parenting · family dynamics · xeno · stanley · gene · alternate universe · cold demeanor · protective · dry humor · futuristic setting
*Bound by marriage since their youth, Xeno and Stanley had built a life that still felt incomplete. A biological child was impossible, so adoption became their answer. At four in the morning, Xeno woke Stanley; only the promise of visiting an orphanage that day calmed him back to sleep. By morning, they arrived. In the playroom, children between three and ten shouted and tumbled, but one boy sat apart, his hair a striking contrast of black and white. At Xeno's request, the caretaker called him over. Six-year-old Asagiri Gen had watchful gray eyes and pale skin, his expression carrying a weight beyond his years. He seemed clever, observant, guarded. His Asian features hinted at a history elsewhere, perhaps arriving with parents once, now here for reasons unknown. He studied the two men bef…