he said annoyed “It’s our house, why wouldn’t we be able to paint it like we want to. It’s not fair!”

Daniel had a point, and Sean knew it, but then again, he wasn’t sure how to fix the problem.

“I’m staying these next days, and when I catch them, I’ll make them pay.” Daniel said.

“No way, I’m not gonna let you do that. It’s far too dangerous” Sean said horrified at the thought. He didn’t doubt Daniel’s abilities, but he wasn’t going to risk his little brother.

Daniel sighed, he understood how Sean felt about that. Of course he would be worried. And it’s not like Sean could just dich work just to stay home and catch the kids that had been messing with them. Because they surely were kids, right?

“Then what are we supposed to do!? Sit and watch how they ruin the thing we’re working so hard on?” Daniel asked, raising his eyebrow questioningly.

“I don’t know cub, maybe they’ll grow tired of it” Sean suggested.

Daniel sighed and took a deep breath, trying to control his anger. Apparently, Sean’s suggestion didn’t make him feel any better. And Sean couldn’t ask for help on what to do about it, not when Matias was acting all weird.

It happened again in the middle of March, at that point the brothers were not surprised, just annoyed. Sean had been keeping distant of Matias as well, partly because he was annoyed at him, Matias was in all his right to not wanting to talk about what was on his mind, but he didn’t had to be a dick about it, and partly because maybe Matias wanted to be left alone. His friends said he had done that before… maybe he’ll come to talk when he’s ready.

But despite all his thinking, all his annoyance and determination to give him space, he was still worried. That is why, when he spotted him sitting at the beach alone today on the way home… he just needed to try one more time.

“{Will it be ok if I talk to him for a minute?}” Sean asked Daniel who was walking by his side.

“{Of course, I’ll be around}” Daniel said and made his way towards the beach to start exploring the area. Their house was still a bit far, so this side of the beach wasn’t one they normally went in.

Sean watched as Daniel’s curiosity about his surroundings made him explore every palm tree and rocks around. He chuckled and made his way to Matias, approaching slowly and sitting next to him, still keeping an eye on Daniel.

Matias was startled at first, but relaxed when he recognized it was just Sean. He took a drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke into the air. Sean looked at him and examined how the smoke dissolved into the wind, it was majestic in its own beauty, kind off like the flames of a fire.

“No sabía que fumabas (Didn’t know you smoke)” Sean spoke quietly, not wanting to interrupt the peace of the moment.

“No fumo (I don’t)” Matias said and took another long drag. He was looking weary, his eyelids tired, his baggy eyes noticeable. He offered some to Sean and he accepted. It has been a long time since he last smoked, partly because Daniel didn’t like it and partly because he just wanted to spend money on more important things, like treats for Daniel.

Sean blew the smoke into the air as well, relishing on the effect. Esteban never liked when he smoked… he didn’t remember how he even started smoking. Probably pressure to be cool like the other kids. He won’t deny it helped him on the road the few little times he got to smoke.

“Me gusta reflexionar frente al mar, me ayuda a ordenar los pensamientos (I like to ponder in front of the sea, helps me gather my thoughts)” Sean said, looking at the horizon where sea and sky met.

“Me gusta hablarle (I like talking to it)” Matias said, and when Sean turned to look at him, he chuckled softly “Sé que es raro… pero siento que el mar es sabio…  sabe escuchar (I know it’s weird… but I feel like the sea is wise, a good listener.)”

“Pienso igual (I agree)” Sean said, looking back at the sea “Creo que voy a empezar a hablarle (I think I’m going to start talking to it)” he said smiling.

Matias smiled to him, and then looked ahead once again, nodding slowly “ayuda un poco (It helps a bit)”

“Por qué el mar y no tus amigos? (Why the sea and not your friends?)” Sean asked, and when Matias looked at him again, he felt the need to explain “No es porque no me hablaste a mi… me refiero a tus otros amigos, te conocen desde hace bastante, seguro que te entienden mejor que yo (Not because you didn’t talk to me… I mean your other friends, they know you for a while, I’m sure they understand you better than I)”

Matias chuckled slightly “A veces solo necesito que me escuchen… nada más. No necesito consejos o… soluciones (Sometimes I just need to be heard… that’s it. I don’t need any tips or… solutions.)”

Sean kept his silence for a moment, taking another drag of the cigarette when offered. “No confías en ellos? (You don’t trust them?)” he said eventually.

“No es eso… (It’s not that)” Matias said thinking “Supongo que a veces solo quiero estar solo (I guess I just want to be alone sometimes)”

“Bueno… sabes que puedes hablar conmigo. Soy bueno escuchando (Well… you know you can talk to me. I’m good listening)” Sean said with hope. “Tenía una amiga que… bueno, estaba pasando un momento difícil. Tenía ataques de pánico y estaba medicada… el punto es que no te voy a juzgar. Por lo que sea que estés pasando (I had a friend that… well, she was having a rough time. She had panic attacks and was under medication… the point is that I can listen. To whatever it is you’re going through)” he wanted Matias to understand that he could count on him.

Matias sighed sadly “No te vas a rendir (You won’t give up)”

“Después de todo lo que me ayudaste? No. (After everything you’ve helped me with? No)” Sean smiled.

Matías exhaled deeply and contemplated how to continue for a moment “Es complicado (It’s complicated)” he said.

“Inténtalo (Try)” Sean encouraged.

“Estaba enojado contigo (I was mad at you)” Matias said, fidgeting with his hands.

“Estaba? (Was?)” Sean questioned, surprised by the revelation, because he didn’t know what he had done to make Matias upset.

“Al principio, sí… (At first, yeah…)” Matias nodded, not looking at Sean. “Intenté ser bueno al respecto, porque pensé que estaba siendo egoísta… pero no me ayudaste. Sé que estabas emocionado por tu amiga visitándote… Todavía no sé qué fue lo que viviste, pero entiendo que te ayudó a sentirte mejor tener una cara conocida. (I tried to be nice about it, because I thought I was being selfish… but then you didn’t help with it. I know you were excited about your friend coming to visit… I still don’t know what exactly you experienced, but I understand it made you feel better having a familiar face around.)”

He too a deep breath before continuing “Me dejaste de lado (You pushed me aside)” he said sheepishly “Todos esos días… no me hablabas mucho. Fue como si hubiera… dejado de importarte. (All those days… You didn’t talk much to me. I was as if… I stopped being important to you)”

“Shit” Sean said out loud without meaning to, because the realization of it was so obvious now. He didn’t just neglect his relationship with Daniel, he also did it with his friends, with Matias. With the arrival of Cassidy, he was just so glad to have a sense of the old times that it was like his whole world had vanished. He felt guilty about it when he realized that he made the same mistake with Daniel again… but to not have realized even then that Matias could be feeling bad about it too… was really dumb. He had a right to be mad. They talked, hung out and shared almost every day of the week, and suddenly Sean had distanced without apparent explanation. He just didn’t know it would annoy him so much.

“No sabía con quién estaba enojado, solo que lo estaba… Y después mi mamá enfermó (I didn’t know who I was mad at, only that I was angry… And then my mom got sick)” Matias continued before Sean could word his own thoughts. He leaned back, holding his place with his hands in the soft sand. “Pensé que era solo un resfriado… pero eso fue en enero… Y todavía no mejora (I thought it was just a cold… but that was in January… and she’s still not getting better.)” he said, his voice turning slightly weaker.

Sean looked worried at him, a soft, empathetic gaze on his eyes. Matias was finally opening up with him, and he intended to listen to every single thing he had to say.

“Está en un hospital… en otra ciudad. (She’s in a hospital… in another city)” Matias continued, shaking his head in disbelief “No creo que mejore, Sean (I don’t think she’ll get better, Sean)” he sighed, looking at him “No la veo hace dos semanas… no sé que hacer. Tenía la cabeza en otro lado… lo siento, mi intención nunca fue dejarte de lado… o quizá si, solo al principio (I haven’t seen her for two weeks… I don’t know what to do. I had my mind in other places… I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention to push you away… or maybe it was, at the beginning)” he admitted before dusting his hands and resting his face on them “Siento muchas cosas (I feel so many things)” he said with a shaky voice.

Sean put a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. He felt like shit for being annoyed at him for acting distant, knowing now what the circumstances were. “Lo siento. (I’m sorry)” he said, squeezing his shoulder “Por qué no dijiste nada antes? (Why didn’t you say anything sooner?)” Sean asked.

Matias retrieved his hands from his face and didn’t say anything for a moment, and then he let his weight fell to Sean’s side, resting his head on his shoulder “No lo se (I don’t know)” he said with a weary voice, almost a whisper.

Sean was surprised by Matias actions, but quickly put his arm around his shoulders. He understood more than anyone how good it could feel when you had someone to lean into, both physically and emotionally. And he knew by experience how torturing it was when you had no one close. They kept a comfortable silence, just watching as the sky started to slowly turn into shades of orange. “Si quieres puedes venir a casa, distraerte (If you want you can come to my place, distract for a bit)” Sean offered, wanting to help him the same way Matias had help him so many times.

Matias seemed to think for a moment, contemplating his options, before nodding slowly. The mood on his house wasn’t exactly bright, despite everyone trying to make the best of the situation there was an unspoken tension, a sense of anxiety. A warm meal with the company of some friends seemed rather perfect right now.

When both Sean and Matias got onto his feet, Sean signaled Daniel to come over, and he did so gladly running across the beach to them. He had been watching them from time to time, he had seen the hug they shared, and concluded that everything was good now, finally. He still didn’t know what was going on exactly, but they could start hanging around again, he reckoned.

“Vienes a cenar? (Are you joining us for dinner?)” Daniel asked excitedly when he joined the two other guys.

Sean chuckled at Daniel’s eagerness. But Matias answered faster than him “Claro que si (Of course I am)” he said trying to smile.

Daniel beamed at the news and started listing the things they could make to eat, enthusiastically thinking of every meal they could arrange whit the ingredients they had at home.

They encountered, however, on the way home, the same two guys messing yet again with their painting. Having to stand them annoying them for almost two months now, it was no surprise the outcome of it all.

“HEY!” Sean shouted when he spotted them. Daniel made a run for them, and Sean in a worry ran after Daniel. Matias trailing after them.

When the two teens tried to escape Daniel used his powers to let a wooden board fall in front of them, startling them and blocking the path, and giving the trio enough time to caught up with them.

“Alto! (Stop!)” Sean said when they were finally in front of them, Daniel ready to use his powers if he needed to.

The two teens seemed ready to fight too, although they didn’t particularly looked scary, at least for Sean, they were his age after all, not adults like the rest of the people who had hurt them.

“Por qué hacen esto!? Quiénes son!? (Why are you doing this!? Who are you?)” Sean asked.

Matias just stood near the boys, closing a route so they couldn’t get away. He didn’t know the whole story, but he saw them vandalizing the place.

“No se metan con nosotros (Don’t mes with us)” Daniel added, causing both of the teens to chuckle.

One of them suddenly made a run for Sean, pushing him aside and running away. The other one, following his friend’s path, ran behind him, but Sean caught his arm, not letting him get away. The teen tried to pull away but Sean did not lose his grip, and so he threw a blow to Sean’s face, fist colliding with the other one’s skin. Sean let go of the teen’s arm, grabbing his own face and trying to steady the spinning world.

“Sean!” Both Matías and Daniel shouted.

Matias was the first one to act, not letting the teen escape and shoving him back to the wall he was painting just minutes before. Daniel, who had been holding the one who ran away with his powers, pushed them both harshly against the wall, their backs pressed against the concrete.

“Pero qué… (What the…)” Matias said in awe, not exactly understanding how the teen just flew across the air and into the wall.

“Sean are you ok?” Daniel asked, worried, not realizing how shocked Matias must be.

“Y-Yeah, I’m ok” Sean assured, caressing his cheek a bit, it was already starting to swell. “Quiénes son!? (Who are you!?)” Sean walked towards the wall where they were held against, but the boys were not answering him. Sean lifted a fist to one of them, expecting him to answer, but when he didn’t, he struck him back twice, drawing blood to the other one’s face. Sean panted, anger running on his veins, but then he realized how scared the two boys looked, probably terrified that they couldn’t move. “They’re just fucking kids” Sean sighed retrieving, shaking his hand and panting.

“But they’ve been messing with us!” Daniel said.

“They didn’t hurt us, Enano. They were just annoying.” Sean tried to reason.

“So what, we just let them go?” Daniel said annoyed.

Sean turned back to the boys, putting on the most serious and threatening face that he thought he could pull off, even if he felt like he didn’t scare anyone with it. “No vuelvan. Está claro!? (Don’t come back. Is that clear!?” Sean said and repeated again more loudly “Está claro!?” at the lack of answer. Both teens nodded quickly.

“I don’t think they’ll dare to come back” Sean said, turning back to Daniel.

Daniel held them a moment longer, reluctantly, but Sean’s expectant look made him finally release them. The two boys looked at Sean and Daniel, walking slowly away with a terrified look, before running away as fast as their legs allowed them to.

“They weren’t actually a threat. It’s ok Enano” Sean said putting an arm around Daniel’s shoulder to try and calm his anger.

Daniel sighed, and decided that Sean probably was right, and didn’t press the matter anymore. He just looked at them as they ran away.

Sean checked his face, noticing his nose had started to bleed a bit. He turned around to find Matias still there, speechless. Now he deserved some explanation, Sean supposed.

“Vamos adentro (Let’s go inside)” Sean said, and the trio made their way into the house. Sean had noticed the black paint can the boys had left forgotten in the floor and grabbed it. Maybe it would come in handy for the mural.

Sean was now sitting on the couch, Daniel next to him, cleaning his bloody nose, being gentle and careful not to hurt him.

“{You know, I can do this myself}” Sean said smiling. It was heartwarming that Daniel wanted to take care of him so badly, but also unnecessary.

Daniel just put on a mocking expression and kept dutifully attending Sean’s face.

“{Seriously cub, I’ve been hurt much worse. It’s not the first time I have a bloody nose. It was just a kid’s punch}” Sean said, trying to ease Daniel’s worry, but he only made Daniel looked even more determined to clean his wound.

“{Shut up, Sean}” Daniel said sadly. The thought of his brother being used to this was sickening. He knew he wasn’t badly hurt, but it was no less big of a deal for him. Once he finished cleaning his nose, he started inspecting the cheek where the blow had landed. It was below his eyepatch, Daniel was sad about that, couldn’t they stop destroying his brother’s face? He was responsible for enough damage already.

“{How does it look doctor?}” Sean joked, smiling.

Daniel giggled at that and played along, putting a serious face and giving his diagnosis “{It looks fine. Nothing serious. Just a bit swollen}” He informed.

“{Good then, it should be fine}” Sean nodded appreciatively.

Daniel then grabbed the bag of ice from the coffee table and pressed it softly against Sean’s cheek. Sean grabbed it and kept it in place “Thanks” he smiled.

“{So…}” Matias said, he was sitting on a plastic chair in front of the couch.

“{Yeah, so}” Sean incorporated in his seat “{Don’t freak out, ok?}”

“{I’m not freaked out… just, confused}” Matias said.

“{There’s not really a rational or soft way to say this}” Sean said. He was never sure how people would react to his brother’s abilities. Some freaked out, couldn’t wrap their head around it, like Jacob. Some accepted it, with no much trouble to it, like the people in Away. And some… some just chose to be like Lisbeth, although he still doesn’t know if she really believed in god or just wanted to use Daniel.

“{I have powers}” Daniel said.

“{That’s what we call them. We don’t know exactly what they are or how they work. Just that it’s there}” Sean explained.

“{But… what exactly can you do?}” Matias asked Daniel.

Daniel raised his hand and focused in one of the items on top of the coffee table, the radio, making it levitate and float on the air.

Matias eyes widened “{woah}” he said looking in awe. He touched the levitating object, examining it.

“{I can move things, objects. Without touching them}” Daniel explained. Telekinesis seemed like an appropriate description, but that would sound too much our of a movie, and he wanted Matias to take the news gently.

“{Were you born like this?}” Matias asked, and Daniel shook his head in response.

“{It started in Seattle after… after they shot our dad}” Sean explained. Daniel didn’t like this conversation. “{We believe it was maybe the trauma that triggered or something. I don’t know}” Sean rubbed his nape, he always felt silly talking about this, it all seemed insane.

Matias thought for a moment, remembering the articles he read about the brothers, and started to tie pieces together “{What exactly happened?}” Matias asked. He wanted to know the brother’s story, and this seemed the reason why they kept it hidden this whole time.

Sean sighed and leaned back on his seat “{Daniel wanted to show me his costume for Halloween… and I was trying to get ready for a party, so I told him to go away}”

Daniel held Sean’s hand and continued “{I went to go play outside, but our shitty neighbor started picking on me. I accidently spilled some fake blood on his shirt, and he got mad}”

“{Then I heard the noise and went outside. He said some… bad shit and I lost my temper. We got into a fight, and he fell to the ground. A cop saw it and stepped closer, and I don’t know if it was the fake blood or what… but he pulled out his gun and started to shout us to get on the floor}” Sean continued explaining “{Our dad came out when he heard the screaming. Next thing I know is that he’s falling to the ground because the cop shot him. And then everything blew up. When I woke up, my dad and the cop were dead… Daniel was unconscious.  I didn’t know what happened, but I knew they wouldn’t believe me. So I ran away with Daniel}” Sean said, looking at the floor.

“{I don’t remember much of that moment}” Daniel said, looking sadly at Sean.

“{we… knew our dad used to live here, so we settled on making our way down here. We had… trouble trying to, but we made it}” Sean said, holding Daniel’s hand, and Daniel scooted closer to hug him.

Matías eyed them. The scar on Daniel’s shoulder… Sean’s eye… Sean’s scars on his face. What did these boys went through? He always suspected something bad happened, for them to show up in a town like this looking so bad. That’s what he had investigated, but the stories he read about them didn’t make sense. Now they did.

Matias got up from his chair and walked closer to them and sat on the couch next to Sean. Then he hugged him, thigh. {“I’m sorry… That’s… fucked up}”

“{You’re not… scared?}” Daniel asked.

Matias parted the hug to answer that “{Of course not… I mean it’s unexpected but, why would it be something bad? I know you, both of you. Well, enough to understand that this, no matter how insane it is, won’t change the people I know. Your both good people.}”

Daniel smiled relieved, truly happy that it wouldn’t change anything.

“{Maybe}” Sean said uncertain.

“{You did what you had to do to keep you safe}” Matias said sportingly.

But that was the problem for Sean. He did a lot of things he regretted, and he still failed Daniel in many ways. “{Still… If I had just… played with Daniel instead on focusing on that fucking party… maybe none of this would’ve happened… maybe dad-}”

“{Stop! Please, just stop. It wasn’t your fault}” Daniel said, hugging his brother tightly in an attempt to make those thoughts go away.

“{You couldn’t possibly have known, Sean. Maybe it’ll still happen, or maybe it would’ve ended up much worse. Either way, you can’t change it. Don’t torture yourself like thar.}” Matias said, trying to ease Sean’s guilt.

Daniel couldn’t have worded it better, so he showed his support by squeezing his brother tighter. Sean chuckled at that “{You’re not letting me breathe}” he joked, but Daniel didn’t ease his hold. “{Okay, okay. I get it}” he said.

Daniel released his grip only after he got a few more moments of squeezing Sean. The truth was that he felt as much guilt as Sean did about their dad’s death. Daniel was the one that accidently killed the cop… and they all blamed Sean about it. Sean never doubted to protect the truth, almost giving up his freedom at the border for them to leave Daniel alone. So he felt so, so guilty for putting Sean on that position, and he felt even worse because his brother took it without question. Sean deserved better.

Sean, with his arms now free, hugged Daniel back and spoke to Matias “{Thank you, for being so cool about it}” Sean said smiling. Matias nodded and smiled back. “{Now, let’s actually distract you like we planned to}”

“{Actually, this whole thing made my head think about a bunch of other stuff. So I was in fact, distracted from my problems”} Matias laughed.

{“Well, good}” Sean said, both brothers laughing as well “{But you can’t tell anyone about this}”

“{Not like anyone would believe me}” Matias said reasoning. Sean nodded, it was true.

Matias still had questions and wanted to know more about the brother’s mysterious lives, but that was enough for one night, he would get to know them better as time passed by. For now, the three would share a nice meal to finish the day and distract themselves from the stressful events of the day.

Wednesday, April 11th, 2018

The last two weeks flew quickly past them. With Daniel’s birthday approaching Sean wanted to make sure he could deliver a perfect birthday party for his brother. He missed the last one, and it was a wound he still carried around with him, so he wanted to do this for him. With the conversation they shared with Matias, the boys were closer than ever with their friend, and things were back to the way they were before. Mostly. Matias was still stressed about his mom, worrying sick, he carried a weary face around, but the brothers company had made him feel better. He realized it was a mistake to try to keep himself away, he felt embarrassed about being mad at Sean for hanging out with other people. Now, he was going out with Sean, Vicky, Carla, Marcos and Ale every time they could. All his friends were always available, because they always made the time to be with him, knowing he was having a hard time.

Sean had been working with Luna and Matias to finally have running water on the house, he had bought some pipes and a water tank, and they had installed it on the span of a few days to replace the old and rusty one. It had been an expensive purchase, he hadn’t much money left on their dollars reserve, the ones he gained on Humboldt, and the money he was trying to save in pesos wasn’t much. They still had some left, but if Sean needed to work extra to afford a proper birthday for Daniel he would without hesitation.

In the meantime, Sean, Daniel and Matias had teamed up together to finish the mural now that they were certain the kids wouldn’t bother them again. Sean felt bad for scaring them like that, but they were really annoying. They should’ve found another way to pass the time. The painting turned out to be amazing, all three boys had a good time working on it, listening to music and just keeping their minds occupied on a project. Yesterday they had invited the whole gang to help, and it was certainly a good decision. Sean and Daniel had an amazing time.

“Tu dibujaste esto? (You drew this?)” Alejandro had asked impressed.

“los dos lo dibujamos (We both did it)” Sean replied proudly standing beside his brother.

“Por qué te sorprende? Sean vende su arte en la plaza, ¿nunca lo viste? Es increíble (Why are you surprised? (Sean sells his art on the town square, you never saw? It’s amazing)” Victoria reminded him.

“Si sabia, es que no sabía que era tan bueno (I do know that, I just didn’t know he was that good)” Alejandro said.

Sean blushed a bit from all the compliments, he was always a bit embarrassed about his art even though he sold it. The afternoon was bright and cheerful, with everyone helping on the mural on whatever way they could, sharing drinks they store on the cooler and joking and talking. They had managed to finish it, three wolves’ heads, looking mostly friendly. Two were smaller and one was big and on top of them, with the sky and orange sun around them. The two little ones were facing each other, seemingly playing. It was a detailed paining, it turned out beautifully with amazing colors on it. Three names were written bellow each wolf, “Sean” and “Daniel” for the smaller ones, and “Papito” for the bigger wolf. On top of the drawing, they wrote “Wolves lair”. It wasn’t a big drawing, just enough to feel one side of the wall, but it had taken it’s time and the result was amazing. Everyone loved it, and they celebrated with a few drinks at the restaurant, and a nice ice cream for all.

That was all yesterday though. Today was Daniel’s birthday, and as soon as Sean opened his eye he smiled, knowing everything that he had planned for his little cub. First thing was waking him up with breakfast in bed, like Daniel had intended to do for Sean’s birthday. He had successfully woken up first than Daniel, so he had time to prepare it. He prepared some pancakes, following the way his dad used to make them, which was the way Karen made them. He hoped they were good. He prepared fresh orange juice with the oranges they bought yesterday, and he even made cream with the help of Daniel’s cookbook to put on top of the sweet treat. He had also bought some syrup for it and would allow Daniel to put as much as he liked on top of them.

He carried the plate and glass to the room and put it aside for a moment to wake up his brother. “Morning little cub” Sean said, shaking Daniel gently. Daniel mumbled and groaned. Sean chuckled and tried once more “Come on birthday boy, time to start the day”

Daniel’s eyes fluttered open and a big smiled spread on his face when he realized what Sean had called him. That was right, it was his eleventh birthday today. And Sean was here.

“Happy birthday Daniel” Sean spoke gently, caressing his brother’s hair. “I made you breakfast”

Daniel beamed “No way! Is that…?”

“Pancakes with homemade cream. And syrup” Sean smiled nodding, he knew Daniel would love it.

“Awesome!” Daniel hugged Sean around the neck, causing his big brother to lose his balance and fall on the bed.

“Hey!” Sean protested even though he was laughing himself.

“Thank you, Sean,” Daniel said letting go of him.

Sean grabbed the plate and glass and sat in front of Daniel on the bed, offering the food. “I have a big Day planned” Sean smiled.

“Really?” Daniel smiled wider, if that was even possible. He started pouring syrup on top of his food until he was satisfied, which was a lot of syrup.

“Yeah, cub. We’re gonna have an amazing day.” Sean promised.

“You didn’t have to do anything special for me” Daniel said and took his first bite.

Sean looked at him like he was being silly. “You had a surprise for me on my birthday, I’m allowed to do this, you know?”

Daniel giggled and nodded.

“Besides, I wasn’t really that happy when we first had arrived here. I was so uncertain of everything, but you really made it a day I could enjoy.” Sean said sweetly, he was forever grateful that his brother was so good to him, even after everything he did wrong. Sean moved to sit next to him instead of being on front of him to keep talking “Besides, last birthday I wasn’t there for you” he said sadly.

“But it wasn’t your fault, you didn’t know where I was” Daniel said looking at him.

“I know, but you spend it alone. Your first birthday without dad and I wasn’t there. I’m sorry” Sean said, he was truly sorry for that.

“Sean, come on. I know you had come sooner if you could.” Daniel said worried, he didn’t like when Sean felt guilty like this. “And it wasn’t like I was completely alone. I had some kids at the party that helped me distract myself.

“I missed your transition to two digits” Sean said sadly, remembering the photo he found on Daniel’s room on Lisbeth’s house. He looked happy, and his heart sunk at the thought, because he looked okay when he wasn’t near Sean. “I’m just sad it turned out that way”

Daniel hugged him, resting his face on his neck “You’re here now” he said, feeling happy about it.

“I know. And I’m going to make it right” Sean said determined, hugging his brother back and resting his chin on his head.

“You don’t have to fix anything. Not when you didn’t broke anything” Daniel said. “This start is already better than my last birthday” Daniel smiled and broke the hug to look at his brother.

“Is that so?” Sean smiled.

Daniel nodded happily. Sean didn’t have to prove himself to earn Daniel’s trust. For Daniel, Sean was everything because he is the only family he had. His big brother had already proved his love for Daniel, he always was. Daniel wished he could do the same for Sean.

Tuesday, April 11th, 2017 (The past)

Daniel just finished washing his teeth and was going out to the bathroom to tidy his room when Lisbeth showed up.

“Happy birthday!” She said enthusiastically.

Daniel had forgotten for a moment. These last few days he had been so sad that he not only was going to spend birthdays without his dad, but now also without his brother. Forever. And this morning he had just forgotten about it. He honestly preferred to have kept it that way.

“Thanks” Daniel said without enthusiasm.

“Don’t be like that. Be happy you’re still here, alive. That’s something to celebrate. We’re having a special service at church for you, and a birthday party” She said.

Daniel smiled at the birthday party mention. Maybe he could have a good time after all. He did his normal routine, making his bed and getting dressed. He looked at the mirror, thinking of how much things had changed. He never would’ve thought he’d end up here all alone. Maybe he deserved it.

The “special” service at church was just a normal one, Lisbeth giving his speech and Daniel showing the crowd his gift. He didn’t know if he really was an angel, he definitely didn’t feel like that, but Lisbeth said it was because he was in a bad place and had bad influences. He had gotten mad at the time, but Lisbeth never mentioned Sean, so he couldn’t really stay mad.

He didn’t know better than to believe her, after everything he had done, he felt like a monster… he had hurt Sean… and… he felt like he needed to repent. For being a bad person. Lisbeth had agreed with him when he said that what he did was bad when he confessed to her, and it made him feel even worse, but she said if he worked on it, he could earn God’s forgiveness. Daniel would try hard to get that, even if he didn’t deserve it.

Lisbeth made him speak today though, he guessed that’s what made the service special. She had announced it was his birthday, and everyone cheered, there were a lot of people today. And then she said he was going to deliver some special words to them. Daniel was nervous but Lisbeth just assured him, saying he could talk about how grateful it was. So that’s how Daniel had started.

