Chapter 7

Back in Wonderworld...

"Hey, Leo? Can I ask you something a bit personal?" Haoyu asked the blue-eyed boy.

Leo looked up. "What'd you want to ask?" He asked curiously.

"Well...Balan told us all how he found you and Emma and I was wondering, why were you guys found in the alley? Especially at night?"

The fifteen-year-old boy was quiet for a bit before he worked on tightening a gear. After a moment, he sighed and looked at his friend.

"Emma said she was kicked out of the orphanage," he said softly. "She found me there." He then looked away. "I lived on the streets before coming here. Been on the streets for a good while."

"Why is that?" Haoyu asked gently.

Leo tried to hide it, but a sad, hurt look came to his face. "I ran away from home to escape my parents," he said. "Things...aren't good with them." He looked up at his friend, who noticed how upset he was getting.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," the green-haired boy said. "But it must have been really bad for you to want to leave."

The blonde-haired boy nodded. "Yeah, it was," he said. "My parents drink a lot and they fight a lot too. But that's not the worst of it."

Haoyu's eyes widened in shock. "No," he said softly. "Don't tell me they...," he trailed off.

Leo nodded. "They would take it all out on me," he said softly, noticing his friend looked horrified. "Yeah. Somedays I could avoid it, but I finally had enough and ran away, using my dancing to earn money so that I could get what I needed and not have to go back there." He hung his head. "Sometimes...I ask...why...?"

He trailed off, looking like his eyes might fill with tears at any moment. Haoyu went up to him and hugged the blue-eyed boy. "Is that why you're so wary around Balan? Or other people?" He asked softly. "Because your trust was shattered and you don't know who you can trust?"

Leo didn't reply verbally, but he nodded, letting his friend hug him and he hugged him back. "Oh, Leo," the green-haired boy said softly. "You don't have to be so wary around us or Balan. None of us would ever hurt you like that, especially Balan, and I know that from experience."

The blue-eyed boy picked up his head to look at his friend, who smiled. "I got bullied a lot for my experiments always crashing and never working, to the point that some bullies would hit me. One day, I ran from the school and into the theater, where I met Balan. I was like you at first, scared to trust someone I didn't know."

The teenager looked at him. "What did Balan do?" He asked.

"He first calmed me down, since I was in pain from my injuries and scared of him, but after he showed me he wouldn't hurt me, he healed my injuries and told me that I shouldn't give up on my dreams to fly, because one day I will fly," Haoyu smiled. "I began to come to the theater after school and then one day, Balan surprised me by offering me to have my own special place and I agreed."

Leo looked at him. "You trust Balan? Without question?"

The green-haired boy nodded. "Yes, because he earned my trust," he said. "You should give him a chance to earn your trust."

The boy looked a bit pained. "I...I don't know if I can," he admitted.

"Sure you can," Haoyu said with an encouraging smile. "Even though you feel that you can't trust anyone, I promise you that you can trust Balan, but...you got to give him a chance to do so. He does care about you and Emma."

Leo thought back on the mornings and how Balan would wake them up, his smile always there, and he would tuck them into bed at night, brushing a hand over the boy's head in a gesture that the boy remembered his own birth father doing years ago before he started drinking. And even though the tall being had tricked him the first night at the theater, he did seem genuine. He now sighed.

"Is it really worth it?" He asked. "Trusting someone even though you have a feeling they are just acting? That they don't mean what they say?"

The green-haired boy smiled gently. "Yes," he said. "Because Balan isn't acting when he says he cares and he always means what he says. He's never lied to any of us."

Seeing his friend was still a bit unsure, he smiled. "You deserve a good life, Leo," he said. "Just like any of us. I know trust takes time to earn, but trust me when I say that if you give Balan a chance to earn your trust, you'll see that he's genuine, like I did."

Leo looked at him. "You think so?" He asked.

Haoyu nodded. "I know so," he said gently before picking up another wrench. "Come on. Let's make sure everything's in place before we take this plane out for a test run."

The blue-eyed boy nodded. "Hey, Haoyu? Thanks for listening," he said.

"You're welcome," the green-haired boy said.

"You...You won't tell Balan, will you?"

The other boy shook his head. "Not my place to," he said. "That's up to you if you want to tell him, though I'd encourage you to."

Leo nodded, satisfied with that answer as they continued working on the plane.

Balan had just finished finalizing a few shows when he decided to check on Leo and Haoyu, taking the train and heading to Haoyu's world. When he arrived, he smiled at seeing the boys working on the plane and laughing over something the green-haired boy had said. This showed the tall being that the two boys were getting along well and had become friends. "Okay, I think it's ready, Haoyu," he heard Leo say.

"Looks like it," the other boy said. "Okay, better stand clear. Sometimes my stuff falls apart."

Leo nodded before seeing Balan nearby and he blinked. "Um, how long have you been standing there?" He asked.

"I just arrived," the maestro said, smiling. "I came to check on you boys. Looks like the plane is ready to fly."

"Yeah," Haoyu said, putting on his goggles. "Okay, here we go."

