The week carried on and was fairly normal, with my working all day and Daniel helping take care of Riv and various errands. It was so nice to have my little boy skipping around and feeling better again, the previous week had been such a strain. Once again he was stuck to my side as I helped cook, scrubbed laundry, or swept the floor. I hoped we'd get some bites soon for more residents so he could possibly have some peers around here again.

Mind you, it wasn't that he bothered me at all. I loved him and his attachment, but thought he could benefit from having friends or siblings. Unfortunately I simply couldn't part from work for long to spend time with him. Lately I had tried putting off the extra work I took for after he went to bed to better maximize the time we shared. I didn't want him to feel pushed aside, so while I couldn't really do that with my normal shift I absolutely could with the surplus.

Daniel moved in more or less that Monday, having turned in his paperwork after lunch. He truly hadn't much: Some food, a short stack of textbooks, a couple sets of bedding, and a couple bags of clothes. I had plenty of space to spare in my dresser so he took half of the drawers. We did laundry often enough that having few sets wasn't such a problem, anyway. He was also kind enough to donate his futon to the house, my putting it in one of the currently-empty rooms on the east wing. While too small for him it could certainly accommodate most pure types, and definitely children of either type. Beds were quite expensive, so to receive one free of charge was a decent load off my shoulders.

It was...taking some getting used to, having Daniel in my room. It wasn't at all that I minded him or that he bothered me, but rather having another person's presence in my room that wasn't Riv during thunderstorms was simply unusual. At night and in the mornings we would take turns changing clothes, or he'd do it in the bathroom. He seemed very aware of my need for privacy, probably remembering back to my appointment with the breathing check. I'm not sure if he really knew how much I appreciated the gesture, though simple, as the very idea of being seen less than fully clothed utterly terrified me. Maybe to most it was a dumb fear, exaggerated or irrational, but...my tiny, useless body had been so marred from Falun I couldn't bear the idea of anyone seeing the damage I hid away past my cotton walls.

Strangely, I had slowly started growing more receptive to Daniel's contact and affection even despite this. I'm sure he knew that I was hiding something...well, hiding a lot, I guess, but he never asked or bothered me about these things. He had said that there were things he would rather I come to him for, if and when I was comfortable, so I tried to keep this in mind. In the meantime he stayed close and held me at night, his snout rubbing and nudging me awake in the morning. What had startled and nagged at my pervasive insecurities gradually became gestures I looked forward to, and...tried to reciprocate how I could.

Surely these gestures between us were strange to most, but they helped ease much of the anxiety that Riv in his young age couldn't aid. Different people offer different things, I suppose.

After Friday was over and both Daniel and I received our pay, he went out to run a quick errand. Riv and I stayed in the nearby staff room with my tail wrapped around the small child, something he was all too thrilled about. Together we worked on and solved puzzles from a book Daniel found in one of the town shops, a slightly different kind of activity from the usual. As the night went on Riv leaned more on me, so I opened my arm to hold him close.

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked him, nudging my snout against his head.

"Mhm, just tired," he yawned. "Tomorrow is your birthday, right?"

"Mm, something like that," I awkwardly chuckled.

"What're you gonna do for it?"

"Well, I...wasn't really planning on doing anything."

"But why not? Are you sad?"

"No, I'm okay, Riv. I've just...never really bothered in the past."

"Can we this year?"

"Um..." I nervously tugged a lock of my hair. "I'm not really sure what we'd do. I don't need or want anything aside from your company."

Riv reached over to grab his art supplies from the table.

"Can I make you a pitcher?" he asked.

"You can do that any time," I laughed. "But if you would like, I would love a picture from you."

The little boy beamed as he scurried off to his room to plan, but not without bumping his snout against my cheek first. As he left I reached up to touch where he'd nudged me, my eyes getting glossy. We really had come a long way in only about half a year and it was to the point where it was hard to recall life before today. I don't think I could have been more spoiled by such a gentle, affectionate child.

Daniel returned before too long, making his way back to the staff room.

"Oh, where'd Riv go?" he asked, noting the boy's absence.

