A short time later, Xavier sees Christian and his daughter, Rosalie, across the playground, heading their direction. Finally, Xavier thinks to himself.
Luna notices him too.
“There he is. Took him long enough.”
Xavier nods in agreement.
Christian approaches and smiles.
“Hey guys. I’m here.”
“I see that. Glad you could make it.” Luna says.
“Sorry, I was actually trying to be on time, but a certain little miss decided it would be funny to hide my shoes. My only pair of shoes, mind you. She found it pretty amusing, didn’t you, Rose?”
Rosalie giggles. Definitely her father’s daughter.
The twins laugh at the thought of Christian frantically searching around the house for his shoes while Rosalie watches on.
“So, where were they?” Luna asks curiously.
“Toybox. Probably should have looked there first.” Christian replies. “I’ve got a little prankster on my hands and I don’t know how to feel about that.”
“Like father, like daughter,” Xavier replies.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Christian says.
Christian walks Rosalie over to the others, waves a greeting to Cassie and returns to the table.
“So, how’s it going?”
“Same old, same old,” Xavier answers.
“Alright, I suppose.” says Luna.
Christian raises his eyebrows questioningly, but decides not to push it further.
“Okay, then.”
He takes a seat at the table across from them, looking slightly disheveled, but otherwise looking well. Months ago, Xavier didn’t think he would see him like this again. Truthfully, he thought Christian was too far gone to be helped, that he’d lost his brother for good. But seeing him here now, he’s thankful that things worked out. Christian is noticeably more relaxed, just enjoying life as it’s meant to be. Luna caught on to this as well.
“You look good, Christian. And dare I say… happy?” she says.
Christian looks taken aback for a brief moment and nods.
“I guess that’s what you can call it.”
A slight smile plays on his lips and he continues.
“Is this what it’s like to live like a normal person? Like, for real, I’ve been missing out.”
Xavier smiles and nods.
“Yes. Most of us don’t have to deal with all the bullshit that you did.”
“I could get used to this.”
“As you should,” Luna says “You deserve it.”
“I should probably stay out of relationships for a while, huh?” Christian asks.
Thinking of Christian’s track record, it probably was in his best interest to not date anyone, for the time being at least. Almost every partner he’s had in the past has been manipulative, toxic or not interested in anything serious. He really needs to work on himself before committing to someone else, in Xavier’s opinion anyway.
“Might be a good idea,” says Xavier. “At least until you’ve got things figured out.”
“Single it is, then. Got it.”
Christian goes silent, closing his eyes and taking in the sunlight, the breeze ruffling his dark hair. He breathes a sigh of relief, his body relaxing further. It’s so odd to Xavier to see his brother so chill and unbothered. It’s a refreshing change from everything that has happened over the past several years. As Luna said, he deserves it. For the first time in a long time, Christian was truly happy and it was a sight to see.
Xavier arrives at the playground with his wife, Cassie, and their children, Levi and Kami. The four of them start making their way over to the play area, looking for the others as they walk. He and two of his siblings made arrangements to meet up and have a playdate for the kids. It’s something they like to do on occasion so the little ones could socialize and spend time with their cousins, but due to recent events they haven’t been able to do so for a while.
Realizing that they are the first to arrive, Xavier scouts out a picnic bench beside the playground to serve as a meeting spot for everyone. When the spot is secured, Xavier urges the kids to go play and plops down on the bench, keeping an eye on the children as they run around. Cassie finds her spot next to him and rests her head on his shoulder.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” she says “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to do something as a family.”
“Yes, very.” he replies
It is a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was just perfect, not too hot, not too cold. There is a slight breeze that keeps the air from feeling stagnant and keeps the heat at bay. It felt good brushing across his overly-sensitive skin. He gazes at his wife still nestled against him and smiles. He missed being able to do this.
A few minutes later, he spies his twin sister, Luna, coming down the path, her twin daughters, Harper and Hadley, in tow. Xavier notes the lack of the other two household members.
As she approaches, Xavier waves in greeting. Luna struggles to juggle the squirming toddlers but eventually makes it over to the table. She releases the children and encourages them to join the others.
“Full of energy, huh?” Xavier asks.
“Just a little,” Luna replies, catching her breath. “Toddlers, you know. Never a dull moment.”
“Sounds about right.” Xavier says, thinking back to when his kids were toddlers.
Cassie, still seated next to Xavier, smiles and looks up at Luna. She’s clearly happy to see her old friend. They haven’t had much time to hang out in recent months so now they could finally get caught up.
“Hey Luna. You’re looking well.” Cassie says
“You as well.” Luna smiles. “You’ve been keeping my brother in check, I hope?”
“Of course. Someone has to.” Cassie says.
The girls giggle and glance at Xavier as if to read his reaction. He doesn’t give them anything so they continue chatting. After a few minutes, Cassie stands up, gives Luna a quick hug, then walks nearer to the play area to supervise the little ones, leaving the two siblings alone to talk.
Luna joins Xavier on the bench. She looks tired and slightly stressed out. Being a parent to toddlers will do that to you.
Xavier wonders about her husband, Aidan, and son, Finn.
“Where are the boys?” he asks.
“Finn isn’t feeling well, so Aidan stayed behind with him. Full moon tonight.”
“Ah, I see. Poor kid. Hope he feels better soon.”
Luna’s oldest child inherited lycanthropy from his father and struggles with the effects of the curse. The days surrounding the full moon, especially the day of, cause him to feel ill and achy. Luna and Aidan dedicate most of their time to comfort him on those days. This explains why Luna seems on-edge today.
Luna frowns and sighs.
“I wish there was something I could do for him. I hate seeing him in so much pain and not being able to help. It makes me feel like a bad mother, you know?”
Xavier gives Luna a surprised look. His sister is far from a bad mother. She’s always going above and beyond for her children, sacrificing sleep and anything else necessary to meet their needs. Xavier hates seeing her so defeated, and could practically feel her dismay, so he tries to comfort her.
“Don’t say that, Luna. You do everything for those kids. You’re doing your best and that’s all anyone can ask for.”
She sits in silence for a few moments.
“It’s our fault, though.” she finally replies. “If Aidan and I were more careful… I love him, and would do anything for him, but I feel so guilty that he is like this because of us.”
Xavier is unsure how to respond. She’s right, technically. He remembers how rough her pregnancy was with him, how she almost died. If she had chosen not to keep him things would have been easier for everyone. He doesn’t fault her for her decision, and he understands why she feels the way that she does. But now Finn has to deal with the consequences because of her choices.
“Loving him is the best thing you can do for him. Some things are out of our control and we just have to do what we can. Who knows? Maybe one day he can be cured and not have to deal with this anymore.”
Luna’s eyes widened in fear. She’s seems to be remembering what Aidan went through when he was cured. There’s no way she’d subject her son to that same torture.
Before she could respond, Xavier clarifies. “I don’t mean the same method as Aidan’s cure. I’m just thinking that maybe someday someone will develop a cure that’s safe for people like him. It’s bound to happen eventually.”
Luna relaxes a little.
“That would be nice.”
Obviously tired of talking about it, and probably regretting bringing it up, she changes the topic.
“Christian is coming, right?”
“Supposed to be.”
Xavier glances at the time on his phone. Late again. He’s not surprised in the slightest. Christian has always been bad about being on time for anything, work especially. Xavier has come to expect it at this point, but it doesn’t mean that he isn’t disappointed in how irresponsible his little brother tends to be.
