Sean and I made soup for lunch, and ate together at the table. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to talk about, since I wasn’t allowed to talk about my work and he hadn’t done much of anything in school aside from a virtual lab and two tests. But at least I was home. Sean kept glancing at my arm, worry in his eyes.

“You sure it’s not infected?” He softly asked for what must’ve been the twentieth time, at least. “Mouths have a lot of bacteria.”

“If it were, I would be able to handle it,” I replied with a smile. “Besides, we got it clean and bandaged rather quickly, should be fine.”

The look on his face said he wanted to ask more questions, but refrained.

“How’s Misaki?” I prompted, smirking.

His cheeks turned red. “H-he’s….”

I smiled, “Let me guess, as cute as ever?”

He stared at me, then focused on his soup. “...Yeah.” He got a distant, sad look in his eyes which were growing an ever-deeper blue. “Cute as ever.”

“Sean?” My brows furrowed. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Misaki…,” he hesitated, stirring his soup. He leaned on his hand, deeply sighing the saddest sigh I had ever heard from him. Then he softly mumbled, “Misaki… has a special someone. I-I don’t know if they’re… together… but…,” his voice softened. “It sure did sound like it.”

“...Oh,” I slowly nodded. “H-how did this topic come up?”

“He walked in on him,” Sean mumbled. “Misaki was answering a question and some other boy came into the room and asked where his shirt was.” Sean covered his face with his hands. “Misaki just… played it off… super easily. Told him where his shirt was and warned him that the camera was on.” Sean sighed, lowering his hands. “Misaki apologized for the intrusion, then went on like nothing happened.” He deeply sighed once more, hiding his face in his hands.

“Well, it sounds to me like you don’t know if they’re officially together,” I tried to reassure him without much success.

He glared at me, “I know I don’t have any real-life friends, but I don’t think friends stay at each other’s houses for days and walk around wondering where their shirt is. Also, why was the boy’s shirt in Misaki’s room in the first place? On the bed.”

I slowly nodded, “Touché.”

Sean groaned in annoyance, laying his head on the table.

After a few moments, he sat up and finished off his soup, walking over to put the bowl in the dishwasher. I soon followed, pulling him into a hug.

“Dad,” Sean groaned. “Really?”

“I know how much you like Misaki,” I told him, “but I also know there’s plen‒”

“Don’t you dare say it,” Sean warned.

“I’m just saying, there’s a lot of people out there,” I pulled back. “Not to mention, you’re young, you shouldn’t rush it. I still haven’t found anyone, and I’m 33!”

“You say that like it’s old,” he scoffed.

“It’s old according to my parents,” I rolled my green eyes. I glanced at him, standing in front of me with his arms crossed and brows furrowed. “Now, now, Sean Rose Davidson, stop pouting. Remember, as far as they know‒”

“You’re a hermit biologist, I know, I know,” he sighed, relaxing.

“I was going to say you don’t exist, but, yes, that’s also true,” I nodded.

“Bet it’s really easy being a hermit in this place,” Sean loosely motioned to the entirety of the house.

“I’m just glad I’ve managed to avoid being the host for family gatherings,” I scoffed, beginning to tidy up the kitchen. “How would I explain your bike in the garage, or your shoes on the rack‒”

“Or the fact that I exist in general?” Sean finished.

“Precisely,” I nodded. “Besides, you wouldn’t want to meet them anyway; they are very Christian and not exactly understanding.”

His act of doing the dishes slowed.

“...Sean?”

He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

“It was just a little flash, I’m fine, Dad.”

It was not fine.

During the night, I woke to the familiar feeling that something was wrong. For only spending four years raising a kid who had broken into my house, my parenting instincts were surprisingly spot-on.

When I stepped into Sean’s room, I found him twisting and rolling in his bed, fisting the blankets and pillows, gasping for air. I crouched beside the bed, setting my hand against his forehead. Cold sweats, accompanied by tears. I sat beside him, running my fingers through his tangled blonde curls and rubbing his back and shoulders and whispering soothing words, hoping he would either wake up or calm down.

It wasn’t long before he calmed. His breathing slowed, his tense muscles relaxed, and he stopped thrashing about. I stayed with him for a few more moments, just to make sure he was okay, then slowly got up. I tucked him in, kissed his head, and gently closed the door behind me as I left.