"I guess he wants to make a picture for me for tomorrow?" I softly laughed. "He's adamant to make me something for the occasion so he took his art supplies to his room. I'm guessing it's a surprise."

"Well, of course," he said. "You're his father and ya mean a lot to him. The sun practically rises and sets on that pointed little head of yours."

"I do...sort of wonder how I compare to his biological parents," I thought aloud.

"Hm?"

"...Well, when he was brought here there was no mention of a father, only a mother. I just...wonder if I've been doing enough to compensate for one, if not both of them. Not to replace them or anything, but...we both know we're not related to each other and the older he gets, the more I worry that matters to him in some way."

"Well, honestly, it'll prob'ly come up in the future, 'specially in his teens," Daniel said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Same thing happens with stepparents, remarriage, and adoption, so it won't just be you. Sometimes people do and say things outta fear or anger they don't really mean, and neither of you are an exception."

"I just don't...want him to hate me, or want him to feel as though I love him less because he isn't truly mine," I sighed. "That never once crossed my mind, but I know some things are just not so easily understood right away."

"From what I've seen, I don't think it's crossed his, either," he chuckled from above. "Just be prepared for the inevitable tension. It'll suck and it'll hurt the both of ya, but it'll pass and you'll be that much closer for it. Even then, deep down, you'll both know ya both love each other."

"...Are you sure?"

"Mhm."

I sighed and closed the puzzle book, setting it aside to resume tomorrow. Maybe it was far too early to worry about these things, but the last thing I'd ever want is for him to feel as though I loved him any less for what he was. Looking to the clock it was just about nine, so I stood up to stretch and see about getting Riv to bed for the night. After I did Daniel retreated to our room to get changed.

When I opened the door I heard a frantic shuffle of paper.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Riv," I laughed. "I was just coming in to put you to bed for the night. I didn't mean to startle you."

"I just don't want you to see it yet," he said, putting tomorrow's clothes over the top of the papers. "It's a surprise!"

"Well then, I'm very much looking forward to what's in store for me tomorrow," I smiled, taking his little hand and sitting him on the bed.

He reached out to give me a big hug before laying on his futon, my bumping the side of my snout against his and running my fingers through his long brown hair. I grabbed his stuffed bear for him to keep the boy company overnight, then tossed the comforter up and over him, well over his head. He giggled loudly from under them as I folded down the top and tucked him in.

"Goodnight, Riv," I quietly said, rubbing his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too, Father," he replied. "See you tomorrow."

Daniel walked into Riv's room, now dressed in his sleep clothes, and bent down to give the child a firm hug and a nosebump on the head. Riv, of course, was all too happy to get the extra affection.

"I love you, Daniel," Riv said from his futon as Daniel started walking back to the door.

Daniel froze mid-stride. Though Riv couldn't see it, the man's eyes were wide with surprise before softening once more. Placing his foot back down to complete his step he turned his head to look back at the child on the bed.

"Love you too, Riv," he responded. "See ya tomorrow."

We both left the child's room, closing the door tight behind us before heading to our room and leaving Riv's door in Kuri's care.

Tired from the workweek, we only stayed up about an hour afterward. Daniel allowed me some space to change into my sleepwear before we retreated to bed. Too tired to get snared in my insecurities, and with his big arm around me, I slowly drifted off into a comfortable sleep.

---

I was nudged awake by something in front of me. Blinking away what I could of the sleep film the dim desk lamp revealed an excited child. With how tired I still was yet, and even how tired he looked, there was no way it was a sane time to wake.

"...Riv?" I quietly groaned. "Did you...need something?"

"I wanted to tell you 'happy birthday'!" he smiled.

"Thank you, that really means a lot," I softly chuckled. "What...time is it? There's a clock...on the desk over there."

Riv quickly shuffled over to where I pointed.

"The hour hand's on the six and the minute hand's on the two," he called from the desk.

"Egh, six-ten?" I yawned, rubbing my eyes. "It's still...quite early, honey."

He just tilted his head from across the room.

