The Regret

Umbra was at a loss.

Victor had fled from him, a sobbing mess. It was the first time he had seen his son for weeks, and it had ended horribly.

Umbra fell back on his bed, squeezing the water out of his hair. His eyes were focused on the mirror he had once loved to admire himself in. But all he felt now, beholding his reflection, was disgust. He felt ruined, a stranger in his own body.

"Mr. Umbra?" Esper said cautiously, trotting to his side, "I heard what happened."

Umbra kept his jaw clenched, unwilling to speak in fear of tearing up. Esper slowly nodded, understanding Umbra's need for silence. He started to unravel the roll of bandages in his lap.

"Please stay still, Mr. Umbra. I need to cover these wounds up, okay?" Esper said softly, "They're almost healed. You're doing a really good job."

"Mmhm," Umbra grunted, flinching when Esper tightened the bandage around his chest.

"I'm sorry if it hurts," Esper murmured, "Soon you'll be all better. If you need to, you can squeeze my hand. Just not too hard, please."

Umbra broke his eyes from the mirror, staring down at Esper's slender, dollish hand. As he cupped it, a gentle smile came to his lips. "You're a sweet kid, Esper. You've cared for me for several days straight and I haven't even heard one complaint out of you."

Finished with his torso, Esper strained to reach Umbra's face. Umbra leaned down to make his job easier.

"Healing is my passion," Esper said, "And within this team, it's my job to take care of everyone. I want nothing more than for you to be well, Mr. Umbra."

Umbra draped an arm over Esper, pulling him against his chest. "You can just call me Dad, Esper. It's what everyone else calls me."

Esper's cheeks went scarlet. "R-Really? I, uh, I wasn't sure if you thought of me-"

Umbra settled his lips on the top of Esper's head. "I love you, Esper."

Esper appeared shocked, settling stiffly against Umbra's torso. "I, uh, thank you, M-, I mean, Dad."

Sighing, Umbra fell on his back, flipping against his pillow. He turned his head, spotting the pillow Victor usually slept on. His stomach twisted in bitter knots.

"I was too hard on him," Umbra muttered, rubbing his forehead, "All I want to do is protect him, you know? But now he can't even look at me. I'm a failure."

Esper pulled the blanket over Umbra, brushing his wet hair out of his eyes. "Victor is finicky. Both of us known that."

"He hates me, Esper. The last time we were together, he wanted to fight with me, against Asher. I refused. I forced him to hide. Our last moments together were horrible, that entire day was horrible between us."

"Dad, you know that's not true. Victor loves you so much, and a little fight won't change that. He couldn't hate you if he tried."

"I'm going to take a nap," Umbra suddenly mumbled, his voice heavy. He turned on his side, his back to Esper. "I'm exhausted."

Author's Note- as we're in the home stretch of this arc, i think it's time for another question: have you liked this arc? how does it compare to the others?