Chapter Five

Ty confidently strode through the glass doors that were still too big for him, although he did have a tiny fear that one of them would swing back and hit him. But the doors were kind to him, and he made it through unharmed. He walked for a little bit, then paused, turned around, and went forward to Tristan's desk.

“Good morning, Tristan!” he gleefully shouted, barely able to see over the top of the desk. He put his arms on the surface to lift himself up, and he could feel his backpack scrunch up the back of his shirt. Tristan looked up and smiled halfheartedly.

“Good morning, Ty,” he answered. His eyes quickly scanned the immediate area, not finding whatever it was they were looking for. “Where's your dad?”

“At home,” Ty casually replied, before realizing that he might need to explain further. “I stayed with mommy last night, and she drove me to school. But she said that I was big enough to walk in all by myself.” Ty grinned a smug grin and proudly puffed out his chest a little. Tristan felt a bit bad, but he thought it best to let Ty think what he wanted to.

“I see. But your dad will pick you up later, yeah?” he hopefully asked, and Ty enthusiastically nodded. Tristan quietly exhaled a breath of relief, though the pinch of guilt he had felt since he had returned home the night before had not subsided.

“Uh huh. That's what mommy told me, anyway.” Then Ty's eyes lit up a little, and though it worsened his already obstructed view he leaned closer to the desk. “What was your date like, huh? Huh?”

“It was great,” Tristan instantly told him, slightly uncomfortable, without giving it much thought, and he quickly devised a plan to avoid talking to Ty about matters he thought were fairly irrelevant to a five-year-old. “I think you should be headed to class now, though.” His plan worked rather well.

“Oh yeah,” Ty mumbled, as if to say that he had forgotten all about school, but that this reminder was not a huge disappointment, merely a fact of life. He withdrew his arms and let them hang at his side, his backpack and shirt falling back into their proper places. “Well, goodbye, Tristan.”

Tristan smiled and watched Ty start to walk away. “Goodbye, Ty. You know where the room is, right?” he asked after a last-minute thought.

“Yes, I know exactly where it is,” Ty called as he trudged down the hallway, not bothering to look back. He felt a sort of sadness walking this path without Chris by his side, but he tried his best to ignore it. He liked being happy more than sad, which was not at all unreasonable.

He wasn't quite sure if he would be able to open the door to the classroom once he reached it. Ty would watch Chris open it every day with ease, but somehow to him the door looked even bigger than the glass ones at the entrance.

Ty grabbed the door knob firmly with both hands. He twisted his arms to turn the handle, just as he had seen Chris do so many times, hoping that he had just enough strength to make it work. The first attempt failed. Ty let his hands fall to his side, took a deep breath, and tried again.

He felt rather frustrated. His father had always told him that he was a smart boy, but it didn't really require brains to open a door. Luckily, he managed to find some patience, and so he kept his cool and continued to unsuccessfully open the door, until someone else walked up to help.

“Need some help with that?” a woman's voice asked. Ty looked up to his right to see a woman in a light pink dress standing beside him, a little girl he recognized holding her hand.

“Yes, please,” Ty replied, stepping aside so the lady could get to the door. The little girl smiled at Ty and waved to him.

“Hi, Ty,” she cheerfully said. “Where's your dad?”

“Hello, Alicia. My daddy's at home, because I stayed at my mommy's house last night and she brought me to school,” he casually explained. Alicia looked shocked by this information.

“You mean your parents don't live in the same house?” she asked, her tone just a pitch higher. Ty shook his head.

“Nah, my mommy lives near the college and my daddy and me live near... here,” he told her. She seemed to be very intrigued by what Ty was saying. Her mother coughed a little to catch their attention.

“Come on, you two,” she said, holding the door open for the children to pass through. Ty, being the little gentleman he was, gestured to let Alicia walk in front of him. She smiled and thanked him, then strolled past her mother and into the classroom.

“Thank you for opening the door,” Ty said to the woman as he walked by. “I'm not big enough yet to do it by myself.”

“You're welcome,” the woman kindly replied.

Ty walked over to the shelves in the corner and put his backpack in its proper spot. He made sure first that he had retrieved what he needed from it, then he set off for his desk. The only other child at the makeshift table was Daren, which made Ty feel a little uneasy. Daren had not said much to him in the past week, but he was still worried that Daren might start to again, and that he might not be able to ignore him this time. He didn't want to break his promise to his father.

