Starhold Vesta

Chapter 5

Teeno struts out of his office wearing padding over every vulnerable spot on his body. He wobbles with as much dignity as he can muster and pauses to adjust the pad over his crotch."If we are going to train the boy in combat, we're going to do it right," he says. His mischievous glint is covered by the protective gear he pulls over his eyes.

I nudge Hux's shoulder with my elbow. "Are you ready, Kiddo?"

"I don't want to hurt Uncle Teeno," he says.

"You're not going to hurt him. Watch." I nod toward Teeno and Moon who face off.

Moon flicks his golden rod, elongating it to half its length. He bats Teeno in the padded gut. Still standing after a soft "oof", he lifts his visor and smiles back at Hux.

I crouch to meet him eye-to-eye. "See? You can't hurt Uncle Teeno. Or would you rather practice on Uncle Moon?"

Hux buries his curly head in the crook of my neck and shakes it in the negative.

"There may come a time in your future when it'll be important to know how to fight. Nuna, Uncle Teeno, Uncle Moon, and I will do everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen to you, but it's important everyone knows how to defend themselves. For emergencies."

His whimper breaks my heart.

"Your coddling made him soft," Moon says

"So what," I say over Hux's head. "Lots of people don't want to fight. It doesn't mean they're soft."

"That's right. I don't enjoy fighting either, Huxley. You can be just like me," Teeno says as he stumbles forward, swaying as he attempts to kneel next to Hux with all his protective gear still on.

Moon scoffs. "It doesn't help to lie to the boy."

Teeno twists around to face Moon. Something gleeful and mischievous—something secret—passes between them. I don't think I'll ever get the full story of their history.

"I'll try, Mom," Hux says bravely as he extracts himself from my shoulder."I can do it."

Moon offers Teeno the other end of his spear to hoist himself up when he teeters in his too-high center of gravity. As he stands, he leans on Moon's shoulder for balance as he corrects one of the pads that had swiveled behind his legs. Moon remains still, allowing himself to be used as a prop. He glances down at Teeno with a tenderness I don't think I'm supposed to notice.

Teeno stands tall again, his padded hands up. "Let's begin!"

As I demonstrate jabs and hooks for Hux, he imitates with limp enthusiasm. After many reassurances that he's not hurting Teeno followed by my example, he mimics my patterns with enthusiasm. Nuna shows up a while later to join in the fun. By the end of his training session, Teeno is on the floor with half the padding scattered around and gulping water while Hux runs off to finish his finger painting on my borrowed tablet. Nuna escorts Teeno back to his office. Moon and I are left in the ruins of our attempt to make my son a fighter.

We sit side-by-side on the ground. I take a swig of the slick, silver bottle of water and offer it to him. "Why don't you admit you love him?"

He doesn't acknowledge I've said anything. He stares at the floor, past the bottle.

"It's obvious you care more about Teeno than literally anyone you've ever interacted with. You treat me as well as you treat the flying fungi that hover around the vegetables in the kitchen."

"They are far less punishing on my mood."

"You've been on this ship for how long? Why haven't you—"