Another day, another party. Emil stepped down the stairwell, a box hidden behind his back, finally making his entrance. The usual suspects were there.

“‘Sup?” Jun scooped yellow powder into a bowl. “Rox, how many scoops did you want again?”

“Three,” Roxie tapped her fingers together like a villain, “and a half!”

Jun stopped to stare at Emil, equally as confused at what that was about, but just as amused. “Okay. You want any eggs, Emil? It’s my specialty. Kinda has to be, since it’s one of the only things I know how to cook.”

“Well, if it’s your specialty, how can I refuse?” Emil bowed slightly with a flourish of his hands. “Just one scoop for me. I’m tryin’ to save some room for the party later.” 

“Oh yeeeeah.” Jun tilted their head back. “Will it be soon?”

“As soon as I can find the birthday boy.”

“You got my text, ri–?”

Emil and Jun stopped in their tracks once Aiden entered the kitchen. Only Roxie was oblivious enough not to notice the tension in the air.

“...Hey.” Jun awkwardly broke the ice.

“Hey, yourself.” Unless Emil’s eyes and ears were playing tricks on him, Aiden seemed to be in a much better mood than the night before last.

Even Jun was caught off guard. They almost asked him something but quickly changed their tune. “Want an egg?”

“If you’re offering.” Aiden shrugged, then ducked down into the refrigerator.

Emil decided to take advantage of his good mood. “Hey Aiden, have you seen Angelo?”

Aiden lifted his head. “Yeah.” 

“...Where was he?”

“He and Rookie woke me up.”

“So he’s in you guys’ room. Got it, thanks!” Emil sped off toward the hallway.

Evil chuckling slowed him to a stop.

He looked over his shoulder to see Roxie steepling her hands. “Do… you know where Angelo is?”

“He is somewhere.”

“Yeah, I sure hope so!” Getting answers out of anyone this morning felt like pulling teeth. “You gonna tell me where he is~?”

“When the egg crystals reach their full potential, the muffin shall reveal himself.” Roxie tapped her fingers together individually. “Only then will a complete breakfast be assembled!”

“You’re really making me work for this, huh?” Emil sighed, though he was happy to see she was her normal, abnormal self. The next time she felt down, though, he’d be ready to get to the bottom of it. “I’m gonna go check his room anyway.”

He slipped into the hallway and moseyed on down to the first door on the left. Just before knocking, he heard part of an ongoing conversation.

“If I could warp back home just for today, I’d do it in a heartbeat… I’m sure wherever Ángie is, he’s thinking about us, too.” Even with the door muffling it, Emil heard a heaviness in Leon’s voice. He must’ve been talking to his parents.

In the meantime, Emil checked on Mia, who was reading in the next room over. She wanted no eggs. By the time he told Jun and came back, Leon’s phone call ended. He decided to knock a little more softly than usual.

“Ángie? You can come in.”

Despite not being Angelo, Emil opened the door. “Hey, it’s me.” He leaned into the doorway. “I thought I might find your bro here, but I guess not.”

Leon looked at him in pained disbelief. “Did he disappear again? But I thought we sorted things out…”

“It’s okay. At least one person knows where he is. She’s just not talking.” Emil stepped into the room. “You doin’ okay?”

“I’m trying.” Leon gave him a quick, weak smile.

Emil knew it wouldn’t be easy on Leon, but only now did he realize how much of a strain it must be to face his grieving family and not be able to say a word. If only he could offer words of encouragement vague enough not to make Lorenzo suspicious.

“What’s that behind your back?”

“Oh!” He forgot about the box he’d been holding. “I was planning to keep this a surprise, buuut,” but Leon could use something to cheer him up, “you can have a sneak peak.”

Leon gasped almost as soon as Emil set the box in his hand. “A model spaceship kit?” His face lit up. “He’ll love this!”

“I sure hope so.”

“No, seriously!” Leon examined the box. “This is one of the best gifts you could’ve gotten him! How do you keep knowing these things? I was just talking to Ángie about it. It’s like you’re magic!” 

“M-Magic??” Something about the sincerity of Leon’s words and the sheer wonder in his eyes sent Emil into a fit of giggling. He really had to get used to these compliments, or else Leon might get the wrong idea. “Sorry, sorry, I’m not laughing at you, I swear!”

