’Maybe I should’ve been less blunt about it,’ Blake thought, watching the way Asher’s expression had tightened for just a second too long. ’He looks a bit... guarded.’

Still, it didn’t matter all that much to him. Whether Asher had noticed anything or not, the conversation hadn’t turned sour.

If anything, it had stayed comfortably neutral, easy to steer and soften.

Blake had to learn how to do stuff like this the hard way, with the final villain, at that.

He reached out and patted Asher’s shoulder, letting out a light laugh as he pushed himself to his feet.

"You know," he said, stretching slightly, "I think I might be getting too attached to you. Promise me you’ll still hang out with me even if you change schools."

Asher lowered his gaze at that, a quiet sigh slipping past his lips.

"I think that might happen soon."

There was a pause before he looked back up, offering a small, almost apologetic smile.

"But I’ll keep in touch. Even then."

"Is that so?"

Blake tilted his head slightly, studying him. He could probably push a little more, press a bit more for the meaning of that answer, but honestly, this already felt like enough.

And, if he was being honest with himself, it felt good that Asher was changing schools.

Which, admittedly, made him feel like a bit of an asshole.

Still, what could he do? Peace and stability were preferable. And if a few carefully chosen words could keep things that way, then so be it.

"But why?" Blake asked, dropping himself down near the base of a tree and patting the grass beside him. "You seem to be settling in pretty well here."

Asher hesitated, fidgeting slightly before walking over. He lowered himself beside Blake, hands loosely clasped together.

"It’s not that," he said. "It’s just... my uncle has to move around a lot for work."

"Uncle?" Blake glanced at him. "Anthony’s parents?"

"No, no," Asher shook his head quickly. "My uncle. On my mom’s side."

Blake hummed in acknowledgment, though his thoughts were already shifting elsewhere.

He already knew Asher didn’t have parents, at least, not ones in the picture. So hearing about an uncle wasn’t surprising in itself.

What was surprising was the way Asher said it, it was basically a lie.

Blake already knew it wasn’t because of his uncle’s job that he was constantly changing schools.

He leaned back slightly, propping himself up on his hands.

"So," he said casually, "is your uncle staying with you at Anthony’s place right now?"

Asher blinked, then shook his head.

"No. He’s away. Work stuff."

"I see."

"He’ll come back eventually. And when he does, we’ll probably move somewhere else together."

Blake nodded slowly, his gaze drifting to the grass beside him. His fingers brushed against a small, snapped flower lying there, its stem broken cleanly, petals still intact.

He picked it up absentmindedly.

"Do you miss him?" Blake asked lightly.

Before Asher could answer, Blake reached over and tucked the flower into his hair, just above his ear.

Asher froze for a second, then looked down, clearly flustered.

"Well, I mean..." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "It’s been a while since I saw him, so yeah. Of course I do."

There was a small pause.

"But," he added more quietly, "I like it here too. With Anthony and you. So it’ll be kind of hard to leave."

Blake laughed softly.

"Wow," he said, half-grinning. "Didn’t even mention Myles. Harsh."

Asher blinked, startled, before letting out a slightly awkward chuckle.

"I mean, of course him too."

"Relax, I’m kidding."

Blake waved it off, though his mind lingered on it for a moment. Well, it’s not like they interact that much anyway.

Before the thought could settle any further, a small flutter of wings broke the quiet.

A bird landed gently on Asher’s thigh.

Both of them paused.

Asher’s expression softened instantly. He lifted his hand slowly, carefully, and stroked the bird’s feathers with a gentleness that didn’t seem forced at all. A faint smile touched his lips.

Blake, on the other hand, just watched indifferently.

"Your uncle, huh." Blake thought, his gaze narrowing ever so slightly.

He had never heard of this uncle before. Not once. Not in passing, not in detail, just nothing.

Which usually meant one thing: he wasn’t important.

Blake leaned his head back against the tree, eyes half-lidded as he thought it through.

If Asher had really been moving around because of a guardian’s job, there would’ve been more consistency.

Instead, everything about it was too convenient.

Asher was eighteen. Old enough to move around without raising too many questions, especially if he’d already been through foster care.