“Well… Um… Thank you for being here… uh…”  Daniel said awkwardly, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind, believing they were lucky to hear him talk. “I’m sure today will be great… and that God’s going to make it great.” He said and people clapped at him. Lisbeth seemed pleased.

“Although there are people that I wish they were here.” He said “My dad… and my brother. But they’re not around anymore” he said sadly.

The crowd shared his feelings, crying and praying for the hurting angel.

“They were the best” Daniel smiled “My dad always prepared the best cakes. And Sean always took me and my friends wherever we wanted to go” he said, a tear escaping his eye “He was truly amazing. He always helped me… and he always was there when I needed him to. I miss-”

“Well, give Daniel good birthday wishes on your way out, yeah?” Lisbeth started. Daniel didn’t get to finish, didn’t get to say how much he missed them, how much he was sorry about all he did. He waited until she finished talking about how they could donate to the church, but then he couldn’t say anything either occupied with the people that approached him and wished him a good birthday. It was so strange, watching them kneel and held his hands like that, worshiping him.

But when he could tell Lisbeth how he couldn’t finish, she said that she didn’t doubt Sean’s good actions, but that he also did a lot of bad things, including putting Daniel in danger. Daniel was just too sad to argue, so he went along with it.

The party was ok at least, he had gotten a few gifts, but not many because Lisbeth said you didn’t need stuff to feel happy. He didn’t understand it, toys did made him happy. He could use that now. They sang the happy birthday song to him, and he enjoyed sometime with the other kids.

“You don’t seem so happy” Sarah Lee had told him when he seated down for a bit.

“No, sorry. Lisbeth said I should be grateful but…” Daniel sighed.

“But you missed your brother, right?” she said empathetically.

“Yeah” Daniel admitted.

“I get it” she said and needed a pause to steady his coughing before continuing “When Jacob left I felt sad as well. They said he was a sinner and that he needed to repent. He was always… trouble, they said” she explained.

“What did he do?” Daniel asked curiously.

“I don’t know for sure… I think they found him kissing someone” Sarah Lee said.

“I miss Sean… I… I don’t know if he’s alive” Daniel said.

“Jacob said he was in a hospital, you heard hem” she said.

“Then why didn’t he contact me? Lisbeth says because he doesn’t want to, and I don’t blame him. I hurt him” Daniel sighed shakily.

“Or maybe they don’t allow him to, you said the police was looking for him” she reasoned “I don’t think it’s because he doesn’t want to. You said you two were close, he was nice to you. Jacobe wouldn’t stop talking to me. Do you really think he would?”

“I liked to think that no, he would not. But I don’t know what to think anymore” Daniel said heavily.

The party didn’t last long, but he at least got to have a good time. That night, as he got ready for bed, he had his night prayer with Lisbeth. He wasn’t used to do it, but Lisbeth insisted, the problem was she always directed it and made him pray. So he started praying on his own when Lisbeth left the room. He got out of bed and kneeled next to the bed again and began to say his own intentions, which were Sean, mostly. Every night, he prayed that he was ok, and that even if Sean wouldn’t forgive him for what he did, that God would. But he also wished with all his heart that Sean would forgive him, and they could see each other again, because as much as he felt like he didn’t deserve it, he needed it. He needed it badly.

That night, as well as the other ones for the last months, he curled onto himself in the cold bed and realized that he preferred sharing that nasty tent with Sean and sleeping on the floor, than feeling so cold inside like this.

Wednesday, April 11th, 2018

Daniel had shared his breakfast with Sean, and they had left the house since then to go shopping. Sean had taken the day off and promised he would buy Daniel some new shoes, so that he could had something else to wear. He also bought Daniel more comics for him to read, the boy didn’t seemed to get tired of those.

“{how do I look?}” Daniel asked trying his new shoes.

“{Perfect, cub}” Sean smiled.

“{You sure we can afford it?}” Daniel asked, the shoes weren’t exactly cheap.

Sean chuckled “{Stop worrying about that. Yes, we can. Do you like them or not?}”

“{I love them}” Daniel admitted.

“{Then we’re getting them}” Sean said simply.

Daniel had invited their new friends home, and they played and enjoyed their time together playing on the beach, before Sean took them all to the restaurant where Matias would host his party. All their new friends were there, and the place was decorated similarly like it was when it was Sean’s birthday. Balloons and all kinds of party decorations. It was rather colorful, and even a few were about superheroes. Daniel loved those.

“{You did all this?}” Daniel asked Sean, incredibly touched.

“{we all did, they all love you}” Sean smiled and hugged Daniel warmly.

The night was great, and Daniel had a blast, the food was amazing and there was a lot of it, and they all put effort into making Daniel get an amazing party. The guys had arranged with them all to get Daniel a polaroid camera, for him to take pictures of whatever he liked.

Daniel loved it, and the first picture was from the whole group, the brothers and all their new friends. The second one was just the brothers, smiling and posing for the camera. And the third one was Sean and Daniel hugging. It was such a beautiful and heartwarming picture, it would definitely be put on somewhere special on the house.

Daniel was thankful for the gift, and made his best not to question how much did they spent on it. Once the party was over, the brothers walked Angel home and then they made their made their wat to their own house. Both Sean and Daniel smiling.

“{Did you gad a good birthday?}” Sean asked.

“{Yeah! It was amazing. The camara is so cool, I want to capture so many memories with it!” Daniel said excitedly “{And the party was so cool! Everyone showed up...}”

“{I’m glad you liked it, and you got new clothes along with your camera}” Sean said.

Daniel nodded, he had gotten two new shirts and one pair of shorts from his friends as well. “{It was awesome Sean… really. I feel bad about how much you had to spend but… I had a great time.}”

“{Don’t feel bad. I wanted to. And it’s worth it}” Sean said stopping to hold Daniel by the shoulders. “{I’m here now, and I won’t miss another birthday. Never again.}” he said firmly before embracing his brother gently.

“{Thank you, Sean…}” Daniel said touched by his words. He really had a messed up birthday last year, with people he didn’t know and a crazy woman who wanted to adopt him to take him away from Sean. Well, now the brothers were together and doing better.

“{There’s one more gift}” Sean informed.

“{What?}” Daniel said intrigued.

“{Well, it isn’t a gift as such but is something for us both}” Sean smiled.

“{What is it?}” Daniel asked.

“{Let’s go and find out}” Sean chuckled.

“{Come on! Let’s go!}” Daniel urged Sean by the hand.

Sean hurried before Daniel went mad, and they made their way home. Sean opened the front door with his keys and Daniel ran upstairs to go look for his gift.

“You are greedy” Sean teased as he saw Daniel walking around all the rooms searching.

Daniel smiled and shrugged. He was so curious, what could he be for him and Sean.

“It’s in the kitchen” Sean said, and they both made their way to that room.

“I don’t see anything” Daniel said looking around.

“Let’s look closer” Sean said smiling walking closer.

Daniel followed him, not understanding what he was supposed to be looking at.

Sean walked to the sink and opened the tap, a sound started to came out of it and then is started splashing water down between sections of air before the water began running smoothly.

“What!?” Daniel looked in awe. Those didn’t work since they got here. The last time he had running water was a long time ago.

“You know how we fixed the pipes and bought a new water tank?” Sean explained “Well, it was all ready for them to install the system, that’s why we spend all day outside, to give Luna and his crew time to work”

“So we have water? Like, the full house?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah cub, living the life” Sean smiled.

Daniel was beaming, he was used to carry water buckets around, but this would make everything easier. They could have a proper bathroom.

“This is amazing Sean but… I’m sure it was expensive” Daniel said worried. He imagined all the repair was expensive, and now to have people installing the system… it definitely costed money.

“It was, but we needed it cub. It’s for both of us. We’re making this a proper house” Sean smiled.

“But… the camera… and the gifts…” Daniel hesitated.

“Luna made me a discount for being friends, and the camera was a team effort. I had the money, and I chose to spend it on this. That’s why we saved it for, to use it on the house and ourselves. We’ll need to keep working, but we’re making progress.” Sean said trying to ease Daniel’s worries.

Daniel threw himself to Sean’s arms, Sean had to grab him quickly, almost falling on the process. “Whoa” he exclaimed.

“You’re the best” Daniel said, clinging to his chest like a koala, his arms and legs wrapped around his middle.

Sean hugged him back gently. “I love you too” Sean said softly, hiding his face on his little brother’s neck.

“How can I ever help you the same way you help me…” Daniel said.

“You do. In so many ways you might not realize. Without you I wouldn’t have gotten this far.” Sean said gently “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You just turned eleven, you’re doing as much as you can and that’s enough”

Daniel teared up at the words and hugged him tighter.

“And also, you’re bigger… and heavier. Can you get off?” Sean chuckled.

Daniel shook his head in a ‘no’ motion. “Come on” Sean chuckled. “Let me go” he said, but Daniel didn’t budge.

Sean rolled his eyes and made his way to the bedroom so he could sit down before his legs got tired.

“I’m bigger?” Daniel asked then.

“Yeah, and fat” Sean teased, gaining a soft slap on the back from Daniel. Sean chuckled and continued “And taller, and smarter too”

“You really think so?” Daniel asked, lifting his head.

“I’ve seen it. And you’re almost to my height Enano, give it some time and you’ll maybe pass me. Sean had also grow since they first arrived here, but Daniel proved to be growing fast, even when they were on the road.

“Oh! I’m gonna take a shower now” Daniel said getting off of Sean, beaming.

Sean chuckled “We don’t have hot water yet. We have to work on that” he informed.

“So? I want to check it out” Daniel said.

“Check it out tomorrow morning, when it’s hot. Otherwise, you’ll freeze your butt off, and I don’t want you catching another cold” Sean said, his tone final, but not angry.

“Fine” Daniel rolled his eyes and sat back on the bed. “Tomorrow then. But this is so cool. Thanks again” Daniel smiled.

“Hey, you did this too, you know?” Sean said.

“How? I don’t work, you do” Daniel said uncertain.

“Yes, but you were there with me, keeping me company. And you don’t know how much it helped having you around when I was bored or tired. It lifted my spirit up” Sean smiled.

Daniel smiled back and pushed him playfully “When did we become so… close, we used to fight all the time”

“We still do. But I think we learned what’s really important” Sean said, hugging Daniel sideways.

“I know when I changed my way of being with you.” Daniel said, leaning into the hug.

“When?” Sean asked curiously.

“When I thought I had lost you too” Daniel said.

Sean definitely understood, thinking he had lost Daniel was one of the most desperate and horrible feelings he ever experienced. “I love you. I’m still here” Sean said, hugging his little wolf closer.

“I love you too. We’re both here” Daniel nodded. “You think dad would like us fighting less?” Daniel giggled.

“I think he’ll be sad that we had to go trough so much. But he would definitely be proud that we stayed together” Sean determined.

Chapter Text

Saturday, April 28th, 2018

“Once upon a time, in a wild, wild world, there were two wolf brothers living in their new lair on their father’s hometown. The brothers had experienced a dangerous journey to get there safely, walking through the big dense forest or the dry, vast desert, sleeping under rain and bridges, working on illegal farms to try to get some gold for their trip. The world had tried to stop them, hunters had tried to hurt them, separate them, but there was nothing stronger than the care the brothers had for each other. Thanks to the help of some friends, and some luck, the brothers managed to reach their destination, having to surpass the ultimate battle with the hunters, one that the little Super Wolf won without hesitation. Now, comforted to have found his father’s old lair, the wolf brothers started to work, making it an even nicer place to stay at. They made new friends, kind wolves that didn’t hesitate to help the brothers with what they needed. This was their home after all. Slowly, but surely, the wolf brother started to rebuild their lives, the ones that were taken away by the hunters, and even if they still had deep scars from the adventure, they were sure they would heal soon, because no matter what, there is nothing they can’t do, as long as they’re together.” Sean narrated to Daniel, both already settled in bed, the clock marked past midnight.

“The wolf brothers got visited by old friends, and the big wolf had a nice job” Daniel added, looking up from his pillow.

Sean chuckled and nodded “Indeed, but I didn’t want to spoil it all at once. The story is still going, after all.”

“I like it, so far. It’s a complicated story though” Daniel said, snuggling back into the mattress.

“Yeah, it is. It has grown a lot” Sean said.

“Thank you… for not making fun of me.” Daniel said, looking embarrassed.

Sean smiled warmly, Daniel had asked, unexpectedly, to hear the story of the wolf brothers tonight, something Sean hadn’t done for him since they got here, and something they were doing less even before they crossed the border. The story was something that started as a way to keep Daniel calm, relaxed and ready to sleep on those difficult, cold and lonely nights the boys had experienced, and logically, as Daniel grew up, he didn’t need it as much anymore. But now it wasn’t a matter of sleep, Sean thought, it had grown to be a way for the brothers to feel comforted, and if his little brother wanted him to tell him a story, Sean couldn’t be happier. It made him feel that Daniel still needed him, so of course he agreed without complaining.

“Why would I make fun of you? The story of the wolf brothers rocks” Sean said smiling.

Daniel shrugged “I feel silly asking for that… since I’m no longer a kid”

“There’s no age attached to when or how you should stop or do anything. Stop worrying” Sean said comfortingly.

“I know, I know. It’s still weird though.” He expressed.

“Is there a specific reason why you wanted me to tell you the story?” Sean asked.

“No, I just missed it, wanted to know how it continued.” Daniel smiled.

“Me too cub, me too” Sean said, basking in the comfort of the moment, and the presence of his brother.

They usually didn’t stay up this late, but today after eating at home, the brothers just stayed talking in bed, about their dad, about their friends and just the life they were building here. It was nice to be able to talk like this, about everything, and since tomorrow Sean only had to sell his art in the morning and nothing else, he figured he could afford to stay a little bit late, he could just take a nap later.

The conversation slowly grew with sleepy voices and tired eyes, and soon enough, both brothers were breathing evenly, sleeping.

A loud banging at the door made both brothers jump, the sun was barely up, and both needed a moment to regain consciousness. The continuing loud banging accelerated that process. Sean jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, Daniel hot on his trail. When he opened the door, Matias steeped in, a distressed look on his face. “Sean! They know! They want to-”

He was interrupted by some police man stepping in, the uniform corresponding to the police of Mexico. Without a word, they took Sean and handcuffed him.

“Sean!” Daniel tried to intervein, but another cop grabbed him by the arm and started taking him outside.

“Daniel!” Sean couldn’t reach him, being pulled away by the cop.

Daniel cried and shouted for his big brother, but the cops didn’t seem to care.

“What is all this!? What’s happening!?” Sean cried. He wanted to tell Daniel to use his powers, to save them, why haven’t he used them yet? But maybe he didn’t want to, and Sean wasn’t going to put that pressure on him. Not again.

“Get off me!” he said as he was pulled inside a police car. “Where are you taking my brother?” he shouted, looking back to where his brother was being walked to. Now what? What was he going to do? They didn’t have a way out from this one… maybe he just delayed the inevitable… maybe he lived in a dream… a nice dream that didn’t last long enough.

“Daniel…” he sobbed.

Sean woke up alone in bed, but nothing was unusual, Daniel was always up first, even when they were younger. He was sweaty, but not much, he had worst nightmares than that. After he took a deep breath and regained his calm again Sean stretched his limbs, using the empty space his brother had provided to fully move and roll around, lazily starting the day.

These dreams weren’t new for him, and he was slowly starting to get used to them. At first, he woke up terrified, but now it took him less time to ease his breathing and get back to his non-agitated state. Sean sighed, they were more annoying than anything, ever since they reached Puerto Lobos, he was experiencing these nightmares, they were supposed to not be afraid anymore, they were free… but his brain didn’t believe that apparently. The dreams were always something different, but they all had something in common, Daniel was there, and he couldn’t reach for him.

He sat in bed and stretched a bit more, yawning and scratching his growing beard. He needed to shave it, he remembered, when Daniel laughed amused, noticing it. It was small, just a patch under his jaw that was barely visible. But it existed, something that definitely wasn’t there before, and something that proved that Sean’s body kept developing as well as Daniel’s, the little kid had grown slightly taller these days too.

“Morning dad” Sean said with a groggy voice, looking at their dad portrait now placed on their nightstand. He then looked above their dresser, admiring the photo of the family, the three of them together, and then he paid attention to his and Lyla’s photo, the one that was just silly but made Sean feel better nonetheless because he missed her so much. He kept looking then at the wall in front of the bed, where their dad’s portrait used to be, that was now decorated with the few polaroids Daniel gladly took with his new camera. There was one of the whole group at Daniel’s birthday party as well as the one with only the brothers, but there were new ones that Daniel had put next to them. One was of the ocean, the beautiful view in front of their house at sunset time. Another one of Sean, smiling shily at the camera as he was cooking something on the grill. And then there was another one of the brothers again, a selfie, both making silly faces.

Sean smiled fondly at the pictures, the wall was something that represented how well they were doing, and how happy both of them were. It was still hard to believe sometimes how much both had accomplished, how far they’d grown and how drastically all had changed. But life kept moving, waiting for no one, and the brothers adapted to it. Daniel sure liked his camera, always eager to capture a nice moment of their lives with it. Sean was glad he liked it so much.

He stepped out of bed, sensing the nice warm carpet floor and made his way towards the bathroom.

“Morning Sean” Daniel’s voice was heard from the kitchen, hearing Sean’s footsteps.

“Morning lil’ cub” Sean answered before closing the bathroom door. He made his way to the sink and washed his face, cleaning the sweat out of it. He then put on the eyepatch and took care of his morning routine before stepping out of the bathroom and going to greet Daniel properly.

“Hey, I’m busy” Daniel said when Sean hugged him, prohibiting him from continuing with his work.

Sean didn’t say anything back. Daniel sighed and hugged his brother tightly in return, and that was all it took for Sean to smile and let his brother go.

“So” Sean said, settling next to Daniel to help. “You slept okay?”

Daniel nodded, letting Sean help with what he wanted, already resigned from fighting about it, telling him that this was something he could do for him “Yeah, pretty good. You?” he asked.

Sean nodded “Yeah, me too”

That was when Daniel looked up to meet his brother’s gaze and noticed him wearing the eyepatch. Which was nothing odd, Sean always used it, but Daniel still needed to ask:

“Why do you put your eyepatch so early?” he asked.

“Huh?” Sean looked at him confused.

“You just woke up and already have it on” Daniel pointed out.

“Well yeah, I don’t want to go showing it around” Sean said, accommodating the eyepatch.

“You said you used it so the wound wouldn’t get dirty, right? Back in Away?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah?” Sean wasn’t sure where all of this was coming from.

“Well, it sure is healed by now, you don’t have to hide it” he tried. He wasn’t naïve, he knew why Sean didn’t want to, but that’s exactly what he was aiming to.

“I told you, I don’t want to show it” Sean said looking away.

“It’s just us, Sean. You don’t have to hide it from me.” Daniel insisted.

“I… I don’t know, isn’t it kinda gross?” Sean asked self-consciously.

“What? Of course not Sean. You’re not gross.” Daniel said stepping closer to take off the eyepatch. It hurt him that his brother believed those thoughts about himself.

Sean closed his eye and let Daniel take off the eyepatch. He felt incredibly exposed like this “I feel like I’m naked…” Sean said.

Daniel put the eyepatch aside and smiled at his big brother “You don’t have to hide your face” he said.

Sean, still looking away, nodded.

“I mean it. It’s just us, no point in hiding it inside the house” Daniel said hugging Sean sideways.

“It sure isn’t something pretty to look at…” Sean said.

“Stop it… It’s… it’s you. Part of you, and I don’t mind it” Daniel said, caressing just below the eye socket.

“Okay” Sean relented “If you say so” because he felt vulnerable and really didn’t want to keep talking about it, although Daniel maybe had a point, he didn’t need to hide it from him.

Sean didn’t want to show his vulnerability to Daniel, because he knew Daniel would just blame himself for what happened in Humboldt, even if Sean never blamed him and he knew it. But there were times where keeping his insecurity a secret was just… too hard. That’s why he preferred not to talk about the subject.

“I still have to look at prosthetic eyes… It’s just not a priority yet” Sean said, getting back to work in the kitchen.

Daniel nodded “I know, I’m just saying you’re not gross. Okay?” he desperately wanted Sean to know that, and he wasn’t sure if he was getting the message through.

“Any plans for today? After work, I mean” Daniel asked as he prepared some eggs.

“We could finish the bathroom floor; we left the tiles sitting around there for days now” Sean suggested.

“Yeah, we could do that” he agreed “Would be the second almost finished room of the house” Daniel smiled.

“True. It’s still kind of empty” Sean noted, the lack of furniture or decoration was noticeable.

“Well, yeah, but we have a bathroom” Daniel shrugged. “Oh, Sean… about what we talked about yesterday…”

“Yeah? What is it cub?” Sean asked.

“Could we call today?” Daniel just asked, he didn’t think he could wait any longer.

“Oh” Sean thought for a moment “Yeah… Yeah I’ll ask Matias if we can use his phone”

“Awesome!” Daniel beamed “Finally!”

“I’m sorry cub… I was just-”

“I know” Daniel placed a hand on his shoulder “You know I do”

Sean nodded. Daniel had asked yesterday about when they could call their grandparents again, the last time was in august, for Sean’s birthday. Sean had revealed to him that he thought about doing the same for Daniel’s birthday, but the fear still clung to him. Daniel was a little disappointed to hear that but understood, still, he told Sean that he was dying to talk to them again, and that Sean had said they’d do it soon.

Sean of course knew what he had said, he hadn’t intent for that much time to happen, but with his work, the visit, Matias… he was busy. But Daniel was right, and that’s why he told him that maybe they could call today, and of course Daniel was looking up for that. And so did Sean, to be honest, he missed them too and wanted to talk to them, it was just the fear of getting caught and losing all the things they worked so hard to obtain that hold him back.

“We’ll call them this afternoon, okay? After work” Sean settled.

“Wait… Will Matias be okay with that? Don’t you think…” Daniel didn’t want to mention it, but Sean knew what he was talking about. Matias was a bit down lately, all because of his mother getting sick… he was just worried all the time.

“I don’t think he’ll have a problem with it, and besides, he told us yesterday that his dad told him she was getting better.” Sean explained.

“Yeah, okay. I just don’t want him to feel pressured or anything” Daniel said.

Sean smiled warmly “That’s sweet” he said. It was so nice seeing how caring Daniel was, he knew Matias was having a rough time and he didn’t want him to stress about anything else.

“Come on, let’s eat this. Smells delicious cub” Sean smiled again, taking the plate to the table.

“Thanks” Daniel beamed, following him.

To Sean’s surprise, as he chatted with Daniel and ate his breakfast, he forgot completely about his eyepatch, feeling nothing but normal as he started the day. Daniel took that as a win, and Sean really appreciated his brother’s efforts in not making him feel like a weirdo.

“{Do you think we could ask if Chris can talk with us?}” Daniel asked Sean, they had already settled in the fountain and had been for some hours. Daniel hadn’t stopped talking about the upcoming call, excited about the prospect of speaking with them again. “{I miss him… Hadn’t known anything about him since we left Beaver Creek.}”

“{Yeah, we can totally ask. Maybe if he’s free he can talk to us}” Sean nodded. He knew how much Daniel missed his old life, and his old friends. “{I got a letter from him, remember? When I was at the hospital. I think I showed it to you}”

“{Oh, right. I forgot. He seemed to be doing fine… he didn’t know about…}” Daniel trailed off.

“{No, I’m pretty sure they didn’t tell him what happened}” Sean said.

“{Well, I can’t wait to tell him all about this place. Do you think he can come visit?}” Daniel asked excitedly.

“{I don’t know cub. He’s a kid, he can’t get here alone… but maybe one day, why not?}” Sean said.

Daniel seemed a bit disappointed about that, he wanted to see him soon, but he was still so happy about the call to be sad about not seeing Chris in person.

“{How much longer?}” Daniel asked.

Sean sighed and chuckled, Daniel still acted like a little kid sometimes “{Daniel, we’ll call, I promise. I know you’re excited, but I need to sell some more paintings}”

“{I know… I just can’t wait}” Daniel said.

“{Me neither, but they aren’t going anywhere… we’ll get to talk to them again, okay?}”

Daniel nodded and patiently waited for Sean to finish selling his art. He fidgeted with his hands, watching the people pass by. He contemplated for a moment approaching the kids playing around to distract himself, but that just wouldn’t help, he was way too anxious.

Finally, to ease Daniel’s worries, Sean started gathering his stuff, maybe a bit earlier than normal, but he wanted Daniel to stop squirming impatiently. “Vamos lobito” Sean said standing up “{Let’s ask Matias}”

Daniel practically jumped off the fountain and ran by Sean’s side, and together they walked inside the diner. Matias was serving some drinks when they both found him. Sean waved and Matias smiled wearily, the three of them approaching the counter to meet.

“Cómo estás? (How are you?)” Sean asked first, Matias certainly wasn’t looking good, he had a tired face, probably deprived of sleep and a messy look from working around all day.

“Hago lo major que puedo (I’m doing the best I can)” he said, placing the trail away and paying attention to the brothers “Ustedes? (You?)”

“Estamos bien (We’re good)” Daniel confirmed.

“Cómo está la familia? (How’s the family?)” Sean asked next.

Matias chuckled weakly “Todos hacemos como si nada grave pasara (We all pretend like nothing serious is happening)” he said before resting his weight on the side of the counter. “No se cuánto más pueda aguantar (I don’t know how much more I can take)” he added with a weaker voice.

Sean placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder to show him that he was there for him “Por qué no te tomas el día? (Why don’t you take the day off?)” he asked.

Matias shook his head “Otro? Mi hermano me va a matar… (Another one? My brother will kill me)” he said with a sigh.

“No puedes trabajar así. El lugar todavía tiene personas que lo atiendan (Well, you can’t work like this. The place still has people that can run it)” Sean tried to convince.

Matias looked down, thinking about it.

“Además necesitamos tu ayuda (And we need your help)” Daniel chimed in.

Matias smiled and looked at Daniel with curiosity.

“Queremos hacer una llamada (We want to make a call)” he explained sheepishly.

Matias nodded in understanding, knowing that the brothers didn’t have any other way to do it.

“Cuándo fue la última vez que dormiste bien? (When was the last time you slept properly?)” Sean asked then, because he really was concerned about his friend. He knew how bad his mom was in the hospital, and he knew he was pushing himself to keep working and completing his day to day, pretending like everything was okay. Maybe it was the only way their family found to cope, but Sean didn’t think it was healthy.

“Okay…” Matias said unsurely, so before he could change his mind Sean dragged him out the door.

“A dónde vas? (Where are you going?)” Sergio, his brother, asked gesturing in disbelief with his hands.

“Perdón (I’m sorry)” Matias said sadly, because he wanted to be able to do better, but he just wasn’t feeling good.

Sergio opened his mouth to protest but was then called by Diego, their other brother. He said something that Matias couldn’t quite hear before giving him a thumbs up and taking Sergio away. Matias appreciated it, made him feel like he wasn’t useless, but he couldn’t help feeling bad anyway.

Sean urged him to get going and Matias just allowed himself to be led.

Once they were at the brother’s house, Sean asked first if he had eaten something, which was answered by a shake of his head and saying that he wasn’t really hungry.

“Hold on, I think we had something left in the cooler” Daniel told Sean and went looking for it.

Matias refused at first, but the brothers forced him to. “Necesitas comer (You need to eat)” Sean said handing a small sandwich and leaving no room for protest. “Una mordida (Just a bite)”

Matias took the food and tried eating it, slowly. “A quién quieren llamar? (Who do you want to call?)” he asked, pulling out his phone and handing it to Daniel.

“Nuestros abuelos (our grandparents)” Daniel said excitedly.

“No queremos molestar pero… queremos hablar con ellos (We hate to bother but… we want to talk to them)” Sean said.

Matias smiled, taking another bite “Sabes que puedes pedirme cualquier cosa, lo que necesites (You know you can ask me anything, whatever you need)”

“Si, y tú también (Yes, and so do you)” Sean reminded him “Cama o sofa? (bed or couch?)”

“Eh?” Matias asked confused.

“Cama (bed)” Sean answered for him. “Puedes ir a dormir, Daniel y yo estaremos ocupados un buen rato (You can go to sleep, Daniel and I will be occupied for a while)” Sean said.

“Qué? Pero- (What? but-)” Matias couldn’t even finish before he was dragged to Sean and Daniel’s room.

“Descansa (Rest)” Daniel said and closed the door with his powers from afar.

