Private Finished Return of The Prodigal Son

EmiRose

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Diego stood in front of the apartment building that he had lived in over...how many months ago? Damn, had it really been almost 9 months? The time had passed so quickly and yet so slow, Diego could still remember some days had gone by at a snail's pace back at the islets. Back then it had felt like Diego would never be well enough to live like a normal person again.
But here he was, sober for 9 months, mostly clear papers and he had turned a new leaf. Or, well, as new of a leaf as possible. Diego's therapist had said that even though he was doing a lot better now he would still have to live with some of his problems for the rest of his life. That was now heavy of an impact a traumatic childhood had on a person. And Diego wholeheartedly agreed, and his nightmares did too.

Anyway, Diego had to pull himself together now. He had both dreaded and waited this moment. Diego was so ready to see Catalina again, to call her mom and feel like he was home again. Gabe was a bit of a different story. Obviously Diego wanted to see him, he had even finally gotten over his feelings and had moved on, but...Diego just knew that Gabe would be mad. He was even prepared to get punched. But most of all Diego was scared that Gabe wouldn't forgive him...

Diego took a breath, and walked up the stairs to the second floor. Yes, walked. He still flew, but back in the islets Diego had learned that the constant flying had also been a defense mechanism, something he did to make himself feel safer and better than others. The therapist had helped Diego let go of his need to fly, now he only did it 'cos he enjoyed it, no other reason. Besides, Diego had taken up working out in the islets and didn't want to skip leg day.
Diego stopped in front of the right door and rang the doorbell. He knew Catalina was home, but it kinda would've felt weird to just enter.
And so Diego waited, looking down at his toes and hoping Catalina wouldn't whoop his ass once she saw the tattoo adorning his neck and back.
 
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ArcanaFate

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Catalina had been waiting for this day for months. But knowing that Diego was finally coming home, having recovered and hopefully dealt with some of the demons of his past and present. She had been prepping a nice meal for Diego the moment she had heard he was out, ready to have a family dinner with both of her sons. Back in Halcyon, she had always seen the other boy as a second son and not being able to pull him away from his terrible father had always been a regret in her heart. She wanted to save him from that life so much but could never quite prove that Diego was in a terrible situation.

But this island was a second chance, and hopefully with the paperwork tonight, she could make it official.

The older woman was pulled from her thoughts as the doorbell chimed, and she turned to it with her heart beating in her chest. This was it, he was home. With rapid steps, she threw open the door with a large smile.

He was still tall as always, but the young man in front of Catalina seemed stronger, more assured. Although Diego had decided to stare at the floor rather than look at her properly. Her hands reached up to guide his face to look at hers and she felt her eyes water. "Welcome home, Diego." She pulled him down, giving him a motherly kiss on the forehead.
"Come inside and get settled. I'm cooking all of your favorites to celebrate your return home."
 
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EmiRose

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Diego could hear the rapid steps approaching the door, and he tensed a bit when the door basically flew open. But Diego somehow couldn't bring himself to look up, his heart was in his throat. Diego's mind was full of the worst case scenarios, even though he knew the woman he considered his mother would never do anything like what he imagined. And Diego was proven right, when a gentle pair of hand, a pair that had never hurt him in his entire life, settled on his face and lifted his eyes to look at Catalina. Almost immediately tears appeared in Diego's eyes, and he smiled.

"Estoy en casa, mama."
Diego said in soft Spanish and closed his eyes when Catalina kissed him on the forehead, few tears escaping to his cheeks.
Diego did as asked and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. And once the door was closed Diego pulled Catalina into a proper hug, giving the smaller older woman a firm squeeze.
"I missed you a whole lot, mom. Even more than I missed your cooking."
Diego grinned and his shoulders shook as he chuckled, but tears were starting to flow bit more generously now. Before Diego would've been ashamed, would've tried to hide his crying. But goddamnit, Diego was a crybaby, crying was natural and anyone who claimed otherwise was an even bigger dumbass than Diego himself.

"I can't wait to eat your food again, just the Cheetos I ate earlier tasted heavenly, your food will probably blow my mind. When's, uh, when's Gabe getting home?"
Diego asked the last part bit nervously, rubbing his hands against his jeans. He knew that Gabe probably wasn't here now, Perch was a good student and would never skip school.
 

ArcanaFate

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Catalina felt her eyes watering once more, hearing her second son call her 'mom'. It had been so long since she had heard his voice. That relaxed tone that Diego took when he had stayed over and felt genuinely safe. She wiped her eyes and continued to cook over the stove. It had been some time since she had prepared some of these dishes; Gabriel always seemed to mope when presented with the dishes. So, Catalina stopped preparing them and shifted her focus to different meals. She was a decent cook, but she knew that this was a very special occasion and she needed to make this dinner perfect.

For all three of them.

