Private Finished Return of The Prodigal Son

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.