Time skip – 4 months
It had been close to five months since I last saw Gray. I had managed to get myself together and work as a freelance graphic designer. This kind of work allowed me to work from home and only meet with clients on a few occasions. Tao helped me create a better site which allowed me to attract much better clients than before. I had a meeting with a potential client a few blocks away from Ye Ran. We had discussed the contract over the phone, and I just needed to discuss the details of the work and sign the papers. My excitement over this work was because the job would pay me enough. I would cover all my expenses for at least half a year without taking additional work. According to their website and online searches, the company was supposedly establishing itself in Korea but was famous in Japan. They wanted to start building their reputation locally before they expanded to other cities. My business appealed to them since I was also a new business and had good reviews from my previous clients.
I walked into the office building, and it looked pretty busy. I recalled some sort of research facility on that site, but it was demolished. This was built in its place. I waddled to my client's suite, and her assistant let me in. The woman I spoke to looked very much like she sounded on the phone. She was cheerful, overly excited, and looked to be around her late 20s or early 30s. She had mid-length black hair and red eyes, similar to Rai's.
"Hello. I'm Mi-Sun Han. We spoke on the phone two days ago." I introduced myself and reached out to shake her hand.
"I'm Ignes Kravel! So nice to finally meet you! Had I known you were expecting, I would have chosen a more convenient location. My apologies!"
"Oh, no. It's not a problem. My doctor said walking is good for me."
"How close are you to the due date?"
"Roughly three months," I whined exhaustively. "I expect these will be the longest months I'll ever have."
"You're almost there!" She chirped back excitedly. Almost too excited. "Would you like something to drink? We have tea or water. I can have my assistant bring it out for you."
"Water will be just fine. If it's not too much trouble." She called her assistant and had him bring me a glass of water. I took a few sips of it since I was feeling a bit parched. She seemed to be examining me closely as I drank the water. My vision was slowly getting blurry, and I felt sleepy. I looked back at Ignes, and she was sporting a smug smile. Her face had changed entirely from the cheerful woman I had met moments before. She now looked more diabolical.
"Mi-Sun. Thank you for delivering yourself and that package you have with you to me. I'll be sure to make full use of you once you have completed your role as an incubator for that precious test sample you are carrying. You have no idea how excited I was when I found out that one of our modified subjects had offspring. Not to worry, you will soon be reunited with the contributing subject." I felt too weak to reach for my phone, and as I slowly sunk out of consciousness, all I saw was her demented smile.
"Mi-Sun?" I heard Gray's voice calling me. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself strapped to a bed. I turned towards the voice.
"Gray? What happened? Where am I?" I asked sleepily. I then looked back down and remembered. "Oh my god! The baby! Did she do anything?"
"Mi-Sun. I'm so sorry for getting you involved in this. I'm also sorry that your child was involved in this too. I promise I will get you out of here!" Gray was alive. Although he didn't look like he was in the best condition, he was still alive. I began sobbing.
"Gray? I'm so sorry I fell for such a stupid trick. I should have been more careful. I put our baby in danger because I was an idiot!" My voice cracked as I apologized.
"That's our baby?" I paused for a second and frowned while looking at him.
"Who else would it be, you dummy?!" I barked at him.
"Sorry. It's just a surprise. I'm not going to let her do anything to you."
"I know," I responded as I sniffled. "Your normal really sucks."
"Sorry about that too."
"I'm just glad you're still alive." I realized how exhausted I felt and yawned.
"Can you try to stay awake?"
"I'm so tired."
"Try to keep your eyes open, Mi-Sun." He tried keeping me awake for a while, but eventually, I couldn't stop myself from drifting off again. I didn't know how long I was asleep, but I heard voices as I stirred awake. I opened my eyes and saw two men in lab coats talking to the other man strapped next to Gray. They released the two of them and scurried off. Gray ran to me and released me from my straps. I could finally hug him.
"There's no time for that! We have to get moving!" The other man told Gray.
"Can you still run, Mi-Sun?" I shook my head.
"I can only walk really fast. I can't risk having the baby right now. It's too early."
"Ok. Then hold on to me tightly." I nodded, and he picked me up. We went through some corridors, and Gray suggested hiding in an old building next door to regain some of their strength.
"I need you to block your ears and close your eyes. I don't want you to see what I'm about to do." I told Gray.
