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When Zoe returned to her apartment with a leashed Palkia trotting along happily beside her, she expected to find it dark and empty. When she turned the key and stepped inside, however, the lights were on and she found Ethan sitting on the couch, a controller in his hand, while Taz bustled around the kitchen.
"Hey," Zoe greeted, her eyebrows drawn together in a dumbfounded frown as she leaned down to unclip Palkia's leash from her collar.
"Zoe!" Ethan shouted, pausing his game and spinning around on the couch so that he could face her. Zoe's smile was tired, but it was a smile nonetheless as she hooked Palkia's leash on the hook next to the door and approached Ethan as he asked, "Did you have a good day?"
"It was long," Zoe replied. Now that she was standing in front of Ethan, Zoe noticed a developing bruise on the boy's jawline and she gripped his chin, turning his head so that she could see it better. "I heard Jay got you back on a skateboard. How was it?"
"It was good! I had fun. I'm definitely keeping my helmet on, though," Ethan chirped, his enthusiasm making Zoe drop her hand from his chin.
"I like that idea," Zoe replied, leaning down to press a kiss to Ethan's curls before she released him. As he turned back to his game, Zoe turned to Taz, smiling softly as she strolled over to the kitchen. He had been chopping something up on the cutting board he'd set up on the counter, but he stopped to look at her as she approached.
"I thought you said to tell you when I was done so you could drop Ethan off," Zoe stated, folding her arms over her chest as she strolled over to the kitchen. Taz had been chopping something up on the cutting board he'd set up on the counter, but he stopped at her approach.
"I thought you might be hungry," Taz replied, lifting his head to look at her. Zoe nodded, rounding the counter so that she could stand next to him, close enough that she could lean into his side. Laughing, Taz draped his arm across Zoe's shoulders. "I'll take that as a yes."
"How did you even get in?" Zoe asked, shifting her head against Taz's shoulder so that she could look up at him.
"Ethan told me where to find the spare key," Taz replied, fighting the urge to brush Zoe's hair out of her eyes as it fell across her face. Instead, he just squeezed her shoulder before releasing her, turning back to what he was doing.
"He said you should get a better hiding spot," Ethan added helpfully from the couch.
"Hey, I also said we should keep that between us, didn't I?" Taz called to the boy, but he was smiling as he said it. Ethan just laughed, shifting around on the couch as Palkia jumped up onto it with him, settling herself against the boy's legs as he played.
