Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wylan is very nervous during the car ride. He is very sure he would’ve thrown up if there was anything in his stomach. Genya, his social worker, seems nice enough although she does talk quite a lot. Wylan tries his best to listen but his nerves are all over the place. He knows there will be multiple kids there, Genya said so herself, and he’s aware that more kids will mean more socializing which he is really not in the mood for. The trial against his dad ended just two weeks ago and he’s been in a group home since. It wasn’t bad, he’d definitely heard stories of worse places, but it wasn’t a real home. Then again, had he ever had a real home?

He is pulled out of his thoughts by the car coming to a stop. Genya gives him a reassuring smile but it does nothing to calm his nerves. Wylan grabs his messenger bag and gets out of the car.

They’re at a farm a little outside of Ketterdam, the house seems quite big, yet a lot livelier than the mansion he grew up in. There were also some smaller buildings surrounding it, probably a shed and what seems to be a small greenhouse, and a little bit behind the main house he could spot a stable. He must admit it all looks very scenic, maybe he can draw it sometime.

Genya puts a hand on his shoulder which startles him a little bit and together they approach the door. Before they even knocked, a man opens the door. He probably heard the car approaching already. Wylan draws a deep breath and clutches his bag close to him.

The man introduces himself as Colm Fahey. He has a warm and kind smile that makes Wylan want to trust him. But he can’t be this naïve, his dad also knows how to put on a show, why would this man be any different? He’s dressed in some work overalls and a flannel shirt.

They all enter the house and Mr Fahey guides them through a narrow hallway to a big dining table. On the table was some tea prepared. They all take a seat, Wylan next to Genya and Mr Fahey across from them. Not at the head of the table though, as his father would’ve done. He offers them some tea and Wylan gratefully accepts a cup. He didn’t feel like eating this morning and it was now late in the afternoon, also tea always gives him comfort. Even when his dad wouldn’t allow him dinner, the maids always brought him some tea.

He sips on his tea while Mr Fahey and Genya figure out some of the last paperwork. It doesn’t take long and soon Genya has to leave. Wylan dreads this moment, now he’s alone with a man he doesn’t know yet in an unknown place with no escape. Sure, he could always run away, but where would he go to? He doesn’t have anybody. The whole trial phase made that very clear to him.

“How about I give you a little tour of the house and then I’ll leave you to settle in for a while? The others are out on the fields right now to give you some space.”, says Mr Fahey with a kind smile. Wylan just nodded. He doesn’t have the energy to come up with a response right now. Mr Fahey doesn’t seem to mind.

They walk through the kitchen to a living room with a huge couch and a TV in front of it, Wylan wonders if he’d get to watch something sometime. At the mansion they didn’t have a TV, not even a living room really, just a salon to entertain guests, but Wylan would get in trouble if he went in there without a reason. He is very aware now that that’s not normal but it’s all he’s ever known. He pointed down the hallway, “That room on the right is mine, if you ever need anything during the night.” That puzzles Wylan, why would he disturb Mr Fahey’s sleep? Surely that would get him punished. “The room on the left is Kaz’s room, you’ll meet him at dinner if you feel up to it, and next to it is a small bathroom, although the main one is upstairs.”

As they went along Wylan looks at some of the pictures on the wall. There were some of Mr Fahey with five different teenagers. This must be his new siblings. They all looked oddly happy, except one kid dressed in black with a cane, he wore a neutral expression. This all will certainly take some time to get used to.

The Upstairs area consists of a bathroom and three more bedrooms. One for Nina and Inej, one for Matthias and one for him and Jesper. Wylan is very grateful for his good memory right now, otherwise he won’t be able to remember all of the names. “Jesper offered you could room with him and his room is the bigger one so it makes sense, but if anything is bothering you we can still switch it up.”, says Mr Fahey.

“Thank you, Mr Fahey”, he answers timidly. He isn’t thrilled about sharing a room but it’s certainly better than the four people in a room at the group home. Mr Fahey took him in so who is he to complain anyways.
“Please call me Colm, no need for that formality.”, says Mr…Colm with a chuckle. Is this some kind of trap? Adults usually liked being addressed formally. They even expect it from him. But Wylan decides it’s best to follow the instructions. “Thank you Colm.”

“Of course son, I’ll leave you to unpack and get settled in. If there’s anything you need, I’ll be down in the kitchen.” With that he goes down the stairs. Wylan takes a final look around before opening the door that leads to his new room. The first thing he notices is that the room is quite messy. There is stuff on every surface and on one of the beds is a pile of clothes. The floor is clean though, so he assumes that must be the tidied up state. He doesn’t mind at all, he was just never allowed to leave stuff lying around. In the corner by the window is a bed that’s freshly made with no stuff on top it and the nightstand next to it is also empty. So that must be his bed, Wylan assumes. He lays down his messenger bag on top of it.

He didn’t bring a lot of his belongings from the mansion. Just his flute, a sketchbook and some clothes. There isn’t anything else that means something to him there. There is a commode on the wall next to the bed that has a post it on it. It has one word written on it, which might be his name but he can’t be sure, so he decides to leave it be. Do they know he can’t read? It must’ve been mentioned in the paperwork, he had to get an official diagnosis for severe dyslexia for the trials after all. If they don’t know, will Mr Fa- Colm still want him when he finds out? Wylan was so surprised when he heard they found a placement for him, clearly he doesn’t know and it was a mistake.

