Baby Boy || Gay MxM || Omegaverse

5. Bonding

"Morning, Boss," said Francis when he entered my home, but the tone in his voice was dark, upset.

"Morning," I said and took a better look at him. He really didn't seem happy with me as he walked in, holding a black bag in his hands. "I take it your trip was successful?"

He glared at me and slowly closed the door. "Don't know about success, but..."

I nodded slowly. "Did you get what I asked?"

"I did," Francis said, dropping the bag on the floor. "But don't ask me to do it again. I'm... I don't want to do that again... It's too much..." he trailed off, his eyes glazing over.

"You know I can't promise you that," I said quietly. "I would've gone myself, but the kid..."

"No. You better make someone else do it. I came out of it alive only because of my partner," he hissed at me. "No. Sorry, Boss, but my answer is no."

"You're my right hand," I said. "Who else am I going to ask? I could only trust you with this task."

"No. I will quit and leave this fucking group if you ever make me do that again!"

"Oh my God, Francis, you were just buying clothes!" I groaned. "It's not that terrible."

He crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. "You don't get it. Tanya dragged me to a mall. A mall! All the bright lights! Stupid jingles everywhere! 'Pay for ten, get two!'. And the teens? The teens?! I will never set foot in that place ever again!"

While he went on and on about the horrors of a shopping mall, I grabbed the bag and opened it. It was filled with new clothes for the kid.

"I do appreciate this, Francis. I knew you could do it. You are a very brave man," I praised him. "And please thank Tanya for giving us a hand. These clothes look great."

He only bared his teeth at me.

I ignored it and peered at the second floor. "He's resting now, but maybe we could try if he'd like to meet you?"

Francis dropped his act and looked up as well. "I can't say I'm not curious to see how he's doing now."

"Come. Let's give it a go," I said, took the bag, and headed upstairs.

When I stopped behind the kid's door, I had an idea, and gave the bag back to Francis. "Hold this for me."

He nodded while I opened the door and peered in. The kid was awake, sitting in an armchair by the window, and watching the yard. I smiled when he turned to look at me.

"Hey, kid. You remember Francis? The ugly guy who was with me when you first got here?" I asked.

He frowned lightly. I'd talked about my right-hand man to him, but I doubted he could actually remember him.

"Well, he's got something for you," I said with a smile, then gestured for Francis to follow me as I stepped in. "He went out of his way to get new clothes for you."

"Hi," Francis said, trying to look friendly. "Uh... What's up?"

The kid stayed in the chair, his expression turning a bit timid, his frame becoming smaller.

"It's all right," I said soothingly as I made my way to him. "Francis is a good guy. He won't hurt you."

The kid stared at me when I crouched in front of him, resting my hand on his arm. I gave him time to adjust, and eventually, he did turn back to Francis. There was more curiosity in his eyes now. Francis stayed patient and waited by the door, maintaining his friendly expression. He was good at reading people, so I was sure everything was going to go just fine. The kid just needed a moment to remember he was actually very, very brave.