The engines started on the first try and as the maestro and fifteen-year-old boy stood back, the plane took off, flying high into the sky and the green-haired boy's laughter filled the air. "It worked!" He said happily.

Leo felt a large smile come to his face and Balan noticed, smiling. "Looks like you might have been the thing Haoyu needed to get his plane flying," he said.

"Oh, I didn't do much," the boy shrugged.

"I beg to differ," the tall being said gently. "You did a lot by becoming friends with him."

The fifteen-year-old boy couldn't argue that and he nodded. "Yeah," he said. "He's actually the first person in a while to even want to be my friend besides Emma."

"Well, there will be plenty others that will," Balan said before deciding to talk to the boy about something. "For now, may I speak with you, Leo?"

The boy blinked. "Um, sure," he said hesitantly. "Is...everything okay?"

"Yes," the tall being said, his hand gently resting on the boy's right shoulder and gently squeezing it. "It's nothing bad, don't worry."

As Haoyu flew the plane overhead, Leo nodded and Balan kneeled down so that he wasn't towering over the boy so much. This surprised the boy as he looked curious at the action before noting that maestro's face looked serious, which was a bit startling. "Um...Balan?" He asked. "You okay?"

"Yes," the tall being said pausing a moment and then looking at the boy. "Leo...I've noticed that since I brought you to the theater, you've been looking to leave, but I've also noticed how you act around others, like you don't know if you can trust them."

The boy looked at him, surprised that the maestro had picked up that subtle clue. He then looked away before feeling a hand gently turn his face back so that he was looking at the tall being, who was smiling gently. "Leo, do you truly wish to leave?" He asked gently. "I don't know what your home life was like, but I imagine it wasn't good for you to be in that alley where I found you."

The boy shook his head. "It wasn't," he said before biting his lip and then remembering Haoyu's words and he sighed. "My parents drink and fight a lot and...take it out on me."

Balan was shocked to hear this and he gently hugged the boy. "Oh, Leo, I'm sorry," he said softly.

To his surprise, the boy didn't pull away, but the tall being still let him go after a moment before looking at the blue-eyed boy. "If you still wish to leave, I won't stop you, but I will help you find a good home," he promised him.

Leo blinked at this. "But...I thought you wanted me to stay," he said, looking a bit confused.

"I do, but...perhaps my thoughts of keeping both you and Emma here was too brash of a decision," the maestro said, his voice gentle. "I want you to decide for yourself. If you decide you want to stay, you'll be more than welcomed to, but if you decide to leave, you'll always be welcomed to come visit whenever you'd like."

The blonde-haired boy looked down, his face thoughtful as he didn't speak right away. This surprised Balan as he thought for sure Leo would want to leave right away, but a small part of him was hoping he would decide to stay.

The boy finally looked up at him. "Balan, would you ever hurt me or Emma?" He asked.

"No," the maestro said without hesitation. "I would never do that."

"You promise?" The boy asked.

The tall being nodded. "I promise," he said. "As sure as the sun rises every morning."

Leo took a deep breath before nodding. "I...I did want to leave at first because...I thought you were just being nice to us to get something from us," he said. "But...,"

He trailed off and hugged Balan, who wrapped him up in a hug, holding him and rubbing his back to comfort him. "Shh, I'm here, Leo," he soothed.

That was it. The boy suddenly clung to him, tears escaping his eyes as his shoulders heaved with his sobs. "I...It's been so long...since...since...I can barely remember," he managed to say before choking up again.

The maestro understood what the boy was saying and continued rubbing his back while gently rocking the teenager, not speaking but letting the boy know wordlessly that he wasn't alone.

After a bit, Leo sniffled and looked up at the tall being, who smiled gently and gently wiped away the tears that fell from the boy's eyes. "You don't have to give me an answer right away," he said gently, seeing the boy was emotionally worn out.

The teenager shook his head. "No, I have an answer for you," he said. "If...If you still are okay with it...I...I want to stay."

That surprised Balan, but he smiled. "Of course I'm okay with it, Leo," he said. "But...are you sure?"

The boy nodded. "Yes," he said. "And...sorry for trying to run away."

The maestro gave him a gentle smile. "You were afraid," he said gently. "I can't blame you for that."

Leo smiled, now seeing that Balan was indeed being genuine. The tall being smiled. "And if you want, I can have your birth parents' parental rights revoked so that you never have to go back to them," he continued.

"But...I don't have any other relatives," the fifteen-year-old boy said.

"I have a solution for that," came the reply, making him look up at the maestro. "Would you be alright with me adopting you?"

Leo's eyes widened in surpirse at that. "What?" He asked in shock. "You mean...you would...you would do that?"

Balan nodded. "If you'd like me to," he said. "I'd be ecstatic to call you my son, but only if you're okay with it."

The boy swallowed the lump in his throat. "You...You really mean it?" He asked.

The tall being smiled and pulled him into another hug, the boy's ear resting against the maestro's chest to hear his heartbeat. "I mean it, Leo," he said reassuringly.

