No couples in this one, just focusing on kid Lewis and Arthur.

Arthur wasn't in school today.

It wasn't exactly a common occurrence. Despite not liking school all that much, Lewis never knew his friend to skip out. He didn't remember Arthur telling him he wouldn't be there, so he must be ill. Lewis frowned at this realization.

He hadn't known Arthur very long. A few months at most, but that was only because that was when the school year started. They had gone to different grade schools and it didn't take long for Lewis to see a pattern in the blonde. He always sat alone, always did things alone. Even in group projects, Arthur preferred to do it alone. What kind of person lived like that?

So Lewis stepped in. One request to sit with him at lunch later and the young man quickly realized why Arthur was always alone. He was a year younger than anyone in their grade; Arthur had completely skipped the sixth grade. It had taken a few days but finally Arthur seemed to open up to Lewis. A few months went by and they were suddenly the best of friends.

This was the first time Arthur had gotten sick since he'd known him. The blonde had mentioned he didn't get sick very often but it was always bad when he did. What a bummer… Lewis hoped his mamá would allow him to see his friend after school.

The first thing Lewis had to do after school was pick up his sisters. All of them were in the third grade, and luckily the grade school and middle school got out around the same time. As soon as his sisters saw him, they divebombed him. Luckily Lewis didn't mind and the struggle back home was worth it in his eyes. He loved his little sisters to pieces. Everyone in his new home had been so welcoming and he couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

All four of them were welcomed home once they entered the Paradiso. His sisters ran off to play but Lewis held back, making his adoptive father look curiously at him. "Lewis? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, er, no." Lewis shuffled his feet nervously. Normally he was supposed to babysit after school, but now he had plans. "It's just…Arthur wasn't at school today."

"He wasn't?" The Peppers were rather fond of Arthur too. He was Lewis' friend after all, even if the poor kid was nervous coming here. Mrs. Pepper was rather intimidating at first…

"Yeah. I think he's sick." He shifted his bag. "Could I, um, go see him? I'll come back as soon as I can. I just wanna see if he's alright."

Smiling, Mr. Pepper ruffled his son's hair. He was getting so tall that soon he would actually have to reach up to do that! "Of course you can. In fact…" Mr. Pepper stood up and rummaged through a few cabinets before pressing a few tea bags into Lewis' hand. "Make sure he drinks this and he'll feel better in no time."

Chamomile tea. Lewis grinned and nodded at his father, giving him a hug. "Thanks Papà!" He said cheerfully before rushing out the door.

Kingsmen Mechanics wasn't a far walk. A few blocks and Lewis found himself suddenly nervous to go inside. The shop was open but something was off. What had come over him?

Nevertheless Lewis pushed through the front door, a little bell chiming his arrival. Arthur home was actually attached to the shop, near the back. The lady who usually worked at the front desk smiled at his arrival. "Oh Lewis! Are you here to see Arthur?"

Lewis nodded. "Yes. My dad sent me here with tea and everything. Can I go see him?"

"Please do. The poor boy could use some company. Lord knows Lance is horrible at comforting people." Constance rolled her eyes. She respected her boss greatly but she knew the man did not do the feelings thing.

But she only seemed to confuse Lewis and his protectiveness flared up. "Comfort? He's not sick?"

There was a beat of silence…and Constance's face fell. "Oh…you don't know. What today is."

"Today…?"

Sighing, Constance peered towards the back of the garage where she knew Lance and Arthur would be. "Maybe I shouldn't say… It's not really my place to." But she put a gentle hand on Lewis' shoulder. "Go see him though. He needs some friendly company." She ushered the boy to the back door and Lewis hesitated only a fraction of a second before going inside.

The door went straight into a small hallway and the hallway led straight into the living room. There was nobody here and Lewis quickly made his way upstairs. "Hello?" He called out.

No answer. Lewis went further and saw that Arthur's bedroom door was open. Inside he saw Arthur sitting on the floor, curled up, and his uncle next to him with an arm around his shoulders. Even Lance looked forlorn. Lewis' heart broke at the scene. What in the world happened? "Artie…?"

Immediately Lance turned his head towards the door in shock, but relaxed when he saw who it was. He respected the kid a lot. "Hey Lewis…" And the purple haired boy was stunned. Lance was always so loud and kind of intimidating too. He never expected to hear him sound so soft. He watched as the older man pat Arthur on the shoulder. "Art, Lewis is here. Come on, get up and say hi."

