No Matter What

39

The boys get dressed and we all hop in the Rover and head to the orthopedic. I'm sure Lyney is just as excited as Freminet to get the cast off so he doesn't have to assist him all the time.

The wait isn't too long, and we're in and out in no time. Freminet still has to wear pressure bandages around his foot and ankle, but he's able to walk again. We all cheer and congratulate him once we leave the facility, then pile back into the car and head to the shops for school supplies.

The shops are flooded with parents and children who have the same idea as us. We start with clothes, then work our way from rucksacks to notebooks. I admit, we've been here for longer than we planned. By the time we're in the row looking for pencils and pens, the kids are fooling around more than shopping.

"Freminet, don't run," Childe shouts. "You just got that cast off. Relax. This isn't a playground."

Freminet skids to a halt, pretending like he wasn't running and instead looks at the pencils in front of him with fabricated interest.

"Ughh, I don't want to be here anymore," Xiao whines. "Can we get food now?"

"We can leave sooner if you guys stop acting like animals and actually pick out your school shit," Childe spits back.

"But I'm hungry," Xiao groans. "Can we come back later?"

"You'll starve until you pick out your stuff," Childe says, then points down the aisle. "Go."

Xiao groans loudly, crossing his arms and stomping himself away. Childe rolls his eyes, then the two of us turn to the sound of a deep chuckle. The only other man in the aisle with us looks at Childe and gives a cheeky little smirk.

"Ah, kids," he says. "Quite the bundles of joy at times, aren't they? I have a daughter myself." He places a pack of pens back onto the shelf and fixes a piece of his long white hair behind his elfish ears.

Childe sighs, shaking his head and puffing his cheeks. "The things I do for these ungrateful little shits."

The man wheezes. "She's a sweet girl," he says, pointing down the aisle at a little girl with light blue-purple hair who drops a plethora of erasers from her hands as we speak, minding her own business. "But she can be the same way at times, so I get it. My husband is great with her, though. I struggle to understand her at times."

"Being a parent is a career," I chime in.

He turns to me, studying for a second. "Indeed," he says. "I didn't catch your names."

"Zhongli," I say. "This is my husband, Childe."

"Ah," he says, then pauses to study my husband. "I see. Well, it's nice to meet fellow same sex parents." He reaches out his hand to Childe. "Neuvillette. I also raise my daughter with my husband." He shakes my hand next, so calculated and intentional. Afterwards, he turns to me, giving me all his attention.

"A pleasure," I say, though I'm unsure if it is. Something about him puts me on edge, though I can't quite pinpoint why.

"How old are your sons?" Neuvillette says.

"Oh, we have three," I say. "16, 14, and 12."

"Perfectly spaced numbers," he chuckles. "Well, I'm sure they're very grateful deep down for you two."

"Oh, I'm sure," I say. "This one has saved their lives quite a few times, so they'd better be."

Neuvillette raises an eyebrow. "Oh? Do tell me more."

I give a small, proud smile, grabbing Childe's arm lightly. "Well, I had a son prior to us being together. We met because he saved my son from being eaten by an animal at a zoo. It's quite the story."