[IC] So he's a bit of a Fixer Upper [Silver Fox]

[AimeChambers]

It had been a few days after the party. Seemed like Zac knew the impact of getting the old gang back together would be huge... so he left them alone, for now. Mikaela was back to his old schedule again, but Luke still had off school. Something or other was going on with the grading website, so the few days turned into a few more. That was all fine and dandy for Luke, but the little boy had some time to kill. After the first few days, Micah started to feel bad that Luke would have to stay at the cafe for so long... even if all the customers loved the tiny child.

Mikaela had taken another long nap again. Luckily for everybody, he didn't have any dreams, too caught up in exhaustion. The restaurant he had been working at during the night was giving him long hours to pick up the slack for a recently fired employee. Hank had done all he could to persuade their boss... to no avail. The 29-year-old was sprawled over his bed on his stomach, blanket lazily pulled over his body with both his feet sticking out. Even though it was late fall, the days were still plenty warm, so there was no real need to bundle up.

But it wasn't his little son Luke to wake him up from his slumber this time, but the sound of a doorbell.

Micah finally got up from bed and wiped his eyes. The man was still in his uniform, although it was rather rumpled. He smoothed out the bangs coming over his eyes before toeing over to the front door. Standing there was Jocelyn, the nice old woman that lived next door. She had always been kind enough to take care of Luke during the nighttime when Mikaela was busy at work...

"What can I help you with Jocelyn?" He said, still only half awake. Luke came up from behind him wearing a tiny apron, he had been cleaning some of the house while his father slept.

"Granny!" Luke happily cheered seeing the woman who was practically family to them. He hopped out from behind Mikaela and hugged her leg.

"Well hello dearie!" She patted Luke's head, her eyes looking a little sorrowful.

It turned out... Jocelyn was going to be gone for almost a week, to go off to Hawaii or somewhere with her nephew. Mikaela himself hadn't ever met the man, but there was no way to change the dates since the plane tickets had already been bought. The older woman was truly very sorry for putting them out like this, but there was really nothing she could do. Mikaela said that it was no biggie... though of course it was.

Who would Micah be able to have watch over Luke? There only person he really had any real contact with was Hank, who was working the nights along with him. The father didn't feel too comfortable leaving his son with his coworkers from the cafe for so long and...

And... no, there was someone who could take care of Luke. Someone Mikaela knew would be perfect for the job. The "mother hen" of his old friend group. The one that had confessed...

The one he had turned down and he had basically called gross.

B-But they were both past that now! Everything had gone well enough at the party... There was no way Alver would turn him done... right?

Before Luke knew it, a bunch of his things had been packed up in an overnight bag. Something about him staying with an old friend... Then how come Luke had never met this person??? The boy had met Zac, who he was maybe having his first crush on... But how could his Papa just go and give him over to a complete stranger?!

Jocelyn had canceled on extremely short notice, there was no way Micah would have been able to tell Alver everything over the phone. Instead, he had left a message on Alver's voicemail that he was coming over... and he needed a big favor.

@Silver Fox

[Silver Fox]

The party had gone well enough, all things considered. They managed to satisfy Harpy's wish in getting the gang back together for one day and everything has gone back to normal. Alver would sleep during the day, then get to work at night or wander the woods in the cover of darkness. In passed couple of days, in his spare time, he'd paint his friends now that he managed to see them as adults. In his garage where he kept quite a bit of his paintings, most of his childhood friends, some of the stars, some of the forest, whatever. His garage his where he stored them, and currently he was sitting inside, working on another painting. The tall albino couldn't help but attempt to paint the enchanting image he saw a couple days ago. His childhood crush, Micah, in a wedding dress. He had managed to get a image and some colors, posing the beautiful boy holding a bouquet of light purple roses, cherry blossoms flitting around in the background while the male bride had a lovely smile. Deciding to finish up, he drew a cover over the painting as it rested on its aisle. Stretching out as he went back into the house and took a shower, scrubbing away any paint that clung to his skin.

When he finished, he noticed he had a voicemail on his phone. Curiously, he flipped his phone open and brought it to his ear, listening to the brief message. Freezing in place, Alver felt sweat streak down his face as Miky left a message he was on his way and was needing a big favor. What it was, he didn't say, but the simple matter that Miky was coming over at all about caused the albino to have a heart attack. Taking deep breaths, he dropped his phone on the floor and started pacing around, mumbling to himself as he tried to think on what to do.

"Out of everyone, why did it have to be him?" Alver murmured to himself. "It must be important if he's coming here on such short notice though... I suppose I can't just lock everything up and pretend not to be here in case it's a emergency. Okay. Just stay calm. You can get through this Alver. Just do what Jin from Samurai Champloo or Kyouya from Ouran High School Host Club would do. Just stay calm, cool, level headed... it will be fine. Yup. Now... clean everything... um.... food!" Alver said, mind running a mile a minute as he jetted around all the house. Making sure the already spotless house was clean, locking up his work room and garage to hide his hobbies that would surely give Miky to laugh at, then running into the kitchen to prepare... something!