“It’s okay, I know it sounds silly.” Leon took it in stride. “But you might as well be!”

“Rookie, c’moooon!” A bit of coughing and ahem-ing, and Emil finally managed to pull himself together. “I wouldn’ta been able to plan out this stuff if it wasn’t for you.”

“Me?” Now it was Leon’s turn to be caught off guard.

“Yeah, you! You’re the one who told me what I needed to know.”

“I did? I don’t even remember that.”

Emil put his hands behind his head. “I try not to be too obvious when asking.” He held out one hand, and Leon gave him back the box. “Anyway, I’ll let you have some space. The party should start soon, but I’ll swing by to let you know before I pull out the ca–” A realization dawned on him. “The cake.”

“What about the cake?” Leon tilted his head.

“Good question!” Emil gave his best customer service smile as he backed toward the door. “Uhhh, un momento!”

He rushed to the kitchen and yanked open the freezer.

“If you’re looking for the cake, it’s in the fridge.” Jun looked over their shoulder while frying their first batch of eggs.

“Again?” He checked to make sure, and sure enough, the box sat dead center in the refrigerator. Upon cracking it open, he saw that it was completely thawed out. “Geez, at least someone’s on top of things.”

“Did Leon want any eggs?”

“Whoops, forgot to ask!” Emil slapped his forehead. “I’ll go do that right now.” 

He made his way back to the hallway door but changed course when the upside down box nearby caught his eye. 

“On second thought, I should prolly get rid of this box first.”

Setting down Angelo’s birthday gift on one of the other boxes, he lifted the upside down one with ease. Of course he did. It was empty. At least, that’s what he thought until he noticed a pair of panicked eyes staring up at him.

“Angelo??” Emil laughed in shock. “Again? What are you doing here? You can’t keep disappearing on us!”

Angelo slowly uncrumpled himself. “S-Sorry! But I–I did tell someone.”

“I’m someone~!” Roxie volunteered. “And do not worry, Junzie, his order has been accounted for.”

“Cool.” Jun barely acknowledged the spectacle.

Emil scratched his head. “Well, I’m glad you told somebody, but you know there’s no need to hide, right?”

“Yeah, but,” Angelo stared at the floor, “I-I’m kind of attached… But you can th-throw it away if you want!”

“Are you sure? You can keep it so long as you’re not camping here for days.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t have a problem with it.” Emil looked around. “Do you guys?”

“Let him have his enrichment!” Roxie cheered.

Jun shrugged, dumped their first batch of eggs on a plate. “No harm in letting him hold onto it for a while. Maybe he can take it as a souvenir.”

“Interesting idea.” Aiden found something funny about Jun’s suggestion. He then noticed Emil’s eyes at him. “Me? I don’t care if the kid camps in there or–Wait, camping?” His own eyes widened suddenly, somewhat disturbed. “You were living in there? I just thought–” He cut himself off.

“I-I promise not to do it ever again!” Angelo looked between him and Emil.

“You better not…” That came out more concerned than threatening.

“Well, the people have spoken!” Emil announced. “You get to go home with your very own brand new used cardboard box! Consider it a gift from the crew.” He winked.

“I feel like such a winner…!” Angelo took the box gingerly in his hands.

Jun clapped for him with a normal level of enthusiasm, while Roxie clapped as if her own child had graduated.

“But that’s not all!” continued Emil. “Look behind you for a bonus prize.”

Angelo’s head snapped toward the box behind him, where Emil had set his present. He used it to help him stand up, taking the gift along the way.

“What is…?” Angelo turned the smaller box around in his hands. Emil tried to play it cool while hanging on to every little shift in his facial expression. “A model spaceship kit.” Wide, shiny eyes glanced up at Emil. “Th-This is for me?”

“Yep! It’s all yours.” Emil held out his arms.

A weighty thud knocked the wind out of him. Angelo’s head buried into his chest, and his arms wrapped around his back. Before Emil fully registered what was going on, Angelo pulled away. 

“S-S-Sorry! I-I completely misread th-th–I thought you—I’m–” Angelo’s face flushed bright red as he sputtered more half-sentences before a final, tiny, “My mistake.” His eyes darted toward the ground.

“Don’t worry about it.” Emil waved a hand nonchalantly, though he felt anything but. His heart warmed so much, it might’ve melted a little.

