Page 2 of Finn's Solace

"Fuck you!"

"Sorry, not sorry."

"I'd smack you if I could, you know that right? I'm keeping a log so I can do it all at once the next time I come home."

A pang of sadness squeezed my chest, and I shook it off, doubling down on our fight.

Watching Penny, my younger sister, go off to college had been tough, but at least I'd had Dean. Now, both my siblings were away from me for the first time in my life, and I didn't like it one bit. If it weren't for my dads, I'd probably go crazy worrying about Penny and Dean.

I'd looked after them since they were babies, and even after our dads had adopted us, after they'd given me the opportunity to be a kid for once, I'd still taken care of them in my own way.

But now Penny was off learning to do what she did best: being nosy. She was going to be a crime journalist one day, and I knew she'd be wonderful at it.

Dean had taken a year off after high school to decide what he wanted to do—and so he could get his powers completely under control—and once he'd decided he wanted to be a doctor and help people like our dad, it hadn't taken him long to get accepted by a great medical school. He'd only been gone a month, and I already missed him terribly. So did my basilisk side. He usually felt like a whole other person inside me, and generally stayed quiet, only piping up when he felt like 'we' were in danger, or if he was curious about something.

"Ha! Got you!"

"Shit!" I scowled at the screen, then dropped my controller with a sigh. Well, I missed himmost of the time.

"You got distracted," Dean informed me, like I hadn't already noticed, and I sighed.

"I know. It doesn't count."

"Oh, it so does!" he said, then paused. "Finn, I gotta go. Same time next week?"

Biting back a sigh, I agreed, and we wished each other good night before logging out of the game. Standing up, I stretched, then returned the headset and console to their spots beforemaking my way to the kitchen, where my dads were working side by side with an ease that only came from sharing the space for years.

"Can I help?" I asked, and Dad smiled, then waved toward the table. He'd tied up his long, blond hair into a ponytail, and his green-brown eyes were warm as he glanced at me.

"We're almost done here, so why don't you set the table? Or would you like to eat in front of the TV?"

"The table's good," I assured him as I grabbed some dishes and went over to the dining table, doing my best to ignore the empty chairs.

"What's for dinner?" I asked, though the spicy aroma told me it was a curry of some kind.

"Veggie kofta in gravy with roti," Papa said, his brown eyes sparkling, and my mouth watered. While both my dads were good at cooking, I loved the Indian food Papa made.

"And salad," Dad added, and I tried not to wrinkle my nose. Fan of salads, I was not.

I carried the food to the dining table as Dad and Papa cleaned up, and then we sat down to eat.

"Anyone hear from Penny today?" Papa asked, and I hummed.

"Yeah, we texted for a bit this morning. She's working on some big assignment for a class," I said, then stuck a piece of lettuce into my mouth and tried not to make a face. I liked eating the salad first so I could wash the taste away with delicious,cookedfood.

"Looks like she's going to have a busy few days then. Raph." Papa turned to Dad, who gave the food all his focus as he folded up a piece of roti, scooped some of the curry, and deposited it into his mouth.

"Angel," Papa repeated, and Dad sighed.

"I won't send her any cat videos today."

"And?"

"Or any pictures of Neya and Pads."

"Good. We can talk to her on the weekend, all right?"

Dad nodded, a pout on his face as he continued eating, and I hid my smile behind my hand.

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