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Be it Sand or Snow, as Long as we are Together
The sun was setting at the beach. Daniel walked barefoot and was starting to feel the cold wind coming from the sea, but he wasn’t bothered by it. He loved the chilly feeling it gave him, combined with the sand between his toes.
“So, little man. What would you like for dinner today?” Finn asked, walking by his side. “I bet your hermano would love something hearty after a hard working day.”
“Oh, yeah! Uh… maybe some burgers. I can make them myself!” Daniel whooped.
“You sure you don’t just want that for yourself, huh?” Finn joked. Daniel giggled and nudged him gently.
“I know for sure I want to do this for Sean!” Daniel replied. And it was true.
It was around two weeks ago when Finn showed him how to make the best burgers he had tasted in his life, and now that they were paying for gas and Sean trusted him around the fire, he wanted to make some to show his brother some love.
Daniel thought about how cool it was to have Finn around. Three months ago Daniel almost had to use his powers to force Sean to send him a letter, letting him know they were safe and sound in Puerto Lobos. But he didn’t expect Finn to show up unannounced at their front door two weeks after it. The letter he sent notifying them about it arrived one week later. Finn lived with them now, and Daniel couldn’t be happier about it.
Both Sean and Finn had jobs now. Sean and Daniel used his powers to fix their father’s house, and the older one got a job helping in a repair shop, trying to learn the basics of mechanics. Finn worked at the docks. He smelled of fish every day because of that, but there was not much he could do since he didn’t know Spanish.
After work, Sean gave them classes, so they were slowly getting the hang of speaking it. Daniel had a hard time catching up, but he was doing his best since his brother promised he would return to school next year. It was exciting. Though, being honest with himself, what excited him the most was moments like the one he was living then and there. Just hanging out together. Walking on the beach. Chatting carelessly. Things that were taken away from him the moment his Dad died.
“Hey, Finn?” Daniel called, as the older one was comparing two different brands of bun packages.
Finn hummed to acknowledge he was listening but put one of the packages in the basket and continued walking through the aisles of the market.
“Thank you for teaching me this recipe,” Daniel continued. The other one looked at him and gave him one of his relaxed smiles. The ones that made him feel safe. As if he was with a different version of his big brother.
“No worries, sweetie. I know big bro will love you are doing this for him,” he said reassuringly, then continued shopping.
As they walked out of the shop, Daniel heard loud music getting closer from his left side. That’s how he spotted a brown puppy in the middle of the street, and a car racing full speed in its direction.
“No!” he yelled, lifting his hand and causing the car to turn violently to the left, hitting the closest building on the other side of the street.
Daniel was in shock. He noticed he was a second too late, and the car managed to hit the dog before turning. He heard a screeching sound before, and he wasn’t sure if it was the wheels of the car, a painful scream from the dog, or if it was both combined. It took a moment for him to come back to himself and notice a bloodied spot in the road coming from the animal, followed by the screams from the raging driver who seemed to be just fine.
“F-Finn…” he called once again that day. Then noticed Finn was already by the puppy, covering him with his jacket and lifting him while looking around.
“Is that your dog?!” the man yelled at Finn, who seemed to not hear him even though he was closer than Daniel.
“Daniel, please ask the clerk where the closest vet is!” he said. Daniel nodded and ran inside.
By the time he came back outside, the man was already by his car, still yelling, this time into his cell phone. Daniel guided Finn, trying to ignore the silent weeping coming from the stained jacket that the older one was carefully holding as they walked. Fortunately, the place they were looking for wasn’t far. It was a big yellow building in front of a park.
It was just for a second, but the veterinarian asked Finn to show him the dog and Daniel saw it. The poor thing was curled up into a little ball, still whining and trembling. Daniel felt a lump form in his throat as tears wanted to pour from his eyes. It was no surprise to him that the doctor asked Finn to send him outside.
Finn gave Daniel his phone and asked him to call Sean and let him know what happened. But his brother was not picking up, so the kid simply crossed the street and sat alone on a bench at the park.