Angelo opted to hug his gift instead. “Th-Thank you. And,” he looked up at Emil, “thank you. I-I’m sorry.”

Something about how he said that last part made it clear to Emil that he wasn’t thanking him for the gift nor apologizing for the hug. “Ahhh, no need to apologize.” He gave the warmest smile and wink he could. “It’s all good.”

The door opened, and Leon stepped in. “Good morning everyone!”

“Big Brother! Look at what I got!” Angelo rushed over to him.

“Oh yeah, Emil showed it to me. Isn’t it super cool?” Leon took out his constellation map. “He got this for me. Actually, I was meaning to ask you if you wanted to go looking for constellations with me.”

“Of course!”

He looked around. “You guys are all free to join us!”

“Yaaay!” Roxie cheered while she and Aiden got their servings of eggs. “Oh! Oh! Rookie, you should’ve seen his reaction! It was so cuuute!” She sounded close to tears.

“Really?” asked Leon.

“Yeah, it was way sweet.” Jun agreed.

His shoulders slumped. “Aww man, I wish I could’ve been here to see it.”

“Sorry about that.” Jun waved a scoop of egg powder. “Want an egg?”

The party hadn’t started yet, but Emil took a moment to enjoy his surroundings. The mood shifted drastically from the gloom and doom around Leon’s birthday. Genuine happiness filled the room–even Aiden seemed content while eating his eggs–and with the pride Emil felt while watching the birthday boy enjoy his gift, Angelo might as well have been his own little brother.

“Oh, Emil,” Jun turned around from frying a second batch, “do you know if the captain’ll want any eggs?”

“Yeah, hold on.” Emil waved his arms at the ceiling. “Hey! Hey, Captain Bro!” 

No response. 

He opted for a more professional approach. “Captain Galhardo-Alverez, would you like scrambled eggs?” 

Still no response. 

He turned back to Jun. “I’ll go check.”

“Cool, thanks–Shoot!” Something in the pan startled them. “Uhhh, I hope you guys don’t mind your batch being a little extra crispy.”

“I’m not afraid of a little extra flavor.” Emil’s own failed cooking attempts came to mind as he strolled toward the stairwell exit. 

“Um, Emil?”

“Yeah?” He pivoted around to see Angelo standing behind him.

“Can I ask you s-something?”

“Sure! What’s up?”

“Um, can I…?” Angelo cupped his hands over his mouth. Emil took the hint and leaned down for him to whisper. “Can you play your guitar at th-the party? I-I think my brother could use that right now.”

Emil thought about the phone call as he looked at Leon. “You don’t need to tell me twice.”

Angelo stepped back. “Th-Thanks again.”

“Yeah, no problem. Anything for the birthday boy!” With one last wink, Emil left the kitchen.

On the way up to his room, Emil’s mind wandered to the night before. His conversation with Angelo shed a lot of light on things, and despite their obvious differences, they shared more than Emil cared to admit out loud. Though one difference stood out clearly in his mind: The poor kid would rather repent than relax. Not yet anyway. Emil promised to help him go easier on himself whether he liked it or not.

First, he needed to understand that mindset, and who better to help him than the knowledgeable guy he knew?

“Yo, Lorie!” Emil burst into the room, startling his brother. 

Lorenzo shushed him, pointing at the cellphone he held up to his ear.

“Sorry.” whispered Emil.

“...W-With all due respect, I am an American officer on an American vessel. There is no–At least, I don’t believe there is any security threat in my being able to access this information.” 

Lorenzo’s voice showed no emotion, which might be mistaken for confidence, but the stumbling of his words let Emil know the conversation went way off course from whatever script he’d planned. He silently cheered him on.

“...I understand.” His ultra-serious expression turned into confusion once he caught a glimpse of Emil. ‘What are you doing?’ he mouthed.

‘You got this! I believe in you!’ Emil gave him a big grin and pumped his fists.

Lorenzo’s ‘Thank you’ might as well have been ‘Okay.’ He continued his phone conversation. “Is there any way I might be able to get this information? It’s of grave importance to me. …I see. Your help is very much appreciated. …Goodbye.” After hanging up, he dropped the phone on his desk like a hot potato.

“What was that about?” Emil stepped into the room.

“Earlier this morning, I realized that if I’m correct about Ranger Summers being a minor, then he’d likely be a missing person.”