Chapter Title: Realization
Series Title: Unlikely Brothers
Ages in this chapter: Tanner (9) and Dashen (15)
Chapter Summary: The day that Dashen and Tanner move in to his place, Colton finally understands why he worked to save Dashen after his brother Kossi died.
"What the hell have I just done?"
The big man set a hand through his long blonde hair while watching the empty stairs for a lingering moment. Two pairs of young legs had just hurried up those stairs. Two boys. Two troubled boys. He'd offered them a home, a place to stay. Their very own apartment above his own wealthy residence; center of his small but prosperous criminal empire.
He was a loner, relatively speaking. Few friends. A number of female companions from whom he enjoyed company. There were never children in his future. Not his own. Certainly not orphaned ones with bright red targets on their backs. Well, one of them had a target, the other was still recovering from being a suicidal mess. Now they were both here. In his house. Living. Eating. Depending, at least in part, on him.
What the hell had he just done?
His very own head of security said just as much as he entered through the front door seeing the blonde man watching those empty steps, knowing full well what had just happened.
"What the hell, Boss?" The large dark man said incredulous, in his even darker voice. "Not only did you latch on to Lesedi, but now the little one with an entire Empire after him. And you offer them a home? Here?"
Sydenious Greyer, the man was. Colton had already told the man of Tannerlin's true identity. No choice. Sydenious was his oldest friend and helped to keep this entire operation running. It wasn't unusual for them to counter each other. Happened more often than not and each always respected the end decision of the other.
But this? Sydenious was having a hard time with this one.
"You're gettin' soft, Boss."
Colton turned away from the stairwell finally and to his friend. "Maybe I am. Hell, I don't know, Sy. Could be this is a disaster in the making. Could be this is meant to be. Guess I'll find out, huh?"
"How you gonna keep him hidden, Boss? The little one. Jedi? You've seen what the Empire is doing to them, right? Sparing none. They find this boy and he's as good as dead. They'll slaughter him in front of you, in front of Lesedi. It won't matter."
"It won't," Colton replied, pulling two morning ale's from the cooling unit and handing one to his friend. "Here. You're right, Sy. As you tend to be. And it'll be those boy's job to hide that part of him. I cannot do that for them. In the meantime, I've gained a good runner. The young one can go to school. And they're kinda of out of my hair living upstairs."
Sydenious stared at the man.
"Don't look at me like that. I told you before when Dashen was running the streets looking for a way to die that there was something there that I couldn't figure out. And now here we are. I still have't any idea why, but this is where I've been led. I can't stop whatever destiny this is supposed to be."
"Whatever you say, Boss, but I caution you to be wary. On all sides. If these boys are meant to be in your life, I would welcome it. If they're nothin' but thorns..."
Colton held up a hand. "I get it and appreciate the concern and honesty. Always, my friend. I will just...see where this goes."
"As you will. I'm off to work, Boss. Thanks for the ale. Talk later."
The man's words roamed round and round and round in Colton's head until he forcibly managed to shake them out. Wary he would be, but there was a tendril of something else he felt. Something warm and familiar. Joy? Happiness? What...No. Why would he be happy to have two annoying children running in and out of his days and wreaking havoc where havoc was not needed?
He shook his head again. This is a stupid idea, was his next thought. So very stupid.
And then the older one came down the stairs. Lesedi. No. Dashen. He should call him properly by his first name if this thing was going to work. Dashen's black hair hung past his face, but didn't completely hide the telling green eyes. The eyes that had seen far too much in their fifteen short years.
Here and now though...Colton saw something in those eyes that he'd never seen there before.
Hope.
And maybe that was why he was taking a chance on this kid and his little tag-a-long Jedi. Happiness? Hope? All in one shot?
"Hey, Colton." The boy said, standing a few feet away on the second to last step.
Colton cleared his throat from the annoying sudden flair of emotion that had begun creeping it's way to the surface and addressed the boy. "Yes, Dashen? You are settled already?"
"Not quite yet. Tanner is getting there. He has a few trinkets from his previous life he wants to put out so he can see them every day when he wakes up. He doesn't want to forget. I don't either." Dashen pushed his hair back. "I never forgot what you did for me back then, after Kossi. I just didn't want anything to make it better, you know? I felt like hell, I thought I deserved as much. And I'd just lost my entire world. But you tried when no one else even took a second to see me. It meant a great deal. And I know you think I'm an idiot, and maybe I am, but I won't let you down as a runner. I'm good. I really am. But I've gotta look after this kid too. Like you took a chance on me and I'm taking a chance on him. Giving him a bit of hope, I guess. Neither of us have much else. Maybe we've found something with each other. I don't know." He shrugged and turned to retreat back up the stairs, stopping again before taking a step. "I just wanted to say thank you. For everything."
Not the speech he'd expected, especially knowing what he did about Dashen Lesedi. Perhaps there was more to this kid than he could say. Time would tell.
As Dashen hurried back up the stairs to his tag-a-long with the target on his head, Colton stifled a small laugh, but allowed the smile that followed.
Yeah, this was joy. He thought. This was happiness. He remembered now. It had been so long since those feelings. Since his own family, his loving parents and his inseparable sisters. All lost. Dead. All of them...gone from his life. This was why he'd had this ridiculous need to help this boy, and why he had now allowed the kid and the little lost Jedi into his loner of a life.
He needed them. They needed him. Just none of them really knew it until now. The realization dawning on the big man as he heard the upstairs apartment door shut. His entire life had just changed in so many ways. These two idiots were part of him now. Part of his life, part of his world.
Perhaps as it was meant to be all along.
END
