"Is link your boyfriend?" Scout asked as his mother cut his waffles.
"No, he isn't. We're just friends."
"Why do we spend so much time with him?" In the following weeks of the zoo excursion, the trio had done countless things with one another.
"Just cause." Amelia quickly said, starting to get nervous, hoping her son wouldn't ask to elaborate.
"Okay." Scout shrugged, dropping the subject. Eliciting a sigh of relief from his mother. "Is he coming to my softball game tonight?"
"Yeah, I think he is."
"Oh."
"Do you not want him to?"
"Well, he works for baseball players, and they're all really good; what if he thinks I'm a bad player?"
"Oh babe, he won't think that at all. I'm sure he'll be very impressed." It took a lot of begging for Amelia to allow Scout to play softball, but the more she watched her son played, the prouder she was of him. He was a good player for a kid his age.
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"Mom? What are you doing here?" Link asked as he opened his apartment door.
"I came to visit you since you never come to see us." His mother brought him into a hug as she walked further in.
"A little notice would've been nice." The man sighed, picking up the mini cooler that was on the counter and his sunglasses.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Maureen realized her son was getting prepared to leave. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Uh, yeah, I am."
"There's no baseball game today, though." Maureen had checked before she came to assure her son would have time to spend with her.
"Yeah, I'm just going out; I'll be back in maybe two hours? Just entertain yourself, and the guest room should be clean if you want to stay in there." Link pointed across the hall.
"Okay, thanks." Maureen sadly smiled, slightly offended at her sons' offish behavior.
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"You look like your gonna throw up." Link chuckled as he sat down next to Amelia handing her a water from the cooler.
"I'm just terrified he's gonna hit his head in just the wrong space and immediately die." Amelia quickly ranted as she watched her son step up to the base; this was her usual freak-out routine when her son would be playing.
"He's gonna be just fine, Mia." Amelia quickly diverted her attention to the man; he hadn't used the nickname in 5 years. "Sorry I-"
"Shh." Amelia shushed him as their son hit the ball and start bolting for the next base, standing up when he fell face-first as he tried to reach the base. "Crap."
"Hey, it's okay." He grabbed her arm, seating her, when he got up and kept running. "He's okay."
"Okay." Amelia shifted awkwardly, putting her hand on her chest to try and control her breathing. "I hate this."
"Look at how happy he is, though." Link loved his son, even if the boy didn't know he was his father. But that fact broke his heart; to the little boy, he was just a friend.
"He's getting suspicious."
"Hmm?" Link hummed, shoving some peanuts in his mouth.
"He asked if we were dating; I said no, obviously." For some reason, this stung the man. "But he's smart; he's gonna realize eventually, so maybe we should talk about telling him."
