The Outsider

"Why are you making such a fucking effort, exactly? Why are you suddenly so interested in my daughter? You made it perfectly clear she was disrupting your life and making things stressful for you, Maxwell. I find your sudden interest pretty fucking weird," he snapped, glancing at his affection with a solid frown. He was protective of his daughter, inevitably, and while he trusted Max, he did find the change of heart strange. He was well within his rights to call him out on it, right?

"I dunno, it's weird. You made a point of stating to me that your only concern was your fucking paper-- I tried to get you involved in her life and you didn't seem like you were eager. You don't need to pretend you want to be involved, just go back to your paper and your work and all that academic stuff, it's clearly your main priority, and that's fine."
 
"Are you getting mad at me for wanting to get a degree?" He slowly responded, a grimace on his lips. "Sure, I didn't sign up for this but I care about her. She's a living being and she means a lot to her. That means she means a lot to me," he explained. "Yeah, I'm focusing on my degree so we wouldn't have to solely survive off my parents' money but that doesn't mean I don't care about anything else. Now that I only have a test left, I can focus on us properly. I'm not an asshole, Milo."
 
"Kinda, yeah. I want you to succeed, but you ignore me most the time-- and god knows you've been ignoring Soleil. I dunno, I don't want you to pretend you care about her if you'd rather focus on your... whatever it is you work on," he grunted, moving away from the bed when he sensed an argument brewing. Even though Soleil presumably couldn't here, that wasn't to say she couldn't pick up on vibes and read facial expressions. If she was anything like him, she picked up things quickly.

"...Don't argue, just... I'm sorry. And no, Ricky's fine. I apologised, he ignored it and shut the door in my face. Standard, really."
 
"Do you know how many classes I'm taking right now? Do you know how much I've fucked up my body for us? We can either rely on my parents money solely until it runs up and inevitably have to sell the house or something and get shitty jobs - without even thinking about the problems with getting you a job to begin with, or I can try and get a degree and become a professor like I want to do we can keep a good lifestyle. I'm... trying my best. You don't think I enjoy all of this school shit, do you? Sure, the parties were fun and all but.... I don't think I want to do that anymore," He babbled, his cheeks red.

"I told you that I'll get more involved once this semester is over, okay? The fact that I'm being critiqued for wanting to help, after being... I don't know, something bad happened last night? That's not - that's hardly fair. What do you want from me, Milo?"
 
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"Nothing bad happened, Max. You got drunk, it's that simple-- right? Have you remembered something?" He asked suddenly, any bickering about school or Soleil immediately going out the window. After all, Ricky had insinuated that something might have been slipped to Max. Milo was just too naive to realise that Ricky was behind it.

"Because if something bad happened, you know I'd have to beat the living shit out of who did it to you, right? I get that my anger isn't... pleasant, but I'm not letting anyone hurt you. The state you were in last night-- what if you tripped and broke your neck? Anything could have happened."
 
"I would hope I wouldn't be that clumsy," he replied with a frown in feigned offense. It was true, after all, so he didn't have much proof to defend himself. Shaking his head, he locked his eyes on Soleil's crib to avoid seeing Milo's reaction.

"I don't know, I just... know it doesn't make sense. I only had two beers and you know I'm not that big of a lightweight, right? Then I remember being pulled away from the party and then I was here," he explained honestly. "Don't - you don't need to go on a hunt to find the guy who might have done it, yeah? It doesn't matter."
 
"So what, you think someone gave you something? Ricky kinda alluded to it being a possibility, I just... didn't think someone could be that cruel? These people are your friends, yeah? Or people you know. I... I dunno. I can't sit here and pretend that I'll stay outta trouble. If you were me, I'm sure you'd rush out and make someone pay for doing something to me, right? I'd like to think you would," he muttered, his own eyes drifting to the crib to see his daughter silently watching, the only noises being her intrigued gurgles. He already guessed that she might age quickly, which had its advantages and disadvantages, but he didn't think it'd be this quick; already, the girl was a few days away from being able to sit up all by herself without assistance. Given she was only born a month or two ago, it was pretty major.

"...It was fucking Ricky-- don't call me paranoid or whatever, I know it was him--he basically fucking admitted it and I stupidly walked away without registering-- fuck," he grunted, his head now in his hands in annoyance (and disbelief) at himself. "He said-- He fucking said it was your fault for not being observant or something-- that's basically an admission, yeah?"
 
