Guldrin’s Gluttony: Family Bound by Speed & Food

After Guldrin's makeover, they all returned to the shop, which would serve as Guldrin's new home for the foreseeable future. The café had settled into a calm rhythm as the evening approached, with soft yellow light pooling in the corners of the room. Dominic showed Guldrin to a small but cozy storage area, an offshoot of his office that they'd cleared out just for him. A soft mattress had been set up in one corner, draped with a worn but warm quilt, and a few necessities were stacked nearby.

"It's not much," Dominic said, his voice carrying a hint of apology, "but we'll add more as we go along. Think of it as your space, alright? Don't think we will make you work for free, you will be paid for what you do, and we will ensure you have food."

Guldrin glanced around, still trying to process everything. Having his own room felt almost too good to be true. "Thank you... I really appreciate it." His voice was soft, almost reverent, and Dominic gave him a reassuring smile and patted him on the shoulder.

"Get yourself settled in. We'll call you when it's dinner time. We usually eat at our family home, but since you are staying here, we will make an exception tonight." Dominic's footsteps faded down the hallway, leaving Guldrin alone to take it all in. He sat on the edge of the mattress, his hands resting on his knees, feeling a strange mixture of gratitude and uncertainty.

As he began to unpack the few belongings he'd managed to gather, a small voice in his mind whispered, 'Is this real? Are they really going to let me stay here?' He removed all the food he had stolen and focused on the blinking message in his mind, 

'Ding, Sin Gluttony has been activated… Please find food.'

'I will eat a few granola bars to sustain till dinner… This hunger is awful…' Emily purred and rubbed against him as he ate and shared some with her.

Later that night, after a shared meal and some casual conversation that left Guldrin feeling pleasantly full and slightly sleepy, he returned to his room. But sleep didn't come easily. He found himself staring at the ceiling, listening to the muffled sounds of the café's closing routine. Emily, his ever-faithful cat companion, curled up beside him, purring softly.

"Who am I? Did my parents not want me? Why are these people being so nice to me after I tried to steal from them?"

A quiet knock at the door caught him by surprise. Letty slipped in, her jacket slung over her shoulder and a blanket in her arms. "I thought you might want an extra blanket," she said with a gentle smile. She settled down at the foot of the mattress, clearly planning to stay for a moment.

"Mind if I ask you a few things?" she asked softly in her brash tone. "Just curious about you, that's all."

Guldrin nodded, feeling his chest tighten. It was rare for anyone to ask about him, and he didn't want to mess this up. How would they look at him if they knew he remembered nothing, had nothing, and just woke up in the street?

Letty gave him a warm look. "I won't ask anything hard. Where did you live before all this?"

His eyes dropped to the quilt, fingers tracing the faded patterns. "I don't remember… but it wasn't like this. I never stayed anywhere for long. At least, I don't think I did..." He hesitated, unsure if he should share more, but her open expression encouraged him. "I didn't have a home, just places where I could sleep for the night. I… I had to find food wherever I could."

'Can I tell her I stole everything I had? What would she think?'

Letty nodded, her expression softening. "That sounds really hard. You know, Me, Dom and Mia, we've been through tough times, too. We know what it's like to struggle, so I think that's why we wanted to give you a chance." Her hand reached out, resting gently on his shoulder. "And if you ever want to talk about things, you don't have to go through it alone. Remember, be honest with us and we will support you…"

Guldrin looked at her, taken aback by her kindness. "Thank you, Miss Letty. I don't really… know what to say. This is all new to me. I'm just… grateful."

She smiled warmly. "Letty, just Letty. You don't have to say anything you're not ready for. Just know that we're here for you, alright?"

As she left, Guldrin lay back, clutching the new blanket to his chest, feeling an unfamiliar sensation. It was a blend of safety, acceptance, and, maybe, a touch of what hope is supposed to feel like… 

The sounds of the café faded into silence, and he finally closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift off, comforted by the thought that, for once, he didn't have to worry about tomorrow. He was here, and he belonged, if only for tonight. While he wanted to believe, he didn't know if this would continue to be a place where he is welcome, kinda like the bakery, he didn't want to get his hopes up.

As the café dimmed for the night, Dominic, Mia, and Letty gathered around the counter in the softly lit main area, their faces painted with concern. The usual lively energy had faded, replaced by the weight of the decision they faced. Dominic folded his arms, his gaze fixed on the worn wood of the bar-like counter and everyone around it.

"We've got to think carefully about this," he began, voice low but resolute. "The kid's been through enough. I know he's already starting to trust us, but we're not exactly living the safest lives ourselves. And if anything goes wrong…" He trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air.

Mia bit her lip, crossing her arms. "I know. We might have just met him, but I love having him here, but we're not exactly the family that can give him stability or security. Not with everything we're involved in. Even today, we were lucky, we didn't have any 'visitors' who could ask questions." She paused, worried lines etched on her face. "What if someone comes around asking questions and Guldrin gets pulled into it?"

