The kindergarten visit ended with stickers, balloons, and Finn gleefully skipping to the car, babbling about his future "plant baby" and how he'd name it Captain Leafy.
"He'll take care of it for a week, tops," Aster murmured under his breath as he buckled Finn into the booster seat.
"INoooo!" Finn shouted from the back, puffing out his cheeks. "Captain Leafy gonna grow tall!"
Aster chuckled as he slid into the passenger seat beside Adrian.
"Well," Adrian said, eyes on the road. "Since he starts next week, we have time to get him ready."
Aster blinked. "Ready how?"
"Uniforms, bags, shoes, supplies. You don't want him walking into a school like that looking like an off-brand cartoon sidekick."
Finn gasped. "I wanna be Mickey!!!!"
"Alright, Mickey," Adrian said smoothly. "But we're getting you new clothes anyway."
Aster frowned. "Isn't it too soon to go shopping now? I mean, we still have the week..."
Adrian didn't even look at him. "Now's perfect."
They arrived at a luxury mall Aster had only ever heard about from interviews and gossip rags. It had a waterfall in the atrium. A damn waterfall. Real koi in the glass-bottom floor. And stores with French names he couldn't pronounce.
"Is this legal?" he muttered under his breath as they walked in.
Adrian, in his usual crisp, commanding fashion, simply handed Finn to a waiting stylist in the children's boutique and said, "Everything in a size 5. Casual, formal, schoolwear, pajamas, and three sets of indoor shoes."
Aster stared. "That's—he's three, not running a presidential campaign!"
Adrian looked over his shoulder. "You're next."
"What?"
"You need clothes too."
"I have clothes," Aster said quickly.
Adrian eyed his thin hoodie, scuffed sneakers, and faded jeans.
"I'll pretend you didn't say that."
The next hour was a whirlwind.
Aster found himself manhandled by sharp-eyed staff with measuring tapes, handed outfits that probably cost more than his old rent, and directed to a private fitting suite that felt like a designer's living room.
He tried on coats with velvet lining. Slim-fit pants. Tailored shirts that hugged his shoulders and made him do a double take in the mirror.
Finn, now decked out in tiny suspenders and shiny loafers, gasped. "'Bwowther! like a movie man!"
Aster huffed. "I am a movie man."
"Bwow look like boss!"
Adrian leaned back on the leather couch nearby, arms folded, smirking slightly as he watched the two of them.
Aster caught his reflection again and flushed. Okay—fine. He did look good.
No, he looked hot.
Maybe... it wasn't so bad.
Even if he wanted to protest, he couldn't bring himself to ruin the moment. Finn was spinning in a circle, trying to make his little blazer flare out. Adrian was nodding approvingly as the staff boxed up everything without even mentioning prices.
And Aster, despite his pride and instinct to pull away from extravagance, found himself enjoying it.
Lunch was in a high-rise restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the skyline. Everything gleamed silver and gold. The host bowed when Adrian gave his name. The menu didn't have prices.
Finn was still high off the joy of trying on tiny neckties. He sat in a booster seat, legs swinging, happily coloring on the kids' menu with a complimentary crayon set.
Aster sipped a fancy glass of water and watched Adrian across the table—dark navy shirt unbuttoned just enough to hint at his collarbone, gold cufflinks gleaming.
"Don't you have work?" Aster blurted, fidgeting with his napkin.
Adrian raised a brow. "Isn't it a little late to ask that?"
Aster flushed. "I just—You were so hands-on all day. I figured someone like you would be buried in meetings."
"I am."
"And you just—took off?"
Adrian's lips curved lazily. "Even CEOs can take leave."
Finn, oblivious, reached for his dessert and smeared a blob of cream on his cheek. Adrian leaned over casually and wiped it with a napkin, brushing his hair back as he did.
"There," he said gently. "Little hamsters can't eat messy."
Finn giggled and leaned into the touch. "More cake!"
"Finish your fish sticks first."
"Okayyyyy."
Aster watched them.
Watched Adrian, composed and in control, crouch slightly to meet Finn at eye level and speak to him with the same calm authority he used with adults. He didn't raise his voice. Didn't look impatient. Just... existed in their little bubble like it was normal.
Aster's chest tightened.
I wanted to repay him.
That was the point of this. To say thank you. For what he did for my brother. For stepping in when no one else did.
But now...?
Now he'd bought them clothes. Food. Safety. A school for Finn. A bed. A home. This moment.
And all Aster had done was sign a contract and give him his body—once.
It didn't feel like repayment anymore.
It felt like a growing debt.
One he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to clear.
Adrian caught his stare and tilted his head slightly. "You look like you're thinking too hard."
"I just..." Aster hesitated. "You've done so much."
Adrian didn't respond right away.
Then he leaned forward slightly, voice quiet.
"I'm not keeping a ledger, Aster."
But I am, Aster thought.
And that's what scared him most.