A bribe

It was heavy but there was a warmth to his hand, Zane looked up at the gray eyes that were wrinkling at the edges, "You are incredible, Child. I regret that I was not there from the beginning. You have done well."

Zane blinked and blinked and blinked again, forcing down a gleam in his eyes before muttering behind his mug of coffee, "I am not a child."

For a second, Zane wondered what it would be like if he had grown up with Andre instead of his mother, he might be a much happier and purer child but he would not be him. He would not have the intrinsic qualities that made him him. He might have a worse relationship with his brothers, he might not have the sincere friends that he does now and he might not have him, Phoenix.

A life where he did not have Phoenix, the him in such life would be pitiful.

Every action that brought him to this moment in time, Zane suddenly appreciated them all.