“No me acostumbro (I’m not used to that)” Matias said and turned around, looking around the room. It was cozy… and well, he did need the sleep. He hated to… but if the brothers insisted…

On the other side of the door, Sean and Daniel made their way to the couch “Show off” Sean said taking a seat.

“What?” Daniel asked smiling.

“You know what” Sean looked at him with a scolding face.

“It’s nice to not hide it from everyone” Daniel shrugged.

“You’re lucky he doesn’t freak out”

“I didn’t mean to show it that day… It was an accident; I got scared and-”

“I know, you did good” Sean said softly “They hadn’t bothered us since then” he smiled.

“Right, we showed them” Daniel nodded proudly.

“You showed them”

“Okay, come on, I’m dying to talk to them” Daniel urged, looking at the phone in Sean’s hands.

Sean set to work and marked the number, put it on speaker and then waited, hoping they wouldn’t be ignored.

“Hello?” Stephen’s voice was heard.

“Hi grandpa! it’s us!” Daniel said excitedly.

Stephen choked from the surprise, and after some coughs he called Claire to come over as well.

“Boys! Thank God, how are you doing?” he asked.

“Honestly? Pretty good” Sean replied with a smile.

“Sean, Daniel… is there something wrong? Why did you call?” Claire’s voice came next.

“Nothing’s wrong grandma, we just wanted to talk to you again” Daniel explained.

“I’m sorry we didn’t call you sooner, I know I promised but I’m still scared that this might be risky” Sean worded his concerns.

“We understand Sean” Caire nodded, even if the brothers couldn’t see.

“Police hadn’t really said anything since you two left… maybe that’s for the best.” Stephen informed.

Daniel immediately straightened in his seat “They stopped looking for us?” he asked.

“I don’t think so, cub. We just aren’t their priority anymore” Sean said.

Daniel looked disappointed at the news, he let his body relax once again. Today was not the day where they could openly be themselves.

“And what about you? You guys didn’t get contacted for the call last year?” Sean asked.

“We… we did. We got questioned about it, but we told them it was just some old friend from us, nothing more” Claire informed. “They seemed to believe it, the sherif here doesn’t has anything against us, so… we’re lucky. This town is small and quiet, and they want to keep it that way.

Sean sensed the panic building and rushing inside him, that was scary, he really was risking it all wasn’t he?

“Are you boys really doing okay?” Claire asked.

“Yes grandma, Sean is working hard, and we made progress in the house” Daniel informed.

“We have running water now” Sean smiled “It was expensive but, we did it. We still have a lot to do around, but I think it’s coming along nicely.”

“That’s great news sons, I wish I could see the house.” Stephen said enthusiastically.

“It’s pretty empty still, so you wouldn’t find much” Sean said.

“But if you had seen the state, it was in you would absolutely notice it” Daniel added. “The water was a surprise for my birthday”

“Oh! That’s nice. We were sorry we couldn’t talk to you then” Claire said.

“How’s it feel being eleven big boy” Stephen smiled.

Daniel giggled “It’s okay. Sean and his friends gifted me a camera, It’s so cool! I’ve been taking a lot of pictures”

“Sounds like you had a nice birthday” Claire said.

“It was… It was super cool” Daniel said looking at Sean.

“Hey, so… is Chris around? Daniel misses him and he’d really like talking with him.” Sean asked.

“He’s in his house I reckon…” Stephen said, sounding thoughtful about it.

“I think that should be fine, Chris always asks for you, Daniel” Claire said.

“I’ll go get him, it’ll be a minute” Stephen said, already walking away.

“Awesome! Thank you” Daniel said happily.

“He’ll be delighted” Claire said, and Sean thought that Chris wouldn’t be the only one, Daniel definitely needed this.

“Do you know anything about mom?” Sean asked, a bit hesitant. He knew the relationship they had, and he himself was conflicted with her, but the last thing he knew was that she was put behind bars for the events in Haven Pint.

“Yes, actually” Claire started, sighing and taking a deep breath “She’s been released, I think since February”

“Really!?” Daniel could jump out of joy.

“Yeah, I was there when she got out, she said she wanted to go check your old house in Seattle, get some of you stuff for you”

Sean and Daniel’s chests filled with emotions. The mere thought of having some of their stuff from their old home… some of their father’s stuff… was something that made them feel alive again.

“God… that would be awesome” Sean said.

“Does that mean she’s coming over?” Daniel asked, trying not to get too excited.

“I don’t know… maybe. But I don’t know when either” Claire replied.

“Maybe she’ll just send the stuff” Sean told Daniel. It would be sad for him, because Daniel really wanted to see her, but knowing her…

“I told her you were okay, about how you were doing… she seemed relieved” Claire said.

“Yeah… I’m glad she’s okay too. She helped us a lot” Sean had to give her that, even if he still resented her for the past.

The sound of a door shutting was heard on the phone followed by a childish voice consecutively “Daniel! Sean!” Chris said. There were muffled sounds that indicated how much the kid was moving around in his excitement.

“Chris! Hi!” Daniel said with the same enthusiasm.

“You really made it? Are you guys in Mexico!?”

In the background, Sean could hear Stephen telling Claire something about Charles being glad and having no problem with the idea.

“We did! Our house is so cool” Daniel told proudly.

Sean chuckled; Daniel seemed ten times happier right now and that made him feel incredibly content.

“I saw you on the news, saying that you guys killed the cops, but that’s not true, isn’t it?” he asked.

Silence filled the call. Sean understood that Chris just didn’t know half of the things that happened, believing only that the brothers were on the run because they were incriminated. Daniel wasn’t sure if he had killed those people until now… or maybe he did, but didn’t really want to acknowledge it. He wasn’t sure if it changed anything, because he would do it again to keep them together, but it made him feel bad nonetheless.

Claire and Stephen didn’t really know what to say, they knew what the brothers had done and maybe didn’t approve of it, but they understood why they had.

“Well, It’s complicated. Maybe someday we can tell you all about our journey” Sean said to doge the bullet. He pulled Daniel close to his side when he noticed the look on his face. He knew his brother wasn’t really proud of what he did.

“Yeah” Daniel said, “You actually won’t believe what happened, could be on a comic” Daniek said, maybe less enthusiastic than before but still happy.

“I bet! Do you still have your powers?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, I do”

Chris thought that that was incredible. He was still not used to the fact that his friend had superpowers, he wanted to see him so badly, watch Daniel use them more.

“What is Mexico like?” he asked next.

“You’d like it, I think.” Sean said.

“Oh, Sean… I need to thank you” Chris said, suddenly remembering something.

“Huh? What for?” Sean frowned.

“Dad told me about the chat you had with him… said it made him realize some things” he explained.

“Oh…” Sean remembered; he didn’t actually think it would make a difference.

“He’s been… nicer. Not so sad anymore. It’s cool. So, thank you, you really helped me. You’re cool, that’s why I don’t believe the news. I wish everyone could see how nice you are”

Sean’s heart could melt from the sweet words “Thank you Chris… I’m glad things are better now.” Because he really was happy for him, Chris was such a nice, creative kid, and didn’t deserve a careless father to make him feel bad.

“Charles says hi to you two” Stephen said “Says he wished the best for you”

It was nice to hear that for Sean, to know not everyone hated him. He respected him for trying to do better.

The brothers spent the next hours speaking with their grandparents and Chris, telling them all about the last few months and activities they did in town, how they built their house and their lives, and all the good memories they had made so far. They avoided, in order to not set any worries, the encounter they had with the kids that vandalized their house. It was a solved problem, after all.

They eventually had to say their goodbyes, continuing with their lives. But although sad ones, the words weren’t teary like last time, just a sense of disappointment for not really knowing when they would call again, but a reassurance that they would. They were telling each other how much they missed and loved each other when Claire spoke in a serious tone.

“Sean… Before we go, I wanted you to know something”

“What is it?” Sean said nervously, because although he didn’t have any reason to believe they were bad news, the seriousness made him feel anxious.

“I know these last… long couple of months haven’t been easy for you… for neither of you. But you always kept safe what you thought was more important than anything: Your little brother. I know I might have been a bit rough; I have not always approved the way you did things, but you proved me wrong. You’re a brave soul, Sean. A kind, thoughtful person. What I’m trying to say is that… I’m proud of you… we both are, for always pushing forward, for not giving up, for working hard for your little brother. I know it wasn’t always fair; you are still so young… but you never questioned that. You just endured it for the safety of your loved one. And that, Sean, is something worthy of being admired. I understand now, you did what you had to…” she expressed with an open heart.

Sean let a few tears fall, because no one had ever told him that… and he mostly believed he was just a fuck-up in life, so the words were like a punch to the stomach for him “T-thanks” he said with a shaky voice.

“We love you boys. Stay safe” Stephen said.

“We love you too.”

“Goodbye! I miss you!” Chris said, and then the call finally ended.

Sean needed to take a few deep breaths to regain his composure, Daniel just held his hand and hugged him sideways, rubbing his shoulder until his brother felt better.

“You know it’s true. All she said. It’s the things I want to tell you sometimes, but I don’t know how” Daniel said.

“I just… It’s hard to think that. But then again, we didn’t have many options, I’m afraid we could’ve ended up worse than this” Sean said cleaning the tears away from his face with the back of his hand.

“I feel fine with where we are” Daniel said softly “Sure, it would be nicer if nothing bad had ever happened… but like you said, no use in thinking about that now. We’re here.” He rested his head on Sean’s shoulder.

“Yeah… we are” Sean said, resting his head on top of Daniel’s.

They stood like that for a while, until Sean yawned loudly. Staying up late yesterday had consequences and Sean had accepted it, but it was worth it, they had a nice time. Now, after having the anticipated call, he was feeling both grateful and exhausted. He loved telling them how they were doing as much as Daniel did, and the words both Chris and Claire expressed to him… really made him emotional.

Daniel snuggled into the hug, pressing against Sean’s side. He was grateful that his brother had agreed to make the call. Sean hugged Daniel tighter, pulling his brother close for a few more minutes, embracing him warmly with both arms now. Sean yawned loudly once again; the comfortable warmth of the hug made him feel even more sleepier.

“You need a nap” Daniel smiled pulling apart.

“Yeah… but you’re not sleepy” Sean noted.

“So what? It’s not the first time you take a nap alone” Daniel pointed out. “I’ll just be playing around, maybe cook something”

“Wake me up if you need anything okay?” Sean said standing up and ruffling Daniel’s hair.

“Will do”

Sean walked slowly to his bedroom and opened the door. He was slightly surprised to find Matias sleeping there, he had kind of forgotten he was here. He placed Matias’ phone in the nightstand along with his eyepatch and quietly crawled to lay down in bed, making sure he wouldn’t wake up his friend. As he suspected, Matias needed the sleep, considering how peaceful he looked as he breathed evenly, and Sean was glad he was getting it.

To be honest he needed the rest too. To feel for a moment like he had nothing else to do, other than to wait until he woke up again. There were no worries, no bad memories, no complicated situations or emotions. Just a peaceful time to rest. That’s how he felt while falling asleep.

“Daniel…” Sean woke up and looked around confused. He was sweaty again, shit that was twice in a day, not a common occurrence. At least he was having a peaceful rest before the nightmare.

“{You were mumbling in your sleep}” Matias said, tired eyes looking at him from his side.

“{Sorry…}” Sean said rubbing his eyes. “{I sometimes dream weird stuff}”

“{Do you have them a lot?}”

“{Not really}” Sean lied.

“{I heard that sleeping badly might be because of the stress}” he said, still looking at Sean.

Sean didn’t reply first, but then asked after a few seconds “{Do you have bad dreams?}”

“{No… But I haven’t been sleeping well}” Matias said with a sigh. It was clear that it was something that bothered him.

Sean looked at the window then, noticing how the sun was already gone “{Shit… what time is it?}” he asked.

Matias shrugged “{I don’t really care}” he said covering his eyes again.

“{Hope Daniel didn’t get too bored; I told him I’d-}”

“{Was it that rough?}” Matias asked looking at Sean’s eye “{You never really told me the whole story. And I can only assume it’s because it’s hard to tell}”

Sean subconsciously covered it with one hand “{Pretty much yeah}”

“{I’m sorry}” he said, and he meant it “{It makes sense now… why you ran away… why all the mysterious explosions… how you crossed the border…}”

Sean sighed, closing his eye “{Yeah… }” he sighed again.

“{I think you did the best you could}” Matias smiled and looked at him “{I wouldn’t have known what to do}”

Sean chuckled and smiled back, but he knew he could’ve done better.

“{Stop covering yourself}” Matias said and pushed Sean’s hand gently aside.

“{It’s a habit… I don’t want people to be grossed out}” Sean said, this was the second person to encourage him to stop covering his eye today and he didn’t understand why.

“{I don’t know who told you that, but it’s not gross}” Matias said.

“{I mean, it kind of is, but-}”

{It’s not}” he said again, and when Sean didn’t reply he chuckled and told him again “{It doesn’t look bad}”

“{Now you’re just telling li-mhp}” Sean was interrupted by Matias placing a hand on his mouth.

“{shut up, you’re not gross}” he chuckled.

Sean tried to get rid of Matias’ hand, but his friend wasn’t letting go.

“{Say you’re not gross}” he smiled, and they locked eyes for a second, a second where both of them fell in silence, then Sean finally pulled free.

“Blagh… pendejo…” Sean said cleaning his mouth but laughing at the same time.

“{So…?}” Matias urged.

“{You’re an ass}” Sean chuckled, and it was in that moment when Daniel entered the room, glad that the both of them had finally woke up, they had been out for a while.

As the brothers had settled earlier, they got to work, placing the bathroom tiles in place while Matias helped them with the job, before sharing a warm meal that they all had taken part in making. The bathroom now looked like a finished room, clean, not too empty, and with a nice floor and walls. Step by step, the brothers were slowly building their new lives, even though they were already living it.

Chapter Text

Wednesday, May 9th, 2018

“Daniel!” Sean shouted, the walls of the house spreading the loud echo of his voice through it.

“Sean!?” Daniel stopped what he was doing immediately and made a dash towards their room, throwing the door wide open.

Sean was out of breath, hair messy and looking embarrassed.

“Sean what’s wrong? Daniel asked as he made his way closer to the bed, sitting on the edge of it.

“Nothing-”

Don’t lie to me ever again

I promise

“I just had a weird dream cub, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you” Sean said.

“That seemed way worse than just a weird dream. You had a nightmare… You hadn’t had those in a while” Daniel said sadly, he convinced himself that Sean was getting better, less guilty, less worried, happier, but it couldn’t be that easy, he himself was still dealing with the weight of the past. There’s still a lot to do. Wounds that deep don’t heal with a big house and some material things that make their lives more comfortable.

“It wasn’t that bad… it just…” Sean said getting off the sheets and sitting besides Daniel. “I don’t know why I react like this…” he explained looking at his soaked in sweat clothes. He has been having them fairly frequent recently, but to be honest he has them since he arrived here, even more than Daniel.

“Well, what was the dream about?” Daniel asked.

“Uh… well” Sean started awkwardly while scratching the back of his head. “Can’t remember quite well… but I was just desperate because they were going to take you away”

“Who?” Daniel curiously asked.

“I don’t know… bad people?” Sean said looking away.

“Cops” Daniel said confidently.

“I don’t remember” Sean said.

“Sean… I have bad dreams about what happened too… I think it’s normal” Daniel said placing a hand on Sean’s knee.

Not this many Sean thought. Maybe there was something wrong with him… Maybe keeping it all to himself to ease his brother’s worry wasn’t good for him, but if it made Daniel’s part of the journey more bearable, he’ll do it all over again. But he couldn’t stop now, he couldn’t perturb Daniel’s peace, he seemed pretty okay to be here, adapting slowly, he had agreed to tell Daniel things that troubled him, and he’d been doing that, but there were things he simply did not understand himself, so he resolved to only share things from now and here, and maybe the future. Those things he could let his brother into.

“You feeling okay?” Daniel asked to check.

“Yeah” Sean simply got on his feet and grabbed his eyepatch “I’m gonna take a bath.”

“Wait, let me heat some water” Daniel stopped him from moving.

“There’s no time for that little wolf”

“What? why- and give me that” Daniel took the eyepatch from his brother’s hand

“Hey-”

“You said you’ll stop wearing it when it’s just us” Daniel reminded.

Sean just sighed. “Fine, I’m still taking my bath now”

“Just wait a few minutes, you don’t have to take a cold bath” Daniel insisted.

“I really don’t mind cub” Sean simply said.

“We don’t have to use cold water anymore. So, stop it. We can take warm baths now” Daniel said crossing his arms.

“Why so persistent?” Sean asked annoyed.

Daniel gestured in disbelief with his arms, “Why do you want to take an uncomfortable cold bath for no reason?”

“I’m going to be late for work”

Daniel looked at him with a ‘be serious right now’ type of look “You’re not” he stated and then left the room to go heat some water.

Sean waited in the bathroom, and with no eyepatch to hide from himself, he looked at himself in the mirror, being casual about it as to not get caught by Daniel again, his brother wasn’t guilty of anything, and he wanted him to believe that.

Sean inspected his eye socket, still unpleasant to look at, but it was well healed now after a year of the incident. It still felt so recent. Sometimes… he did miss having both eyes. That he could never tell Daniel.

The only reason why he didn’t want Daniel to heat water is because he felt like his little cub was doing too much already, and he promised him he could have the last bit of his childhood back, but since he was attending his big brother, he didn’t have time.

Sean worried sometimes about Daniel being too independent. He certainly wasn’t like the other kids, saw too much shit in the world. What if he just realizes how fucked up it all is? What if he just doesn’t need Sean anymore? What if he doesn’t want to be near Sean? What would he do then? The last years his life was all about Daniel, about keeping him safe and happy. He knew that shouldn’t be his whole life, but what else would he do? He couldn’t even resolve his own life. He had fucked up enough, he would give everything to Daniel. If he could…

Sean stopped thinking when he realized his own breathing was getting agitated. He was well acquainted with the feeling now, give it a few more minutes and he would be gasping for air, clenching his heavy weighted chest and praying that his world wouldn’t end. Fortunately, the few times it happened Daniel wasn’t there so see it because it happened mostly when he first woke up after one of his stupid dreams. That was lucky, one thing less for Daniel to worry about.

Sean started filling the tub with some water, and minutes after that Daniel entered the bathroom hovering three pots of warm water in the air with his powers and poured the content in the tub, mixing the water until it had been warm enough.

“Is that okay?” Daniel asked.

Sean touched the water with his hand to check “Put some more?”

“On it” Daniel gently poured some more hot water in the tub.

“That should do it. Thanks again little cub”

“Always” Daniel smiled and sent the pots back to the kitchen with his powers.

Before turning to leave, Daniel hugged his brother tightly, wrapping his arms around his brother’s back.

Sean chuckled and returned the hug enthusiastically, “What’s this? Woke up affectionate?”

“Oh shut up, like you don’t hug me” Daniel rolled his eyes.

“You’re getting taller” Sean noticed Daniel’s head reaching his shoulders more each time he checked.

“Yeah?” Daniel smile widely, “Okay, I’ll leave you alone” he said releasing his brother, and then waited as Sean needed to hug him for a few more seconds.

“Love you. Shout if you need anything” Daniel said “hey… your beard is growing” he giggled.

“It’s not a beard” Sean said embarrassed, he had a few patches of hair here and there “I’ll shave it”

“Beard would suit you fine” Daniel thought.

“I’ll think about it when I grow one” Sean smiled.

Daniel nodded and turned to leave.

“And… I love you too little wolf” Sean added.

Alone in the bathroom now, he started with the task of getting himself clean, throwing his dirty clothes on the pile of laundry. He sighed as he relaxed in the warm water, his brother always made him feel good without even trying. That hug had eased all the worries he had been pondering about, he just hoped he could relive Daniel like that sometimes.

It used to be him preparing a bath for his little brother… Tears formed in Sean’s eyes at the thought of his old house, the comfort of the life he had. Sometimes it hurt so bad it made him angry… Why couldn’t he get over it?... Why did he still see that house as his home? Why did he miss it so bad it felt like a hole was forming in his heart.

Tears splashed in the water as he tried to control his breathing. He speeded up his bath, wanting to get over with it soon. He needed a hug from his brother again.

After a successful morning of selling art, he headed to the restaurant alone, having agreed to let Daniel play with Angel and his friends around the park on the one condition that they played where Sean could keep an eye on them. Satisfied with Daniel’s promise he entered the restaurant carrying his art supplies.

Matias wasn’t on his normal spot on the front, that was odd. Sean made his way to the room where they kept their stuff and put away all the stuff he wouldn’t be using and put on his uniform.

That’s where he heard it, in the room in front of him, the kitchen.

“Es una broma? (You’ve got to be kidding)” Sergio’s voice was loud.

“Qué quieres que haga? (What do you want me to do?)” Matias shouted back.

“Que reacciones! Piensas que eres el único que la pasa mal? (To react! You think you’re the only one who’s having a rough time?)” Sergio said agitated.

“Jódete (Fuck you)” Matias said with hatred.

“Si? Aunque sea no me escondo pendejo (Yeah? At least I don’t hide, you dumbass)” Sergio said.

Matias threw the kitchen door open and stormed out of it, only to find Sean near it. “Genial (great)” he sighed.

“Estás bien? (Are you okay?)” Sean asked, as he eyed his friend’s red eyes.

“Corre, como siempre (Run, like always)” Sergio came out of the door as well.

Matias looked past Sean at Sergio and then made his way to the exit of the place.

“Nuestra mamá se está muriendo y no estás haciendo nada (Our mom is dying and you’re not doing anything)” Sergio shouted at his brother “Egoísta. Papá no puede seguir (Selfish. Dad can’t take it anymore)”

Matias had already left the building and Sean started to walk to follow him but was stopped by a strong hand on his wrist.

“Lo sigues y pierdes el trabajo. No tenemos personal. Aquí se trabaja (You go after him and you lose the job. We don’t have staff. You come in here to work)” Sergio said.

Sean panicked and released his hand free and started walking away. He bumped into Diego as he turned the corner.

“Estás bien?” he asked as he held Sean so he wouldn’t fall.

Sean nodded slowly as he could.

Digo must have noticed his scared expression because he tried to reassure him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Lo siento. Puedes irte si quieres (Sorry, you can go if you want)” he offered.

“E- Estoy bien” Sean nodded and walked away to start his shift, stopping for a second to check on Daniel by the window.

“Que mierda te pasa? (What the fuck is wrong with you?)” Sean heard Diego confront Sergio, the conversation in a much more quiet tone.

“No puede seguir así (He can’t keep acting like that)” Sergio protested.

“No, tú no puedes seguir así de estúpido. Qué te pasa? (No, you can’t keep being this stupid. What is wrong with you?)” Diego said annoyed. “Piensas que esto ayuda? (You think this helps?)”

“Por qué te importa? Ya vives en ciudad de Mexico (Why do you care, you might as well live on Mexico City)” Sergio said.

“De verdad? Quién más se encargaría de mama, o papa (Be serious. Who else would check on mom, or dad)” Diego sighed

“Esto es entre él y yo, así que vete a la mierda  (This is between me and him, so fuck off” Sergio said.

“Papá me dejó a cargo. Así que te sugiero que vuelvas a casa si vas a seguir gritando mientras tenemos clientes (Dad left me in charge here. So I suggest you to go home if you’ll be screaming around the place while costumers are here)” Diego said pointing to the exit.

“Qué? (what?)”

“Me escuchaste, vete (You heard me. Go)” Diego kept pointing.

“Chinga tu madre (Fuck off)” Sergio pushed him aside to walk.

Sean made eye contact as he watched Sergio leave the place. Diego joining by his side to work with a big sigh. They all looked stressed to Sean, but he didn’t want to ask… things seemed pretty bad and he didn’t want them to be mad at him.

Sean cursed himself for acting so scared earlier, but the rough touch made him remember some bad things, moments when he was hurt. He let his guard down since they reached Puerto Lobos, since nothing bad happened … that couldn’t be good. He needed to be more careful. He was lucky Sergio didn’t want to hurt him, he knew he was just stressed, he wasn’t usually this… furious. Diego was there to calm him down too. But if it were bad people… and he was alone, no Daniel to save him, who’d take care of his little cub then? His brother had suffered many losses already, he needed to be stronger. Like when he was on the run, surviving for him. No fear, for his cub.

But he couldn’t blame himself either. Daniel said he was too rough with himself sometimes. He received the beating of his life on the road just because he existed… no surprises a simple push could trigger his fight or flight instincts

The rest of his shift was weird, without Matias and the rest. Diego was friendly though… it was still awkward.

Daniel was talking and playing with all the new kids who approached them to play. They were all nice, fun to be around… but he still felt like he was out of place. Maybe he just missed Chris that much.

He had checked that Sean had reached the dinner safe, even though it was literally so close to the fountain. He noticed Matias exiting the place as well, that did seem odd, but he knew he wasn’t doing good lately, and since Sean didn’t follow, he just assumed he needed to be alone.

He wasn’t annoyed to play here where Sean could keep an eye on him, it didn’t feel childish to him. He understood the feeling, it happened to him too when Sean left his side to go somewhere alone.

He was actually surprised because Angel’s parents just sent him to play and weren’t around as much. Maybe because they lived nearby, maybe because they didn’t live what the brothers lived. But it sure was annoying, they always pestered Sean, questioning his ability to take care of Daniel, judging his responsibility.

But here Sean was, checking on the kids every few minutes, but of course Angel’s parents don’t notice that. They just like to see Sean as a bad person just because. Just as the rest of the world had. And Daniel always suffered from that… his brother was always so good to everyone.

“Vieron el nuevo juguete de Power Bear? (Have you seen the new Power Bear toy?) Angel asked excitedly as he remembered the commercial, gathering Daniel’s attention.

“Si!” Some kids shouted eagerly.

“Le pregunté a mi mama, pero no se si lo va a comprar (I asked my mom, but I don’t know if she’ll buy it)” a kid said.

“No tengo dinero(I don’t have the money)” other said.

“Definitivamente lo compraré (I’ll definitely buy it)” Angel said proudly. “Y tú Dan? (What about you Dan?)” he asked and all the kids looked at him.

“Uhh… No sé qué juguete es (I don’t know what toy is)” he said awkwardly.

“Qué? No viste el comercial? (What? Haven’t you seen the commercial?)” Angel asked surprised.

“No tengo tele (I don’t have a TV)” Daniel said.

A few kids agreed with him on that one, and so he didn’t feel too left out. But on the other hand, how many things that he liked had he missed? Could he even get back into it? Would he be too old for it when he finally could?

Even if he saw the toy… he wouldn’t ask Sean for it, he knows how hard he was working to let them live a steady life.

The kids and his friends kept talking about the cartoons, about the toys, about things he realized he didn’t know anymore. Things he used to have fun with before but wasn’t so sure if he cared for them anymore. Things that seemed way too childish. But kids his age were supposed to like those stuff… who else will he be friends with?

A sad feeling followed after, and he didn’t enjoy the games they were all playing like before. He just waited for Sean to get over with work.

“{little wolf, ready to go home?}” Sean called once his shift ended.

Daniel ran and hugged him as if he had missed him a ton.

Sean chuckled and hugged him back.

He heard Angel explain who Sean was and how cool he was. That made Daniel smile. Some kids seemed a bit sad that their big siblings weren’t as cool as Angel described Sean.

“{You had fun}” Sean asked.

“{I did}” Daniel nodded.

“{I’m glad}” Sean said ruffling his brother’s hair.

“{There’s a new Power Bear toy, I think. It’s been ages since I watched some of that}” Daniel said.

“{Oh. Well, we could look around and see if we find it}” Sean offered.

“{No}” Daniel said quickly.

“{Money is not a problem}” Sean smiled.

“{You don’t even know how much it costs}” Daniel said.

“{I don’t care. If you like it, I’ll buy it}”

“{I don’t know if I like that kind of stuff anymore…}” Daniel said looking away.

“{oh… well, that’s fine. You’re a big boy now}” Sean said, even though both boys were hurt by the realization.

“{let’s… check on Matias on the way home, okay?}” Sean said, starting to walk.

“{yeah. Is everything alright?}” Daniel asked,

“{I don’t know}” Sean said with uncertainly. Something seemed bad.

They found him on the beach on their way home again. Sitting on the sand, contemplating the view of the ocean, sun starting to set. Sean knew he’d be here; he learned that this was the place he used to go and think about stuff when he was lost.

“{give me a few minutes? Promise I’ll be quick}” Sean said.

