Late at night, William collapsed into bed with Nova.

He had woken him up, getting in, and then began to speak.

" What is your father like?" William asked, seemingly uncaring of the fact he'd disturbed his rest.

" I've only met him twice," Nova mumbled, pulling the blankets back up around them. " He was rude, and small minded."

" When I was a small child, I once saw Kirie skin her knee," William said. " She ran down a hill too fast, and scraped it on the pavement. Her father picked her up as she was crying, and scolded her for being so reckless. She cried even more. He wiped the blood from her knee, and bandaged it. They held hands as we walked back home."

" Kirie's father...?" Nova asked, head sinking back against the pillow.

" He never held my hand," William said. " I think he must've known I had a better sense of balance than most children. But, Nova, I wanted to skin my knees too. I wanted to fall down, get hurt. I developed a deep yearning for that, to be scolded. But he never once scolded me, either."

" Well, he wasn't your father, was he... You've said before you don't have a father..."

" I wished he was my father," William said. " For a while, he was... Back then..."

He gripped Nova's arm tightly.

" He was, Nova..."

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