He didn't have too much time so he ended up putting on his tan apron and pulling his hair back up in a bun to get it out of the way before managing cooking some spaghetti, made homemade Alfredo sauce, and red tomato sauce, with some meatballs. He put them all separately so his guests had the option to pick a sauce and to add the meatballs or not. Making some salad, with broccoli, carrots, and some apple slices, and for dessert a plate full of chocolate chip cookies. Taking a deep breath, he hurriedly set up the dining room table, cleaned up the kitchen, and cleaned himself up. Taking a breath of satisfaction, he let his hair out of the bun and fall loosely behind him, only constrained by the low loose ponytail he usually had it.

Luckily, that was when he heard the doorbell ring, which made him jump in a soft fright. After a couple hyperventing breaths, he took a big deep one and headed to the door. The albino hesitated for a open before unhatching all the locks and cracking the door open so he could peek out. Just to be sure it was Miky and not some prankster. Seeing it was, he opened the door a bit more, looking down at the much shorter male.

"Um... Hello there Miky... You surprised me with this sudden visit.." Alver said, mentally thinking about how he hadn't expected to see the mismatched eyed man again after that little get together. But the world was apparently full of surprises. Glancing further down, he blinked when he saw a young child. Who looked quite a bit like Miky here. Alver gave a kind smile and stepped aside. "Well. Come inside. But take off your shoes. I made us a meal so you can explain what your emergency while you fill your belly." he said, his lavender gaze a slightly red color now.

[AimeChambers]

"Who even is this guy anyway? What is he like?" The small boy sat in the backseat of their tiny blue Nissan Micra hand-me-down. Supposedly, the car had originally belonged to Hank's little sister, who got it from their aunt. The car worked well enough, but since they never really had extra money for gas, the car itself wasn't used much. Luke was extremely wary of going to stay over at Mikaela's old friend's house. The directions to the out of the way cottage sat on Micah's lap, a second copy with Luke since his father was horrible with directions. If only they hadn't broken the GPS a few weeks earlier...

It was lucky that Zac was available earlier, he had given directions to a rather blushy Luke, making sure that at least the little boy near the way. And now that the problem of the route was out of the way, Luke was interrogating Micah about this 'friend' of his.

"Alver is the best person to take care of you! Why, when we were children, everyone called him Mother, I still call him that! Even though he scolded me for it..." Mikaela lightly touched his cheek with one hand, the other on the wheel, his face turning a little pink. The albino had pinched his cheeks twice at the party! One when he called the younger Mother and the other when he had swore at him.

Alver... he, he looked the same, yet different. The albino didn't look unisex like he did way back when, even with the long hair. His height was an added factor but... the little boy had definitely grown. Micah! Stop thinking about that-

"Turn right, Papa!" Luke squealed from the back as they passed by the turn. With a little murmur of an insult to himself, Micah turned into a driveway to turn around. Why was he getting so nervous? It wasn't like... any of those feelings between them were still around from middle school or anything.

Mikaela himself still needed to apologize about it, but the 29-year-old man never wanted to bring it up. There was nothing wrong with being gay- far from it! And... that was so mean and cruel of him...

Luke was sulking, his papa had completely ignored him halfway through the trip, blushing and lost in thought. The baka father had gone and missed the turn too! What was the little boy to do with such a wayward father? The reached the driveway of the rather large house and both of the Winters' mouths dropped open involuntarily.

Micah had known his old friend had been doing well thanks to their talk at the party, but... Wow. Both dumbfounded, the man rang the doorbell. Luke stood in front of his Papa almost protectively. The door opened and... a giant peeked his head through!

The little boy stared up, his eyes wide at the really really tall guy greeted Micah. He was super tall, but his hair was also like a girls, so flowy and shiny that Luke wanted to braid it. The color was supernatural as well, leaving Luke to watch fascinated. The Albino's eyes were only a few shades of Lavender lighter than his own, he was the most normal of the group of three.

W-Wait! Luke couldn't keep thinking about this! He had to be suspicious- suspicious! This guy was super thin and ghostly pale, almost like he could eat a whole person, and no way was he eating Papa!

While Luke was having this inner monologue, Mikaela was staring at Alver with an apologetic smile. It wasn't that he thought Alver would reject him, but the albino might be reluctant. At the mention that he was surprised, Micah's head drooped a little bit, the man hoped he hadn't woken the other up.

But when Alver smiled down at Luke, Micah lit up like a happy go lucky puppy. He ushered Luke in quickly, doing as the albino said and reaching to help Luke. The little boy blushed in embarrassment, murmuring about how he could take off his own shoes. After their little moment, Micah stood up and walked into the living room. "U-Uh um! This is Luke, my son, just turned 10. He's in fourth grade and is really good and housework and-"

Micah was interrupted by Luke pulling on his coat, oh no, he had been rambling again! "Well it's um..." He tried to continue talking as they made their way into the dining room. "I don't really have much time before my night shift at work starts, but I really need to get everything settled and..."
Remembering the manga books he had read, and the fact that at sometime Alver had been a fan, Micah got down on his knees and exclaimed, "Could you um, take care of Luke a few nights this week? I'll be back by 10 pm, but Jocelyn can't take care of him- Oh! Jocelyn is my next door neighbor- And she's going on holiday with her son to Hawaii or something and I don't have anyone to watch him and-"

@Silver Fox

[Silver Fox]

Listening to his childhood friend start to stammer and ramble, Alver silently closed the door behind them and walked to the dining table while listening to Miky's explanation. The moment the mismatched eye boy said he didn't have much time, the albino gave a slight sigh of perhaps disappointment but opened one of the cupboards in the kitchen and took out some Tupperware, returning to start shifting some of the plate's contents meant for Miky inside before neatly closing it. When he turned back to his first crush, he blinked a bit as Miky was practically begging on his knees like a over-dramatized manga character desperate for help.

