Chapter Eleven

It was a weekday.
It was a weekday and Demetrius had come to take Damian out to ice cream. On a weekday. Could he not wait for the weekend? Damian saw him only three days ago. The high school division wasn't all that far from Damian's dorms, but they had been hanging out on the weekends when they had more free time. Demetrius was here on a weekday.

Damian was happy.

He practically flew down the staircase of his dorm after changing out of his uniform and took a turn fast, swinging off the baluster. He skipped steps, jumped, and blew through the front doors where Demetrius waited just outside. He remained in his uniform.

Demetrius smirked. "You must really love ice cream." He said as he made to leave and Damian followed.

"Are you sure you can go out? Don't you get a lot of homework?" Damian had to walk twice as fast to keep up with his brother.

"I've got it managed. We won't be too long either." Demetrius glanced at Damian and slowed down for him. "You probably have your own to do, too."

"Some of it's done, we can be a little late." Damian offered magnanimously.

"Sure." Demetrius conceded, another smirk twitching his mouth up. He was in a good mood.

The afternoon was bright. The sun was warm, and the strong winds were blocked by tight-knit buildings, the roads well-encompassed as they left the busy area surrounding Eden Academy. The hour couldn't have been later than three, and the day already felt like it was escaping them. In their hurry to make the most of their time together, they spoke little on their way to find an ice cream vendor. They kept their heads on a swivel, on look-out for the vendors who often changed their location.

"Two vanillas please." Demetrius stepped up to a cart, ordering before Damian could speak up. "Here." Demetrius handed him a cone and paid the lady.

"Uh—how did you know this is what I wanted?" Damian said as they trailed away from the cart.

"Oh." Demetrius paused, looking at his own. "I was thinking about vanilla and ordered two without realizing." He licked his ice cream. "Guess it worked out."

"Why did you wanna come out for ice cream all of a sudden, anyway?" Damian said around his cone, deeply invested in his brother's answer. It might have been silly and childish to want to hear Demetrius say it out loud, but Damian didn't care.

"Hmm?" Demetrius said absent-mindedly, more focused on the ice cream. "Um. . . just 'cause I guess?"

"That's it?"

Demetrius shrugged. "Do I need a reason? I just thought we could hang out." He said. "Ya know, most siblings see each more than once a week." Demetrius added, fusing a lightness into Damian's step he hadn't felt in a while.

Eating at his ice cream, Damian directed his attention to the side-walk, kicking a pebble at his feet. It skittered a couple yards away, stone clacking against concrete. He kicked it again.

Damian had gotten used to their fairly quiet walks, even enjoying

their easy, silent companionship. Conversation could be scarce and it had never dampened their relationship. Though he wanted it now. The more Damian thought about it, the more he realized how little he knew about Demetrius. They may spend time together, they may feel closer than before, and yet Demetrius could be classified as scarcely more than a familiar stranger. Someone could ask Damian what Demetrius' favourite colour was and Damian wouldn't know.

Damian kicked the pebble again. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Um." Demetrius laughed. "Black."

"Mine's green—" Damian halted and nearly slipped when he missed the pebble. His favourite colour wasn't green, why did he say that?"

"Hmm." Demetrius poorly hid a laugh behind his thoughtful hum, licking his ice cream. Was he laughing at Damian for slipping?

Rude.

Damian decided to ignore it like the mature man that he was and clicked his tongue. Even the annoying aspects of having a brother was kind of comforting. The experiences and normalcies of having a sibling that he should have had before.

"If you could have any superpower, what would it be?" Damian kicked the pebble and kicked it again. He stopped when he heard only his own footsteps and looked back at Demetrius who eyed his ice cream with hateful pleasure. A wicked smirk twisted the corner of his mouth. "Fire." He chuckled darkly, his eyes half-lidded as if imagining what he would do with it.

Damian blinked and glanced down the side-walk and back to Demetrius. Did Damian miss something? "Um. . .ok?" He said. Demetrius was being weird again.

