The next few days after the fight felt like a game of hide and seek between Erwin and Cassiopeia.
She moved to the basement - because there was no way she was making Erwin move Loki down there, the baby was not at fault - and he spent most of his time either at the Curio Shop or taking care of Loki, hidden away in the bedroom.
Working so many hours at the lab was now a blessing, so she didn’t have to spend so much time alone at home… or alone with Loki when Erwin was working himself. The time she inevitably spent alone though, she couldn’t stop thinking what she could do to fix what she did.
As the days passed and the breach between Erwin and her got bigger and bigger, Cassiopeia started to feel anxious. Human emotions were so overwhelming.
If only you never came, this wouldn’t be happening, she thought, taking a peek inside the bassinet. She was keeping an eye on Loki while Erwin took care of the garden, and she couldn’t help the thought when her eyes landed on the baby. If only you were in homeworld instead of here…
If only…
When Cassiopeia realized what she was about to do she left the bedroom and dragged herself to the couch, quickly fishing out her phone to send a message to Jess.
I was about to do something really horrible, Jess… Can I talk to you? I really need to talk to someone…
The reply was almost instant.
Of course, sweetie. I can go there or you can come over if you want to.
•••
Cassiopeia filled Jess in with all the events that happened in her life the last few days, and when she was narrating how she almost sent Loki back to Sixam out of pure grudge, she broke down and started to cry.
"Oh dear… It’s natural that you feel like this, but you realized what you were doing and stepped back, so don’t torture yourself like this. You did well" Her friend tried to cheer her up.
"I just… I thought I could spare Erwin some suffering if I did it soon… because they’ll come to get Loki anyway…"
"They’ll come to get him? You mean your people?" The color of Jess face disappeared when Cassiopeia nodded.
"Sooner or later they always take the babies back to Sixam" Cassiopeia explained with a matter-of-fact tone in her voice "They are not trying to colonize Earth, just to get the species going"
"Holy Watcher… But that’s kidnaping!" Jess gasped, horrified "There is nothing you can do about it? You are one of them, can’t you talk to them? I’m sure they would listen to you!"
It was so simple, yet it never occurred to Cassiopeia. That’s not how things worked back at homeworld. Things were like they were and nobody questioned them… But what if she questioned them.
"I’ll… think about it. Please don’t tell Erwin anything about it, I don’t want to worry him even more"
"You know you should tell him…" Jess sighed.
"I know, I’ll do it once I have everything sorted out. Thank you, Jess"
"Don't mention it, sweetie"
•••
The talk with Cassiopeia left Jess worried so next day she paid them a visit. Cassiopeia was out working, but Erwin was happy to see his friend. Almost instantly he dragged Jess inside the bedroom to show her the new addition to the family. Which was blue, and had completely black eyes. He was still kind of adorable tho.
"Loki, say hello to auntie Jess. Isn’t he cute?"
Jess knew Erwin wasn’t the most… stable person, but this time she was pretty sure he was turning a blind eye on the situation on purpose, as if it would fix itself.
"Yes, he is, very much. But I didn’t come for that reason… I think we need to talk"
It was Erwin’s turn to tell Jess his side of the story, and she listened at him as carefully as she did with Cassiopeia.
"I understand why you did it, but you shouldn’t have lied to her, and the fact that she lied to us before is not a reason for you to do it as well. You should have asked her instead, Erwin"
"I know… I was just scared of what she would say… of her leaving" Erwin muttered.
"That’s exactly the same reason why she didn’t tell you she was an alien, right? And it hurt you"
Erwin let out a sigh and nodded. That was right, and still he did the same to her "I know, I know, I’m the one that messed up this time"
"If you know then you should try and talk with her again. She said she… would do it herself, but being Cassiopeia I don’t know what that means. Keep an eye on her"
That was all Jess could do without betraying Cassiopeia’s trust.
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