Well, it kind of seemed his childhood friend was desperate. After all, Alver lived out of the way, away from bustling society. That and well... They had a bit of a shaky relationship in the past. They got along fine at the gathering, but even then they were both a little uncomfortable. To leave his son in Alver's care... Well... It was hard to say no.

Lavender gaze looking down at Miky thoughtfully, Alver gave a slight sigh before kneeling down, brushing his right hand on top of soft hair of his childhood friend, elegant slender fingers ruffling the strands ever so slightly as they petted him. While the left hand held the Tupperware filled with a good meal and pressed against the chest of his guest. In order disrupt the constant rambling.

"It's fine, I can watch him. Just make sure you care for yourself. You're starting to look more dead then me." Alver responding in a slight joking, but gentle tone. Before gingerly pinching his cheek. "Though make sure to give me some notice next time and time for you to explain proper scheduling. Erratic schedules isn't good for children. Did you even explain who I was properly?" he scolded, before turning toward Luke, shifting a little to face Luke and giving a friendly kind motherly smile.

"Well hello there young man. This must be quite a surprise for you right? My name is Alver Rozu, it is very nice to finally meet you Luke. You're Papa loves talking about you. I hope you don't mind keeping each other company for a little while." he said brightly, holding his right slender hand out to offer to shake hands with the child.

[AimeChambers]

Immediately after Micah prostrated himself, Luke tried to pull him up. This wasn't like Papa... Was there some kind of problem between the two of them? And if there was... Why would he make Luke stay with him. He looked helplessly between the two, his small hands balled into fists. He was too unnerved by the situation and if the vampire dude said no, where would they go?

But then the guy ruffled Mikaela's hair. It was such a sweet gesture. Sure, Luke had seen Hank tease the tiny father of his, but nothing... this innocent and nice. The gesture even made little Luke blush, he had just started his first crush after all... and not only on an older person, but a man.

Shock splashed on Mikaela's face when Alver lightly touched his head. But he soon started to blush, the albino was just so nice... so, so sweet. The taller man was soon entice both father and son. His chest tightened when the large Tupperware collided with his chest. His ramblings had slipped into something unintelligible before he went silent.

His head drooped again when the other male accepted his request, his eyes filled with happiness are dewy. It was true he had been working a bit too hard recently, making him about ready to keel over. If Micah didn't get someone to look after Luke, he wouldn't get his naps that were seemingly longer than his nighttime rest. His face when a little redder when he realized he probably hadn't explained exactly who Alver was. The only factors he had mentioned to his son were that Alver was an old friend and he was a great motherly figure.

But after seeing Alver's motherly smile turn towards Luke, he knew everything would turn out alright in the end. He wanted to get up and huge him right now.

As soon as those smiling reddish eyes connected with Luke's, his fists went limp. The boy was feeling all shy with that kind of smile coming towards him full force. Sure, Mikaela was a great father... but Luke had never gotten the opportunity to experience a motherly gaze. Luke wanted to go hide behind his Papa's back but... a part of him stopped him from doing that. Not being able to really voice his thoughts properly yet, he just nodded and his small fingers slipped into the palm of Alver's elegant hand. "Luke Winter..."

The interaction almost brought Micah to tears. "Thank you!" With a happy cry, he took a few steps forward on his knees to hug the both of them. Mikaela spontaneously kissed the top of Luke's head and almost did the same to Alver... until he realized what he was doing... His face went super red again and he hid his head in Luke's hair.

"T-Thank you... I'm really asking too much..." Even his ears were red.

@Silver Fox

[Silver Fox]

Nyaaaah Luke was sooooo cute!

Alver smiled a little more as the little boy shyly placed his hand in the albino's ghostly palm. The elegant fingers gingerly encircled it in a gentle embrace while softly giving the small hand a little shake. Flicking his pale reddish eyes toward Miky, the coloring shifting back to the pale lavender color as he turned his face to find the source of chirped gratitude, he blinked as the tall man found himself in a embrace with the smaller man. Seeing the father kiss his son on the head was just so heartwarming. Of course, Alver's pale face slightly tinted pink when it looked like Miky was going to do the same thing to the albino, but soon just buried his face into the child's hair and mumbled more of his thanks.

Miky was just evil. Pure evil. Too adorable not to be evil. Alver's feelings from all those years ago had managed to heal over time, but gosh blueberries he was reminded why he had a crush on this guy in the first place. It's funny, Miky looked like such a cute shy kid at this moment, even if the smaller man was a good three years older than Alver.

Mentally telling his heart to shush up from its rapid pounding against his chest, Alver wrapped his arms around the two, placing his hands on top of their heads and giving them comforting loving strokes. It's been awhile since he's seen Miky like this, so Alver's more devious side decided to tease the smaller adult. Mostly just so he can distract himself from the overly cuteness these two were exibiting that would put so many cutesy manga boys to shame.

