But Micah? He was a closed book most of the time.
I'd learned to read him over the years, and it was how I knew something was wrong. He'd been...not distant, per se, but different. I couldn't pinpoint exactly when it'd started, but I knew it was since before we went on our trip.
Why hadn't I talked to him about it? Usually, I did things the moment the idea popped in my head, but for some reason, I'd been waffling with this, and he either hadn't heard my thoughts or was purposely ignoring them. But no more. I needed to have a conversation with Micah.
After tomorrow's party, Micah would probably be too tired, so I'd wait until the next day, when we were planning to move our things to the new house. Maybe he'd feel more at ease in our own home with just the two of us, and I'd be able to get him to open up.
"Hey, Cam. Where's your better half?" Amelia asked from where she was sitting on the couch, a laptop balanced on her crossed legs as she swiped through a gallery of photographs, her dark eyes focused on the screen, her round nose wrinkling at random photos that looked perfectly fine to me. Ames was an amazing photographer, but sometimes she was too much of a perfectionist. I made a mental note to ask for a few photos of our family later so we could put them up on the walls of our new place.
"He's at his place. Breaking the news to his dads that he's moving out."
Amelia grinned. "Ah, so that's why you aren't with him. You're scared of Gus."
"I'm not." I scowled at her, and she merely smirked at me before turning her attention back to the screen.
"Dads kicked me out of the kitchen," she said, eyes still on the screen, and I chuckled.
"That's because you can burn water."
"Like you're any better," she said, then stuck her tongue out at me, and I laughed, jumping out of the way when she went to smack my leg.
Still laughing, I walked into the kitchen to find Dad and DD moving around the kitchen in that totally-in-sync way of theirs. Micah and I had our moments like this too, but we were still learning how to be an us. Dad and DD, though? They were experts.
While I'd never want it any other way, sometimes being surrounded by people who truly loved and cared for their partners could be a bit overwhelming. I was sure Dad and DD had issues of their own I knew nothing about, but it still made me feel like I was doing it wrong whenever I had a disagreement with Micah or we had seriously differing opinions about things.
Growing up in a loving home also made it a little difficult for me to relate to Micah sometimes, and I hated that. I felt like I would never quite understand what he'd been through, even though there were many members in our clan who had a similarly shitty past. Mistvale seemed to attract supes who needed some healing, and Micah had been one of the first ones to heed that call.
I wondered how different my life would be if Gus and Cassian had never gone to Ravenshire to rescue Micah. How long would it have taken our paths to cross? Would Micah still be the same kind, sweet man he was now?
"You're quiet," Dad said, breaking into my thoughts, and I glanced up, confused.
"Huh?"
"You're quiet, which means something's on your mind. Do you wanna talk about it?"
I chewed on my lower lip as DD joined Dad across the counter from me, his gray eyes roaming over my face. "Is everything okay, Cam?"
Without even needing to think about it, I knew I could talk to them. I'd always confided in them, and just because I was an adult now didn't mean I still couldn't.
"I'm worried about Micah."
"Did something happen?" Dad asked, resting his palms on the counter as he gave me his full attention.
"Not particularly, but I feel like something's bothering him, and he won't talk about it. If only I could read his mind too..."
Dad raised a brow at me. "Did youaskhim what was bothering him?"
Dad obviously knew I didn't, but I still shook my head. "I don't know how to bring it up."
DD reached across the counter and ruffled my hair like I was ten, his stormy eyes warm as he gave me a smile. "Just say it, Cam. Don't overthink it. You need to communicate. That's the only way to work things out. You can only go so long ignoring your problems."
I nodded, because DD was right. If we didn't talk about it, it would just keep getting bigger and bigger, pushing us further and further apart.
"I'll talk to him once we've moved into the new place."
"You liked the house then?"
"We both did. It's perfect."