Cousins in Arms

[Raven]

That Liam would be jealous made Kailen a little bit proud of how clever he and Willow were. "It's pretty awesome," he said. "It's too bad you can't come with us, though."

[Gifted]

"Yeah... but hang on. You mean to tell me, you two have been going around visiting other cities nearby all on your own, and neither of you thought to come visit me?!" Liam laughed.

[Raven]

Kailen looked a bit sheepish. "Well, we haven't gone quite that far away yet," he said, though in truth it hadn't occurred to him to go visit Liam.

[Gifted]

"Oh is that your excuse, huh?" He joked. "Aw, you shouldn't be running around my town without me anyway. It's really-" He cut himself off when he saw Adam leaving the bathroom. He smoothly transitioned into an entirely different conversation without hesitationg, keeping up the lie effortlessly. "-that's why you're never going to convince me Halo is better than Call of Duty, alright? Your dinky-ass flood can't compare to getting caught in a nuclear fucking explosion. Uncle Adam, took you long enough! Let's go."

[Raven]

"Whatever, not everything has to be nuclear to be a big deal. Haven't you ever heard of Noah's Ark?" Kailen asked, amused, but shook his head. He smiled and headed to the car.
Adam raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Sorry about that. Let's go," he agreed, heading to the car.

[Gifted]

"Will do." Liam followed and got in the car. Willow was more shocked that Liam was able to lie so effortlessly than Kailen apparently was, and it was a moment before she could follow.

[Raven]

Adam unlocked the doors and waited for everyone to get in. Kailen glanced back at Willow. "Come on, Willow," he prompted, smiling brightly

[Gifted]

"Right... yeah, sorry." She followed, getting in the car with her brother and cousin. Once she was sitting down, she pulled out her old and well used planner and started to flip through it - she didn't need it nearly as much as she used to, but she still kept it on her at all times. It made her feel better when she was upset. She still wrote in it often.

[Raven]

Kailen frowned slightly, looking at Willow with a vaguely concerned expression. He said nothing, because Liam was there.

[Gifted]

Willow was flipping through the pages, looking for something she might have written down and forgotten. Liam noticed as well, but he was fairly certain he knew why she was upset and he didn't say anything, not wanting Adam to know. "WillI have much time back at your place or am I going to have to go home?" Liam asked Adam.

[Raven]

"You'll have a little while, but not too long. Your grandpa wants you back soon," Adam said. Though he would refer to Aaron as Liam's grandfather, and occasionally even as Willow's, he never referred to him as Kailen's, or as his own father, despite both also being true statements.

[Gifted]

"Yeah. You know, not safe for me to be away too long and stuff." He rolled his eyes.

[Raven]

"Yes, you might decide not to go back," Adam muttered mutinously under his breath as he turned down the street to head towards their house.

[Gifted]

Liam rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Uncle Adam. Really."

[Raven]

"So you've said," Adam agreed. "You three can play games and have one last treat before you have to go. I hope you've all had fun today."