Chapter 217: Leo fitting in.
She had faced mutant monsters and mutated monsters without showing the slightest fear. And yet something minor had frightened her so much and made her heart skip a dozen beats within a few seconds.
Hades was responsible for the fright she had.
During sometime when she was working in the space, he had left the bedroom and moved to the couch where he was sleeping soundly.
Sunshine tapped her chest. "Unbelievable." She whispered to herself. She looked at the hammer which had instinctively appeared in her hands and laughed softly.
Her husband had no idea how close he came to being mistaken for an intruder and hammered into a meat patty! Sunshine exhaled and put the hammer away.
She leaned down and checked on Hades. His breathing was even and his face was relaxed. She knew that he was tired so did not bother waking him to urge him to move back to the bedroom.
He had probably moved because of White. The little bear did love to cuddle a little too much. Sunshine giggled. Hades was a cuddle monster and so was White. The two of them should have been compatible.
So what happened that made him leave the bedroom?
Curiosity drew her to the bedroom and she looked inside. White was sleeping with his butt facing up and he owned most of the duvet.
She wondered if the bear hogging the covers was the reason why her husband had moved. Sunshine also thought to herself that perhaps it was time to get the bear its own bed.
It was either that or White was moving in with the children. Ariel would not be too happy about that. Earl and Castiel would be thrilled.
She closed the door, went to the kitchen and drunk a glass of water. Then, she set out to pick up the children and this was easy as she simply took an elevator there. As she walked, she hoped that she would not bump into anyone that asked her questions about Augustus Bellam.
She also thought about being stuck on the base for the next four to five months. It was not something she was looking forward to very much.
Perhaps she needed to earn more points and visit more worlds. The old her, before rebirth, would have given anything for a safe base like Westbrook. Now that she had it, she longed for action and excitement.
Those were the thoughts on her mind as she reached her in-laws place. After she knocked, the door was opened by Jill.
"Hey Suni." she waved nervously.
Sunshine nodded at her.
"Boys, your mom is here." Jill yelled.
Earl and Castiel broke into happy cries bolting across the room. "Mommy!" They shouted, their arms wrapped tightly around her waist.
Sunshine’s heart swelled, warmth crawling through her tired bones as she bent low to embrace them. Their enthusiasm made her feel guilty for wanting to leave the base. Her babies would feel abandoned again.
Two of the children remained in their positions: Ariel and Leo.
"Good evening mother." Ariel greeted in his big boy voice. He stood with his arms folded lips pressed tight like as if he was too big for such childish displays of affection. Leo lingered by the dining table, his smile shy_only watching.
"Leo will you not say hello?" Rori asked.
The boy looked down, his cheeks flushing red like they had been smudged in ketchup.
"Ha! I see we have some naughty boys one doesn’t give his mommy a hug and the other does not say hello. That is unacceptable!" Sunshine’s lips curved mischievously as she marched straight to Ariel. "Each time you meet family again, a hug is a must! Especially if it’s mommy." She said to him, her fingers dancing greedily.
Before Ariel could run, Sunshine had pinned him down, tickling his sides while making funny sounds.
Ariel squirmed and kicked, fighting hard not to laugh. "Stop! I am a big boy! This is a violation of my rights. I am protesting against forced tickling." He huffed over and over, struggling to contain his amusement.
Castiel and Earl cheered their mother on and Sunshine did not stop until Ariel’s laughter spilled free, helpless and bright.
But, she was not done, she turned to Leo next. The boy giggled before Sunshine’s hands even touched him. The giggles only increased when her fingers danced allover him. He laughed so hard, he fell backwards, gasping for air before collapsing in a heap of joy.
Then he released a sharp fart.
The room went still for a bit, the children caught one another’s eye. Leo was nervous and embarrassed. Everyone burst into a storm of laughter, wild, shared, unstoppable.
"Leo made a fart." Earl pointed at the younger body with one hand and clutched his stomach with another.
"Leo made a fart...." Castiel had turned the words into a song.
Rori pinched Leo’s cheek. "Don’t be shy Leo, everyone farts."
Moments later as the children packed their backpacks, the adults stepped aside.
Jill gave Sunshine a cup of coffee. She took one sip and asked Rori about how Leo was adjusting to the new environment.
"You just saw him," Rori began. "He is adjusting well. Honestly he is a good kid. I am distracting him as much as I can so that he does not miss his parents so much."
Sunshine nodded. "I am happy to hear that, tomorrow is a Sunday perhaps you can send him over to play with my kids after church. Hades is planning a picnic....he thinks I do not know ha-ha."
"That would be nice, anything that can occupy the boy’s mind is good for him." Rori answered and then she leaned forward and lowered her voice. "How are things between you and Hades? Are the boys getting a sister soon?"
Sunshine nearly spilled the coffee at the question, but the liquid froze mid-sway, saving her from the mess. Ice flakes and mist spilled from her mouth.
Rori looked at coffee cup. The hot coffee was now frozen coffee in a frozen cup!
Sunshine was saved when Castiel appeared, announcing brightly that they were ready to leave. "Okay champ, let us go." Sunshine placed the cup on the window pane and eagerly scrambled away from Rori.
Rori smiled knowingly, her daughter-in-law was the shy type. Who knew?
"Say goodbye to Leonard." Sunshine told the boys.
Castiel shook his head disapproving. "His name is Leo mommy, I was right!" He faced the boy. "Leo tell her."
Leo just nodded shyly.
"See! I said it!" Castiel bounced on his feet.
Ariel clicked his tongue. "Here we go again....Leonard see you soon."
They all walked away leaving a sad Leo behind. As the door closed behind them, Rori picked up Leo and asked him if he wanted to go to the playground.
Castiel who was in his mother’s arms began to tell her all about what he had done with Leo.
"Mommy Leo likes trucks and spiderman. We played robbers and policemen. Did granny tell you that Leo is a superhuman...I want to be one too."
Sunshine arched an eyebrow, this was not really common knowledge. She thought Leo did not know or understand what he was. "Did Leo tell you this?"
"No, Earl and his big mouth did." Ariel reported.
Sunshine’s narrowed eyes pinned on Earl, waiting for an explanation.
"The words just blurted out when he fell and the wound healed itself." Earl’s eyes widened. "Mommy you should have seen it happen. It was so cool."
Sunshine halted her steps. "Boys, we should keep Leo’s secret to ourselves for now. There are bad people that would want to take Leo away if they find out what he can do. So from now on, no talk about Leo being a superhuman, okay?"
Earl frowned. "But what if he falls at school and everyone sees his wounds healing."
Ariel grabbed on to Sunshine’s elbow and said in a serious voice. "He falls a lot. People will notice sooner or later."