Sprx had his moments of conspiracy theories, everyone knew this.
When the kids were on their way, Sprx squinted at the tube tanks and hummed in curiosity. He noticed how their kids weren't the same color as one or the other biological parent. All of their fur colors looked in between everyone's respective colors, and the only ones that seemed normal was Jasper and his and Antauri's kid. Theirs appeared to have Antauri's color before he became fully robotic, just a little reddish near the top of his body. Jasper didn't appear too suspicious despite being orange because he knew where that came from at least, even if he didn't want to think of Mandarin.
That seemed very weird, like it shouldn't have been the case whatsoever. They were only a few months into development, but he already had some questions.
Gibson noticed the look on Sprx's face and his hum.
"Sprx, is something the matter?" He asked.
"Yeah," Sprx looked at him with suspicion, "the fact they should be more our colors than a mixture. Brain Strain, I know I'm not sciency smart like you are, but even I know genetics don't work like paints bein' mixed together!"
Gibson sighed at Sprx's suspicions. Sprx knew that sigh, it was like he was about to tell him he was bugging.
"Sprx, I assure you that it's quite normal for their colours to be like that."
"Oh yeah? Then explain to me how it's scientifically possible for them to be like that unless you messed with their genetics! Or did you use somethin' else while we weren't looking?"
Chiro looked up from his book. "No, Gibson's actually correct there."
Sprx looked at Chiro with a raised eyebrow. Chiro took that as a sign to continue.
"While normally genetics don't work like that, it does with Shuggazoomian monkeys." He held up the book he was reading and pointed at specific parts of it. "Shuggazoomian monkeys can actually end up being a combination of their parents colors when they breed, but the more they do, the more their offspring will be either color. It's not an abnormality here, so of course yours and Gibson's will be purple, or Nova's and Otto's being a yellowish green, for example."
Sprx glared and squinted. That only raised more questions for him. He grabbed the book and looked at the page himself, not believing it in the slightest.
"And why is it just us? There's nothing about other species having that kinda shit?"
Chiro simply shrugged as he took the book back from him. He looked through the pages of the book. Gibson cleared his throat to catch Sprx's attention.
"That's something scientists are still trying to figure out. There's various theories as to why we're the only ones to have that sort of thing, however there's nothing concrete right now to absolutely say for certain on what it could be." Gibson explained.
Sprx just stared at him for a few seconds. He hummed again in acknowledgement, but he still felt a little skeptical. He left the lab and decided to see for himself if they were just fucking with him.
Sprx ended up going down a rabbit hole about Shuggazoomian monkey genetics.
When Magma bursted into flames for the first time, it had Sprx questioning.
Anger issues were one thing, but having fire abilities like that were another thing entirely. He thought Antauri was thinking a little too much when they asked Gibson if Magma was actually Nova's son biologically, but he understood why now. Maybe not for the same reasons, but Antauri was onto something.
Neither of them had fire powers like Nova did; Antauri had telekinesis and more ghostly abilities while the most Sprx had was his magnets. It didn't make any sense whatsoever. He looked at the others.
"So are we just gonna let the fact Magma did that slide?" Sprx asked. "Are we certain a bit of Nova's DNA didn't get in there somehow?"
"I'm certain, Sprx. We can, however, check in with Gibson again to be certain." Antauri responded.
Antauri rocked him in his arms. Sprx came over and caressed Magma's little head. The moment his hand made contact, Magma burned it instantly. He hissed in response. Sprx had to pull his hand back and let the metal cool down before he could touch anything or anyone with that hand again.
That fuckin' hurt.
Antauri looked at their son. "Bad, Magma, you don't burn other people. Bad."
Sprx quickly pecked the top of his head. It wasn't like he could give him a proper kiss at the moment if he wanted to burn him.
If he managed to have a slither of Nova's DNA in there somehow, it wouldn't be surprising he was as feisty as his mother right off the bat. If Gibson said the computers confirmed that Magma only had Sprx's and Antauri's DNA in there, it would be hard to believe. Either Nova somehow got her DNA in there, or Gibson wanted to mess around without any of them knowing it, or whatever else of the like. If Gibson did it to fuck with Sprx, he certainly did it with this volcanic little shit.