Blake had assumed as much before, that Asher had simply bounced from one relative to another after leaving the system.

But this was a bit unbelievable. Turns out he has a constantly relocating uncle who just happened to align perfectly with... everything else?

It didn’t add up.

Which led to an even more interesting question.

’Maybe he is involved with Asher’s hero job, too?’

Blake’s thoughts paused there, just for a second.

’No, that doesn’t make all that sense, either.’

Who would let their own nephew run around like this? Take risks like this?

Unless...

"Blake?"

The voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

He blinked, refocusing to see Asher looking at him, the bird still perched calmly on his lap.

"Do you want to pet it?" Asher asked.

Blake smiled immediately, the earlier tension vanishing from his expression like it had never been there.

"Of course I do."

He leaned forward, reaching out carefully to stroke the bird’s back. It didn’t flinch.

"Huh," Blake murmured. "It’s friendly."

Asher smiled a little wider at that.

Blake withdrew his hand after a moment, leaning back again.

’No,’ he thought. ’That can’t be it.’

After a brief silence, Asher spoke again.

"Hey... can we go to check out the science lab?" he asked. "I’m supposed to be there soon gor a project."

Blake shrugged, pushing himself to his feet.

"Sure."

They started walking together, leaving the shade of the tree behind.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

"Hey," Asher said, glancing at him. "How did you... get hurt? On your face, I mean."

He looked slightly embarrassed asking it, like he’d been holding the question back for a while.

"Oh, that?" he said casually. "I just felt lightheaded and ended up hitting the kitchen counter. Nothing dramatic."

"Ah..."

Asher nodded, though his expression suggested he wasn’t entirely convinced.

Blake let the silence stretch for a moment before speaking again.

"So," he said, glancing sideways, "do you have a girlfriend?"

Asher nearly tripped.

"W-What?" he sputtered, face immediately flushing. "Why would you even ask that?"

Blake smirked, nudging his shoulder lightly.

"Hey, you asked about me and Myles last time. It’s only fair I get to ask something back."

"I, I..."

Asher shook his head quickly.

"No. I don’t."

"Not even someone you like?"

"No!"

The response came out faster this time.

Asher looked up at him, offering a small, almost helpless smile.

Blake studied him for a second.

’You are looking far too pitiful.’

Still, as the hero, there were certain expectations and roles to fill.

And Blake remembered something else, too.

There had been a girl on the cover of the novel.

He just didn’t know who she was though.

"Well," Blake said lightly, "your loss."

By the time they reached the science lab, the conversation had drifted into something more relaxed again.

Asher walked in first, his earlier awkwardness already gone. His eyes lit up almost immediately as he started looking around, picking things up, examining them with clear interest.

Blake, meanwhile, dropped into one of the chairs, watching him.

"You’re more excited about this than the garden," Blake said with a laugh. "Kind of concerning."

Asher didn’t even look embarrassed.

"I just really like this kind of stuff," he said simply.

Blake rested his chin on his hand, elbow propped against the table.

"Have you ever been to the SSRT tower?" he asked.

Asher froze.

The reaction was immediate.

"...How did you know about that?" he asked slowly.

Blake blinked, then shrugged.

"I didn’t," he said. "Just guessed. You seem like the type."

It was a lie, of course he knew.

Asher relaxed slightly.

"I have, actually," he said, a hint of excitement creeping back into his voice. "I won a few times, so I got to be there more than once, it’s amazing."

He turned to Blake.

"What about you?"

Blake huffed a small laugh.

"Well, yeah," he said. "Pretty recently, actually. The tech there is insane."

Asher nodded enthusiastically.

"It really is."

Blake watched him for a while as he continued inspecting things around the lab, his energy seemingly endless when it came to this kind of environment.

Then he sighed quietly, leaning back in his chair.

And just like that, a familiar screen flickered into existence.

[ Mission: Go to Asher Phoenix’s house ]

[ Time limit: 2 days ]

[ Reward: 80 coins ]

[ Penalty: Unluck ]

Blake stared at it for a moment, then he exhaled.

"Oh well."