“Nice clothes, Crymoan,” Daren sneered. Ty looked up at him, then down at his clothes. So, his shirt was a little small, and had a picture of the star of a television show aimed mostly towards toddlers on it. His pants were just regular jeans. He saw nothing wrong with either of those things. Plus, his mother had told him that he had no choice but to wear those clothes.

“Thanks,” Ty chose to say in reply, hoping that it would work. Daren snorted at him, and he looked as though he wanted to say more, but couldn't think of anything. Ty counted this as a victory.

“I think you look very stylish today, Ty,” Alicia said as she took her seat beside him. Ty beamed at her and sat down himself.

“Thank you, Alicia,” he replied, and this time he was very sincere. He shot a sideways glance at Daren, eyes narrowed slightly, but Daren didn't seem to notice. Ty was fine with that. He turned and scanned the classroom for the teacher instead, keeping his eyes on her once he had located her among the sea of people. He usually did that every morning, just sat and waited for class to start.

Meanwhile, Chris was laying down, staring at the unused half of his bed. He didn't really have to be up and about at any particular time, which always felt weird to him after years of being forced to wake up for school, both his and now Ty's. He could think of nothing better to do than stare.

And he could think of nothing else but Jonathan. He still vividly remembered the first night Jonathan had stayed over, before Chris and Ty had even moved in entirely. He remembered just how nervous he was before he asked Jonathan to stay, and how ridiculous he thought it was to be nervous.

Ty had remained at Kirsten's house, and Chris was to pick him up the day after, along with Ty's leftover belongings. Therefore, Chris had the apartment all to himself, and while he wouldn't have minded being alone for the night, he really wanted to be with Jonathan.

So he had asked, and had Jonathan agreed. That night they were together as they never had been, and Chris could recall feeling happier than he ever had before when he fell asleep knowing that Jonathan was laying beside him. And in the morning, when he woke up to find that Jonathan had wrapped an arm around his back, he knew that he wanted the rest of his life to be like that.

But he also knew it wouldn't be permanent. It couldn't be permanent. Jonathan was to go off to college, to live on his own. Even if he could have lived with them, Chris had prepared himself for the day when Jonathan wanted to leave, when he wanted a family of his own, because he was positive that it would happen. Still, no amount of preparing would have been enough, and he found himself unable to let go, even after two years.

He closed his eyes, desperately wishing that he could go back to that night. He was honestly afraid that he could never feel that happy again. He tried to tell himself that it shouldn't matter, that he shouldn't be dependent upon someone who wasn't even around anymore for happiness and that he should be more than happy with the life he already had. In fact, he began to whisper these things to himself while he was still looking at the inside of his eyelids.

Yet, as Chris left the apartment to retrieve his son after a few more hours of brooding around, he couldn't help feeling a bit put off. For two weeks he would drive to that school, trying to hide it but ultimately anticipating the moment he finally got to see Tristan smiling at him, and finally heard Tristan call his name. Now, even that was gone. Or so he had thought.

Chris pulled into the school parking lot and realized that he was at least five minutes early. He didn't feel like sitting and waiting in the car, so he walked in. He thought about not looking to see if Tristan was there, and sparing himself whatever unwanted feelings were sure to arise. He couldn't get away with it so easily though, especially not once Tristan called out to him.

“Can I talk to you real quick?” Tristan asked after Chris had stopped and faced him. Without saying a word, Chris walked over to his desk. Tristan examined him for a while. “Are you OK?”

“I'm fine,” Chris blatantly lied, his miserable state becoming even more apparent by the second. “How did it go last night? You know, after...” He waved his hand to signify what he meant to say. Tristan tilted his head slightly from side to side.

“It was all right,” he shrugged. “Mary and I walked around for a few hours, talking.”

“Did you guys...?” Chris began, then he didn't feel like finishing his question. Tristan seemed to understand what he was saying, anyway.

“No, actually. Not... yet.” Chris knew he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up, but Tristan's answer as well as the unconvincing and perhaps even uninterested tone he spoke with during the last statement made something in his brain jump and tell him to stop being so melancholy. “...Why?” Chris opened his mouth to answer, but he wasn't sure how to reply. “Because, you know... Mary and I did all that talking, and... I'm not so convinced that she actually is my one person. I mean, she was the one who broke up with me in the first place. Now it just seems like she's changed, and not really for the better.”