"Gabriel will be here after class, Diego. He should be here within a half-hour. Normally, he's been spending a lot of time at his friend's house but I told him it was very important to be home tonight." She looked over at Diego, a smile forming.
"It's okay, he'll be happy to see you."




Sure enough, thirty minutes on the dot, a key hit the door and opened to reveal a tired looking Gabriel. He yawned, taking a few steps inside as he slid out of his uniform shoes. "I'm home, mom." Once a few steps inside, he smelled the air. The familiar scents of certain spices hung int the air and his eyes began to water a little bit. So many memories came flooding back of times past. Of Halcyon. Of his old apartment. Of...

His gaze shifted toward the couch where someone sat. Someone who had been gone for a long time. The green hair stood out especially well, and Gabriel's bag slid off of his shoulder onto the floor with a thump. A few tears began to trickle down his cheeks.

"...Diego?"
 

EmiRose

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The smell was heavynly and Diego could feel his mouth water. He would need some strength to be able to wait until the food was ready. He went to the kitchen to peek over Catalina's shoulder, and he gave her a brief hug from behind.
"Paella Valenciana? Muchas gracias, mama, you're the best~"
Oh man, it felt good to speak Spanish. Gabe and Catalina were Mexican but Diego's family was Hispanic, and when he was a kid the only good thing his dad had done was introduce Diego the foos culture of Spain through pretty bad homemade Spanish dishes. Thankfully Catalina could make them and she made them so much better.

Diego plopped himself down on the couch to wait for the food to be ready. And he was in direct line of the door from where he sat and Diego kept glancing at the entryway, both eager and scared for Gabe to come in.
"I hope so..."
Diego commented quietly to what Catalina said, and he proceeded fiddling his thumbs as he waited.




Diego had stopped glancing at the door constantly by the time Diego came and instead was focused on the TV screen. There was one of the superhero movies running, Diego was pretty sure it was Thor. The actor playing Thor was hot so he had stuck around to watch the movie.

But the moment Diego heard the front door open he put the TV on mute and slowly turned to look at Gabe. Perch still looked the same. Sure, his hair had grown, and it looked like he had grown a bit, in more ways than one. And when Diego looked at Gabe he couldn't feel that dull ache and fidgety feeling he always felt in the past. That was such a huge relief and yet somehow made Diego sad, and when his eyes met Gabe's Diego started crying too.

"Hey Perch..."
Diego said from his place on the couch, smiling through tears. He really wanted to fly at Gabe and tackle him in a hug, but he felt like he didn't have the right. Diego needed to let Gabe come to him first.
 

ArcanaFate

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He was here?

Like, actually here? This wasn't a hallucination, right? He took careful steps into the living room, eyes locked onto the green-haired teen sitting on the couch. Both hands reached up, resting on Diego's shoulders to confirm that he was, in fact, actually sitting there. Gabe felt more tears begn to trickle out before the floodgates opened and he pulled Diego into a tight hug.

"Hey, Feathers." He choked out, sobbing as he clung onto one of his closest friends in the world. It was an embrace of relief and worry, as if Gabe believed the other teen would just vanish if he let go. He needed this so much. The week had been so rough, with everything seeming to change around him so quickly. "[I've missed you, my brother.]" He croaked out in Spanish through his tears, while Catalina watched on with a few tears of her own. The food was more or less complete but she would let them have this moment first. It was important.
 

EmiRose

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Hugging Gabe after such a long time felt amazing. Diego had wrapped his arms around him the moment Gabe had hugged him and now Diego was squeezing his bestest friend like both their lives depended on it. Gabe was crying and Diego was crying and they were a mess but that was okay. Because when Gabe spoke to Diego in Spanish and called him brother Diego had never felt happier.
"I missed you too, brother. So much you have no idea"
Diego in turn answered in Spanish, voice squeaky because he was crying so much.

Diego would keep the embrace going for as long as Gabe hugged him, and when Gabe would eventually let go Diego wiped his eyes with a breathy laugh.
"Bro, you're the only one who could make me cry this much..."
Diego joked with a small grin, but soon turned serious and looked at Gabe with an apologetic expression.
"So...how pissed are you at me, Perch?"
Diego asked with uncertainty in his voice. Because let's face it, Gabe had to be at least a little mad. Diego hadn't told him anything and had just...left. If Gabe had done that to Diego he would be super mad. And sad. But...hopefully the hug and words from just now were a sign that Diego hadn't done anything irredeemable.
 

ArcanaFate

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Gabe kept the hug tight for as long as he could, trying to make sure the tears had stopped entirely before he pulled away. He wiped his eyes as quickly as he could, looking Diego over carefully. He gently poked and prodded with his fingers, checking to see how much Feathers had changed since they had last seen one another. He looked more fit, more secure in himself? He wasn't the same Diego that had disappeared for so long, that much was certain.