Leaning closer as he continued to give them loving pats, he brought his lips just a few inches from Miky's exposed ear. "Anytime, Miky." Alver whispered in a slight hum, before pulling away and ruffling the older man's hair.

"It's no trouble, it's alright to ask for help. Now go on and get to work before your late. I'll make sure Luke is well taken care of." Alver said, standing up and pulling his childhood friend up with him, unconsciously brushing his slender hands over Miky to straighten out his clothes. He looked to Luke and smiled, reaching hands and easily scooping up the ten year old into his arms so he wasn't left out. And he was about face to face with his father when the adults stood up.

"It'll be good to get to know eachother anyway, right Luke?" Alver smiled to Luke, winking his left eye as he flashed another bright smile.

[AimeChambers]

Ah... This must be what it was like to have a mother. The boys face lit up like a christmas light (pfft), only to suddenly be hugged by his father. The two adults were kneeling on the ground while Luke stood up, a little kiss being planted on the top of his head. It was... kind of embarrassing to be kissed on the head at this age... But there was no way that Luke wanted to pull away. The amount of love and care being poured at him was enough to make him get misty eyed. The boy had yet to notice the embarrassing awkward moment between his father and Alver, only being able to see Micah's neck.

Too close, too close! Micah realized just what he had gotten into, his heart was doing somersaults. As Alver started patting his head, he was really starting to worry that he would cry. His... p-parents had always never been close, to him or each other. The man himself had always been groomed to be the successor since young, and there was no touching affection to be heard of. It was one of the reasons his fantasies had grown to be such a huge part of his life. The only one who had ever patted Mikaela's head like that... was him. When all the kids were playing hide and seek and Micah didn't know what to do, Alver was the one who guided him along and patted his head. It was a bit too much for him to bring up old memories. A tear was stuck at the corner of his mint green eye.

Trying not to let any tears drop in front of Alver or his own son, he squeezed his eyes shut. Therefore, when Alver's voice got really closer to his ear, the older man gasped. His whole face was red as a tomato, oh! It seemed that Micah's ears were really sensitive! ...And he really did like to hear that nickname that only his old friends called him by. His flustered demeanor was furthered by the ruffling of his hair. Again, the straight hairs were flying in all directions, making Luke giggle.

A-Alver! That stupid tall albino was taking his sweet time in teasing him! It had been so long since he had gotten such an amount of teasing, Hank didn't even come close. A pouty expression slipped over Mikaela's face as he was helped up. His eyes showed off that he would scold him later for this... but not in front of Luke, he didn't want to embarrass himself anymore than this. His face would never stop growing crimson now.

Luke was gently pulled up into Alver's arms and he giggled, before gasping in astonishment. It was so high up! The tallest he'd ever been up from being carried before. The little guy laughed and hugged Alver's neck a little tighter, it was a bit of a way down. Hopefully during their time together, Alver would help the boy to stop developing the fear of heights from his father.

"Mn!" The boy smiled happily, looking back at his father and giving him a thumbs up with his eyes.

"S-So! I'm gonna have to be off now... I'll be working Tonnelli's Italian Cuisine Restaurant until 10 pm tonight so don't you go waiting up on me Luke. Um- Let's see, he should have his favorite stuffed animal Thomas and his nighty. I'll be needing to get him some new pjs soon but that should be fine too. I'll make sure to bring home any leftovers from work an-" He spotted Luke's cut off signal and went quiet, staring down at the floor again.

"O-Okay..." He slipped back up to the front door and put his shoes back on. "I'll be going!"

[Silver Fox]

Alver silently snickered at Miky's flustered reaction, enjoying reading his childhood friend. He was no longer the girlish tiny little boy, so it was a lot easier to tease his tiny friend. The tall man couldn't help but coax some adorable reactions from his childhood friend. Chuckling as he felt Luke tightly wrap his arm around Alver's thin neck, he ruffled the child's hair gently.

Watching Miky stumble over his words and blather about again, and noticing Luke's signal, Alver couldn't help but grin in amusement. Miky, always needs just a little help. Alver took a few steps closer and reached out with his free hand, shuffling so he cradled Luke with one arm. Grasping Miky's hand, he pulled it closer and gingerly placed a kiss upon the knuckles. "Have a safe trip. See you when you return Miky." Alver mused, giving another wink before releasing the hand and ushering Miky out the door. "Now off you go, Papa." he grinned innocently. Trying to ignore his thundering heart.

Once Miky left, Alver looked to Luke. "Well how about we eat the food on the table huh? I'd say it's pretty good. Your Papa didn't tell me what you like but some of it is at least healthy for you." he hummed, sounding like almost a pleasant hummingbird.

@AimeChambers

[AimeChambers]

Luke happily accepted Alver's affection, his little eyes sparkling. Sure, Jocelyn was nice enough, but she was also pretty old and was the kind of person to need a lot of help too. The little boy felt like he would be able to leave it all to this mother hen albino. But... when he saw Alver kiss Micah's hand, he finally started getting wind of what was happening. Papa was totally being teased! Since the only real relationship had been with Luke's mom, not only did Luke not really remember his father ever being romantically involved with anyone, he knew the man probably knew next to nothing where romantic love was concerned.