“Are – are you saying that you would still want to fall in love with a boy?” Chris quietly asked, trying his hardest not to blush as he said it, though it was basically out of his control. Luckily, he wasn't alone. Tristan looked down at his desk, but it didn't hide his flushed cheeks.

“I could probably fall in love with you,” he practically muttered. He looked back up at Chris and gave a sort of grimace. “So, does this mean that I didn't totally blow it last night? I kinda realized when I got home last night that I made a huge mistake. I shouldn't have been such a...” Tristan tried to find a word suitable to say in an elementary school- “jerk to you, and I definitely should not have left you like that.”

“Yeah...”

“I'm sorry. I guess girls just make me think very irrationally, or maybe not at all.” Tristan furrowed his brow a bit, then he quickly shook his head and waved his hand in the air. “And I know that doesn't really make up for what I did. But... I could try to make it up to you some other way.”

Chris let his bright blue eyes roam over Tristan's image for a bit. He wasn't really hesitating with his answer; his delayed reply was more to torture Tristan with the wait. “All right,” he finally said. Tristan genuinely smiled at him, and Chris felt a weird tingling in his veins. He thought of how strange it would be if he did fall in love with someone who wasn't Jonathan, but he also thought that maybe he did have a chance at happiness now.

As the glass entrance doors opened and a woman strolled through, Tristan cleared his throat and said, “I guess you should go get your son now, huh?”

“Yes, I should,” Chris replied, pointing his index finger into the air. He had oddly almost forgotten they were even in the school. “I'll be right back.”

When Chris entered the small classroom down the hall, Ty came rushing towards him, much quicker than he usually did. He already had his backpack on, and he appeared to be completely ready to leave.

“Daddy!!” Ty shouted, jumping and stretching his arms up as far as they would go. Chris laughed as he picked Ty up. “I missed you lots!”

“I missed you, too, kid,” Chris told him. “But did you have a good time with your mum?”

“Yeah, sure,” Ty said, nodding happily. “Can we go home now?”

“Yes, we can. Would you like to say goodbye to your friends?” Ty thought for a few moments, twisting his mouth around. “You know, it's Friday. So you won't see them for a few days.”

“Oh, I'll say goodbye to them.” Chris set him down, and Ty ran off to the table where Alicia and another small boy stood. Ty said a few words (actually, it looked more like he said a hundred words within a few seconds – an area in which he definitely took after Chris) and waved to his friends, which Chris found amusing.

A minute or so later, the two were standing at Tristan's desk once more. Ty watched in delight as Chris and Tristan talked, over what he had no idea. He was just happy to see his father happy. He did hear something about Tristan visiting them once he was finished with work.

Chris turned to Ty. “You don't mind if Tristan comes over, do you?” he asked. Ty shook his head. Chris smiled, which in turn made Ty smile, and he spoke to Tristan again. “So yeah, you can come over tonight.”

“Well, all right, then!” Tristan beamed. “I'll call first, of course. It probably won't be right after I get out. Maybe like an hour after.”

“OK,” Chris simply replied. Then after a few seconds, he was struck with a thought. “Oh, but I should warn you – Ty and I have some pretty intricate plans for this evening.” Chris shot a devious glance at Ty, who returned the look. Tristan laughed as he raised his eyebrows.

“Well, that should be interesting.”

Chris nodded a little. “We'll let you get back to work, then. Um, see you later.” Chris hesitated at first, but then he quickly leaned forward and gave Tristan a peck on the cheek. Ty was sure to make fun of him as soon as they left the building. He rolled his eyes; after all, Ty had been the one pushing for Chris to go out with Tristan anyway. And he was five years old.

At six that evening, Chris received the call from Tristan informing him that he would be on his way momentarily and that he would arrive at their apartment within the next ten or fifteen minutes. It was actually precisely eleven minutes after Chris set the phone back on the receiver that Tristan knocked upon their door.

“Quickly, quickly,” Chris said as he opened the door, pulling Tristan inside and being oddly quiet. All Tristan could do was give him a questioning look. As soon as they were both standing in the apartment, still by the door, Chris continued, “OK. For or against?”

Tristan figured he didn't have time to ask what Chris meant, and that if he did he probably would not have been given a real answer. So he just chose. “Uh... for?”