"What?"
"Just do it!" I hissed at him. He complied. I then looked at the other man. "Do you mind watching him?"
"Why are you making such demands?" he growled at me.
"I'm very pregnant, and I need to take a piss. I don't care much for what you think of me because I don't know you, but I care what he does. Do you mind watching him?"
"Very well."
"Thank you." I walked around the corner and finally emptied my very full bladder, then went back. "Ok. I'm done." He tapped Gray, who opened his eyes. "I have never felt so disgusting and pregnant at the same time. But thank you." I told the two of them.
"I think we've recovered enough. By now, they know we have escaped and must think we made it much farther than this. That was a good idea to not go too far from where we emerged." The other guy told Gray. We went further into the building, through a dark hallway, and into a room with machines.
"Looks like this is all old, abandoned equipment. We'll have to go through the grates and find somewhere else to hide and regroup." They helped me climb into the grates, and we crawled through to a different room. They helped me get down, and we found ourselves in a room full of tanks.
"What the hell is all this?" I whispered. The tanks all had humans inside.
"They're all dead," Gray added as he wrapped his arms around me. The other man began tearing up as he looked at the tanks.
"These are all my people. So many of them are dead. How corrupt did we become?" I began sobbing once again and buried my face on Gray's chest. "I will find those responsible and make them all pay." He growled in anguish. We heard voices from outside the room, and Gray pointed to one side of the tanks, directing me to hide there. A few men in coats came in carrying more people and tossed them all in the center of the room, all the while conversing casually. I almost gasped loudly but quickly closed my mouth before I could release any sound. Gray and the other man stepped forward. "Are you a part of our clan?"
"Who are you?" one of the men in lab coats asked. In an instant, he had two of them clamped by their throats.
"You're not even warriors, and you're involved in this?" He snarled at them.
"I'm sorry. We were just given orders to follow." One of the men said. The others scampered out of the room as the man released the two men he was holding. Those two scurried off.
"We need to make sure they will not be used like the others. The only way to do that is to destroy this lab." Gray said. The two of them rigged the whole place, then Gray picked me up, and we ran outside, through some trees until we were far enough. The lab exploded a little while after.
"M-21. Take her and get out of here now." The other man said. Gray's eyes widened in surprise. "Don't make that face. You've helped me regain my senses and others. I am truly grateful. You have more important things to take care of." The two of them shook hands.
"I'm sorry about what happened to your people. I hope you will be able to find peace." I empathized with the man. He nodded at me in acknowledgment. He then pointed us to where we could escape and told us to keep going. Gray picked me up again and ran as fast as he could through the trees. He stopped when we heard a huge boom coming from where we left the man.
"They already caught up with him?" He whispered worriedly. He then turned around and looked cautiously towards the trees in front of us. "Oh. It's you." He said. The woman, Ignes Kravel, that I had gone to see stepped out from behind the trees.
"I was on my way to see what exactly you were capable of, but it seems no one had spotted you yet." Gray put me down.
"I need you to keep going as fast as you can. I'll catch up." He told me. I nodded and went around the woman who grinned at me cunningly. Gray then transformed into his werewolf form. He looked magnificent. "Go! Mi-Sun!" I realized that I had been staring at him instead of moving.
"Right!"
"Whoa. You really are a werewolf." The woman exclaimed.
"No matter what, you have to keep going, Mi-Sun." He shouted after me.
I walked as quickly as I could further into the trees, and after a while, all I could hear were loud booms and the sounds of trees cracking. I could only conclude that the sound was from the fights all of them were having. They must be powerful for them to produce such loud sounds. I kept walking and trying to look back to see if anyone was after me. There was a cliff at the end of the forest, which I almost didn't see. There was nowhere further to go. Not only that, but four other figures were coming to the island from the ocean. I was hoping they hadn't seen me and quickly got on my knees behind a bush. I peeped at them, and one of them had separated from the group and was heading my way. I began panicking as I watched him, but I realized it was Mr. Frankenstein when he was close enough.
"Mr. Frankenstein! I'm so happy to see you!" I cried out.
"Are you well, Mi-Sun?" He looked at me with concern.
"She was using me as an incubator, so she didn't hurt me. But Gray was fighting her that way, and he had been tortured before, so he needs help!"