Before his thoughts can get the best of him he takes a look at the room around him. Jesper’s stuff is very colourful, there are some hats scattered around the room, there’s one desk by another window filled with some papers in messy handwriting. There’s a small shelve with books on the wall above Jesper’s bed. They don’t feel as haunting as the library his dad would lock him into though.

Wylan is very worried about meeting the others. He has to share a room with Jesper so he hopes they will get along somewhat. They all look so happy on the pictures, will he even fit in here? He’s defective, he can’t read, he gets overwhelmed so easily, eating is difficult for him. Clearly he won’t stay long. As soon as they’ll find out about his disabilities they’ll kick him out. So he has to be on his best behaviour, he really has to try to make this work.

Chapter Text

Wylan is sitting on the bed, drawing the view outside the window, when a knock on the door startles him. The door opens and a tall, zemeni boy with a beautiful smile enters the room. Wylan recognizes him from the pictures in the hallway. “Hi! I’m Jesper, your roommate.”, he introduces himself. He seems very cheerful.
“Hello, I’m Wylan”
Jesper nods and continues: ”Dinner’s ready, you can come downstairs and meet everyone if you want but I can also bring you something up here if you want. No pressure.” He says it like he actually means it, still Wylan will have to meet the others eventually and he’d like to get it over with so he doesn’t constantly has to think about it anymore.
“I’m coming with you.” Wylan’s voice comes out quieter than intended but Jesper still hears him. Together thy descend the stairs, Jesper leading the way.

He can already hear a bunch of noises coming from the dining room. This is going to be a lot. Next the smell of food hits him. He can’t make out what it is yet but it already makes his stomach twist in uncomfortable ways. He’s always been weird with food. The smell alone is usually enough to make him nauseous and the feeling of food in his stomach makes him want to throw up. He’s always been ‘picky’ with food, as his father used to call it. Some foods were okay, others made him very close to throwing up as soon as they touched his tongue. He has become very good at suppressing this though, as he would get beaten up after he actually threw up at the dining table a few times.

He is pulled out of his thoughts as Jesper makes a right turn into the dining room. Wylan waits a few seconds, bracing himself, before he follows.
Two people are already sitting at the table, a guy dressed in all black sits at the head of the table away from the door and a suli girl sits around the corner from him.
“That’s Kaz,” Jesper points to the broody looking guy “and that’s Inej” now he is pointing at the Suli girl. She’s sitting there with so much grace, Wylan thinks.
“Hi” he musters. “It’s nice to meet you” says the girl, Inej. Kaz just gives him a nod.

Before he can think of how to act next, two more people enter the room through a side door that connects to the kitchen, carrying pots and bowls. They put them down on the table before turning to Wylan.
“Hi, I’m Nina and this is Matthias”, says the girl with a slight Ravkan accent. Matthias looks very tall and intimidating to Wylan, just the way he stands looks so disciplined.
“Are you a hugger?” asks Nina as she’s approaching him.
“Sorry, what?”, Wylan mutters confused.
“Do you mind if I give you a hug?”, she clarifies.
“Uhm.. no, go ahead”
She hugs him and he stiffens up at first but he gotta admit it felt nice. He can’t remember the last time someone hugged him. Probably his mom before she died.

“Nina, give the guy some space”, Jesper says in a joking way.
“I’m just being welcoming, someone has to be with all of you around”, she counters.
Wylan is amazed at how comfortable they all seem. Colm comes through the door with another bowl.
“Okay, we’re ready to eat. Sit down everyone.”
Wylan looks around the table as everyone finds their seat. Nina and Matthias sit down next to Inej, Jesper and Colm sit across from them. Unsure of where he should go Wylan keeps standing awkwardly.
“You can sit here.”, Jesper calls to him. So Wylan makes his way across the room, sitting down next to Jesper and around the corner from Kaz. Nina has already started piling food on her plate. The others following her example.
“I made Spaghetti with tomato sauce, there’s also some parmesan in the bowl over there” Colm says “Take whatever you want. I can make you something else too if you don’t like this.”
“This is fine, thank you” Waylan is confused, has Colm just offered to make him something else? He is supposed to eat what’s on the table, that’s the rule. Clearly this is some kind of test.

Anyways, this is really fine, he likes spaghetti with tomato sauce, he’ll just skip the parmesan. After everyone else filled their plates Wylan brings up the courage to do the same. He’s conscious of every move he makes, scared he’ll break some unspoken rule. But he gets his food and no one seems mad. In fact they’re all happily in conversation with each other. He tries to focus on what they’re talking about but it’s very loud in here. The only one also not talking is Kaz, he’s just quietly observing.

“So Wylan, do you have a driver’s license?” asks Nina.
“Uhm…no…I don’t” he was caught off guard by this question. Why would that be the first thing she wants to know?
“Too bad, we’re in desperate need of driver’s around here. See, only me, Jesper and Matthias have one. And Colm of course, but we’ll drive ourselves to school. Then again we’re all sharing a car so there can’t be multiple people driving anyways.” she explains. School. That’s right, he’ll have to go to school soon, the summer holidays will be over in two days. Wylan has never been to public high school, but as he can’t read, he’ll imagine it’ll be hell.

Suddenly he becomes aware of how much food there’s still left on his plate. He hasn’t eaten anything yet today and he made sure not to put too much food on it in the first place. Yet, as he’s looking at it, it feels like a huge amount. But he’ll have to finish it, surely it doesn’t look good to waste food. He takes a few bites, it does taste good and the texture doesn’t bother him too much, but he can already feel it settling in his stomach.