Daniel nodded and stayed behind to sit on the sand and investigate his surroundings. H knew that if there was a person able to comfort Matias it would be Sean. At least he always knew what to say to him.

Sean walked slowly until he was next to his friend and took a seat. Matias was startled for a second, and after noticing it was Sean, he wiped his face, cleaning the tears away.

“{what are you doing here?}” he asked.

“{company}” Sean said looking at the ocean {In case you want to talk with me, I’m here.}”

“{I don’t want to talk}” Matias said annoyed.

“{Company it is}” Sean said. “{sorry… you seem to be dealing with a lot}”

A shaky breath, then a sob. Sean looked just in time to see Matias covering his face as tears fell down his cheeks.

“{sorry}” Matias sobbed.

“{what for?}” Sean said putting an arm around him.

Matias just broke, collapsing into Sean’s side as he just let it all out.

“{It’s okay dude}” Sean said rubbing his shoulder.

“{It’s my mom}” Matias cried.

“{What does she have?}”

“{I don’t fucking know}” he gasped for air “{I don’t want to know… and Sergio is mad because I just… kind of did my own thing, to not think about it. I started skipping shifts… I can’t work. My dad is with my mom in a hospital so fucking far away… Diego has to go there a lot. It’s a lot of money…. And I’m not helping… I don’t know what to do… I wish I could be like you and your brother… you two seem so close. You only care for the other one happiness.}”

“{Listen. Your family is going through a lot… I’m sure Sergio just doesn’t know how to deal with this anymore than you do. It sucks… it does. But right now, you’re not doing anything wrong. There’s nothing else you could do. You’re not feeling good, and you’re allowed to just… try to distract yourself. I’m sure Diego gets it, right? I know he understands you}” Sean said.

“{he does}” he cried “{so does Luna}”

“{Some people react different to these situations. And it’s totally okay.}”

“{I don’t want my mom to…}” Matias sobbed.

Sean’s heart broke. He had delt with the loss of two parents. Different types of losses, but both painful, nonetheless.

“{I know…}” Sean squeezed his shoulder.

“{You know…}” Matias smiled between tears “{It’s not fair for you to use my advice for you on me}”

Sean smiled softly. “{It’s really good advice}”

Matias raised his head from his shoulder and looked at him. “{we agreed to stop using this when you’re with us}” Matias said taking the eyepatch off gently.

Sean felt uncomfortable “{We’re still outside}”

“{But it’s just us}” Matias smiled, the last remains of tears shining on his face. “{Thanks… I really needed someone}”

“{Always. You’re always there for us}” Sean smiled. “{and you didn’t freak out as much with Daniel’s powers}” he chuckled.

“{Eh… Still kind off freaked out, just not a priority now}” he joked. “I still like you both, with or without weird shit}” he smiled, hi hand still lingering near Sean’s left eye.

“{hey, what’ weird about me?}” Sean chuckled.

“{uh…}” Matias looked away.

“{Fuck you}” they both laughed.

Sean felt a hand on his temple. “{You know, you make my missing eye way more visible}”

“{Because I want to see it}” Matias said.

“{why?}”

“{why not?]}” he caressed with his thumb just below the scar, making Sean relax, closing his eyes. “{does it hurt?}” he asked.

“{no. It’s okay now}” Sean assured.

“{good}” Matias said, and Sean open his eyes just in time to watch him getting closer.

He froze, and their lips met only about a second before Matias retrieved. “{Sorry}” he shook his head.

“{No, I’m sorry… I just…}” Sean awkwardly looked away.

“{It’s cool… I just-}”

“{Yeah, It’s fine}”

“{I’ll should go home}” Matias said getting on his feet.

“{yeah, you should rest, see you tomorrow?}” Sean said as he got up as well.

Matias nodded and hugged him, thanking him again before walking away.

What the fuck?

He kissed a boy. But it didn’t mean anything. They were still friends… It was just a misunderstanding, there were just being close and it just… happened.

“{Sean?}” Daniel asked. “{I wanted to say hi, but Matias left}”

“{Yeah… he was tired, needed to rest, he's okay though}”

“{Oh… well, come on. I have something in mind for diner you’ll love}” he grabbed Sean by the hand and urge him to start walking. Sean laughed at hi brother enthusiasm, already relaxed and ignoring his previous thoughts.

Chapter Text

Thursday, June 21st, 2018

“{What do you mean you have never heard of pride month?}” Sean asked truly in shock.

“{Didn’t know I should}” Matias shrugged, his voice lacking any kind of emotion, as it was normal these days.

“{No, I mean, I don’t know much about it either, never really paid too much attention myself. But I think it could attract costumers}” Sean said scratching his nape awkwardly.

“{So, more gay people}” Matias said, focusing his attention to his phone.

Sean chuckled softly “{Not only gay people, supportive people too. And you know gay is not the only sexuality, right?}” Sean said and stood on a chair to start hanging one of the LGBT flags he bought days prior for the restaurant. He waited to be alone with Matias to propose his idea, afraid that the older brothers wouldn’t quite accept his proposal.

“Arcoíris (rainbows)” Matias mumbled “{I didn’t know you were so worried about this stuff}”

Sean felt embarrassed at those words, “{I’m… trying to figure out new things… since I never had the chance}” he said looking away “{The point is the diversity, to be yourself no matter what you like}” Sean said moving the chair to finish hanging up the flag.

“{It will lead clients away}” Matias said, still looking at his phone.

“Huh?” Sean got off the chair and put it away.

“{May attract people but scare them away too}”

“{Well yeah, but you need to modernize this place}” Sean said looking around, all decorations were old and from at least the past century.

Matias shrugged “{Not my place, Sergio can throw all decorations and set them on fire for all I care}”

Sean’s hands raised in protest “{I thought you were into the idea}”

“{I don’t care Sean}” Matias said, eyes back to his phone.

“{It’s important to feel recognized}” Sean said, embarrassed enough for sharing his thoughts and not being heard.

Matias finally looked up from his phone “{I. Don’t. Care.}”

Sean frowned “{You know I’ve been discriminated, assaulted too, just because I exist}”

“{So?}”

“{So? What the fuck is up with you man, you’re not like this}” Sean said stepping closer.

“{Yeah? What am I like, Sean? Enlighten me}” Matias said standing up too.

“{You’re not an asshole, that’s for sure.}”

“{The world doesn’t revolve around you Sean}” Matias said annoyed.

“{What does that even mean?}” Sean said, now feeling annoyed as well.

“{It means leave me the fuck alone!}” Matias said smashing the table with his palm, enough to make Sean startle.

“{One day you come to me to talk, you cry on my shoulder and pour your heart out, and the other you just treat me like shit}” Sean said, feeling so confused as to why Matias was acting like this.

“{So do I owe you now? Because you helped, Is that it? Because I recall giving you a job, when you had nothing else than your brother}” Matias said pointing at Sean.

“{What? Fuck you}” Sean said turning around and started leaving.

He was used to this, somewhat. The rejection by the ones you loved.

“{Don’t forget your rainbows!}” Matias shouted.

First it was his mom, leaving without a word, shattering his heart and making him believe that it was all his fault.

“{Daniel, we’re leaving}” Sean said once he was outside, grabbing Daniel’s hand.

“{what? But you still have two hours to-}” he cut off trying to follow Sean’s fast steps, leaving his friends immediately to go see what was going on with Sean.

Then it was his dad, although he didn’t choose to leave him, but he was gone either way.  Another thing he felt guilty about.

“Sean?” Daniel asked confused.

“{It’s fine, let’s just leave}” Sean said walking even faster.

Then it was Daniel. Because Sean left him he ended up in a cult, and when he came back, of course Daniel refused. Maybe it was all the ideas they talked him into, or maybe he just didn’t want to, it doesn’t matter, Daniel didn’t feel safe with Sean because he had failed him.

“{What are you so upset about?}” Daniel asked, trying to keep up with Sean’s steps.

“{We’ll talk later}” Sean just said.

And now Matias, a friend that has become so close lately, a friend that made him feel as safe as Lyla did… and now he didn’t want to be around him. Fair. Whatever, fuck him and all the time they spent together, and fuck his family… no matter how good they were to them, fuck the job, and fuck the fucking rainbows.

It is a foolish belief to think he could be completely honest with him. The world had shown him enough and he needed to learn. He could only trust Daniel, no matter how bad Sean wished for a reminisce of normality, he could never get it. It was all different now. He was different.

“Sean” Daniel placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from walking. “{I leaved my friends alone because of you. You know how hard it is for me to… keep up with them}”

Sean felt like an asshole, but he was so pissed he couldn’t think clearly. “{I’m so sorry Enano… I didn’t mean to… I…}”

“{It’s okay… just tell me what happened}” Daniel dismissed the situation, he just wanted to know why Sean was so mad.

“{We had a fight}” Sean said looking away, still angry.

“{With Matias? Why?}” Daniel asked concerned.

Sean sighed “{Can we go home first?}”

“{Sure}” Daniel said and started walking.

The walk was a little bit tense, but with a more relaxed pace now that Sean had calmed down a bit and wasn’t storming by. Daniel pondered about the reason for the fight, the two of them seemed to get along well. He did know Matias was struggling because of his mom, but… fight about what?

Sean took deep breaths, steading himself and trying to think with a cool mind. He can acknowledge he was being a little extreme with his thoughts about Matias. He wouldn’t want him out of his life, and he sensed that Matias wouldn’t want that either, no matter how his guilt tried to convince him otherwise.

“{What’s that?}” Daniel asked as they approached their home.

Sean raised his gaze from the ground, his attention now diverted to where Daniel pointed “{You got to be kidding me}” Sean says as they see a group of people around their house.

“{You think they’re the graffiti guys?}” Daniel suggests.

“{I don’t think so, they’re more than two this time}” Sean says walking faster.

“{Cops?}” Daniel asked more seriously, a dark expression on his face.

“{No, they don’t seem like cops}” Sean said scanning them.

“{Then what do they want?}” Daniel asked following his big brother.

“{Cover me, okay? I’ll handle the talking}” Sean said, and Daniel nodded, getting ready to use his powers.

“Hey! ¡Que hacen en nuestra casa! (what are you doing in our house!)” Sean shouted loud. The group of people turned around to see who was talking, they were all young adults it seemed.

“Ugh, we woke up the monkeys” One of the guys said rolling his eyes.

“What was that?” Sean asked, stepping closer to meet all of them.

There were around fifteen of them, all boys and girls. The guy who had spoken confidently wasn’t expecting Sean to understand what he said, much less hear him speak English.

“Mind your own business” he said.

“I think I am. What are you doing in our house” Sean repeated with a cold look in his eyes. He never discarded the possibility that they wanted to rob them, hurt them, or worse. He had seen too much hate in this world to lower his guard and try to just talk, considering how rude this guy was being towards Sean. He wasn’t scared; he would fight for what they struggled so hard to get to.

“Your house?” the guy laughed “We come here every summer, its abandoned. We use it as our party place”

“Are you blind? Does it look abandoned?” Sean said crossing his arms “You’re not even from here.” He could tell that much because he only spoke in English. That and because of the fancy jewelry most of them seem to be using, these were people with lots of money, and you really didn’t see that around Puerto Lobos.

“Yeah, thanks for fixing up the place. It was starting to fall apart” he said and turn around. His other friends kept trying to find open windows to enter. Daniel kept an eye out for them in case he needed to use his powers on any of them. “It’s the biggest party around here dude, every year gets better, you’ll see”

“I don’t think you get it” Sean said stepping closer.

“No. I don’t think you get it.” The guy turned around to face Sean. “We do this every year. And two homeless people that found the place doesn’t make it their home” he said stepping closer to Sean. He was taller, definitely older.

Sean clenched his fist and landed the first blow on his jaw from below, making the older guy bit his tongue, literally. Sean was not fooling around this time; he wouldn’t let people run past him or what he fought for. These people didn’t have good intentions and talking wouldn’t get him anywhere. He was just glad that he was in a position where he could stand his feet and fight. He was glad he had Daniel with him.

The guy stumbled back and fell in the sand, grabbing his jaw with both hands, and looking at the dripping blood as it fell. Two of the nearest guys, ever so protective of their rich ass friend, rushed towards Sean, who got ready to try and fight them both, covering himself with his arms for whoever hit him first, but Daniel was already on the case. He made an invisible wall around Sean, protecting him from getting hurt.

“What the fuck?” one of them said, unable to comprehend why his fist was suddenly stopped in the air.

The guy Sean hit, now with blood dripping out his mouth got onto his feet. No words, just wanting to fight him because he got to hurt him.

“Go away, I’m warning you” Sean said. All three of them were taller than Sean, but he knew what Daniel was capable of doing, he didn’t fear for himself. He completely trusted his brother.

Every time one of them tried to hit Sean anywhere, they were stopped by Daniel’s powers, so it was useless. When the guy Sean hit was panting from the effort of fighting an invisible force, Sean looked at Daniel and nodded. Daniel released his powers and Sean went for it, landing another blow right in his nose. At the same time, one of the other guys nearby grabbed Sean by his arm, but before Sean could even prepare for the hit, his arm was released, Daniel had pushed the guy away with his powers and smashed him against a palm tree nearby. The guy fell forward and stayed on the floor, probably trying to breathe.

At this point, some people in the group started to leave, wanting to stay away from all the trouble.

“Stay away from our home!” Daniel shouted, sand raising around his feet.

He sent another guy who tried to get near him flying through the air, landing on the far sand harshly. He then saw how Sean was grabbed by the shoulders, charged by the guy he had hit earlier, but Sean didn’t budge, he stood strong and didn’t fall backwards. Daniel used his powers to hold him in the air before he could hurt Sean.

Sean watched as more people left the place, the remaining ones helping the ones Daniel had hurt to get up and run.

Daniel saw the blood dripping down the guy’s face, it reminded him of how Sean looked all that time ago when he came to rescue Daniel from that church. Only that his brother was hurt worse. He did a good job protecting Sean now, he was pretty sure he hadn’t even got hit this time. He just wished he could’ve spared his brother all the pain back then. He wished he could have held Nicholas like this…

The guy Daniel was holding in the air started to choke, the pressure Daniel was putting around him was heavier as time passed. It was like when he held Lisbeth like this… he was horrible and got Sean hurt so many times. He felt guilty about that, he would always feel guilty about that. He didn’t know how Sean still loved him so much.

Tears started to fall down the guy’s cheeks, trying desperately and in vain to take the invisible pressure off his neck. Daniel looked at him with teary eyes, all the memories coming back, all the regrets, the loneliness, how they had messed with him, used him… And how he himself neglected Sean.

 He forced his hand even more while he looked at the guy’s red face, applying even more pressure.

Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 (The past)

Daniel hesitated as he lifted his hand to move around some candles.

Hide your power. Were Sean’s words in what it seems like a lifetime ago in that old cabin, their little own palace where no one could bother them or tell them what to do.

Things were different now, promises of hopeful lands and freedom were melted by the heat of the region. And it was all his fault. He didn’t think this could happen. He just wanted to help Sean, take the money and live like they dreamed of.

But he fucked up, and his brother paid the price. He didn’t dare to think much of it, if he was gone or not… he couldn’t face that.

Jacob said that Sean would be fine, that people would take care of him, but Daniel knew people weren’t nice towards his brother. And even if that was the case, that they’d heal him, wouldn’t they take him away from him? Like he and Sean always feared? Where were they keeping him? If he was even alive.

Jacob promised people would take care of him in this little town, and Daniel appreciated that. Even if it was so uncomfortable to pretend to start a new life like he didn’t have another family, like he was just a normal kid, like he hadn’t made the worst mistake he could have made. He needed someone to tell him what to do, since Sean was… not around anymore.

And what now? Jake knew about his powers, and he told this lady that seemed to be super worried about him, and so he felt compelled to show them to her too. It was weird, she at first couldn’t believe it, and then she couldn’t stop praising him, something about a chosen one. Daniel wasn’t used to that, he didn’t think that high of himself, not after what he had done.

Since then, it’s been nothing but questions about his past and his powers, which Daniel didn’t really want to answer so only vague replies were pushed out from him.

Lisbeth. That was her name, and she seemed so excited to get to see more of Daniel’s abilities and to see what he could do. Jacob on the other hand was still around for Daniel but never too close, he was acting differently than he was in Humboldt. He looked... scared, maybe weirded out by the place.

Daniel didn’t want to think about that too much, or anything that reminded him of the horrors he experienced. Instead, he enjoyed the company of Sarah Lee, Jacob’s little sister, as he practiced daily with his powers. He tried to bury all those memories away, and maybe try to feel better.

Daniel gently placed the candles back in place, his mind back to the present, in front of the altar. He just couldn’t avoid feeling guilty every time he used them, all the memories flooding back.

“What you can do is amazing Daniel” Sarah Lee complimented, impressed.

“I swear I can do better, but I can’t use my main arm” Daniel said, the bullet he received from Merril made it a bit sore to move. It was healing, slowly. In the meantime his other hand will do, which sometimes lead to wobbly objects and rough landings.

“You did excellent Daniel, God chose wisely” Lisbeth smiled with an arm around his shoulder. “Now, why don’t you go play with Sara, remember we have a praying lesson before bed”

Daniel nodded and gladly went outside with the other kids. He didn’t understand much about God or prayers, it felt a bit weird, his family never did any of that, but his grandparents did, so it couldn’t be that bad

“Sarah Lee, may I speak with you.” Lisbeth said.

She nodded and approached her, kind of disappointed that she couldn’t go out just yet.

“Yes, Reverend Mother?” she asked smiling.

“My practice sessions with Daniel’s miracle are private. We need to show respect and gratitude towards the lord for this incredible gift.” She said smiling, but you couldn’t tell if she was angry or not “So please, next time, do not interrupt. No one is allowed in until I say so.” Lisbeth said with a hand on her shoulder. “Now go”

“O- of course” Sarah Lee nodded politely and embarrassed, before going out to meet Daniel.

Daniel heard it all, and he didn’t think it was necessary to worship the lord every day. But Lisbeth said good people and wise people practiced this stuff. That felt odd, his family didn’t do any of that and he knew for a fact how wise and good they are… were.

Sunday, March 18th, 2017

He fought with Lisbeth today.

She kept asking questions about Sean and he just didn’t want to answer. But she pressed, and pressed, and pressed…

“Did he do something to you? That’s why you don’t want to talk?” She asked almost in a whisper.

“What? No! I told you, an accident happened… and I don’t know if he’s well” Daniel said looking down.

“The accident you don’t want to tell me about” she said crossing her arms “Did he make you do something?”

“No!” Daniel stood up “Sean did nothing wrong!”

“Then when was he when you were shot?” She said calmly, looking at Daniel’s shoulder, “Daniel, angel, I know it’s confusing, but you need to understand that he put you in danger. He led a kid into dangerous places.” She explained holding Daniel’s hand.

“He was trying to protect me” Daniel said softly.

Lisbeth nodded “I bet that’s what he told you. It’s not your fault. Everything that happened. Your father couldn’t guide you or your brother, and then Sean didn’t know how to guide you, so don’t blame yourself for hurting him, maybe it was God’s plan to bring you to safer hands.”

“How do you… it… it’s not Sean’s fault; I didn’t listen and… and he got hurt” Daniel said with tears in his eyes “did Jacob tell you?” He asked.

“I don’t need to look far into your soul to see it, very clearly. You were misguided and committed sinful acts… but you’re not at all far from the Lord’s realm, you can repent.” She said in a hopeful tone; she seemed concerned for him.

Daniel just stood silent.

“If your brother has committed the most unforgivable things, you can’t help but learn from that.” She said calmly,

“Sean didn’t do anything bad! They want us for something we didn’t do!” Daniel said, taking his hand away from her.

“But didn’t you say you can’t remember what happened that day?” Lisbeth said, once again, serenely.

“I- he…” Daniel stuttered.

“Daniel” Lisbeth held his hand tighter. “You were tricked, you come from a broken family, they make you think what they want you to think.”

“My brother is NOT a criminal” Daniel said, clenching his teeth, his powers starting to surge from the anger.

“Don’t raise your voice at me” Lisbeth frowned “a kid believes everything he’s told, but you’re not a kid now, you’ve seen hell with your own eyes. Open your eyes, don’t be naive”

“My brother is not a bad person!” Daniel shouted pushing the table they were sitting at.

“You do not shout in this house, and not at me” Lisbeth said getting up.

Daniel just dashed towards his room and closed the door in Lisbeth's face with his powers. The open doors and no locks policy certainly bothered Daniel.

He was grounded. No seeing friends and writing stupid bible verses. But aside from that, Lisbeth paid attention to him all week, she even prepared him tasty food like he asked her to, and not that nearly raw portion of soulless vegetables she always made him eat. She even got him Chock-o-Crisps. She wasn’t bad… but he believed Sean, and he knew he was not a bad person.

Friday, March 31st, 2017

Daniel watched as locks of hair fell to the ground. Lisbeth humming some song he was sure he heard in the church. He refused to cut it at first, he liked it long, but Lisbeth insisted he needed to be presentable for the service he did to spread the word of the Lord. She said that since he was blessed, he really needed to show God how grateful he was.

Daniel didn’t see what his hair had to do with all of that, but Lisbeth was clear when she explained all of this, and she seemed convinced about it. He knew he needed a haircut; he just didn’t want it too short.

Daniel sighed as he looked in the mirror, he didn’t want Lisbeth to cut it herself, but she didn’t make a mess like he thought she would. “I guess it’s nice” Daniel said inspecting it.

“You look adorable” She said smiling “You’ll fit in more, you’ll see. Everybody will love it”

“Okay” Daniel nodded, smiling as well. He wasn’t sure what to think of it, but nowadays he wasn’t sure what to think of anything. So, he just went along with it, if she said it looked nice, it probably was, right?

She had been insistent with clothes as well, giving Daniel new formal shirts to wear around the place. He didn’t like them, but he knew he had to be perfect to show his abilities to the world. Lisbeth was right, it seemed like a big deal.

He just… was a little confused still. If God was good, why did he had to live all the things he lived? Why did his family suffer like that?

“Well…” Lisbeth thought about it when asked “I told you Daniel… you were in the wrong hands. You were saved and guided towards me…” she said “It could’ve been a test for you as well, and I think you passed”

“Really?” Daniel said unsure “Seems a bit rude”

“Your brother led you to places no kid should go. He made you live in the streets, eating who knows what… You see how you’re safe here?” she said.

“Well… yeah, but it’s not like we had a choice” Daniel said annoyed.

“Oh, but he did have a choice, Daniel. If he just confessed, he could’ve repented for what he did, and you wouldn’t have to be dragged in all of that. Your brother was selfish” she said confidently.

“He took care of me…” Daniel said. As always as they had this conversation, he got mad because of the mean things Lisbeth said about him.

“Did he? Why did he leave you then? And why didn’t he tired to get to you?” She asked seriously.

“I…  He didn’t leave me. I don’t know… but he didn’t kill anyone.” Daniel said, frowning.

“I think he… lied to you Daniel…” she said placing a hand on his shoulder.

“No! he didn’t...” Daniel said looking away.

“I don’t think he’s coming back my son…” she said squeezing his shoulder “He knows what he did and maybe he had the mercy to leave you in a good place instead of dragging you to a dark place”

“He… wouldn’t leave me” Daniel said with tears in his eyes.

“Oh… Daniel… I’m so sorry” Lisbeth said and pulled him into a hug.

Daniel just let himself be hugged and after she pulled away, he ran towards his bedroom and closed the door. Lisbeth did not follow.

She doesn’t know everything. Daniel thought as he felt the tears flowing down his cheeks. Maybe he didn’t come to him because he was dead… because of him. Daniel curled himself and held his head, the thoughts hurting him. Because what if… Sean really did leave him here… in a place he doesn’t like, with weird people… what if Lisbeth was right, and his brother only tried to save himself.

It couldn’t be… It couldn’t. He saw how worried Sean was, all the words, all the hugs, seemed genuine. So why? Why?

The night seemed cold even if the heat outside proved otherwise. Another night where he laid in bed. Alone. He hated it. It made him feel horrible. He wanted his head to shut up, to stop feeling so foggy. He wanted Sean to come back.

Tuesday, April 11th, 2017

Daniel felt horrible most of the day. He didn’t know what he expected though, but a part of him hoped to see Sean once again. He was starting to realize that maybe that wouldn’t happen… maybe never. This was his new life. And maybe he would feel alone forever. Maybe he even deserved it.

It was all so different now, a year ago he had another family… another home. How could all of that be gone? The day didn’t start great, but Lisbeth was so nice to him today; she planned a whole birthday party for him and a lot of people came. Even the grownups. There was this massive cake, and they played all these awesome games… he even forgot about all the bad thoughts from time to time.

He didn’t get many presents, Lisbeth said that people don’t need material possessions to be happy, and he kind of understood. All his friends got him distracted today, and it really made him feel like he wasn’t alone. Being around them was the only thing that made him feel better.

Maybe it would take time to get used to all of this, but he can see himself staying here… People here are always worried about him. Maybe he could open up a bit more. Lisbeth stopped asking about Sean and stuff… which he appreciated, he was so confused about that still… but now he didn’t get as mad as before.

It was not the day he would’ve expected, and he still felt empty… but it wasn’t so bad. He was starting to like the place.

He told Lisbeth about the whole journey with Sean, expecting her to make comments about his brother, but all he got was an understanding response. She felt sorry because he had to experience all that, and she even shed a few tears. She hugged Daniel and told him that if he ever needed to talk about it, she and the Lord were there to listen. Daniel hugged her back, feeling comforted for the first time in weeks. He wasn’t judged by his sins or anything like that. It felt nice. He really felt like he was repenting for all the things he had done.

“I’m always here for you my son…” she said gently.

“Thank you… I really didn’t know what was happening… I-”

“I know… It’s okay. We will get through this. You’re already doing the work of the Lord wonderfully. I assure you…” she said.

“You really mean that?” Daniel asked unsure.

“I do. I’ve seen it. Don’t you worry about a thing Daniel. I’ll take care of you, forever” she said hugging him tighter, almost possessively “Remember… you’re never alone, the Lord is always with you”

Monday, April 24th, 2017

Things were going fantastic. Daniel was busy practicing with Lisbeth every day after class and doing the service at the church. They had announced a new activity, make a picnic with him, which he was looking forward to do. Talking with people wasn’t really something he enjoyed these days, mostly because he didn’t know what to say when they told him all these praises, but he was getting used to it.

Thanks to the Reverend Mother, he wasn’t afraid to use his gift anymore. He used to feel so bad about it, guilty for the things he did. He really avoided using them at all. But Lisbeth showed him that he could only use them to show the world the miracle of God, and now? After using them so much, he’s sure he can’t hurt anybody like this. If he just uses them for this purpose, then he won’t hurt anyone again.

He really didn’t feel alone anymore, he felt like he was doing good. Sure, it still felt sad to think about Sean and what had happened. He still deeply missed his father. But he had found some sort of comfort in all the things Lisbeth had shown him. He wanted to help people, if God really blessed him with this power, then he would try his best to use it for good.

Jacob wasn’t around anymore, which was strange. He was grateful that he bought him here. He seemed exited to show the Reverend what Daniel could do. But then after a few weeks he just wasn’t around anymore, he didn’t even come to see the service. The Reverend Mother said he was just a bit lost, always has been, and that he needs time to reconnect with the Lord’s word, and that Daniel was a part of that too.

Despite his initial confusion, he now knew what this place was and that the people around weren’t bad at all. He understood he did horrible things, and he would forever be sorry for them, but now he was a better person. He didn’t agree with the fact that Sean lied to him, he was sure his brother wasn’t a bad person, he had felt the care of his hugs and words, he understood that he had to do things he thought were correct. He wouldn’t blame him for that, because he understood what being confused was like, and it hurt.

If he ever got the chance to see him again… if he is out there somewhere, if the Lord would allow him, he would want to teach his brother all the things he learned. To clarify the path for him, to make him understand, to find comfort in God’s words. To help him. That way he could realize how both of them were just confused, and then they could be together, Sean could help him with the service, to enjoy the gift as well. They could be together again, be brothers again, join the family.

He dreamed of that, and he had hope that he could achieve that dream someday. To make everything better, to show Sean he’s sorry. To show him he’s not a complete disaster. To never leave his side again.

Thursday, May 11th, 2017

He doesn’t know what to think again. It is all so confusing, he just wants to cry. He thought he understood everything, but this did not feel like the right thing to do.

