Chapter 39: I’m Rich, I Can Do This

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: I’m Rich, I Can Do This

The idea arrived somewhere between Finn’s second helping of dessert and Milo’s careful, methodical wrapping of his leftovers into a spare napkin, simple and obvious in a way that made Ren wonder why it had taken him this long to actually consider it properly.

’I’m rich,’ he thought, watching Milo tuck the wrapped food into his worn bag with the same careful, practiced efficiency of someone who’d learned the hard way never to waste a single scrap. ’I have more credits sitting in my account right now than either of these boys have probably ever seen in their entire lives combined. I have a suite with more rooms than I know what to do with. There is genuinely no logical reason I couldn’t just take them in, give them somewhere safe to actually sleep, food that doesn’t run out, some kind of stability neither of them has apparently had in longer than either of them are willing to admit.’

The thought settled and grew with startling speed, and by the time both boys had finished eating, Ren had already, more or less, made up his mind.

"I have a suggestion," Ren said, watching both boys look up at him with matching expressions of cautious, guarded curiosity. "You said you don’t have anywhere safe to stay. I have a hotel room, considerably bigger than I actually need, with plenty of extra space. Would you like somewhere proper to sleep tonight? A real bed, a real meal whenever you need one, somewhere warm that doesn’t have monsters wandering through it."

Milo’s expression shifted immediately, the earlier cautious gratitude hardening into something sharper, more wary. "What do you want in exchange," he said, voice flat and guarded in a way that made Ren’s chest ache with the specific, practiced cynicism of a child who’d clearly learned, through hard experience, that nothing offered freely ever actually came without a price attached somewhere beneath the surface.

"Nothing," Ren said simply, meeting the boy’s suspicious gaze directly. "No conditions. No hidden expectations. I just watched a monster nearly kill both of you in an alley this morning, and I have more resources than I currently know what to do with. I’d like to use some of that to make sure neither of you has to sleep somewhere dangerous again."

"People don’t just do that," Milo said, though something in his voice had softened slightly, some small, cautious hope creeping in despite his obvious effort to suppress it. "Not for strangers. Not for nothing."

"Maybe not most people," Ren said, something quiet and genuine settling into his voice. "But I’ve had a considerably strange few weeks, and somewhere in the middle of it, I decided I’d rather actually use whatever I’ve got to help someone than just spend it all on myself. You two showing up in that alley this morning wasn’t exactly part of my plan for today, but I’m not about to just walk away and pretend I didn’t see what I saw."

Finn tugged at his brother’s sleeve again, the same wide, hopeful eyes from the alley resurfacing now with fresh, cautious longing, and Ren watched Milo’s careful composure finally begin to crack under the combined weight of his brother’s silent pleading and his own obvious, desperate exhaustion.

"Okay," Milo said finally, quiet and uncertain. "Just for tonight. We’ll figure out something else after that."

"We’ll figure out whatever you actually need, for however long you need it," Ren said, not bothering to correct the boy’s cautious limitation just yet, understanding well enough that trust, especially for a child who’d clearly learned to survive without relying on anyone else’s promises, wasn’t something that could be rushed or forced. "Let’s get you both somewhere safe first. We can worry about the rest later."

The walk back to the hotel took considerably longer than it should have, both boys moving with the careful, watchful caution of children unaccustomed to safety, flinching slightly at loud noises, staying close together in a way that spoke to years of relying on nothing but each other. Ren matched their pace patiently, resisting the urge to rush them, letting them adjust to the unfamiliar comfort of an actual destination waiting for them at the end of the walk instead of another uncertain night spent searching for shelter.

The hotel’s lobby, when they finally arrived, drew audible gasps from both boys, Finn’s small hand tightening instinctively around his brother’s as they took in the sweeping, elegant architecture, the soft, ambient lighting, the sheer, unfamiliar luxury of a space clearly built for people who’d never once had to worry about where their next meal was coming from.

The AI attendant at the front desk registered their arrival with its usual warm, professional efficiency, and if it noticed anything unusual about a guest suddenly requesting an additional room and considerably more amenities than his original booking had included, it gave no indication whatsoever, simply processing the adjustment with smooth, discreet courtesy.

"I’d like to arrange a connecting suite," Ren said, "and whatever’s needed for two young guests. Clothes, proper bedding, anything else you’d typically recommend for children staying here."

