As soon as we got back to the apartment building, I was nearly knocked over by the children. “Oof-!” Then I laughed and patted their heads. “Hey, Marietta, Meo, Lodovico, Tore, Luca. How are you kids?” They beamed and started all talking over each other, causing me to laugh and kneel down to their level. “Why are you all home so early from school? And where are Xavier, Nicomedo, Leonzio, and Leonora?” Marietta was practically bouncing with energy, her eyes shining with excitement as she responded.

“We’re good! School ended early because there’s a staff meeting going on! And everyone else is playing upstairs, we wanted to come down and meet the new person!” I chuckled softly and nodded a little.

“Well, lucky for you, he’s pretty sweet, though I had to clean him up first.” I said with a playful wink, then continued, gesturing to Seren. “His name is Seren. He’s the bodyguard my father hired for me. He even agreed to carry everything in, and he asked to help cook for you guys!” The kids absolutely beamed and looked at Seren excitedly.

“Really?! You’re gonna cook for us?!” Seren chuckled and nodded.

“Yep. That’s the plan, kiddos.” Then he looked at Romano. “We should probably get started, huh?” Romano nodded, and they both went to the kitchen, with me following behind. 

I just leaned against the wall, watching them both put their hair up, roll up their sleeves and wash their hands, then they started cooking. It wasn’t long before Seren hit his stride and started to relax. It was… nice. I didn’t expect to relax as much as I did when I saw that he was relaxed. I suppose it was because, as he was relaxed, that meant I was safe. Then… he started to hum. I was a little surprised, both by him humming in the first place, and because he had a surprisingly nice voice. “Hey Seren? What’s that song you’re humming?” I asked and he glanced over his shoulder before he responded.

“Oh, it’s a song that my mother used to sing to me when I was little. I believe it’s a lullaby. Would you like for me to sing it?” I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He nodded as well, then smiled gently. “Great. I’ll sing it when I’m done cooking, then I can sing it to the kids as well.” He continued cooking and humming, the smell of the cooking slowly spreading through the room. By the time he finished cooking, I could feel my mouth watering. 

“That smells delicious, Seren.” He smiled and chuckled.

“Thank you, Rosine, I appreciate it. Let’s get this food to the dining table.” I nodded and helped him bring the food to the dining table.

“Of course!” Romano got the kids, and everyone else to eat lunch. “Seren, do you still want to sing to the kids?” Seren smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, of course. I don’t mind.” Then the kids came in and cheered, making us both chuckle. We all ate, and I melted at how tasty it was.

“It’s delicious! You did amazing!” Seren chuckled again and smiled warmly.

“Thank you, I appreciate it!” Then we continued to eat. When we finished eating, Seren gestured for us to follow him. I nodded and followed with the children. Seren sat down in a living room and looked at us, smiling gently. “Alright, so, I’m going to sing ‘The Unicorn’, by The Irish Rovers. My mom used to sing it to me as a lullaby.” The children nodded and Seren smiled more, then started to sing.

“A long time ago, when the Earth was green,

There was more kinds of animals than you’ve ever seen!

They’d run around free, while the Earth was bein’ born~

But the loveliest of them all was the unicorn~!

There was green alligators and long-necked geese!
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees!

Some cats, and rats, and elephants, but as sure as you’re born~

The loveliest of all was the unicorn~” He sang with a playful wink, making the children giggle at his tone, and the hand motions he was making. But he continued.

“God seen some sinnin’, and it gave him pain,

And he said, ‘Stand back, I’m goin’ to make it rain!’

He said, ‘Hey, Brother Noah, I’ll tell you what to do! Build me a floatin’ zoo!

And take some of them…

Green alligators and long-necked geese,

Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees!

Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you’re born,

Don’t you forget my unicorn!” He leaned in, as if sharing a secret as he continued.

“Old Noah was there to answer the call,

He finished up makin’ the ark just as the rain started fallin’!

He marched in the animals two by two,

And he called out as they went through~

‘Hey Lord!

I’ve got your green alligators and long-necked geese,

Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees!

Some cats and rats and elephants, but Lord, I’m so forlorn,

I just can’t see no unicorns!’ Then he put a hand over his eyes, as if shielding them from the sun as he ‘looked for the unicorns’.