Daniel tried to distract himself by making some pebbles dance on the floor, but they were almost as small as his will to keep the puppy out of his mind. He had once already experienced this, and knowing that made the situation even worse.
Mushroom. His first puppy. He still thought about her from time to time. About how she was the only friend he had during those alone times in the woods when Sean went looking for supplies. About how much he loved her and loved not only playing with her but also caring for her. He could still feel her smooth fur against his arms like when he carried her. He swore to protect her, only to fail miserably. He still had to fight resentment to his brother for letting her out to pee alone. And for letting the cougar take her body away from him.
The phone vibrated in his hands. It was a call from his brother.
“S-Sean?” he said to the speaker. ‘What am I doing?’ he thought. Trying to blame Sean for what happened that day was something that was supposed to be over.
“Hey, Enano. Is something wrong? Where is Finn? I have like four missed calls from him,” he said with concern in his voice.
“Sean, I…” He tried to say, but his voice faded when he felt his throat closing again.
“Oh, hey, hey… It’s okay. Just send me your location and I’ll catch up okay?” he said. Daniel ended the call and sent him a photo of the crossroad sign.
—
It took less than five minutes for Sean to show up. Daniel saw him coming and ran to him, almost tackling him when he jumped to hug him.
“Woah, wait!” his brother said, but Daniel didn’t care. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Daniel shook his head. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to speak. He wanted to believe he was too big to be crying. Especially after all they had been through before arriving to where they were now. But somehow he felt weak about this situation. He felt like he was just a little kid once again.
“I’m sorry…” he said, his voice cracking and muffled, his face pressing hard against Sean’s chest.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay…” Daniel didn’t have to look up to know Sean was scanning the area looking for Finn. “Breathe, Enano, okay? Just breathe. Everything is okay. I’m here,” he said while patting Daniel’s back slowly, trying to comfort him.
Usually, Daniel would be pissed by his brother treating him like a baby. But he was so overwhelmed that not only he didn’t mind, but also he was happy Sean would treat him that way.
Daniel finally parted from his brother’s body and guided him back to the bench, sitting down.
“Okay, Daniel. I’m trying to stay cool here but you really gotta tell me what’s going on.”
He nodded silently and sighed in response.
“There was a puppy on the street,” he started. “An idiot in a car was driving super fast, and I tried to use my powers to save the puppy. But I failed and the doggy was hit.”
Daniel lifted his eyes. His brother wasn’t looking at him, but rather at the clinic crossing the street.
“Did…” Sean started. Daniel got ready to reply that he didn’t know the state the puppy was in. “... Did someone see you using your powers?”
Daniel scoffed. There were a thousand questions his brother could ask, and he went for the only one Daniel couldn’t care less about.
“No, Sean. No one.” He didn’t intend to, but his reply sounded salty.
“Hey, what’s with the attitude? I’m just asking,” his brother defended himself. He tried to put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, but the little one shook himself and took some distance.
“I don’t care.”
“Daniel, I’m just worried for you. I want you to be safe, okay?”
“Whatever. Finn is inside. Just go see him.”
Sean rolled his eyes and walked away from him. It stung. Daniel wasn’t trying to play hard or anything, but he did expect his brother to try a bit harder to understand him.
An entire hour passed as Daniel silently sat on the bench completely unfocused on anything that came to mind. Finally, Sean and Finn came out of the building, and Daniel jumped and crossed the street almost without looking.
His eyes were switched from Finn’s arms to Sean’s, then he registered the surrounding floor, and finally back again at Finn’s.
“Where is he?” he asked. Finn opened his mouth but Sean spoke faster.
“He’s gonna stay the night. He’s gonna be fine.”
“But… If he’s fine… why does he have to stay?” Daniel questioned. The two older ones shared a look.
“Why does it matter?” Sean asked. Daniel didn’t like that. It felt as if his brother was trying to hide what happened to him.
“I just…I thought…”
“We are NOT going to have a dog, Daniel.”