His Papa's face was flaming but he couldn't tell if Micah was actually hating all this or not. He switched glances between the two of them... Did something happen when they were younger? There was so much untold chemistry between the two of them. Without another goodbye, Mikaela almost ran out of the room, which luckily it wasn't the winter season or he would have surely slipped. There was so much emotion in the man's face, who could tell if he could even see where he was going?

After Papa seemed to disappear down the driveway in their Nissan Micro, Luke caught Alver's eyes, they were almost eye level like this after all. The pleasant little conversation that sprouted from the albino's lips distracted the little boy from his newfound mission and he nodded. Squirming as his way of saying he wanted to be put down. Once he was, the boy slipped over to the dining table and stared at all the food. Grabbing for a chocolate chip cookie. It was nice to be childish once in a while after all.

Luke himself was rather small, even for his age. The boy made up for it by being pretty flexible and able to jump pretty high too. He slipped onto a chair and took a bite out of the cookie before saying, "You seem to really like to tease Papa a lot. Was this regular back in the old days? And... I-If Papa isn't comfortable with all this teasing, I'll have to punish you! Papa's mine."

[Silver Fox]

Watching Miky go, Alver slightly tilted his head curiously. He didn't particularly recall his childhood friend reacting in such a blushing emotional manner. Then again, back then, it didn't seem like the older man really knew exactly emotions were. Or at least, he always was in his own little world, a bit oblivious to other social cues. Not like the albino can say any better as he gets most of his from manga books. Considering that Mikaela had a son and once a loving wife, his awareness probably got a little bit better.

As Luke squirmed a bit, Alver set the child gently down. Soon taking a seat across from where Luke decided. As the child took a cookie, Alver playfully rolled his eyes and smiled in amusement. "Luke, don't you know dessert comes after the meal? It's a good way to spoil your appetite." he mused, but he wasn't too mad about it. He'd let it go this time since it was Luke's first time here.

"Just try to save some room for the veggies." he said, gingerly starting delicately eat his own meal. Pouring some Alfredo sauce on his own spaghetti and elegantly spinning strands into his fork. Taking a bite and chewing it slowly, his lavender gaze opened to look at Luke as the young boy spoke. Giving a soft thoughtful hum as he tapped the untainted end of his fork against his chin, he gave a slow nod. Before giving a soft chuckle as it seemed Miky's son was a bit protective and possessive of the loving parent.

"Yes I suppose it is. Back then it was one of the ways to get your Papa out of his shell a little bit. And scold him from time to time when he made a mess of things. Though that was mostly Harpy and our other friends. I suppose habits are hard to break." Alver answered before taking another bite and doing the same process of giving a slow chew before swallowing.

"Don't worry Luke, it is not my intention to take your Papa away. Or is it your the one teasing him now so he gets back on the right track?" Alver asked with a slight grin.

[AimeChambers]

After finish his cookie, Luke himself also grabbed at the spaghetti, though his was a much slower process. He refused to ask for help, the boy was a big boy now that he was ten! Luke's shortness made him pouring his tomato sauce and getting the noodles that much more difficult. And... while Alver had gone so far as to mention vegetables, he knew just from looking that he could never reach them on his own. Save them for after the pasta would be best.

Luke knew all too well about his 'shell'. It would always show up whenever Micah would have a bad dream. The boy knew if his Papa's old friends hadn't showed up that day, after coming home, Papa would end up sitting in the corner and daydreaming again. The fantasies always really scared Luke, because no matter what he did... he couldn't get Micah to come out of them.

Back when he was younger, Mikaela's daydreams were always of other made up worlds and happy things. But, ever since the last time... he came, they would sometimes turn sour. Micah himself could never pull himself out, he had no resistance because he never wanted to stop. But these would just pull up old memories.

That's why Luke was so scared of them. He would just see his Papa staring off into space, and turns would start falling down his face without making a sound. When it happened, Luke would sit on in his lap and pull Micah's unresponsive arms around him, hoping that his father would come back to reality.

Luke's expression seemed to get sadder and sadder as he thought about it. This person seemed really really nice and Luke had actually started trusting him almost immediately... even though he hadn't wanted to at first. After having sat back down in his chair, the boy had just swirled his fork around in the pasta. "If... you won't take Papa away..." He didn't finish his seconds, trying to deliberate what he was going to say next.

"What were um... Papa's fantasies like as a kid? He won't tell me what they are like now... b-but he's always crying whenever it's happening! I don't know how to snap him out of it... And I was wondering... if maybe you had a way to..." Tears started falling down his face.

@Silver Fox

[Silver Fox]

Alver watched patiently as the child fed himself, to what his small body could reach at least. A part of Alver wanted to just baby Luke but he fairly knew he should allow Luke to help himself. Miky probably spoils Luke as much as he can when he's around anyhow. Still, Luke deserves to be spoiled every now and then. He seems like a good kid. As the expression of the cheerful child turned sadder and sadder, Alver slightly frowned in worry, tilting his head to the side. Wondering what he said wrong to cause the ten year old such grief.