His brother blinked and the smirk was gone. He continued eating his ice cream and caught up with Damian. "How 'bout you?"

"Mm." Damian gave it appropriate consideration. "Flying. Or maybe super strength."

"Mm." Demetrius nodded sagely around his cone.

Damian kicked at the pebble and conversation stalled. The other's company was welcome and they easily spent time together, but talking still felt a little awkward.

Damian kicked the pebble again as he considered his next words. Talking to his brother shouldn't be so hard. Damian should have grown up with him, they should already be able to have normal conversations. Damian wanted to blame it all on their father but the boys held some responsibility. "How come you never came to see me after school before even though you were so close?" Damian put more power into his next kick than he meant and the rock bounced off onto the road.

If Demetrius was tripped up by the change in topic, he didn't falter. "I had my reasons." He said annoyingly, giving a stone a little kick with the side of his shoe towards Damian. "I hear you have two stellas, how'd you get 'em?" He redirected.

"I got a top grade for the first one, and the second was for being super calm when the bus was hijacked. Does it have to do with our family?" Damian prodded as if the answer didn't mean a lot to him. He hit the pebble at a diagonal so it fell into Demetrius' path.

"It's complicated." Demetrius kicked the stone.

"So un-complicate it." Damian grumbled, hitting the rock again.

"Our family isn't a good one. Let's leave it at that." Demetrius planted his foot over the pebble, and Damian stared at it, trying to ignore the emotions waking up and fluttering in his chest. Demetrius spoke of it so easily. With such certainty.

"Hey. Let's check this out."

Damian looked up at the store-front window Demetrius directed his attention to where beautiful kites laden with all sorts of colours in various shapes and sizes were displayed "You want to go kite flying?" Immediately, Damian's other emotions were squashed, replaced with surprise and a little anticipation.

"Sure. C'mon." Eyes stayed on the door, Demetrius reached for Damian's head and gently coaxed him along.

"Hello, welcome!" A middle-aged lady greeted them as the overhanging bell rang their arrival. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"No, I think were just gonna look around." Demetrius led Damian further inside. The walls were generously supplied and the ceiling dripped with brightly coloured cloth, kite tails, and the occasional decorative ribbon. "See anything you like?" Demetrius ran a hand over a couple of them.

Damian pointed to the largest one in the store. It was in the shape of a wide triangle with an extra point on the bottom, decorated with rich blues and greens. "What about that one?"

"Too expensive. Pick another." Demetrius said with a quick glance.

Well, that was something Damian never expected to hear.

"This one?" He reached to hold a kite away from the wall—a standard, quadrilateral culmination of cloth and wood—a large triangle on the bottom attached to a smaller one on top. This one was smaller than the last and painted with a snake. The kite tail was designed to be a continuation of the snake's body.

"Sure." Demetrius said and picked a simple red one. They paid the lady and went on to ask passerbys for directions to the nearest open park.

Ringed by carefully maintained trees in perfect equidistance, the boys found a thick-grassed area laid open to the winds, blades rolling in shiny waves. People pocked the otherwise empty field, a couple with their own kites, picnicking, or lounging on the sun-warmed ground. The boys picked their own space away from the others.

"Now what?" Damian looked into the sky with the wind on his face, kite held ready for further instruction.

"Um. . ." Demetrius held his kite in front of him and fiddled with the strings and handle.

"You haven't done this before, have you?"

"Nope." He said, but undid the bit that kept it all together and tidy for display. Damian copied him.

Demetrius gave his kite one last look over and held it up over his head so it might catch the breeze. Damian was pretty sure it took more than that and he was right. The wind whooshed by, the red paper wobbling, but not rising.

Demetrius lowered the kite. "It's broken." He said. Damian couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"Demetrius?" The voice of an unfamiliar girl cut loud and clear through the wind, followed by several footsteps. Four teenagers, two girls and two boys, had halted when they noticed Demetrius and the girl who spoke waved to him. She had a big, friendly smile on her face and brown eyes to match her hair.