Daniel felt his body tremble in anger for a brief moment. His eyes were locked in his brother’s only one. It was unfair. He didn’t say he wanted to keep the dog. It wasn’t even in his mind. He just felt guilty that he wasn’t able to protect it.
“I didn’t say I wanted that, Sean!”
“Oh, but you do want it!”
“Jerk.”
“What was that?”
“Now, now. Guys! Don’t fight! Daniel saved a life today, Sean!” Finn said, hugging Sean with one arm, causing the other one to blush.
Sean sighed and pinched his nose in his usual frustrated gesture.
“Enano,” he started again, this time in a softer tone. Daniel didn’t want to have anything to do with that.
“What?” he replied, trying to sound as cold as he could.
“I’m sorry. I was a jerk. But, maybe don’t call me names. It’s not nice.”
“You were not nice to me either!”
“Yeah, I know. But you can be better than your jerk brother, right?” he said and nudged him gently.
“I’m sorry I called you that.”
“There you go, cub,” Sean replied.
“But… you are not listening to me,” Daniel asserted.
“Hey, guys!” Finn jumped into the conversation again. “I noticed the little man and I may have forgotten our groceries at the store. Tendré que ir hacia ellas.”
“Que ir por ellas,” Sean corrected him. “But you are getting way better!”
“Thank you, honey. I’ll reward you later for being a good teacher,” Finn winked at Sean, who blushed and walked away.
“Gross,” Daniel said. If Sean was a little red before, now he looked like a tomato.
“D-don’t give me that, hey!” he said.
He liked how close they were, though he couldn’t say he wasn’t annoyed when he tried to play or chat with them and they seemed more interested in smooching than him. It felt weird to think that now he had to share his brother with Finn. And normally he would laugh at how dumb his brother acted when it came to Daniel reacting to their relationship. But not today. Today his mind was preoccupied with something he felt was bigger.
It seemed like Sean noticed his silent train of thought. He guided Daniel to the park again and sat on the bench.
“So? What did you want to tell me?”
“Do you… remember Mushroom?”
The confident smile his brother gave him lasted seconds before it dropped.
“Shit. I’ve seriously been a jerk to you.”
Sean reflected on both the regret and guilt on his face. It felt weird for Daniel to see his brother sulking like that, so he tried to smile at him instead.
“Hey, it’s okay, Sean,” he said, trying to lift his spirits a bit. “Oh, come on! We’ve got time, right? Let’s sit at the beach!” He jumped and started running.
“Wait, Daniel!” His brother yelled and started following.
“Come on, you lazy ass! Hurry!” Daniel bantered. His brother quickly caught up to him, though. It was no wonder since his brother was still way bigger than he was. But Daniel had grown during the last year, and he knew he’d catch up soon enough.
“Wait, Daniel. Just wait, come on!” Sean huffed.
“What happened to the Silver Runner?” Daniel jested, stopping to let his brother rest a bit.
“Come on, dude. You know I haven’t trained since we left Seattle. And my job doesn’t really require running.”
“Don’t be a baby!” Daniel continued, laughing at his brother.
“Shut up!” Sean said, pushing him. He once again had a smile on his face. Daniel liked that. Seemed like he could easily deceive his brother into forgetting what they were supposed to talk about. That was good. He didn’t want to make a drama out of it, anyway.
Daniel asked about Sean’s day on their way home. He wasn’t sure if he was successful. But even if he didn’t trick him, his brother was respectful enough of him to let him mind his own business.
—
Three days had passed until Daniel was allowed to see the dog again. But the reason for this was that they were no longer able to hold the dog at the clinic. Sean didn’t explain to him anything about what was going on. Only told him the dog was going to be okay. So Daniel was surprised when he saw the dog carried into their home in a cage, with his lower body bandaged from his hip down to the unnatural shape the puppy’s leg made.
“S-Sean?” Daniel asked in confusion. Sean closed his eyes in anticipation before looking at his brother.