It was then Luke asked what Miky's fantasies were like in the old days, before starting to tear up and cry as the child explained Miky's more... Worrying reactions when he holed up in his little she'll. Alver hadn't really remembered things like that. Miky would indeed often state out into space, oblivious to the reality around him, but he didn't really cry. And whenever the albino did snap him out of it, he listened to these fantastic tales, world's so imaginative and beautiful, it was hard to explain into words almost. Despite how this trait of Miky was found a bit weird by many, Alver loved hearing about them. Painting the images in his own mind as they were described. It was nothing he could truly replicate, but it was one of things he liked about Miky.

The albino didn't really remember phases where it caused his childhood friend to cry however. Sure, there a few rare occasions where Miky seemed uncomfortable but that was it. Then again... Years have passed since then. Alver had confessed and got shot down, the group of friends went their seperate ways, Alver thought he remembered something about Miky's folks not being the best, and there was the fact that his beloved wife had passed. There are a few things the tall man could imagine that could sour the wonderous fantasies.

Standing up and walking around to Luke, leaning down and giving the small tiny boy a warm embrace. Right hand gently stroking the top of the gorgeous locks while his left wipes away the tears. "Oh sweetie it'll be okay. We'll both figure out something okay? Your Papa's little.. Spells were always a bit tricky to snap him out of, and I can't imagine they have gotten any easier. The one thing that seemed to work the most is to just show him you care and love him. He tries not to show it, but he likes to get loving attention. Or at least, show him something to catch his eye that distracts him from his spell." Alver said before thinking of a way to cheer up the child, standing up and patting Luke's head.

"Wait right here, I'll bring out something that will help get you a good idea of what he saw when he was your age." the tall man said before quickly rushing out and to the garage. Shuffling through a bunch of cloth wrapped rectangular shapes that consisted of his paintings. Some dustier then others. The nocturnal man opened chests, checked stacks, checked mounted ones, until he finally managed to find what he was looking for. Grasping the clothed hidden painting, Alver returned to Luke and gave a smile.

"It was a bit difficult to understand what your Papa saw... And how to explain them through just words.. But when we were kids I tried to sometimes paint them, just to capture the fantasy somewhere. This one was one of my favorites." Alver said before unwrapping the piece, allowing the protective cloth to fall away and reveal the piece of art from long ago.



@AimeChambers

[AimeChambers]

Luke was pulled into Alver's warm embrace, making his tears fall all the more. Luke was trying to act like a grown, so he always did his best never to cry to his Papa. It had been too long since he had been comforted by someone like this. He grabbed fistfuls of Alver's shirt and dropped his head onto Alver's chest. "S-Sowwy..." His voice got a little muddled in his tears, making it sound quite babyish.

When Alver moved to stand up, Luke limply released his hands, he needed to get a grip on those tears of his before he worried the elegant albino more. He wiped at his own tears, staring up at Alver with dewy eyes. He wanted to go get something to show the younger boy. After a minute or two, Luke felt like he had calmed down enough and got up to go look for his babysitter before Alver came back with a clothed rectangle. A painting...?

Mikaela had always had a soft spot for paintings, especially fantasy ones. Luke had never known why, but whenever they were free days at the art gallery, he was dragged along by the excited short adult. It seemed that Micah was always looking for some kind of name on them... and never really found what he was looking for.

Out of the cloth was taken out a majesty blue painting, and the little boy gasped. The sight was so peculiar and fascinating, Luke took a few steps closer. It was so pretty, the way the night sky almost blended into the land and the lights shining through the sky. The young boy was speechless, his eyes bright and a smile on his face.

"You... painted this? And only when you were a little kid?" His voice was filled with amazement and admiration. Luke had no skills to be heard of when it came to art. He could play a little piano, but his voice had nothing on Zac either.

Luke wanted to be able to experience the world his father had created in his head. This was the first time he didn't despise one of Mikaela's spells, "It... must have been amazing for him to experience something like this everyday."

[Silver Fox]

Smiling when Luke's face lightened up in awe, Alver nodded a little. "Yup, around your age. Back then, I worked really hard so I could make something to show that your Papa's spells weren't all bad. People are a bit funny, they can't understand what they can't see. Course I almost always felt my paintings never really did any justice to the real thing. So I kept them." He explained before gently rubbing the top of the blonde hair of the young boy.

"But I hope this helps you a little, to not completely hate your Papa's spells. They can be really enchanting." Alver smiled, happy he could cheer up the young boy a little bit. Thinking for a moment, the albino got a idea.

"How about this sweetie, you finish your dinner and you can come into my personal art gallery and pick out one of any of my finished paintings to take home with you? It might make your Papa feel a little better. Be our little surprise when he returns." he offered. All of his paintings were marked at the bottom right corner with the symbol of a rose, with the signature 'White Rose' elegantly signed upon it. Plus he had quite a few with him. He enjoyed personally looking at them, but he could give up one for his friend and son.

[AimeChambers]

Wow... Alver had been his age, that was quite a feat! The boy admitted defeat when it came to the albino's talent, all Luke could do was housework. As he listened to Alver, the boy thought about the albino's appearance and wondered what he looked like when they were the same age. What did his Papa look like? The father didn't have any pictures really of that time, and he hadn't had any kind of contact with his grandparents since he was a baby... Would he have been able to join their group of friends if he had lived back then?