Sean showed up today, and he couldn’t believe it. That little, short hug they shared, was something he didn’t know he needed to feel. It renewed him, making him remember what it was like to be safe and loved.

Sean’s eye was injured, and it was because of him. Sean didn’t say too much about it. Daniel just hoped it could heal well, but it looked bad. That just made him feel horrible again, he thought he was okay with the mistakes he made, he thought that being good now would wash that away, but he didn’t think he could forgive himself for doing such a thing now.

Sean wants him to go with him, to keep going for Puerto Lobos, but he believes that they can be safe here. No one has come to look for him. The Reverend Mother can keep them safe, help Daniel talk to Sean about the things he needs to know.

But Sean seems really confused, just like Daniel was, he thinks his brother is in danger, he even hurt the Reverend Mother. Daniel wants nothing but to stay with Sean, but they need to be safe, and Sean needs to understand that.

It’s just that Sean is in denial, he doesn’t want to hear a thing they want to tell him. He knows better than to go back to where he was before Jacob brought him here. He can’t ditch this place just because, and he can’t risk hurting Sean even more. He was so relieved to see him alive, and he intends to keep it that way.

Lisbeth agreed with him that he needs to be careful, hurting people would put the Lord away from him. He messed up once, and he couldn’t live with himself if he hurt Sean once again. But it felt wrong. Why couldn’t they let him stay, so they could talk to him. Sure, Sean was so wrong about hurting Lisbeth, but Daniel waited for him for months.

The Reverend Mother said he needed a bit of time, just like Jacob. And that made sense. It’s just that Daniel really wanted to talk to him.

He knew Sean needed to learn, but it was so hard for him to just push him away after all this time. But he had to show that he wasn’t a kid anymore; he was strong enough to do that. And if that meant he couldn’t hurt Sean, then he would stay as far away as he could. No matter how bad it hurt.

Today, after a long time of feeling better, he felt like his head wouldn’t stop spinning.

Thursday, June 21st, 2018 (The present)

The guy’s face Daniel was holding in the air was starting to turn purple, and Daniel didn’t have the intention of stopping.

He was so stupid back then, when Sean came back to take him out of that place. He really fucking believed he was in safer hands than his brother’s. He thought that if Sean could listen to him, they could all be a family, find comfort in that little church. But Daniel was just desperate, having lost once again everything he had, even his brother, he just dreamed of a place where he could rest his soul. And he grasped the first thing that made him feel better. And he just didn’t want to let go of that… he was so scared. Of hurting Sean, of letting them all down.

But then Sean started to tell him all the truth about Lisbeth, how he was hurting Sarah Lee, how she had trouble with other churches, how she did seem a bit extreme compared to Claire and Stephen. And he just… broke.

He felt like his mind was being pulled from all directions at once. He froze. He wasn’t sure who was who or what he should even do.

So he watched how Sean fell to the floor over and over again, how he didn’t care, how he just wanted Daniel to go with him and how much he was suffering because he wasn’t. They were going to kill him.

And then it was all clear for him, as he pushed Nicholas away and ran to hug his brother. Lisbeth never cared about him, or about the Lord, from all the things Sean said and how she wanted Nicholas to shoot him… he understood how wrong she was.

It just hurt, and it was really confusing because he genuinely seemed to have cared about him. But she just wanted to use him. How could all of that have been a lie? And to dare to hurt his brother, to make him believe Sean needed to repent as well as he did.

It pissed him off. So, when he had the chance, he held her in the air just like he’s doing with this guy now. And snapped. Dead in an instant.

Sean placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder “Let him go” he said.

If he had the chance to do it all again, he would’ve started with Nicholas. He wouldn’t have let his brother hurt like that. It pissed him off. Because why couldn’t he just see it sooner. Why was he always making the wrong decisions. That’s all he could think about as he held his powers active. He couldn’t stop seeing Nicholas’ face, he couldn’t stop remembering how they had used him, couldn’t stop feeling torn apart by all the confusion it all brought back. Because even now, after talking with Sean and understanding a lot more of what had happened. It still messed with his head.

“He’s not a threat” Sean said squeezing his shoulder “He didn’t even hurt me. Just a dumb guy. Him and his friends learned the lesson.”

Daniel closed his eyes and let go of his powers, hand resting on his side again. Sean was right. It wasn’t worth it. The memories just consumed Daniel.

The guy fell to the sand gasping for air and coughing, his face starting to get his normal color again. He got up, weak and wobbly, and slowly started to flee from the scene.

“We won’t see them again” Sean said, and then looked back at Daniel, who had tears on his cheeks. “Come on Enano, let’s go inside.” Sean urged him.

“You ok?” Sean asked handing a glass of water to Daniel “Things got really wild out there” he said sitting next to his brother.

“I’m good. Are you hurt?” Daniel asked.

Sean smiled and shook his head “Of course not, you were so fast to get to them”

“Good” Daniel said, drinking some water.

Sean watched him carefully; he seemed so serious. With a sigh he decided to speak up “Listen Daniel, if you don’t want to use your powers to help me that’s fine. We’ll find another way of protecting ourselves”

“What? No, I-”

“I never meant for you to carry that burden” Sean said with guilt “You don’t need to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing. I don’t want you to help me if it’s at the cost of you feeling bad. I never wanted to depend on you, I swear, I just really trust you for this kind of stuff, because I know you know what you’re doing.”

“Sean, I don’t feel bad for dealing with the people that bother us. I like being able to protect us” Daniel said “I’m so happy you weren’t hurt this time. I was so sick of you always having to suffer in one way.” He said with a smile “But that got me thinking of what happened at the church” he looked away.

Sean looked at him sadly, it wasn’t the first time they talked about this, probably wasn’t going to be the last. “What is it?” he scooted closer to Daniel.

“Remember what I did to Lisbeth?” Daniel said bluntly.

“Yeah” Sean said and put an arm around his shoulders.

“I wish I could’ve done the same to Nicholas” Daniel admitted.

Sean’s eyes widened “What? Why?”

“He hurt you… and I just stood there watching.” Daniel said looking down.

“We talked about this. None of that was your fault. It was just a mess. Jacob felt terribly sorry for taking you to that place” Sean tried to explain.

“I… I still should’ve done something” Daniel sighed.

“And you did, you saved me and got us out of there” Sean tried to make eye contact with him.

“But it was too late! I don’t know how you can say that you trust me with my powers when all I did to you was hurt you!” Daniel snapped “Look what I’ve done to you…” Daniel said looking at Sean’s eyepatch with tears in his eyes “Look at how I treated you, how I doubted you… You-”

“Stop” Sean interrupted “Stop making you feel bad. You know I don’t think like that. I never did. This?” Sean said and took off his eyepatch “Was just an unfortunate accident. But I’m fine, Daniel.”

“I saw you looking at it multiple times… I know you don’t like it” Daniel said crying.

Sean sighed “That’s about me, because I think I could’ve avoided that situation. And I could’ve avoided what you did to Lisbeth. I made tons of mistakes. But you need to understand… You need to hear me out when I tell you this; You were nine years old when we ran away from home. You hear? Nine.” He said shaking Daniel’s shoulders “No kid your age went through what you lived, and I’m sorry for that. But you’re too hard on yourself. You were hurt and desperate and didn’t know what to do! You didn’t’ do it on purpose, you were overwhelmed…”

Daniel shook his head “I don’t understand”

Sean’s soul broke into a million pieces at Daniel’s state. He had learned a lot since then, but deep down he’s still the same confused little kid who doesn’t know what to do with all the things that happened.

Sean hugged him closer in a warm embrace “I know it was hard… and I know you feel guilty” he said cradling his little brother’s head “but it wasn’t your fault… That place, those people, used you, and it’s completely normal to be upset about it… just don’t let it consume you… come to me like you did now”

Daniel nodded, he still felt a war inside his mind about all the events, but he was too tired to pay attention to them right now. “I’m just… sorry… for a lot of stuff”

“I know… And I forgive you” Sean said gently.

“But… it’s also not your fault” Daniel said.

Sean smiled, he really wanted to say it was, he was the older one after all “I did make mistakes”

“I can see now that you did a lot for me” Daniel said wiping his tears away “And it’s not really fair for me to have made mistakes that you don’t hold against me, but you think you made mistakes that you do hold against yourself.” He said pulling away to see his brother’s face.

“I do feel responsible for a lot of things that happened” Sean admitted.

“You didn’t fuck me up if that’s what you’re worried about. I didn’t want to be separated. And I would do the same thing I did to Lisbeth to anyone who tries to hurt you” Daniel said determined.

“I don’t need you to kill for me, Daniel” Sean said “You’re too young” he said sadly.

“I know. I’m just saying… I would if I had to” Daniel said. “Just like you would if you had to”

Sean sighed and hugged him again, guilt, regret, confusion, it was always present in both of them, but sometimes it was easier to ignore it when they were so busy living a life out here. “I love you” he said.

“I love you too” Daniel responded. “And I’m sorry for earlier, I got carried away... too many memories”

“I know. It’s okay” Sean assured.

Now that Daniel felt better, his guilt and thoughts eased away, and that he got to tell Sean he didn’t think he was guilty either, he moved on to what he wanted to ask. The whole ordeal out there wasn’t really something big, they just fought a bit and then they left. It was all good, and neither of them were hurt.

“So, what did you and Matias fight about” he asked.

Sean chuckled “That’s not important right now” he said with his voice muffled because he was pressed into Daniel because of the hug.

“It is to me. You two are friends. He’s my friend too” he said.

“He was jut being rude… that’s it. I told him something important to me and he said he didn’t care. I got mad… but I actually think he feels really bad about something. Maybe it’s about his mom. And I get that… I just don’t like it when he takes it out with the whole world.” Sean explained.

“He’s just like me… sometimes I get mad with everyone when I feel bad…” Daniel said.

Sean chuckled again “Yeah… maybe he just needs to talk… I’ll try to do it next chance I can”

Things were weird with them now; the fights weren’t common, but Matias wanting to be alone and going away from everyone was starting to be normal. Sometimes he would feel better and would hang out with Sean like nothing happened. And then he would disappear again.

They never talked about the little kiss they shared that afternoon when Matias finally spoke about what was going on. They both played dumb, and Matias is back at not wanting to talk. Sean wasn’t really sure if it meant anything to him… it was weird, but how things were between them now, it didn’t seem like a priority.

Even less so when he had Daniel in his arms like this, seeking comfort for all the pain the little boy carries with him. He can’t imagine how he must feel every day… it is simply far too much for a kid like him. It is a lot for Sean himself. So right now, he wants to focus on this, on the hug, and Daniel. He wants to make sure Daniel understands that he had no control over those situations… and to try and make him feel better about himself. Like Daniel does for him.

Sean knows there’s no better way to do that than to just hug him close and express how he really doesn’t hold anything against Daniel. Then make him a warm meal and maybe do something together like playing to ease his mind even more. Because he would always be around to help him. And he’s sure Daniel will too.

To ease the weight of the world off each other’s shoulders is something they are both good at.

Chapter Text

Wednesday, July 4th, 2018

The morning sun shined warmly from the sky, illuminating the little town and all its inhabitants. The common heat in the region was now intensified because of the summer season, and that was why the Diaz brothers had been dependent on the little breeze of air the fans they own provided inside the house. Sean already missed the slightly cooler weather, but summer season also meant that even more tourists came by to visit the small town, and that meant more clients for Sean.

The immense ocean in front of the Diaz household reflected every ray of sunshine, making it difficult to even look at it. Daniel refugees himself under a palm tree, its shadow providing a safe spot, wanting to capture the perfect moment with his Polaroid camera. He was making good progress in filling their bedroom wall with photos of all his memories and discoveries, he always carried it in case something caught his eye. Sean was happy that Daniel liked the birthday gift so much, it was a team effort to get it. Daniel was being careful with the pictures he took now; he didn’t have much left before he had to buy more films, but he really didn’t want to bother Sean with that, he didn’t know how much money that was and he was aware that Sean was doing everything he could to get them gas and a water heater for the house.

So, he could get by without taking pictures for a while if that meant getting hot water. For now, he snapped the picture he wanted, an orange butterfly, resting on a leaf while displaying its beautiful wings. The camera made a ‘click’ sound, and the little butterfly got scared, fleeing away.

“Oh… sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you” he said contemplating the flying butterfly before taking the picture and running back inside the house, his steps fast to keep his feet safe from the hot sand. Little footsteps dashing up the stairs and into the house. He sprinted past Sean in the kitchen and into their bedroom.

“What’s gotten into you now?” Sean called with a smile, not even turning around when he heard Daniel running.

Daniel’s giggles answered first “Just got the perfect picture for our mural” he then explained.

Sean made his way into the room just as Daniel finished putting up the Polaroid, stepping back to admire the job. Sean stood next to his little brother and smiled at the new addition.

“That’s really beautiful” Sean said nodding “I might draw it later”

Daniel beamed at that, he loved when Sean drew for himself and not just to sell, which was less often these days.

“That’d be so cool” Daniel nodded.

“You really made us an amazing wall of memories” Sean said smiling “it’s only been two months, but you did a good job capturing our lives here so far”

“Thanks, this camera is so cool, and all the memories we made are so cool as well!” Daniel said excitedly.

“We’ve managed pretty good so far, don’t you think?” Sean said hugging Daniel sideways.

“Yeah… we have. So much has happened since we first got here” Daniel said thinking about their first weeks, cleaning the house to make it livable again, meeting Matias, the uncertainty of it all, but at the same time the relief it came with all the chaos reaching its end. It was nice to have a home again, one that lasted more than a few months.

While Daniel got lost in his thoughts, Sean’s eyes followed every picture his little cub had taken, and he got stuck in one. The very first one they’d taken on Daniel’s birthday… all the gang was there… Matias as well. He hadn’t got the chance to speak to him after their fight, Matias had just disappeared again, not even showing up at the restaurant. These days only Sean and Sergio showed up. He didn’t like them to be like this, mad at each other, and he really wanted to say that to him… but Matias was dealing with his own problems, too stressed to even get out of the house it seemed.

“So why did you get up this early?” Daniel asked, getting Sean’s attention.

This morning Daniel got up first, as was usual for them, stirring in bed and yawing before sitting. Most times Sean would keep sleeping, but the few times he woke up because of Daniel’s movements he just grumbled something lazily, getting comfortable in bed and drifting back to sleep for a little longer. Today though, he watched as Daniel sat in bed and followed, stirring and waking up slowly, saying he would make breakfast for them today. Daniel just nodded, taking the free time now to go explore the beach with his camera.

“It’s the Fourth of July” Sean simply said, looking down at Daniel with a bittersweet expression, which reflected exactly how Daniel felt at the realization.

“Oh…” Daniel said, he didn’t even realize what was today’s date. “Wow…” was all he could get out.

“I figured we could do something, you know, celebrate our achievements. It’s been a year since we’re free, cub” he smiled.

“Yeah… that sounds nice” Daniel said smiling as well, but he couldn’t get rid of the sad feeling that also heavied on his chest.

Their start on the freedom wasn’t exactly pretty… and the memories were still painful, but the Fourth of July was something the whole family loved celebrating, and Sean didn’t want that tradition to stop. Even if they won’t be celebrating the United States Independence Day anymore now that they’re here, they would celebrate the day they fought the world to stay together. The day they opened the path to a new life… their own Independence Day.

It hurt once again to think about all they had before it was all wiped away. It hurt to think they were on their own, even if they were doing just fine. It hurt to remember everything they had to live back then.

But it also made them happy that they had endured it, that they were building something new, different than what they had, but with the hope that someday it could be enough. It made them happy that they stayed together after all. It warmed their chests enough to have each other by their side, allowing them to keep going, to celebrate a day this difficult.

“One year ago… time does fly…” Sean chuckled at Daniel’s wordless reaction.

“And it feels like ages ago we were just living in Seattle.” Daniel said, his words came out with more pain than he thought he was feeling.

“Let’s go eat breakfast, there’s so much I want to talk to you about” Sean said, leading his brother out of the room.

Daniel nodded “yeah… way too many memories” he agreed.

They found a way to cope with days like this, just like on any birthday or holiday they now spend mostly alone. They would talk about what they remember, what they had experienced, what was different. And it always made them feel a little lighter.

No matter how many times they had gone through the same memories or feelings, they still felt the same about them, and they wanted to share them with each other. They needed to.

And now, outside in their backyard, sitting on the plastic table shaded by a parasol and having shared the food Sean made for them, they contemplated the view, looking at the vast ocean while also looking at the past.

“I didn’t mean to kill those cops” Daniel said, and the heaviness of the statement was reflected on both brothers looks.

“That’s a way to start” Sean said taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

“Hey” Daniel said mildly annoyed.

“Just kidding cub” Sean said honestly, taking a puff.

“That’s gross” Daniel said frowning at the sight of Sean smoking, as he so often did.

“I know” Sean said, because he did know, but felt like there were more important things in his life to solve than a smoking habit.

To be honest, Sean just smoked when he was alone because he knew Daniel hated it and didn’t want to make him worry, but he had never quit, he smoked almost every day. Daniel knew his brother had smoked ever since they ran away and Sean just couldn’t keep it a secret, needing to smoke to keep the little sanity he had left in the middle of chaos. He couldn’t get him to get away from that stuff even if he hated it with all his will, Sean didn’t listen, and he was the older one, so eventually he let it go.

“We don’t know exactly the state those cops were in” Sean returned to the important subject, trying to ease Daniel’s mind.

“You kidding?” Daniel would’ve laughed if he didn’t feel so sick about it. “I know I had to do it; I wanted them to let us trough” he sighed before continuing “but seeing it in the newspaper… how it looked…”

“I told you not to think about that, you know the media has done nothing but talk shit about us. Of course they’ll make it look horrible” Sean said, blowing the smoke away.

Daniel kept his silence for a moment “but wasn’t it?”

“I honestly should’ve never put you in that situation. It was dangerous… I wouldn’t forgive myself if you were hurt.” Sean said and looked back at the ocean for a moment, “I guess you did get hurt” he said more quietly. He could still remember how he felt that day, among the fogginess of the memory, his heart racing as he trusted Daniel with the final obstacle of their journey. They’ve never spoken much about it afterwards.

“I would’ve done it anyway, I don’t care” Daniel said “I just wish it wasn’t… like that”

Sean’s mind was a turmoil, his brain felt clouded, but he didn’t want Daniel to feel that kind of guilt… he was familiar with it, and if he could protect his little brother from that, he would “Little cub… I don’t want you to hold the weight of that on your shoulders” Sean said looking back at him, taking another pause to take another puff and blow the smoke away. “At least not alone”

“But I-”

“It was my decision. I told you to do it” Sean interrupted Daniel’s complains “… I regret it… I hate to see that look in your eyes… I wish I could’ve protected you from all those burdens” Sean sighed, easing his shaky voice, “But at the same time… I’m glad I did” he admitted towards the ocean. “I didn’t know what to do… and I was so tired of messing things up. For once I let you manage things…”

“I don’t regret it…” Daniel said again.

“I shouldn’t have asked you to” Sean said, clearly troubled with himself “Being tired, or cornered, or whatever was not excuse” He paid attention to his cigarette once again, “But then we wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t we?” he said running a hand trough his hair in distress.

Daniel didn’t really know what to do or say, like almost every time they had a conversation like this, but he tried, he did things he thought would comfort him, he tried to do the things Sean did for him in these moments. It mostly worked. “We talked about this… I’d hate being apart… you’re all I have left after all that mess. I… wasn’t sure if I wanted a new life, but I really like it here. With you”

Sean turned to hug his brother, mostly to hide the forming tears in his eyes. “I know, but the feeling that I could’ve done more for you is always there”

“I don’t really understand how I feel” Daniel sighed returning the warm hug “But I remember you said there’s no point on dwelling for what could’ve happened. It’s hard… not to think about it… but it’s true. I feel sick for killing most of them… but I’m also glad that I was finally able to do something for you in return”

Sean tightened his arms, squeezing Daniel closer “God… why does this all have to be so complicated”

Daniel chuckled “I can’t breathe, you ass”

“I know” Sean said with no intention to move.

“And, once again. I don’t think you failed.” Daniel felt important to remind him, knowing how bad Sean thought about himself “A lot of stuff happened. I still can’t get my head around it all… but you really did stand up for me.” He smiled “It was the only nice change since we left home”

Sean could’ve been a little bratty towards his younger brother back in the day, but he never stopped caring for him, he just didn’t like admitting it.

“I was in my own world two years ago” Sean smiled and leaned back to look at his brother “But then I realized what was important” he said before taking another drag of his cigarette.

Daniel understood that as well, maybe not at the same range, but he did know what Sean meant. Life was so different now, and watching Sean work every day for him, for them both, made him really appreciate him. He knew it wasn’t exactly common for a seventeen-year-old to be providing and take care of the family, and that’s exactly why he admired his big brother so much. Sean never even questioned it, he just set in motion, and the only thing he was afraid of was doing it wrong. Whether it was a heated day or a stormy one, Sean was always doing something, building bit by bit the life he thought was closer to the one Daniel deserved.

Daniel couldn’t put it out into words, but he felt incredibly moved by Sean’s actions, and he was determined to help his big brother as well, trying to focus on where they lived now.

“So, before what happened last year, do you remember the last Fourth of July with dad?” Daniel recalled, because even if the holiday had lost its color with all the dark memories, he still had some pretty happy ones.

“Of course I do. I think he was more exited for the fireworks than you” Sean chuckled.

“There were awesome! Like every year” Daniel said excitedly, remembering the scene. “Kinda sucks I can’t see them anymore”

“Hey, I know, but we’ll get to see fireworks again” Sean tried to reassure his brother.

“I hope so” he said as Sean blew more smoke into the air.

“He always prepared the best meals on holidays” Sean recalled with a smile “I promise I’ll get better at cooking, like him. And we’ll make memoires of our own days.”

Daniel chuckled “I already like your cooking. Always have.”

“Really?” Sean questioned.

“Yeah, you cooked for me when Dad had to stay extra hours at work, and it was just the two of us” Daniel explained.

“Oh yeah, I remember being such an asshole about it” Sean shook his head smiling, letting some ash fall in the ashtray.

“Dad’s food was still better tho” Daniel teased.

“Oh yeah?” Sean ruffled his little brother’s hair. “You don’t cook bad yourself. I still don’t get why you insist on cooking every day”

“Uh… because it’s fun? You don’t get to do everything alone” Daniel said huffing.

Sean laughed fondly at his brother, ever so ready to help wherever Sean went. He often wondered if he was worthy of that trust, or afraid he would shatter it, but Daniel’s feelings were genuine, and Sean did appreciate them, so he tried to put away all those thoughts.

“This is more likely” Sean said now that the topic had transformed into a lighter and more nostalgic one as he took a final drag, putting down the cigarette on the ashtray and blowing the smoke away from Daniel.

“Yeah... I just needed to get that out my chest” Daniel said, he had never voiced what he thought about that last Fourth of July.

“That’s why I wanted us to remember, cub. The good and the bad” Sean nodded, putting an arm around Daniel.

“Ew, you’re all sweaty” he chuckled and pushed Sean’s arm away.

“It’s summer and we live in Sonora, what did you expect?” Sean laughed as well “I don’t want to hear you whining for a hug latter.”

“Shut up” Daniel said shoving Sean playfully. “You know… before that awful day… before we spent the night in that police station…”

“Ugh, don’t remember me. Depressing and scary” Sean said.

“We were in Away” Daniel said joyfully “God, I miss mom and the others.”

“It was a nice place. We needed the rest. Our little safe heaven” Sean nodded “...Till it wasn’t”

“I miss Chris also” Daniel sighed, like every time he thought about his lost friend “And my friends from Seattle”

“I know cub” Sean said feeling for his little brother. “But you met some people here, right?”

“When can we call?” Daniel asked.

“I don’t know cub, we’d have to ask Matias and he’s seemingly missing.” Sean sighed, a hint of worry in his eyes “Plus, calling Grandma and Grandpa won’t guarantee Chris will be there as well”

“When can we see them, then” Daniel asked disappointed.

“I think it’s a little too early to do that just yet.” Sean explained. It always seemed like there was work to do, but he was positive that with time, once they were fully done with the house, they could start to live more relaxed. “I know it sucks… I miss them too, but we must get through this rough patch and then we’ll live freely and do whatever we want” Sean smiled. “We could call whenever we want, and we can arrange something so we can see them again, Karen as well”

“Yeah… okay” Daniel nodded, still disappointed, but he knew Sean was right.

Sean smiled sadly at him, knowing how hard it must be for Daniel to be patient, since that was never his virtue “We can go look for Matias… maybe we can call them” Sean said, because it was hard not to do anything when Daniel put that sad face.

“Really?” he immediately beamed.

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk to him anyway” Sean nodded “And it’ll be a nice way to keep our Fourth of July going. You think grandma is partying hard?”

Daniel laughed heartedly “No, but Grandpa would” he chuckled.

“Okay, but before we go…” Sean smiled and took his tank top off, getting up from his chair and throwing the piece of cloth to Daniel.

“Hey! What the- dude, gross!” Daniel tossed the shirt away from his face.

“The water is right there” Sean smiled like a little kid, gesturing it with open arms before running towards it.

Daniel chuckled, he always enjoyed when Sean got all excited like this “Okay, fine” he said taking his own shirt off and running behind Sean.

The first time they did this they didn’t have any swimming trunks, but neither of them cared enough, they had recently arrived, and Daniel was eager to taste what living on the beach was like. He loved it. And now he wasn’t sure which of the brothers suggested going to take a dip more often. In a town with a heat like this it surely was nice to enjoy the water and relax, cooling down every now and then. That’s why Sean had bought the trunks a few months ago, and they fairly used them almost every day to stay in the house, preferring them over the shorts. Sean’s old, patched jeans left forgotten in the back of a drawer.

Maybe someday they’ll get used to have the ocean in their backyard, but that day was not today, and the brothers would keep playing in the water like it was the first time.

“Come on!” Sean encouraged Daniel to hurry up as he entered the water.

“You think dad would have let us visit this place? Once he retired?” Daniel asked as he reached Sean’s side.

“I don’t know” Sean shrugged in honesty. “But if he had he would certainly take a dip every five minutes” he chuckled.

“That’s true” Daniel said smiling.

Sean submerged until the water was at his chest length. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you” Sean said taking Daniel’s hand. The kid was growing up slowly, just like Sean, but he still hadn’t caught up with Sean’s height, so his big brother would always make sure Daniel wasn’t scared when his feet barely touched the ground under the water.

“Thanks” Daniel said appreciatively. “This could’ve been our vacation house” Daniel said melancholically looking back at the house in the distance, where in another life, they’d be here visiting the place for the summer, their dad beaming with joy at finally being able to show the boys where he grew up. They’d be just a handful of common tourists around town, and then when the time ran out, they’d go back to Seattle and restore their common lives.

“But it’s our own house that we live in now. Isn’t that better?” Sean said.

“Yeah… yeah, that’s true” Daniel nodded, “You think that if he would’ve showed us the place, he would also tell us about his life here?” he asked looking back at Sean “I really want to learn what his life was like before he moved”

“He was pretty reserved about what his life was back here” Sean said “But maybe he would’ve opened up about it as we grew older and understood more things. I also want to know more about him”

Daniel smiled and nodded, right now dreaming about their dad was the only thing they could do on the day his father used to enjoy so much.

“I like to think he’d be happy we got to see the house after all, even in the circumstances it occurred. I like to think that he’s proud of us and what we’re doing with the place. I like to think he only cares about us sticking together rather than the things we had to do to get here” Sean said getting emotional, a tear threatened to fell down his cheek, but he quickly wiped away.

He had a dream once, months ago when they had recently arrived, and he couldn’t quite forget it; the words his dad said in that dream felt so real, even if it was just what he subconsciously wanted to hear.

I’m proud of you

But he liked to convince himself that it was true. He had to, in order to keep his mind clear.

“I miss him” Daniel spoke. “I miss him a lot. Somedays I think I’m cool about it… but, then it hurts so bad to not hear his voice… his hugs… and I just feel like I can’t breathe”

“That’s okay, I miss him a lot too. And it also hurts.” Sean said going for a hug with Daniel, which he needly dive into, hiding his face on Sean’s chest. Sean just stroked his brother’s back, sharing the feeling of isolation they felt. Sometimes he still couldn’t believe how he managed to keep going without his dad. Sometimes he missed having the comfort of his dad, someone to go to when he was lost, to seek advice, or to just hide from the cruelty of the world. He missed feeling like no matter what happened his dad would be there to help him, to fix it.

