“Bye, Zen,” Edison smiles as she leaves with her parents.

“Bye, Edison!” She waves.

Edison hums and turns to the kids that are left. Rusty, Demetri, Jackie, and Isidra are all huddled around the wooden blocks, building up and taking down different ideas. Edison watches them fondly until Rusty’s and Jackie’s parents come by with Demetri’s mom. They leave and it’s just Edison and Isidra.

“Edison,” Isidra voices when Edison stands with him.

“Hm?”

“Et chen,” Isidra says, bringing his fingers to his lips.

“Me too. Let’s see what we have,” Edison decides and brings Isidra to the counter.

He goes through the food he has left and opens a jar of fruits, handing it down to Isidra. At first, he’s skeptical. He glances at Edison unsurely before lifting one of the peach slices to his mouth. It’s gone instantly and Isidra’s eyes light up as he eats all of what’s in the jar, including the juice.

Edison laughs and takes back the empty jar. “I think you liked that.”

Idison mumbles something, then grumbles and and speaks clearer, “Gracis.”

Edison tilts his head curiously and taps his temple.

Isidra purses his lips thoughtfully and says, “Graci...es.”

“Gracias.”

They both turn and find Matt in the doorway with Oren. Matt smiles a greeting, then nods to Isidra.

“Kid’s trying to say ‘gracias.’ It means thank you,” Matt translated.

“How do you know that?” Oren inquires.

“It’s Spanish.”

Edison watches Isidra trot over to Oren.

“You two are the perfect team for this kid,” Oren chuckles, ruffling Isidra’s hair.

Edison smiles as he walks to the doorway. “He speaks through his hands. They’re fairly simple, if you can figure them out.”

“Wonder if I could teach him sign language,” Matt murmurs.

“You know sign language too?” Oren inquires.

“A little.”

Oren scoffs and shakes his head. “You’re just full of surprises. I’ll see you guys later.”

Matt and Edison wave as Oren and Isidra walk away. Matt turns when Edison walks back into the apartment to clean up. He gathers all the blocks and toys into a crate nad leaves it in the corner of the room, moving to the kitchen.

“Wanna go out with me tonight?” Matt asks.

Edison glances at him. “Out where?”

Matt leans on the doorframe. “Underground. I’ve been invited to a party and I figured I’d ask if you want to go.”

“A party for what?”

“Fun.”

Edison blinks and thinks about it. He shrugs. “When?”

“After dark.”

“Okay. You lead. I don’t know where anything is.”

Matt chuckles. “Of course.”

Edison smiles softly and picks up his bag, looking around at everything. When he’s sure everything is set, he walks up to the doorframe. Matt is still there, looking at something over the railing. His goggles are up on his head, revealing his face. He rarely leaves his eyes exposed, so when Edison sees them, he can’t help staring. They look like gold.

“Like what you see?” Matt teases, snapping Edison from his trance.

He blushes and turns away. “Your eyes are pretty.”

Matt smiles. “Thanks. So are yours.”

Edison blushes darker and gestures to the ground. “Home.”

Matt nods and steps back. Edison shuts the door and walks next to Matt as they walk home. No one else is there.

Matt sits on his bedroll and stretches out on his back. “So how do you like it here so far?”

Edison shrugs, sitting down on his sleeping bag. “It’s nice.”

“You should stay for the winter,” Matt suggests.

Edison looks at him.

“Winter’s cold. There’s room here, and food. And jobs. You’d be set,” Matt says, avoiding Edison’s gaze.

“You want us to stay?” Edison asks.

“I mean, sure. If...if you want to.” Matt shrugs anxiously.

Edison nods as he lays on his stomach. “We’ll stay. Maybelle likes it here and there’s nowhere else for us to go.”

Matt looks at Edison finally. “You can always go on supply runs, if you ever need a break from the inside.”

Edison nods groggily. “That’s a good idea.”

“You don’t sound convinced yet,” Matt says, shifting onto his side so he can face Edison.

“Not used to it,” Edison murmurs.

Matt hums.

“I’m going to sleep,” Edison decides, eyes already fluttering shut.

“Do you want me to wake you up later for the party?” Matt asks.

“Mhm.”

Matt chuckles softly and lets Edison fall asleep.

When an hour’s gone by and neither of the girls are home, Matt goes down to the restaurant Ekua works in to check on her. She seems surprised when he walks in.

“Hey Matt,” she says, looking around. “Is Edison still at the daycare?”

Matt shakes his head. “Nah. He’s taking a nap. Poor guy looks beat as hell.”

Ekua nods. “Good. He needs sleep.”

“Where’s Edison?” Maybelle asks as she plops into the seat next to Matt.

“Taking a nap,” Matt replies.

“Great. Come with me,” she orders and tugs on his sleeve as she gets up.

Matt blinks, but follows her out of the restaurant, to a fairly secluded section between it and the next building. “What’s going on?”

“I’ve seen how you look at my brother and I’m here to tell you to be careful with him,” Maybelle announces, folding her arms over her stomach.

It takes a moment for what she’s saying to click and when it does, Matt’s face flares and he stumbles over objections. Maybelle holds up her hand, shaking her head.

“If I’ve read your expressions wrong, great. But if you ever plan on forming anything more than friendship with Edison, you need to understand that he’s not good with emotions, especially romantic. He’s been closed off from people for as long as I can remember and he hasn’t had the same experiences I’ve had, which means he definitely hasn’t had the same experiences you’ve had.”

“Why do you say that?” Matt wonders, honestly curious.

“You’re a people person, Matt,” she states.

He nods and waves for her to continue.

“Just be careful with him. His last relationship was...bad. He doesn’t take things lightly, so unless you’re really sure you’re interested in him, I’d advise you stick to being friends. He’s got more scars than you could ever know.”

Matt nods slowly and lowers his gaze slightly.

“Never take his trust for granted, Matt,” Maybelle says, touching his arm. “If he grows to trust you and you break that trust, I will personally kick your ass.”

Her hand on his arm is no longer concerned; it’s a threat.

“I wouldn’t purposefully hurt anyone, May, let alone your brother,” Matt insists, taking her hand away from his arm. “If I pursue him, it’s genuine. If it falls apart after, it’ll be mutual.”

“I believe you,” Maybelle sighs.

“What do you mean about his last relationship, though?” Matt wonders and follows her back to the restaurant. “He doesn’t seem like the type to have exes.”

Maybelle shakes her head. “He’s not. He’s only been with two people, kind of. The first girl died not long after he warmed up to her. The second was a guy a couple years ago and he was no good. I can’t tell you too much, mainly because I don’t really know much. All I know for sure is that Victor is worse than anyone’s worst nightmare, and Edison had to live through it.”

Matt purses his lips. “So it’s gonna take a lot for him to trust me.”

Maybelle chuckles and brushes his shoulder with hers. “Give it time, buddy. He doesn’t trust anyone quickly. He still rarely lets me touch him, so it’s really not personal. It’s just all he knows.”

Matt nods and watches her walk back to the table with Calvin.

“Hey Matt, I got you some food,” Ekua says as he reaches the counter.

“Oh cool. Is there enough for me to bring some to Edison?” Matt asks, taking the bowl she handed him.

“Already on it.”

He smiles.

“So what was that about?” Ekua wonders while she dips the scoop into the stew.

“Ah, she was...just expressing a concern,” Matt says slowly, glancing at Maybelle.

“What kind of concern?”

“Personal.”

Ekua shrugs and hands him a second bowl of stew. “Get back home now. Wouldn’t want him to wake up alone.”

Matt nods goodbye to Maybelle as he leaves the restaurant with the two bowls. She waves back, but stays with the group around the table.