An infinitesimal change set in Demetrius' eyes and line of his mouth. They were near undetectable, the smallest differences, and Damian wouldn't have seen it if he hadn't been looking at him. It was enough to darken Demetrius' attitude, harden his gaze, and the Eden students were oblivious to the sudden murderous intent behind his otherwise expressionless face.

They started towards them, the girls keeping a hand on their uniform skirts in case the breeze decided to swoop down on them and trod the twenty metres that lay between them.

"What are you doing here?" Demetrius said as they approached holding drinks in their hands and pushed designer sunglasses up on their heads.

The brunette, the shortest of the group, gently shook the to-go cup in her hand. "We came out to get milk-shakes. They're just sooo good." She took a sip. "What a coincidence you're here too, what are you up to?"

"Yeah, what's that sad excuse for a kite?" A blonde boy laughed. "Oof." He bent inward as the brunette's hand slapped across his stomach so fast, Damian almost missed it. She kept the smile on her face.

"Oh my gosh, is this your brother?" The other girl, raven haired with olive skin, spotted him. "He's adorable, he looks just like you."

Maybe Damian was supposed to find that flattering, but it was more irritating. He might have told her what a cow she looked like in comparison if Demetrius didn't speak first.

"Yeah. . ." He said coldly, clearly unimpressed. He didn't seem to like that either and Damian was the only one who saw the glower beneath his deceptively unbothered appearance. When Demetrius trained his dead eyes on the girl and kept it there, it was kind of unsettling.

They may not haveseen the irritation on his face, but they heard his tone. "Oh. . .are you upset we didn't ask you to come out with us? If we knew you were up for it, we would have invited you." The other black-haired boy said.

"No. I had plans, anyway." Demetrius said pointedly at him, maintaining a detached tone.

"Oh, sure. . .kite flying. . ." The boy's uncertain smile wasn't intentionally condescending or mocking, but rather confused why Demetrius would choose to spend his time this way.

"I'm surprised to see you all out together." Demetrius said with a bite of accusation.

"Oh." The brunette laughed, not noticing. "We figured it out. Everything's good now."

"Does Fallon know?" Demetrius responded and her face froze.

"Well. . . no. . ."

"If she finds out about this, she's gonna be furious. She'll feel betrayed. Again. Maybe you should go and sort this out with her now before things get worse."

"She won't find out." The olive-skinned girl rolled her eyes. "Not unless someone tells her and none of us are going to. Besides, it's an innocent hang-out. It doesn't matter." She studied her nails.

"Then why didn't you invite her?"

She blinked a few times at her nails, ran her thumb over them, and cleared her throat, turning to Damian to completely ignore Demetrius. "So how's the kite flying going? Have you ever done it before?"

Damian glanced at Demetrius' whose eyelids had half-closed and watched the girl like a predator who'd pounced and missed, waiting for another shot.

What was going on with him?

"No." Damian simply replied.

"Well, give it here then." She handed her milkshake to the black-haired boy behind her, beckoning for the kite with her other fingers.

"Um. . ."

"You keep the handle, I'll help you get it flying." She insisted and Damian reluctantly handed it over.

"Great. Now let some more string out."

Damian did as instructed. She walked a bit away and held it up as high as she could. "Now run." She called and Damian ran. She ran with him, holding the kite aloft until it found purchase on the breeze. The girl let it slip from her hand and it rose higher and higher.

"There ya go." She said and made her way over with the others. Forgetting the sunglasses on her head, she shielded her face as she came to stand next to Damian to look up at the kite.

"Great. Thanks." Demetrius said flatly. "You should get going now before Fallon finds out about this."

"Aw, c'mon." The blonde said. "Let us hang here for a bit. It'll be fun. Fallon will be fine."