"I'd like to think he... wouldn't do that," he whispered as he hunched over a tad, sitting criss-cross on the bed. "I mean, I... I'd like to think he wouldn't do that because we'ee at least acquaintences," he insisted.

"... he... blamed me? Really?" He confirmed, his lips twisting in disgust. "That's really - thats fucked up, pardon my language. "
 
"Don't make excuses-- he's the sort of guy who would do that when it comes to you, he's always had a weird thing for you. He can't stand the fact I'm dating you so yeah, he'd do something shitty to get what he wants-- do you really expect me to not do anything about this?" He asked slowly, forcing himself to at least offer a neutral expression, rather than the severe scowl that had been fixed in place beforehand.
 
"I... I just don't want you to get violent. Besides, where's the proof? You can't just go up to someone with... allegations, can you?" He replied nervously. "If we do, he might sue us and you know we don't have the money. I can... I can talk to the president of the school and possibly get him kicked out - if he did it - but I think that's all the justice we'd get."

The more they spoke about it, the more Maxwell became clearly distressed, holding his cheeks with pursed lips. "If mom and dad were alive, they'd know what to do."
 
"...Probably. I'm sorry I'm so fucking useless to you, but I'm trying my best. I don't know how it all works yet, I just know that giving him a punch or two works for me. Guess that's not the answer, huh? Look, just... stay in bed and heal up properly? Don't ever contact Ricky again or I will lose it with him-- forget he even exists, it's for the best. I'm gonna go for a walk in the park, might grab lunch in the cafe. I'll bring you back that frozen pizza you wanted; I'll actually go grocery shopping this time," he promised as he lifted Soleil from her crib. Whilst he didn't want to start taking her outside that much yet, fearing her form could switch while strangers were gushing over her, he also didn't want her to start crying and screaming near Max.

"I'll show her the ducks in the park, it'll be fun for her-- you finish off your project. It's important for you so... it's important for me too. I want you to do well, y'know? I'll be back later and we can have pizza and watch some trashy TV. Something normal."
 
"Thank you," he replied honestly, offering a smile. Taking his hands briefly, he moved to offer it a kiss. "Look, please don't stress over this. Take her out - take pics, yeah? I want some cute pictures on your Instagram," he insisted, happy to drop any mention of what happened.

"Pizza, yeah, and some tea? It'll help with my headache," he insisted. "Maybe eggs, too. Breakfast for tomorrow, yeah? Gotta have a proper breakfast for a test. It'll be nice, I promise. Things will be normal."
 
"I told you, I can't get my head around Instagram-- and I only have, like, 5 followers. You and the four friends I made at parties. There's no point posting pictures if nobody's gonna see 'em, right?" He shrugged, though, despite knowing how much the few friends he had made liked social media like that, he had no issue being the only one who wasn't bothered with it. He liked the idea of it all, but putting it into practise hadn't really worked out so far. The only images he had uploaded were of a sunset from his bedroom window, and a ladybird that had landed on his hand. Posting selfies wasn't really his thing either, so continuing updating his profile seemed pointless.

"I'll take pictures if you want to see them-- but we live together, I can just show you when I get back," he reminded, returning the kiss before buttoning up the cute winter coat he recently bought for Soleil. "We won't be long-- an hour at most. I'll text you if we get stuck in traffic or something, so you don't worry."

It would only be ten minutes after his exit that the front door was knocked on, the lightness of the knocks indicating that it wasn't Milo making a return. Instead, there was a woman stood patiently on the step, taking a deep breath in preparation.

After all, potentially meeting her son again after more than a decade apart was a huge deal.

Lucero and her wife, Riega, had finally opted to make the long journey in the desperation to find their firstborn-- and indeed, to find out if he was still alive. It was beyond dangerous for them to leave their home planet, both because of the risks involved and the punishment they would get into upon returning home, but it was well worth it to see Milo again; to explain why they did what they did, all in order to save him until he was old enough to defend himself.

Now, the plan was to announce who she was straight away to her son, so when Max answered the door, she froze and knew she couldn't do that. She looked barely a day over 30 and, not aware Max knew the truth of what Milo was, she could hardly say she was his mother. She assumed the human would laugh in disbelief and shut the door in her face. Instead, she had to lie, which wasn't something she wanted to do but in this instance, it was necessary.

It was just difficult to do that when she didn't know Milo's name; at least, the name Max's parents had given him. She didn't know he lived with a human, so Max's appearance did make her frown in fear she had gotten the wrong address from her wife.