“Good. What you need to do is-” Chris cut himself off, grabbing Tristan's arm and slowly leading him towards the small hallway that contained both bedrooms. “Go all the way down to the end of the hall. The door on the right is Ty's. He'll tell you everything you need to know.”

“OK.” Tristan followed Chris's direction and walked down the hallway without looking back. He could hear Chris scrambling about in the other room, but he kept going with his eyes set on his destination. Ty was standing on his bed (though even with the extra height he was still not taller than Tristan) looking very mighty and sporting a red cape and yellow paper crown.

“Oh, hello, Tristan,” he bouncily greeted the man. “I see you have decided to remain loyal to your king.”

“Yeah, I guess I have.” Tristan took a few steps into the room, rubbing his arm with his other hand. “So.. Chris said you'd tell me everything I need to know...”

“Yes, yes!” Ty jumped off the bed and landed a foot away from Tristan. “Well, today I have a big speech to deliver to my people. But there is a chance that someone could try to 'sassinate me-”

“Assassinate you?” Tristan asked, while simultaneously wondering how it was that a young child could have such an expanded vocabulary.

“Yes, uh-sassinate me. So, you are going to be my bodyguard. But it is a dangerous job, Tristan. You have to be prepared to take a bullet for me.”

Every now and then Tristan would realize that it was a little strange for him to be taking orders from someone whose head he could see right over if he looked straight out in front of him. Nevertheless, he listened to every word that Ty said to him, and he agreed with every question he was asked.

Ty informed Tristan that it might also be necessary to revive him at some point, though he didn't explain how. Once his instructions were finished, there was nothing to do but wait. Tristan sat at the foot of Ty's bed and watched as Ty paced the floor, fiddling with his crown.

Then an alarm went off in the room, startling Tristan. Ty merely walked to the alarm clock by his bed and shut if off. He turned to Tristan.

“It's time,” he said, his stony voice indicating that he took this very seriously. Tristan, unsure of how precisely to respond, nodded silently. Ty walked over to where Tristan was seated and placed a hand on Tristan's back, trying to move him. Tristan stood up on cue, and followed Ty out of the room and down the hallway. As they entered the living room, it was apparent that in the time passed since Tristan's arrival, Chris had disappeared.

Ty led Tristan around the sofa to the area in front of the television. From there Tristan had a clear view of the kitchen. Still no sign of Chris. The silence that clouded the room seemed normal, until Tristan turned to see that Ty was staring up at him, waiting.

“You have to introduce me,” he softly said in response to Tristan's quizzical expression.

“Oh. Uh...” Tristan turned to the couch, the imaginary audience. “L-Ladies and, uh, gentlemen, uh... King Ty,” he awkwardly said, limply gesturing to Ty. Ty leaned closer to him.

“King Tyrone,” he corrected. Then he stood back and with greater volume said, “A fierce name for a fierce king.” Some laughter erupted from somewhere in the room, soft and quiet laughter, but loud enough for Tristan to hear. It startled him at first, then his eyes alertly darted around the room in search of Chris. But he found nothing.

He felt a tug on the sleeve of his shirt. “King Tyrone,” he announced, repeating his gesture towards Ty with more professionalism. Ty cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“Good evening, citizens of this apartment,” Ty began, opening his arms as if to accommodate the entire nonexistent group before him. “I am here today to inform you that we are not going to be in this war anymore. So many of our people have died because of it. So many.”

Tristan smirked as he watched Ty, simultaneously thinking of all the places Chris could be hiding. To say that he came up short-handed would be reasonably accurate.

“And yeah, conquering France would be great. Who doesn't wanna do that?” Ty continued. “But it's just not worth it anymore.” Ty clasped his hands and took a long, dramatic pause. He was preparing for something. “So, I now officially announce our withdraw-”

As quick as lightning, a big grey blob whizzed across the room and hit Ty in the chest. He caught the object and made his melodramatic fall to the ground.

“Oh no... I've been... shot,” he groaned, then just laid on the ground and twitched. Tristan knelt down at his side, where he noticed that the grey blob was actually a stuffed elephant. “Treason! Treason!”

Tristan looked around again. Where the hell was Chris?

“My dear bodyguard... please... revive me,” Ty croaked. Tristan looked down. The first thing he could think to do was take the elephant away. He set it down next to him and struggled to come up with the next step.

The elephant had flown from the corner of the room. Tristan looked over. Chris's computer was in the corner. Unless Chris had somehow transfigured into a computer or computer desk, Tristan was at a loss for explanation. Then he heard a sound.