Arthur didn't move, which only broke Lewis' heart even more. If Arthur was sick then it wasn't the kind of sickness Lewis had in mind. He looked sadly towards Arthur's uncle. "What's wrong…?"

"Ah, well…" For once the older man seemed nervous. And those eyes were incredibly sad. "Today's the anniversary my brother and…Arthur's parents, I mean…left us."

...Oh.

When Lewis had asked one day why the blonde lived with his uncle, Arthur had just answered that they were somewhere else and refused to say anymore. Now Lewis knew why. He felt awful. Not only because his friend had something horrible like that happen to him…but also because Arthur hadn't told him. Arthur still didn't trust him.

Then again, who was he to talk?

He threw a questioning glance to Lance and the man just smiled and stood up. Best to leave the two kids alone. Once he was gone, Lewis took his place next to Arthur, though he didn't touch him. "…I'm sorry."

There was a beat of silence before Arthur finally spoke up. "Why…?"

"Because…" Lewis replied with a sad smile. "I didn't know."

He watched as Arthur looked up, his eyes red and puffy from a full day of nothing but crying. The dry tearstains on his cheeks made Lewis' heart twist. He had seen Arthur bruised from bullying, sad from loneliness…but never like this before. "W-well no…I d-didn't say anything…"

"Is it okay for me to know?"

Sniffle. "Not m-much…I can do about it now… Sorry I didn't tell you…"

"Don't be. I understand." More than Arthur knew. Now Lewis felt comfortable enough to place a hand on his friend's back. "Can I…ask how…?"

It was quite a while before Arthur answered again. "…C-car accident…" he replied softly while trying to hold back the waterworks. "I was…was sick that day and…they went off to get medicine for me and…" But he couldn't hold it back any longer and Arthur dissolved into a fit of tears. "N-never came back…"

It took a good fifteen minutes for Arthur to calm down. During that time, Lance came back up to inform Lewis his parents were wondering if he was alright. He apologized to them and said he was probably going to be a while. Arthur needed him.

When Arthur had finally stopped sobbing, reduced to tiny sniffles, Lewis hoped it was okay for him to speak again. "I'm sorry, Artie…" he said again, tightening his one armed hold on his friend. He didn't know what else he could say.

"I miss them…" the blonde whimpered. "It's a-already been two y-years but…I just…I miss them so m-much… They w-were all I had…"

Lewis tensed. Even now Arthur felt like he was alone. Friends just felt like a foreign concept to him, like there was some sort of obligation that came with being his friend. That he was just baggage. But that just wasn't true… And when Lewis realized he had been quiet for far too long, he gave Arthur a small smile.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

Startled, Arthur turned his watery gaze towards his only friend. "What…now?" He watched as Lewis nodded. "Uh…s-sure."

Lewis took a deep breath and he suddenly found the floor of Arthur's room extremely fascinating. "My parents…the Peppers, I mean… They aren't my birth parents."

It was something Arthur had never even considered. The Peppers were just the ideal perfect family; all of them fit together like a puzzle and not once could anyone thing that one person didn't belong. It was a large family but nobody was left out. Everyone adored Lewis. "…What…?" So hearing something like that was…unreal.

"Yeah," Lewis replied, still keeping his gaze on the floor. "They said they found me on their doorstep. I was hurt pretty badly and I didn't remember anything, not even my name. Still don't. They tried everything to find out where I was from. Y'know, missing children reports, the police…but they didn't find anything. So they took me in, gave me a name, and now I'm a part of their family." He paused. "That was…a little over a year ago, I think."

Arthur didn't know what to say. Lewis was always so upbeat and friendly that the idea of something horrible happing to him made the blonde sick. "Sometimes I wonder what happened to my birth parents," Lewis continued. "But then I kinda think…maybe I'm not supposed to know. I mean I have a wonderful family now. I'm not alone; I have people that care about me. How could I ask for anything else?"

Those lavender eyes made their way back to Arthur. "It's the same as you, Artie… You have your uncle. You have everyone here at the shop." There was no getting around it. Lewis had seen the way the people in Kingsmen Mechanics treated Arthur. They loved him as if he was the most precious child in the world. "You have me too…"

Arthur felt his heart skip a beat. "Lew…" Before the blonde knew it, he was pulled into a tight hug. He began to tremble and felt the tears start to come back. But these were different… He felt himself return the hug and sob into Lewis' shoulder.

"You're not alone, Artie. So many people love you and want to help. We're all there for you…"

And just like that, Arthur felt lighter. The tightness in his chest had vanished. "Th…thank you…"