Chapter Eleven

I woke up to the door creaking open that morning.

I shot upright in bed fast, grabbing the nearest thing to me, which happened to be an alarm clock, which I yanked right out of the wall. I held it up, ready to fire it at whoever entered the room, only to relax when I saw Akin standing there, looking... not at all surprised.

"Morning," Akin greeted me warmly as I lowered the alarm clock back down on the nightstand, "Sorry to spook you. Just wanted to see if you were awake. We're about to have breakfast. Would you like to join us?" I stared at him for a full minute, blinking a few times as I struggled to keep up with what was happening before I just nodded dumbly in response. Akin somehow smiled even more, then stepped out to give me some space.

I looked around the room, absorbing the fact that it was my room. Or at least, temporarily. Plus, it looked like Akin had dropped off some clothes for me at the end of the bed.

I slid out of bed and took the clothes into the bathroom. I hopped in the shower, though the jacuzzi tub was really fucking tempting. I figured I'd use it later. I stepped out of the shower and threw on the clothes Akin gave me, which weren't entirely my style. A loose flowy silver tank top that kind of sparkled a little and a pair of straight blue jeans.

I left the bedroom and made my way down the hallway back toward the kitchen in time to hear Thirteen's voice.

"And then there were dragons and ogres and trolls and I fought them all off with Lexi's help!" I raised an eyebrow as I came into the kitchen to see Thirteen bouncing up and down in his seat at the dining table with Akin settling plates on the table, a big grin on his face at Thirteen's story telling. I glanced over at the stove, and sure enough, Hannibal was standing at the stove. Sans the apron for some reason. He was decked out in tight black leather pants and a matching sleeveless turtleneck. He glanced at me just for a second and went back to... flipping pancakes?

It was so weird seeing someone massive and deadly flipping pancakes like it was no big deal.

I glanced at Thirteen to see if he thought it was weird, but he seemed completely chill with the concept. He was too busy telling Akin about what sounded like a dream where he was a superhero. I shook my head at that and walked over to take a seat by Thirteen, who stopped talking mid-sentence to beam at me.

"Good morning! Did you hear me telling Akin about my dream? I had a dream I was a superhero and I got to fight dragons and trolls and ogres and saved a prince!"

"A prince? Not a princess?"

"Princess didn't need saving. She was fighting with me. We saved the prince! Together! And then we went to this far off land that was all ocean, just like Atlantis! And there were merpeople! I wanna meet merpeople too!" He exclaimed ecstatically. I stared at him, amazed at how fast he was talking and how excited he was over just a dream.

I looked at Akin to see if he was annoyed with Thirteen's jabbering, but if anything, he seemed to enjoy it as he sat down and put his head in his hands to watch Thirteen with fascination. I took another look at Hannibal, and he didn't seem at all interested in anything anyone had to say as he made a pile of pancakes on a massive plate shaped like a cat with a bow.

Unexpected.

But okay.

I'll take buff men putting fluffy pancakes on a kitty plate.

What next?

I couldn't even think of something more absurd.

"I'll grab those, sweetie," Akin said, rising to his feet. I glanced up, watching Akin make his way over to the King, leaning in to kiss him on the shoulder. The King paused at that, cocked his head like he was listening to some kind of inner voice, then seemed to almost purr as Akin kissed his shoulder again and murmured under his breath, probably hoping we didn't hear.

"Thank you for making us breakfast, baby," he said softly.

"Sure," the King answered just as quietly. Akin smiled and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek before he stepped back to grab the pancakes, coming over to place them on the table so we could grab our own pancake towers. I piled my plate high, glancing at Thirteen as he poured syrup all over his before handing it to Akin to do the same.

I wasn't interested in the really sweet stuff so I started shoveling in mouthfuls of pancakes. They were incredible. I'd never had pancakes before. I'd heard of them, maybe had it served to the higher ups for breakfast a couple times, but never eaten one myself, but they were just so fluffy and delicious.

By the time everyone was done, I'd eaten most of them, even before the King sat down. Except, it didn't look like he was sitting down, judging from the way he washed the dishes and put things away.

"Come join us," Akin urged, but Hannibal shook his head.

"I'm going to see mom real quick before she shows up like she owns the place," he said, keeping his voice low, as if he didn't want Thirteen and I to hear. Thirteen wasn't paying attention. He was kicking his legs back and forth and licking syrup off his lips.

I watched Akin frown and open his mouth to say something, but the King was gone a second later. Akin shut his mouth, stared at the spot for a second, and I watched this... strangely sad expression settle onto his face for a moment, like he was heartbroken the King had left him. Then as quickly as the expression appeared, it was gone and Akin was turning to smile at us.

"How about we do some shopping today?" He asked. Thirteen's eyes brightened.

"Yeah! I like shopping! I wanna leopard puzzle like in the coloring book!" He exclaimed, which meant absolutely nothing to me, but Akin seemed to know what he was talking about and nodded in understanding as he rose to his feet.