"Who's Fallon?" Damian took his attention from the kite now high in the sky. He was starting to get pulled in and Demetrius gave him a stink eye

"She's one of our friends." The brunette said, wandering over and plopping down on the grass beside Damian. Demetrius sighed. The girl braced her arms behind her. "The six of us have been friends since we were kids and for the longest time, Fallon has had a crush on Robert," She pointed to the blonde, "but Robert liked Violet" She pointed to the other girl, "she liked him, and I liked Killian," she pointed to the black-haired boy next, "and Killian liked Fallon. But then Demetrius helped us realize that we were lying to ourselves, that it wasn't actually that way anymore and we were just sticking to what was comfortable, and that Robert and I actually liked each other, and Violet and Killian actually liked each other. When we started dating we kept it all from Fallon because she would be super upset. You see." She leaned towards Damian and lowered her voice like they didn't have a wide space in the middle of a park where no one would hear them to themselves. "Me and Fallon were particularly close and she would be super furious if she found out I was dating Robert. She's liked him for a while, but I also like him and he likes me and we shouldn't not get to date just because another friend might not like it. Violet and Killian hid their relationship because at one point before Fallon liked Robert, she had a crush on Killian, but Killian didn't like her yet, and Violet liked Killian, this was early in middle school," She added, "and Violet knew Fallon also liked Killian and they got into a huge fight about it, like massive and they didn't talk for like, a year. When Fallon began to like Robert instead, they made up."

"Wait, that's what that was all about?! I thought we were dating in secret because Violet was being paranoid!" Killian exclaimed.

"Shush. Anyways," The brunette returned to the present at hand, "when Fallon eventually did find out that we were all dating, it was madness. Everyone was mad at everyone—well, except Demetrius, he tends to stay out of our drama—and Violet was insecure that Killian didn't really like her because he was so concerned about placating Fallon, and Robert and I fought about Fallon, and Fallon was angry at all of us for lying and going behind her back, especially at me, and so now, if she finds out were hanging out like this again without her, she'll be incensed." The brunette took a long sip of her milkshake.

Damian could have sworn he saw the corner of his brother's mouth twitch up.

"Um. . .never-mind. . ." Damian looked back to his kite. He shouldn't have asked.

"Okay, you really didn't need to go and tell him all that." Violet said and the brunette returned eye contact, drinking her milkshake remorselessly.

"How did I not know about this?" Killian threw his hands up and turned away.

Robert took a reassuring glance at his friends before turning to Demetrius. "You. . .wouldn't have any advice would you?"

"Nope." The reply was instant.

"Wait, really? You always seem to know what to do."

"Don't know if I can help with this." He joined Damian at looking at his kite.

"C'mon, please?" The brunette said. "It's a disaster and you've gotta have some sort of idea how to fix it."

Demetrius sighed. "This is why you came over here, isn't it?"

"Maybe. . ." Violet answered.

"I'm kinda of in the middle of something here."

"I don't care." Damian said and it must've been the wrong thing to say because he could feel the annoyance emanating from Demetrius' eyeballs.

With a sigh of obvious annoyance that took the teenagers a little aback, Demetrius relented. "Fine." He said and turned to his so-called "friends" that he suspiciously wanted nothing to do with. "This is what you're going to do. Fallon is hurt. You lied to and betrayed her," the others grimaced, "and are still doing it even after she found out. Her trust for you is shattered and possibly irreparable. If you want to fix your relationship with her, break up with each other."

"What?!" They all said.

"You went behind her back to have relationships and essentially cut her out of this new paradigm—" Demetrius gestured a hand at them "that you've created. She doesn't feel like your friend anymore and nothing less than breaking up will make up for the pain you've caused her. Apologize, show you're repentant, slowly build her trust back, and be completely honest from now on. Maybe overtime, you can bring her around to the idea of you dating each other. Or not." He shrugged and looked at the snake flying in the wind. "She may never be okay with you guys dating after this. It probably could have all been avoided if you didn't lie to her, but if your romantic relationships are more important to you than her, than ignore everything I just said. Who cares if this was all your fault for lying and going behind her back, as long as everyone else is happy, right?" Damian took hold of his kite's handle and unrolled a bit more string like Damian had done earlier.