By now Daniel had woken up. After a big yawn he pulled himself closer to the wall, myself with him, freeing up a bit more space out front. I opened the comforter and pat the open space to invite Riv to lay with us in the big bed. He came bounding over, gently crawling into the warm bed and up against my front. With him in place I grabbed and pulled the comforter over us again, tucking him under my arm. It wasn't long before that short-lived energy burnt out and everyone drifted off to sleep again for another few hours.

---

We all woke around eight-thirty. Riv got up to get dressed while Daniel and I took our turns with the same. Both of them left before me to head downstairs, my taking a moment to collect my work on my desk. Before I left I looked back to Riv's first drawing, still pinned to my bulletin board. I smiled and left the room, closing the door to head downstairs. With my folder in hand I brought it to my desk, having already completed my extra weekend work. Just before I could leave the lobby there was a knock on the door.

I stopped and looked toward it, eyebrow raised. Walking back over I opened the door to see Ulimi and several of the ramiotrans from the carpentry shop. I took a step back, having not been prepared for this.

"Hey, Reverend," Ulimi said. "Daniel says it's your birthday? Why'd you never say anything about it?"

"Mm, well, I never really thought it was important," I sheepishly said, rubbing the back of my neck. "I'm sorry. Um, I wasn't...really planning on doing anyth--"

"Nah, none'a that," Ulimi insisted, bringing in a couple bags. "Even if you don't want anything big, we'd like to at least keep you company a bit for the morning."

"...For me?" I asked, head cocked.

"Of course, today's your day," Yua said, stepping forward and giving me a gentle hug. "You've been stuck out here for so long and we miss seeing you."

"Y...You do? I didn't...think I really stood out at all."

"Given that riot and all it's safe to say you won over quite a few of us," Shindi said. "Daniel comes in often to let us know how things are goin' here when he's running errands, same with Kuri. We're always happy to hear about ya both."

I tugged nervously at my hair, not really used to this much attention...or at least not this much positive attention. I let everyone inside, though there was a figure standing back and away from the rest as I turned around to close the door. I stopped before I could close it, looking back to see the one daytime worker from before. She cautiously walked up to the porch and took my hand, shaking it gently.

"I-I'm sorry I can't stay, sir, but I wanted to tell you 'happy birthday' too, if I could," she said.

"You didn't have to--"

"No, no, I wanted to," she shyly reassured. "I'm...sorry if this is awkward. Just...you've been kind to me and I wanted to return the favor. I'll s-see you again come Monday morning."

Without another word she fled the premises. That was...odd, to say the least. I closed the door behind me, heading back to the kitchen for this strange gathering.

The morning was spent with Daniel, Riv, and Ulimi in the bigger kitchen making a large breakfast for everyone. Ulimi had brought with him enough groceries to last us a couple weeks, either by gift or paid in advance by Daniel. Each person was served their shares individually, everyone heading outside to eat in the back yard. Breakfast was a variety of things: Pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, fruit, cornbread, and either orange juice or milk to drink. Everyone sat on the grass in a large circle telling stories of home or how things have been with everyone lately; a pleasant gathering.

After breakfast Shindi and Yua handled dishes while I opened an odd bag left on the lounge table. In it was a few sets of nice casualwear, even in colors other than black or grey, along with a nice pad of paper, calligraphy pen, and a bottle of black ink. Riv ran upstairs and then back downstairs with his artwork: A picture of the back of the house in the background with what appeared to be the three of us enjoying our time outside. All of this was so overwhelming it took all I had not to cry.

As it neared eleven everyone was preparing to leave, every ramiotran giving me a firm hug as they left to continue their day. I hung Riv's artwork up on one of the lobby bulletin boards, a gesture he was personally rather giddy over. Of course, I gave Daniel as much of a hug as my arms would allow before heading upstairs to change into a set of the clothes. I looked at them in the mirror and slowly ran my fingers down the shirt.

It was...weird to be remembered by anyone, to matter to anyone. I smiled to myself in the mirror, the clothing fitting nicely and an odd warmth in my chest.

