Chapter Text
That morning felt… strange. Not bad, just different. There was no yelling from Sett, no blender noise, no spilled coffee from Ezreal’s latest disaster. The apartment was calm, soft music, light through the windows, the smell of Yone’s tea. K’Sante was reading. Yone was finishing a report on his laptop. Sett sat on the floor doing stretches for no reason. Then Yuji came padding in, still half in pajamas, hair messy, clutching his little toy car. “Morning,” he mumbled, rubbing one eye. Ezreal smiled from the couch. “Hey, sleepyhead. Where’s Fox?” Yuji blinked. “He sleeping.”
Yone glanced up from his papers. “Still? He usually eats breakfast with you.” Yuji shrugged. “He tired.” That made everyone stop. K’Sante looked up. “Did he just say that?”
Sett frowned. “Yeah. No ‘Fox says’? He just… said it.” Ezreal set down his phone. “Huh. I didn’t even notice.” Yuji climbed onto a chair and reached for his cereal bowl. “Can talk normal,” he said softly, almost defensive.
Yone smiled faintly. “We know, little one. We just noticed. That’s all.” Yuji blinked up at him. “Not bad?”
“Not bad at all,” Yone said gently. “Just different.” For a moment, Yuji didn’t say anything. Then he looked down at his cereal and smiled a little. “Okay.” Sett grinned. “Man’s growing up.” Ezreal whispered, “Don’t say that too loud. Yone’s gonna get emotional.”
Yone sipped his tea without looking up. “I heard that.” K’Sante smiled. “It’s a good sign. He’s learning to speak for himself.”
Yuji was too busy kicking his feet under the table to hear them.
A little while later, Aphelios appeared quietly in the doorway, notebook tucked under one arm, scarf tied neatly. He waved politely to the others, then crouched down near Yuji. Yuji smiled. “Uncle Aphe!” Aphelios smiled back and turned his notebook around, showing neat handwriting. > Good morning. Ready for the day?
Yuji squinted at it, mouthing the shapes of the letters. “Go... morning?” Aphelios nodded patiently. Yuji tilted his head. “You talk funny.”
Aphelios blinked, a little startled, then laughed silently. Ezreal grinned. “You’re in for it, man. He’s honest.” Aphelios just smiled, then pointed at the door, miming a little walk with his fingers. Yuji leaned closer, watching the motion. “Go?” Aphelios nodded.
“Outside?” Another nod. Yuji beamed. “Okay!”
He slid off his chair and ran to grab his tiny shoes. Sett called after them, “Good luck, bro!”
Ezreal leaned to Yone. “Think he can keep up?”
Yone took another slow sip of his tea. “If anyone can, it’s Aphelios.” K’Sante nodded thoughtfully. “Silence meets simplicity. They may understand each other better than any of us expect.” Yone’s gaze softened as he watched the door close behind them.
“Perhaps so.”
The garden behind the apartment was still damp from last night’s rain. Sunlight filtered through the trees, and somewhere in the distance, a bird sang. Aphelios spread out a small blanket on the grass and sat down with his sketchbook. Yuji sat beside him, legs crossed, holding one of the soft brushes from Aphelios’s pouch. For a long time, neither of them said anything. And for once, that didn’t feel strange. Yuji was unusually calm, quiet, blinking up at the sky as if the whole world was moving slower. He looked at Aphelios curiously. “You not talk?” Aphelios smiled faintly and shook his head.
Yuji frowned. “You... can’t? Or don’t want?”
Aphelios tilted his head, hesitated, then pressed a finger to his throat and shook his head again. Yuji thought for a moment, then whispered, “Oh.” They sat in silence again.
The wind brushed through the leaves. Aphelios turned to a blank page and began to draw slowly, delicate, careful strokes forming a cluster of flowers. Yuji leaned closer, trying to see. “You draw flower?” Aphelios nodded.
Yuji tilted his head. “Why?” Aphelios paused, then pointed at the flowers nearby, real ones.