Magma was their little shit, though, and Sprx wouldn't change that.
Kaminari was asleep in Sprx's arms.
Her tail lightly wagged. Sprx smiled at how peaceful his daughter looked. He ran his fingers down her hair. He noticed how after a year, her fur became brown and her hair was almost black even if it appeared as such. It wasn't anything the others might call a conspiracy theory and just something anyone would ask about. It was something he noticed very recently, but he hadn't been able to ask yet.
He looked at Chiro, but he was asleep right next to him. He wouldn't be able to ask him that question right now if he wanted to. Sprx kissed his cheek. A smile showed up on his face. He was glad to make him smile even in his sleep. He leaned onto Chiro while he wrapped his tail around him.
Gibson then walked by the room. Sprx tapped his tail against something loud enough to catch his attention without waking Chiro or Kaminari. He walked backwards and looked at Sprx with a raised eyebrow. Sprx motioned for Gibson to come over. Gibson sat down next to him. He softly smiled as he put his hand on Kaminari's cheek. He gently caressed it with his thumb. In her sleep, she leaned into his hand.
"So Gibson," Sprx started whispering, "ya know why she's brown instead of red or dark pink or anythin'? 'Cause even with what we know, that's kinda odd."
He shrugged. "Even I'm baffled at this. All I can think of is that it might be combining what's on Chiro's side of things, but even then, I'm not too sure. I suppose that's something related to her being a hybrid."
Sprx looked back at Kami. He saw the little smile on her sleeping face.
"Maybe."
It seemed like it would be one of the mysteries with their kids that wouldn't be solved.
Everybody sat down in their respective orb chairs.
They took a moment to catch their breaths. After that whole damn chaotic day, they needed it. It was one of Diamond's worst days in terms of her behavior. While she was better than when she was younger, it didn't entirely mean days like this didn't exist.
Diamond broke Magma's arm and hurt him so bad he limped around. They started fighting over something relatively insignificant and Diamond was more aggressive this time. It took a moment for the others to de-escalate the situation. She struggled to become free of their grasp as they pulled her away. Gibson picked Magma up and got him to the med bay so he could treat his wounds. Otto joined Gibson to help out. Nova and Antauri scolded Diamond out, Nova being more emotional about it than Antauri was. Sprx and Chiro made sure Marino and Soma were okay, since they attempted to calm things down a few minutes before the others stepped in.
They thought they were done with those episodes by now. Dia didn't even seem to regret what she did either, saying that it was Magma's fault and he deserved it.
Only now were they able to relax. Nova's lips quivered as she put her hands up to her face. The others noticed it immediately.
"Are we doing something wrong with her?" Her voice cracked. "Everyone else is fine, but- but Dia doesn't even seem to care about the things she does."
Everyone went over to her. Sprx and Gibson stood by her sides. This wasn't the first time she felt this way about Diamond's behavior, though it was worse this time around. She never got on the verge of crying like this, just upset like any parent would when they felt like they did something wrong.
"Nova, it isn't from us doing anything wrong. We're doing perfectly okay. It's deeper than how we raise her or the environment we created." Gibson reassured.
"Gibson's right. The most we can do is help lessen these incidents and help Diamond become better, like we've always tried to before." Antauri added.
Nova removed her hands, revealing her teary, darkened face. "Then why does it feel like it's our fault somehow?"
"It's not, Nova." Sprx wiped some of her tears from her face. "Like Gibson said, we're raising her just fine. It's not from…"
Sprx's eyes widened. Just as he was saying it himself, something suddenly clicked. He looked at Gibson with his eyebrows furrowed. He didn't know why he didn't think of it before, but there was something more to the whole thing and the scientist next to them knew more to it.
"Gibson, what's actually the case with her?" Sprx sternly questioned.
Chiro looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Sprx, what are you-"
"You know more than you're letting on, don't you? You said that it's deeper than how she's raised and her environment, and it's not the first time you said that like it's a disorder she has or somethin'."
