Kade held Jasper close against his chest. The one-month old infant squirmed in his arms and began to fuss. 

“Shhh, shhh. It’s okay, Jasper. We’ll get you some food, okay? And a nice warm bed.” Kade had been entrusted with Jasper, to bring him to the city of Lumen, in place of his birth parents. Their final moments together continued to play over in his head as he refused to give into exhaustion before reaching the Governess’ home.

“Please, take Jasper,” Jasper’s father begged his 16-year old travel companion. “My wife needs my help. If we don’t come back–” 

“Don’t talk like that!” Kade cried. “We’re all getting to Lumen, together! We need to!”

Tears streamed down Kade’s face as the man shook his head and handed his infant son over to the terrified teenager. 

“We trust you, Kade. Take care of Jasper. Hayziel Harvell is expecting at least one of us to show up. Go!”

Another onslaught of attacks from above shook the ground beneath their feet. Cries from loved ones and travel companions rung out through the chaos. Kade was met with one last pleading look. Kade cradled the child against his chest and nodded firmly. Jasper’s father pressed a kiss against Jasper’s head and whispered goodbye before taking off toward his injured wife.

That was the last Kade had seen of them. And now, he had a promise to keep. He would raise Jasper as his own in Lumen with Governess Havell’s permission. 

Before he was able to lift a hand to knock, the large door in front of him opened. A voice from within called to him, beckoning him inside. Kade increased the pace in which he walked to almost a jog as he hurried down the corridor. Jasper had begun to cry, and it was painfully obvious that the child needed to be fed. Kade couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten, and he was sure it had been almost a full day without having something to give the child.

When Kade reached the end of the hall, there was a man and woman dressed in extravagant clothing waiting in expectation. 

“Are you Kade?” the man asked. Kade bowed low, kneeling on the floor as he tried to rock Jasper into calming down. A fruitless task, he knew, as Jasper was likely starving. 

“Yes, sir,” Kade choked out. He hadn’t realized how dry his throat was until the moment he tried to speak.

“Rise, Kade. The Governess and I have been expecting you.” 

“Are you Hayziel Harvell?” Kade slowly looked at the woman the best he could, as a large cut across his left eye obstructed his vision. But it was fairly easy to tell the Governess wore a gentle smile accompanied by soft, green eyes. She nodded and knelt down to Kade who was still kneeling on the floor. 

“You’re exhausted,” she said quietly. 

It wasn’t a question. The clothing on the young man before her was tattered and hanging off of him, likely from a perilous journey on top of a lack of nutrients. 

“Edwin,” Hayziel called over her shoulder. “Where is Keirian?”

“I’m right here, Mother.” Kade’s eyes shifted from the gentle woman in front of him to find a strawberry-blonde boy who looked about his age. Keirian had thrown his long hair into a messy bun and was playing with jewelry on his lip with his teeth. Although he was speaking to his mother, he stood with arms folded over his chest and had yet to look in her direction.

Hayziel huffed out a sigh and rested a hand on Kade’s shoulder for a moment before standing up. Kade was far too tired to stand up, so he resided himself to sitting completely on the floor with a fussy Jasper in his arms. 

“You’re late,” Keirian’s father pointed out. Keirian shrugged. 

“I was busy. But I’m here.” 

Hayziel nudged her obstinate son with her elbow and pointed toward their guest. 

“Go get Kade some water.” 

Keirian scoffed and rolled his eyes. 

“Can’t you get it for him? Why do you need me to–”

“I just need something for Jasper. Please.” 

Keirian finally dropped his arms and looked in the direction of the boy who spoke. He gasped slightly at the sight in front of him and felt his cheeks heat up rather quickly. The brown-haired teenager looked worse for the wear, but Keirian couldn’t help but note the chiseled muscles in the boy’s arms along with the slight twinkle of hope in his gorgeous, green eyes.

Keirian stood up a little straighter and snapped his head over to his parents. 

“Do we have any milk for that baby? I’ll go get it along with water.” 

