755. Chapter 755

Maggie was usually the one bringing home strays; but this kid came home with Alex.

Her text was short but full of meaning, and Maggie’s response was immediate.

Found an orphaned Phorian kid living rough in a warehouse. They need a safe place for the night; DEO will take them, but I thought we could?

Absolutely, Danvers. Find out what they like to eat.

It was weeks before they felt comfortable actually telling them what Earth food they loved most – steamed collared greens and fresh nasturtiums, apparently – but Maggie and Alex took at least some comfort in knowing that the kid didn’t try, even once, to run away from their apartment.

“Wanna go see a movie tonight, kid?” Maggie asked one night, after a full meal of peppery flowers and her wife setting off the fire alarm a few too many times (half of which were on purpose, for Sammy’s amusement – and indeed, they cracked a smirk that they immediately tried to hide each time).

Sammy nodded without either enthusiasm or disdain, and Maggie took it as a good sign. Movies, she and Alex had found, were a favorite of Sammy’s; they couldn’t read the thoughts of the recorded images of people on screen, so it was a mystery for them to try to predict characters’ actions and motivations.

Maggie and Alex exchanged a glance and a smile.

“You can just kiss each other, you know. I know it makes you happy when I agree to do things. And I know when you’re happy, you like to kiss each other. It won’t make me angry because my parents are dead and you’re trying to replace them. Wait. No. You’re not trying to replace them. You’re just trying to give me a caring home. Sorry. Am I doing it again?”

Alex sighed as she knelt down next to them, tilting her head like her wife so often did. She let her hand hover above their hair for a moment, knowing they could hear her question of consent; they nodded, and she stroked her hair, his cheek, gently.

“You’re right, sweetheart. We’re not trying to replace your parents. And it’s okay, when you say things like that. It’s okay that you have your way of communicating, and that it makes you talk a little differently than some people here. It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful. And handsome. And I know we haven’t known you very long yet, but Maggie and I love you. Alright?”

A long silence. Sammy stared into Alex’s eyes for a long moment before nodding, biting the inside of their cheek, and reaching out to hold Maggie’s hand in one of theirs, Alex’s in the other.

“Can we get popcorn at the movie?”

Alex kissed their nose with a soft smile that shined through her every pore. “Of course we can.”

It was while they were getting their popcorn an hour or so later that Maggie slammed a man twice her size into the ground.

Alex came out of the bathroom to find Sammy’s eyes shining with anger and burning with unshed tears, and her wife getting some balding white man kicked out of the theater.

“What happened, Sammy?” Alex asked them as she took them into her arms, where they leaned willingly into her.

“Asshole decided to tell our kid what he thinks of Pholians and of lesbian moms. A real winner all around,” Maggie huffed defensively as she strode back into range.

“I tried to hit him so Maggie wouldn’t have to,” Sammy said in a small voice, retreating into a corner with Maggie and Alex so the world would be less overstimulating around him.

“And you were very brave, honey, but look, you can’t keep your thumb in your fist like that. If you actually hit anyone, you’d break it. Here, look, you put your fist like this. That’s right, there you go. And you keep your wrist straight. And you imagine that there’s a string connecting your elbow and your hip, so they go forward together, like this. Yeah. Unlock that foot, because the power comes from your hips, and if your foot’s still, your hip can’t – yeah, like that. You got it, Sammy.”

“Mags, maybe boxing lessons after the movie?”

“The movie, right!”

“Are you okay, Sammy? It’s alright if you’re not.”

“And you never have to feel like you need to step up to bat for me, kid. If someone’s giving you a problem, it’s my job to protect you. Alex’s too. Okay?”

“I think I’m okay. I’ve heard people think worse things before. Just… I got angry because he was thinking terrible things about you two. It… I’m sorry I caused trouble.”

“That wasn’t your fault.”

“You didn’t cause anything, Sammy, I promise.”

“I’d like it, though.”

“Like what?” Maggie tilted her head, letting her thumb caress Sammy’s.

“If you were my moms. And you can definitely kiss now. Because you’re super happy, I can tell.”