No one else tries to make conversation with him, but that gives him time to focus on eating which he is grateful for. Much to his surprise he manages to finish all of it and while he does feel uncomfortable, he doesn’t feel the need to throw up so that’s a good sign.

After dinner everyone gets up to bring their plates to the kitchen. Jesper takes his plate with him. Unsure of what to do next he just stays seated. This is when Colm sits down next to him.
“How are you holding up Wylan?”
“Okay, I guess”
“I know it’s a lot to take in all at once so please don’t hesitate to come to me or any of the kids if you need anything.” Colm says. Wylan just nods. Colm continues “Are there any dietary restriction I should know about? Food you like or don’t like?”
Why is he asking this? Does he really want to know or just make sure he doesn’t kill him?
“No restrictions. I guess I’m a bit of a picky eater but I won’t cause any trouble, I promise.” Wylan says.
“It’s no trouble really, everyone has their preferences. What are the foods that you don’t eat?”
Is this another test? What is he supposed to say? For a moment he considers lying but something about Colm’s kind smile makes Wylan want to tell him the truth.
“I don’t really like melted cheese, or most meats, sausage is fine though and uh.. I really hate mushrooms.”
“Thank you for telling me. If I ever make anything you don’t like, just tell me. We always have alternatives in the house.” He says it like he really means it. It gives Wylan some hope that it’ll maybe work out here. He really wants it to work out. “Now, if you want, on Friday nights the kids are all watching a movie together in the living room. You should join them.”

Nina was already in the living room when Wylan walks in. She’s setting up the TV as it seems. Wylan doesn’t really know how it works.
“Hey! Are you joining us?”
Wylan nods.
“Perfect! Do you have a movie you want to watch?”
“I don’t really know any movies” he admits.
“That’s too bad, now we have to sit through whatever romcom Jesper chooses, it’s his turn. He maybe doesn’t look like it, but he loves these cheesy movies.”
“Don’t act like you wouldn’t choose the same.” Says Jesper who just appeared in the doorway.
“Maybe, maybe not, we’ll never know”, teases Nina.
Jesper went to sit down on the couch and invites Wylan to sit next to him. “I will choose….Mamma Mia.”
“Come on Jes, we’ve seen this a thousand times already.”
“It’s a masterpiece! You can’t see it too often.”
Nina prepared the movie but waits until everyone is here before starting it. Inej brought some popcorn too. She offers some to Wylan but he declines. The dinner is still heavy in his stomach. Kaz wants to veto the movie but since it’s Jesper’s turn he has to sit through it. Although, to Wylan, it doesn’t look like he hates it.

The movie is really great. He’s surprised it’s a musical, he knows the songs, he just never knew they made a movie out of them. He’s excited to see more movies with them, there’s so much he has to catch up on. But he can’t shake the feeling that it’ll all be over once they learn about his disabilities. Even though Kaz uses a cane and they seem okay with that, he wonders what happened to him.

All in all, it’s one of the best evenings he’s had in a long time.

Chapter Text

Wylan is back at the mansion. He’s currently locked in the library. His father has already given up hope in him learning to read, he’s doing it purely out of spite now. He can’t read so he’ll forever bear the consequences.

About two weeks ago an investigation on his father’s business started. There were some anonymous tips that he committed tax fraud for years now. Wylan doesn’t know if it’s true, he isn’t allowed to know anything about the businesses until he can read, but he wouldn’t put it above his father to cheat his way to wealth.

Ever since the trial began his father was in a very bad mood. But he had to appear perfect to the public, so the only option to take out his anger was on Wylan. It’s not something that hasn’t happened before, but now it’s worse than ever. It used to happen mainly after really bad tutoring sessions or when a business deal fell through. Now, Wylan doesn’t remember not being in pain. He’s always locked in somewhere, in the library or in his room. His father doesn’t want to see him, not unless he needs a scapegoat.

So that’s how he ended up in the library today. He had a bloodied nose and multiple bruises everywhere. His back is still hurting from the belt beating yesterday. Every movement hurts so he’s curled up on the floor, crying silently. Why can’t he just read? Why can’t he be the heir that his father always wanted? He used to be loved by him, there were happy memories when his mother was still alive, before anyone expected him to read yet. It all changed so drastically.

Caught up in his thoughts and the curtain of pain, Wylan barely registered the door opening until four heavy boots were in front of him. He looked up, it was Miggson and Prior, two of his father’s employees. What they were actually employed for, Wylan didn’t really know. It’s weird that they were here now, no one was supposed to come to him while locked up.

“Stand up. We’re taking a trip.” One of them said. Ghezen, Wylan thought, they were probably bringing him to his father for another beating. “Come on now, hurry up.”
Wylan did his best to get to his feet. It hurt like hell but his father made sure to not injure anything that might need a doctor.

They guided him out of the room. Wylan didn’t really focus on where they were going, but he was a little surprised when they lead him down the stairs. He hadn’t been downstairs all week he thinks. It got even weirder when they lead him to a car.
“Where are you taking me?”, he asked timidly.
“You’ll see soon enough.”
Alarm bells were ringing in his brain. This can’t be anything good. His father would never risk him being seen with visible bruised or injuries. But he couldn’t quite bring himself to care. He was tired.

The car ride was quiet. Miggson and Prior didn’t talk and Wylan didn’t bother asking more questions. They drove out of Ketterdam, it was beginning to get dark out but Wylan could make out the change of scenery. Dread settled in him. He’s starting to get really dizzy, his back is on fire and he can’t remember the last time he had some food. Maybe about two days ago? Sounds about right.