He came closer to Gibson, who simply backed up a few steps. Otto reached out to Sprx.
"Uhh, Sprx, don't think this is the time for conspiracies."
Sprx looked back. "Actually, now's perfect for that." His eyes went back to Gibson. "So what are you not telling us, Brain Strain? I know you would know our kids on a medical level like that. Hell, ya even diagnosed some of the kids yourself. It wouldn't be hard to imagine you know something about this."
"Sprx, cut it out."
Sprx pressed his finger up against Gibson's chest. "So I know you know something, or at least have an idea of what it could be. If we're gonna be able to do something about Diamond's behavior more than we already are, actually be able ta help her, ya can't keep it to yourself like this."
"Please, Sprx, stop." Nova sniffed. "You don't need to get on Gibson for this. He doesn't know anymore than the rest of us do."
"In fact, shit like that don't just come from outta nowhere. It has to come somewhere, and I bet you know exactly what it is, huh? And since Diamond just seems so much like her dear ole pops, maybe she got it from you."
"SPRX-77, that's enough!"
Antauri grabbed Sprx's shoulder and forced him away from Gibson. Sprx glared at them.
"I'm just asking the real questions here! Regardless, Gibson would know-"
The stern, skeptical look on Sprx's face disappeared. Gibson looked at him with hurt in his eyes. Tears streamed down his pale face. He raised his trembling hand, curling up into a fist, but he grabbed it with his other hand. It was like he was holding himself back. He backed up more, as if he wanted to get away from Sprx. Sprx came closer, reaching out for him.
"…Gibson? I- I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything, I just- I just thought you'd know, not that we would-"
Gibson swiftly dodged Sprx's touch. "Get away from me."
"Gibson, I-"
"Get the bloody hell away from me!"
He almost screeched. Sprx stepped back and his eyebrows shot up. He retracted his hand. He'd never seen Gibson get so upset like this before. It made him think he flew too close to a black hole, and now that he realized it, there was no getting away from it as he got sucked up into a dark, empty void of regret.
Even if he wanted to, Sprx couldn't take what he said back. It was damage that couldn't be fixed.
Gibson backed up until he just turned around and ran to the lab on all fours. Sprx wanted to run after him, but his feet were glued in place. Nova whacked him upside his head with her tail. He rubbed where she hit.
"Nice going, Sprx. You made him feel horrible and feel like he's responsible."
Nova and Otto ran to the lab. They couldn't open the door and everyone assumed he locked it behind him. Chiro and Antauri followed suit and went to the door as well. Sprx forced himself to move just a little bit closer.
"Hal, please let us in. Don't mind Sprx, he's being a dumb monkey," Nova tried to make it lighthearted as she knocked. "Whatever it is you're upset about, you can talk to us. We won't judge you or anything. I promise."
The Super Robot began speaking. It made Nova stop knocking on the door and look up. It made them wish Slingshot was here so he could translate for them. Considering the context, however, it might've been something along the lines of "Gibson wants to be alone right now."
Nova backed away from the door. "Gibson…"
"Sprx, I hope you realized how insensitive that-"
Antauri looked behind him, seeing Sprx's feet just as he shot up the tube.
"Sprx, wait!"
Before they knew it, he was gone. The four just looked at each other, wondering just what they got themselves into.
Sprx ran to his room and closed the door. He locked it himself so nobody would disturb him, especially the kids seeing what was about to unfold. He grabbed his jackets and threw them.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, I'm just fucking stupid!" He cursed himself out. "Of course he's gonna take it personally! I basically accused him of being, what, sociopathic? Psychopathic? Why the hell did I think that was a good idea!?"
He dropped down next to his bed. He grabbed one of his aviator jackets he threw. Sprx put it up to his face and groaned into it.
"If I was gonna say whatever Diamond got was from him, it should've been worded better!"
He pulled it down from his face real quick. Sprx silently gulped. His mind started racing, degrading him. It started telling him he was an awful monkey, a horrible boyfriend. No one would make their partner cry like that, but yet he did. He shouldn't have been his partner if he was gonna do this. Everyone deserved someone else as a partner, not someone as stupid and insensitive as Sprx.