"Of course," the AI said, already pulling up a display of available accommodations. "I’ll have everything arranged within the hour. Might I ask the approximate ages, to ensure appropriate amenities are selected?"

Ren glanced at the two boys, who were still staring around the lobby with wide, disbelieving eyes, clearly having never once imagined themselves standing inside a space like this. "Ten and six, roughly," he said, watching Milo startle slightly at hearing his own approximate age spoken aloud so casually, like it was simply an ordinary detail rather than something that had clearly gone unasked about in longer than the boy cared to remember.

The suite, when they finally reached it, drew an even more dramatic reaction than the lobby had, Finn actually gasping out loud at the sight of the plush, oversized bed waiting in the connecting room, and Milo standing frozen in the doorway for a long moment, something complicated and overwhelmed passing behind his young eyes as he took in the sheer, unfamiliar comfort of it all.

"Is this for us," Milo said finally, voice small and disbelieving. "Both of these rooms."

"For as long as you need them," Ren said, watching Finn cautiously approach the bed, running one small hand across the impossibly soft blanket like he was afraid it might disappear the moment he touched it too firmly.

Neither boy seemed to know quite what to say, the two of them exchanging a long, wordless look that carried an entire conversation Ren couldn’t fully parse but understood well enough in its broad strokes, disbelief warring with cautious, fragile hope, years of hard-won survival instincts struggling to process an offer that apparently came with no strings attached at all.

"You don’t have to say anything," Ren said gently, watching the visible weight of the moment settle over both of them. "Just get some rest. There’s food already available through room service whenever either of you gets hungry, and I’ll be right next door if you need anything at all."

Milo finally moved, crossing slowly into the room, and paused at the threshold, glancing back at Ren with an expression considerably younger and more vulnerable than the careful, guarded caution he’d worn since the moment they’d met. "Thank you," he said, voice cracking slightly around the words. "Really. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but thank you."

"You don’t need a reason beyond the fact that you both deserve somewhere safe," Ren said, something warm and unexpectedly protective settling into his chest at the sight of the boy’s careful, hesitant gratitude. "That’s reason enough."

He left them to settle in, closing the connecting door partway to give them privacy while still remaining close enough to hear if either of them needed anything, and crossed to his own suite’s window, looking out over the glittering evening skyline with a strange, unfamiliar warmth settling into his chest that had nothing to do with the luxury surrounding him and everything to do with the two exhausted, cautiously hopeful boys currently exploring their unexpected good fortune in the room next door.

’I didn’t plan for this,’ Ren thought, watching the ring overhead catch the last traces of sunset, brilliant bands of gold and violet scattering across the darkening sky. ’I came here specifically to avoid complications, to build something quiet and simple and entirely free of anyone else’s needs or expectations. And within twenty-four hours I’ve apparently adopted two children I met in an alley an hour after killing a monster nobody else on this entire planet seemed to know existed.’ He almost laughed at the absurdity of it, the sheer, predictable inevitability that even here, even in a place built entirely around the promise of uncomplicated luxury, he’d somehow managed to find exactly the kind of responsibility he’d sworn he was done taking on.

’But I don’t regret it,’ he thought, and found, somewhat to his own surprise, that the sentiment was entirely genuine. ’Whatever else this new life turns out to be, whatever the Empire’s search eventually uncovers, whatever complicated mess I left behind at that outpost, at least tonight, two children who had nothing this morning are sleeping somewhere warm and safe instead of huddled in an alley waiting for the next monster to find them.’ He settled into his own bed a while later, the muffled sound of quiet, disbelieving laughter drifting faintly through the partially closed connecting door, Finn’s small, delighted voice discovering some new comfort or amenity, Milo’s more careful, restrained response gradually warming into something closer to genuine relief, and let himself drift toward sleep with a lightness he hadn’t expected to feel again quite so soon.

’Stay alive,’ he thought, the old plan resurfacing one final time before sleep finally claimed him properly. ’Stay rich. Stay away from Yegard and Reven, apparently, though clearly I’m still terrible at staying away from anyone who actually needs me.’ He smiled faintly into his pillow, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to him properly. ’Guess some habits really are impossible to leave behind entirely, no matter how far you run, or how much you change your face trying to become someone new.’