Was this his father’s way of getting rid of him? Making him weak, truly useless? For years after his mother died Wylan still tried his best to make his father proud. Now he’s just trying to not make him mad.

After what feels like an endless drive, the car comes to a stop. It was completely dark out now. The city lights are long behind them. The car door opens and Miggson stands in front of him.
“Get out”
When Wylan doesn’t obey, Miggson yanks him out by force. Wylan tries his best to fight back, but there was only so much he could do against a man twice his size who clearly worked out a lot. Prior was next to them, blinding Wylan with a flashlight. Miggson dragged him to a bridge, underneath was a raging river.

This is it, he thought, now I die. They would kill him and discard of the body in the river. And he was oddly fine with that. After all, had he ever really had a future? It was only a matter of time until his dad would get tired of him for good.

And he might’ve died there, if not for a rustling coming from the nearby woods. Prior dropped the flashlight and Miggson loosened his grip slightly. This distraction was all that Wylan needed. He kicked Miggson in the crotch and fell over the railing doing so.

Here he was, in the river, yet still alive. He fought to keep himself above water, swam until he reached a shore.

Wylan wakes up in a sweat. He sits up, slightly disoriented. It takes a while for him to realize where he is. In his new room, with the Faheys. No one’s trying to kill him.
He notices Jesper’s bed is empty, the sheets a tangled mess on top of it.
Good, he thinks, that would’ve been awkward to explain. He gets out of bed quickly, trying to shake off the nightmare. This is a good opportunity to get changed in peace. The scars on his back are still very visible, he doesn’t want anyone to see them. Especially not the people he needs to make a good impression on.

He puts on a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, nothing fancy. It might be summer, but Wylan is oddly cold most of the time, also, the scars on his arms are mostly faded but if someone looks closely they are still visible and he really doesn’t want to answer any questions. Even though everyone here is giving him his space so far, he doesn’t want to risk anything. This is his chance to be perfect. Or as perfect as he could be.

Chapter Text

As Wylan descends the stairs, the smell of waffles hits him. He doesn’t mind much though, to be honest, he really loves waffles. They are a Kerch classic, even served at fancy merchant dinners. They were his only safe food there amongst the high class cuisine.
Inej, Jesper and Matthias are already in the kitchen. Matthias standing over the waffle iron. Jesper and Inej are happily talking while they eat at the kitchen island.
“Good morning Wylan. Did you sleep well?”, asks Inej when she sees him entering the room. Jesper looks up too and flashes his incredible smile.
“Morning. I slept well, thanks”, Wylan lied. He still feels a little tired, although it’s already past nine a.m..
“Do you want some waffles?”, Matthias asks, turning around to him.
“Sure. Thanks.”
He is handed a plate with two waffles on top of it, that looks like a lot. Yet Jesper has four stacked on his plate and probably had some before as well and Inej also has three on hers.
“Let me know if you want more, they’ll be ready in a second. There are toppings on the island, take whatever you want.”
“Thank you.”
There are indeed a lot of toppings laid out. Whipped Cream, chocolate sauce, jam, honey and some fresh strawberries and blueberries. It looks very intimidating. He doesn’t want to eat too much all at once, especially so early in the day, so he just puts some strawberries on his plate to keep up appearances. He is oddly self-conscious about his eating habits. No one seems to notice though.

As he was eating, Nina walked in with wet hair, probably fresh out of the shower.
“Aww, waffles? Matthias, you shouldn’t have.”, she says while giving him a hug.
“And have you be grumpy all day? Better to just make the waffles.”, Matthias says with a straight face.
“You know me so well.”
Nina collects a stack of waffles and stands next to Wylan.
“Where is Kaz? Is he still sleeping?”, Nina asks.
“No he’s up.”, Inej says. Nina nods in acknowledgement.

“So, Wylan, we thought we could show you the farm today and then go into town for some back to school shopping. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good.” Wylan is grateful to have a plan for today. He hates not knowing what’s going to happen. Although he doesn’t quite know what he’d do in town. He doesn’t have any money to buy stuff with and he doesn’t know what is needed for school. He’s only ever been tutored at home so far.
“Ugh. Don’t remind me about school please. I was doing a really good job at forgetting about it.”, Nina says with a dramatic sigh.
“Oh come on, at least you get decent grades, I have to bring home failed tests to dad.”, Jesper counters.
Wylan feels bad for Jesper, he must get in a lot of trouble with bad grades. How will he do in public school? Probably not good, there must be a lot of reading and writing. This will be what gets him kicked out, he’s sure of it.
“Are you excited for school Wylan?”, Jesper asks him. It’s an innocent question, yet Wylan panics.
“I’ve never really been in school, I’m not sure I’ll be good at it.”, Wylan admits. Best to not get their expectations up.
“Never? What have you been doing until now?”
“I’ve had tutors at home.”
“Tutors. Sounds fancy.”
Wylan nods, unsure of what to say. That makes him wonder, do they know who his father is? It was in the news a lot, but his name was kept out of it.
“Don’t worry, Wylan, we’ll be looking out for you. You’re sixteen, right? That means we’ll be in the same grade.”, Inej reassures him.
“Yeah, thank you.”
“Damn, I was really hoping you’d be in my grade.”, Jesper says. “Me, Nina and Kaz are one above you two and Matthias will graduate this year. ”
Wylan doesn’t know what to think of this. Jesper wants him to be in his grade? Surely just because he doesn’t know how fucked up he is yet.
The conversation the digresses to people at school that Wylan can’t really follow. He looks at his plate and realizes he already ate most of it. Without even thinking about it. Something about the atmosphere here just makes him feel….safe? Not really, not yet anyways, but it’s the closest to safe he has felt in a long time. The waffles are delicious, they don’t even sit weird in his stomach. He feels oddly happy. It feels good.