Pssst.

It was coming from the corner. Tristan was rather freaked out.

Pssssst.

Then Chris moved, and Tristan realized that Chris had stashed himself under the desk. Pretty clever. As soon as Chris had Tristan's attention, he began to make a motion with his hands. Tristan had no clue what he meant.

For several long moments Tristan blankly stared, alternating between Chris's signing and Ty's motionless body. Then suddenly he pieced it together, and he proceeded to tickle Ty. It worked, and after only a few seconds of shrieking, Ty was up on his feet again, beaming.

“Thank you so much, dear bodyguard!” he exclaimed, hopping forward and tightly hugging Tristan.

“You're welcome, King Tyrone,” he said with a laugh. Ty pulled away and faced the corner.

“Daddy, you don't have to be under there anymore,” he said. Chris quickly crawled out and stood up, stretching his limbs. Ty glanced around the room. “Now, if only there was someone to be a cop...”

“Couldn't your bodyguard do it?” Chris asked with a wink directed at Tristan. Tristan smiled moderately. Ty thought briefly.

“Bodyguard, arrest that man!” Ty commanded, pointing an accusing finger at Chris. Tristan walked across the room and stood as close to Chris as possible.

“You're under arrest, Chris,” Tristan playfully said. The whole situation was becoming more familiar and comfortable to him now.

“Oh, my,” Chris replied, raising one eyebrow. “You're going to have to frisk me, aren't you? In case I've got anything on me.”

Tristan bit his lip, though his expression was more hesitant than seductive. “Not sure that's so appropriate with your kid standing right over there.”

“Yeah, well, at least I didn't say anything about having to go downtown.” Chris folded his arms against his chest and gave a superior look as Tristan gaped and exultantly shoved him.

“Perv.” Timidly, Tristan looked back to where Ty was still standing. He was once again examining his crown, seemingly unaware of anything else that was going on. “Although, I do have handcuffs in my car,” he mumbled. Chris's eyes lit up with surprise, and he dropped his arms to his sides.

“Tristan... I had no idea you were like that...” Chris put his hands to his hips, tilted his head, and examined the man in front of him. “It's always the ones who work with children, huh?” His head returned to its normal angle as he realized the problem with his statement. “I think that came out differently than I meant it to.”

“Uh, yeah,” Tristan slowly replied. “I think I'm going to drag you back to the king now, he'll probably want to throw you in the dungeon or something.”

Chris made an uneasy face. “That's gonna be difficult, considering we don't have a dungeon.” Tristan shook his head, smiled, and grabbed Chris's hand to lead him to where Ty stood.

“Here you are, sir,” Tristan said to Ty, who looked up from eying his crown. He placed the paper diadem atop his head and strode in front of Chris. He gasped theatrically and held a hand to his heart.

“But it can't be... It simply can't be!” Ty took a few steps back to get a better look at Chris. “You... you look so much like me...”

“But more handsome, I know,” Chris said in a low voice. “That's because there are things, Tyrone, things you don't know. Things that no one has ever told you before, but I'll tell you now...” As Chris stared down at Ty, Tristan observed, astounded by Chris's performance and how seriously he seemed to take it. “I'm your father.”

“WHAT?” Ty bellowed into air. His eyes bulged, and tears even began to form. It was even more impressive than Chris's acting. His lips quivered as he went on, “But... but why would you try to kill me?”

Chris broke free of Tristan's hold – which was relatively easy because Tristan had forgotten he was even a part of the scene – and bent down so he and Ty were face-to-face. “No, no. I didn't try to kill you. If I wanted you dead, you would be dead. I did this as a warning – can't you see?” Chris placed a hand on Ty's shoulder. “This is far too dangerous for you, son. You can't put your life at risk like this anymore. I won't let you.”

“But, daddy,” Ty quietly began, his voice teeming with emotion, “I have to do this. For my people. If I don't, who will take care of them? How can I know that they will be treated right? I have to put my life at risk, so that everyone can be safe.”

“Who will make sure that you're safe?” Ty didn't answer. He turned his head and looked towards the kitchen.

“I can take care of myself. But my country has to come first.”

Tristan watched the pair, unsure of whether to cry or to run out of the apartment, screaming. He ultimately chose to stay – though his eyes were dry – because he knew that with these two, he would be in for quite an adventure. And he liked that.