Yuji nodded seriously. “You copy.” Aphelios smiled, a little amused, and shook his head softly. He wrote something down:
> Not copy. Remember.
Yuji squinted. “…huh?” Aphelios pointed to his temple, then to the flower, then back to the page. Yuji watched closely but didn’t quite get it. “You... think flower?” Aphelios gave a patient smile and nodded. Yuji thought hard, then frowned. “That weird.” Aphelios laughed silently, shoulders shaking.
A little while later, Aphelios turned the notebook toward Yuji again. > Your turn. Draw.
Yuji blinked. “I no read that.” Aphelios realized, then mimed a drawing motion with his hand.
Yuji gasped. “Draw?!” Aphelios nodded.
Yuji grabbed the brush, dipped it right into the water jar, and started enthusiastically painting random swirls all over the page. Water splashed. The paper tore a little. Aphelios flinched, but only for a second. Then he smiled softly and helped Yuji turn the page. Yuji looked up shyly. “Sorry.” Aphelios shook his head gently. Then he pointed to the brush and gestured, again. “Okay,” Yuji said, calmer this time. They tried again. Aphelios guided Yuji’s little hand, showing him how to move the brush gently, slow, smooth, soft. Yuji whispered, “Like... wind.”
By late morning, the little patch of grass around them was covered in papers.
Bright, messy colors. Suns and skies. Faces that looked a little like people, if you squinted and believed hard enough. Aphelios had stopped painting entirely. He just sat quietly, watching Yuji’s world grow on the paper around them. Yuji hummed softly as he worked. “This one Uncle Ez... and Uncle Sett...”
He dabbed bright green for Ezreal’s hair, then added huge muscles for Sett. “He big.” Aphelios smiled and nodded approvingly.
Yuji picked another sheet. “This... Uncle Kayn. He got red.” He dragged the brush in long streaks that looked more like lightning than hair, then giggled. “Uncle Kayn always shout.”
Aphelios laughed silently, his shoulders shaking. Then Yuji reached for another page, slower this time. He pressed the brush into the paint and started drawing three small figures.
One tall, with a long white and red line for hair.
One small, with a swirl of black. And one figure in soft blue, standing close by. Aphelios tilted his head, watching carefully. When Yuji finished, he held the page up proudly. “This... me... and Mama... and Papa... and...” He paused, looking at the third figure. “And... You.”
Aphelios froze, his chest tightening for a second. He hadn’t expected that. Yuji smiled shyly. “You nice.” Aphelios smiled back, a little softer than before. He wrote something in his notebook and turned it around.
> Family?
Yuji blinked at the word. His head tilted again.
Aphelios pointed gently at the drawing, then at Yuji, then at himself, and then made a small heart shape with his hands. Yuji squinted, thinking very hard. “...Love?” Aphelios nodded.
Yuji smiled. “Yeah.” He set the paper down beside the others, very carefully this time.
Then he crawled closer and sat beside Aphelios, leaning against his arm.
Aphelios blinked, surprised, but didn’t move away. He closed his notebook slowly and let the brush fall into the grass.
By noon, the sun was high and warm, and Yuji’s hands were completely covered in paint.
Aphelios helped him wash them in the garden sink before leading him gently back inside.
Yuji hummed happily as they walked. “My tummy talk.” Aphelios blinked and tilted his head. Yuji patted his stomach. “Hungry.”
Aphelios smiled, nodding, and motioned for Yuji to follow him into the kitchen.
He pointed toward the table. “Sit,” he mouthed silently. Yuji blinked, confused. “You say sit?”
Aphelios nodded again, smiling, and mimed sitting in a chair. Yuji gasped in understanding. “Oh!” He scrambled up onto the seat, proud of himself. “I do it!”
Aphelios chuckled quietly and went to the fridge. He opened it slowly, scanning the shelves: milk, eggs, vegetables, leftovers.