“Then Noah looked out through the drivin’ rain,

Them unicorns were hidin’, playin’ silly games!

Kickin’ and splashin’ while the rain was pourin’!

Oh, them silly unicorns!

There was green alligators and long-necked geese,

Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees~

Noah cried, ‘Close the door because the rains pourin’!

And we just can’t wait for no unicorns!’

The ark started movin’, it drifted with the tide,

The unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried.

And the waters came down and sort of floated them away…

And that’s why you never seen a unicorn to this very day.

You’ll see green alligators and long-necked geese~

Lots of humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees~

Some cats and rats and elephants, but as sure as you’re born,

You’re never gonna see no unicorn~!” I chuckled, then looked at Leonora as she spoke tearfully.

“A-re… A-Are the unicorns really go-ne….?” My gaze softened and I pulled her into my lap, gently tapping her nose to make her giggle before I reassured her.

“Technically. They are no longer the unicorns that they used to be. They turned into a kind of whale! They’re called ‘narwals’, also known as the ‘unicorns of the sea’!” Leonora giggled and I kissed her head. “See? Everything’s okay. The reason why you probably won’t see any are because they live in the Arctic Ocean where it’s so, so cold! It’s so cold, the top of the water is frozen! Which is why the narwals have the ‘horn’ on their head! But it’s actually a tooth!” Leonora’s eyes sparkled in amazement.

“Wow! That’s so cool!” I chuckled and nodded in agreement.

“I know, right? It is pretty cool. Now that everyone has eaten, it’s time to go work on the garden! Do you have anything you’re wanting to plant?” Leonora beamed and I followed her out to the plot of land where we were going to make a community garden.

“I want plums!” I chuckled softly and nodded.

“Of course, I’ll see what I can do to have a plum tree planted. But, in return, you have to promise to help the adults with the garden, okay?” Leonora smiled brightly and nodded quickly.

“Okay, Miss Lamar!” I chuckled and waved, then she rushed off to help the other adults. I chuckled softly, but turned to face everyone. 

“Alright! We’ve already got the plant boxes done, so now we need to start planting. There will be fruit trees near the fence line, so that the branches can hang over the fence and people can pick fruit if they’re hungry. In the plant boxes, we’ll do vegetables, like potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, things like that. If you guys see spiders, leave them alone. They’ll prey on the bugs that will try to eat our fruits and veggies.” Everyone nodded, then we all got to work. I helped plant the fruit tree saplings, and I helped plant the vegetable seeds. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Seren digging a hole for an apple tree, his biceps flexing and straining against the slightly too small shirt. Though I noticed, Romano was also staring, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “What?” Romano glanced at me, then gestured to Seren.

“Porca miseria…” Romano mumbled, and I giggled softly, raising an eyebrow playfully.

“I thought you weren’t interested in men?” Romano snorted and rolled his eyes, tearing his gaze away from Seren’s biceps to look at me.

“I’m straight, not blind.” He said sarcastically, and I laughed.

“Whatever you say, Romano.” He scoffed and raised an eyebrow.

“What, like I’m wrong?” I looked over at Seren, letting my gaze linger on his sculpted body, those massive pecs… for a moment longer than necessary. I coughed a little and glanced away.

“I never said that. I was just saying, I didn’t think you were interested in men. Akito seemed quite interested in you.” Romano’s face flushed and I smirked mischievously as he looked away.

“... That’s different. Akito doesn’t care what gender he presents as, he’ll use whatever he thinks will cause the most conservative people to get pissed off.” I chuckled.

“But he’s still a man.” Romano rubbed the back of his neck, then responded, his voice slightly breathy.

“His thighs though… And that… um… His hips…. He’s interested in men, it’d… it’d feel just… wrong not to!” I laughed and rolled my eyes playfully.

“It’s none of my business. I was just saying, you shouldn’t keep saying you’re just friends. At this point, you’re way more than that, and you both need to talk about what you are.” Romano sighed, but nodded.

“... Alright… But you need to talk to Seren.” I blinked, then blushed and looked away, huffing.

“... There’s nothing to talk about. We only just met. Besides, just because he’s physically attractive, doesn’t mean his personality is. He’s not going to stay long anyways.” Romano chuckled and patted my shoulder.

“There’s nothing wrong with finding him attractive, just don’t lie to yourself.”