“Enano…” Sean started, and hearing his nickname come out of his brother with so much caution almost made him want to run. He needed no explanation to understand what was going on. It was just that he didn’t want to believe it himself. “He is going to be okay, Daniel. Seriously. He just needs to get accustomed to it.”
“So… He just… Lost his leg?” Daniel continued. He felt dumb for asking it since he knew what was going on from the start. His eyes switched from Sean’s to the dog, then back to his brother.
“Sí, Enano. I’m sorry.” Sean put the cage gently on the floor. The dog was so calmly asleep that Daniel wondered if he was just drugged.
“What’s going to happen to him?”
“Well, for now… He needs someone to take care of him full time. And no. I don’t mean you. I’m going to ask the neighbors if they would help out until we can find him a home.”
“What? But why not me?!” Daniel questioned. He knew he made a great job with Mushroom before the attack. Sean always mentioned how well he trained her.
“I don’t want you to get too cozy with the dog. We are finding him a home,” his brother replied. So that was why. Daniel knew he was right. But he was not going to give up.
“I promise I won’t, Sean!” he said, putting a palm on his chest.
“I don’t think that’s a promise you can keep.”
“I will. It’s all going to be professional. I’m just going to be his puppysitter!” Daniel joked. His brother snorted at it.
“Okay, okay. You got me there. But it’s still a no.”
“Please, Sean. I need this. After I failed to protect him.” He was being honest. He felt guilty about it and his brother at least had a hint of it, be it because of the conversation they had on their first day, or because of the way Daniel asked non-stop about the dog on the following days.
“Well… alright. You win. But don’t get the wrong idea, you hear me?”
“Okay! I promise!”
Sean spent the next hour showing him a case with the medicines the dog needed to prevent infection and excessive pain, though he was honest with him and told him there was no way the dog wouldn’t hurt.
For the duration of almost a month, Daniel got to know his patient. He finally got to have a look at him and noticed he was indeed, a puppy. A light brown -almost golden- little mutt with ears too big for his small head and a white diamond-shaped patch of fur in his chest. He decided to name his dog Star because of it. Sean was not thrilled about it, but got convinced by Finn that it’d help the dog recover to feel part of a family. Daniel noticed Finn held Sean’s hand as he said that. He tried not to have an opinion on it but failed. Finn was HIS friend, not Sean’s. But he had more important matters to attend to now anyway.
Sean took an hour on the second day to print flyers and went with Finn to spread them so if someone knew the dog they would reclaim him.
The routine was ever-changing with the dog. Daniel was sure if Grandma had to be the one in charge for this, she wouldn’t have been able to handle it. The first week, he had to clean Star’s cage and put him back in every day. It was a rather unpleasant process because the puppy was too in pain and too scared from strangers to be cooperative. Daniel used his powers to help himself gently move his patient the first time, but the dog got too spooked of it and cried almost as if he was being tortured, so he decided not to do it again.
He would take the puppy to the vet every three days to get constant check ups. That’s how he learned there was a chance to get him a prosthetic leg, but they were expensive and required constant maintenance. And also it’d take a couple of months before he could even use it, and then even more time to get it imported to Puerto Lobos.
Days passed, and after Star was starting to feel better, he started playing with Daniel. The veterinarian told him that it’d be good for the dog to start having very short walks every day, completely supervised, to encourage his movement. Daniel started walking him around the house, then around it. He even found a way to keep himself focused on the dog so he would have his powers around him just in case he was going to fall. Things were working well. Except for Sean.
“Daniel, for the last time, it’s been a week since we’ve practiced your Spanish. You start school next year. And that dog isn’t yours. We just haven’t found his owner yet!”
“Sean, he needs me! Look at him!” he said. Star was gently resting his body against Daniel, biting his fingers in a playful way, completely ignorant of whatever Sean was saying.
“He needs someone who can take care of him, Daniel. You are not going to be here all day!”
“But you and Finn can help me out, right?”
Finn, who was sitting by the table across the room, reading a book, lifted his eyes at them. Daniel noticed the killing glare Sean gave him before he decided to play dumb and put his eyes on the book again. Daniel scoffed.