"I really am just a stupid monkey, huh…?"
He sniffed as a couple tears fell on his jacket.
Gibson fucking hated him, there was no way he didn't now.
Gibson felt bloody stupid.
He should've known better than to believe that he could hide it from them forever. It didn't matter how well he hid it, everything was becoming uncovered regardless. It made him feel scared about how the others felt about him now.
Admittedly, he felt ashamed that he had antisocial personality disorder. Gibson knew he was different from the others for as long as he could remember. He had a higher sense of superiority than the others did, especially when it came to intelligence, he became agitated for the smallest things when they didn't, he got verbally aggressive with Sprx even when he tried to keep that buried deep down, and he disregarded his own safety and wellbeing. That didn't even include how he didn't feel remorse a majority of the time, even when they did. It wasn't something he could help outside of being relatively good with his symptoms and hiding them. It was simply how his brain worked, yet he felt horrible about it.
It was even part of why Nova, Otto, Sprx, and Antauri had trouble with their relationship with him, albeit some more than the others.
Gibson feared that they would think the worst of him. Everything he did for them was an act, his emotions and love were feigned, how he could hurt them at any moment he desired and without any guilt behind it, anything horrible they might think of when one thought of a sociopath. He even hoped that none of his biological children would inherit his disorder so they wouldn't be just like him on that front.
Despite everything he hoped for, everything he'd done, Diamond was turning out to be the same. It wasn't possible to properly diagnose her as such just yet, he could only say she had conduct disorder at best until she was an adult, but he knew she was like him. She was a little different in her symptoms, but he was familiar with them enough to recognize it. He hoped that he could prevent it or, since he couldn't, make sure she could live a good life with it and lessen the severity of her aggression at the very least. If he could do it without anyone wondering where she got it from, it would be better.
In the end, however, Sprx was correct in his suspicions about it. He couldn't bear to look at anyone right now, especially him, so he isolated himself in the lab. The Super Robot locked the door for him when he forgot to do so, and he appreciated the gesture. When Nova spoke, he didn't move or do anything. Gibson knew she meant well, but it didn't soften his fears in the slightest.
He kept himself locked in there for a few days now, with everyone dropping off food and something to drink. Gibson felt bad that they had to do this for him, and he didn't doubt that they were worried about him. Not just his partners and Chiro, but their kids as well. He didn't know if the kids knew something was wrong or if they thought he was working like he usually did. It hurt to think about, and it made him feel worse.
The door opened up again. Gibson looked back to see who it was this time. He only saw a bit of Sprx's tail before the door closed. It was the first he had seen him in days. He looked down to see food. It would be about dinnertime by now, so it would make sense.
…Some purple hyacinths too?
He immediately went to it. Gibson picked them up before noticing a note attached to it. He grabbed it and looked at it.
I'm sorry.
He got the message from the type of flower and color, but he didn't want to be too mean about it, even in thought. Antauri probably helped him out and Sprx wanted to emphasize what it meant. He opened the note.
I'm really sorry, Gibson. I didn't mean to hurt you in any way. You mean the world to me, to all of us, and I was being incredibly stupid. I'll understand if you're still upset with me, but I want you to know that. Whenever you're ready to come out, I'm here for you.
Gibson lowered the note. He tiredly sighed. He closed it and placed the hyacinths down. Maybe he should just get everything done and over with, rip the bandaid off. He started eating his food.
In the meantime, Sprx took his plate and walked towards the tubes.
He'd been eating in his room ever since he said those things to Gibson. The others knew he felt guilty for making Gibson feel that way. They tried to help ease his pain while they tried to help Gibson. So far, nothing truly worked. Nobody knew what to do at this point but reassure them both.
Otto grabbed his shoulder. "Sprx, please come eat with us. You don't need to eat alone."
Sprx scoffed. "You really wanna eat with someone like me, after what I've done?"
"You didn't mean to do that. Shit happens, we know you just wanted to know too."