After breakfast Jesper gives him some towels and shows him how to work their shower, it’s nothing special, but Wylan appreciates the gesture.
After he is done, Jesper and Nina take him out to the stables. Matthias and Inej are doing some chores around the house, Wylan feels a little guilty about not helping them, he’ll ask in the evening what he can do to help. If he is useful, maybe he can stay here longer.
Kaz is still oddly absent, but no one acts surprised, so Wylan assumes this is normal.
In the stables, Colm is feeding the chickens right now. It must be a lot of work to take care of six kids and the farm all alone.
“Look Wylan! This is Milo.”, Jesper says excitedly. He is standing next to a small goat.
“He just showed up on the fields one day and he didn’t belong to any of the neighbouring farms, so Jesper begged and begged until we could keep him.”, Nina explained.
“Just look at him! How could we not keep him!”, Jesper defends himself. He is now cuddling with the goat and gesturing for Wylan to come closer. With a little apprehensions Wylan pets Milo, his fur is so soft. He can understand why Jesper wants to keep him. This whole farm feels like a sanctuary, for people and animals.

They wander in the fields a bit, the jurda plants look beautiful in the morning sun. Wylan wants to draw this when he gets the chance. Next they look at the green house and the little garden outside of it. Wylan loves all the plants out here, sure he had a garden at the mansion, but it was different. They were still in the middle of Ketterdam. Now they are surrounded by nature. They head back to the house at lunchtime where they all eat sandwiches together before heading out into town.

The car they’re taking is a nine-seater so it fits them all comfortably. Matthias is driving, Nina and Inej are sitting in the front, so that leaves Wylan between Jesper and Kaz in the back. Wylan is a bit anxious about going into town, there must be a lot of people there. He’s never really been shopping. His father usually ordered clothes for him and only on rare occasions has he been allowed to accompany the maids to the markets.
“Okay, Wylan what do you need to get?”, asks Jesper.
“I’m not sure, I don’t really need anything.”
“Well we all need some new notebooks and pens for school”, Nina butts in “we can also get you you’re favourite toiletries, and some new clothes if you want.”
“Uhh, sure, thanks. I don’t have much money though.”
“Don’t worry about it, Da has given us enough for everything.”, Jesper says.
That must be a lot of money, Wylan feels bad at the thought of wasting it on himself, but chooses not to say anything.
Nina continues to list a bunch of shops she wants to visit but none of the names mean anything to Wylan. Jesper say he needs a new hat at which everyone groans.
“Don’t you have enough by now?”, Kaz asks him.
“One can never have enough hats.”
“But you hardly ever wear them.”
“I’m waiting for the right occasion, not my fault it hasn’t arrived yet.”

After about a thirty minute drive they arrive at the mall. It’s a two story building with shops around the sides and a food court in the middle. There are so many people walking around everywhere, and due to the open layout the smell of the food court fills the whole space. It makes Wylan a little nauseous. All the people walking around make him dizzy. There are a lot of noises that make his ears hurt, the escalators, the faint music from the speakers, people talking all around him. Let’s just say, the mall is not Wylan’s favourite place.

“How about we get the stuff everyone needs first, and then we can split up to get personal things?”, Inej suggests. Everyone agrees so they first head to a stationary shop. They help Wylan to pick out stuff he’ll need for school, like notebooks, pens, a calculator and pencil case and stuff. Matthias asks him if he needs a backpack as well, but he’d rather use his messenger bag.

Next they went into a drug store to stock up on some toiletries. Everyone seems to know what they’re getting, all reaching for their preferred items quickly. Wylan just stares at the shelves. He can roughly make out the items by the packaging, but has no idea how to distinguish a shampoo from a shower gel. He picks up a random bottle with a strawberry on it and hopes it’s the right thing. No one questions him so it can’t be that bad. The smell is a little overwhelming in this store, all the fake scents mixed together are starting to give him a headache.
“I’m hungry, can we hit the food court?”, Nina asked.
No. Please, anything but food right now. He doesn’t think he can handle any more sensory input today. But of course, he doesn’t say anything, so they go towards the food court.

Kaz leads them to a table big enough for all of them.
“Okay, the beauty of this food court is that the tables don’t belong to a specific restaurant. You can get whatever you want and we can all sit together still.”, Jesper happily explains. “Where do you want to go?”
“I’m not hungry. I’ll just guard the table.”, he says. He’s already on edge with all the new impressions, he really can’t stomach any food right now. And he doesn’t know any of the restaurants here, he doesn’t want to risk having to read the menu and the potential of unknown food.
“Are you sure? We can share something if you just want a little bit.”, Inej offers.
“I’m good, thank you though.”
They scattered to the different restaurant, leaving Wylan alone to guard the table. He was quite grateful for a little time to himself. Everyone is really nice but it’s all so overwhelming.
Matthias comes back first with a small peperoni pizza, then Inej and Jesper with stir fried noodles and last Kaz and Nina with burger and fries. Kaz is leaning heavily on his cane, yet seems to have no trouble balancing the tray. Wylan thinks he must’ve got a lot of practise.
They all dig in while he watches. He studies the food options in case they’ll come here again. The fries look safe, not too greasy.
“Wylan?”
He looks up. Matthias is looking at him.
“Sorry, what?”
“I was asking what your second language will be? We’re required one for school.”
“Uhh, I haven’t really thought about it, but I know some Fjerdan, so maybe that?”
“Then you’ll be in a class with me.”, Matthias says, “Even though Fjerdan is technically my first language but I wanted an easy class.”
“I thought you were two grades above me?”, Wylan asks, a little confused.
“Technically yeah, but it’s a small school so they mix grades except for the maths and Kerch.”
“Me and Inej are taking Ravkan, and Kaz and Jesper are taking Zemeni. So all the grades get a little mixed up.”, Nina offers.
Wylan still doesn’t quite get it, but he’ll see soon enough.