"I need you to wait here. Stay hidden, and we will return for you once this is all taken care of."
"Ok." He carried me down to the beach on the bottom of the cliff. I sat by the cliff wall as I heard explosions and noises from above. Suddenly, a red mist surrounded me. I began feeling like all my energy was slowly draining out of my body. Once again, I felt myself drift out of consciousness and the baby, who had been somewhat active, stayed still.
I woke up on a hospital bed with Gray lying next to me. Judging from the room, I knew it was in Frankenstein's lab. It took me a moment to recall what happened, and I jolted upright.
"The baby! Is the baby ok?!" I cried out to Gray, who jolted awake. "Something happened while I was there. There was a red fog, and I couldn't feel the baby move. Please tell me we're ok!" I plead to him.
"He's fine. You just needed to rest and get your energy back." I placed my hand on my chest in relief, and he placed his arm around my shoulder.
"I didn't know what to do to keep the baby safe. What if something had happened while we were out there?" I sobbed.
"I'm back now, and I will do everything I can to make sure nothing happens to both of you again. You don't need to worry anymore."
"I know. I saw what you can do now, and I don't have any doubts about it."
"I had the chance to test how strong I could be."
"Will the baby be able to do that cool transforming thing too? Wait…you said 'He?'. We're having a boy?"
"Did you not know?"
"I was going to wait until he got here to find out."
"Why?"
"So, we can talk about the baby names and have solid choices for a boy and girl. That way, if we have a boy now and a girl next time, we'll already have a name for both."
"Don't you need to know stuff like that to buy things for the baby?"
"No. I just bought neutral colors. Yellow, green, white, grey. Things any baby can wear."
"Oh. Did I ruin it for you?"
"The surprise, yeah. But I'll still buy what I was going to buy. I wouldn't waste money on anything that isn't play clothes. Judging from how much he moves around, we should try to enjoy as much peace and quiet as we can now."
"We have to start thinking of names now?"
"Yeah. He could be ready to come out early or wait until the whole nine months in three weeks. Do you have any ideas?"
"Not really. I just found out I was going to be a dad three days ago."
"Can I ask you something? You don't need to be specific."
"Ok. I'll try to answer. What is it?"
"How is Rai really doing? You don't have to say he's fine because I know that's not the case. Maybe it's me being more sensitive to that stuff, but I know he's not getting better."
"You're right. He's not doing so well. Every time he has to help us, he gets worse because he's giving up a bit of his life to do it. We try to not get him involved in our stuff, but he's a bit stubborn and always knows when we are in trouble. He never wants to back down."
"He's not going to die, is he?"
"Not really. He might need to sleep for a long time so he can get his strength back."
"How long is a long time? Like a year?"
"The last time he was asleep, he stayed asleep for eight hundred years, and he still didn't have his full strength."
"Holy crap! Eight hundred years? That is …wow. And he'll be asleep for that long? Or can he wake up every once in a while?"
"I don't think so."
"How long does he have?"
"He wants to hold on as long as he can. He likes the life he has right now with everyone here and the kids. Before he went to sleep, he was always alone in his empty house. The kids gave him the company he missed out on getting."
"Raizel."
"Huh?"
"For the name…what if we go with Raizel? He's helped everyone here a lot, and he's giving his life every time he helps. Without his help, we probably might not have met. Wouldn't it be a nice way to honor him?"
"And he went all the way there to find us as soon as he found out where they took us."
"So, the baby is alive because of him too."
"Yeah. I guess so. I like that idea."
"I'll ask him if he's ok with it. I don't want to just use his name if he's uncomfortable with it. Another thing I was thinking of was the last name thing again."
"What about it?"
"Well…you don't have to say yes if you don't want to, but you can be Han if you want?"
"Huh?"
"I'm offering you my last name if you want. You don't have to say yes right away, but I just wanted to give you an option. The only downside is you'd have to introduce yourself the non-Japanese way all the time. Otherwise, people will think you're telling them you're hungry" He chuckled.
"That's also a good idea. I'll think about it. I would be Gray Han."
"Yeah. That sounds like a cool name. But yeah. It's an option."
"It would be a name that has meaning to both of us just like Gray. I remember you never really asked questions about why I didn't tell you my name the first time we talked. You just decided to give me a name that you liked for me. And Han will be a bit like adding me to your family."