"But that's. . .isn't that a little extreme?" Killian said softly. Demetrius didn't bother looking at him.

"Do you want to make up with her or never sleep well again?" Demetrius held the kite in the air.

"Uh—how did you know I wasn't sleeping well?"

"Please." Demetrius scoffed. "Anyone who looks at you can tell." With a short backwards run, Demetrius quickly had his kite rising and it soared not far from Damian's. "If my advice doesn't help, then you'll really have to bend over backwards to fix this."

Subdued, uncertain glances were traded amongst the group and the brunette ponderously shoved her straw up and down in it's little hole.

"Okay. . .well. . .thanks. . .I guess." Violet responded.

"Sure." Demetrius replied, though anyone could hear the insincerity.

"I guess. . .we should go now. . ." Killian said to the others as much as to Demetrius. "We should talk this over. . ."

The brunette got up from her place next to Damian and an awkward smile crossed her face in goodbye.

"Yeah." Demetrius said disinterestedly and tugged on his string, watching the red paper waver.

In a few moments, the students were gone and Damian couldn't shake the oppressed mood that they had left behind.

"What was that?" Damian asked trepidatiously and gauged Demetrius' reaction.

"Them? They're just some classmates." Demetrius was unmoved. He even seemed lighter now that they were gone.

"Haven't you known them for a long time? I thought they were your friends."

"Mm." He grunted in objection, expressing just what he thought of that notion

"They think you are."

"Of course they do."

"You don't like them?"

"No."

". . Oh. . ." Damian had wondered about this before. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed. He'd heard Demetrius' reluctance to get involved with Forger. He'd noticed how cavalier he was about. . .well most everything. Damian had let it fade, unimportant in the back of his mind, and now it reemerged as a peaking suspicion. "Do you like anybody?"

"You." Demetrius replied succinctly and decisive, no intake of breath to continue, no moment to consider if he'd forgotten someone.

". . .That's it?" Damian asked after a full minute of waiting for him to add onto that.

"I guess?" Demetrius shrugged. He really didn't seem to care.

"What about Mother?"

The most indication Demetrius gave was a careless half-shrug.

Maybe this was normal, to have only one person that he cared about, but the way Demetrius behaved, the way he thought nothing of it was slightly concerning. And confusing. Demetrius didn't like people in general, so why did he care for Damian? Because they were brothers? Was that the only reason? He supposed it made sense. Siblings were supposed to have some sort of connection, weren't they? Maybe they were and maybe it was normal that Demetrius liked no one else, but something seemed off.

Damian snuck a glance at him and found Demetrius side-eyeing him, faint amusement playing at his eyebrow and lips. Chills ran up Damian's spine. "What?!" He said sharper than he meant, but Demetrius didn't seem to care.

"You had a funny look on your face."

"Wha—no I didn't!"

The corner of Demetrius' mouth turned up into a teasing half-smile and all traces of his earlier, bad mood were gone as he broke his dead-faced appearance. Damian had definitely noticed how relaxed Demetrius had been recently. "I'm just kidding, you always look funny."

"Wh—Hey!" Damian exclaimed angrily, but couldn't help the twinge of a smile infecting him as he swat his brother's leg. "Well, if I look so funny, that means you do too since we look so much alike!"

"You were lied to." Demetrius said. "Everyone lies to make you feel better. Why, mother cried when you were born and said you looked like a pig." His voice sounded serious, and if it weren't for the impudent smirk, Damian might have thought he was.

Damian huffed indignantly. "She did not!" He made to swat his leg again but Demetrius caught him by the head, taking a step back, and kept him at arm's length.

"Yes, it was tragic. All the doctors and nurses were called into the room to check that you were human."