Much of the day carried on as normal, taking Riv outside on a walk around the wild parts of the back yard and letting him explore. Fortunately it was a nice day for the occasion. Later on, Daniel surprised me further with some nice steaks he marinated overnight using some of the wine Morissey gave me. I was happy to know that it could have a use after all. Dinner was excellent and filling, the care for the occasion was apparent and warmed me up. Despite their protests I helped with dishes, wanting to at least do something today even if it was something small like this.

...I never thought I would even reach this age, let alone spend it with loved ones.

Night was quiet and pleasant, not much of a deviation from the usual and that was really all I wanted. I took some time to break in the pen and paper, finding it relaxing just writing nice handlettering and trying different designs. I'd never been adept at normal art, but fine writing was definitely something I could do well if I tried. From the edge of my sight I could see them watching as I wrote, occasionally commenting on a nice line or my steady hands.

For the occasion I let Riv stay up a little longer, putting him to bed at ten. With our goodnights said and the door closed we retreated to our room. I had neatly set aside the calligraphy supplies on my desk to work with tomorrow, happy so far with my first attempts. Daniel went to get changed in the bathroom as I did so in our room, spending some time lounging in the room before turning in for the night.

As I crawled into bed I felt a strange air of hesitation from my bedmate. Something in his expression piqued me.

"Is something on your mind?" I asked. "You look a bit troubled."

"Not troubled, really, 'side from tryin' to figure out how to word somethin'," he said a bit nervously. "Just don't want it to come off weird."

"Hm?"

"Well, y'see, it's your birthday 'n all, so...I was wonderin' if there was...anything I could do for you here?" he inquired, scratching his head. "...That sounds terrible, geez."

"...In bed?"

"C'mon, Reverend, you know what I meant."

I stared up at the ceiling to think about it. Nothing had really occurred to me.

"I can't...really think of anything," I said. "You don't have to do anything special for me, anyway. I like things how they are."

"Ya say that, but surely there's...somethin' you'd thought of or wondered about," he awkwardly said. "...There's really no graceful way to go 'bout this, is there. I just wanted to know if, like, there's maybe somethin' in particular I could do more or less of, or keep in mind, or...is 'perform' the right word for this? God, these all sound weird."

I couldn't help but laugh. I don't think I'd ever seen him flustered like this and it was kind of endearing.

"There is...one thing I've wondered about," I said, peeling back the comforter and crawling over.

"...Uh--"

I crawled past to lie behind him, covering myself back up with the comforter. With some hesitation I reached my arm under his and pulled myself close until I was snug against his back. Given my short height there wasn't a foolproof way to do this, so I rode a bit higher so my snout sat right behind the back of his neck.

"...Really?" he asked, a touch of anxiety in his tone.

"It was...something I was curious about for a little while now," I shyly admitted. "I-I can move if you'd prefer, though."

"No, no, you're fine," he assured. "I'm just...surprised?"

I closed my eyes and got closer, the end of my snout accidentally brushing his neck. He choked in surprise, his back arching and stiffening as his fur stood on end.

"Oh, geez, Daniel, I'm sor--"

"No, Reverend, you're okay," he reassured, sounding a little panicked.

"I can move if you're not comfortable with my being behind you," I said, attempting to recover my arm. "I really don't mind."

"No, I'm fine, I was just caught offguard," he replied. "I, uh, honestly never thought I'd be the...smaller one in this situation."

With a stroke of risk I slowly rubbed the end of my snout against the back of his neck. As I did so I could feel him tense up and faintly shiver.

"This is funny," I chuckled. "I'll have to remember this for later."

The most he could respond with was a sigh.

Finally tired enough, I hugged onto him tightly with my arm wrapped over his ribs and my face against his upper back. I was sure this was weird and a little bothersome for him, so I wrapped my tail around his hoping to compensate for the awkwardness. Sometimes I just...wanted to be the bigger man, and to know what it felt like. After all the excitement from today it wasn't long before I fell asleep, clung tight to the familiar, soft warmth in front of me.

---