Letty frowned, absently tracing a finger around the rim of her beer. "He's just a kid. He doesn't need to know what kind of risks we deal with. But… sending him away?" She shook her head, expression torn. "Where would he go? If we send him away, I can see it in his eyes, he will be back to stealing to survive, no matter where we send him… We can't just abandon him. Not after we've shown him what a home could be, I'm no bleeding heart, but even I couldn't abandon the kid."

Dominic sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I don't like the idea of sending him away either. But I've got a few contacts, people I can trust to protect him if things ever go sideways here." He looked up, meeting each of their gazes in turn. "Maybe… maybe we can prepare him. We don't tell him everything, but we teach him what he needs to know to stay safe if things get rough."

Mia looked skeptical. "What do you plan to do; teach him to fight, lift weights and survive on the street? You think he's ready for that? He can't even remember anything about his past... And if he realizes what we're involved in… He can't be more than 10 years old."

"He'll probably figure out some of it eventually," Dominic replied, his voice steady. "Better he learns it from us than stumbles into it unprepared. What if Tran and his crew, or someone else, rolls in and hits the place? I can't have him knowing nothing, then if he gets hurt, or God forbid killed, that would be on us. "

Letty hesitated, considering the suggestion. "If we're going to keep him around, maybe that's our best option. Teach him enough that he can look out for himself. Not the whole truth, but enough to keep him safe. Who to look out for, who to trust, and where to go if things go bad."

Mia glanced toward the back where Guldrin slept, a thoughtful expression in her eyes. "Alright. But if we're doing this, we do it gradually. Let him settle in a bit more, let him feel secure first. We ease him in, and we don't give him more than he can handle. Agreed?"

Dominic nodded. "Agreed. It is still the first day, even if the rugrat has wormed his way into our unique family… We will still need to introduce him to Vince, Jesse and Leon… Though I don't know how well he will receive Vince, he is an acquired taste."

Letty gave a small, determined smile. "Alright. The kid deserves a chance. And if we're going to be the ones to give him that chance… we'll do it right."

As the conversation quieted, Mia leaned back, her fingers idly tracing patterns on the table. "You know," she said, almost to herself, "there's something about Guldrin… maybe it's the way he's already trying so hard to fit in here, like he's a part of us." She gave a small, wistful smile. "Almost makes you think about adoption, doesn't it?" Mia couldn't help but associate Guldrin with her lost brother Jakob and their tear in the family It left behind.

Dominic and Letty exchanged a surprised glance. Mia didn't elaborate further, simply staring thoughtfully at her empty cup, but the notion settled heavily in the room. Adoption. The word lingered, taking on a life of its own, twisting through Dominic and Letty's minds like the spark in an engine ignites the fuel.

Dominic rubbed his chin, deep in thought. The idea of officially bringing Guldrin into their little family tugged at something he hadn't let himself acknowledge before now. As much as he'd tried to keep an emotional distance for the boy's sake, and maybe for his own, he couldn't deny he'd grown attached. 'It has only been less than a day… Why do I feel this way?' He questioned himself. But adoption? That was a big step, and it would come with even bigger responsibilities, especially in their line of work.

Letty's thoughts drifted to the way Guldrin had looked so overwhelmed and delighted by something as simple as a new outfit and a haircut. He'd blossomed in just a few short hours, seeming to come alive under the warmth of their company. A surge of fierce protectiveness rose in her chest, mingled with a fierce determination to make sure he never returned to the life he'd been forced to live.

"Adoption, huh…" Dominic murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. He straightened, meeting Letty's gaze. "What do you think?"

Letty hesitated, her heart hammering at the weight of the question. "I think… he'd be lucky to have someone like you, like us, looking out for him. And… we'd be lucky to have him, too." She glanced over toward the window of the back room, where Guldrin slept soundly, his face peaceful in a way she suspected was rare for him. "But we need to be sure we can keep him safe. If we're going to consider this, really consider it, we need to be all in."

Dominic nodded slowly, the gravity of the decision settling over him. "Yeah. All in or not at all. We would shatter the kid if we did it half-heartedly."

Mia looked up from her cup, a soft, almost hopeful expression in her eyes. "Maybe he's the kind of person who'll teach us a few things, too. We've all had our walls up for so long… maybe he's what we've been needing to keep moving forward. I could be an aunt, and you Dom, you could raise him like dad did… Teach him everything you know… a legacy…"

Dominic's mouth curved in a faint smile. "He sure has a way of shaking things up around here. One minute the kid steals our tuna, spills it all over the floor, scrambling to recover what he can, and now we are talking about raising the kid… Dad must be laughing at this…"

They sat in silence for a while, each of them contemplating the idea. It was a serious choice, and one that would demand everything they had to give. But the thought of giving Guldrin the family he'd never had stirred something in each of them, something they hadn't felt in years: a chance for redemption.

As they locked up the café for the night, Mia turned to them, her eyes bright. "Well, one thing's for sure, we'll take things one day at a time. Let him get comfortable, and see where things go. If it feels right… we'll know."

Dominic and Letty nodded in agreement, feeling that same quiet sense of purpose settled over them. They didn't have all the answers yet, but for the first time, they had something else to work toward…