“It’s not fair,” he said.
“Let’s see. What’s not fair, Daniel?”
“You told me things would be different when we lived here. That I’d get to have a vote on things.”
“And?”
“And you keep deciding everything by yourself. You don’t let me say ANYTHING. You don’t even let Finn have an opinion!”
Daniel knew he was pushing Sean’s buttons, but he was tired. As much as he loved his brother he knew he was right.
“Uh, guys. I think I’m going to sit this one out. Maybe go grocery shopping or something” Finn said, closing the book.
“Wait. You think he’s right?” Sean asked him. He sounded hurt. Daniel looked at him.
“Wha– I…” Finn said, blushing. It was clear he didn’t know what to say. “Look, I just don’t want to be in the middle of your argument.”
“So you DO think he’s right.”
“What I think, Sweetie… is that you should listen to your brother. The dog is doing just fine. And he is taking good care of him.”
“Ah, sure. Take his side,” Sean sourly said. Daniel smiled at Finn, but the other one didn’t smile back. Instead he walked to Sean and leaned to speak closer to him.
“It’s not about taking sides, Sean. And you know it. We are supposed to work together, right?”
Sean took a deep breath.
“Finn, is it okay if I ask you to leave the room after all?”
“But, Sean!” Daniel tried to complain, but his brother shook his head at him.
“Of course, Sweetie. But you better fill me in later, okay? I’ll bring your favorite shit for dinner, hun.”
“Sure…” Sean agreed, and Finn left the room, not before winking at Daniel.
“Why did you want him out, Sean?”
“Brother talk.”
“Okay?” Daniel replied. There was something scary about his brother’s serious tone, but he wouldn’t back out on what he said before. His brother needed to listen. He carefully placed his hand around Star, who was now sleeping cozily by his side.
“So, the other day. When you found… Star.” It was a small gesture, but Daniel appreciated it. So far Sean had been adamant about not giving the dog a name, so him using it meant he was making an effort. Daniel should make one, too.
“What about it?” he asked. He made sure his tone sounded calm enough. Though he couldn’t avoid giving another pet to the little puppy by his side, who lifted his head and licked Daniel’s hand in response.
“You sounded like you really wanted to tell me something, and I know I fucked up and you played dumb to shrug it off.”
“What? Why do you say that?” he said. ‘Of course,’ he thought.
“Come on. I know you, Enano. You are still my little baby brother, right?” Sean said in a playful tone that Daniel hated.
“Okay, okay!” he replied, feeling flustered. Why did he have to be so embarrassing? He was not a baby anymore. It was even worse because he got up from his seat and took his side on the couch. Now they were next to each other, with Star in the middle.
“So?” his brother asked, looking at him from above. Daniel rolled his eyes, feeling defeated. He would have to speak.
“So…” he said and took a deep breath.
“Do you remember Mushroom?”
“Of course I do, Enano.”
“To be honest, I never forgave… myself, for letting her die.”
“But that… wasn’t your fault. It just happened.”
Daniel heard Sean’s tone. It was clear he was trying to be reassuring. But what he said still sent a rush of anger through his body.
“It didn’t just happen,” he said. Sean had mentioned how he sometimes seemed easily angered before, and he tried somewhat to control that. But that didn’t stop his voice to sound stiff and annoyed.
“What do you mean?” Sean asked.
“You let her out, Sean. On her own.”
“Oh.”
Daniel stood up.
“Just, ‘oh’? That’s all you are going to say?”
“I just… didn’t know you blamed me.”
“I don’t! I don’t blame you. It’s just…”
“It’s just that you do.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry. Daniel, I didn’t know you felt that way. I should have. And believe me, I’ve woken up many times thinking about how I fucked up Mushroom’s life. I guess I should have figured out you would think that way.”
“No, that’s not fair. It’s just not fair. You didn’t know that would happen!”
“Look, Daniel. It’s fine to blame me. I didn’t know what I was doing back then. I still don’t know shit about it. But all I did was to make sure you were safe.”
