Page 68 of Hearts of Fairlake

Sylas raised a brow. “Uh-huh, and have you told Luke allyourstories then?"

"That's...different," Felix said, eyes going wide. Undoubtedly, my brother had a vast array of stories he would probably prefer no one ever find out. Most of which I didn't know and didn't want to know. At his worst moments, Felix had turned to drugs, partying, and sex to drown out the storm in his head. Though from what Sylas had told me about his life before, perhaps his and Felix's stories weren't all that dissimilar. Though I thought it was probably safe to assume the parties were more expensive, the drugs and drinks of a higher quality. Even retired, Sylas had more money than I knew what to do with, and it had probably been thrown at things he should have avoided.

"Hmm, yes, I don't think I want to know these stories," I said, frowning as the possibilities cycled through my mind.

"See?" Sylas said, pointing at me. "He doesn't want to know."

"I kind of do," Felix said.

"Me too," Gray piped up, clearly growing more comfortable. "You guys are weird."

"Tell us something we don't know," Luke said with a sigh, squeezing Felix's arm. "And you know that no matter what you told me, I'm not going to leave you or judge you, right?"

"I know," Felix said quickly, and while he sounded like hemeant it, I didn't think he believed it completely. My brother had lived a troubled, if storied life, and deep down, he was always worried he would lose people because of who he was or who he had been. "But there's just some things that don't need to be said, you know?"

"I get it," Luke said and then nodded toward Sylas. "Go ahead, Gray. We're going to stick around here a little longer, so you can go hang out with Sylas if you want."

Gray's eyes went wide with excitement, but he barely hesitated when Sylas waved him to the other side of the booth. Once more, the kid he was supposed to be was shining on his face as he walked around the stall. Sylas walked with him back toward where we kept the stock and the chairs, one of which Sylas pulled out so Gray would have somewhere to sit while they chatted.

"Are you sure it's alright?" I asked now they were out of earshot.

Felix snorted. “Are you kidding? That's the most I've seen out of him for the past few days. If it takes having a few stars in his eyes over your husband, by all means, let him have at it."

"Has it been difficult?" I asked, cocking my head. "You seemed enthusiastic earlier."

"I am," Felix said with a shake of his head. "But, he's just been?—"

"Quiet, a little moody, and wary of us like crazy," Luke said with a sigh. "We were warned he's pretty wary of men, but...at least he's managed to talk to us. And he seems happy with his room. He even agreed to go with Felix after the festival to see if they can't find some stuff to make it feel more like his. And some clothes."

"Did he not have any?" I wondered.

"He...did, but you remember," Felix said with a sad smile, "showing up with only a garbage bag full of whatever crap you could stuff in there."

"Ah, yes," I said, thinking that was one of those things I would rather forget.

"It'll just take time," Luke said with a confident smile. "Plus, Uncle Sylas over there is doing wonders at loosening him up. I guess we should have introduced Gray to the family sooner."

"We're still waiting at least a couple of months before we make him endure your family," Felix said with a snort, and I nodded in agreement. I'd met them only once when Luke and Felix had got married. They were energetic and enthusiastic and congregated in large, loud groups whenever they were around one another. It was a little difficult to picture someone as mild-mannered and steady as Luke coming from that environment, but he had let it roll off his back like it was nothing. Meanwhile, I was left to try to find spaces that weren't filled with their noise.

"Endure," Luke snorted and then thought about it. "Alright, yeah. My family would be a little much for him. I'll talk to Mom. She can keep my sisters in check."

"Good call," Felix said, a small smile on his face. "Huh, I know he's got a niece that he dotes on, but this is the first time I've seen him deal with a kid."

"He's great with kids," Luke said. "C'mon, I want to grab one of those spicy margaritas before they run out."

I turned to see what they were talking about and felt something flutter and settle in my stomach. Sylas was still chatting merrily with Gray, who was returning the same enthusiasm. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I watched Sylas gesticulate wildly, probably telling some story about a mishap on one of his sets. Whatever story he was telling, he had Gray's undivided attention as he laughed at something Sylas said.

We'd both agreed we would never have kids, even if, at the time of the discussion, I'd thought Sylas would be a quite capable parent. I, on the other hand, was not built to raise children. They were too noisy, messy, and demanding for someone of my temperament to be able to do anything effectively. I would end up messing the kid up, or it would come down to Sylas having to raise them while I took a background role, which wasn't fair to either of us or a potential child.

Now, watching him as he effortlessly made Gray feel at ease, I felt a slight twinge of regret. I stood by the decision, but I suppose from here on out, I would have to see if Sylas couldn't take on a role with Gray and perhaps any other children Luke and Felix might end up fostering. It seemed to work for him, and it struck me that, like Felix, I’d never really known Sylas could be good with kids.

It seemed there was always something new to discover about the person you loved, and like now, sometimes it was things that helped you fall in love with them all over again.

JULIAN

As the sun began to creep down to the horizon, the street lights flickered to life, casting a lazy glow. It was starting to cool and the low light and cooler temperatures were bringing out the insects. The smell of bug spray filled the air, mingling badly with the smell of food, drink, and cigarette smoke drifting around. The mayor had thought about spraying the city to kill the mosquitos and flies, making it a more enjoyable experience. Still, the small council quickly shot that down because those pesticides also killed other insects.

"They said they weren't going to let me kill all the butterflies and honey bees just because I didn't want to deal with a few bloodsuckers, their words, not mine," the mayor had told Isaiah. He had sounded personally aggrieved and, for some reason, felt the need to air his grievances to Isaiah. That hadn't been the first time it happened, and Isaiah always looked annoyed when he finally escaped the mayor.

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