“Okay, what are we doing next? Should we split up?”, Nina asks.
“I need some new books.”, Matthias says. Kaz declares he’ll join him. Nina and Jesper want to go to some clothing shops.
“I don’t really need anything, I’ll come with you Wylan, if you want?”, Inej offers.
“Thank you.”
So they split up. Wylan doesn’t know what more he needs so he’s just standing there awkwardly. Luckily Inej takes the lead. She guides them both to a bench on a less busy corridor and gestures for him to sit. He obliges and she sits down next to him.
“How are you holding up?”, she asks him with a gentle expression.
“Okay, I guess.”
She nods understanding and continues. “I remember my first few days here. Everyone seemed so comfortable and so in sync with each other. I wasn’t quite sure I’d fit in.”
Wylan is a little surprised at the confession.
“It took me a while to get used to it. It’s been a few years since I last had a real family, but I found one here. And you will too. You’re one of us now, if you want to be. If you ever need anything, to talk or a hug or just silent company, we’re here for you. But we won’t force you to do anything. We all have our stories and it’s our decision when to share them.”, she says with a serious yet caring expression. “If you need a hug though, better not go to Kaz, touch is difficult for him.”, she adds with a chuckle.
“It’s hard to imagine you all haven’t known each other for forever.”, Wylan says.
“I know. I came here just a year ago, even though it seems so much longer. Jesper is Colm’s biological child, you know,”
That surprised Wylan. They looked nothing alike. That makes Wylan wonder about his mom, but it’s not the right time to ask about that.
“Nina joined when she was ten, Kaz at twelve, Matthias at fourteen, and then me and you.”, Inej finished explaining.
“Thank you, Inej. Really.” Wylan says. “I know it’ll take a while, but I already feel more welcome than I’d ever thought possible.” And it’s the truth. Wylan really thinks, he can have a future here.

They then continued shopping. Inej took Wylan to a tech store to get him a phone.
“I really don’t need one.”, Wylan protests.
“Do you have one already?”
He shakes his head.
“Then we’re getting you one. Direct instructions from Colm. He gives us a lot of freedom but he feels more comfortable if we have a phone on us, just in case anything happens.”
They look at different types and Wylan decides on the cheapest one, he won’t use it much anyways.
On the way to the checkout, they walk past some headphones. This makes Wylan stop. He once got some really good headphones from his father, but Jan destroyed them sometime before the trial.
“Do you want some headphones?”, Inej asks, following his gaze.
“It’s alright.”
“Seriously, we can get some headphones for you. Colm won’t mind.”
“Are you sure? They are quite expensive. Why do headphones cost so much anyway?”
“They’re noise-cancelling. Kaz has the same ones. They’re really good. But don’t count on Kaz letting you borrow his, he’s quite possessive of them.”
“Oh, I don’t need that then, we can find cheaper ones.” If he’s being honest, noise-cancelling sounds like a dream. But that’d be too much to ask, he already got a phone and lots of other stuff.
Inej studies him.
“Wylan, no offense, but you seem very uncomfortable in loud environments. And school’s going to be quite loud as well. We should get them.”
Wylan remains silent. He wants them, sure, but he can’t demand so much.
“When’s your birthday, Wylan? Maybe we can get them as a gift if it makes you more comfortable accepting them.”, Inej offers.
“It won’t be for a while. My birthday was last week, August 24th.”
“That’s perfect then! Happy belated birthday. We’ll definitely get them! Just try them on to see if they’ll fit.”
Reluctantly Wylan tries them on. They fit comfortably over his ears, with some but not too much pressure on his head.
Inej sees his face light up and immediately takes a box before Wylan could protest any more.
“Thank you.”
“Of course.”

They go meet up with Jesper and Nina at a clothing store and Wylan gets some jeans, long sleeved shirts and sweaters. His highlight is a jeans dungaree. He loves his new clothes. They’re not as scratchy as his old stuff was. He’s really grateful for everything he’s got. And for the people that are starting to feel like family.

Chapter Text

Wylan is in the dining room, having some bread with spreads for breakfast. He had a peaceful night, no nightmares luckily. He dreads the day he has one in front of Jesper. How is he supposed to explain that?

Next to him is Matthias planning out lunch for the day.
“I can help you cook if you want.”, Wylan offers. “I’m not that skilled but I’m sure I can chop up some ingredients.”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
“What are you planning on making?”
“Some Schnitzel with potatoes and cucumber salad.”
That’s okay. Potatoes are safe, he can eat those. He’ll have to see about the meat, but being involved in the cooking process usually helps. He can see the textures and all the ingredients before they get mixed together so there won’t be any surprises when he eats. Also, he wants to be helpful.
“We can makes something else, or something additional if you want, you know.”, Matthias offers.
“It’s alright, I don’t mind.”, Wylan says, which is probably a really weird answer but it has already left his lips before he could think about it. Matthias just nods.

