...I'm low-key ashamed to admit that this began as an update for "Igor-Who?", but somehow these brats snuck in and suddenly it fit this story much better. xD

(Don't worry, I hope to have a chapter up sometime this week for it! It's definitely not dead.)

Helia liked to call himself a pacifist.

And, he really was. Other than the battles that needed fighting, required it, he would take a step back, and attempt to evaluate the situation. He wasn't rash, like Sky, Brandon and Riven, but he wasn't completely analytical like Timmy, either.

So when he, out of his place, wrangled a monster because of a girl he just met, he had been shocked by his own actions.

Sure, it was to protect a girl. A cute girl, who may have seemed normal at first but had been able to connect his art to exactly what he had in mind- But that wasn't the point. The point was, he pulled his laser-string gloves to wrangle the large beast out of nowhere. He hadn't even been thinking. All he could think was to protect the girl from getting eaten by that beast.

He remembered that moment as clear as day. Was it his recklessness? Was it a cliche "this is how I met the one" type of story? After the girl was safe, and even sent him a smile that he thought was absolutely adorable had he snapped out of the trance of recklessness he had fallen under, and let go. The fairies and specialists could take it from there.

Sure, the monster may had been a bit harder then before he had dropped out due to its magical enhancements, but he had blamed his rustiness on that fact. He shook his head. He could have blamed it on the fact that perhaps they were new students, but the way they were announced at the opening ceremony most definitely made them at least second year students. Saladin must've really been going easy since he left if they couldn't handle a monster like that. As for the fairies? They looked to be around the same age.

So, his grandfather was shocked- in an excited way- when Helia was in his office, asking him for registration forms. He remembered that too, because he had nearly dropped his thermos of coffee and that made Helia crack a grin.

And, it was history from there. Sure, Helia didn't feel like he belonged in their little, mismatched group at the start. It seemed the specialists he was assigned to- ironically the group that had been fighting the monsters- didn't really want him around. They treaded lightly around him carefully in their own ways. Helia was thankful, though, because this allowed him to get to know the boys better.

Sky? He loved talking about Bloom (which Helia soon realized was one of the faeries and his girlfriend). To get close to him, Helia would often listen to him when the others were busy doing their thing, and would give an occasional nod and a hum of agreement. Sky seemed to deem this, and soon they would discuss plans for the group together. Sky seemed to be a natural born-leader in this way, with strategies and a clear mind. A strong romantic who had interesting quirks, sure, but a leader. Helia could count this as admirable.

It didn't take long for Helia to be-friend him. Sky was naturally a nice guy to be around, and there wasn't much tension to start with. Sure, Sky certainly was skeptical about the fact that Helia didn't fight, but this was quickly overlooked as Helia quickly got into the habit of brushing up his skills. As a more trained specialist, Sky would often ask him questions about Red-Fountain. It was rather endearing.

Timmy came second. Timmy had a habit of keeping himself in his room, working on various programs and building things. It was rather astonishing to see what he could create, but it was also concerning to Helia how little he would step out and take a walk. Helia was also surprised that no one really bothered to check up on him, so Helia took it upon himself.

Timmy wasn't the strongest, physically, or the best with fighting. What he could do, however, was often overlooked. He created such amazing programs that could help people all around. He was a master of strategy. He held so much thoughts, and his plans were brilliant. Helia often would go to his room, and Timmy would often bashfully accept the snacks Helia brought up, or he would be asleep and Helia would put a blanket around him.

Helia would often help him with any art projects they did, and Timmy told Helia of his plans and programs. They were comfortable around each other, and so they bonded quickly enough.

Riven was the loner of the group, no doubt about that. Helia almost was glad at the fact that he didn't attempt to feign friendship. He did what he had to do, and they usually didn't interact. Sure, they shared a room, but they usually weren't in at the same time. The moments they were, were spent in peace. Helia was quiet, and so was Riven. However, it was one strange interaction that had brought them together as friends.

Helia stood, looking through his organized closet as he searched for his training gear, rather late into the night. He figured that he best train when he didn't have to fight anyone, and his roommate was out somewhere, although it was past curfew. Then again, helia had also planned to do something past curfew, so could he blame him? It was about twelve when Helia snuck downstairs, hoping to slip into the training room. If his grandfather were to describe him, it would be something along the lines of "rule-abiding" and "quiet". Although this was true, he smirked proudly as he held his master key around a lanyard. He went around the side, only to retreat quietly. He heard rustling around. Huh, maybe someone else had the idea of training. Or, perhaps it was a teacher. However, he realized he was standing around for too long when he came neck-to-neck with a long blade. Looking up calmly, he found his eyes meeting him roomate. Riven sighed in relief, putting the sword down. "Well, looks like my cover's blown." Helia said awkwardly, as Riven looked to him. Although, it wasn't as menacing as he expected it to be. "I was hoping to train for a while." he added quickly, as Riven slowly nodded.