With a deep breath, Sean tried to let go of the bad feeling. The day was going to be like this, fun memories, light conversations, and then sad ones, heavy ones, only to go back to lighter themes again. Such was the consequence of grief on this day.

“So now you don’t mind the sweat when I hug you” Sean teased with a little smile as he cradled Daniel’s head.

Daniel giggled “You ruined the moment” he said, “and besides, we’re in the water, we’re sort of rinsed.”

Sean chuckled softly at Daniel trying to prove his point.

 “So, you know where Matias is?” he then asked. He was excited at the prospect of talking to family.

“Probably at his house” Sean figured “Or I hope so”

“So, you won’t sell your art this morning?” Daniel asked.

“I don’t know, maybe later? I want to be with you today. It’s been a year since we arrived, that’s important” Sean thought about it once again “Isn’t that crazy?”

Daniel also smiled, it sure was bittersweet, but it was mostly nice “Yeah… it doesn’t feel like it”

“You’ve grown up” Sean said and splashed Daniel, which laughed and splashed him in return.

“You always say that” Daniel giggled.

“Because it’s true, you’re not only taller, but you also started seeing things more maturely. I guess I did too” Sean said, he felt bad because of how fast Daniel had to grow up, but he was also proud by how much his brother matured. He still wanted Daniel to be a kid and enjoy it before it went away. He would try to do what he could to let that happen. “Maybe you did know what was up back then and I didn’t listen” Sean pondered out loud, he knew now that his brother was capable and smart enough to realize a lot of stuff.

“It’s still all a fuzzy mess” Daniel shrugged “You’re a bit taller too” he said so he wouldn’t’ fall behind. He liked when someone acknowledged that he wasn’t a little kid, so he figured people might like that as well “You look like a real adult almost. It’s hard to explain”

“What do you mean almost” Sean laughed and splashed Daniel again.

With a fit of giggles Daniel used his power to throw a fairly big amount of water back at his brother. Sean needed a moment to breathe and wipe his face after that.

“You little shit that’s cheating” he said with no hard feelings.

“Yeah, yeah” Daniel rolled his eyes.

“Come on, let’s dry ourselves in the sun and then we’ll go see Matias” Sean said walking towards the shore and helping Daniel do the same. It felt good to hold his hand as they got out of the water, there wasn’t much Daniel couldn’t do by himself these days. There was a time where he helped Daniel with almost everything… now he just hopes he won’t be forgotten once he’s not needed anymore.

Sean knocked at the door for the fourth time now. But he was starting to feel like no one was home.

“{Where are they?}” Daniel asked annoyed.

“{Well, we haven’t spoken in like two weeks” Sean said scratching the back of his head “Their mom is in a hospital in Mexico City I think, their dad is there to take care of her… Diego is been kind of missing since then, traveling every weekend, Luna is always busy working, and Sergio must be at the restaurant, I think.}”

“{Isn’t their mom sick since months now?}” Daniel said concerned.

“{Yeah… the whole family has been kind of on edge. I think that’s why Matias was kind of an asshole, but I don’t think he meant it}” Sean said. “{But where would Matias be if he’s not here?}”

“{Should we go look for Sergio? Might know where Matias is}” Daniel suggested.

“{Yeah, maybe}” Sean said and the two brother’s set in motion.

But surprisingly for both, the restaurant was closed. And now this was definitely strange. If Sergio wasn’t here, then Sean had not a clue where him or Matias could be.

“{What?}” Daniel tried the door again just to be sure. “{If you don’t have work today, they would’ve warned you right?}”

“{I guess so, but then again, I work the afternoon shift}” Sean said.

They both started to walk towards the center of the square where the fountain was, wondering if they were missing something.

“{Not even a note at the door}” Sean said sitting on the fountain.

“{Yeah, and it’s one thing for Matias to miss work but Sergio and Diego too?}” Daniel said.

“{Yesterday it was all normal. Well, normal as in Matias wasn’t there but the restaurant still ran}” Sean explained.

“{You think something bad happened?}” Daniel asked concerned.

“{I hope not, but let’s not jump to conclusions yet, cub}” Sean said placing a hand around his little brother.

“{You’re right}” Daniel nodded.

“Sean? Daniel?” The voice of Marcos, one of Matias’ friends called them “{Ale was looking for you two}”

“{Oh, really?}” Sean was a bit confused, he knew these guys and he had hung out with them, mostly on birthdays and in the restaurant, but he wasn’t sure if they were friends yet. He felt like he was busy all the time and barely had time to really get to know them better. The situation with Matias was a little different because they saw each other at work all the time.

“{He wanted you to add a little note to the letter}” Marcos explained.

“{What letter?}” Daniel asked.

“{A letter for Matias’ family}” Marcos said as if it were obvious.

“{What? Where’s Matias?}” Sean asked more confused than ever.

“{You don’t know?}” Marcos covered his mouth in surprise.

“{Know what?}” Daniel ears perked up.

“{They didn’t tell you?}” Marcos asked again, clearly shocked.

“{Tell me what man? Come on}” Sean’s mind was racing with millions of possibilities right now.

“{Maria died yesterday… around evening…}” Marcos finally informed.

Both brothers’ eyes widened in shock.

“{Matias’ mom?}” Sean and Daniel said in unison.

“{I thought you knew? We all received a message from Diego last night}” Marcos continued to explain “{Carla was the only one who spoke in a call with him, but Matias wasn’t there.}”

“{Wait, wait. Wait. What happened?}” Sean asked.

“{Apparently she had cancer, and she never treated it because it was expensive to travel}” Marcos said sadly “{she just never got checked, and no one knew anything until it was too late. The last two months she had been really bad, and then Sebastian traveled with her to Mexico City, to a hospital. Both stayed there. But… unfortunately the state of it was too advanced, and she passed away.}”

“{Shit}” was the only thing Sean could say. They had shared with the whole family back in December for the holidays… and now this is where they were.

“{But where is Matias now?}” Daniel asked.

“{In Mexico City. The whole family is.}” Marcos explained. “{With all the flights Diego had to take in order to replace his dad’s management at the restaurant and then back again to help his mom and dad, their money has been bad. At least that’s what Diego told me}”

“{Matias knew this was coming… that’s why he was all… fucked up. He might had not known what his mother sickness was, but he knew it was really bad}” Sean said thinking out loud.

“{I can’t imagine the weight in Diego’s shoulder, being the big brother and having to take care of everything so it wouldn’t fall apart. At least he had Luna’s help}” Marcos said thoughtfully.

Daniel looked at Sean for a moment, frozen with thought, and then looked back at Marcos.

“{I feel like an idiot}” Sean sighed “{I was mad at him… but he was just under so much stress}”

“{Hey, come on now}” Marcos shoved Sean gently in the shoulder “{You can’t possibly know everything}”

“{Did any of you talked to him?}” Sean asked.

“{No… he doesn’t answer our texts. To be honest I think he’s with his family right now}” Marcos said.

Sean and Daniel both nodded in understanding. They couldn’t use Matias’ phone but that seemed unimportant right now. They wanted to find a way to be there for him.

“{Can I try calling him?}” Sean asked.

“{Maybe he just wants space}” Marcos said.

“{I know but… I don’t think distancing himself is doing him any good. One of the last times we spoke before our argument, he opened up about how he felt and… it seemed like he had been hurting because he was keeping it all inside.}” Sean said, “{Please man, just let me try.}”

“{Okay, but I don’t think he’ll answer. Carla tried already}” Marcos said, and after he saw Sean’s extended hand, he handed his phone to Sean. “{You don’t have one?}” he asked.

“No?” Sean said, not paying much attention.

“{Yeah, right. Sorry}” Marcos said feeling like an idiot for assuming. It’s not like he had a lot of money; he had a phone that barely worked for messages and calls, but he never realized Sean didn’t have a phone at all. He should’ve, he’s a seventeen-year-old living alone with his brother and working, he doesn’t have much. He is an admirable man, that is. Marcos never questioned why he was in that situation, but it was none of his business after all.

It made sense now why didn’t Sean hear the news, Diego never called him because he didn’t have a way to reach him, and there was a lot going on for him to remember to tell Matias’ friends to inform him.

Marcos sat next to Sean as he looked for the contact called ‘Mati’ and a little bomb emoji next to it. He pressed the call button and held the phone to his ear. The three of them waited a few minutes, but it went to voicemail.

Marcos sighed “{I expected it}”

“{Let me try one more time}” Sean said and send a text.

{It’s me}

Sean

{Answer please}

He waited a few moments before he sent the last one. He knew this wasn’t about him… or the moment to talk about it, but…

{I miss you}

He stared at the screen for a minute, contemplating. And then… the phone started ringing, Matias was calling back. Marcos was shocked. Sean picked up the second it rang.

“{Hi}” Sean said “{I’m sorry}” he added fast. And he felt kind of hopeless, realizing this is similar to what Lyla probably felt when Sean had gone away and she couldn’t do anything to help, only worrying day and night for him.

“{Hi” Matias answered, his voice soft, tired, hoarse, probably from crying. “{What the hell are you doing with Marcos’ phone}” he asked.

“{I called to check in on you}” Sean said “{I originally came to ask for your phone but…}” he chuckled quietly.

“{Only seeking me when you’re in need I see}” Matias smiled slightly. “{I assume you know…}” he said sadly.

“{I do}” Sean nodded even if Matias couldn’t’ see. “{Where are you now?}” Sean asked.

Marcos and Daniel could only hear what Sean said, but they wouldn’t dare to interrupt the moment Matias decided to speak with someone. No matter how badly Daniel wanted to speak with him.

“{In a Motel. I’ll be back in a few days. This is honestly so fucked up… I feel like I’m out of my mind”

“{I’ve been there}” Sean said softly “{I’m not here to talk about what happened, or, when, why, or how did you find out, or how I found out, or your friends. No. I’m here to speak with you, a conversation between friends.}”

Sean could hear Matias breathe heavily on the phone.

“{Sorry for being kind of distant lately}” Sean said.

“{No… I was the one who fucked up, I said dumb things… I-}”

“{Don’t worry about that now. It doesn’t matter. And honestly, I get it dude. I understand, really.}” Sean assured him.

“{You’re really good at talking and not letting other people speak}” Matias teased weakly.

“{I know right?}” Sean smiled “{We’re all here waiting for you. Daniel and Marcos are next to me right now}”

“{Hey!}” Daniel shouted, making Matias giggle a bit.

“{And when you get back, we can have a nice dinner together, Daniel can cook}” Sean smirked.

“{Hey!}” Daniel was heard once again and Matias giggled even more.

“{Sean… thank you}” Matias said “{It’s all been so weird… I don’t…}” He then let out a heavy sigh “{This was the first time I’ve felt like I can breathe since these past few days…}”

“{That’s what friends are for}” Sean said “{And… do me a favor please? Stop running away from us. From me. I can tell it only makes you feel worse.}”

Silence was the response Sean got.

“{Just try. It’s not just for you, you selfish bitch}” Sean chucked “{How do you think I- We all feel when you do this. Worried}”

“{Fine… I’ll try}” Matias chuckled as well “{I have to go…}” he sighed “{Tell Marcos I’ll call him later… and thanks again.}”

“{Sure thing. Love ya man}” Sean said, and the call ended. “He’s mostly fine, I think. He probably needs a lot of time to process everything. It’ll take a while}” Sean informed.

Both Marcos and Daniel nodded, feeling more relieved.

“{That’s goof to hear}” Marcos said.

Sean sighed and then asked, “{Can I make one more call?}” because he thought the day was still worthy of it.

“{Sure}” Marcos said.

“{It’s international, but I’ll pay the bill, don’t worry}” Sean said.

Marcos was a but impressed by that but didn’t say anything back.

“{You know, I want to call our grandparents… but I think it’s time we check on someone else…}” Sean said to Daniel, who got disappointed yet excited at the same time.

“{Who?}” Daniel said impatiently.

“{I remember he gave me his number, just in case}” Sean said dialing the number, and then he put the phone in speaker. He got self-conscious about Marcos being there but then remembered he probably didn’t know much English.

“Hello?” A man’s voice was heard as well as a door closing in the background.

“David?” Sean asked, and Daniel was just about to lose his mind.

“Who is this?” David asked in suspicion and an intimidating voice which got Sean to giggle.

“It’s Sean… Sean and Daniel Diaz?” he informed, and he could hear David coughing from the surprise.

“Hi!” Daniel shouted.

“Holly shit” he said once he got his breath back, “W- who- how are you boys?” he asked.

“We’re doing fine. We’re mostly settled” Sean said. “It’s been a year now since… you know”

“We’re celebrating!” Daniel added.

“You’re right” David said “God… I was worried, your mother too, she’s been released, not that long ago” he said.

“Yeah, our grandparents told us… we called to check in on her too” he said.

“Oh, yes of course, let me go get her. It’s kind of a mess here, Stanley, Arthur and I got visitors, so we’ve been busy. Some new people arrived since you guys left” he said as he walked outside, Sean could hear multiple voices.

“Looks like a big party” Sean smiled.

David chuckled “Not really, you know how it is around here.”

“You can’t party without us” Daniel said, making both of them laugh.

“I want to hear what you’ve been up to, I never expected to hear from you guys after what happened at the border…  but I won’t take your time. You boys talk to your mom and then she can tell me. It’s been nice to know you’re okay”

“Thank you, David,” Sean said.

“Yeah, thanks” Daniel added.

After a bit of weird sounds and muffled voices on the phone, seemingly David telling Karen who was on the phone, she spoke “Boys? Are you there?” he asked almost desperate.

Sean knew Karen had a phone, but he couldn’t remember the number. But he did knew David’s number thanks to having it noted on his old sketchbook.

“Mom!” Daniel could jump from excitement.

“It’s us, Karen” Sean said “We’re using a friend’s phone…Its’s been a long time”

“Oh my god, my parents told me you two called them a few times… I’m so glad you’re doing good” she said relieved.

“Yeah, we’re managing, you know, going one step at the time” Sean said.

“Good. You need to take it slow… God there’s so much I want to talk to you about”

“Mom, how are you? You were in prison” Daniel said worried, changing the focus of the call for a moment.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m okay. It was fine, really, they didn’t have much against me. I’m glad I could give you more time to flee from the cops”

“We still got caught by some crazy civilians” Sean said annoyed.

“But you made it safe, that’s what’s important.” She said.

“I wouldn’t call it safe.” Sean said a bit dryly “But yes, we made it, fortunately” he added relaxing a bit.

“I need to tell you something, it’s actually perfect that you called.” Karen said.

“What is it? Daniel asked impatiently, as usual.

“I have some things that belong to you, I want to give them to you” she explained “I went to the Seattle house… I need to tell you some things but… its better if we wait until we see each other.”

“What’s with all the mystery” Sean said, fighting to roll his eyes.

“What stuff is for us?” Daniel asked instead.

“Some old clothes, old belongings… photos… you can decide what to keep or throw away.” She said.

“Awesome!” Daniel smiled.

“But can you even come here?” Sean asked.

“That’s the other thing. I’m working on it. With luck, I’ll be able to pay you guys a visit in the upcoming months.”

“What!? you serious?!” Daniel couldn’t believe it.

“Yes Danny-boy” Karen smiled.

“Promise?” Daniel needed to be sure.

“I do” She answered.

Sean couldn’t believe it either… but he was more scared at the prospect of what she was bringing with her. He didn’t think they were ready to see stuff from their old life when they were still settling into a new one. How would they feel about it if they still miss their old life, how could they cope with it when they still call that old Seattle house that has been inhabited from over a year, their ‘home’.

“I want to see how you two live… I’m… proud of both of you, for everything you accomplished. For sticking together no matter what. For not letting the world decide who you can and cannot be” She said emotionally.

Daniel looked up at Sean at those words.

“I think that Town was waiting for you. I think that your father would’ve wanted you two to see it. You came back to where you needed to be. That’s your place now” she said.

“You think so?” Daniel asked smiling.

“You two are probably the two things that town was missing, I’m positive. You two are where you’re supposed to” Karen said, and for some reason Sean felt ten times lighter. He has spent these last months in conflict with himself for what he thought he made Daniel miss out on his life. But hearing Karen say that this was right, to hear it from someone that wasn’t Daniel, even if he didn’t always agree with her, it made his soul feel lighter.

“Thank you.” Sean said.

“It’s been nice to see where dad grew up, I bet it has changed though” Daniel said.

“It’s a rather small town, I doubt it would change much. Your father went to some of the schools there, they probably have a file of him or something, he was in the sports team, used to play basketball I think, have you gone? I think h won a trophy once or something” she said.

“No, we didn’t know that” Sean said.

“Which School was it?!” Daniel said anxiously.

“I believe it was called something like… glorious… sol? Sol Glorioso? I Can’t quite remember.” She said.

Daniel giggled at his mother’s pronunciation, as if he hadn’t also had it before he had taken a bit of time to learn Spanish properly “We need to teach you how to talk properly”

Karen laughed and Sean rolled his eyes at his little brother’s smugness.

“You will, once I go there. I promise, like I said before, I have things that belong to you. Soon enough, we won’t be wishing to hug, we will actually do it.

“I can’t wait” Daniel smiled.

“I’ wish we could talk more, but I bet your friend doesn’t want to keep waiting” Karen chuckled “Don’t worry… I’ll be there as soon as I can… this is a ‘see you soon.’”

“Okay” Daniel nodded sadly. “See you soon mom”

“See you soon mom” Sean said as well.

It actually took them a little more time to hang up, neither of them really wanted to end the call, but eventually they did. Sean might not have had the best relationship with her, but he did appreciate the help she provided, and most importantly, Daniel really missed her.

Marcos was impressed when the call started and both brothers started to speak in another language, but that didn’t last long, and after almost forty minutes he was kind of bored, but he knew it was important for them seeing how happy Daniel was, so he did the favor.

“{Sorry man… we really needed to call.}” Sean said returning the phone.

“{It’s okay… Family is important right?}” Marcos nodded. “{So, Ale said he left the card at your house for you guys to sign it and write, bring it back tomorrow}” He said checking his messages before getting up “{See you guys}” he hugged Sean and Daniel in turn, patting their back.

Both brothers said their goodbyes and got up as well, starting their journey back home.

“Escuela Sol Glrorioso… Can we go check it out? Please? Sean?” Daniel begged.

Sean chuckled “Yeah, I want to learn more about dad too, but not today… lets go sign that card and keep our day going” Sean said hugging his brother sideways.

“Okay” Daniel said a little disappointed, but he knew Sean would take him there soon.

“Come on, I don’t have an afternoon shift until who knows when, let’s enjoy our time” Sean said. It was bad not to be working, but it also meant more time with Daniel. It wasn’t the same as when he kept Sean company while he worked, and he could certainly tell it wasn’t Daniels’s favorite activity, but he knew he did it because he knew Sean couldn’t just stop working.

“Yeah… okay” Daniel nodded, more time with Sean was always welcomed, even if he did spend every day with him.

Back home, the brother read the letter and added their own section to it for the Gonzales’ family, Daniel wrote his own part and Sean added another one, with one section specifically dedicated to Matias. After that they lounged around all day, since Sean had the day free. They basked in the warmth of the beautiful day outside, playing around the beach and refreshing in the nice water it provided. And when they finally ran themselves exhausted, they took turns taking a bath to rest the rest of the evening.

Sean took the first turn, having won a match of rock, paper, scissors, and now he was lying down on the couch as Daniel took his time with his bath. Admiring the view from the window of the sliding door, which he realized he needed to buy some curtains for, he got sleepy, and after a fun day, he let himself rest.

Sean watched the sunset through the window, a view he had drawn a few minutes ago, resting comfortably on the couch, the warm sun felt comfortable in his skin, and as he drifted to sleep, in between thoughts and a blurry vision he saw a person standing next to the door. He wasn’t alarmed, no, he was too tired for that. He wasn’t awake either, he believed. A tall man, a comforting sight. Esteban? It seemed like it. Arms crossed, leaning on the wall and looking down at his sleeping son with that smile he got when he couldn’t hide how much he loved his sons. Sean used to feel embarrassed by it, but now he only wanted to soak on it. And believe those words again.

I’m proud of you

He could almost believe it.

When he opened his eyes again the sky was pitch dark, a few hours had passed, he could hear rustling in the kitchen as Daniel worked something out, the smell of food shortly arrived at his nose, and he realized his stomach was begging for it. He looked back at where he thought he saw his dad next to the sliding door but could now clearly tell it was a dream… a dream that merged with reality in a weird way. Esteban wasn’t there, of course he wasn’t. But it had felt like it… and that look on his face… it felt good. It felt like he had someone to run to and hide in from the rest of the world, it felt like he could go hide onto his father’s chest and let it all out. That’s how Sean felt as he recalled the image of his dad watching over him, while he lay comfortably on the couch, hands rested behind his head, and with a big smile on his face. Comforted. Protected.

Chapter Text

Thursday, July 4th, 2019, Two years after the events at the border

Daniel ran down the stairs and into the garage, his bare feet making soft sounds as he stepped on the cement ground; he dogged some tools scattered around the floor and turned his attention to the little desk placed in front of the window in the corner of the room. He started rummaging around it and throwing papers at the floor while doing so.

“{Hey, hey, what did we talk about}” Sean lifted his head from under their car hood when he heard the mess Daniel was making.

“{I know. I know… But it’s an emergency!}” Daniel said, stopping for only a moment to look at Sean.

“{Calm down…}” Sean said and walked over next to Daniel, crouching and gathering the papers that had fallen off the desk, “{What’s going on?}” he then asked, sighing.

“{it’s today! You remember right?}” Daniel asked, still looking around.

Sean rolled his eyes “{Of course I remember, why do you think I’m checking the car for?}”

“{I need to call him}” Daniel said desperately.

“{Daniel chill, what for?}” Sean said amused by how energetic his little brother was being.

“{To check in?}” Daniel said looking away.

“{It’s 9 am, he didn’t even take the plane yet}” Sean said, his hands going into his pockets to fetch for something.

“{I- I know that}” Daniel rolled his eyes, “{But he must be at the airport already}”

Sean chuckled and pulled out their phone from his pocket “{Here}” he said handing it. “{Next time just ask for it, cub}” He smiled and ruffled his hair.

Daniel’s cheeks reddened a bit, taking the phone from Sean’s hands “{Thanks}” he said unlocking it {“Why do you have it on you anyway, it’s mine too, you know?}”

“{Because I used it?}” Sean playfully rolled his eyes again at Daniel’s state of defensiveness.

“{Well, I’ll give it back in a few minutes}” Daniel said and dashed back upstairs.

Sean chuckled “{It’s fine, no rush}” he said as he finished picking up some papers and putting them back on the desk “{But then come back here and clean your mess, please!}” He shouted; these were important business files…

Sean waited for an answer and pressed when he didn’t get one “Daniel!”

“{Yeah, I heard you!}” Daniel shouted back annoyed.

“{Thanks!}” Sean said and stepped back to his car to keep working on it, he needed a minute to remember in what state of the checking he was in before Daniel came storming by.

“{Kids, right?}” Leo said walking next to Sean.

Sean chuckled, and nodded “{He’s just excited… today’s a big day you know?}”

“{It sure is}” he nodded in agreement.

Sean wasn’t mad at Daniel, if anything he was glad that the kid was so enthusiastic about today’s celebration, even Sean was a bit anxious for the party; He couldn’t wait to catch up with everyone. His friends from Mexico would meet his old ones, and he was sure they’d get along just well. It was the perfect time to do it before Matias went off to college… that was scary, he was his closer friend now, but Sean was the one who suggested the idea in the first place, and he was glad Matias was ready to start his journey into discovering what he wanted to do with his life.

And then there was Leo, a life saver. Leonardo was his full name, he met him a few months ago, recently moved into town as well and soon enough they found out they had quite a lot in common. As of late he was helping Sean to start his own business, a car repair shop. Sean wasn’t sure about the idea at first, he knew how cars worked fairly well thanks to his dad’s teaching, but he had never fixed a real car before. Leo seemed to have experience with it though, having worked as a mechanic before, he told Sean he had the skills and the place to do it, and with a little bit of training he could perfectly do it. But then it was also weird… he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be a mechanic a few years back… but now it felt like something that drew him closer to his father, and that surely felt nice.

Between mixed emotions he’s done a few jobs here and there with Leo’s help, and he eventually made up his mind. With the money coming in, they started to work on the lower floor of Sean and Daniel’s house, transforming a room that until now had only served as a huge storage room/garage, into a full working space to get cars fixed, a workshop. They even have a corner that works as a little office now. Sean had plans for the future of this project, and he was sure whether it was his dream job or not; it would help him to provide better for his little brother and help a friend in need of work. The workshop was nothing official yet, but they were making steady progress on it, soon enough, it would open its doors.

Upstairs, Daniel had bumped into Jacob as he ran towards his room. Jake stumbled back but didn’t fall.

“Sorry” Daniel apologized “I wasn’t looking”

Jacob chuckled, “It’s okay.” He smiled, and then noted, “You’re getting stronger”

Daniel returned the smile, it was great to have Jacob around, it had been more than a year since they last saw him and his little sister in that awful place back in Nevada. It wasn’t as weird or sad to see them again as Daniel had thought it would be, their catching up was something that didn’t feel forced. And seeing Sarah Lee again was incredible, she was still learning a lot from the world, having to deconstruct some of the ideas they made her believe since she was a child, but she seemed way happier and healthy now that Jacob was taking care of her. They have been staying with the brothers for over a week now, and they will be joining today’s party.

“You’re heading out soon?” Sarah Lee asked Daniel from the couch, peeking out over one of the comics from the series Daniel had introduced her to.

“In a minute, I just need to make a quick call” he said and walked backwards in the direction of his room.

“Okay then” Jacob said taking a seat next to his sister as She nodded towards Daniel.

Daniel closed the door to his and Sean’s bedroom and sat on their bed. He waited patiently for his texts to be answered as he stared at the wall of polaroids that he filled over the last year. All good memories… he couldn’t wait to show everyone. This was so exciting… for the first time in a long time Daniel felt in peace with his life decisions and his past. He wasn’t over it, but today maybe he could look at it all with brighter eyes. Sean was right, he always was, they first had to work hard to settle in and then it would all go uphill. And now it was all, indeed, going smoothly for the Diaz brothers.

Daniel jumped when he heard a notification sound. He quickly grabbed his phone, the device almost slipped from his hands as he tried to move faster than his body would allow him to, and then finally unlocked it. The last text Daniel sent him was yesterday, telling him to text him when he had time to talk. And finally:

Hey

Just arrived at the airport

Dad is fussing too much

Cool

Do you have time to talk?

Daniel immediately asked, and after apparently some hesitation giving the time it took him to answer, he smiled at the response.

A little

That was all that Daniel needed to press the call button. It rang a few times and then Chris’ voice could be heard.

“Hello?” he answered. Daniel could hear muffling voices in the background as well as a struggling noise as he apparently moved around.

“Everything okay?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah, we’re waiting for our call” Chris informed. “I have everything ready and-” he was interrupted by someone; Daniel could recognize the voice as Charles. Chris’ dad. “Okay, okay-” Chris sighed before talking to Daniel again, “My dad wants to know if you’re ready for the drive.”

“Of course, Sean is doing a final check on the car and then we’ll be on our way. We’ll be there way before your plane lands,” Daniel explained and then Chris passed this information to Charles.

“Yes… yes dad… Okay, I get it. Can I have a minute?” Chris said annoyed.

Daniel waited awkwardly for Chris to talk to him again.

“Sorry for that. My dad has been really stressed” Chris sighed “He has been annoying all day. He knew I was leaving today! We planned this trip for months in advance. I don’t get it.”

Daniel chuckled, “He’s worried dude. You never traveled alone, let alone left the country.”

“I still can’t believe I convinced him to let me do this” Chris said.

“I’m sure Sean and my grandparents talking to him had something to do with it” Daniel said snorting, Sean had been really determined to make all of this happen. Claire wasn’t sure about the idea at first, but Stephen was able to convince her, and then it was easier to convince Charles. It was a team effort.

“Oh, yeah” Chris chuckled. “Your grandparents are here too, they’re way calmer than my dad”

“Claire? I doubt it, she just isn’t saying anything” Daniel smiled.

“I can’t believe I’m going to see you again…” Chris said excitedly. “The Spirit Squad will be reunited!”

“I know… I can’t wait to tell you all about it” Daniel said.

“I know most of it already, we talk almost every day” Chris chuckled.

“Yeah, but you get to see it this time!” Daniel let himself fall on the mattress as he kept talking.

