Algid (#TronnorAU)

Chapter 47: Too Good

The faint yellow lights of the coffee house barely did anything to keep the room lit, but it was enough for Connor and Nicola to see each other in the eye.

How much she had changed.

Her hair, dirty blonde like his, was now mid-length and went below her shoulders, with a lot more hints of light brown to it than what Connor remembered, and she no longer had any bangs like from when she was a girl. She had a dimple in her right cheek, much like the one their mom used to have, which showed every time she smiled. In fact, seeing her made Connor remember their mother's face so much. It was amazing, how much the two of them were alike now that Nicola was older. It brought a bittersweet taste to Connor's lips. Her eyes were sparkling green, glistening from the reflection of light on them. Those were the only bit of her that had remained unchanged.

Outside, it was still very dark, and snowing heavily. They had spent hours in this coffee shop, but it seemed like it had only been seconds. Connor still smiled stupidly at the sight of his sister, as did she. Next to Connor sat a bewildered yet grinning Troye, and next to Nicola sat a so far silent Brandon, who unlike her was more pale and in shock rather than bursting in happiness. Connor didn't mind; it was after all a very strong impression, meeting after so many years. Brandon probably had forgotten how Connor's face even looked like, even if Connor had never forgotten his little brother's. Like so, Brandon remained silent, probably trying to fathom around the emotions of meeting his family again.

Or so Connor thought.

In her hands, Nicola held a still steaming cup of hot cocoa she had ordered a few minutes ago. This was her third one so far. She had insisted in paying everyone's drinks at the coffee house, and since it was a twenty-four-hour service nobody was in any rush of leaving. Whenever she was about to speak, Nicola would clutch to her cup tighter, as if trying to contain her emotions. She spoke up, with a genuine smile that warmed the heart of anyone who looked upon her.

-"So all this time you've been in company of Alexis?"—she asked, to which Connor silently nodded, still smiling—"Oh my God, that's so good to hear! And such a relief! I mean, we had heard from a friend of mine that works in the foster care system, but we were never sure. I was so worried, thinking you'd been all on your own..."

Connor shook his head in denial, glad to hear his sister's thoughts.

-"No, no, she and I have been on the system together all these years..."

-"She must be really important to you. I can't wait to meet her!"

Connor raised his eyebrows, a bit in surprise.

-"Y-You mean that?"

-"Of course I mean that! She has been with you all this time, she's like your family too! And that means that she's ours as well."

Nicola's words brought a strange feeling to Connor's throat; it was a mix of being extremely relieved, happy, and thankful at the same time. He could feel how his words would never be able to express just how good it was to hear that. Troye smiled at Connor's expression.

-"I'm so happy to hear you say that..."

Nicola had told the two of them about her and Brandon's side of the story, after they were separated from Connor and Dustin all those years ago. After leaving the hospital in custody of the Estate, they were both sent to a foster home in a town somewhere north of Minneapolis. In it there were a little bit more than ten kids already, so it was pretty chaotic—gladly, the school they were sent to was good and that helped lessen the blow of the sudden changes they were going through. Apparently, they were moved one more time to a different foster house in a different city about a year later.