“Koa?” Evander gasped from his spot behind me on my motorcycle, “This is your parents’ house?”

“Oh. Yeah, welcome to Bennett Manor as Alexi jokingly calls it,” I popped my visor up after shutting the bike off, “does the helmet fit okay? I got it specifically for you.”

“It’s great. This was fun,” he giggled, squeezing me tightly.

“Good.”

“Tell me more about the house. I can’t imagine living somewhere so big!”

“Let’s see. It’s nearly two hundred years old. Four bedrooms. Two living rooms and a sunroom by the kitchen. Um… three bathrooms. Everything is white because Caelan hates color. I can relate, my townhouse is the same. They have hardwood and tile though. Benches everywhere to look out of the windows at the yards. My parents have a balcony off of the master that looks out to the garden. Over there,” I pointed to a 12-foot-tall gate, “is a basketball court. Caelan played for over ten years so Alexi maintains it so he can keep playing. There’s a pool and pool house just past the backyard with chairs and umbrellas surrounding it. I always loved the gate though. Hate the idea of people randomly coming to the door.”

“I don’t like how big the windows that face the street are though. Even with the bushes and curtains, I wouldn’t want people being able to see inside.”

“I bet you’d like the townhouse then. The only windows anyone can see into my place through is the one by the stairs and one above the sink but I cover them with blinds.”

“This house is nice though,” he climbed off and stretched, his helmet coming off next and he fluffed his waves as they were crazy now, “Ugh. I look like crap.”

“You look adorable, be quiet,” I laughed, copying him, “put it up then.”

Evander threw the top of his hair into a bun and we went down the driveway together. Ranger came running, spinning in circles and I scratched him aggressively before kissing the top of his head.

“Koa!” Caelan called from the garden, making me laugh. He was wearing a white shirt and black overalls, a large black sun hat on his head, and his hands were covered by gloves as he was picking weeds, “I didn’t know you were coming over!”

“You look adorable,” I snorted as he wiped dirt from his face on the back of his arm, “I told Matua this morning.”

“Ah, he hasn’t been home, must have forgotten to call me. Oh,” he squeaked and came running, “hello,” he smiled at Evander who waved.

“Hi. I’m Evan, I saw you at Kaia’s wedding.”

“I also remember you from when you did gymnastics with Koa. You grew so well. Look at you,” Caelan laughed, hugging Evander who buried himself against Caelan, “Aw. It’s okay, kiddo. We all need hugs from parents. I’ve got you.”

“I was never allowed to hug mine,” Evander whispered.

“I love hugs. I spent years not being able to hug Koa when I wanted. I don’t hold anything against him, I’d be the worst dad if I did. He was struggling. I have so many built up and if you keep coming over, you don’t even need to ask.”

“Thank you.”

We settled on the deck after I helped Evander out of his jacket, laying it on the couch with my own. Caelan served us lemonade and snacks as Marmalade watched us from the sunroom, blinking slowly in the sun.

“This house is… so welcoming,” Evander whispered, looking around, “and lush. I love all the plants.”

“When the twins were two, I was finally able to walk away from my career,” Caelan smiled, “I’d become a citizen of New Zealand. It meant I was able to stay home with our kids and take care of Ezekiel who was about… 16 at the time? Going through a lot. It was nice to be home and manage things instead of work. I got bored when they moved out and started working on the garden when Alexi is at the hospital. I was a physical therapist for a long time. I helped Koa adjust to the prosthetic, taught my older brother how to walk again when he broke his leg, and I’ve been managing my own arthritis as best I can. I think it’s genetic or something, I don’t know. It’s in my knees so I spend a lot of time swimming, hiking, and gardening to keep my mobility. I won’t lie to you, Evan, it fucking hurts,” he laughed, making Evander smile, “but it’s worth it. I think it’s so beautiful out here because I poured so much love and time into it.”

“I like it a lot. I’m not used to seeing the green everywhere. I have plants all over my apartment that don’t require a lot of attention since I’m only there a few days a week. I run the mobile bar under the name of my brother's pub so I’m at events most of the week.”

“That’s so much fun! I love traveling,” Caelan sighed happily, “we did that a lot. Got halted a few times but it was worth it.”

“Where was the best place you went?”

“South America.”

Caelan launched into the story of his honeymoon with Alexander and I rubbed Evander’s back as I listened, smiling at the way Evander stared in awe. Caelan had slowly become more of a talker as he aged and Evander was more than happy to listen, asking questions when he was curious. It was nice to see that they got along, knowing that would be important as time went on.

“Cae? Honey, I’m home. Why aren’t you waiting for me bent over the bed?” Alexander yelled from inside and I spit my lemonade out, coughing as I choked. Evander patted my back quickly, laughing as he did.

“Alexi, oh my god. How could you miss Koa’s motorcycle?” Caelan yelled back.

“I knew he was here, that’s why I said it,” he laughed, coming onto the porch with a vase full of sunflowers and setting them on the table before kissing Caelan, “Oh! I remember you from the wedding!” Alexander smiled at Evander.

“Hello,” Evander shook his hand quickly, “call me Evan.”

“Mhm. I know. I consulted with Luke about you a few years ago. I remember him being concerned about your blood tests. Plus, gymnastics but I figure Cae brought that up so I don’t want to keep talking about it. Koa? Did I kill you?”