“And we’ll get to play on the PlayBox in the same room” Chris pointed out.

“You’re brining your controllers, right?” Daniel smiled, “I bet Sean would like to join.”

“Of course! I can’t wait to see him as well. I already am all checked, my luggage is getting to the plane, I think” Chris announced.

“You nervous?” Daniel asked.

“I think so. But I’m way more excited” he giggled.

“We’ll be there as you land, and then I’ll show you around our house. Oh, you’re going to love the beach! And the food! And-” Daniel was interrupted by a warm laughter.

“I just want to be there already.” Chris said anxiously, “The ride from Beaver Creek to Portland was more than an hour long. My dad drove, but like I said, he was being annoying” Chris said.

“Hey, he just wants you to be safe” Daniel said “Don’t be too hard on him”

“I know, but you would understand if you had him reminding you everything you already know like ten times a minute” Chris said.

“I wouldn’t mind it If it’s my dad” Daniel said.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude” Chris said sheepishly.

“What? No, you weren’t.” Daniel said honestly.

Daniel could hear then an unintelligible voice coming from the phone.

“That’s my call” Chris said “I have to go say goodbye to my dad and Claire and Stephen”

“Okay, go. You don’t want to be late” Daniel smiled again.

“See you soon?” Chris asked.

“Heading there right now” Daniel nodded confidently.

“Bye” Chris said jovially and then ended the call.

Daniel got up from bed and looked at the phone one last time before sighing and getting to his feet. “Sean!” he shouted as he opened the bedroom door.

“I’m right here you dumb-dumb” Sean chuckled, washing his hands in the bathroom sink. “Why are you so loud?”

“Shut up. We’re ready to go?” Daniel asked, putting the phone back into Sean’s pocket for him as he dried his hands.

“Everything is in order. Is Chris on the plane yet?” Sean said letting Daniel put the phone back before exiting the bathroom.

“He’s getting in right now” Daniel nodded.

“Okay then, go to the bathroom and we’ll head out” Sean said, and Daniel dashed past him and locked the door behind him.

“Don’t forget to say goodbye to the guys.” Sean chuckled.

“So, you’re heading out?” Jacob asks walking towards Sean.

“Yeah, as soon as Daniel is ready.” Sean nodded “Could you watch the place for us? Don’t worry, we’re only out for like 3 hours, and Matias is going to be here in like half an hour.”

“Sure, no problem” Jacob nodded politely. He sure seemed freer and more relaxed now that he was living healthily with his sister, but some things never changed, the way he avoided eye contact most of the time, or the way he got all fidgety when he got nervous. Maybe it’s a consequence of the trauma that he got from that awful cult, maybe it was a work in progress. Or maybe it was just the way Jacob was. Either way, he was not nearly as timid as he once was when Sean met him all that time ago.

“Feel free to get what you need. Our house is your place too, you know your way around already” Sean said just to assure Jake would be comfortable, giving him a brief hug with a soft pat on the back.

Jacob chuckled before answering “Got it”

Sean smiled as he turned to face Sarah Lee “You too, okay? Look after your brother”

She smiled and nodded eagerly, ready and happy she got the task to take care of Jacob.

Daniel exited the bathroom then, applying some deodorant as he stormed past Jacob and Sean “{Okay, let’s go}” he said.

“Hey, wait. Did you wash your hands?” Sean smiled.

Daniel huffed and blushed slightly with embarrassment “Sean! Of course I did” he rolled his eyes, clearly Sean wanted to embarrass him.

“Say goodbye to Sarah and Jake then” Sean instructed.

Daniel hurriedly gave them both a brief hug and a soft ‘bye’ making Jacob laugh at the kid’s eagerness to go. “Go already” Jake urged Sean.

“{Come on Sean}” Daniel took Sean’s hand started to drag him downstairs.

“We’ll be back like… past noon” he shouted and then followed Daniel.

Downstairs, Leo was finishing organizing some paperwork at the desk before glancing upwards at the brothers. “{Leaving?}”

“{Yeah, before this one kills me}” Sean smiled pointing towards his little brother, already climbing in the car.

“{Okay then}” Leo smiled amused as well.

“{Matias will be here to help in a bit}” he informed and climbed into the driver’s seat.

Leo nodded at the information, “{I’ll head home after I’m done with this. Do you have your license?}”

“{Yup}” Sean nodded and pulled the fake driver’s license Leo had helped him get a few months ago out of his pocket to show him. It even got a picture of Sean, with a different name though.

Leo gave the thumbs up, and Sean started the engine, “{Seatbelt on?}” he asked.

“{Yup}” Daniel nodded.

“{Then off we go}” Sean nodded and started to pull out into the street.

As he did so, Daniel caught a glimpse of Ynez nearby, smiling and waving at them in the car. To answer, Daniel poked his head out of the window and shouted, “{We’ll be back in a few hours, don’t start without me!}” he smiled and then added “{See you tonight!}”

Ynez smiled, she rolled her eyes but nodded nonetheless, her dark curls following the little breeze coming from the ocean as her light brown eyes reflected the warm rays of sunlight. Daniel had met her a few months ago as well, and she matched Daniel’s chaotic way of existing. Sean couldn’t catch a break when the two were together, but not in a bad way; He was happy for his brother having someone to be friends with.

“{What’s that all about?}” Sean asked.

“{Just a game we play, but we all have to be there to do it. It’s only fair}” Daniel smiled sitting back normally in the car.

“{Okay, mysterious boy}” Sean smiled as looked at the road ahead.

“{An hour and a half, right?}” Daniel asked.

“{To Hermosillo? Yes. But we still have to wait for Chris’ plane to arrive, so we’ll have some time to kill}” Sean explained.

“{In the meantime,…}” Daniel took their phone from Sean’s pocket again and fetch for a little cable in the glovebox “{Let’s hear some music}” he smiled.

They had put together a little playlist with songs they both liked, normally hearing them in their house, but the few times they used the car they always listened to it. “{I can’t believe this day is happening}” Daniel smiled “{We haven’t had this many people over since… ever}” he chuckled.

“{Yeah, but we earned it don’t you think?}” Sean smiled as he focused on the road “{We worked hard… we deserve to finally get… you know…}”

“{A life}” Daniel finished.

“{Yeah}” Sean answered quietly as the music on the speaker started.

“{Well, it’s feeling more like it}” Daniel smiled “{We haven’t had brother quality time in a while}”

“{No, because you keep going out with your friends}” Sean chuckled.

“{Well we have guests over, I want to show Sarah around, and I know you enjoy talking with Jacob about whatever serious shit you two talk about}” Daniel rolled his eyes.

Sean laughed at that, and then he paid attention to the song “Hey, this one is dad’s” he said, unconsciously changing back to English.

Daniel noticed too. A Spanish song their dad used to hear back in Seattle, that’s why they had put it on the playlist. “Remember when we heard it after all that time?” Daniel’s smile widened.

“Dude, we almost lost our minds” Sean laughed. “It was just after the whole thing with Matias’ mom, right? …Kind of a crazy time to reconnect with something of dad when he had just lost his mom…”

Tuesday, July 10th, 2018, One year after the events at the border

“{Heard anything about him yet?}” Daniel asked as he sat next to his brother on the fountain, splashing himself every now and then with the water. Sean had bought something to get them shade to refugee from the harmful sun, and it worked, but the heat was still unbearable, and with the fact that the Gonzales’ restaurant was still closed for obvious reasons, Sean had to stay both morning and afternoon cooking on the spot to try and get some money with his art, which was an enough amount, if a bit tight.

“{Marcos told me his family would be returning today. But it’s all still too recent you know?}” Sean said cleaning the sweat from his forehead. He hated that Daniel wanted to stay next to him in this heat when he could be comfortably at home, but no matter how many times he insisted, Daniel would refuse.

“{Well, I hope we can see them soon}” Daniel sighed.

Sean smiled and patted his little brother’s head “{We will, don’t worry. Matias has been more… open. I think he needs it}”

“{Yeah. I wish I could had my friends when we lost dad}” Daniel said sadly. “{I really miss talking with Noah… or Chris.}”

“{I didn’t exactly do a great job at keeping you company}” Sean scratched the back of his head.

“{That’s not what I meant. You were there with me… it’s just… it was all so hard}” Daniel recalled their hard time while on the run.

Sean nodded, “{We weren’t exactly in the most normal conditions to grief dad}”

“{… and are we now?}” Daniel asked quietly.

“{I like to think so, cub}” Sean said thinking about it “{Either way, we’re slowly making progress… I think}”

Daniel sighed, looking at the ground for a moment before speaking again, “{Sometimes it still feels like we’re on the run, you know?}”

Sean turned to look at his brother “{But we’re not. We finally have a home, we had it for over a year now, and-}”

“{I know, I know, but… sometimes I feel like it’s all just a long, long road trip, and someday we’ll just go back to our house in Seattle…}” Daniel said and then looked away “{Which is bullshit, I know that, because that’s not our house anymore, and we can’t go back. And I don’t want to ignore all the things you did for us here… I appreciate them, I promise I do-}”

“{Hey… hey… I won’t feel offended because of how you feel}” Sean said placing a hand on Daniel’s shoulder to get him to look at him again, “{To be honest with you… I sometimes feel like that too… I just don’t think about it too much… I ignore it}”

“{Because it’s wrong?}” Daniel asked.

“{No, because I don’t know what to do about it… and that’s a little scary}” Sean admitted “Our Seattle house, 1452 Lewis Avenue…}” Sean recalled with a big smile “Or lame Avenue according to Lyla, might not be the place we live in anymore, but it was, and for a long time too.}”

“{Maybe that’s why I can’t stop thinking about it like our true home}” Daniel asked a little pained.

“{Maybe}” Sean said shrugging, equally conflicted. “{Maybe it still is our home, whichever state it was left in or from who is it now… It was our childhood place. A place where we felt safe…}”

“{And what about our house here?}” Daniel asked looking at his hands.

“{Still our home, if a bit different}” Sean nodded “{I promise you cub, we’ll have it like new… with furniture, and we’ll own our own stuff… we’ll have a TV to have movie nights again}” Sean said, because that’s what he always aimed since they got to Mexico, a perfect house for Daniel “{and maybe that way it’ll be easier to call it home}”

Daniel nodded “{I like that… yeah…}” it was just the waiting and slow process that made it all a bit unbearable. Daniel was never particularly good at waiting.

“{I’d hug you but it’s too hot}” Sean chuckled. But Daniel didn’t care, silently going for a quick hug after his big brother’s comforting words. Sean always knew what to say.

Time was dragged in the afternoon as Sean sold and drew portraits, or pre-painted landscapes. Daniel was really bored, none of his new ‘friends’ were nearby today, but despite Sean’s insistence on letting him go home to rest, he wanted to stay. Sean always worked hard, always has, ever since their dad died. He can realize now, after reading Sean’s journal that his brother worked countless days in the heat of the sun in awful circumstances and illegal places only to make a bit of money to get Daniel something to eat… He worked with Sean at the pot farm, but they most always gave him the easy jobs, letting the adults have the heavy ones, and he wasn’t complaining…  Only that it felt unfair now to see how young his brother was, and still is, as he does all of this.

So, if he could keep Sean company, even in this awful heat, he would. Because he felt like he needed to… even if Sean would never want Daniel to feel that way. The amount of pain his brother probably felt on his body from all the work on those days when they slept under bridges… how tired he must have felt… just didn’t sit right with Daniel.

And finally, while Daniel kept reminding himself why he endured this awful heat for Sean, Matias walked towards the fountain, wearing a loose tank top and some shorts in order to survive the heat, his hair wet, probably on purpose so he could stay cooler.

Sean got onto his feet first, a sad smile on his face. The brothers haven’t seen Matias for almost three weeks. Both brothers hugged his friend for about two seconds before Matias stepped back.

“{ugh okay, me too, but it’s too fucking hot}” he said smiling.

“{Worth it}” Sean smiled. He thought about something to say that wasn’t stupid, because a ‘how are you doing?’ or any similar greeting would have an obvious, terrible response.

“{It’s good to see you again}” Daniel said before Sean could think of anything.

“{It’s good to see you too}” Matias smiled and ruffled Daniel’s hair. “{It’s been a long month... and we’re not even halfway through}”

Matias certainly looked down, his eyes adorned with a new set of eyebags, and he moved and spoke with less energy than usual.

“{Want to go to our place? We can eat something}” Sean proposed, he just wanted Matias to spend some time with them.

“{Aren’t you working?}” he asked eyeing Sean’s supplies and little spot on the fountain.

“{Nah, I’ve been sitting in there for more than seven hours, my ass is ready to go home}” Sean smiled as Daniel helped him gather all the stuff for them to go home.

And the plan started, Matias definitely wanted someone to spend time with, and Sean wanted to keep the promise of warm food and a good moment he made him on the phone. He’d be sure not to touch the sensitive subject… maybe Matias just wants a distraction, and he was okay with that.

Present Day

“{You could definitely tell he was having a hard time by looking at his eyes}” Sean said contemplatively as he kept the car going on the road.

Daniel nodded “{I think you helped him, you understood his pain better than anyone}”

“{Wait, what were we talking about again?}” Sean asked, he got lost recalling Matias’ grief.

“{Dad’s song}” Daniel chuckled.

“{That’s right}” Sean nodded suddenly remembering, by now the song had long since finished as they kept talking about the memories.

“{It was in the house that we heard it}” Daniel recalled.

July 10th, 2018

Matias sat on the boy’s kitchen counter, a cold glass of water that he had been drinking from in front of him. He looked around waiting for the brothers to come back, the place was still mostly empty, except for their room that looked like a normal room; they had done a good job putting their personalities in it, the wall of polaroids was certainly the characteristic spot.

“{Found it}” Daniel shouted from downstairs, and soon both brothers made their way upstairs.

Sean was holding a small radio as he came into the room. “{We found this a while back. Only thing we have to listen to music}” he said turning it on.

“{It’s mostly Spanish songs I don’t know-}” Daniel covered his mouth in horror for a second, before realizing that Matias already knew they weren’t from Mexico. “Sorry” he turned to Sean.

Sean smiled warmly “{It’s fine dude… he’s one of our team now. And you didn’t really share compromising information}”

Daniel nodded, but he felt really bad about it. Sean specifically told him to speak Spanish in public as to not draw attention to them, a fact that now came naturally, even speaking it when they were alone. But that was worthless if he gave hints like he didn’t knew any Spanish songs. He didn’t want to cause trouble again.

“{Yeah, I know you guys are weirdos, so what}” Matias shrugged with a smile.

“{Shut up}” Sean chuckled and finally set the radio to play some music in the background.

“{I bet you’re wondering when the restaurant is opening again}” Matias said as Sean made his way closer to the counter.

“{Not really}” he said, because he wasn’t that tight with money yet.

“{Well, it’s opening next week}” he announced.

“{And you’ll work?}” Sean asked, worried.

“{I can’t exactly stop the whole world… even if I’d like to}” Matias said looking into his glass of water.

“{Well… I’ll be there, you don’t have to do anything, and your brothers will be there too right?}” Sean tried to make Matias feel less pressured, although he didn’t know if this weighted on Matias’ shoulders that much. “{And Daniel will definitely be there too… he doesn’t leave my side}” he chuckled and turned to look at Daniel, who was clearly not paying attention now.

“{Little cub?}” Sean tried to get his attention.

“{Remember that song?}” Daniel said pointing at the radio, listening intently.

“{What?}” Was Sean’s first reaction because that came out of nowhere, but then he heard it too. “{no way…}” he said smiling.

“{It is…}” Daniel started but didn’t finish.

“{Yeah, it’s one of the songs dad used to listen to while he worked on… my car}” Sean noted, his head filling with hundreds of different memories.

“{He used to be obsessed with it}” Daniel smiled and turned on the volume without getting up from his seat, using his powers.

“{And then he’ll forget about it for months and then suddenly come back to it}” Sean returned the smile.

“{That’s an old song. Your dad probably listened to it when he was a teenager}” Matias offered, he recognized the classic.

“{The ‘secret life’ he barely talked about}” Sean rolled his eyes.

“{You know what’s it called?}” Daniel asked Matias.

“Sobre la orilla del Mar” Matias said. “{I know it thanks to my parents}”

Daniel got up from his chair and grabbed Sean’s hand, making him get up as well.

“What are you doing?” Sean chuckled.

Daniel was just happy to be able to feel a little closer to his dad, and all the different memories that flooded into his mind. So, he wanted to dance. “I never understood what the lyrics said, but now I do” he smiled.

Sean played along, Dancing playfully with Daniel at the music “I can’t believe we came across it.”

“We need to download it!” Daniel said. The lyrics were just like any other romantic average song, but it’s the fact that it was his dad’s favorite that made it enjoyable to listen.

Matias smiled as the brothers danced goofily around each other like they’ve done multiple times before, but not so much lately. This was the first time he saw them do it and it warmed his heart seeing how close they seemed to be, especially when it came to their dad. Maybe it’ll be the same with his siblings someday… Maybe this aching unbearable pain will be tolerable and something to share with them.

He couldn’t quite understand what the brothers were saying now, but they seemed genuinely happy.

Present Day

“{Dude, he was totally uncomfortable}” Daniel laughed.

“{I don’t think so…}” Sean mirrored Daniel’s laugh “{He seemed to be giggling}”

“Yeah, at first, but we danced through the whole song!}” Daniel recalled with a smile.

“{Maybe… but it is a good song}” Sean said unable to lose his smile at the memory “{Play it again}”

Daniel laughed amused by the request, but didn’t complain. Looking for the song again to play it.

July 10th, 2018

Both brothers panted as they sat back on the counter, the radio had already moved to another song.

“{I’m gonna melt}” Sean sighed, his tank top and shorts doing nothing to ease his body temperature.

“{Bad idea}” Daniel said, turning the little fan to face him.

“{I’d say it was worth it}” Matias said smiling.

“{Dude don’t steal the air}” Sean protested as he turned the fan back in the general direction.

Matias’ phone buzzed then, and he checked it, his face dropping slightly.

“{Something wrong?}” Sean asked.

“{Just work stuff.}” he said sighing loudly, “{You know, I only do it because I haven’t figured out what I want to do with my life yet…}

“{I told you… you need to experiment… start doing the shit you like}” Sean said.

“{But right now everything is complicated… I’d have to leave work, and we can’t afford that right now}” Matias sighed again. He wasn’t even sure if he had the strength to do something he wasn’t used to.

Sean didn’t think he had to quit his job in order to do that yet, but it was true that his life might be a little all over the place with his mother’s recent death. Matias played strong; he seemed only a little sad… but Sean could tell he had a tornado inside his head. Sean was like that too after all, pretending for his or someone else’s sake.

“{I could work for you}” Daniel said.

“{What?}” Both older boys said almost I unison.

“{Yeah, I know my way around, I’ve seen you do it, I even helped}” Daniel said as if to prove that his idea wasn’t that out of place.

“{You don’t have to do that}” Matias said looking at both Sean and Daniel.

“{Yeah Daniel, you don’t need to work}” Sean nodded.

“{But it will be extra money for us, right?}” Daniel said.

“So? We’re doing just fine, Dan. You’re a kid, you don’t need to work” Sean said.

“But Sean you don’t understand…” Daniel sighed “You’re always working… ever since we got here. I want to do something useful”

“You do useful things, cub. I already told you. You’re always in the little details that help my day go by easier.” Sean tried to convince his brother

“It’s not fair that you’re the only one who gets to… sacrifice things” Daniel said frustrated, crossing his arms “You’re acting like dad”

“Because I need to take care of you” Sean protested and then corrected himself, “Of us”

“But you’re not dad” Daniel pointed out softly.

“I won’t ever be nearly like him” Sean said a little pained.

“We said it’s a team effort, right?” Daniel said.

“But there’s so much someone can do sometimes cub” Sean desperately tried for Daniel to drop the idea.

“You’re not dad, we’re not in Seattle and I don’t have 9 anymore” Daniel said “I want to help”

Sean sighed, because Daniel was right, but he was also a kid. This wasn’t black or white, it never was when it came to these situations. Sean was an adult because he needed to be one, but what differentiated him for Daniel if he started at 16… wasn’t he a kid too? When did he change? …Probably somewhere In between losing his dad, running away and losing his eye.

“{I’d have to ask my dad first}” Matias joined the conversation. He only caught a few things the brothers said but could sense what the problem was. “{I don’t know if we can hire someone that young} he offered in order to ease both brothers’ minds.

“{We’ll see Enano}” Sean said softly.

“{Besides, I don’t really know what I would do if I quit}” Matias said.

“{You could go study something…}” Sean suggested, like he once did all those months back.

“{Maybe…}” He said, thinking out loud.

“{I’m just saying… if you can, why not give it a shot?}” Sean said “{I… would’ve liked to at least try… my dad always asked me about it… I was too afraid to choose. But I would now}” he said with a hint of melancholy. He still doesn’t exactly know what he would’ve chosen… but doesn’t matter anymore, he doesn’t have the time now, or the resources. Daniel can’t even finish school either… and that already weights on his shoulders every single day.

“{I… have a few ideas… might as well look it up}” Matia smiled weakly. Sean had told him this before, a way to tell him to enjoy what he still has, including opportunities. And with his mom now gone… he’s starting to realize that he can really lose things unexpectedly. Sean talks from experience after all.

“{And if you work at the diner,}” Sean said looking at his brother. "{are you sure you can do a full shift?}”

“{Of course}” Daniel said motivated, the thought of finally being useful was enough to give him strength.

“{Even if you have to work in the morning?}” Sean pointed out “{Meaning you’d have to be alone as I sell my stuff in the Townsquare?}”

“{I… Yeah. I can do that…}” Daniel said feeling much less confident now. Leaving Sean alone always felt like they were being separated. The thought of something happening to Sean… was something he couldn’t deal with.

Sean noticed Daniel change in demeanor, nodding as if to prove that he didn’t think this was a good idea.

But Daniel wouldn’t give up that easily, “{Do you remember that time we talked in the sea?}” Daniel asked softly.

“{which one?}” Sean asked, because they had their fair amount of deep meaningful talks in there.

“{The first one. Like two weeks after we arrived here}” Daniel specified, taking a little pause before continuing “{You told me it felt wrong leaning into me because you thought it was hurting me. When I wanted nothing more than to help you. After finally realizing the things you did for me… I wanted to. And I was so happy when you finally agreed to talk to me about what was on your mind}” he recalled that day fondly.

“{You don’t owe me anything for what I did}” Sean said looking away, because he always thought he managed things poorly.

“{I know. But it’s kind of the same thing. I’m not busy, I don’t do anything… working to help us isn’t something that will hurt me}” Daniel said.

“{But you are allowed to do nothing at your age}” Sean protested.

“{I don’t feel my age Sean…}” Daniel shrugged, “{And I’m trying but there’s nothing I can do. I just want to help a little, what’s the harm in that? You’re not failing me or any of those dumb things you think about yourself. You didn’t mess up things, you didn’t fuck me up. There’s so much someone can do sometimes, right? You said it yourself.}”

Sean could understand that… but it was still complicated for him. He still felt bad about himself. He wasn’t happy allowing Daniel to grow this fast… he wanted him to enjoy his life a little more. Or maybe he was afraid of Daniel growing up too fast.

“{I don’t feel my age either}” Sean said quietly.

“{I admire you, Sean}” Daniel said looking down “{Every time I think of the things you did for me…}” he couldn’t help the tears forming in hie eyes “You suffered through things I wish you wouldn’t had to deal with. You fought things most people would break at… You protected me even when I pushed you away. I want to be more like you… Brave like you. You’re… and I know I don’t say it much, but you’re the most incredible person I know, even after dad. You’re the best brother ever. I see you working hard… I want to help”

Sean wiped his eyes with his hands, trying hard not to cry, because inviting Matias over wasn’t with the purpose of hearing this. But the words Daniel said touched a deep chord in him.

Sean took off his rubber wristband, the one he carried even before leaving their house in Seattle. It had lost a bit of its red and blue colors after all the things he lived, but it was still there somehow, he hadn’t lost it, and it stook with Sean in every step until now. He looked at it for a moment and then passed it to Daniel.

Daniel took it in his hands, looking up at Sean.

“{Here, so you don’t feel alone if we’re apart. You’ll always have a little piece of me}” Sean said “{If you get the job… you can feel less anxious with it}”

Daniel jumped from his seat and hugged Sean tightly, his brother gently returning the motion.

For a moment there were only the two of them, until Matias spoke again. “{I honestly admire the two of you. You both are damn strong}” he said looking at them, because he truly had never met two people with such resilience and strength. With a bond so firm it could last even after the death.

Present day

Sean looked at a sign indicating that they were about to enter the city, with a big ‘Hermosillo’ word decorated in it.

“{We really didn’t do a god job comforting Matias}” Daniel said.

“{It wasn’t that bad… it was just that moment.}” Sean said trying to see things differently. It was true that that that kind of conversation wasn’t meant for that moment, but Matias never seemed to care “{Besides, I bet his mind was definitely occupied with what was happening}” he chuckled, smiling fondly as he noticed the wristband still in Daniel’s wrist.

“Yeah...” Daniel nodded.

“We made it cub” Sean smiled as they drove trough the streets of the city. It wasn’t the first time they’d been here; they get what they need to fix or adorn the house from here. It was an hour and thirty minutes’ drive, which felt much shorter as they listened to songs and recalled some memories.

“I’ve never been to the airport” Daniel smiled.

“We still have like an hour before Chris’ plane lands… we can explore a bit” Sean suggested.

“Yeah, and then we can eat something together, the three of us!” Daniel said excitedly.

“Sounds good to me cub” Sean smiled.

He hadn’t forgotten Daniel’s words from that day, they were too strong for that. His brother really looked up to him, and Sean was determined to set a good example for him, even if he was afraid to make mistakes. But Daniel seemed happy, and even more so now that he was seeing Chris after all this time. Today was going to be a long day, but it was going to be so great. He couldn’t wait for the others to arrive as well. This was what put a smile on his face as he parked in the airport parking lot.

“Shall we, cub?” Sean said as he turned off the engine.

Daniel didn’t need to be asked twice, already jumping out of the car, eager to stretch his legs and wait for Chris.

Chapter Text

Thursday, July 4th, 2019

Daniel waited anxiously for his friend to arrive, walking around nonstop and buzzing with excitement. Sean was afraid he would start running around anytime soon, so he bought him a milkshake in an attempt to distract his hands and his mind. More sugar was not the brightest idea, much less at this hour, Sean thought to himself, but today was a special day and Daniel deserved it.

Sean and Daniel walked around the facility checking out the little shops that were far more expensive than they needed to be. Luckily all the walking kept Daniel excitement contained, if only just a little.

They had only seen one plane land since they arrived, and Daniel almost lost his mind. He thought it was one of the coolest things he had seen in a long time, pointing at it and looking intently while asking Sean if he was watching a dozen times. Of course, he had seen an uncountable number of planes back in Seattle, but never this close, never in the cool motion of landing. Sean was so happy to see Daniel acting more like a kid his age, which was rare these days.

They still had more than fifty minutes of waiting before they could meet with Chris, Sean was running out of space to explore, and Daniel was running out of milkshake.

Daniel spotted another gift shop, one of the many around the big building, this one specified on selling little plushies that Daniel was sure they had nothing to do with the culture of the city but would sell well as a souvenir for tourists. The price tag was, once again, more expensive than the product demanded.

“{Should we buy Chris something?}” Sean suggested with a smile, looking at the same shop.

“{Yeah, that’d be nice.}” Daniel nodded but held Sean’s hand to stop him once he started walking towards the gift shop. “{Wait… That’s a little too much for a plushie don’t you think?}”

Sean smiled softly at Daniel’s worries. The kid had learned what money truly meant once he started working. Realistically, Daniel had never asked Sean for much once they arrived in Mexico, realizing that it wasn’t the time to do so because of all the repairing and things they needed to do and buy first. “{It’s just one gift; we won’t go broke}”

“{Yeah, but Chris is staying like two weeks… we can get him something later… on Puerto Lobos…}” Daniel insisted.

“{Daniel… what did we talk about}” Sean said patiently.

His little brother sighed at that, knowing he had to at least try “{…We should live a little}”

“{That’s right cub, we’re not surviving anymore}” Sean shook him gently by the shoulders “{We’re doing fine… it’s our day, so let’s have a fun time. Why don’t we all buy something to eat once Chris is here}”

Daniel smiled a little at the idea, food with them did sound nice. “{Okay… what should we get him}”

“{Let’s go see}” Sean said walking towards the shop again.

