Entry 2 - Maxwell Cross

Don't get used to chapter updates like this. I'm just trying to get this website up to speed with the others I use, lol. This is also the chapter where same sex relationships come into play. Granted I warned ahead of time in the synopsis notes. Regardless, I hope you enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"There you go, girl." Carlos said, a he set Luna's bowl of pellets in her cage. He watched, fond, as the rabbit hopped over and began to sniff her food bowl. The doorbell rang a moment later, and Carlos shut the top of her cage.

He grumbled as he made his way downstairs. He had only gotten up for a moment to use the bathroom and feed Luna. He didn't want his family woken up, and so proceeded downstairs himself. He was surprised his dad hadn't woken up from the first ring.

Another ring and Carlos called to the door.

"I'm coming. Just give me a minute."

There were very few people who would come to their door at such an early hour, and normally Chantelle called. Meaning there was only one other person he could think of.

Carlos opened the door and wasn't surprised to see a tall man on the other side, dressed in a casual uniform of a white button up, dark pants, and boots. He said casual due to the fact it was the most casual thing Maxwell Cross would let himself wear on the clock without advertising ACE, the Agency of Cosmic Entities.

"Mr. Cross," he greeted.

"Carlos."

His blue eyes wandered to the stairs nearby and Carlos shrugged.

"Dad ain't up yet. You can come in, though. Do you want some coffee?"

Cross shook his head as he walked inside.

"No, thank you. I'll just wait for Jones to wake up."

The two of them turned right in the entrance hall to enter the kitchen, a simple room with all the necessities and black appliances instead of white, dark red wood cabinets, and dark granite counter top. Mai had helped greatly with the design, and that of the rest of the house. Cross took a seat at the dining table while Carlos started pulling out cereal boxes. He didn't feel like being reminded of last night's eggs.

"You're the only one up?"

"Yeah. Seth stayed up late with his friend playing games and I was talking to my girlfriend all night."

"Oh," Cross looked, for a moment, uncertain. "Sorry, kid. Didn't mean to interrupt, but with my job. . ."

He trailed off.

"It's fine. Dad likes you coming over."

This time an exasperated sigh, but a quick glance behind him showed a slight tint to the man's cheeks.

"Let me get dad."

Carlos walked up the stairs then turned down the hall opposite of where Seth's and his own rooms were. He knocked on his father's door.

"Dad? You awake?" When there was no answer, he knocked again, louder, and finally heard Martin's voice.

"Mm? Carlos? Is that you?" His voice sounded more muffled compared to the door, and Carlos had to wonder if his father had wrapped himself in a cocoon of blankets again.

"Yeah. Wanted to tell you Cross was here."

"Oh. Okay." Carlos mentally counted to three.

"Wait? Cross!?" There was shuffling, then a thud, followed by a muffled curse. Carlos tried not to laugh.

"Stupid-! Damn-! Ah! Carlos?"

"Yeah, dad?"

"Please tell Cross I will be down shortly."

"Of course, dad."

He left his father to his own devices and made his way back downstairs. Cross had stood up, probably from the noise, but didn't look panicked.

"He'll be down soon."

"Right."

Cross went to sit again, but froze and eyed the fridge.

"Please tell me you ran out of pineapples."

Carlos tried very hard not to remember the Pineapple Incident. He didn't want to remember his father's attempts at trying to impress Cross with his ability to swallow things whole. Seth had laughed and told him to do it again. It was four years ago and the scars still haven't healed.

Carlos didn't get to answer when Martin came around the corner. He looked decent, if not for the hair in the back still sticking up.

"Cross. Good morning."

"Jones," Cross had already schooled his features into something neutral, "You know the drill."

His dad needed no further prompting, and took a seat across from the agent. However, he spotted the cereal on the counter.

"You don't want me to cook something?"

"No," Carlos nearly screeched before calming quickly, "I mean, that's alright. You cooked dinner last night. It's fine. Cereal's good, too."

Martin blinked before he gave a fond smile.

"Alright. You're a sweet boy."

Cross raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing. It would have been strange from any other man Martin's (supposed) age, but it was Martin. Cross had seen and heard stranger and worse from his dad.

He grabbed a tea for his dad and finished putting milk in his cereal. He turned to see Cross pull out a notepad and voice recorder.

It was strange, watching as Cross questioned his father on his daily activities since his last visit, having him go into details like times and dates. Anything from the mundane to the more specific, including things about himself and Seth. Carlos already knew Cross would ask both Seth and himself for confirmation.

He didn't hate Cross for this, though. He understood he was only doing his job; Cross himself wasn't a bad man. It helped that his father wasn't distressed when he answered the questions. Cross asked them with no judgement, kept professional, and was always straightforward but kind when he talked to his brother and himself.

(It also helped that, instead of killing his father when they met, he chose to listen to two desperate kids begging him to not behead their dad.)

"Carlos," Martin's voice dragged him back to the present, "Would you mind getting Luna off the table?"

He looked to see their rabbit on the table as her dark eyes stared directly at Cross, who eyed her with cautious curiosity. Her fur was white with a dusting of silver. It didn't surprise Carlos she got on the table. Being able to control her own gravity helped with that.

Huh. Guess I forgot to lock the cage.

He had just picked Luna up when Seth and Richter walked in, both still in rumpled clothes.

"Mornin'." Seth yawned as he picked up two bowls for both of them and Richter grabbed a cereal box. Richter then did a double take at Cross.

"Uh, who's he?" Carlos almost had a mini heart attack as he remembered that, while Richter knew about Cross, the two had never been introduced. Cross had made it clear that no one aside from themselves should know about his work and Martin. How to explain it without explaining anything?

"The guy dad has a crush on." Seth plucked the box from his hands and poured the cereal.