"Swear jar!" Chiro, Nova, and Antauri spoke in near unison.
Otto flinched at that. He forgot about that for a moment. He pulled out a couple credits and put it in the jar.
"Yeah, but-"
"Sprx, I still have the means to pull you here and keep you at the table." Antauri smirked as he raised his hand.
Sprx quietly snorted. Antauri was joking, but everyone knew that they would do it if he needed to, so Sprx didn't want to tempt it. He walked back over.
"Fine, but only because ya want me here."
He came back and sat down with Otto happily following. When they sat in their chairs, Otto wrapped his tail around Sprx's as he ate. Sprx leaned onto Nova. Antauri smiled slightly, glad that he actually sat down instead of fighting them about it. He knew that meant some progress was being made. The smile disappeared as they looked over to their children.
They could sense the worry and unease among a majority of them. They quietly talked to each other with Marino and Peridot occasionally looking towards Antauri and the others. It was clear that the situation was affecting them as well, not just the adults. He looked down at his food as he started to think of a solution to this. Normally, he would let Gibson come forth at his own pace and talk about whatever lied beneath, but their children shouldn't have to worry about if everything was going to be okay between their parents or not.
After dinner, Sprx attempted to go back to his room. Antauri grabbed his arm and prevented him from leaving. Sprx looked back at Chiro, Nova, Antauri, and Otto.
"Don't go back to your room. We need to get this resolved with Gibson as soon as we can." Antauri sternly said.
"What else can I do? I've done what I can, and I'm sure he hates me." Sprx tried to break free.
Chiro put his hand on his shoulder. "He doesn't hate you. Gibson's probably really scared and he might not reach out to us on his own."
"Besides, that's what your head's telling you." Otto grabbed his hand and lightly squeezed it. "He loves you, and he loves all of us. Even if he was mad at you, he can't stay like that forever."
"You even apologized to him. Surely that'll help him open up a little bit." Nova added.
Sprx looked down. He could only hope that was the case. They've had problems in the relationship before, no relationship was free of it, but this felt like one of the worst so far. If they were able to make it through everything else, though, then it wasn't like they couldn't make it through this.
Kaminari suddenly walked up to Sprx. She put her hand on his arm.
"Daddy, are you and Daddy Gibson fighting?" She asked.
Nova ruffled her hair. "No, they're not. It'll be okay, sweetheart, there's nothing to worry about!"
Sprx softly smiled at her. He took her hand and gently pulled her along.
"Do ya want your pops to make you fly, Kiddo? 'Cause we can do that before you have to go to bed if ya want."
Kaminari's eyes gleamed and her tail wagged. A wide smile grew on her face.
"Yay, airplane!"
"Then let's go to my room. There's plenty of room in there." Sprx responded.
She started running to Sprx's room. Sprx simply chuckled as he headed over to the tubes. Before he stepped in, he looked back at the others.
"If you guys think of anything, or Gibson opens up, lemme know."
Everyone nodded and Sprx stepped in. The others started discussing ways they could make Gibson feel comfortable while bringing it up and allowing him to open up.
Diamond lightly hummed as she put her hand up to her mouth.
Diamond woke up earlier than the rest of her siblings.
Hell, her parents were still asleep. Gibson was the only one who could've been awake at this time, due to his tendency to throw away sleep to keep working on something. She took this as an opportunity to check up on him and attempt to find out what was going on. Dia knew the others wouldn't say a word about the situation to keep them from worrying. Everybody knew something was up, not just Gibson working like he usually did. He worked, they could tell, but it wasn't just that.
If they wouldn't say it, then maybe she could get it from the source herself.
She grabbed one of the blankets they had and some coffee. She didn't know if he had a blanket, so she brought one. He absolutely needed his coffee as well and she wasn't about to come unprepared.
Diamond opened the door to the lab, everything inside completely in the dark. The doors whooshing open startled Gibson awake and he jumped. He looked to the door and sighed, relieved it was just Diamond. He looked away from her, pulling his tail close to him. Gibson didn't want to push his kids away because of everything that was going on, so he let her inside.
