Thought we should check in with Louie and Boyd at work :)

Louie spent as much of June and July with his son and husband as he could, but when August rolled around he only really had weekends. That worked out for their upcoming mall trip, but it meant that Boyd was the one taking Mo to the library and buying him school supplies.

And Louie had to work. Which isn't exactly easy when you're responsible for a big-name healthcare provider, a coffee shop, a flower shop, a pub, and several other businesses of varying sizes.

His first stop of the day was The Lonely Bean, where he checked in with Simone and got himself breakfast. He liked to check in with all of his businesses regularly, but he also just liked getting his daily coffee and chatting about nerdy stuff with the owner and her husband when he was around. Louie didn't like to admit how many nerdy things he liked but he would talk for almost hours about Star Trek if someone got him started. Apparently, that was too nerdy for Boyd, but Simone and Simon liked it so they always caught up about new episodes and theories when Louie dropped by.

After breakfast he headed to Limitless headquarters, keeping his head down as he entered the building, trying not to draw the ire of protestors. Normally Louie would actually give a shit about protestors, but he didn't care much about the opinion of people who thought that trans people shouldn't have access to healthcare. Like, they were totally happy with a billionaire funding the city's healthcare, but not when he validated trans people, apparently? Some people were just stupid.

When he got to Limitless and made it past the protestors, he checked in with his security, his scientists, and the on-staff doctors. Most of those people were people he had rehabilitated from his former criminal empire or people Boyd was friends with. A couple of them asked where Boyd had been lately, and so Louie had to answer, time and time again, that Boyd was moving on to greener pastures. He really, really hated talking about it.

So, on that particular day, when he was being interviewed for a blog, he was not especially keen to answer about his husband.

"Is it true your husband founded Limitless with you?"

"Uh, no. Technically speaking, I founded the company with Scrooge McDuck before taking over myself. My husband did work for the company as a scientist, for a bit."

"There are just a lot of pictures of you and him together around the business."

"Yes, because he's my husband? There are also pictures of my thirteen-year-old son somewhere, do you think he's a shareholder?"

"Is he a shareholder?"

"I mean- he has stock options. This isn't about that. Why are we talking about this?"

"You're the one who brought up your son, sir. I was asking about your husband, Dr. Gearloose-Duck. Is there a reason he no longer works here, a disagreement between the two of you, perhaps?"

"No. He just left to focus on some personal projects."

"Do you think he would take some of Limitless's innovations to a competitor?"

"Limitless is about breeding and sharing innovation. I know my husband would never go behind my back like that, but I'm also not trying to hide anything here."

"Nothing? Not even the fact that you hire ex-convicts?"

"Why would I try to hide that? I like offering second chances. My employees who formerly faced charges have since been rehabilitated and I trust them entirely."

"Does it bother you what people might think of that?"

"Not at all. I'm used to people protesting my business when they think that what I do doesn't align with their best interests. But what's in my best interests is that people are being taken care of and getting to live healthy, fulfilling lives that may have previously been unavailable to them. I make my decisions on what would be best for the good of the city and not the opinions of select groups."

"Understood. Well, you're clearly doing some good work."

"That's the plan." They talked a little bit more about all the logistics of the company and finally, Louie had a moment to breathe.

He immediately whipped out his phone and shot a text to Boyd, who, based on the time, would still be at the library with Mo.

L: Babe

B: What's up?

L: You gotta remind me how much I HATE doing interviews

B: You hate doing interviews

L: Better late than never, I guess.

B: You need a pick-me-up?
L: What do you have in mind? ;)

B: Mo and I are about to get lunch, join us?

L: TBH, I'd love to. I was gonna go to the pub for lunch but I don't need to

B: We could go to the pub for lunch

L: Idk I worry about Mo's drinking problem

B: You're right, he's been hitting the fruit punch pretty hard XD

L: I'll just meet you at the diner, I don't wanna force Mo to deviate from his routine

B: See you in twenty-ish minutes?

L: Wouldn't miss it.

Louie called Craig to bump their normal meeting back a little and then headed out to meet up with Boyd and Mo. He always missed his family when he was at work, but he liked keeping busy. Especially as Mo was about to go back to school soon. Doing this was better than puttering around the house with Teacup and Hermes. Mars had passed away a few years ago but they had filled the Mars-shaped hole with a feisty orange kitten they'd named Hermes.

