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Adira wandered the halls of Discovery somewhat aimlessly once they’d beamed back aboard. They’d had a long, intense talk with Gray, and the two of them had mutually agreed that a breakup was the best course of action for them. They’d hugged, they’d cried, they’d said their farewells-for-now, though a tiny part of Adira’s heart was scared it was a farewell forever.
They stopped in front of a familiar set of doors and took a deep breath, listening to the chime that announced their arrival. The door slid open, and Paul was on the other side, his hair damp. He leaned against the doorway with a frown before reaching forward and clasping a hand on Adira’s shoulder and gesturing for them to come inside.
It was once they were inside that the tears began to flow freely. Adira just stood there, in the middle of their adoptive family’s quarters, and sobbed. Paul, alarmed, crouched so they were at eye level and kept his hands on their shoulders.
“Adira,” he said, gentle but firm. “Adira, look at me.”
Adira couldn’t, though. It felt as though they had lost everything. Their final, tenuous connection to their life before. Before the world had gone to shit. Before they lost their family. Before they lost their friends. Before they had lost everything.
Everything except Gray.
And now they’d lost him, too.
“Shit, okay,” Paul pulled them to his chest and began rubbing soothing circles against their back. “Hugh!”
Hugh emerged from the bathroom dressed in sweats, a towel hanging off his shoulder. He took one look at Adira’s face and dropped it, crossing the room in quick strides and stopping in front of them. He cradled their face with gentle hands, wiping the tears from their eyes with a thumb.
“Paul,” he said, his voice bright and calm, the kind of bedside manner Adira had seen him use on patients in crisis, “Replicate Adira a hot chocolate.”
“Uh-”
“Now, please.”
Paul peeled himself away from his sobbing child and headed for the replicator. Hugh kneeled on the floor, taking each of their hands in his. “You and Gray had that talk, huh?”
Adira could only nod. Their face was wet and sticky with tears, and they hiccupped, feeling their nose drip. This was what Tilly would call an ugly cry. Tilly was a strong proprietor of the ugly cry. She believed it could cure anything.
Adira did not feel cured. Adira felt fucking terrible.
“Okay, sweetheart. Come on, let’s sit down.” Hugh got to his feet and led them to the couch, where they sat gingerly, hands shaking. They couldn’t stop fucking crying. Paul came over with a small tray of hot drinks – a hot chocolate for Adira, a chamomile tea for Hugh, and a coffee for himself. Adira reached for theirs and took a tentative sip.
“He says we’re on different paths,” they choked out. Paul sat down beside them and placed a comforting hand on their knee. “He says it hasn’t been working for a long time.”
“You’ve said as much yourself, dear,” Hugh said gently. He sipped at his chamomile tea, one arm still around their shoulders. The touch, both at their shoulders and knee, was grounding. It gave Adira a little space to breathe.
“I-I know. I just wasn’t expecting to get broken up with…today.”
“You know,” Paul said slowly, bringing his mug to his lips to take a sip and swallow before continuing, “A breakup isn’t always the end. You and Gray might be on different paths today, but who’s to say that’s where you’ll be in a year, five years, ten years down the track?”
“Paul has a point,” Hugh said gently. “And even if this breakup is of a more permanent nature, I know you and Gray share a bond that can’t be altered. The two of you will always be connected, even if you’re apart.”
Adira drew their knees to their chest, swallowing. They whispered, “What if he forgets about me?”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Hugh gave them a squeeze. “Gray could never forget about you.”
“And he’d be an idiot if he did,” Paul chimed in. “You’re amazing, kid. We can both see that.”
Adira sniffled and took a sip of their hot chocolate. It was exactly how they liked it: sweet, a little sugar, a dusting of cinnamon on top. Paul had spent days programming the replicator to get the ratio of sugar, chocolate, and milk correct, then another week working out the cinnamon. Adira appreciated Paul and Hugh so much. They were weird and intense and sometimes overbearing, but…
They were their family.
They were their dads.
Adira had once thought they would never have a father again, and now they had two, and they were so lucky to be loved by two people who cared so much.
“There’s that smile I like to see,” Paul grinned. “You feeling better, kiddo?”
Adira nodded, wiping at their face with the sleeve of their uniform. Hugh passed them a tissue and they blew their nose.
They did feel better, a little bit.
“Alright.” Hugh rubbed their back softly, and then asked, “Is it alright if I call Gray later and see how he’s doing?”
Adira nodded. Hugh and Paul had both come to care for Gray before he’d left for Trill. It would be ridiculous – absurd even – if they said no, they couldn’t call him.
They took another sip of their hot chocolate and stared at their feet. Their Starfleet-issue boots still looked as good as new, black and sturdy, complementing their uniform nicely. The first time he’d seen them in their uniform, boots and all, Gray had told them they looked “smoking hot” before pressing a searing kiss to their lips and doing his very best to get them out of it.
The tears welled in their eyes again.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Paul set his coffee down and pulled them into another hug. Into their short hair, he murmured, “You’re okay, Adira. I promise.”
“I feel like I’ll never be okay again,” Adira sobbed. Hugh rubbed their back gently, and slowly, slowly, their cries died down again. Adira couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed by the onslaught of emotion, but Hugh and Paul just…didn’t care. They just wanted what was best for them.
It was…nice.
“How about this,” Hugh said. “I’ll go back to your quarters and grab you something to change into. The three of us can curl up in here and have a movie night. We’ll watch whatever you want.”
“A Denobulan’s Courage,” Adira mumbled into Paul’s shirt.
“Sure, we can watch that,” Hugh smiled. “I’ll replicate some snacks. Paul will even keep the PADDs to a minimum. Does that sound good?”
Adira nodded, wiping their eyes. They thought about inviting Tilly, but decided against it. Right now, they just wanted their dads. Both of them. Because no matter how annoying they could be, Paul and Hugh loved Adira.
And Adira loved them so much.