"…Hey, Diamond." Gibson greeted.
Diamond walked over to him and sat down beside him. She wrapped the blanket around them. She handed him the coffee. He took it from her hands and looked at her. He tried to warmly smile at her, but it came out forced.
"Thanks, love. You didn't have to."
She crossed her arms and her eyebrow raised. She deeply sighed at that. Diamond looked ahead, not buying Gibson's attempts to ease her mind. The forced smile disappeared from his face.
"Of course I did, Father. Somebody has to bring you your coffee, and you need to stop hiding from everyone." Diamond looked back at him. "I know something's wrong, don't try to lie to me."
He sighed before he drank some of his coffee. He stared down at his illuminated cup. Gibson didn't have to look at her to know how annoyed but concerned she was.
It was inevitable that she'd know something was up. She was a brilliant young girl, even if she tended to get physically aggressive with Magma at times. It never took away how much she cared about them deep down inside. He was so proud of her, and it ultimately pained him that she took after him in that aspect. Gibson couldn't help but lightly laugh, thinking about how cruel fate could be, as he figured Antauri would call it.
"What did we ever do to deserve any of you?" Gibson quietly whispered to himself, before he looked at her. "You're right, there is… and I'm certain we'll need to talk as well."
Diamond scoffed, knowing that much was obvious. She rested one hand down and the other held onto the blanket.
"Took you long enough to admit that. Father, you need to stop isolating yourself, everyone's worried about you. Everyone."
Gibson gulped. It shouldn't have been a surprise that was the case, but it still hurt him having that outright confirmed. He looked away.
"I'm sorry." His voice lightly cracks.
"Don't apologize. Tell me what's going on and talk to them."
"…Have you ever wondered why you are the way you are? Hardly any remorse, irritation, outbursts…"
Diamond raised an eyebrow and her expression lightened up. She didn't expect him to ask that question, though it made sense. It came from somewhere, that much she knew. She started to piece everything together just from that alone.
"It's from you, isn't it?" She responded back, although she already knew the answer.
"Yeah…" He looked at his cup again as a tear fell down his face. "I hoped you wouldn't inherit it from me. I wanted to keep mine hidden for a long, long time. I don't want your parents to think anything different of me because of it. Sprx wanted to know why you were like this and he ended up getting too close without meaning to, or even with how he did so. I know it wasn't intentional, but it still hurt."
His hands shook slightly. He breathed heavier, but he attempted to keep it steady. She never saw him like this before, a vulnerable mess that was ready to fall apart. It was a dam that cracked and was close to breaking completely after who knew how many years of keeping it in and holding it together.
All over something he couldn't control.
"It makes me feel like I'm responsible, like I'm… a horrible monkey."
She put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for that. You can't control it, whether it's yourself having ASPD or passing it onto me, even if I can't be diagnosed with it right now. It's simply how our brains work."
He smiled at her. "Don't be ashamed of how you are, not like I am. Of course, you shouldn't hurt your brother, but the last thing I want is for you to feel like you have to change or mask it."
She shook her head. "Nonsense. The last thing I feel is shame. We still love you, you're still our father and their husband, with or without it. Now, you should go talk to them."
"But-"
"Go." She pulled him up carefully, the blanket falling off them. "They won't think the worst of you, they won't think of you any different, and they sure as hell won't stop loving you."
He quietly sighed. Inevitable or not, it filled him with dread to have the conversation. Gibson needed to tell them, especially if it meant their kids stopped worrying about them, or his partners even. It was funny really, one of his children was pushing him to have an important conversation and comforted him instead of the other way around. Albeit it was in Dia's own way, but it was still amusing how the roles were reversed this time around.
He dragged his feet over to the door. Diamond stood behind him so he wouldn't turn around and procrastinate on it.
Oh, and support too, she supposed.
Gibson took a deep breath. He lifted his trembling right hand to open the door. The light turned on the second he opened it. On the other side, Sprx stood right there. Antauri, Nova, Chiro, and Otto were right behind him. Sprx retracted his hand from the spot right next to the door, realizing he didn't need to open the door. Sprx and Gibson stared at each other.
