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"We're going to be late baby!" Xaira shouts, balancing the box of stuffed animals in her arms while she looks down the hallway in search of her boyfriend who was taking longer with his morning routine. "Give me a sec!" He shouts stopping in the doorway of their bedroom to show her the shirt he was getting ready to put on.
It was an all white button down, ironed to perfection without a wrinkle in sight. He figured since he was stopping by his job for a final time it was only right for him to dress his best and aside from the growing facial hair covering his cheeks along with the sorrow within his eyes and faded blond curls, he looked good...great even.
"Okay no rush." Xaira mutters now placing the box down. She runs her fingers through her own dark hair that she had taken the time to flat iron while Niko slept. The kids at her daycare center loved when she straightened her curls, oftentimes finding their sticky fingers running through it. She didn't mind it much even if she had to result toputting it in a bun from the frizz and tangled ends.
"Ready!" Niko shouts, sauntering down the hallway with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "Do you think one of the little boys would like these?" He inquires, pulling out stack of baseball cards. It was part of his personal collection he had spent the last seven years accumulating as a child.
It was his favorite sport up until the age of thirteen. After his father passed he had turned his back on the sport, ignoring it completely since it reminded him that his father was no longer here. Which meant that he couldn't talk about the sport he adored with anyone let alone bring himself to play it anymore. His older sister had encouraged him to get back into the sport his junior year of highschool which he did but he couldn't even finish the season out due to his own mind turning against him.
It was also the first time he tried to commit. Three days after his eighteenth birthday he was found in his bedroom unresponsive beside a bottle of prescriptions that did not belong to him. Because of that not only was he kicked off the team for the upcoming year for drug usage but was also recommended to seek professional health and spend a few weeks in a mental health facility.
The only thing that kept him sane during his three week stay was Xaira visiting him every day, talking with him as the two colored with old, broken crayons that were so cheap that their pigments barely transferred to paper.
"There is this one little boy that likes sports, maybe I can ask him if he'd like them." Xaira mentions, reaching for the stack of cards as she squats down in front of the box. When Niko hands them over she tosses them inside then follows him out of their apartment, stopping for a few seconds so he could lock the door before trailing behind him and down the cobblestone steps that lead to his car that was in need of a wash.