The boy hugged him again before nodding. "I...I'd like that," he said before lifting up his head. "Do you know where Emma is? I've got to tell her that I'm staying too."

Balan smiled and picked up the boy, setting him on his shoulders, to which Leo instinctively went still before realizing what the maestro had done. "Um, aren't I a bit too heavy and too old for this?" He asked.

The tall being laughed in amusement. "I'm stronger than I look, Leo, and you're never too old for affection," he said, reaching up and playfully poking the boy's ribs, making the boy squeak in surprise before Balan reached up both hands and wiggled all ten fingers into Leo's ribs, making him laugh and squirm.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUT IHIHIHIHIHIT OUT! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The boy laughed, unable to get away as he felt something hold his legs securely so that he didn't topple off the tall being's shoulders.

"Cootchie, cootchie, coo!" Balan cooed with a smile.

Leo laughed as the fingers continued tickling him, but he noted that Balan was being gentle despite it tickling so much. Just as he was about to beg the maestro again to stop, he felt the tickling stop and he took some deep breaths, leaning forward so that he was resting against Balan's hat, which surprisingly didn't collapse under his weight. He felt a hand gently ruffle his hair. "Leo? Are you alright?" He heard the tall being ask.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said. "Though, what was up with that?"

Balan chuckled. "I figured you could use some happiness," he said before his voice took on a concerned note. "Were you uncomfortable with me tickling you?"

Leo thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No," he said before leaning around so that he could look at Balan, who turned his head to look at the boy, keeping his left hand on the boy's side to make sure he didn't fall off his perch. "It's just...I guess I'm still getting used to not every touch being one that hurts."

"I'm sorry you had to go through so much hurt, Leo," the tall being said. "But I promise you, I will never hurt you in any way. I know it will take time for me to earn your trust, but I'm willing to do what it takes to have you see that you're safe here and my words are true."

The blue-eyed boy nodded. "If you're willing to do that, then it's only fair I give you a chance to earn my trust," he said. "But...I don't know how long it'll be."

"As long as you need," Balan replied, smiling.

Satisfied with that answer, the boy nodded and they both saw Haoyu land the plane and come up to them, smiling. "Everything okay?" He asked.

Leo nodded. "Yeah," he said, smiling. "I'm going to stay."

"That's great!" The green-haired boy said. "Cause you're a great friend and awesome workshop buddy."

Balan smiled, reaching up and lifting Leo up before having the boy sit on his left shoulder. Smiling, the blue-eyed boy grasped the tall being's right shoulder to hold on while the maestro set Haoyu on his right shoulder and the green-haired boy reached around and grasped Balan's left shoulder as the tall being began walking, heading for the train to take them back to the theater.

Arriving there moments later, they found the girls in Emma's room as the three were going over what they had bought at the stores and the green-eyed girl gasped in surprise at seeing them. "Balan! Leo!" She said, jumping up and running up to them.

Smiling, Balan lifted the boys off his shoulders and set them down, chuckling as he watched the blonde girl glomp the blonde boy before she glomped Haoyu, who was surprised, but smiled and hugged her back. Nodding at this, the tall being stepped back a bit.

"I'll be right back," he said before teleporting away.

Leo smiled at Emma and hugged her. "Emma...I want to stay here with you," he said.

"Really?" She asked, a smile on her face.

He nodded. "Yeah."

Balan came back moments later and he was smiling. "Leo, your birth parents are getting the help they need, but...Child Services deemed them unfit to be your parents after they completed their investigation," he said gently.

The boy nodded before looking hopeful, to which the tall being nodded. "And I am officially your guardian now," he continued.

Leo smiled. "You really meant it," he said.

"I did," the maestro said, smiling still.

The boy hugged him and Emma joined in, hugging them both. "Thank you, Balan," the boy said softly.

"You're welcome, Leo," the tall being replied, kissing the boy's forehead in fatherly affection and doing the same for Emma, who smiled and the boy smiled too, feeling some of the hurt he had been carrying with him go away.

Later on, Balan was looking over some of the acts for a show when a knock came to his door and he opened it to find Cass and Yuri there. "Hello, girls," he said with a smile before noticing they looked a bit worried. "What's wrong, my dears?"

"Balan...while we were in town with Emma, she spotted some kids from the orphanage she got away from putting up these posters," Yuri said, pulling out a folded piece of paper and she unfolded it, handing it to him.

The tall being looked at it in surprise. "Did she give a reason why she left the orphanage?" He asked.

"She said the other kids were mean to her and began a rumor about her being returned several times to the orphanage," Cass said.

"As a result, she got kicked out," Yuri said.

He nodded, a sad look crossing his face before he shook it off and smiled. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, girls," he said. "I'll look into it."

The two hugged him and he returned the hugs, his resolve firm on looking into adopting Emma soon.

He had been hoping to adopt her anyway, but it looked like for Emma's safety, adoption was the best option, just as it had been for Leo.

So Balan has learned a bit more about Leo's past and Emma's past and the boy is starting to trust the maestro. Next up, we find out why the kids at the orphanage were looking for Emma.

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