Chapter 45: A hot summer day

Much to Darius's chagrin, his father and Alek had not gotten together that warm May night. They had, however, gotten into a shaky friendship. Darius made it his mission to bring his father with him every time he went to deliver the runes to the rune shop. To make sure that the two would see each other every day. Just yesterday, Darius had found out that his father had a day off. So, now the boy had a plan.

"Alek, come with us for a picnic," Darius suggested, as he placed the folder on the counter.

"Darius!" Andiel exclaimed, but Darius was not to be stopped.

"Come on, Alek. Come with us. Andy will make a chicken roast again; I will make sandwiches. You can make fruit salad. That way, everyone would contribute. Please do it for me," Darius hit the Fey with his best puppy eyes. He watched from the corner of his eye as Andiel shifted to the side.

"If Andy doesn't have anything against it," Alek said, there was a note of longing in his voice, when he looked at the elf. That didn't escape Darius, although his tail didn't wag. Nowadays, it took great excitement for the demon boy to give his joy away.

"I suppose I do need something to distract me from my routine. We can go to the park, and have the picnic there," Andiel suggested, and Darius bit his lower lip. The park was good, but neutral grounds. What the boy needed, was something more romantic.

"I was thinking about the forget-me-not field," Darius said, and both adults turned to him.

"You know, once you grow up enough to take Nastia out on dates, he will be smothered by your romantic side," Alek remarked, and Darius gave him a cheeky grin.

"He suggested it," Darius then clapped his hands on his mouth. He shook his head.

I shouldn't have said that. Now the game is up.

"Children these days are tricky," Andiel said with a shake of his head. "So, for how long have you been conspiring with Anastasios for your little...project?"

"Do I have to say, or was that a rhetorical question?" Darius murmured from behind his hands.

"Oh, what am I even asking? If Anastasios knows, then he knew from the start. So, the picnic is on. Will Anastasios and Prisila come as well?" Andiel asked, and Darius nodded.

"Prisi said that the operation needs a girl's touch. That the two of us were busybodies, but that was not enough for the eagle to land," the boy said, and placed his hands back to his sides.

"This is one great conspiracy," Alek said with a smirk. "I wonder if the children will get to achieve their goal?"

"I thought you didn't put stock in the whole soulmates' thing?" Andiel asked, and Darius gasped. Why wouldn't Alek care that he had a soulmate?

"Look, I barely knew you, when the kid invited me for dinner the first time. Since then, I have seen you every day for the past two months," Alek said, and then looked Andiel up and down. "I have to say, I like what I see."

Andiel blushed, and hoped that the look Alek had given him had gone over Darius's head. The boy was too young for the birds and the bees talk, and Andiel felt that he should leave it to the people at the Orestria Academy. Yes, they were professionals there. They could handle it. A look at his son showed a confused boy, and nothing more.

"Well, until tomorrow," Andiel said, as he took Darius's hand, and began to lead him towards the exit.

"Wait," Alek said, and then took out a big stack of papers. "Kid, your runes are good, but with the right paper, they can be masterpieces. I won't charge you extra for the paper, and will make sure you have enough for all the projects that you begin."

Alek walked from around the counter, and handed the stack of orange paper, which was tied with a red ribbon, to Darius.

"The paper is for you, the ribbon is for Andy," Alek winked at Darius, and looked behind the boy, to see his tail twitching. "I miss the time when your tail would wag at the drop of a hat."

Darius blushed at that, and looked at Alek, quizzing.

"What is the ribbon for?" Darius asked, as he looked between the adults.

"It is..." Andiel didn't have words for this. "You'd ask me such a thing, when we barely know each other?"

"It is just a proposal," Alek said, and then winked at Andiel. "You are quite the catch. If I don't rush, someone else will swoop in, and take the free spot in your family's nest."

Andiel blushed at that, and mumbled a:

"I will think about it," with that, he was gone. Darius walked side by side with his father, and observed the ribbon. There was mana in it, but not too much.

"Dad, what is the ribbon for?" Darius asked, and Andiel blushed even more.

"This is an engagement ribbon. If you find your soulmate, and want to recognize them, you give them the ribbon. The soulmate then has to put it on. If the ribbon turns white, then the connection is real," Andiel spoke. Alek must really believe in Darius's nose, to have spent the fortune needed to buy the ribbon. That, or he secretly hoped that the two of them could end up together for the rest of their days.

"You have to put it on when we go back home," Darius demanded, as he cradled the papers close to his chest. "Alek is really nice, right, dad?"

"Are you ready to call him dad as well?" Andiel asked, secretly not wanting to give up the title.

Sure, Darius called Octavian dad as well, but Andiel knew that the demon boy viewed the vampire king as a future in-law. The only parent in Darius's life was Andiel, and the elf liked to soak up in his son's adoration.

"I will call him papa because he is a Fey," Darius proclaimed, and Andiel could only laugh then. He really needed to explain to Darius that just because Alek had pretty wings, that didn't make him any less manly.