The Pact

Chapter 45: Creating a Human Burrito

Kyon POV:

After a few minutes, Estelle's hiccuping subsided as I rubbed her back. She pulled her face from my shoulder and looked at me.

"Are you going to be my big brother?" my world stopped. Her big brother? I couldn't. No matter what Equus told me to do, I wouldn't take his place.

"I don't know," I said softly as I looked down. Estelle's hands grabbed my face and pulled it up to look at her. Her eyes swirled with determination as she looked at me.

"Please?" I felt my throat tighten. Shit, Equus was right. I really can't say no to her.

"I don't know how good I'll be," I drawled.

"So yes?" she pushed, and I sighed, nodding. She let out a squeal as she hugged me again.

"Now I have two big brothers," she mumbled into my shoulder. I felt myself stiffen as I heard a soft chuckle from the doorway. I craned my neck to see Sally standing there, a watery smile on her face.

"Percy was right. She really does have you wrapped around her little finger. Welcome to the family."

I sighed as I looked at the young girl hugging me tightly. Just seconds ago, she was bawling her eyes out, devastated that her older brother wasn't ever coming home. But at the mention and opportunity for another older brother, her sadness was lessened, almost gone.

She could probably move on faster because she had only met her brother once and for a few hours. But I could tell that Sally, Paul and I would need more time. I noticed the smile on Sally's face as she spoke of Equus, how she lit up when he was mentioned. But then I noticed how happy she looked when Estelle made me agree to be her big brother. It was strange how happy she got at the idea of another person to look after and see.

Estelle unlatched herself from me and scrambled off my lap, running to her mother. "Mommy! Can we watch Finding Nemo?" she hugged her mother's legs, shrieking with excitement.

"No, you watched it last night. Also, Kyon is here, so maybe you should play a game instead," Sally suggested as her daughter pulled on her knees in exasperation. Quickly Estelle lit up and bounded back over to me. Wordlessly, she pulled me to the floor of the living room and handed me Dory.

"You play as Dory, I'm Nemo," Estelle explained, and I nodded, listening half-heartedly as she told me the specifics of the game and what scene we were enacting. She made Nemo appear to be swimming, and I followed her lead, every so often giving sound effects for things happening in the game.

Eventually, I lost track of time and my thoughts as I focused solely on playing with Estelle. We switched from playing with her Finding Nemo plushes to playing Hide and Seek to building structures out of her building blocks.

I didn't even notice when Paul came home from work and watched us play for a few minutes. Nor when Sally announced she was almost done making dinner. But I did notice when Estelle abruptly stopped playing and ran into the kitchen, calling me after her.

Reluctant to let the thoughts from earlier in the day return, I stood from the living room floor and walked into the kitchen. I was about to thank the Blofises for allowing me to stay when I noticed four sets of plates and forks set out. Sally, Paul, and Estelle were sitting in their seats on the rectangular table. Giggling, Estelle patted the seat beside her, motioning for me to take a seat.

"Well, go on then Kyon, you're a part of the family now. Take a seat," Paul said kindly. Snapping out of my daze, I walked over beside Estelle and sat down.

Smiling, Sally served out plates of spaghetti and salad as Paul poured cups with milk. Thanking them for the food, I ate as Paul spoke of his workday. Going over different student essays or assignments coming up that he was swamped with or talking about something that happened with the teachers.