That sparked a new sentiment in Daniel’s heart. He knew they worked together, and he was happy they did. But making sure he was safe wasn’t what came to mind when he thought of his brother’s actions.
“Sean… I just wish we could have buried her,” he said. It was more of a question than a statement.
“Me too, Daniel. But it was too dangerous. Besides, killing the cougar wasn’t the right thing to do. We can’t just eliminate everyone who stands in our way, Enano.”
That was it. Daniel couldn’t play dumb anymore. All Sean was saying made less and less sense as he spoke.
“You are lying,” he said. His voice sounded cold. Angry. He noticed that Star had opened his eyes under him and looked at him in the eyes, so he tried to calm down to not scare his puppy.
“What do you mean? You know I don’t lie to you, Daniel. I promised,” his brother asked. His voice sounded hurt, so Daniel considered carefully what he wanted to say before speaking. No matter how he could phrase it, he knew it was going to be harsh, so he slowly let out what he thought.
“I mean… you say that, but you shot Lisbeth. And we… I… Killed a lot of people at the border.”
Daniel wasn’t sure, but he could swear his brother’s face looked pale. What Daniel was sure of was that he looked… Scared?
“Shit, Daniel. That was different. You know that.”
“Yeah, I know that. But, Sean. You said you did everything to keep me safe. Then made me go to Merrill’s house. And it was you who told me to kill all those cops at the border.”
“I didn’t tell you to kill them!” He yelled. “But. I did imply it. I won’t be an ass and put it on you. And you are right, Enano. I… I fucked you up.”
“No, no! That’s not what I said, Sean.”
“But that’s what you meant.”
Daniel quietly looked down. He saw Star was playing with his idle hand again. He was so tense he didn’t even realize it until his eyes met him. He also noticed Sean’s hand was pressing hard into his thigh, closed into a fist. If his eyes were not playing any tricks on him, then he was trembling, too.
“Shit,” he mumbled quietly. He raised his eyes again, looking at Sean’s face. It was the same one he had when he talked to him about their father’s passing, except this time he wasn’t looking at him. Daniel felt tears starting to form. No use trying to hold them this time.
“I haven’t heard you swear since we got to Puerto Lobos,” Sean pointed out. His voice was shaky and sour. It only broke Daniel worse. He started silently sobbing by his side, trying not to make a sound. He didn’t want Sean to notice.
Still, who did notice was Star. The dog stood up almost immediately and lifted himself, his front paws pushing on Daniel’s legs, while his only back leg served as support for his body. Daniel felt relieved to see his care for him was worth it. And felt it even more when the puppy pushed himself to reach his face. Daniel lowered his body and sensed Star licking him.
“Sean,” he called. He was unsure of what he wanted to say. But he took Star with his hands and put him on his brother’s lap. The pup didn’t hesitate. He simply returned to his job, licking Daniel’s brother this time. Sean smiled and snorted in relaxation.
“What is it, cub?” he asked. He used a hand to start petting the back of the furball in his lap.
“I know what I said came out wrong. But I don’t regret anything. I wasn’t going to let them get us. I wanted us to be safe.”
“It’s not just that, Daniel. You didn’t hear, but David told me.” Sean’s voice started cracking once again. Daniel could almost touch the guilt in his voice. And it was even worse when he noticed it was now Sean whose eyes were welling up. “That you weren’t going to jail. That you were going to be safe. The only one in danger was me. Even a cop in El Rey told me that. You were probably going back to our grandparents’ to live a normal life. And I took that away from you.”
“So what?!” Daniel said, standing up. “Sean, I said I don’t regret anything. It’s us, right? You and I. Always.”
“Daniel, you are not listening to me,” Sean pointed out. He still didn’t look Daniel in his eyes.
“I am, Sean!” He said. He positioned himself in front of his brother, forcing their eyes to meet. “I don’t care about any of that. I wanted to come here. I wanted us to be together. And whatever I had to do to make it happen, I’d do it again. No matter what you tell me.”