“Good morning boys!”, Colm greets them as he enters the room. “Wylan, do you have a moment?”
Wylan nods and Matthias takes his cue to leave them alone. Now he’s a little bit scared. Has he messed up already? Is this about yesterday? He was sure they spent too much money on him.
Colm sits down across from him, sensing his distress.
“Don’t worry, I just wanted to go over a few things with you.”
Another nod.
“Okay first, house rules. You’re welcome to take whatever you want from the fridge, just put the dirty plates in the dishwasher please. If there are any snacks you especially like, put it on the grocery list on the fridge and we’ll get them. You can move around the house and the grounds as you like, if you want to go into town, just tell me so I know where you are. Have you set up your phone yet?”
“Not yet, sorry.”
“That’s alright, when you do tell me so I can put my number in. About chores, we’re a lot of people living here so we all help out a little bit. How about you vacuum the house once a week? If you don’t like it, we can switch it to something else.”
“Of course. Yeah.”
“You’ll be starting school tomorrow too. I have your enrolment papers here so we can go over them together.”
Wylan really doesn’t want to think about school, but it’s unavoidable.
“The school has a fixed schedule for the most part, the only thing you can choose is your second language. There’s Ravkan, Fjerdan and Zemeni, which one do you want to take?”
“Fjerdan please.”
Colm writes something on the forms.
“Matthias can help you then, he’s also taking Fjerdan.”
“Yeah, he told me.”
“Genya also told me that you’re dyslexic, should I ask the school for accommodations?”
Here it comes. Wylan feels his heart beating like crazy. He knew he couldn’t avoid the topic for long. Best to get it over with before the school sends an angry letter about his failures.
“I uhh, I actually can’t read at all. Or write for that matter.”
Colm looks a bit surprised at that. Shit, so he didn’t know yet. Why did he have to say anything?
“And how have you handled it so far? Have you found some things to help you?”, Colm asks.
That’s new. Why wasn’t he mad? Is he just hiding it well? But there seems no disappointment in his eyes.
“I just listen to the lectures and memorize the material. I’ll deal with it, I promise it won’t cause any issues.”, he’s avoiding Colm’s gaze.
“You’re not causing any issues. It’s perfectly normal to need help with some things.”
Sure it’s normal to need help, but it’s also normal to be able to read. Wylan doesn’t understand why Colm isn’t upset with him.
“I’ll call the school and make sure they’re aware, it might take some time to figure out what things will work best for you but I’m sure we can figure something out.”, Colm continues.
So he’s still hopeful it’ll work out. Soon he’ll realize how hopeless of a case Wylan really is. Wylan can feel tears coming to his eyes. He tries his best to push them back but it’s not working. His vision blurs and his breaths become quicker. Ghezen, he thinks, this is so embarrassing. Now he’s crying like a child and he can’t stop it.
“Wylan? What’s wrong?”, Colm asks with a worried expression.
Why doesn’t he get mad? Wylan would rather just take his fury now than wait for it.
“Can I hug you?”, Colm asks calmly.
He just nods, tears still coming down his face.
Colm gives him a strong hug. Wylan must admit, it feels good. Colm doesn’t let go until Wylan’s breath evens out. The tears are now drying on his face.
“Thank you.”, Wylan pushes out.
“Of course, kid.”
Wylan is amazed at how easily Colm accepts him. Maybe it’s gonna be alright?
They sit in silence for a moment, until Wylan regains his composure. Colm doesn’t rush him.
“Do you want me to tell the others?”, Colm asks, after Wylan seems calm enough.
“Please don’t.”
“That’s alright. It’s your story to tell. Just know that they’re all willing to help you.”

Wylan went to his room to recover a little bit, after this conversation. He still can’t believe that Colm wasn’t upset with him. He is supportive even, trying to get Wylan some help with school. This is new for him, it will take some time to get used to it.

Around 11 a.m. Wylan heads to the kitchen to help cook. Matthias is already there setting up the ingredients.
“Hi Wylan! Thanks for the help again, Nina usually offers but she ends up talking more than actually cooking.”, he jokes.
Wylan chuckles. Nina does like to talk a lot, not that he minds though, it feels good to have someone who can keep a conversation flowing naturally.
“Happy to help! What can I do?”
“Have you made Schnitzel before?”
“No, I haven’t”, Wylan admits.
Matthias then explains to him how to coat the meat, before placing it in the pan. It really is quite simple. He first puts it in flour, then eggs and finally in the bread crumbs. The meat feels firm in his hands, so he won’t eat it, but that’s good to know. While Wylan is coating the meat, Matthias is frying it in a pan, making sure it gets a perfect golden colour.
“Where did you learn to cook?”, Wylan asks.
“I learned a little bit from my parents.” He explains. “And I went to a catholic boarding school for a while, where each class was on lunch duty once a week. It was my favourite duty since it was the least strict one.”
Wylan must admit, he’s curios why Matthias ended up in foster care, he’s curious about all of his siblings. But it feels wrong to just ask, it probably won’t be good memories. He’s glad that no one has asked him yet, maybe it’ll be easier to talk about it one day, but definitely not now.
“Do you cook a lot here?”, he asks instead.
“I do, Colm does cook us dinner on weekdays but I try to take over on the weekends to help him out. And I do enjoy it, so I don’t mind.”
“Maybe you can teach me too then? Only if it’s not a bother of course.”
“I’d like that.”
Wylan wants to learn how to cook and do household stuff in general. He’s missing a lot of life skills.
When he first saw Matthias he was a little intimidated by him, but the more he gets to know him, he sees that Matthias is calm and kind person.
They fall into silence while they work. It’s not uncomfortable though, Matthias makes him believe it’s both fine to talk and not to.
“Do you have a favourite meal? We can make that next if you want.”, Matthias offers.
Does he have a favourite meal? Is there anything where he enjoys all the ingredients? Surely it would look weird if he will pick and poke at his ‘favourite meal’.
“Uhh… I like minestrone. But without any zucchini.”
That should be reasonable enough. He’d really like to learn how to make minestrone.
“That’s good, we’ll make that next weekend then.”
“Thank you!”

