WHITE DWARF • THE 100

06

HER ROCK

"Can I ask a question?" The innocent voice of seven year old Cassie asked, not looking up from her plate. She tricked herself into believing if she wasn't looking at them, they couldn't see how nervous she was. 

Callum smirked, nudging her with his elbow. "You just did." 

Ryan smacked his boyfriend across the head, yet the smile on his face betrayed the action. Callum simply ducked under his hand, giggling at the act. Cassie always watched their interactions with intense interest, her complete focus on them. She envied the relationship they had with each other, how they were so playful and could be so loving at the same time. She wanted something like that when she was older. 

"Ignore him, he's just being a little sh- turd." Callum snorted, and Ryan smacked him again. Ryan despite this, had kept his attention on her the whole time. Cassie still struggled to wrap her head around why they cared so deeply for her when she wasn't their daughter; she didn't mind. She loved the affection. "What did you want to ask?" 

"Um," she continued to move her food around her plate, mesmerised by how smoothly the thick consistency could move. "Should I call you anything?"

The pair frowned in confusion at the girl. "What do you mean?"

Cassie sighed, finally putting her fork down. She couldn't multi task very well, and this task was definitely something that needed her whole attention. "The people in their class talk about her moms and dads, and I don't call you that."

Callum made a choking sound. Ryan laughed heartily, absently patting Callum's back as he addressed Cassie. "It doesn't matter if we want you to call us anything - it's about what you're comfortable with." 

Cassie simply shifted under their gaze. 

Ryan reached across the table, grasping Cassie's hand. "What's brought this on?" 

"In class we were making Mothers day cards and... they said I couldn't do it because she's not here. They laughed." Cassie had her head bowed. Even after the incident where Ryan had intercepted her bullies, it still persisted. It did get better for a while, but then it got drastically worse again. 

Callum cleared his throat. "Would you like to celebrate Mother's day?"

Cassie shrugged. "She's gone and hasn't come back. I thought she would... I don't have a mom for it." 

Cassie wanted to be upset about it. She wanted to feel tears spring up in her eyes at the thought of her biological parents being dead; she felt nothing. They were just a distant memory, and if anything, when she thought of them she felt resentment. They had left her without any consideration for her, and she despised that. She was thrown into an apartment with two men she barely knew and expected to have them as guardians. They had turned her whole world upside down and she never even got a reason why. 

Was she not enough? 

Callum shifted awkwardly, shooting a blatant look at Ryan. Ryan sighed, squeezing Cassie's hand. "Just because she's gone doesn't mean she doesn't care." 

"I thought you couldn't care when you're dead." 

Callum choked again. He spluttered as he reached for some water, coughing harshly. Ryan sent him a sharp glance. 

"You can when you're a part of the stars. And you know what?" Ryan gave the girl a small smile, pointing at the ceiling of their apartment. On it, in flaking paint, was an outline of all of the constellations she could remember, including the Cassiopeia. "She's become a part of the very star she named you after, and she's looking down at you with so much pride."

Cassie wanted to believe that all with her being. She wanted to believe that no matter what happened, her biological parents would be watching. Not to reassure her - no, so they could know what they'd missed out on when they left this world so abruptly. 

"How do you know?" Cassie meekly said, suddenly finding one spot on the table very interesting. 

Ryan gazed at her softly. She could never think of a time where he hadn't looked at her like, with so much love he could burst. Callum was the exact same, except he wasn't as vocal with his love. Cassie didn't mind - sometimes, actions speak louder than words. 

"Because that's how we feel."

Callum turned to Ryan, his expression mirroring Ryan's. Leaning over, he brushed his lips over his cheek. "I love you." 

"I love you too." Ryan winked at Callum, and Cassie didn't understand why Callum went as red as what he did. 

They quickly averted their attention back to Cassie. "It doesn't matter to us what you call us, as long as you're happy."

Cassie pondered all of the names she could think of. She was tired of calling them just their given names. It wasn't fitting of what they were to her. They were so much more than Ryan and Callum - they were her rock, the only thing keeping her grounded to reality. There was no name or title that could fully represent how much they meant to her. 

Cassie stroked her chin, theatrically deepening her frown, making it clear she was in deep thought. "Even fart face?" 

Ryan and Callum chuckled, their entire bodies moving with the action. She loved that - it was as if their happiness was just exploding from them, and it made her happy to know they were happy. 

"Yes, even fart face." 

"Though," Callum interjected, a shit eating grin on his face. "I think Ryan's more of a fart face than I am." 

Ryan's mouth dropped in mock horror. "You traitor." 

"All is fair in love and war." 

Cassie didn't understand some of the jokes but she laughed anyway, the mere sound of their laughs triggering hers. Their happiness was infectious, and it was in that moment she knew. She knew what title they deserved. It still didn't display the extent of her feelings towards them; it would be enough. 

"Can I call you two dad?" 

Their heads snapped towards her in shock. In the space of a second, their faces had gone from being slack to beaming with joy. 

"That's perfect."