It wasn't long until Rylan returned to the field in anticipation again. This time with paper and a battered tin of crayons and colouring pencils in hand. He didn't know when exactly Aidan would meet him, but when he did, Rylan wanted to make sure he was ready.

To anyone else, if they were to see him sitting in the field with the supplies on his lap, he would've looked like another other boy his age.

Little did they know besides meeting with his new found friend that Rylan was out here for another reason. The young boy breathing in the fresh air as his mother and grandfather were once at it again, arguing.

Normally he would've ignored it or at most, tried to break them up. He has grown used to it, and began to understand that his mother's apprehension towards the old man came from an intimate place. A place of love and a broken sense of trust.

But for a long time in a while he didn't have the heart to even listen to the argument. Especially since it was the kind that made him scared for his family. In most particular, it made him fear for his grandfather.

His grandfather was hiding something. He knew for some time Ethan was but he didn't know what. It wasn't until then that he heard there might be a possibility he wouldn't be around any longer. In retrospect, it made sense to the boy. Perhaps the reason he took them in was because he was trying to make things right.

But on the other hand he has grown attached to Ethan. He was still distant to Rylan in many ways which is normal behaviour for Ethan. From what he remembered when his mother talked about him, he's always been that way. Yet in many other ways, they've grown close.

He thought spending time with Aidan folding paper planes and talking about things your typical 9 year old should be talking about. Isn't that what children are supposed to do, right? Though, as the day went on with no sign of his friend he started to doubt it.

Rylan found himself becoming frustrated. So much to the point he was ready to pack up and go back inside to the personal war zone between father and daughter. At least until he saw a moving speck in the distance. His brown eyes focused on a skinny young boy about his age running towards him in a sprint.

"Hey! You came!"

He heard the speck of a child yell excitingly from a distance.

Aidan.

Upon hearing him, Rylan started to feel that same pang in his chest again. That same sort of glee at the thought of meeting his friend again. His eyes on him the entire time as the sound of footsteps in the prairie grass finally stopped before him.

"What ya got there?"

Aidan asked curiously.

"Not much, I thought it'd be nice to make us some new planes so, I brought supplies"

Rylan replied with a shrug. He tried to force a small smile on his face as he laid out the paper and tin of stationary out on the grass before him. Yet, no matter how hard he tried to hide his worries, Aidan still noticed.

The soft crunch of grass against the boy's feet became slightly louder as he sighed and plopped down next to him. So when Rylan looked up from setting everything out, the first thing he'd see is his friend fidgeting worryingly with his lime green sweatshirt. Aidan's brow furrowed up in concern for his friend.

"Something wrong?"

He asked softly, but all his friend did was muster up a small smile and shake his head softly.

"Nothing...just, I don't know, I don't wanna talk about it"

He heard Rylan reply, but upon looking at him he could still see he was troubled. At first he didn't know what to do. All Aidan could feel is the same familiar discomfort, and he couldn't do anything about it.

But in the end, he did what he usually did, driving his troubled friend's thoughts away towards a distraction. So he turned to the stationary before them.

"So, what are we gonna make? I've got a nice idea for a comic jet. Any suggestions?"

Rylan sighed as he let his friend finish and open up the tin, using the lid as a surface.

"Green Lantern"

"Green Lantern?"

Aidan replied perplexed, to which Rylan gave him a flustered smile and let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah he's always been a favourite. I just always liked seeing a hero who gets to make anything he imagines out of nothing...
just...light and his imagination. It's always been something I wished I could do because that way, I'd get to escape from everything.
Solve everyone's problems. Mom's, Grandpa's. Hell, I feel like if I had that, Dad still would've been with us. I know he would've really liked to meet you. But oh well, we can only dream. And you?"

Aidan sighed and smiled back slightly upon hearing his response. doodling a tiny figurine in a blue suit, hovering over five other figures.

"Superman. I don't know them all but I always liked him most. Always wished I could've been as strong as him because that way, I'd get to be strong enough to protect Mama...Aunt Sylvia and Tanya too"

"But, then again, Nathaniel's already like Superman in a way. He isn't as strong, but he's close. He's certainly a lot stronger than me and a whole lot braver. But I don't know if even he's strong to get mama out"

He explained almost automatically, without any hesitation. After which he himself felt his mind start to relax from worry. Aidan was still concerned, over everything. Not just over his friend but the whole world around him.

Almost as if he's constantly on edge that something in the world was going to get him. That's the thing about being stuck living in darkness.

Yet, sitting here with another boy, his only friend in fact, who he could talk to without a care in the world.

"You know, I wish you could've met Nathaniel. I'm sure he would've liked to meet you too. He's on duty now but, I'm sure he'll come around again sometime"

He continued softly as he watched his friend doodle a green symbol on the paper. Only for Rylan to stop and look at him curiously, opening his mouth to speak.

"Is he family?"

Aidan shook his head gently as he reached for the red pencil. To which he quietly responded to Rylan's question.

"No, he's the one who found me. He likes to keep an eye on me sometimes since Nathaniel and Aunt Sylvia's becoming friends"

"What do you mean by he found you?"

Rylan questioned again curiously, waiting for his friend to respond. Aidan looked over at him nervously, slowly responding back as he turned his attention to their almost finished plane.

"...Behind...the Church I mean. After I ran away..."

"I know...I'm such a coward,aren't I?"

He muttered softly. Only to feel his friend's hand reach out and hold his arm.

"Well, no, I don't think you're a coward"

Rylan comforted him gently.

"Remember what you said? About Superman? Well, you certainly ain't a coward for wanting to protect your family. Who knows, maybe you are as strong as him. It's just that, maybe you haven't grown into it. We're still kids after all"

He continued,squeezing his friend's arm gently before letting go to continue colouring. Aidan remained speechless for a while, doing the same and digging around the tin for more of the colours he needed. Eventually, he found the one he was looking for, a bright turquoise. Which he used to colour in what looks like a throwover over one of the people the doodled blue hero was protecting.

"Thanks..."

He muttered softly. Only to see his friend pause again to look at him.

"Well, you really don't have to. I'm just simply pointing out the truth,and, how I see you"

He answered almost cheerfully in an attempt to continue cheering up his friend. They continued talking about everything, sharing stories about heroes and all manner of child-like things. Anything but family really, all the while, the argument inside seemed to have ceased completely.

But as the sun began to set, it wasn't long until the pair's doodles of heroes and villains set flight in the form of a paper plane. Alongside another one covered in a crudely done attempt at camouflage. Both boys running after their planes as they sailed into the prairie.

Eventually coming to an end as the pair sat down in exhaustion and watched the sun gradually paint the sky in shades of pinks and oranges. As if they were busy watching the sun busy with a watercolour painting in the making.

After what felt like weeks of miserable weather, it felt like one of the most beautiful things they've ever seen. But to Rylan, as he kept his eyes on the sun, it felt like more. To him it didn't just feel like the sun, putting on one of its most beautiful skepticals he's ever seen. To Rylan, it felt like a symbol of hope, encouraging them to keep going.

That perhaps, even with the prospect of his family hitting yet another bump in the road, perhaps this was nature's way of telling him things might get better.