"No need to make a quick decision. Just take your time."
"Ok. How are you feeling?"
"A bit hungry, but I also want to move around a little. Do I have to stay here?" The baby started moving. "Can I see your hand?"
"Why?"
"Just trust me." He gave me his hand, and I placed it on my stomach where the baby was moving. He kept his hand on me and hid his face behind my shoulder. "Hey. Are you ok?" He looked like he was tearing up.
"Yeah. I guess it just seems so surreal. I never would have dreamt that my life would turn out this way. This seemed like something only regular people would have. As a modified and someone who worked for the agency, it would have been impossible to even try to think about it. I have a son, and he's moving under my hand right now." I placed my hand over his and smiled at him.
"I was a little bit freaked out when Mr. Frankenstein told me I was going to be a mother. I thought it was the worst timing, especially since you were missing. But I started thinking more about it, and how you said you wanted a normal life, then I started getting excited about it. The guys already told me that they were going to bring you home, so I had to figure out a way to get myself together so you wouldn't be worried when you came back."
"You're really amazing when it comes to going with the flow, aren't you?"
"I don't really like having people accommodate me. Suppose I walk into a situation where things are working. In that case, I just jump into it instead of waiting to be accommodated. I was actually more freaked out about the timing than about the werewolf thing. Is that weird?"
"Just a tiny bit. But mostly because regular people would probably see it as something bad. But you're the perfect kind of weird for my life. I shouldn't really be surprised, though. You have accepted this kind of stuff before without being surprised."
"Huh?"
"For a while, before we started spending so much time together, Tao was interested in you. That was when he first started working for the boss. He said it was the way you reacted to what we all were that caught his eye, I guess. The first time you met him was actually the night before you met him at the school."
"Really? I don't remember."
"Right now, you only know about us because of the baby. That means you are part of our world. But before, if you knew about us, then your memories would have to be erased. We had to keep our world hidden. Otherwise, people would freak out, or others like us might try to do something to you. It was a safety precaution."
"Oh. I get it. Why was he interested? What did I do?"
"That time around, you got kidnapped by people from his team because they saw you talking to Takeo, so they saw you as a threat for interacting with him. The rest of the kids were kidnapped since Shin-Woo and Yuna also talked to Takeo, Suyi just happened to be with them, and Ik-Han met Tao. You got pretty mad at all of them because of the way they were acting. Shin-Woo tried to fight one of the others more than once despite being stronger. Ik-Han was talking back to the most unhinged group, and the two girls were crying out loud, which was also annoying to the crazy guy. After you got rescued and we brought you here, Tao started explaining what everyone was. The kids freaked out over Seira and Regis being like vampires because they were scared of vampires drinking blood. You yelled at them for that since they had been coming here all that time and nothing happened. When they asked why you weren't freaked out, you said you'd seen weird stuff in New York, so vampires existing was a pretty acceptable reality. And when Tao was explaining what we were, he mentioned that we weren't really human, and you corrected him. You said that we were just human with something extra in us. Like Shin-Woo and his abilities, I guess."
"New York was definitely a weird place. And Shin-Woo is probably some sort of superhuman because no one is capable of having that much control over their center of gravity. But that's beside the point. Tao had a little crush on me, huh? I might have a bit of fun with that."
"Was I not supposed to tell you that?"
"It's not a problem. I love knowing these things. I'll try not to mess with him too much once I figure out what to do with this information." He laughed.
"I remember when I first met them at the school, Takeo did also say I looked sexy the first time he saw me."
"What?"
"He meant to say lovely. Tao was messing with him by teaching him the wrong Korean words. He repeated it in English to clear up what he said." My stomach grumbled. "I need food! Raizel needs food too." He chuckled again.
"I don't know if you're supposed to be walking or not. Just in case, I can carry you upstairs."
"Ok." He lifted me and took me to the dining table. He then sat next to me.
"Sunny! Good to see you're up! How's our future nephew doing?" Tao exclaimed.
"Nephew?" His face turned a little pink, and he chuckled nervously.
"Yeah. Since we are all family, right?"
"You mean we're having a boy? Why would you ruin that? I was waiting to find out after."
"Oh. I didn't know. I'm really sorry! I thought since he knew, you knew too!"
"No, I didn't!" I growled at him. I then started crying. "How could you do that to me?"