“Water first, for the both of them, Keirian. I’ll send someone for the milk.” 

Keirian found his body moving before he could think further as he took a few steps toward the other teenager. 

“What’s your name?” Keirian asked. Kade cracked a small smile and looked the boy up and down before responding. 

“Kade. And this is Jasper. He’s…hungry.” 

Keirian nodded. 

“I’ll get you both water. Okay? Um, and the baby will get fed.” A pair of watery blue eyes blinked up at Keirian, and something funny happened in Keirian’s chest. “That’s a promise, okay little one?”

⸻

Kade laid Jasper down on a blanket outside. Jasper’s chubby legs kicked a few times in the air as he cooed a few happy sounds before shoving one fist into his mouth. The shade from the large cherry blossom tree provided plenty of cover in the warm sun. 

“Mind if I join you?” Keirian rounded the corner of the vast property and found Kade leaning against the tree, watching his baby. Kade looked up and smiled. 

“Of course,” Kade responded and looked right back at Jasper. Keirian sat cross-legged next to Kade and looked back and forth between the two boys.

“He’s already gotten bigger,” Keirian commented. Kade chuckled and nodded. 

“Babies do that. Your mom said that he’s growing the way he’s supposed to be. I was worried.” 

Keirian tilted his head and pushed his eyebrows together. 

“Worried?”

Kade nodded again. The gentle breeze blew between them, causing strands of dark brown hair to fall into Kade’s face. 

“We’ve only been here for a few weeks, but when we got here, Jasper hadn’t eaten in a long time. I was afraid it would stunt him somehow. But look at how happy he is now.” 

The smile on Kade’s face caused Keirian’s heart to stutter in his chest. He was smiling down at Jasper with pure love. Keirian found it admirable that someone so young took on the responsibility of father and took it so seriously. 

Kade reached out and gently picked Jasper up and rested him on his legs. Jasper grabbed onto each of Kade’s index fingers and pulled one into his mouth. Keirian giggled, and Kade looked over at the other teenager.

Keirian was missing his lip jewelry and his hair was pulled into a neat and tight ponytail. Kade found himself staring at the pretty boy next to him. He blinked a few times and smiled again. 

“You took your piercing out,” Kade commented. Keirian’s eyes went wide, and a soft blush spread across his cheeks. 

“Well, yeah. What if Jasper pulled on it? Wouldn’t that hurt him?” 

Kade felt his heart begin to pound in his chest as he nodded slowly. 

“You were thinking about Jasper?” Kade asked quietly. Keirian pushed a stray strand of hair behind his ear. 

“Yeah. I was actually…” Keirian brought his gaze back to Jasper who was blinking quite slowly with Kade’s fingers still in his tiny grasp.

“Can I hold him? He looks really sleepy, though. So it’s okay if–” Keirian began to ramble a little before Kade cut him off. 

“You can hold him,” Kade whispered. Keirian’s expression softened a bit as he scooted closer and held out his arms. Kade laughed quietly and carefully pulled a half-sleeping Jasper from his legs.

“You’re really observant, Keirian,” Kade beamed. “It’s his nap time. But here, um. Just, mind his head. Okay? Like this.” 

Kade somehow managed to correct Keirian’s arm positions while simultaneously holding Jasper and passing him over. Without waking Jasper, Kade settled the boy into Keirian’s arms and pulled back. Kade thought he would have been nervous letting another teenager hold Jasper, but instead, his heart was pounding for an entirely different reason.

Keirian smiled in awe at the infant. Jasper was warm and soft and looked incredibly peaceful in his arms. Keirian ran the back of his hand gently across Jasper’s rosy cheek and felt his breath get stuck in his throat. 

“He’s so pretty,” Keirian whispered. Kade sighed happily through his nose. 

“So are you,” he said under his breath. 

Keirian felt his face heat up again, but he didn’t look away from the sleeping baby.

“Hey, would you like to go out sometime? Like, on a date?” Keirian asked, hoping the shake in his voice wasn't too obvious. Kade licked his lips and smiled wider than he had in a very long time.