It Takes A Little Time

Chapter 2

Gemini bounced his leg nervously as he waited in Eridanus's office. He was so excited yet nervous to meet his future children. He bit on his nails nervously and looked at the clock. Eridanus should be here any minute now with their files. Aries gently grabbed Gemini's thighs and caressed it with his thumb. He didn't want Gemini to get so jittery already. The door creaked open, and Gemini immediately whipped his head toward the door. Eridanus walked in, holding five files, and he sat down behind his desk. 

"I'm so sorry for taking a while. I had to deal with another couple before you guys, and they weren't exactly pleasant to deal with," Eridanus explained as he set the files on his desk. Aries and Gemini stared at the files with curiosity. Eridanus smiled and crossed his arms. "These are the files to the teens you'll be adopting. Feel free to read through them first."

Gemini grabbed a file labeled with 'Aquarius Cromwell' on it. He read the first page and covered his mouth. "W…what?" He gasped, and he furrowed his eyebrows in anger. "Who would do that?" Eridanus slowly grabbed the file out of Gemini's hand and looked down at it. He let out a sigh and smiled sadly at Gemini. 

"His parents were emotionally and mentally abusive. They despised that he was albino, so they would berate him for everything, until protective services brought him here when he was eleven," he explained. "He's afraid to speak since he fears that everyone will yell at him in case he says something offensive." Gemini felt his tears prickle his eyes, and he wiped them away quickly. He knew that there were people with albinism, and he's glad to be adopting Aquarius. How could someone be so judgemental to their child just because they were born differently?

He looked over at Aries, and his husband's whole face was pale. He looked down at the file Aries was holding: Scorpio Thatcher. Gemini rubbed Aries's shoulder. He looked into the file, and he shook his head rapidly. "They did what?! Oh poor baby!" He gasped and covered mouth. He looked over at Eridanus and asked, "What in the world would cause his parents to do such a thing?!" 

"Scorpio's parents were…well…just straight up awful human beings," Eridanus answered. Even he was distraught by Scorpio's case file. Never in his ten years of working at the adoption center did he receive a child who has had such a horrible life, but when he saw Scorpio's case file, his heart had fallen into the pit of his stomach. "Scorpio will be the toughest to get through. He's put up such a thick shell that it's nearly impossible to get close to him, and the only people closest to him are the Elsher Twins, Aquarius, and Leo."

Aries nodded his head quickly. "Can we meet them now?" He asked as he closed the file. Eridanus glanced at Aries and nodded his head slowly. He had a feeling that most of the teens would be scared of Aries's appearance since Aries was a 6'7 buff man with a scary appearance. Aries had a big long scar running from his shoulder to chest when he was in the marines. Eridanus looked over at Gemini, who looked so much more approachable and welcoming despite being 6'1. Although he worried that Gemini's albinism might weird them out. 

Eridanus led the couple to the quarters. Inside the spacious room, two dark-skinned girls with curly black hair were playing video games, a small white-haired boy was reading a comic book, a tall dirty blonde boy was listening to music, and a tall black-haired boy was sitting at his desk drawing. "Guys! Gather up," he ordered. One of the girls paused the game and looked at Aries and Gemini. The white-haired boy loomed up from his book and gasped when he saw Gemini. The blonde boy looked away from the ceiling and sat up in his bed. The black-haired boy glanced at them, but he resumed his drawing. 

The other four gathered at the door. "Are they our adoptive parents?" One of the girls asked. She looked over at Aries and squeaked. She hid behind the other, who looked exactly like her. The albino boy's eyes were focused on Gemini, and he stared in awe at seeing another albino. Gemini waved slightly and held his hand out. Aquarius looked down at Gemini's hand and hesitantly shook it.