"It's ok, Sunny. I'm sure we'll make him pay for it later." Gray said as he hugged me.
"I had everything planned around not finding out. Now when I go to buy the rest of the stuff I need, in the back of my mind, I'll be thinking, 'this is for a girl, or this is for a boy.' It's all ruined." I kept sobbing.
"I'm really sorry, Sunny. I didn't know. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
"Give me your phone." I stretched my hand out. Once he gave it to me, I found the stroller that I kept forgetting to order. "I was planning everything around the grey one. Since you ruined everything, and I don't have it yet, I want blue or black. Make sure it has the car seat, bassinet, and stroller seat." He took the phone back and looked at the page.
"YOU WERE GOING TO SPEND THIS MUCH?! Isn't this too much of a punishment?" He pled.
"That was going to be my story that you ruined. It was going to be the one moment that I wouldn't forget! You're lucky that's the only thing. In fact, since you are complaining, your nephew and I want food." I said, then smugly stared at him.
"You're going to make me suffer for this, aren't you?"
"You did say we belonged together as a couple. We're just doing what we do best." I gave him a closed-eye grin.
"You two are the worst."
"And the baby is still hungry." Frankenstein found me eating and gave me the ok to walk around. After lunch, Gray and I went to his room.
"How long are you going to mess with him for?"
"Until the stroller gets here. I lost the tab where I had it saved. Depending on how generous you're feeling, I'll pay him back for ordering it."
"Let see how nice it is first."
I had practically moved into Mr. Frankenstein's house and even had a room for the baby there next to Gray's. I was hoping to find the time to talk with Rai about the name, and I found him reading a book alone in the living room.
"Hello, Rai! Can I talk to you for a bit?" I asked as I sat on the chair next to his. He nodded and closed his book. I decided to lower my voice. "I happened to notice that you weren't feeling too well, once again, and I might have twisted M-21's arm into telling me how you really were. I know you might have to go to sleep soon to regain your strength back. He also mentioned that you have put your life on the line for me, him, the kids, and the guys many times, which is why you aren't doing well. I just wanted to say how grateful I am that you did that and also apologize if something stupid I did made you have to risk your life for my sake." I felt my tears falling down my face. "Ignore my tears. It's just all this baby stuff. But, I say this all because without you there, we would probably never have met, and I don't know, but I get the feeling that I probably might have died a long while ago. We discussed what to name the baby, and we thought going with Raizel would be a good idea. I just wanted to check with you to make sure you wouldn't mind if we gave him your name. You don't have to say yes if it's weird to you." I looked at him, and he nodded.
"Wait. Was that nod for it's weird or it's ok?"
"You are more than welcome to use the name," he said.
"Thank you, Rai. And thank you for everything else. I know you are part of the reason why we made it out of that place alive."
"You mustn't apologize if I chose to save your life. I did it simply because I was able to."
"Ok. I understand."
"Are you both well?"
"He moves around a lot, so I know he's alive and active. That is all I care about. As for me, I'm counting down to when he'll be born because I can look at him as I protect him. It's a bit jarring that I need to be so careful about everything that nothing I do can put him in danger. I feel like it will be better to protect him from everything while he's outside than while he's inside. But maybe I'm just impatient."
"I will do all I can to ensure your safety. You two are my family."
"Thank you, Rai. And thank you so much for the name. We'll make sure that he lives up to it." He nodded. "I won't take up any more of your time. Thank you again."
I was having a hard time going to places alone since the kidnapping. In the two weeks that I had been back, I made sure to go everywhere with someone. I finally decided to overcome that fear and go out on my own. I wanted to visit the school since it had been a while since I was last there. At the end of the school day, I got to the area and met Shin-Woo and the other kids by the park.
"Sunny! Wow! You keep growing bigger every time I see you!" Shin-Woo said to me.
"Shin. You're not supposed to remind a pregnant person how big they look."
"But you are big."
"Hi, Sunny! How long before the baby gets here?" Yuna asked me.
"A little bit less than two months. I can't wait!"
"How come you're here?"
"I came to visit the guys. How come Rai isn't with you today?"
"Oh. We left him alone with Raskreia."
"Like a date? Coz that's cute! I have to keep moving before I get tired. Shin…at least come visit your cousin every once in a while. You are going to be an uncle soon."