Mo did not seem to care that much that Louie was joining them for lunch, going over to Paige and gushing in low voices about what he was learning about his case.

"I bet you got an earful today," Louie laughed, watching the two besties talk.

"Surprisingly, no. Mo's been in his head this week. Which is fine, he doesn't have to tell us everything."

"I think you just want a reprieve from the mystery," Louie said with a laugh.

"...Maybe. You know I don't always really get his hyperfixations."

"What matters is that we're here for him whenever he wants to open up. Even if we don't completely understand."

"Right. How about you? How was your day? You want to open up?"

Louie heaved a sigh, "Well, breakfast was great."

"I'm glad, but breakfast is usually great." Boyd was secretly disappointed that he didn't get to eat breakfast with his husband on weekdays, but that's what Sunday brunch was for.

"Yeah. And then I had this dumb little interview, asking questions about whether or not you would betray Limitless and asking about the ex-convicts I've hired."

"Sounds like a headache," Boyd nodded, wrapping an arm around Louie while they watched their son whisper with Paige. Louie was a bit curious when Mo pointed towards them, but he didn't think much of it.

"Tell me about it. I'm glad I have a few moments with you."

"I'm sorry I left you at Limitless."

"No, no, it's okay. Difficult to explain to people but babe, it's called Limitless. I would never want you feeling limited."

"You're so cheesy."

"You know you love me."

"I adore you," Boyd agreed, leaning in to kiss his husband, stopping when Mo slid into the booth across from this.

"Don't let me interrupt your kiss," Mo said, grabbing the menu, even though he pretty much ordered the same thing every time.

Boyd finished the kiss, a bit more reserved than he would have been if his son hadn't been there. Then Louie rested his head on Boyd's shoulder and let out a little sigh.

"What's new, Bug? How's your day been?"

"Good, I was looking at some old newspapers."

"I thought you'd already done that," Louie said, raising an eyebrow.

"I've found some new stuff," Mo said with a shrug.

"Care to enlighten us?"

"Uh, not right now. Still figuring some stuff out."

"Okay, well you have fun with your mystery."

"I will." Mo gave Louie a big, albeit suspicious, smile, and Louie let it go for now.

"You want to go back to work with me?" Louie offered, a little bit out of the blue.

"Me?" Mo's eyes boggled.

"Yes, you. I'm just going to the pub and the florist shop for the rest of the afternoon. You want to go to work with pop?"

"Hm…" Mo looked back and forth between his dads, thinking about it.

"Go ahead, if you want to, Mo. I don't mind," Boyd said, offering a smile.

"Yeah, but you don't have to. Whatever makes you the happiest, Bug."

"I guess I could, today. We could try that. I like spending time with you. And I got a lot of research done today."

"Well alright! My day just got better," Louie declared. Mo laughed a little at that, feeling special.

"You two have fun, I think I'll get some errands done, start on supper."

When the trio had separated, Mo once again became his normal, talkative self, and a realization struck Louie. It seemed, based on the subject matter, that Mo was investigating him.

"Pop? What did you do before you did all of this? Before the pub and Limitless and stuff?"

"Oh, a bunch of different things. I didn't really find my passion until I founded Limitless, though. There really is nothing like helping people."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But really, what was your life like before?"

"Oh… Bug, I really don't like to talk about that part of my life. I was in a really bad place before I met your dad."

"Did you… Did you do something bad?" Mo asked.

"Yeah," Louie said, frowning.

"Did you hurt someone?"

"What? I- uh. Mo, why are you asking me about that?"

Mo shrugged, "I don't know, pop. I just want to feel close to you. I want to know about your life."

That drew a smile out of Louie.

"That's really sweet, Mo. But like I said, I wasn't in a good place when I was younger. I made a lot of mistakes and some people got hurt. I got hurt a lot too. I didn't take care of myself and I had to learn and grow a lot to be the person I am now who's able to really help people."

"Did you kill anyone?" Mo asked.

"Morio! I am not answering that."

"So you did kill someone."

"We're here," Louie said, pulling up to the pub.

"Can I stay in the car?"

"No, it's hot and you said you wanted to go with me so you have to come inside. But you can be on your phone or play the pinball machines in the corner if you want."

Mo gave a thumbs up and followed Louie inside.

"Good afternoon, Louie, Mo. Nice to see you guys." Craig greeted the pair with a smile, "Boyd didn't want to join us?"

