As they entered the shopping centre, Kimber's bright blue eyes darted around, taking in every sight and sound, catching on every person, every storefront, every weird little kiosk selling phone cases or whatever. People stared back, but mostly at Adin. Kimber might have been striking enough to catch Ryan off guard when they first met, but Adin was the one with antlers. Adin ignored the stares, but Ryan could tell by the set of his shoulders that he noticed.
The department store looked like every other one Ryan had ever been in, but it was strange and hostile territory through Kimber’s eyes. Watching him was exhausting. Ryan abandoned them and went in search of underwear. He hadn’t been lying about needing a new pack.
He had his bag with him, lighter now that Finch had his clothes for washing. Adin had told him he could leave it on the bus, but Ryan had just stared at him and shouldered it. He'd broken a lot of his dad's rules, but he wasn't about to leave his tech with people he barely knew. Some of the things his dad had worried about had seemed far-fetched, but it wasn’t hard to imagine how his tech could mess things up here. It wasn't just the gadgets themselves. The information on them, if it could be decoded out of a language he was now the only one in this whole world spoke, would certainly stir things up. This world was chaotic enough already.
By the time he returned to Adin and Kimber with his pack of underwear, Kimber looked close to tears. Ryan gave Adin a questioning look.
"He's worried the price will go over the amount on the card," Adin explained. "I've told him I'll help keep track of the price and that I don't mind paying the extra. I'd told him that the worst that would happen if we did go over and I wasn't willing to pay is that we'd have to put something back. He just won't stop panicking himself about it. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. If I'd brought Finch to a store when he was younger, he probably would have tried to steal something."
“Hm,” was all Ryan said before walking off. When he came back, they still hadn’t made much progress, but Ryan had an armful of clothes. He dumped them on Kimber. "Have him try on the shoes. He can have one of the pairs of underwear out of my pack, but he's paying for the whole thing with his giftcard."
“Ryan—” Adin said, but he didn’t seem to quite know what tone his voice should take.
Kimber’s head was down, his fingers feeling over the fabric of the clothes Ryan had given him as he and Adin had a short discussion. He nodded. Though the language he spoke was unfamiliar, resonance had weaved a thread through their body language.
“He’s satisfied with this solution,” Adin summed up. "Let's go to the shoe section so that he can sit down to try on his shoes."
By the time Adin explained and got Kimber to a bench, Ryan was already on the floor next to it taking his shoe off. He pulled his sock off and Kimber stared at him in open bewilderment. Ryan shook the sock and pushed it towards Kimber’s hand, and Kimber finally gave an uncertain dip of his head in thanks and took it.
Ryan wouldn’t have to worry about Kimber infecting him with foot fungus. The barrier between worlds had its own kind of immune system, and passing through it killed off the bad stuff and bolstered the traveller’s immune system against unfamiliar threats. Some worlds, like the one from which they’d stolen the handy technology Ryan now had implanted in his brain, had figured out ways to use machines to punch their way through without ever making contact with it. Ryan remembered his father ranting about how much worse that method was, as if doing it on your own was easy for everyone else. Not that it had been so easy for them in the end. Ryan figured the rants were just jealousy. A ship probably could've punched through whatever crap this world had going on. Their soft little bodies? Not so much.
Kimber pulled on the sock, then the shoe. He fumbled with the laces, clearly lost. Ryan swatted his hands away and tied it for him before he could make a mess of it.
At Adin's prompt, Kimber walked up and down the aisle. When he sat back down, he and Adin had a quick chat.
“He says it’s fine,” Adin said. “Did you get him some socks?”
Ryan held up a pack of socks with one hand and pushed Kimber's hand away from the shoe with the other. He felt along the sides and prodded the toe. "It's too small."
"Ah." Adin translated, and Kimber mimicked Ryan's prodding as he listened. By the time they'd gotten the point across, Ryan had found a new pair a size up. He helped Kimber switch shoes and lace up.
Kimber walked around again, then sat and said something to Adin while feeling the shoe.
"He's used to slip-ons," Adin translated. "He thinks it's okay, but he's not sure how it should feel. This is new to him."
Ryan took over, checking it wasn’t squeezing his foot from the side or too close at the toe. He tugged it around, making sure the fit was snug. Finally, he nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. Show him where the size is written and make sure he remembers it. He'll need it when this cheap crap falls apart in a few months."
Adin seemed to be doing that, so Ryan went to wait outside. When Kimber came out with his bags, Ryan dug through them for the underwear pack, shoved it in his own bag, and they headed to the supermarket.