They all eat lunch together. Wylan sticks to the potatoes, which earns him a questioning glance from Matthias, since he said earlier that he doesn’t want anything else. But honestly, Wylan really enjoys the potatoes, he doesn’t need anything else. He had a lot of fun cooking the meal, that’s worth more to him than eating it.

After lunch, Wylan decides it’s time to set up his new phone. He makes sure it’s charged and turns it on. The first few pages are easy, there’s text on them but only one button to press so he just does that. But then a page pops up that gives him multiple buttons to choose from. Wylan stares at them, debating which one might be the correct one. He’s already getting frustrated with himself.
That’s when Jesper comes into their room and sees him staring at the phone.
“Are you setting it up?”
“I’m trying to.”
“Need any help?”
“Please, I’m not that good with technology.”, it’s not a total lie, he justifies to himself.
Jesper sits next to him on the bed and looks at the screen.
“Okay, it wants to know if you have another phone to transfer data from. I’m assuming you don’t, right?”
Wylan nods. Jesper pushes some buttons and hands Wylan the phone back.
Now there is a text written on the top with two buttons beneath it.
“Okay, you can add an e-mail account now.”
“I don’t have one.”
“That’s okay, just push the ‘No’ button then. We can set one up later too.”
Both buttons have short words on them so Wylan isn’t sure which one is the right one.
He starts to panic a little, Jesper is sitting right there watching him, expecting him to push the right button. If he just guesses and pushes the wrong one Jesper will wonder why.
“Everything okay?”
Shit. He took to much time. What’s he supposed to do now?
“I..uh…I’m dyslexic. I can’t really read. Like, at all.”, he blurts out.
It’s not ideal but he won’t be able to hide it forever. Let’s just get this over with.
“Ohh…that makes sense then. Here.” Jesper pushes the button.
“Thanks.”, Wylan presses out.
Jesper continues setting up the phone, asking Wylan a few things and the pressing buttons on the screen again. It doesn’t take long at all.
“Okay, mostly done. Can I put all of our numbers in?”
“That would be nice, thank you.”
“What should I put as names? So that you’ll be able to find them?”
Wylan is a little surprised. That’s really considerate of him.
“You can put the names in and then an emoji next to it please. Just tell me which is who.”
Jesper chooses a hat for himself, a crow for Kaz, a dagger for Inej, a waffle for Nina, a wolf for Matthias and a jurda plant for Colm.
He also adds Wylan to the group chat they have.
“Should I tell the others to use voice messages when they text you then?”
“Please don’t!”, he says a little to loud. “Sorry. I mean, there’s no need. I can use text to speech if you show me where I can activate it.”
“That’s smart. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
Wylan lets out a breath of relief. He knows it’s inevitable but he’s not ready for it yet. Maybe he’ll never actually be ready for this conversation with anyone.
“Does Da know yet? You don’t have to tell him, but he can get you accommodations for school.”, Jesper asks.
Why is he handling it so well? Like it’s no big deal at all.
“Yeah he knows. He said he’ll tell the school.”
“That’s good then. And don’t worry, he won’t stop until the school gives you the right accommodations. He did it for me too.”
Jesper also has accommodations? Is it really that okay?
“You also have accommodations?”, Wylan asks nervously. He doesn’t want to overstep.
“Yeah, I have ADHD if it’s not obvious.”, Jesper jokes. “I get extra time on tests and with some teachers I can leave the class for a bit to move around in the hallways. Not everyone allows that though.”
That does make Wylan feel a little bit better. If they are fine with Jesper getting help, maybe they’ll be fine with him as well.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“What do the words look like for you?”
“Same as they do to you I suppose, I can see them clearly, they just don’t have any meaning to me.”
“Is that why you were homeschooled until now?”
“Not really, I think I would’ve been either way. Maybe not for as long though, who knows.”
Jesper nods in acknowledgement. Luckily he doesn’t ask any more questions.
But the way Jesper reacted stirs something in him. Hope maybe?
“Could you maybe tell the others? About my issues I mean. You don’t have to obviously, you’ve already helped me a lot.”
They’ll find out eventually and Wylan doesn’t think he can handle this conversation four more times. And he’s still scared of their reactions, maybe it won’t be that bad if he doesn’t have to be the one to say it.
“Of course I can. Anything to make you more comfortable.”
“Thank you.”
“I get it, it’s easier to not see the reactions sometimes. But I know no one will think bad of you because of it.”, Jesper reassures him.
How can he know that? How can he be so sure?
“And if you ever need anything, in school as well, you can always come to me.”
He can feel the tears coming, but manages to push them down. Why is everyone so kind to him here? Why is no one making fun of him? The kids in the group home did.

Jesper continues to show him stuff on his phone. Helping him to set up the text-to-speech function. Wylan feels very accepted. He hasn’t felt this way since his mother died. He feels….good. Maybe school won’t be so bad after all.