How eloquent his brother was.

"Seth!" Carlos scolded while Cross swallowed air wrong. His father just looked serene as he sipped his tea. Richter, meanwhile, tried to decide between laughing and being just as exasperated as Carlos.

Richter, deciding on amusement, quipped, "So, is your dad going to swallow another pineapple?"

Carlos went to scold Richter next, when a sudden chill raced down his spine.

"Jones." Cross' tone had changed and there was something dark in his eyes, "Why does he know that?"

Even his father, one who has always kept himself in control, stiffened at Cross' voice. It was one that Cross only reserved for his subordinates and work.

When Cross was taking things seriously, ready to pull his rank or his weapons for a fight.

Martin stood up with as calming of a smile as he could.

"Perhaps we should talk in the other room."

Cross looked ready to argue, but allowed Martin to lead him towards the living room, hopefully the furthest corner he could.

Richter waited until he was sure they were as far away as they could be, before he spoke up.

"What was that?" He asked in an almost whisper. Carlos understood. Cross was terrifying when he was angry. It made you think he'd pop up out of the void to shoot you the moment you breathed wrong.

"You're not supposed to know about dad." Seth answered, closer so they could talk without raised voices. "We hid the fact you knew. It's why we try to keep Cross' schedule in mind, but we got comfortable."

Richter's eyes bounced between the brothers, conflicted.

"Did I screw up?" Richter asked. Seth shook his head.

"No. You didn't know. You didn't-,"

"How many, Jones?"

All three flinched at Cross' voice. Seth flinched the hardest, and nearly knocked over his bowl. Seth was normally good at keeping a level head, but yelling always got to him. Richter's hand shot out to grip Seth's shaking wrist. Richter's knowledge of their dad's secret meant he could run interference even if Carlos wasn't there. It meant Carlos didn't have to worry about Seth so long as Richter was right there. Carlos made a shushing gesture and motioned for them both to stay as he tiptoed closer to the living room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Martin and Cross were, indeed, in the furthest corner of the room, but the quiet made it easy to listen.

"Cross, please- "

"Answer the question, Jones." Carlos watched as his father took a deep breath. Despite not being human, Martin never liked it when Cross was angry. It happened rarely, but it was never pleasant. Carlos could see how much it hurt his father to have Cross mad.

"Around six, if you count Richter."

"How?"

"They were accidents, except one. Things happened and either I couldn't control myself, I was trying to help them, or I was just seen. The first one was the one who helped situate me into human society, so of course she knows."

"For how long?" His dad hesitated, and Carlos could almost see the way Cross' face darkened.

"For how long, Jones?"

"At different points. The first one was before I even adopted the boys. The next two maybe three months or so after we moved in. One was about a month before we met. The rest were sometime after that. The earliest at about two months after."

Cross took the information in, and Carlos couldn't tell if it was anger or hurt that passed through his face this time.

"Why did you not tell me?"

"I didn't know you that well, at first. I wanted to be safe, to keep them safe."

"Why not later? Why keep it from me for almost five years? Do you even understand what could have happened?"

"I would have handled it. However, while I trust you, Cross, I didn't know about ACE. I may not have known as much about humans as I do now, but I understand how fear works. I understood well how humans can have the best of intentions, yet still do horrific things in the name of them." A moment of thought, before Martin continued, "I saw it with Seth and Carlos."

This got Cross to calm, if only a bit. However, the slight reminder of their life before almost made Carlos sick. He didn't think Cross knew the whole story, but he probably did know the basics.

"You know I wouldn't let that happen, Jones."

"Maybe, but you're only one person, Cross."

"That's true, but so are you. Human or not, you can't be everywhere at once, can you? I have more resources than you do, Jones."

His dad had a look on his face, as if he wanted to correct him but didn't know how. Cross raised a brow.

"Jones?"

"I'm sorry. I trust you, but ACE- "

"Let me worry about them," Cross said as he pulled out his notepad. "Names."

"But- "

"Jones, please. I won't say anything yet, but at least let me confirm some things. That way when I do tell them, I'll be able to convince them not to act. Let me help you when you need it."

Carlos recognized the look on his dad's face this time; a look of awe and infatuation. It was only when Martin started listing off names and information that Carlos returned to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry. I should have been more careful."

"You didn't know. I just, I just –,"

Carlos' return interrupted them both.

The looks Seth and Richter gave him would have broken his heart if Carlos didn't feel some relief. He could only imagine the thoughts going through their heads. Seth with his anxiety and Richter with guilt.

"It'll be fine. Cross understands."

He could see the tension physically release, and the two younger boys smiled.

"He's probably going to interrogate you for a while, though, Richter."

This alarmed him and his eyes grew comically wide. Carlos sympathized.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Welcome to the club," Seth snickered, "You're gonna have loads of fun."

"What do I even say!? What if I piss him off?"

"Cross is pretty chill. Just answer."

"What if my answers piss him off!?"

"Can't be any worse than five minutes ago." All three jumped at Cross' voice, the man raised a brow, "Then again, not sure how I feel about eavesdropping."

The boys had the decency to at least look sheepish. Expect Richter, who looked like he would need a rowboat with the amount of sweat he was about to make. Martin laughed.

"No need to panic, Richter. Cross is a good man."

"Oh. Okay." Richter nodded reluctantly. Cross looked pleased.

"Good. Now, why don't you come outside with me. We can talk out on the porch."

"Wait, right now!?"

"Good a time as any."

"But-," He cut himself off at the hard look on Cross' face. The man pointed toward the front door.

"Let's go."

Richter resisted the urge to groan. Seth sniggered.

"Good luck, buddy." Richter glared at him.

"Why am I friends with you again?"