"Alright, then let's get you a leopard puzzle," he said, then looked at me as I got up, "And you need some clothes. As cute as you look in my get up, somehow, I feel like it's not quite your style."

"I appreciate the clothes, though," I said. Akin smiled.

"Of course. I'm always happy to share with you," he said, and there was an odd note to his voice when he said that. I wasn't sure what it meant. Not that we really had much time to talk about it. We changed Thirteen out of his pajamas, gathered up in the foyer, then headed out. And by headed out, I mean we didn't just walk down the street to the clothes store.

We fucking teleported right out of the house and into a shopping mall the likes of which I'd never seen before. The place was five stories high with little shops and kiosks all over the place. Music played from almost every shop, smells came from every little restaurant, people were flocked all over the place. It was so much stimulation, on top of just teleporting, that I could barely hold my vomit. I managed to rush to a nearby garbage can and heaved into it, grabbing onto the metal sides.

"Oh shoot," Akin exclaimed, "Are you alright?" I nodded weakly, coughing.

"Just fine," I said, and at his questioning stare, I swallowed, "Ah, I don't do well with teleporting. I try to avoid it." Akin frowned.

"That's not good. We'll have to look into that. Have you never teleported?" He asked. I hesitated. I didn't really want to come out and say I didn't use magic because I didn't have it. That was exposing a weakness and I wasn't sure I trusted him enough to do that, so I just shrugged it off.

"It doesn't matter, I'm alright now," I assured and Akin gave me a doubtful stare, "Really. I'm fine. It was just a bit too much for me at once. Let's just... take things slow." Akin nodded at that.

"Ooh," Thirteen exclaimed loudly, ignoring our exchange, "Glitter!" He started away from us before Akin caught his arm, not sharply, but gently to make sure he didn't run off without us.

"Ah, ah, stay close," Akin warned. Thirteen pouted, but didn't argue as he just tugged on Akin's hand toward where he saw the glitter, which happened to be on a bright red dress in a store display. We wandered into the store just so Thirteen could admire the glitter.

"I wanna a glitter dress," Thirteen stated as we stood in front of the display.

"What color?" Akin asked, admiring the dress.

"Purple," Thirteen shouted, as if the whole world had to know it was his new favorite color for the day, "I want lots of glitter and purple! I wanna sparkle too!"

"Then we'll see if we can find something in your size," Akin assured as we looked around, but found that the store was mainly for adults, much to Thirteen's chagrin. I looked at Akin, surprised as we walked out.

"Were you really prepared to buy him a dress?" I asked. Akin looked at me owlishly.

"Of course. He wants one. Why not?"

"Dresses are for girls, aren't they?"

"Of course not. Dresses are for anyone who wants to wear one," Akin replied, then gave me a cheeky smile, "In fact, that red dress would've looked really nice with your legs, Seven." I felt heat rising in my cheeks and looked away, glancing back over my shoulder at the dress before shaking my head and focusing on the path ahead. Akin pretended he didn't notice, and I pretended he pretended.

We hit up a few of the shops and tried on some clothes. I officially hated changing rooms after this adventure, though. They were far too small, too cramped, full of mirrors, and they smelled like cleaner. I was not a fan. I did, however, have fun trying on clothes, much to my own surprise. I liked all the different styles, the different colors, fashions, everything that came with clothing. I'd never thought I'd find clothes like the ones I found at the shops. I was so used to everything being uniform, but the real world has so many different kinds of clothes. So many colors and styles and sizes and fabrics.

I couldn't believe I was actually stopping to admire clothes.

"Oh, those look incredible on you," Akin exclaimed as I stepped out of the fitting room. I couldn't resist a smile, because no one had ever said anything like that to me. Well, at least, no one, except maybe Keros. I felt my cheeks warm at the thought of him and quickly shook my head.

Oh no. Nope. Not gonna go down that road.

Right?

I mean, we'd escaped the Mother. No one was coming after us so far.

Maybe this was it, I realized as I stood there while Akin fawned over the outfit I'd put together off the top of my head. Maybe this was finally real life. Maybe I could respond to Keros the way I wanted to. Maybe I could kiss him back, hold him back... love him back.

Holy shit, love? We just met. Love didn't happen that fast... Did it?

Fuck if I knew.

"Oh, hang on, getting a call," Akin said, stepping back to reach into his pocket to take out his phone. He walked a couple feet away while Thirteen sat holding his leopard in his lap, staring up at me.

"What?" I asked, noticing his stare. Thirteen smiled slowly up at me.

"You look real pretty when you smile, Seven."

"When I smile?"

"You been smiling since we left the first place. You look super happy and that makes me happy," he said, making me blink and press my lips together tightly. Fuck, he was sweet. It made me all the more happy that the Mother never got to sink her dirty fingers into him. He was able to escape, to come into the real world, to see real happiness.

"You're pretty too," I said, and Thirteen's eyes got big with disbelief, "You are. Really pretty. Even with a dress." Thirteen's grin got impossibly big. I couldn't help smiling back.