It felt long and uncomfortable, but they didn't pull their eyes away from each other.
"We need to talk." They spoke in unison.
Sprx was surprised Gibson said it, but its appearance on his face left as soon as it came. He smirked at him and crossed his arms as he raised his eyebrow. It was especially apparent when he noticed Diamond there.
"Oh, so the one most like you got ya to come out, huh?" Sprx teased.
Gibson looked away as he crossed his arms. He scoffed at Sprx's words. His face darkened slightly. His stomach was tied up in knots as it was, he didn't need Sprx to add to it.
"Shut up, this is difficult for me."
"We know," Sprx grabbed his hand, "and I can't apologize enough. We're ready to listen."
He gently pulled him forward, trying to ease him and silently request that he sit down. Gibson walked to his chair and sat down. Diamond left and went to the kitchen to give everyone space.
He drank some of his coffee before he glanced up at everyone. He took a deep breath. Gibson had to force every bit of fear down in order to say anything.
"Take your time, Gibson." Antauri reassuringly smiled. "We'll be as patient as you need us to be."
He smiled. It made him feel a little relieved, but everything was still nerve-wracking. Rip the bandaid off, it shouldn't be delayed any longer.
"I- I have antisocial personality disorder, or ASPD for short. In other words, I'm… I'm sociopathic, and while I cannot diagnose Diamond as such yet, she's likely to have it too." He looked down. "I never said anything for the longest time because I thought you would think the worst of me just because of the word "sociopathic." I suppose now I have to, you guys deserve to know."
"Oh, Gibson…"
Nova put her hand on his shoulder. Otto ran up to him and hugged him tightly.
"We love you just the same, Gibby! That doesn't change anything!"
Antauri hovered above everyone and had his hand above his other shoulder.
"It explains a few things, certainly, but as Otto said it doesn't change how we feel about you."
"Yeah. We understand why you didn't say anything," Chiro added, "you were scared. We don't know anything about… ASPD?"
Gibson nodded.
"But we'll do our research so we can understand you better. The last thing we want to do is hurt you or Diamond."
Gibson smiled at him, feeling a sense of comfort and relief by everyone's words.
Then Gibson looked at Sprx, his smile fading away. Sprx stared, processing what he was just told. Gibson felt his heart pound against his chest; he only dreaded his response. Sprx went to him and carefully hugged him. He grabbed his free hand and squeezed it.
"Don't feel like you hafta tell us somethin' like that." Sprx started. "Ya had every right to keep it to yourself if you felt that terrified. I had no right saying what I said and making you upset like that. I just hope you forgive me for being so stupid."
"I already forgave you. You're not dumb, even if I've said so before."
He snickered before happily sighing. Gibson hugged him back. He felt the weight of the world fall off his shoulders. It made him feel so much better after so many years of hiding it from everyone, make himself seem "normal," and trying to learn something that couldn't be taught or learned but born with.
All Gibson felt was relief that his fears were wrong.
"Hey, Gibson?" Chiro whispered.
Gibson tiredly looked at him. "What is it?"
"So is it true that it's mainly environmental? Like, in terms of it being developed and all."
"Technically, we don't know the exact causes for ASPD yet. It can raise the risk for it, but it's not the only thing. The most we know is that certain parts of the brain aren't connecting in the way most people's brains do."
"Huh, so it's still being researched. So do you feel empathy, sympathy, compassion, stuff like that if you don't feel remorse or guilt seventy-five to eighty percent of the time? I know it works differently for everyone with ASPD, but-"
"Chiro, when I said you could ask me anything about it, I didn't mean ask them at three in the bloody morning when I want to sleep. Please put that down before I smack you and not regret it."
"Okay, sorry." Chiro put his phone down. "Night."
"Goodnight."
Chiro turned to his side. Gibson internally chuckled to himself with a smile on his face. He couldn't be too mad about the questions, even if it was this late at night and he wanted to sleep when normally he would be. Otto, Antauri, and Nova were next to him, so he felt content all things considered.
They were trying, and that was the most Gibson could ask for.