The busy store set Kimber on edge again. He was exhausting to watch, so Ryan raided the 'free fruit for kids' basket instead. He came back with a banana and a mandarin and held them out, offering Kimber his pick. Kimber just looked confused.
As Adin spoke to him, presumably offering an explanation, Ryan took hold of his wrist and pressed the banana into the palm of his hand. He took it, and then as Ryan started pulling away, immediately tried to hand it back. Ryan took a step back, shaking his head as he stuck his thumb into the top of the mandarin to break open the skin.
Kimber’s side of the conversation had taken on a panicked edge and Kimber was looking at the banana in his hand like it might explode any second. Ryan shoved a piece of mandarin peel into his pocket as he watched.
Adin let out a sigh as he turned to Ryan. “He’s worried he’s going to get into trouble for stealing. I told him that it’s free, but he doesn’t think he’s young enough to qualify as a child. He doesn’t believe me that no one will care.”
Kimber looked close to tears. Ryan made a face, handing his half-peeled mandarin to Adin. He gripped Kimber's shoulders, waiting for Kimber's teary gaze to meet his before giving him a small, sharp shake.
“Stop it,” Ryan said calmly. “You don’t get to be weak. Not after almost killing me.” When Kimber started to drop his gaze, Ryan gave him another shake and his eyes jumped back to his face. Ryan pressed his thumbs into Kimber's shoulders, waiting as his breathing steadied, then nodded and let go.
"Well, that worked, though your methods are..." Adin shook his head. "I won't translate what you said. Being scared doesn't mean you're weak, you know."
Ryan reclaimed his mandarin and resumed peeling it. "The words don't matter. He got it. Fear has a place, and it's not in a supermarket over some fruit."
Kimber didn't eat the banana, but he held onto it and stopped freaking out, so Ryan counted it as a win and moved on.
Adin had a lot to say about groceries and was probably trying to ask Kimber his opinions on all kinds of things. Kimber wouldn’t give it. Ryan could tell just by looking at him. He had a spine, but kept it tucked away for emergencies. It was annoying, but as long as Kimber didn’t have a meltdown in the middle of the supermarket, Ryan would leave them to it.
Ryan still hadn’t decided whether fate had led him here or if he should just dip out as soon as he got his clothes back from Finch. The stupid chip in his brain still refusing to do a single damn thing felt like a push towards the latter. Besides, he’d already let himself get way too chatty. Telling Finch so much last night had been stupid, and the shock of nearly dying and his ever-growing apathy with life didn’t excuse it.
At least he was pretty sure they wouldn't tell anyone. Adin had been his biggest worry, because academics sure did love to share knowledge, but after watching him around Kimber, he’d come to realise that he wasn’t the type to be careless about things that could hurt others. It still wasn't okay, but Ryan didn't expect anything to come of it.
Grocery shopping ended up taking way longer than it had needed to, but Ryan had managed to sneak a couple of discounted boxes of protein bars into the cart, so he didn’t mind. If he left early, he was taking them with him.
Kimber still had his banana in hand when they made it to the checkout and he put it on the conveyor belt with the rest of the food. Ryan sighed, picked it up, and tried to hand it back to him, but Kimber refused to take it.
The cashier watched them curiously as she scanned their purchases. “Everything okay?”
“No,” Ryan said, shoving the banana against Kimber’s chest. “He’s being annoying.”
“He’s a new arrival,” Adin explained to the lady. "He's anxious about taking the fruit because it's for children, and he thinks he's too old. I told him he wouldn't get in trouble, but..." Adin shrugged. "It's tough for them at first."
“Oh, sweetheart,” the lady said, turning a pitying gaze on Kimber. “You can have it. It’s okay.”
When Adin translated, Kimber finally took the banana from Ryan and gave the lady a tense-shouldered dip of his head in thanks.
The lady looked ready to adopt Kimber. "That's heartbreaking. I don't know how you resist hugging him."
"Don't know how I resist kicking him in the teeth," Ryan muttered.
"Ryan," Adin scolded, then forced a smile for the lady. "He wouldn't really. He's just grouchy."
The lady smiled sympathetically. "I've raised teenagers. I get it. Are you fostering them?"
Adin hesitated before settling on, "Yes. For now, anyway."
"That's very good of you. They should be with someone who understands." She tried not to stare at Adin's antlers. Ryan found it funny, but Adin just looked uncomfortable as he nodded and thanked her.
Adin paid and they collected their shopping bags. He looked more frazzled than a simple shopping trip should be able to make a man.
"Don't get out much, huh?" Ryan asked as they headed back to the bus.
Adin offered only a grim smile in response.
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