"Boyd is running errands." Why was everyone so obsessed with where Boyd was all the time? It wasn't like they were joined at the hip. They lived their own lives.

"Hi Mr. Craig, I'm gonna go play pinball. Paige says hi."

"Teenagers," Craig laughed with an eyeroll.

"Gotta love them."

"You know, the other day Paige asked me what to do when you want to ask out a girl? Like I've ever asked out a girl."

"Ah, yes, the Kimber situation."

"Sometimes I forget that you're privy to all the gossip."

"Not all the gossip," Louie shrugged, "There's a lot of stuff that Mo doesn't tell me. But it's important that he's allowed to keep his secrets, helps him trust us more later if we're not always trying to get in his head."

"That's a good way to think about it. Brooke loses his mind when Paige doesn't tell him things, since she always used to. I think he's mad that Paige went to me for advice about Kimber instead of him."

"She should've gone to her moms," Louie said with a laugh.

"That's what I suggested! Anyway, I know you didn't come here to talk about teenage romance."

"I did not. How's business been going this week?"

"Booming as always, and our new employees are doing great." Craig did his best to offer jobs to people who were out of work or down on their luck, a little bit of Limitless right here.

"Good to hear, can't wait to meet them. I should probably grab Mo, we still have to drop by Brooke's and swing by Limitless one more time before dinner."

"Alright, have fun, tell Brooke I love him."

"Sure."

After a busy day and a late dinner, Mo hunkered down in the kitchen with his laptop and his papers and Louie and Boyd decided to sit outside on their porch and watch the sun glint against the ocean. The night was a little warm but Louie and Boyd were comfortable leaning against each other while the porch swing gently rocked.

"Do you remember when I first started working for Limitless?" Boyd asked, lazily playing with Louie's hair.

"Mm-hm. Why?"

"I was just thinking about how you used to sneak into the labs and leave little notes for me to find. I think that's the one thing I miss about working with you."

"The notes? I can leave notes around the house."

"No, Louie. Getting a little extra time with you."

Louie's cheeks flushed red, something Boyd could still do even after over ten years of marriage.

"Oh." Before he could think to say anything else, their lips crashed together and they stole that kiss that got cut-off at lunch.

"I love you so much," Louie said, "I'll come visit you at work. Do you have a lair yet? Do you want a lair? I can get you a lair. And a lackey, if you want."

"Louie, heroes don't have lackeys, they have sidekicks. And you don't put an ad out in the paper for sidekicks, you just find one."

"Oh, so like a Silverwing and Scarlet Sabre team up."

"Is that what she's going with now?"

"Uh, yes."

"I like it," Boyd said with a nod, "and maybe. I've thought about it. I wanted to get back into heroism because I knew the next generation would need a hero to look up to, someone to go to. And so many have gotten older and retired but I don't age like that, I just upgrade."

Louie nodded, seeming to finally get it.

"I'm glad you're looking out for them." He nestled his head into the crook of Boyd's neck.

"I'm looking out for us, too. I'm not going to let anything happen to us, Lou."

"Good," Louie mumbled, growing sleepy in the heat and his husband's embrace.

"You want to go to bed, don't you?" Boyd guessed.

"Yeah… Another long day tomorrow."

"Then let's go to bed."

When they passed the kitchen, Louie reminded Mo not to stay up too late investigating, but Mo had his headphones on and was listening to Mozart, so he didn't hear.

Later, when an alert on his watch dragged Boyd out of bed, he noticed there was still a light in the house.

"Louie, I'm going," Boyd said quietly.

"Mmph," Louie pulled Boyd's pillow into his arms and drifted back to sleep, and Boyd quickly pulled on clothes before leaving the room.

The light in the kitchen was on, and Mo was asleep at the table. After further investigation, it seemed that his phone was dead. Boyd lifted his son effortlessly, grabbing the phone as an afterthought, and carried him into his room. It was very different from how it had been when Mo was a toddler, with no pile of plush or race car bed. But there was still something familiar about the scene as Boyd tucked his little boy into bed.

"Daddy?" Mo mumbled, clearly very out of it.

"Shh, Bug, go to sleep." Boyd pressed a kiss to Mo's forehead.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about it, Mo. I'll be back soon."

"Okee dokee. Good night, dad…"

"Good night, Bug. See you in the morning. We've got another busy day tomorrow."