“Almost,” I coughed loudly, “hey Matua.”

“Hey,” he kissed the side of my head before flopping down next to Caelan, “why aren’t you in class?”

“Semester break but…” I reached into the bag I had with me and grabbed a folder, sliding it across the table to Caelan, “Before you open this. I want you to understand that before the accident, I had no real identity. I was too afraid of life. Now that I’ve healed; had time to be introspective and understand myself… I want to set my own path. I don’t need to be better than Kaia, have a better life, or prove myself to anyone. I need to be happy. I’m not withdrawing from university, please don’t mistake what you see. But I will explain more.”

Caelan immediately flipped it open before gasping, “Koa… you quit the MD program?”

“I did. It was killing me. I was a bundle of stress and anxiety. I had stupid ideas of what life had to be, not what it could be. I’m scared to tell you this, scared you’ll be disappointed in me.”

Evander gripped my hand under the table and I smiled at him, “Koa. You can do this. I promise and after sitting here with your dad, I know that they’ll accept it. Tell them.”

“Koa?” Alexander whispered, “Kid… there’s nothing you can tell us that will change things. We’ll still keep supporting you through university until you’re on your feet. Unless you end up like Mateo at which point you aren’t in our family anymore.”

“God no, I’m not a child molestor. I changed majors. I’m going to major in business and minor in photography. It’ll only take me three more semesters, I’m nearly done even by changing my major. I met with a counselor last week who helped me change everything. Then, I plan to start my own business as a photographer. For weddings, maternity and newborn shoots, and families. I want to travel around and focus on what makes me happy. This does. You know that, you’ve always bought me camera equipment, helped me when I couldn’t figure out the best composition or small editing tweaks. You supported me in this as a hobby. I need you to support me in it as a career.”

“I’m buying the mobile bar from Kipton,” Evander cut in, “it’ll still have the name of Thorne’s Pub due to the fact we have a lot of clients and I don’t want to lose that. Kip already agreed. But Koa and I are in talks to be business partners. Or at the very least try and be a packaged deal. Start a website that has both of our services. I’m going to continue alone until he’s done with university. But we’ve already been planning.”

“I love this idea,” Alexander smiled, “Koa, baby all we want is for you to live your life in a way that makes you happy. If you ask Kaia and Triss, I bet they’ll let you use the photos you took of their wedding as a launching pad. You have our permission to use the family photos as well. Call Aunt Belle and see if the newborn photos of Philip would be okay too. Evan? Can I take you inside for a minute? I want to show you what I’m talking about.”

“Oh absolutely, I’d love to see them!” Evander smiled, following Alexander inside as I watched.

“He's precious,” Caelan sighed happily.

“Yeah. He prompted me to look at my heart and figure out what I wanted from life during our first date. Oh! I never told you about it. We got a bit too buzzed to make any real art but it was still fun. Collected sea glass and rocks. Cuddled as the sun went down in front of a fire. He uh… kissed me. Surprised me honestly with how Evan was raised. It was so different.”

“Explain,” Caelan laughed, crossing his legs as he took his hat off, his freckles on full display.

“With Beau, it was always full of anger. This need to claim me as his. Evan isn't that way. It's sweet and gentle. Not hesitant but shows his emotion. The safety he feels being with me. The fact I don't care about who he was before we started dating. I promised to keep him safe, Evan is super naive to the world, but I will always protect him from that and hope that his curiosity doesn't fade. He makes me happy, Dad. I don't think I was happy with Beau.”

“I don't think you were either,” he squeezed my hand and I felt tears in my eyes, “Koa… you trauma bonded. Yeah, you may have had feelings since you were young. But the accident bonded you together in a terrible way. I want you to be happy and you are now. I can see it in your face. Evander coming back into your life as the man he was supposed to be is such a good thing. You have the patience for him as he learns more about the world. Belle told me they've been talking all week.”

“I had him call her. He also talked to his gender therapist and decided that he wants to wait to have any gender-affirming surgery until he's a parent. But they are going to let him change his name and gender legally.”

“That's all beautiful.”

Evander came bouncing outside, Alexander laughing the entire time and they took their seats, Evander squeezing my arm.

“Oh my God, your photos are beautiful!” Evander gushed, “I've seen a lot but you're so good at capturing emotions!”

“Am I?” I smiled, pushing a loose piece of his hair behind his ear.

“No different than Papa Remi is when he draws,” Caelan called softly, “you took after him. You're a wonderful photographer and I can't wait to see you flourish. We'll even help you get your licenses for a business since we don't have to help with freaking medical school anymore.”

“Koa’s responsible. I think we can give him part of the fund to do it himself. He needs to learn. The rest will wait until you get married,” Alexander patted my head and I laughed.

“Thank you. Both of you. Um… can we stay for dinner?”

“Absolutely. Evan, you get to pick. You're the guest. We'll order whatever you want.”

“Oh shoot. I'm on the spot now,” Evander chewed his lip and I smiled, leaning over to kiss his temple, “I really like sushi. Is that okay?”

“That's perfect. Thank you for coming over to see us.”

“Thank you for letting me into your home. It feels safe here. Can I come back?”

“Absolutely. We'd love nothing more.”