Sean’s eyes stared right into Daniel’s. Star kept wagging his tail at Sean, while he nearly tried to jump to lick his face. It would have been cuter to Daniel if his puppy wasn’t trying to achieve that on one leg. The vet said it’d be fine, but he wondered how healthy it was for the dog to do that.
“Daniel?” his brother called. He didn’t even try to respond. He simply looked at his brother, waiting for whatever he had in mind. “I don’t know when you grew up so much, Enano. But I don’t like it,” he continued.
“What?! What do you mean?!”
“I mean…” he said. Then he took Star and gently positioned him to his side before hugging Daniel. “I mean that I love you more than you will ever know,” he ended. Daniel didn’t know what exactly his brother meant by that, but he wasn’t going to complain. Unlike Star, who started barking by their side.
“I think he’s jealous,” Daniel pointed out. Sean let go of him and carried the baby dog in his arms.
“You know he’s been with me the longest, don’t you?” he said. Star, wagging his tail like a madman, started licking Sean’s face once again.
“So…” Daniel started, carefully. His brother rolled his eyes at him.
“If he’s gonna stay,” Sean allowed. Daniel didn’t wait any longer and joined in another hug, feeling the puppy desperately trying to reach for him, too. “I said ‘if’!”
“You already lost, Sean!” Daniel joked.
“Oh, so all this emotional talk was to break my defenses. I see, I see.”
Daniel chuckled and pressed his face harder against his brother.
“I meant it,” he said almost in a whisper.
“I know, Enano. And I would do the same every time, too. I told you...”
—
Six months passed before they could get ahold of Star’s first prosthetic leg. And Daniel could argue that the little mutt was doing okay without it. They had explained to him how stressful it’d be for his baby to experience relearning how to walk with it. But Daniel knew how important it was.
Star would follow him nearly everywhere. So much so that Daniel stopped attending Sean’s Spanish workshop for a while. They spent their days playing. He even got accustomed to Daniel’s powers, which he used to make him play things like super fetch or the flying dog. And Star would be extremely agile in every instance of their games. But because of that, the vet had explained to him how it’d affect the dog’s body in the long run. So even if he managed, this stress was necessary.
Sean and Finn changed shifts so that any of them would be around if anything happened. They too, were sacrificing their shared time so that Star would fit in the picture. Daniel appreciated that. But he appreciated it even more that now he got to have his two older brothers to himself almost all day.
Finn and Daniel would go to the beach and play with Star, running around, making sandcastles, and all that fun stuff that the older one loved to follow Daniel through. Sean would be less active. Just hanging around, letting them play, sketching, or engaging in meaningful chats with his little brother. Arguing about school and their future. Future jobs. Future plans. Vacation plans. Dinner plans. Card game plans. All sorts of stuff.
That specific day, they were talking about maybe buying a new playbox, eventually. The chat was amusing, especially because Sean and Finn had been arguing the night before about who would win in a Super Busting Siblings match. Daniel’s brother, who never picked a single interest in video games, was now fired up about it.
“But you’ll have to teach me. Hey Star! Don’t wander too far!” he called to the now not-so-little puppy, who was running around on the beach, his body contrasting against the sunset.
A feeling overtook Daniel. One of comfort and trust. His memory wandered again to the day they argued about Star.
“I told you… There’s nothing we can’t do. As long as we are together,” he had said.
Daniel felt a bit nostalgic. One thought led to another. To simpler yet harder times. The night Mushroom came into their lives. Brody. The same night, when he found out about their father’s passing. And about his powers. It was the next morning when they took a bus and Sean said those exact words.
“Hey, Sean?” He called, leaning into his side, surrounding himself with his brother’s arm.
“Story time?” His brother asked. Daniel silently nodded. He was sure Sean was smiling.
Star ran to them, betrayed by being left out of the hug. Daniel took him in his arms and started petting him. It was a small, ordinary moment. And just like all their journey, even the bad parts, it was exactly what Daniel needed.