"...Can I speak to the other boy who lives here? I met him a few days ago at... a party? A party, yes. He said I should pop by if I got the chance," she smoothly began, looking down at Max from her 6'2" height - perfectly average for her kind in their human form. "I don't want to intrude, but he was insistent I come and visit..."

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"Milo is out," he replied simply once faced with the stranger, his eyes scanning her cautiously. While she looked young for her age, she was still a bit too old for their age group. So, to hear that Milo had somehow befriended a woman who was seemingly in their thirties was a bit strange.

"Uh... yeah, he should be back in an hour? Who are you? No offense but more often than not I'm told who Milo has been hanging out with and you don't look like someone he would befriend. You're not trying to, like... sell us anything, right?" He confirmed cautiously as he closed the door just a tad bit.
 
Milo? That was her son's name?

It was hardly traditional, nor was it common on their planet, so she immediately took a dislike to it... but the mere fact he had a name and was alive was a good sign. It meant someone had taken him in and raised him, which was all she could have hoped for when reluctantly sending him away, albeit for his own survival.

"...We're friends, I'm surprised he hasn't mentioned me. I'm Lucero. It's vital that I talk to him and I don't want to wander about in the cold. I can sit quietly and not move an inch if that helps? I just need to see him; as does my wife. She was going to come with me but I assume she got lost-- we're rather new to the city. She went to park the car and... she'll turn up, she always does," she grinned, having to force the expression as best she could. Humans were hardly an enemy and she didn't wish any of them harm... but she did feel superior to the race and dealing with Max was already causing her far more problems than she envisioned. "...I won't be leaving until I talk to him-- I don't want to be forceful, I can leave if you insist, but... it's important."
 
"... Okay, yeah. Come on in," he insisted, offering his own forced smile before opening the door a bit more. "Do you want something to drink? Milo is our getting groceries so we have water, ginger ale... Ah... beer? That's about it," he admitted with an awkward laugh.

"So you have a wife? You met Milo at a party? I mean, that's cool I guess," he continued as he pulled out the Brita and a glass to pour for the woman. "Uh... so you're new? Where are you guys going to be living? I'd just like to get to know you more if you're Milo's friend."
 
"We're at a hotel for now, our apartment isn't ready apparently. It's a hassle but we're managing it-- I'd rather get to know you. Who are you to Milo? Boyfriend?" Lucero asked coolly, sitting herself down in the living room, accepting the drink with a polite smile. Even if Max was just a friend, she would immediately make more of an effort to be nice to him. Any friend of her son's deserved that kindness and respect. If he was a boyfriend, she would go out of her way to be interested in him, even if she inherently found humans boring in the month she had been on the planet.

"...I'm not interesting. My wife and I are boring, you don't need to concern yourselves with us," she promised, taking a sip from the glass with a curious glance around the small living room. "It's a lovely place you and Milo have. It's cute."
 
"Yeah, we're in a committed relationship," he replied proudly before looking in the mirror, realizing he was wearing the same clothes from the party. With reddened cheeks, he offered an apologetic smile before moving to start up some tea.

"That's why I'm a bit bummed about him not telling me about you," he admitted. "Ah... thank you, by the way. It's my parents', technically, but we got it in the will so... we try to keep it as clean as possible but it's gotten a bit out of hand since Soleil."
 
"Soleil... ah, yes. Of course. You're doing a good job, though. I'd hardly know there was a child in the house," she remarked. Of course, she had no idea who Soleil was but one survey of the living room gave her enough clues. The small rocking chair in the corner of the room, with a few small teddy bears near it, indicated a small baby was in the home and while she had no evidence that the child was Milo's, the mere possibility that it was caused her to smile widely.

It would be her grandchild -her first one- so hiding a smile was all but impossible.

"It must be nice, though. Looking after a baby. It's tough but it's all worth it in the end," she laughed, resting her glass down on the floor quietly. "...I'm sorry-- about your parents, I mean. You said they left you this home in the will-- it's never easy losing parents. Milo grew up here with you, hm?"
 
"Yeah. We grew up practically at the hip. He hated it," he snorted, quickly moving the kettle when it started to whistle. Grabbing his phone, he decided to send a quick text to Milo on the stranger who decided to just push into their home.

"He makes sure I don't somehow pop the other eye out," he teased lightly before fixing the cup and taking a seat opposite the woman. "You aren't his friend, are you? I'm not dumb, I... can tell that you aren't just his friend."
 
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