"...I'm not. I'm not mad. I missed you." He sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve. "I know you sent letters but it wasn't the same. I missed my friend. I missed my brother." Gabe felt himself beginning to tear up again and he quickly shook his head to get rid of the weepy feeling. "But if you do it again, I will track you down and kick your ass."




Catalina watches the two boys for a moment, smiling as the two talk. She quickly prepared three plates of food and set it on the table. "Boys, wash up and sit at the table. I need to grab something really quick." She called, moving out of the kitchen and toward her bedroom. Once inside, she grabbed that manila folder that had been waiting for so long and placed it in a long, thin box. The box was quickly wrapped up nicely, almost like a birthday present, and she made her way back to the table where the two of them would hopefully be seated upon her return.

The present was placed on the empty chair and she smiled at her two boys.
"Eat up, you two. Don't let the food get cold."
 

EmiRose

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Diego couldn't help but snort and chuckle when Perch poked him, as if to see if he was real. Diego was also still ticklish so he squirmed under Gabe's fingers and took his hands in his own, holding and squeezing them with a grin on his tear-filled face.
"I'm actually here and real, Perch. No way you could find another guy around as handsome as me."
Diego joked, though his voice was still bit shaky and weepy so it was lackluster.

"If I do it again you don't need to track me down, I'll kick my own ass."
Diego retorted and laughed, sniffing and also wiping away some more tears that flowed from his eyes. He was just so happy to hear Gabe call him his brother and friend again, he'd really missed it. And Diego hadn't gotten any letters, he had refused them, so some days he'd missed mom and Gabe so much it ached.
But it had all been worth it, Diego just knew it.

At Catalina's command Diego stood up and walked to the bathroom to wash up, basically dragging Gabe with him because he didn't want to let go of his hand. Though he eventually had to since he couldn't really wash his hands while holding onto Gabe's.
"It really makes me realize how bland everything was in rehab when scented soap feels luxury"
Diego muttered off-hand after he was done washing up, sniffing at his hands and marveling at the floral scent. The soaps back in rehab had mostly been the scentless kind, or something like eucalyptus.

Catalina wasn't around when Diego returned to the kitchen, along with Gabe 'cos he wanted to stick close to him, and he sat down by the already set table. The Paella Valenciana smelled heavenly and Diego basically salivated as he waited for Catalina to get back, so they could dig in.
Catalina returned after a while, with a...was that a gift? Diego felt a spike of excitement, had mom gotten him a gift for the occasion? Diego's eyes were probably twinkling, but since Catalina set the package down on an empty chair that probably meant that the gift was for later. Bummer...

"Yes ma'am!"
Diego said enthusiastically at the permission to start eating, and he immediately got himself a big chunk of the paella. He knew Catalina usually didn't use red meat while using it, but as he was chewing Diego took time to say
"By the way mom, I kinda stopped eating red meat while away. It was something that my, uh, my therapist recommended."
Diego looked a bit embarrassed, he didn't want to straight up ask 'So could you not use red meat in my portions?', that kinda sounded rude.
 

ArcanaFate

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Catalina smiled as the two boys dug into the food. "Don't worry, Diego, I made it solely with chicken. No red meat to worry about so eat to your heart's content." She slowly began to enjoy her own meal as her two boys bantered back and forth. It was sweet how, despite being separated for nearly nine months, they easily fell back into their usual habits as if they had never been apart. It was a sign of familial love, a bond that wouldn't be broken so easily. Her eyes briefly glanced to the box in the empty chair. The manila folder inside was peering back at her and she couldn't help but worry that Diego would take it poorly. It was a big change and she didn't want to disrespect her friend.

Dolores had been her friend for many years and when she passed, Catalina felt her heart sink so low in her chest. She had been so sweet, so kind, truly a woman Catalina could call a best friend. But hearing her son lived had snapped her out of it and she vowed to watch over little Diego when Dolly could not.

As the plates were cleared and dishes were washed, dried, and put away, the older woman had the two boys sit at the table once more and the thin present was slid along the wood to rest in front of Diego. "This is for you, Diego." She would wait until he opened it and began to examine the paperwork before speaking again.

"Diego, mijo, I've been wanting to do this for so long. Since the first time you came over after that bastard laid his hands on you, I've tried. I pushed, I called, I did everything I could to prove what a piece of trash he was to the police and..." Catalina shook her head, wiping her eyes quickly. "The point is, Dolly loved you so much and she was so happy when she learned she was pregnant. She didn't get to be a mom and I didn't get to give you the mom you deserved then, but I want to now, more than anything. You can sign those and we can drop them off right now and then you'll be my son officially. My little pájaro, Diego."

Gabe sat on, already welling up with tears. It was very clear that he had no idea that this was ever Catalina's plan.
 
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