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He wondered if he could pretend he wasn’t home, hide in a corner until the person knocking on his door went away. But as he tried to sneak a glance out the front window to see who was there, he was met with an enthusiastic wave from Liz and an “I’m sorry” mouthed by Rosa.
Sighing, he padded over to the door and took a deep breath before twisting the handle reluctantly.
“It’s about time, Valenti,” Michael scoffed with a smile, letting himself into Kyle’s apartment while dragging Alex by the hand behind him. “We’ve been standing out there for forever.”
“If I knew you were also here, I would have kept you standing out there,” Kyle quipped back, suppressing an eye roll and a slight grin.
“Well, we’re all here,” Maria smiled. Kyle looked around and realized that all of his friends were in his apartment.
“What are you all doing here? Today is a busy day, maybe we can grab drinks at the Pony tomorrow?”
Everyone just stared and Kyle groaned to himself. This was his first day off in a two weeks and he was going to spend it moving into the house he purchased a month ago. With his newfound uncle passing down several of his father’s items and Alex letting, and asking, him to take some things from the cabin, he was in need of more space. And he figured he’d put that doctor’s salary to good use by investing in real estate. But he hadn’t had time to actually move yet, and he wanted to get everything there and organized today because he had work bright and early tomorrow.
“We know, that’s why we’re here,” Liz said sweetly, walking up to him and pulling him into a half hug.
“What?”
“We’re here to help you move, Valenti,” Michael said, exasperated. Kyle just stared at him. “Don’t get it twisted, we’re not friends. I’m just helping my friends help you move.” Kyle let out a laugh as Alex playfully smacked Michael across the arm. “We’re not friends.”
“You really don’t have to help me.”
“We know,” Rosa said. “But we want to help. And by the looks of it you need it. Did you pack anything?”
“That was the plan for today,” Kyle said sheepishly as he looked around his perfectly organized apartment, glancing at the stack of boxes in the corner. He had had negative time and energy to pack anything the past few weeks.
“Well, let’s get going!” Michael announced too loudly. “Valenti, you go change, your shorts seem a little too tight for moving.”
Kyle scoffed but took Michael’s weak jab and shot right back. “See something you like, Guerin?”
“I think they are the perfect fit,” Isobel said seductively before Michael could open his mouth. She snaked over to Kyle and kissed him deeply. “Hi, by the way.”
“Hi,” Kyle whispered into her mouth, getting lost in everything that was Isobel.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Max said awkwardly, looking everywhere but his sister and her boyfriend. He grabbed a box and moved to the built-in bookcase. “I’ll pack up the books, make sure they are put into the box the correct way.”
“There’s a wrong way?” Alex asked with a smirk, getting a chuckle out of Michael.
“Yes, there’s a wrong way. The binding needs to be supported, but not in a way the pages will be compromised. You can’t have a larger paperback sitting on top of a smaller hardcover or it’ll get bent and-“ Max stopped as everyone started laughing.
“This is why we love you,” Liz said softly as she placed a kiss on his cheek.
“Not all of us!” Michael announced to another light smack from Alex and a round of laughs.
“Okay, okay,” Liz commanded, everyone naturally forming a circle around her. “Max has the books. Maria and I will pack up the kitchen. Rosa, can you clear out the bathroom? Michael and Alex, you can move the furniture into the truck first – his neighbors aren’t home but be careful using your telekinesis outside.”
“Aye aye, Captain!” Michael saluted to Liz.
“Kyle and I will get the bedroom!” Isobel announced with a wink. Kyle laughed as he watched Michael and Max visibly shudder.
Everyone started moving about, putting together boxes and grabbing old newspapers and magazine to pack things in. Kyle pulled out the suitcases from under his bed and helped Isobel fit all of his clothes into them. Every few minutes he was given a kiss or a simple smile and his heart soared. This woman had driven him crazy for years, she was an enigma he could never figure out, but all he wanted to do was spend the rest of his life trying - and laughing with her along the way.
As he and Isobel folded the last of the bed sheets, Isobel shoed him off to see if his sister needed help. His sister. It had been a couple of years, but the fact that he had a sister still blew his mind at times. His family had become dysfunctional, he learned truths he never wanted to know or believe, and it fractured many memories. But he was grateful he had the illusion of stability that he did during his formative years, it had allowed him to become who he was today, and he had to admit that he liked who he was.
Kyle watched his sister laugh with Maria, slyly throwing a towel at Liz who blamed it on Michael and his powers. He watched Max grumble something under his breath causing Alex to roll his eyes and lunge into Michael for a hug.
Kyle watched his friends pack up his belongings, handling his most treasured possessions with a care that he would expect if they were their own. He watched them wrap the glassware while telling the story of the time Alex broke a glass and Jim needed to bring him to the hospital for stitches. He watched them transfer his succulents to a deep tray while laughing about how Isobel got them for him to make his apartment less sterile – and how Michael had to keep working his magic to keep them alive.
Kyle watched his family.
As he leaned against the doorway of his bedroom it really hit him. These people were his family. He would do anything for them, that had been proven time and time again. But he knew that they would do anything for him, too. Not just because that’s the kind of people they were, but because of what he meant to them.
Before the tears in his eyes could threaten to escape, Maria declared that they were nearly done, they just had to bring a couple more boxes to the truck.
“We were going to follow you over there and unload the boxes, if that’s okay,” Liz said as she slipped her hand into Max’s. “We’d love to help unpack too, or we can just let you do it and get out of your hair.”
Kyle smiled. “I’d love the help. And lunch is on me. Thank you, so much. I can’t imagine that you all magically had the same day off as I did, and I really appreciate it.”
“You don’t have to thank us,” Alex said sincerely, squeezing his shoulder.
“I will call Papi, tell him to have the order ready in an hour, it’ll give us time to unpack some things,” Rosa announced before explaining that Arturo was always planning to send Kyle a ridiculous amount of food for his first night.
“And I’ll call your mom,” Max said matter of factly, pulling out his phone. “She can meet us for lunch.”
Kyle turned away from them all, not because he wasn’t happy but because he was so overcome with emotion. His family may be dysfunctional but they were pretty fucking awesome.
“Hey, we don’t all have to go over and we don’t have to stay,” Isobel whispered as she pulled him into a hug. “Moving is a lot. We can just grab drinks at the Pony tomorrow when things are less stressful.”
“No,” Kyle said, pulling away from Isobel and raising his voice. “Let’s go have the first of many human-alien dinner parties at my place.”