"Okay," Akin said, returning to us with a smile on his face, "So, it's time to head home. Looks like Hannibal's mother wants to, ah, meet with you guys. Plus... Keros is there." I looked up.

"Keros?"

"He did mention he was gonna stop by to see you again," Akin pointed out with a cheeky grin, making me blush, "He's waiting back at the house with mom and Hannibal. Let's head out since we got a pretty good haul today. If I do say so myself." I smiled at that and Thirteen hopped off the bench he was on to grab onto my hand. I squeezed his hand back and we let Akin teleport us back to the house. This time, I managed to stay steady on my feet, thanks to Thirteen holding my hand. It was like he was grounding me. It was amazing how well he handled teleportation. No nausea, nothing, he just smiled up at me to make sure I was alright before he led the way behind Akin back into the house.

Voices went silent from the living room. I frowned now, tightening my grip on Thirteen's hand as Akin led us into the living room were I recognized the King standing near the window and Keros sitting on the couch beside an incredibly beautiful female. The female looked so much like the King, it was uncanny, so obvious it was his mother. She was tall, much like him, but not quite his height, with her incredibly long curly hair that fell down her back from a ponytail. Her makeup was done beautifully with gold tones that matched his skin tone really well. She wore a white knit tank top and bleached torn shorts with a wedge heel-- all things I learned thanks to Akin's shopping adventure.

"Oh, my god," the female managed, rising to her feet. I stopped in the entryway and pulled Thirteen to a stop, making sure he was just a bit behind me. Akin stopped too, looking back at me encouragingly.

"It's alright. This is Lea, Hannibal's mother... technically, your grandmother," he said. I noticed the King shooting Akin a look, one that said he did not approve of us using that term at all, and I for one was happy not to use it because it only made us seem like family and that concept... didn't quite sit well with me yet. And judging from the King's look, he didn't want me to get comfortable with the concept either.

"Oh my god," Lea said again, this time on a whisper, "Why didn't you tell Zetnos or Havalia yet?"

"It's not exactly easy to explain," the King said after a moment.

"Oh my god," Lea repeated, taking a step forward, then pausing when she noticed me stiffen, "Oh no! Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just freaking you out, aren't I? I apologize, sweetheart, I don't mean to scare you. I'm Lea. I'm your... I'm your grandma." I watched the King's head snap to stare at her now, like he was thinking oh now you too? Akin beamed at that, though, looking positively radiant over the idea.

"What's a grandma?" Thirteen asked, squeezing my hand and staring at Lea with fascination.

"It's the mother of your parents," Akin replied.

"Parents," Thirteen repeated, then beamed, "So you and Hannibal?"

"No."

"No."

"Yes."

"Yes."

Everyone spoke at once. Hannibal and I were on the same team here, but clearly Akin and Lea didn't quite get the message. Not that anyone cared. Lea was just too amazed by all of this to care that she was disagreeing with not only her son, but the King of Atlantis. She sat down slowly, gesturing to the sofa for us to sit. Thirteen broke away no problem and hopped over to sit on the sofa right next to her with Lexi at his side. I chose a safer distance at Keros's side. I looked at him and he smiled thinly, clearly sensing the awkward atmosphere and probably regretting coming to visit.

"Looks like you guys are settling in nicely," Keros commented.

"Yeah, we just came back from a shopping trip," Akin answered for me, "We got Seven a whole new wardrobe and Thirteen got himself a puzzle and two new musical toys. He loves music."

"It's pretty," Thirteen agreed, sitting up straight in his seat. I smiled at his attempt to seem like an adult. He was sitting up, hands folded in his lap, with Lexi sitting up next to him with his cocked head.

"That's wonderful," Lea said softly, then looked over at me for a second, "Ah, wow, this is just so surreal... What are your names?"

"I'm Thirteen," Thirteen introduced, "And that's my big brother, Seven." He held his hand out for a shake and Lea blinked, then smiled slowly and took his little hand gently.

"It's so very nice to meet you," Lea said, "You're both beautiful young males."

"That's what I told Seven," Thirteen replied, making Akin laugh a little. I smiled, unable to resist his charm. Lea laughed too, glancing over at me, then at the King, then back at me.

"How old are you both?"

"I'm five," Thirteen answered, "Seven's eighteen. He's old." I rolled my eyes while Lea and Akin laughed. I glanced over at the King while Thirteen decided to make conversation about his dream last night.

The King did not look happy. In fact, he seemed disturbed by the whole thing transpiring before him. I couldn't blame him. It was so weird with Thirteen calling Lea grandma every so often, almost like a little jab in the ribs to remind me that we weren't really family. I mean, genetics said so, but...

It just didn't make sense to me. The only family I'd ever known was Thirteen. The idea of there being more just didn't seem possible. Or probable, given that the King clearly did not want us around for very long. I had a feeling, a bad feeling, that the King wasn't going to let us stay as long as Akin had hoped.

I just hoped he let us stay long enough for me to figure out what to do next in life.

Because fuck if I knew now.