Daniel smiled, knowing that this was going to be something he bought with his money too. Sure, working was tiring, and much less exciting once the first month passed… but it was rewarding, and it did help them both a little. He had made his mind a long time ago, he wanted to be useful… and he had nothing else to do. He could do it forever if he needed to…

Wednesday, July 18th, 2018

Daniel grabbed the four plates and drinks, holding them steady on his extended arms, almost like a circus act. Matias was impressed the first time he saw him balancing the dishes; he didn’t expect the kid to be so good at literally every task, not after he had to beg his dad to give Daniel a chance to begin his training. Now it was just fun to watch Daniel’s impressive ways of serving the customers. It was natural for him, and his charm brought smiles to people’s faces, always surprised to see such a young boy working with ease.

Matias’ dad, Sebastian, was initially unsure about the idea of letting an eleven-year-old kid work at their place, with the recent difficulties in his family he didn’t want to deal with more trouble. But his son eventually convinced him, telling him that they could use the help and that they knew Sean and Daniel, Sean already working there, they were good people to trust. Sean talked to him later, explaining the situation in more detail, about Daniel’s necessity to do something, about the complex situation they were in, about his reluctance and doubt in guiding his little brother. All that was enough for Sebastian to finally nod and suggest the idea of a week of training, for Daniel to learn his tasks and for them to know if he’s ready or not.

Needless to say, that he, like Matias, was amazed by the ease Daniel presented while performing at his job. Taking orders, serving them, cleaning, sitting customers; all with efficiency.

The truth was that Daniel almost broke some plates on his first day practicing, more than two heavy plates to carry almost ended in disaster, but he used his powers in a reflex to hold them in place. And that gave him an idea. He could carry any amounts of plates or drinks he wanted if he held them in his arms with his powers. And well, that’s what he’s been doing. It’s efficient, fun, and no one suspects a thing, they seem to love watching him do it, impressed by his ‘balance’ while holding too many dishes, and Daniel loved it too. In fact, he was sure he could take advantage of his powers to do more parts of his job easier.

“{So? Do you think you can keep up with all this?}” Matias asked Daniel, making him realize he had zone out while cleaning a table.

“{huh?}” Daniel looked at him confused, he hadn’t heard what he said.

Matias let out a soft laughter “{You and your brother do the same thing when you get lost in your thoughts. It’s adorable}”

Daniel was about to protest against this ‘adorable’ accusation presented in front of him, but Matias repeated the question before he could.

“{I asked if you were feeling okay with the job. Is it not too much?}” he asked.

“{No, of course not}” Daniel answered almost offended by the doubt of his abilities, “{I like it, I’m good at it}”

Matias nodded and let Daniel get back to it, his shift was almost over. He was happy the kid was doing so good. Daniel was part of the reason he started working regularly again, he was training the kid since he was the one who suggested this to his father, and Sean asked him to watch him closely for the approximately four hours they spent apart. That was enough for Matias to have a reason to work again and to not think too much about his mother.

Daniel smiled watching the wristband that once belonged to his brother move around his arm, it was a little loose, but it didn’t fall. It felt nice to wear it, Sean was right, it eased the worry he initially felt when leaving Sean alone to go to work, and every time he looked at it he felt a sense of comfort, a reminder that Sean was also thinking about him, and that if he just looked out the window he’d see Sean selling his art at the fountain… which Daniel did every thirty minutes… maybe less… just to be sure.

“Dan!” Sergio, Matias’ brother, called from the kitchen pointing at an order ready to be served.

Daniel nodded, and walked there, making sure to avoid all the seated people around to grab the plates. Matias had explained that the place always got busy in summer, their best time of the year. That was part of the reason they went back to work so soon after the recent loss. The other seasons of the year were much less demanding, with only locals and very few new feces popping up.

Sean had experience with the difference between summer rush and the rest of the year, the concept applying to all businesses in Puerto Lobos, even to his art selling. Daniel was still adapting to it, it wasn’t easy starting at this time of year, but Sean had done so too, at the end of summer last year.

Daniel picked up the three plates in one arm, something that looked almost physically impossible, and then held two more drinks on his other hand. He turned around and saw Sean entering the building, the doors always open for the customers and workers alike to not suffocate, and then greeted him with a smile. In the three days he’s been training, it’s always a relief to see Sean again at the end of his shift, it felt weird to be apart even slightly, so he always felt relieved when they got together again, like the soul had returned to his body.

Sean looked a bit pale though… like he had seen a ghost or something. Daniel hurried to finish his shift so he could check on Sean. He served the people, remembering what they had ordered and placing it in front of them. He smiled politely at the impressed compliments; he was getting used to the amazement of being a kid good at his job.

“{You’re free Dani}” Matias called, pointing at Sean’s arrival, which meant his shift had ended and Sean’s had started.

He nodded, already walking towards Sean “{Are you-}”

“{Daniel!}” Sean held his little brother by the shoulder.

“{What’s wrong?}” he asked a little freaked out.

“{Are you serious?}” Sean said with those furrowed brows he got when he felt really angry. Daniel saw those a lot back in Seattle… and on the run.

Daniel frowned as well, but in confusion.

“{Boys?}” Sergio looked at them, questioning why they weren’t moving, it was a busy hour.

“{Going to change}” Sean smiled and dragged Daniel to the employees only room, or break room, or whatever you needed it to be.

Daniel noticed that although Sean seemed angry about something, he wasn’t being harsh on him. He was not using force, instead holding his arm like he normally would. A change compared to all those times he got kicked out of Sean’s room with pushing, tight grasp and meanness.

Sean closed the door behind them once he checked the small room was empty. “{What are you thinking?}” he asked less annoyed and more disappointed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“{What did I do?}” Daniel answered, annoyed himself.

“{You-}” Sean sighed shortly and lowered his voice “{I’m not stupid man; you were using your powers. You think I believe you can carry that much stuff?}”

“{Hey!}” Daniel protested first, answered after “{No one noticed! Not even Matias, and he’s aware of my powers.}”

“{The whole restaurant noticed, cub}” Sean said “{Everyone looks at you because what you’re doing stands out… but we don’t want the attention, remember? We got to lay low.}”

“{Well for how long? I can’t even speak English anymore!}” Daniel said crossing his arms.

“{I- I don’t know… But we can’t afford to get caught… what if you… slip and all the plates start floating or -}”

“{I’m not stupid, that’s not going to happen-}”

“But what if it does. What then}” Sean said, a scolding posture, arms crossed “{Little cub you are amazing, what you can do is impressive… it really is. But it draws attention. You don’t want things to be bad again… I don’t either.}” Sean said and Daniel just looked away in silence. Sean knew he thought it was unfair, but there was nothing they could do. {“My heart can’t take it if something else happens}” he said.

Daniel made eye contact for a second before looking down again. “{I know… you’re right}” he said. “{I wasn’t thinking-}”

“{You did nothing wrong}” Sean said before Daniel could make himself feel bad, “{Sorry for getting mad… I got worried… not a funny thought: people to know who we are}” Sean said hugging his brother for a moment. He didn’t know what else to say, it sucked to be hiding for the rest of their lives… Daniel deserved better… but can he do something about it?… He could have, back at the border… but it’s too late for that.

Daniel ignored all the troubling thoughts in his head, the ones worrying they’ll never live normally, and instead focused on his big brother in his arms. A grounding sensation.

“Now why don’t you take off that apron and rest. You worked hard” Sean smiled.

“It feels nice to be useful” Daniel nodded.

“You were never a bother” Sean said tightening the hug. “What does Matias think?”

“I think… he’s happy with how I’m managing.”

“We need to tell him about your… little act, and why you’ll stop doing it” Sean said.

“I’ll tell him… and I won’t do it anymore” Daniel nodded.

“Thank you” Sean said, amazed by how much Daniel had grown. He let go of his little brother then and looked for an apron to wear, while Daniel took off his.

“You can use this one” he said.

“And stink of you? I don’t think so” Sean laughed and earned a soft blow from Daniel.

“Whatever” he said and put the apron away.

“We need to get you something more your size” Sean thought out loud, they didn’t have kid sized ones, so Daniel just folded it in a way that would fit him better.

“It’s not really necessary” Daniel said.

Sean looked at him for a moment, a hint of concern showing in his eyes. Still felt wrong to make his little brother work… He had insisted on him to enjoy what’s left of his childhood. But both brothers were stubborn when they wanted to.

“It wasn’t like scary, was it?” Sean asked. They had, of course, talked about Daniel’s first shift and how he had felt about it, and Sean wanted to make sure he was okay with the idea even days later.

“What?” Daniel looked confused.

“Working here. Treating with people” Sean specified.

“Oh… No, not really.” Daniel answered honestly “I mean… it’s new, but I wanted to do it. Plus, I’ve dealt with way more scary stuff than working” he smiled.

Sean’s face fell at those worlds, but he immediately tried to shake the feeling away. Sean himself was worried about his first week, but he managed because he needed the job. And because he had worked way more awful jobs by then.

“Okay, but if you don’t like it, or something is bothering you-”

“I’ll tell you first, I promise” Daniel nodded, already knowing how the conversation would go.

Sean smiled and finished getting ready before opening the door “{You can eat something while you wait for me}”

“{What about you?}” Daniel asked, leaving the room behind his brother.

“{I’ll eat while I work}” Sean informed.

“{That’s not fair}” Daniel rolled his eyes, “{why can’t you have a moment to eat too?}”

Sean chuckled and ruffled his little brother’s hair “{Eat something}” he repeated before walking towards Diego.

Daniel wasn’t okay with this idea, seemed like Sean was always sacrificing something for them, no matter how small it was, and Daniel was getting sick of it. It made him feel bad. But as almost every time, he couldn’t do anything about it. So, he sat at the counter and ate his meal, making sure Sean was eating his too and wasn’t skipping it, even if it was super slow while he worked.

Sean focused on his shift from then, making sure he was keeping up with the orders and the customers that kept coming. Him and Matias walked back and forth and around the tables and little bar, barely speaking while they worked in synch.

“{How’s he doing?}” Sean asked Matias when he finally got a moment to speak to him.

Matias smiled “{You’ve seen him. He’s great! When I started, I was a mess… and I was like fifteen…}”

“{No- I mean, yeah, he’s great, but how do you see him? He doesn’t look stressed? Or…}”

“{Sean, he’s doing fine, really. He’s still the charming kid he was when he first arrived here}” Matias tried to ease Sean’s worries. He knew how badly Sean felt about letting his brother do this, and how complicated it seemed from both perspectives. A necessity to help, a necessity to protect, an action that is born from the necessity to care for each other.

Sean nodded, partially convinced. Matias suspected this would last a little while until they both got used to being apart for four hours a day. He didn’t know the full story yet, but he knew enough to tell these brothers were hurt.

“{And how are you doing?}” Sean asked Matias then. “{It’s probably not too uplifting to be reminded of it every day}” Sean said as he eyed the door. Ever since Maria passed away, the restaurant door got filled with flowers and cards of condolence for the family. Sean knew that with the events being so recent, it would be hard to see that. He didn’t have the time to deal with his father’s death, he just had to keep running away, keep Daniel safe. And Matias? He just seems to be in denial, sadder, but otherwise acting like usual.

“{It’s not}” Matias sighed “{But, what can I do? At least it’s a nice gesture. Annoying, but with no bad intentions}” he shrugged.

Sean nodded. He wasn’t completely sure Matias and his mom were super close, but he seemed stressed when she was in the hospital. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t know much about Matias’ family, just little pieces of what they did and who they were… but not much.

“{How are you doing?}” Matias asked instead, looking at Sean.

Sean was caught off guard for a moment, he blushed and then he shook his head and smiled “{I’m good, you know how it is}”

“{How is it?}” Matias insisted.

“{Living…}” Sean shrugged “{Slowly... but you know… I can’t stop feeling like we’re still surviving}”

“{I think it’s normal. Sometimes we have a hard time facing really big changes in our lives}” Matias said and then looked away “{Not that I’m good at it either… but you told me that you never really had time to think about anything that happened before you got here. So, it must be confusing, feeling all of it at once.}”

“{Yeah… But the world doesn’t wait for anybody}” Sean recalled Matias’ words. “{… could be worse}” he mumbled to himself.

“{Your birthday is fast approaching, isn’t it?}” Matias said then.

“{You remembered?}” Sean laughed, impressed.

“{Of course I did}” Matias said proudly.

“{wait… when was your birthday?}” Sean asked, he’s been here for over a year and-

“{Don’t deflect the subject}” Matias accused “{What are you going to do this year?}”

“{You’re the one deflecting!}” Sean protested.

“{You’re going to be eighteen soon… becoming an adult huh?}”

Sean could almost laugh out loud if the feeling wasn’t so painful at the same time “{I’ve been feeling like an adult for a long time now}” Teenage years? What even were those anymore…

“{Well, that would just not do… It’s a milestone! I’m going to throw a party for you}” Matias smiles.

“{I don’t like parties}” Sean said looking away.

“{Well, you’ll like this one}” Matias insisted, “{When was the last time you had a proper birthday?}”

“{My sixteens…?}” Sean thought sadly.

“{And your last party?}”

Sean didn’t answer that. “{If you’re so chatty now, why don’t you tell me when your birthday is!}” Sean smiled “{Seriously why didn’t you do anything… are you really twenty now?}” he asked confused.

“{Oh look, we’re going to get behind on the orders}” Matias said walking away.

“{Yeah, my ass}” Sean huffed and got back to work. Why the sudden mystery… did he mention it, but Sean missed it…?

Sean finally finished his shift a few hours later, just before Daniel died from boredom. Today was a busy day and both brothers were tired. While Sean went to change and Daniel waited outside, he asked Angel if he wanted to go to his house to play, but he simply said that his parents wouldn’t like that. Daniel didn’t even know if they were fully friends… they played together once in a while, that’s for sure, but his parents seemed to be strict and kind of mean. Or maybe they judged him and Sean too much.

So, there was a change of plans, it didn’t matter if he didn’t have many friends to play with, they were childish at times anyway, he’ll have a way more fun afternoon with Sean…

“{A nap?}” Daniel raised an eyebrow at Sean’s suggestion. They were walking home already.

“{Yeah, why not? I´m pretty beat}” Sean explained. This wasn’t the first time they had napped together, far from it, actually.

“{I guess so}” Daniel thought for a moment, he was kind of tired after working all morning. But not so much as Sean that worked all day, he thought.

“{Besides… look at those clouds}” Sean pointed at the horizon.

“{A storm?}”

“{Maybe… the wind is already picking up a little}” Sean nodded, “{Remember last year? It rained so hard we got worried}” Sean chuckled.

Daniel laughed as well; Matias had to explain to them that it was common for big storms to hit in the summer.

“{If it does rain, we won’t be able to do much anyway}” Sean informed.

“{Yeah, then a nap sounds okay. I miss rainy days though}” Daniel said.

“{Yeah… me too}” Sean said looking at the clouds. Back in Seattle, rainy days were something the boys were accustomed to. It wasn’t as fierce as the storms in Puerto Lobos, but it was constant and a lot of it. On those days Sean couldn’t go out with his friends, he stayed and spent the time with his family, watching some kind of cheesy movie his dad would suggest. He was reluctant to admit it back then, but he enjoyed those days a lot, and now he remembers them fondly. Daniel for his part always enjoyed spending time with his brother, so rainy days were perfect for that, and even better, Sean didn’t complain about hanging out with him on those days.

Once they reached their house, Sean let them both in with his keys and walked upstairs. He left the keys on the counter and then took his eyepatch off, leaving it next to the keys. He sighed looking around, there was still so much work to do on the house… but the money wasn’t enough, and he was worn down from working too many hours a day. The little free time he had he worked on paintings to sell, not the house. If they were going to do some repairs Sean usually didn’t sell paintings in the morning, using that time on the house instead, but now Daniel worked in the mornings. So, weekends had to be the only option.

Sean collapsed on the couch, laying on his back and threw an arm to cover his eyes. He didn’t want to think about their problems for now, he just wanted to relax. When Daniel didn’t joined him in the next minute he questioned “Cub?”

“Bathroom. Just a minute” Daniel said, but he was looking at Sean’s eyepatch before heading in.

Daniel closed the door behind him. It was nice that Sean didn’t wear the eyepatch at home anymore; after the work Daniel had to do for his brother to be comfortable with it, it was an immense sense of gratification. Sean actually listens to him.

That was good, great even. Daniel though that helping his brother with that would make him feel better… and it did, helping Sean did make him happy, but it didn’t ease the guilt he felt. He didn’t understand why… he knew Sean didn’t hate him, didn’t hold anything against him, so why couldn’t he be okay with it.

He stood in front of the dirty mirror and looked at himself in the eyes. He’s aged. He’s not the same kid he was in Seattle, he felt like a different person… and that was bizarre. He’s a bit taller; Sean keeps saying that, and his hair is longer than his brother would want it to be. How could he have made such a big mess. Because of him they’re far away from their home, friends and family. Because of him Sean’s body is now adorned with multiple scars. Because of him people died.

Daniel sighed loudly and sprayed some water on his face to try and feel better. He usually was occupied to ignore these feelings… or around Sean to feel better. But Sean also was why he felt like this… every time he looked at his eye, or the little scars poking from his shirt to his neck, or the ones on his back…

Resting one hand on the border of the sink, he lifted his other one to cover his left eye. This is what Sean lived like, he thought to himself as he looked at his face. For the rest of his life his brother’s days are like this. He changed the way Sean lived, and not for the better. Daniel looked around with only one eye, imagining how it must’ve been to suddenly have a different way of seeing the world. Sean sometimes missed the handle of a door, or knocked things off while trying to grab them, and Daniel noticed them. Daniel knew he was the reason for it, and he wanted nothing else than for Sean to live better. But he couldn’t do that

When his stomach felt like it was pressing itself to throw up, and his eyes filled with tears, he uncovered his eye and washed his face once more. He took a long, deep breath before exiting the bathroom.

He slowly walked to the couch, Sean already sleeping. Daniel waited a moment before crawling next to him, the couch not nearly as big for both of them to lay down together, but they didn’t mind. Daniel liked the hugs anyway. Once he settled, he lifted his head to look at Sean’s face, finally relaxing after a whole day of working. Daniel smiled and gently traced Sean’s vertical eye scar with his finger. It had a bit of texture, bigger from this close, but it didn’t look ugly, not to him. He always inspected it when he had the chance, checking if everything was in order. He found some comfort in the way Sean seemed to be okay with it, at least that’s what he showed Daniel when he stopped covering it so much. And that made living with himself a little bit easier.

Sean slowly opened his eye when he noticed Daniel’s caress, making the finger retrieve. “What are you doing?” Sean smiles.

“Admiring your badass look” Daniel says, teasing his brother. To be fair Daniel did think that Sean looked badass with all of his scars, but wasn’t happy for them to exist.

Sean giggles softly, cradling Daniel’s head close to his chest before planting a kiss on top of his head. That new position seemed to be enough for Sean to go right back to sleep after a few minutes.

Daniel stayed awake a little longer, hearing his brother’s breathing. It felt nice having moments like this, it always did. And the way Sean held him made him feel like a little kid again, safe from the outside world, and from his own thoughts. Sean loved him, he showed it. That was his last thought before slipping into a warm, comfortable slumber.

Sean opened his eyes when he heard a humming coming from the kitchen. Daniel was wrapped around him; a warm blanket covered them both. He looked through the nearest window, a dense rain coming from the sky.

Sean felt a little confused at first, but the warmth of the house and the familiar sense of safeness he thought he had forgotten made him relax, his back melting against the cushions as he held Daniel close.

“He’s out cold” Esteban’s voice, followed by his warm chuckle made Sean’s throat suddenly feel tight.

“He always enjoyed rainy days, specially when you’re around” Estaban smiles and sets a cup of tea in front of Sean, holding one for himself as he takes a seat in the armchair.

“Yeah, well. I didn’t sign up to take care of a baby” Sean said rolling his eyes “But I had nothing else to do” he says accommodating the blanket over Daniel.

“You got to stop being so mean to him” Esteban shakes his head amused.

“I’m not mean!” Sean protested, keeping his voice low as to not wake up Daniel. “He just demands so much attention, as you probably know. I don’t have the time”

“You’re not sixteen anymore, you do a good job with him, just look at him” Esteban smiled warmly.

Sean looked down at his younger brother with a fond smile.

“And don’t tell me you don’t enjoy seeing him happy” Esteban added.

Sean knew by now that something wasn’t quite right, his dad said he wasn’t sixteen, yet his body felt slightly smaller, Daniel also seemed younger, and it was way more noticeable on him. This house was in Seattle, the rainy days from there, but he hasn’t seen it in a while, like a distant memory. Oh, and he had both eyes now.

But that didn’t really matter to him, no. His dad did. “Life got complicated, dad” he sighs.

“I know mijo… But you still stand strong and face it.” Esteban says with that look he always had when he told his boys he was proud of them, full of love.

“I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t know how much more I can take” Sean hugs Daniel a little close to him.

“We talked about this…and Sean, the worst part is over. Now you just need to keep pushing forward, live the life you want to live.”

Sean looked out the window again, this time he saw the beach, and the sound of the rain became the sound of the crashing waves. “But I’m tired…”

Esteban moved from his seat to be next to Sean, who instinctively rested his weight on his side. “You know you’re not alone. You got friends, you have your brother next to you. Don’t make the mistake of shutting them out.” Esteban said rubbing his hand on Sean’s arm as he hugged him.

“I know” Sean nods, holding Daniel a little closer.

“And Sean? I’m here, for whatever you need” Esteban nodded, and Sean’s eyes filled with tears, wishing that to be true.

After a moment of silence, Sean just relishing on the feeling of being a little kid once again, safe from the outside world, and from his own thoughts, Esteban spoke “I just wanted to remind you that. You don’t give yourself enough credit” he smiled. “You know I’m so proud of you both”

Sean lifted himself and looked at his dad in the eyes, so close, so clearly him, but not close enough, a hug that felt fuzzy. “Are you really here?” he asks with a weak voice, scared because he doesn’t know what to believe.

Esteban chuckled, looking lovingly at Sean “What do you think, mijo?”

Sean looked down, and after a moment, he decided to answer “I think I’d like you to be”

“Then that’s all that matters” Esteban says, pressing a kiss on Sean’s forehead and hugging him again. “You know, you used to hate this” he teases.

“Yeah well…” Sean wraps his arms around his dad, holding him really tight “I’ve grown”

“You sure have” Esteban strokes his back gently “I miss the little kid that needed me in his life, but I’m so proud of the man you have become”

“Who said I don’t need you?” Sean smiles sadly, fighting the tears.

“Who said you’d stop being the little kid in my eyes?” Esteban smiled back.

Sean is not sure how long he stayed in that position, feeling warm and comfortable, even forgetting reality itself. Too long, not long enough.

He woke up startled by a loud thunder, relaxing immediately after he felt Daniel’s wight on him, who stirred awake too after the noise.

“hmm…” Daniel groaned and looked at his brother, noticing the watery eyes on his brother’s face “another nightmare?”

“No, no… just a weird dream this time” Sean informed.

“Okay…” Daniel said sleepy, believing in his brother’s words, going back to try and rest.

Sean stayed awake a little longer, thinking about his dream. It was not the first time his father was on them, they felt so real in the moment, but always so distant once he was back in the cold reality, his family gone, money to earn, a house to fix, a brother to look after… and he didn’t feel capable of most things.

Daniel moved a bit, snuggling in order to find a more comfortable position in his slumber.

Sean looked at him for a moment… maybe reality wasn’t so cold. The worst was over, it’s true. They were fine now, and that was a relief. And they will only continue to be better. Sean listened to the loud sound of the rain, the clouds covering the sun, making it all seem darker. A perfect time for a nap. By the time the storm would over, Sean was sure it would be all dry with the heat, as if it had never rained. At least they had a place to shelter themselves from it, for over a year now. No more bridges.

His chest felt lighter at the thought, a grin on his face. Their warm house was equally comforting to the one in his dream.

With a deep breath, he closed his eye, the feeling of his brother next to him, although at times annoying, right now really helped him sleep again.

Thursday, July 4th, 2019

“{He’s going to love it}” Daniel came out of the store with a bag, smiling ear to ear.

“{I’m sure he will}” Sean nodded, getting his head back to the present time. They had searched the store for a good while, Daniel wanting to find the perfect gift for Chris, and Sean of course helped him with it.

Daniel had come a long way… ever since he started working to help Sean, they’ve both made steady progress on their lives, and it all had led to this day. Sean had tried to protect Daniel from things he thought would hurt him, and in the end, it only led to problems when Daniel thought Sean was hiding himself from him again, even if they had already talked about Sean trying not to shut Daniel out. It was just hard for Sean, already giving in on so many things, he felt like he was losing control over everything.

That was then, this is now. A good day. They’d see Chris again after so long.

“{Just in time too, Chris should be here any moment}” Daniel said looking at the hour on his phone. “{God, I can’t wait to see him and tell him all about Puerto Lobos. Oh! And dad’s school too, I bet he’ll be impressed. Do you mind if I show him our old things? I want to tell him about Seattle too. Some are still in boxes, right? What about Dad’s coat-}”

Sean laughed at Daniel’s enthusiasm, finding it adorable “{You’re going to rip his ears off}” he said ruffling Daniel’s hair.

“{No, I’m not. And I want him to tell me everything he does too}” Daniel says smiling.

“{Didn’t you guys already do that by phone?}” Sean asks.

“{What? no. I mean, yeah, but it’s not the same.}”

Sean smiled again. It was nice seeing the plan come along nicely, Daniel seemed already happier than in a long time. It was hard to convince Charles, but it was worth it. Besides, he discovered that Charles was grateful for meeting Sean and making him snap back to reality, he told him he respected him. That made Sean felt like a competent adult for once, and it felt nice.

After a few more minutes, it was announced on the screens that the flight Chris was taking had arrived. Sean had to shush Daniel who was having a hard time keeping his excitement in control. They waited a bit longer, Chris needed to get out of the plane, look for his bag, and had to be escorted to Sean, or Eduardo as his name figured in the system. It was a pain to arrange all of the specific details, but so worth it. For Daniel.

Both brothers were looking for Chris through the walking people, Sean wasn’t sure if Chris would recognize them, but he was sure he could distinguish a white, blond kid in the middle of the people.

But to his surprise, Chris found them first.

“Daniel! Sean!” he shouted, running towards them.

“Chris!” Daniel ran after him, and both collided into a hug.

A distant friend Daniel wasn’t sure he would ever see again, and now he was right in front of him. The people around smiled warmly at the scene, understanding the feeling of being reunited with someone after a long time.

Sean understood more than everyone else, of course. He knows how lonely Daniel can get here, having trouble making friends his age, and seeing Chris again, someone who can understand him, that shares his interests, that can relate to the painful and difficult situations of life, was what Daniel needed the most.

Sean’s musing was interrupted once again by a tight hug; this time it wasn’t from Daniel though. Chris was happy and warmly greeting him. Sean and Daniel had grown a lot since the last time they saw this kid, and of course Chris had grown up too, Sean noticed he was just a little bit taller than Daniel, noting how his head rested a little past his chest.

Sean was surprised by the hug, but he returned it with the same warmth. He thought Chris would most likely be excited to See only Daniel, not both of them.

“I’ve missed you two so much. Life in Beaver Creek is so boring…” Chris sighed.

Sean chuckled as he patted Chris’ back “Oh I remember the place, yeah”

“Are you hungry? Sean said we could eat something here” Daniel said.

“Oh yeah, I’m starving” Chris nods, letting Sean go “I’ve been traveling for almost four hours now” he said stretching his limbs.

“We still have like an hour and a half back to Puerto Lobos” Daniel said with an empathic face.

Chris groaned a bit, but wasn’t really mad, he was already where he wanted to be.

“Hang in there, big guy” Sean smiled to him “Daniel will show you the house and your room when we get there, I bet you’ll both have fun. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to. Daniel doesn’t tell me shit” he suggested as he walked to a place to find food, it was maybe past eleven a.m.

“That’s not true” Daniel protested while Chris laughed at the brother’s playful banter.

“Well… Things have changed, I’ve been busy. Specially with my dad now that he seems to be better.” Chris started, trusting them both to know this information, he wasn’t usually comfortable opening with it. “I think it started the day you two had to run away. I didn’t know much back then, but you two left a mess back there, you know?” he giggled “I remember dad spent almost an hour talking with Claire and Stephen.”

…