He turned back to Yuji and pointed questioningly to a few things, bread, a bowl of fruit, some cheese. Yuji looked at each one like it was a riddle. “Um... yes.” Aphelios hesitated.
Yuji nodded. “Yes.” Aphelios blinked twice.
He smiled helplessly and pointed to the fruit again. Yuji nodded. “Yes.” Then he pointed to the bread. Yuji also nodded. “Yes.” Then to the eggs. “Yes!” Aphelios sighed, amused.
A little while later, the kitchen smelled amazing. Aphelios had improvised slicing bread into little pieces, toasting them with melted cheese and fruit on top, then frying an egg on the side just because Yuji had said “yes” to that too. Yuji sat at the table, chin resting on his hands, watching every move like it was a magic show. When Aphelios finally placed the plate in front of him, Yuji’s eyes went wide. “Wow.” Aphelios smiled, gesturing toward the food. Yuji took a cautious bite… and gasped. “Good!” Aphelios chuckled silently and sat down across from him, eating his own plate. After a moment, Yuji pointed at the food again, serious. “This not what I say.”
Aphelios blinked. Yuji shook his head, then smiled. “But still good.” Aphelios laughed quietly. He wrote something on his notebook and turned it around for Yuji:
> I’m glad.
Yuji tried to sound it out. “I... glab?” Aphelios corrected him gently, mouthing the word again. Yuji frowned. “I glad.” Aphelios nodded.
Yuji grinned. “I glad too.” They ate the rest of lunch in comfortable silence.
The apartment was unusually peaceful when the rest of the band returned from their errands. No screaming. No crying. No chaos.
Just soft clinking sounds from the kitchen, and the faint smell of toasted bread and fruit.
Ezreal froze in the hallway. “Wait. Is… is that quiet I hear?” Sett frowned. “Impossible. Yuji’s awake, right?” K’Sante closed his eyes, listening. “It seems so. And yet there is… harmony.” They crept closer, peeking around the doorway and stopped dead. At the table sat Yuji, legs swinging slowly under his chair, eating tiny bites of fruit and toast with perfect focus. His face and hands were still a little stained with paint, but he was calm, smiling faintly.nAcross from him, Aphelios sat with his tea, reading his notebook between bites. The two of them didn’t speak, just shared quiet glances, small smiles, and the occasional nod.
It was… serene. Ezreal whispered, “Holy crap. He domesticated the toddler.” Sett muttered, “I didn’t even think that was possible.” K’Sante smiled softly. “He found peace where the rest of us found noise.” Then Yone appeared behind them. He took one look into the kitchen and actually stopped in surprise. “...He’s eating?” Yone asked quietly.
“Not just eating,” Ezreal whispered. “He’s behaving.” Yone stepped closer, folding his arms. His expression softened almost instantly. Aphelios looked up and noticed him. He gave a small nod, eyes calm as always.
Yone nodded back respectfully. “You’ve done well.” Aphelios tilted his head, unsure if Yone meant Yuji or him. “Both of you,” Yone clarified, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “He hasn’t sat still that long since Yue left for tour.” Yuji looked up, mouth full. “Papa! Uncle Aphe make food. Good food.” Yone blinked, surprised again. “He cooked?” Yuji nodded proudly. “I say egg. He make... egg toast fruit bread!”
Ezreal snorted. “So... everything.”
Yone chuckled softly. “And it worked.” He looked back at Aphelios. “You have a gift.”
Aphelios smiled, shaking his head modestly.
Yone gestured toward the notebook. “Communication without words… not easy. Yet he listens to you.” Aphelios wrote something quickly and turned the page.
> He listens because I listen first.
Yone read the words and paused then smiled, genuinely. “You’re wiser than most adults I know.” Ezreal whispered to Sett, “He’s officially Yone’s favorite now.” Sett groaned. “Great. As if we didn’t already have a favorite child in the band.” Yuji looked between them all, not understanding half of it, but smiling anyway. “Uncle Aphe nice.” Yone ruffled his hair gently. “Yes, he is.”