Damian couldn't dislodge Demetrius' hand and waved his leg around, trying to kick him. He couldn't reach and his kite bobbed and waved in the sky at his jarring movements.

"You were cute as far as pigs go if it's any consolation."

"I don't look like a pig!" Laughter slipped through despite Damian's efforts. "You don't look cute as far as pigs go!" He threw back at him.

"Yes, you're right." Demetrius answered, now shamelessly grinning. "I look nothing like a pig, I'm much better looking."

"No! you look like a. . .a furless monkey that was. . . . .that was mauled by a bear!" Damian yelled, continuing to wave his leg at him.

"What?" Demetrius said calmly. "I think you're describing yourself."

"No! You! You look like that!"

"Ya know, now that I think about it, one of the nurses called you that." Demetrius said. "A furless monkey. You even sounded like one."

"You're full of crap!" Damian laughed angrily. He still couldn't reach him.

"No, no, it's okay. Mother said it was like we had a pet now."

Damian gaped in outrage before redoubling his efforts to land a blow and his leg waved wildly around. "Gggggng!" He growled, his face warming. When his assault continued to fail, he dropped to a crouch on the ground, forcing Demetrius to let go or come with him. His brother let go, Damian dug a hand in the soil, and threw a clump of grass at Demetrius. Bits of dirt flung through the air. Demetrius put up his hand in defence, but it dirtied mostly his legs.

Damian swat it hard.

"Okay, okay, I yield." Demetrius chuckled, holding his hand up placatingly and returned it to his kite. His smile didn't fall. "I shouldn't tease little, furless monkey-pigs."

Damian threw another clump of grass at him.

"You're so weird." He said and Demetrius shrugged. His casual acceptance of the accusation was the bane of everything fair and good, because now Damian couldn't throw Demetrius' retorts back in his face. But Demetrius held composure, and the following moments of quiet stillness led Damian to return focus to his kite as well.

As Demetrius' rare bout of playfulness wore off, Damian felt a peacefulness coming to fill it's place. For several minutes, they flew their kites, watched the clouds, and they needn't have said a word. The conversation Damian had wanted, turned to only wanting to enjoy this moment in silence. And he did, feeling the sun on his face, the breezes tussling his hair, and listening to the background noises of birds and people somewhere in the area.

It was interrupted only by Damian's feet when he decided to run around, waving the kite about as it followed him like a loyal dog wherever he went. He let more string out so it could rise even higher until it appeared a fraction of it's size. He wound it up again. Let some out again. Played however he could with the string.

The winds had gotten chillier and Damian raised his shoulders at a particularly cold gust of wind. It wasn't cold cold. He could feel it seeping into his skin, raising goosebumps and ranging slight, occasional shivers over his body, but he didn't feel it. Like only his body noticed the change in temperature, and not his brain. The sensation of being cold wasn't there.

He commanded his muscles to relax against it and came back to Demetrius after wearing himself out. They stood in pleasant silence for a while.

"Demetrius." Damian shook his handle, curious if the movement would travel up the string but it didn't do anything.

"Mm?" Demetrius had remained where he was while Damian had galloped about and stared into the sky somewhat vacantly.

"Do you think things will ever go back to normal?"

The question brought Demetrius back to earth and a sound between a scoff and a huff of amusement hummed in Demetrius' throat. He side-glanced Damian, pained traces of that amusement gracing his features. "Things were never normal."

"It was more normal than this."

"Not really. You just didn't know about it. This is better than before, trust me."

Damian scoffed. "I wouldn't call getting kidnapped and left at a lab as better."

"Besides that." Demetrius took in a couple rounds of string, his quick yanks making his kite bob. Having decided he was right and that Damian had no point of debate, he spent the next minute back on his kite. When Damian said nothing, which was not normal for him, he turned back to Damian's less than happy face.

Demetrius sighed sympathetically. "Hey, I get that it's hard to adjust, but would you really want to still be in the dark? You were so angry before that no one had told you."