As Alver expressed his worry that Luke hated his Papa's spells, he stared down at the ground, nodding. If he had known that Mikaela had also had fantasies such as this, worlds that were so beautiful... maybe he wouldn't have started to hate them. Luke stared again at the painting and tried to imagine being able to walk in a world like that, Papa really did have the best imagination.

His personal art gallery? If this painting was made when Alver was only a child, the other paintings must be amazing masterpieces. Luke jumped for joy in his effort to say yes, his head nodding and his hair bouncing, "Mn!" Not only might this make Papa feel better, whichever picture he chose would become his greatest treasure. The father and son pair never really had much money, so Luke didn't have too many expensive toys... and this painting would be priceless.

The boy jumped into Alver's arms, his cheek getting tickled by the older man's long hair. By the end of tonight it would be his mission to be able to braid that beautiful hair!

[Silver Fox]

As Luke lept with joy and jumped in the tall man's arms, Alver chuckled and embraced the child, setting the starry blue otherworldly painting aside to scoop Luke up and basically cuddle him. Glad he was able to cheer the child up a bit. He was such a cutie! Giving a little kiss to the top of the head of the child, Alver walked back to the dining table and sat in Luke's seat, letting the child sit on his lap. Reaching his long arms out, he shuffled some of the salad, broccoli, carrots, and some slices of Apple onto Luke's plate. Piercing a carrot with a fork and held it out to Luke.

"Now say 'Ahhh'..the sooner we finish eating and clean up, the sooner we can go pick out your own present for you and Papa." Alver smiled warmly. He was a little worried over Miky's apparent recent behavior. He would have to have a talk with him sometime. It wasn't good to worry Luke so much, but it also might be something he just couldn't talk about yet.

It made him wonder what these nightmares were like. If he beautiful side of the spells could be so enchanting, the nightmares must be quite terrifying. The albino remembered that Miky said they were quite vivid back when they were younger. It was a reason he always spaced out so deeply. Still was it a good idea to attempt to open a sore wound? But it might have to be done, for both of their same. For now, he'd focus his care on Luke.

@AimeChambers

[AimeChambers]

It had been a little while since Micah had time to cuddle him, maybe a few days. Usually, the cuddling involved them sleeping in the same bed though, since his Papa was always so tired after work. The little boy nuzzled his head into Alver's neck as he was transported back over to the dining table. What was it like to live in Alver's world was what he was wondering. How were adults able to get cuddles like this?

Luke was seated on the albino's lap while his plate was piled high with an assortment of fruits and veggies. While Luke may look childish, the boy was aware of the food pyramid and ate plenty of vegetables every day. The only vegetables he didn't like were Brussel sprouts and lima beans... luckily neither of those were on his plate today. Luke's stomach rumbled a little bit looking at all the yummy food.

But when Alver held out the fork to feed the boy, he started to pout, "Alver Rozu, I'll have you know that I am a big boy and I don't need help eating!" He gave the grown man a firm nod to go along with his statement if he had been standing, he might have even stomped his foot. When the albino mentioned the idea of getting the present faster, however, he reluctantly opened his mouth and let out a small "ahhh..." to welcome the nutritious veggies into his stomach to be consumed and transformed into energy.

The boy himself was still thinking about his Papa's spells as well. For him, the bad ones hadn't been recent, but had been coupled with Micah's happy ones for as long as he noticed the fantasies in the first place.

It had all started after his Papa had come home one night, looking broken inside and covered in strange wounds. Luke couldn't understand what they were at the time, just knew something bad had happened. At the time, Luke had been about to call 911, but Mikaela had slipped out of his daze long enough to stop the tiny seven-year-old. The rest of the night he stayed in the bathroom and wouldn't come out, it was the only lockable door in the house besides the front door.

The next few days, Luke was made to stay with Jocelyn while Hank would come over at least three times a day to the Winter house. Micah would reject to see him, but his best friend kept adamantly coming to his door. Later on, Mikaela had finally settled down, but he was now always plagued with nightmares and these silent despairing spells that shook Luke to the core to watch.

@Silver Fox

[Silver Fox]

Blinking his lilac colored eyes ever so slightly as the child pouted about how most children his age did, Alver gave a soft little hum for just a moment before his lower lip started to jet out ever so slightly and tremble. Eyes shining and shimmering as if they were watering. Dazzling like little starlight trapped within the orbs used for sight. "Oh gracious me, I'm terribly sorry my dear. It's just... It's so nostalgic from when your papa and me were little ones ourselves. And I'm all alone in this house with no little boys to take care of anymore. I suppose old habits are just difficult to stop." he said somberly dramatic. Smiling slightly as Luke eventually accepted the motherly feeding, gently petting the young boy's hair and allowing him to have his fill.

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he had human contact. Besides recently and his boss. Otherwise, it had been a long time. He supposed the last time was with Lucas.... And he'd rather not think about him. It reminded him why he was always alone. Because in the end, it was just better that Alver remained what he was. Ghosts. And Ghosts disappear. And for a long time, he did. Disappeared from the lives of his friends, his family, his relationships. He was just a little memory that was meant to be forgotten. Harpy had dug him back up from the grave however and now it seemed the ghost could be seen again. But in the end, it was better that he was forgotten and disappeared. He couldn't allow himself to forget that. Even if a part of him wanted to be back out in the sight of others. All he ever did was cause problems.