"Tough luck. Looks like someone's actually bothered to lock the room up." Riven sighed, putting his bag down with a careful plop. Oh. That's what he had been planning to do. Helia realized this was his prime moment to bond with his roomate. Helia shrugged. "No worries. I have the keys." Riven gave him a skeptical look as the two walked over to the training deck, and sure enough it opened up with Helia's key. "Being the headmaster's grandson has its perks. Knowing how to copy key has a bigger boom." He said, turning and realizing Riven watching him with awe. However, he nodded meekly, and the two got to work. Since then, they held a comfortable silence around each other. Sure, they had stayed up all night and was lectured by the teachers, and sure, Riven may had reverted back to his old self, but something definitely had changed between the two.

Brandon didn't speak to him in the beginning, and was surprisingly the last person that Helia got to know. Helia remembered the time he was introducing him to the faeries, and how he more so brushed him off. But when he began realizing that Helia was there to stick around, he attempted talking to him and including him in conversation much more often. Helia wasn't a strong conversationalist, so he attempted something similar to his 'getting to know Sky'. Although this proved to be effective, it wasn't as strong. The moment Brandon had truly brushed up to Helia was when Helia took his hair out of his ponytail during a group movie night as Brandon insisted they have in his and Sky's room. He had been the first one there, for he didn't catch the memo that the others tended to be late to these things. Helia awkwardly sat on the edge of his bed, combing through the knots he had sworn he brushed earlier, when Brandon watched him curiously. Almost excitedly.

"Can I brush your hair?" Brandon asked, seemingly out of nowhere. Helia raised an eyebrow. Was this something he usually did? Helia wasn't one to stick with gender-norms, but this seemed rather random coming from a guy who loved to fight. Helia curiously nodded, sliding over and Brandon got to work. It was quiet for the first few moments as Brandon cautiously braided. However, this turned to a peaceful silence as Brandon looped his hair. "Your hair is really smooth, you know. I'm kind of jealous." Helia snorted at this, the unexpected comment catching him off guard.

"My hair?" Brandon hummed his agreement. "Your hair, indeed. Like, there's no tangles. And, it's really silky. What shampoo do you use? Wait no, scratch that, how do you style it?" Helia thought for a proper answer, but found he was lacking one.

"Uhm, I don't, actually." Helia said, as Brandon finished tying his hair. Helia turned, to see the man in shock. He couldn't help it; He began to laugh. Brandon's expression of blended curiosity, amazement and shock was something straight out of a cartoon. He wiped a few tears from his cyan-eyes. He couldn't help it. Brandon sighed in amazement. "How are you so gorgeous?"

Helia was slow to respond. Maybe acting out of character for a moment would be okay. Maybe this would be their bonding moment. He winked. "I'm naturally this pretty." At this, the two stared at each other until they were both cackling. Brandon, from the unexpected reaction. Helia? How ridiculous this all seemed. They only realized the other specialists standing at the entrance of the room, Timmy recording the ordeal. "Oh my god, Brandon's finally warmed up to him. Helia's a keeper." Sky whispered as Timmy stopped recording, and they filed in with Riven entering a few minutes later.

When Nabu joined the group, they had honestly been close enough that he was accepted immediately. He was quirky, and rather enjoyed the groups antics. And, who could go to hate the lover-boy anyway? It seemed almost impossible to hate him.

They were finally a group. It may had taken a month or so, but they did it. And frankly, although they could be annoying as hell, he loved his little, mismatched family. He honestly wouldn't trade them for the world. Maybe he was a dad, in a way.

However, if he were their dad, he would disown them an hour later when he found his paints hidden around the building. Those little-

Notes:

- Thank you for the followers and reviews, you guys! It means a lot. Seriously, I thrive over the fact that you all actually enjoyed my little mess.

- The reviews were so sweet! Thank you brella4ever and LittleMissGrace! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well. (^0^)/

- As for the guest review, honestly? That made me want to continue more. I cackled at the though that someone actually took time out of their day to rant about what they objectively didn't like. Also, since you were so keen on giving such a detailed review, here's a note to that!

Anyway, here's me signing off!