"I never said I'd want that." Damian's face scrunched, annoyed.

"Didn't you? We'd have to keep secrets from you if you wanted to live the way you were. No one would tell you anything and you'd eventually get hurt because of it anyway. We wouldn't be hanging out like this, Father would still be Father and you'd still be wishing to live at home with that monster. It's, frankly, insane that you would want to go back to that." He said as if he was trying to gently hammer a nail of reality into Damian's head, but was using a sledgehammer to do it.

"That's not what I meant! Just that. . .I dunno. . ." Damian grumbled, staring down at his handle as he fiddled with it. He never knew what to think anymore when their father was brought up. "That we could have some kind of normal."

Demetrius inhaled deeply through his nose, considering. "I think we'll have to find a new normal when this is all over." He answered thoughtfully. "A better one." He muttered from somewhere in his thoughts.

That brought a small smile to Damian's face. "Where we'll all live together? With Mother?"

"Maybe. . ."

Damian's face rose to the sky where his snake danced on the wind. It was starting to die down and his kite slowly drifted lower.

Damian wondered what a new normal would look like. What seeing his mother every day would look like. Or Demetrius. What it might finally feel like to be a family that didn't pretend to be perfect, to just be a family that felt real. The thought made him giddy.

His kite dipped even lower and he gathered up the slack that the lessened distance created, winding it around the handle. Demetrius did the same. Damian sighed discontentedly. He wasn't ready to be done.

He started, pausing mid-wrap as a sharp prick stabbed into his brain.

Wait a minute.

An unsettling squirm came out of nowhere to crawl through his skin. An invisible weight pressed on his mind, though he couldn't determine what it was or why it was there. Something had set off a noise in the back of his head, screaming at him to pay attention and his thoughts halted. Each one froze where they were, like dozens of little glaciers in the expanse of his mind to keep any of them from dissipating. One of them had stood out to him. What was it? Why? What was happening? Why did it make his his neck clammy? How was it so important that it would give him pause like this? There was an elusive little glacier he couldn't find, like a slippery eel he couldn't pin down. What was he even looking for!? His brained ached and itched uncomfortably and a claw painfully raked through, unable to find it. What was it?! Damian went around, studying each iceberg individually, none of them of note. He searched them, went over each several times, but none—

No wait.

Damian returned to a cluster of icebergs and moved a couple out of the way.

There it was.

Hidden amongst other thoughts, a fraction of their size, was a small, insignificant string of words, a notion he'd barely glanced at. What was it? Why did it bother him so much? As if it were some confusing art piece in a museum, he circled it again and again, trying to understand what was underneath the ice. It was thawing too slowly and the words were barely comprehensible, but as it melted, it became more legible.

Damian's blood turned icy. The rest of the glacier evaporated easily and his heart froze solid.

He knew what it was.

Damian's head whipped to Demetrius, but he wasn't looking at was unaware of the alertness spiking through Damian's thoughts.

How did he—

"How did you know I wanted to go live at home?" Damian asked stiffly, his heart skipping a beat when it took Demetrius off-guard and he met his gaze. The instant focus on Damian, the unflinching, unmoving muscles in his face. His hands that had become stone where they were winding up his string. The instinctive response to halt immediately as if he were a moving picture that had been paused. His reaction was extreme for a simple question and Damian

found his breath catching.

He thought maybe he was overreacting, that maybe it was natural to want to live at home. Maybe Damian had been obvious about it. But Demetrius' words were strangely specific when Damian had never mentioned it. Demetrius wouldn't have startled like that if it was nothing.

The moment was brief and Demetrius returned to his task, his confident answer feeling a beat late. A beat later than usual. "Well, didn't you? You're six, that's kinda young to be living away from home." He said as if all was normal, his disposition the same as ever. His answer was so easy, so casual. Like he hadn't just stalled. As if it was indeed the truth and Damian's chest hammered like a drum, the vibrations rattling his bones.

Demetrius had lied to him.