Lost in his thoughts for a long moment, he almost didn't notice Luke finish his meal. Snapping out of his more depressing thoughts, he gave a kind smile, petting the top of the child's head before setting him down so the albino could stand up and clean up the table. "Alright, I'll clean up. How about you wash your hands and then we can go pick out a painting? Bathroom is just through that door." he asked, pointing towards the downstairs bathroom that wasn't too far. Cleaning up the dishes and setting them in the dishwasher.

When both of them were done, Alver would take Luke's hand and lead him to the large garage filled with paintings. Most covered up, some hanging on the walls. Glancing around, Alver tried to find the ones of Miky's dreams. It had been awhile since Alver painted them... since it had been awhile since he heard a tale. The Garage carried various paintings. Some were of nature, others of animals, quite a few of the starry sky... and there were a few hiding that were a little more darker. That gave the feeling of lonliness, and a few that were just gave a uneasing feeling. Darkness with one little white speck. Or one with the outline of someone transparent, invisible, while a crowd of people went on their daily lives... although further back hiding was where Alver hid his more sentimental paintings. Art of his childhood friends. The newer ones had paintings of his grown up friends in costume. He had painted a group painting of everyone as children together, hanging out and sitting around a tree. Then the paintings he drew of Miky's little spells.

Alver took some paintings and uncovered them before showing Luke. "These are some more I painted. Which would you like Luke?" the albino asked curiously, showing several.

paintings

[AimeChambers]

The small boy began to panic a little, Oh dear, he'd made Alver cry! He could hear a little bit of the tears from above him, but since he also wanted to fulfill the albinos request, he only leaned more into the man and accepted the food. Luke would have to make sure he gave Alver plenty of hugs and the like tonight! He would not make him cry again. The food, as were mostly vegetables, were delicious and Luke's mood brightened a lot more as he continued to eat, it was on the same par as what his Papa could make, though the male was fairly good at cooking. It was nice to have his hair petted again, while on the one side he wanted to be on equal standing with Alver, he also loved to be babied by the albino.

Luke soon finished all the food on his plate and was set down onto the floor, which was a good thing, because it would have been a bit of a stretch for him to have to climb down from Alver's lap. Although the boy was short, Alver was really tall and a lot of height was from his legs. Per being told, Luke headed in the direction Alver had pointed to the bathroom to wash up and gasped as he opened the door. The albino's house was very big and looked rather expensive, but all the room were each a surprise to the boy. A large shower stall with a wood bordered mirror and pretty lamps, the place looked more like the master bathroom than one for the downstairs. Luke headed over to the sink, and was lucky enough to be tall enough to wash his hands properly. Once doing so, he quietly went back to the table.

The boy took the hand that Alver offered and followed him to the garage. The place was covered in paintings that were covered up in white linings. The boy surveyed around, his heart beating fast, this was so cool! Luke peered around at the different paintings that were uncovered and was very polite and stood at a distance like you would at an art gallery. When Alver came over with the different paintings, Luke almost jumped for joy and hurried over. He surveyed the paintings with awe and his mouth had dropped open for some time.

"I really like the first one!" The boy chimed, bringing his head up to look into Alver's eyes. "I've always really liked forests, and this one has a feel of fireflies and tiny fairies that are venturing out after dark and going to some healing mini waterfall or something!" The boy looked back at the painting again.

@Silver Fox

[Silver Fox]

Smiling brightly as the young boy chose a painting, Alver set the others back in place, gingerly holding the chosen painting in the cloth it was wrapped in and held it out to Luke. "Awe that is a good choice. You're Papa was quite excited back when he was talking about it. I think he had a wonderful time there, helped him relax a little." the albino said, his mind briefly wandering back to that time. Miky always either loved talking about what he saw during his spells, or he was just quiet and didn't talk at all. But when he was talking, it was like a motor running at the highest velocity. People found it annoying, but Alver was always enchanted. Like listening to a beautiful siren sing one of their enchanting songs. The memory made the tall man's heart flutter in his chest for but a moment. Remembering how they were as kids, both of them small compared to the others, Alver even smaller since he was technically younger, yet he acted a little more mature. Well... maybe. He was childish as well at times. Yet, he still tried to act like the grown up and take care of everyone. Miky, he always felt like he wanted to. Such a beautiful flower that smelled so sweet.

It reminded him of why he fell in love with the strawberry blonde oh so long ago.

Alver's eyes slightly saddened a little, the happy memory coming with the saddening memory of when they parted. The last they saw each other until recently. That silly confession... he was stupid and naive. He should have known better. And he still hated himself for that and what that did to him. Shaking the memory aside, he made another smile to Luke. "It's now all yours Luke, take good care of it for me alright?" he said warmly before glancing toward the clock, brushing his hand along the blonde hair of the child.

"Alright, how about we take a little nap until your Papa comes along mhm? I could tell you a story or sing you a lullaby if you like." Alver chirped, perhaps enjoying babying someone too much, but it did remind him of the good ol' days. He knew it couldn't last, so he might as well enjoy it while he can.

@AimeChambers