Leo remembered the first time he saw Sky interact with his father very vividly. He was in 6th grade at the time and Leo had just started growing his hair out. A boy in his class named Tyler or Taylor or Tanner decided to call him a faggot about it. Leo punched him in the face and, ever the loyal friend, Sky joined the fight. The three of them were sent to the principal’s office and for the first time in 6 years of knowing him, Sky was picked up by someone other than the valet.

Even as a teen, an almost adult, Leo found Mr. Evans imposing. When Leo first saw him he was like a supervillain. Or a demon. Or a god. Righteous fury in an expensive, tailored suit.

And he was furious.

He slapped Sky across the face in full view of parents and teachers.

He didn’t slap Sky this time but when he walked by, Sky pressed himself against the wall to get out of the way and Leo figured that was just as bad. Somewhere down the hall where Leo couldn’t see a door opened and closed. Leo opened his mouth to say something but Sky beat him to it, “is there coffee in the pot?”

“Um.” Leo glanced over to the kitchen but was unable to see the coffee pot from where he was standing, “dunno.”

With an exhale that was almost like a sigh, Sky pushed away from the wall and walked past Leo to the kitchen, holding his ribs the whole way.

“Are you ok?” Leo asked as Sky stepped up into the kitchen. Sky immediately dropped his hand from his side.

“Yeah, I just moved a little too fast earlier, “ he said, not looking back.

Leo sauntered into the kitchen after Sky, “that’s good but I wasn’t just talking about your ribs.”

Sky pulled the pot out of the machine and squinted at the liquid inside. At Leo’s words, Sky looked up at him, then down the hallway his father disappeared. “It’s nothing new.”

Leo crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the dark granite countertop, “I didn’t know he hated me so much.”

Sky took a mug down from the overhead cabinet and poured some coffee. “It’s not you he hates.” Leo waited, expecting Sky to say more. But Sky merely took his mug of coffee and walked to his room.

*

Twenty minutes later, Sky was wearing a pressed white shirt and black slacks with half a cup of coffee and nothing else in his stomach, standing in front of the door to his father’s office. He knocked, unimposingly but loud enough to be heard. “Come in.” Sky obeyed the voice of his father.

Sky’s father wasn’t behind his desk, but rather sitting on top of it, smoking a cigarette, no barrier between them as Sky approached. Without meaning to, Sky’s eyes followed his father’s hand as he dropped his cigarette into the ask tray and then snapped back to his face when he started talking. “Do you think you’re lucky or unlucky?”

Sky didn’t understand the question but admitting that would be worse than giving the wrong answer so he hazarded a guess, “unlucky...” he carefully kept his tone even to not sound unsure.

For a moment father and son stared each other down, then Sky’s father lit a new cigarette and said, “good. You’re dismissed.”
Sky’s feet and mouth did not agree on his next course of action. His feet were smarter, had a better sense of self preservation, they started to carry him to the door. But his dumb, traitorous mouth opened and asked, “that’s it?”

His father had stood from his desk and started moving around behind it. He stopped and turned back to Sky, taking a long drag from his cigarette. Sky took a step back towards the door, wishing he had better control over his mouth. He normally did. “Yes... that’s all, I wanted to make sure you understood that your little friend Leo being a celestial spirit is not a blessing but a curse.”