"Sorry, Sunny! I will."
"Anyway, did you want to know what I'm having?"
"I thought you were going to wait until the end?" Suyi asked.
"I was. Until the guys found out. Gray and Tao let it slip casually."
"They ruined your surprise!"
"Yeah."
"His name is Gray?" Yuna asked.
"Have I never said it before?"
"No. I don't think anyone has ever called him around us. He does look like a Gray."
"What are you having?" Suyi inquired.
"It's a boy. As if I'm not already surrounded by men."
"Aww…That's cool. Yuna and I were hoping for a girl. Just so we could get cute outfits."
"I don't think even if it was a girl that cute outfits would have been ideal."
"Why?"
"Try to imagine what Shin was like as a baby, and picture you trying to dress him up in something cute."
"Oohhh…yeah. Sorry about that." They looked at me sympathetically.
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"You don't know how to settle down. I can't really criticize since I was the same way as a kid too. And this one is always active at all times. I was hoping that personality type would skip a generation. But him being active at least lets me know that he's alive." I rubbed my stomach and felt a tear fall out of my eye.
"What's wrong, Sunny?"
"Nothing. Just my supercharged emotions getting the best of me again." They all hugged me. "Thanks, guys." They all started walking except for Shin-Woo.
"You guys go ahead. I'll catch up with you." He looked at me. "Ok. What's really wrong?"
"I had a little incident about two weeks ago and thought I was going to lose the baby. Sorry I didn't call. I just didn't want to worry you."
"What happened?"
"I was going to meet with a client, and while I was in the meeting, I passed out. He's pretty active in there, but when I came to, he wasn't moving. We're both fine now. It was just a scary situation."
"Sorry, Sunny." He hugged me.
"I just want these next two months to pass by so that I can see him here. I don't know how to make sure he's safe because I don't know what my body can affect him. At least outside, I'll be better able to see what I'm protecting him from."
"I'll try to come see you more often."
"Don't worry yourself too much. That was just a one-time thing. It did make me a little scared of leaving the house alone."
"You mean this is the first time you've left the house alone since then?"
"Yeah. This baby is turning me into a coward."
"Being a girl sucks."
"Yup. It does. But you should go join the others. Oh. And you should know that he can hear voices right now that he'll remember after he's born. I would be a shame if Tao and Takeo could carry him, and he stays quiet but starts wailing when you pick him up."
"Ok! I'll come to visit!"
"Bye, Shin. And don't worry the others."
"Ok. Bye, Sunny!"
I walked into the school, and there was no one around. I walked to their usual spots, and they all weren't there. I then decided to go to Mr. Frankenstein's office.
"Where did everyone go?" He was trying to listen intently to his earpiece.
"I sent them on a job."
"Aww…I walked all the way here alone just to see them. Anyway, I heard Rai and Raskreia had a little date. That's so cute!"
"It is absolutely not that."
"If they're hanging out together, alone, then it definitely is. Is he not allowed to or…"
"We're closely monitoring the situation."
"You didn't!"
"Didn't what?"
"You mean you sent those guys to spy on them?!" I took my phone out and called Gray. "Hey. Who's out there with you?"
"Everyone working security. We are on a very discrete and delicate mission."
"Turn your speaker on."
"Ok."
"Listen…all of you. If you don't leave those two alone, and Mr. Frankenstein, if you don't call them back, I will make all your lives a living hell. I can be very difficult and very patient. Let those two enjoy their date without anyone spying on them. If you don't, I will never forget it. My little bundle of joy here is a Han. You've already seen how active he is right now. Imagine a year and a half from now. The tiny toddler can now walk but doesn't grasp his balance yet, so he must hold on to everything. I might come to visit you in your precious office here with him in tow. Let's say he gets hungry, and I give him a little sticky fruit, then let him loose without wiping his precious fingers. Sticky handprints on the table, all over the couch, the faces of your cabinets, he might even climb on the window…we just never know. No doubt he'll be a climber, too, so maybe he'll somehow manage to get on the desk. Sticky, adorable handprints on all your papers there. Let's not forget how much Shin and I talk. Picture that in baby gibberish and screams with no concern for anyone around."
"Everyone, return to your normal posts."
"Thank you, Mr. Frankenstein. That's very considerate of you to let them enjoy their time together." He started fidgeting.