Popcorn and Tissues
Ethan was sat opposite a girl in a restaurant. Ethan. A girl. A date? Definitely not a common sentence in Cal's mind, and definitely not words put together very often.
Still, it was nice to see. After three months of watching his little brother go through Hell on Earth trying to come to terms with Cal's (frankly very noble, if he did say so himself) death, it was nice and - in truth - very relieving to see Ethan laugh.
Ethan had that special kind of laugh, one that could make someone smile from just hearing it. His eyes lit up behind his glasses, too.
And oh thank God Ethan lost those horrible glasses. Cal was tempted to smash them up himself if Ethan wore them for much longer. At least Ethan was back to those cute nerdy ones that gave Cal a lot of teasing material. And they suited him well. (Not to mention the fact that they were more like Ethan… in fact, Ethan was being more like… well… Ethan.)
So to see him sitting opposite quite a pretty looking girl in a restaurant (especially after the disaster that was Alicia and Ethan's relationship) filled him with such love and joy that, for once, he wasn't filled with guilt over leaving Ethan.
He put a handful of popcorn in his mouth, already enjoying the show of Ethan trying to make small talk and being his incredibly awkward self.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Emilie. "You should sit down, Mum."
She smiled, a few tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Hey, don't cry," Cal comforted, slightly concerned. He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Happiness tears, that's all. My little boy, my little Ethan…"
Cal smiled. Her little boy, his little brother, might be finding some happiness after all these months. He could only hope.
"Come on, sit and enjoy the show."
So they both sat. Emilie with tissues, and Cal with popcorn.
Written in May 2017 based on a headcanon by casual-laurie on Tumblr. "Cal and Emilie are watching over Ethan together. Emilie has tissues, Cal has popcorn."