Vices and Maces

Chapter 50: The Parents are Still Here?

"Let me go in first," Roman told his brother, glancing at the wings.

Remus folded his arms. "Yeah, okay, go ahead."

The vampire nodded before knocking on the door, cracking it open. "Rose? Poppy?" He looked in, Kayden on the bed and Sidney sitting on a stool. Sidney stood up when she saw him, a relieved look on her face. Kayden only glanced at him, tightening his grip on the blanket. "Hey guys," Roman awkwardly greeted, opening the door wider. "How have you guys been?"

Sidney glanced at Kayden, who was ignoring his cousin. "We've been... okay. What about you? We heard you guys were at the hospital all night... Remus got hurt?"

"Yeah but he'll be okay... I think. I hope." Roman whispered the last part.

"Was it serious? What happened? Where is he?"

"Uh... Remus uh... well I wanted to tell you guys what happened before he-"

"I'm here," Remus said, walking in the doorway. His arms were still folded, and he didn't look at any of them, staring to the side. "Sorry bro, you were taking too long."

Kayden looked up at the sound of his fathers voice, and his eyes widened in horror. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out.

"Remus... what happened to your wings?" Sidney asked instead.

The golden yellow wings fluttered and Remus made a face of discomfort. "How... How much did Daffodil tell you? I don't want to be repetitive."

"She-she told us what the mission was about, that you went to save the person you're dating from Wolfsbane. We saw on the news that the bar you went to burned down. She also told us that... while you were escaping you were hit and... you were at the hospital. She didn't explain further... and we didn't ask because we were too afraid."

"Well..." Remus scratched the back of his neck. "Okay, well there was a lightning genie and lightning hit my wings. They were fried from what I was told, and... Well my partner is a shifter so they made these wings for an emergency transplant, even though they should have been resting because they were just tortured..."

"Your... your wings..." Kayden whispered. "I don't... but..."

Remus relaxed his shoulders. "I know Kay, but... I mean I'll be able to fly with these one day so... it's not terrible. It could be worse."

Tears filled the avions eyes, his lips pressed together in an effort to keep them back. He looked from the bandages on Remus's cheek, and the ones that held two fingers together. His voice was tight with tears when he asked, "Did you fall from a high height?"

Remus gave him a soft smile and walked closer. "Don't worry, I wasn't hurt too bad. I mean, aside from my wings, but that was kinda expected... I'm still here."

A few tears slipped out from Kayden's eyes, and he frowned as he tried to rub them away. "I know that you stupid..." He couldn't continue for fear he would break down.

But when Remus hugged him, the sobs he was forcing down came out of him. Remus just held him tighter and Kayden leaned into him.

"I didn't mean to worry you... I'm sorry. But I'm going to be okay, I promise I will be okay. I'm not going to let anyone take me away from you."

~~~

As Patton parked in his own driveway after spending the day trying to do whatever he can at work, he let out a long sigh. Roman and Remus had tried to convince him to take the day off, especially since they were taking it off, but with them out then Patton had to reschedule a lot of appointments, not to mention giving orders in their place. Luckily they didn't have anything... nasty to do today.

Logan's car was in the driveway, and his parents were still parked on the side of the road. So Patton breathed in deep and put a smile on his face. He took out the car keys and went to the house, unlocking the door before walking in.

"I'm home!" he said, seeing Mr. and Mrs. Jamfield in the living room watching TV. Logan was in the kitchen, stirring something in the pot.

"Hey Patty!" Mrs. Jamfield called, her husband giving him a smile and wave.

"Hello dear," Logan called from the kitchen, giving him a wave.

Patton kept the smile on his face as he took off shoes. "What's for dinner?" he asked without looking up.

"Chili, I'm almost finished."

Patton walked over, still not looking up at Logan. "It smells good."

"Thank you." Logan looked over to him. He frowned, his smile lowering. He whispered, "Is something wrong?"

"Hm? Oh no, nothing, why?" The nymph had only glanced at him for a second.

"You seem tense? And you're not looking at me. You usually face me, even if not directly in my eyes, when you're talking to me. Except for when you're upset, or hiding something."

Patton grabbed a glass from the cabinet. "Logan I'm fine."

"And you're keeping a smile on your face, you're definitely upset."

The smile dropped and Patton's mood seemed to have shifted when he sighed. "I just had... a busy day at work."

Logan set the spoon down and put a hand on his fiance's shoulder. "What happened?"

"Well..." Patton set the glass down on the counter. "My boss's brother... He got in a car crash or something last night with his partner, and they were both in the hospital. Roman was there all night... his brother had to get wing replacements- they're both fae. I had to reschedule a bunch of things, and do stuff for my boss in place of him but..."

"You're also worried about the brother."

Patton nodded. "His partner seemed to have gotten hurt worse, but they're all staying together at home right now. I'm just tired because of all the work and worry."

"Alright, then after dinner why don't you go take a shower and rest upstairs. Don't take a nap though, or you won't be able to fall asleep later. Rest, maybe watch a show or read a book. I'll take care of anything that needs to get done tonight, okay?"

A small smile tugged at Patton's lip, a genuine one. "But what about wedding planning? Your parents want to get it done soon, they even extended their stay."

"We can take a break for tonight, and we are almost done planning! You know how thorough my parents are, having us plan out the food placements and seating arrangements way beforehand. We should send out invites soon, I'm sure you'll be inviting people from work."

"Yeah... Oh! I haven't even picked out a best man yet!"

"Well that's still better than me, I don't think I can find a best man... Oh well. The day will be perfect anyway because I'll finally be married to you." Logan kissed Patton's head. "Now get something to drink, I'll set up the table. Don't worry about helping me."

"That's no problem, I don't mind. But thank you, Logie, I love you."

"I love you too, Patton."