Stark smiled. “Anything for you, my love.”
* * *
At first, he couldn’t even recognize it. The building looked nothing like Kyle remembered. He almost passed it until Stark caught his attention and pointed it out.
The facade had been re-painted a bright white, and on either side of the front door were murals that looked like they were painted by children. It had an entirely different aura; instead of foreboding and sad, it radiated happiness and joy.
Kyle felt tears brimming at the corners of his eyes.
“It looks fantastic,” Stark murmured. “Killian really did a good job cleaning it up.”
“Yeah,” Kyle said.
“Do you want to go inside?” Stark asked.
“I do.”
Stark reached out and took Kyle’s hand in his own, and they entered through the front doors.
Immediately Kyle was greeted with soft pastel colors, a bright interior, and the laughter of shifter children from the rooms. His eyes widened and for a moment he couldn’t believe where he was. This was nothing like the cold, dreary prison he was kept in for years. He felt like he was on a different planet.
“Hello!” a cheery voice called. They turned to see the receptionist waving them over. “Welcome to the Whitewood Daycare! How can I help you today?”
Stark noticed that Kyle was a bit spaced out, so he answered instead. “We’re just here to check the place out,” he said with a smile before he put his arm around his mate. “We’ve got a little one on the way.”
“Aw, that’s lovely!” the receptionist said, clasping her hands together. “Well, if you’re interested I can give you a tour of the place.”
“That would be fantastic,” Stark said. He gazed down at Kyle. “Did you want to do that, honey?”
Kyle nodded.
“Right this way,” the receptionist said.
The hallway forked into two different directions. She led them down the one on the left, past a heavy door. “This wing is for our younger kids,” she explained. “It’s mostly soundproofed so that their naps are undisturbed by the rowdy noises coming from the older kids’ wing.”
“Wow, Killian really thought of everything, didn’t he?” Stark asked.
The receptionist chuckled. “Well, he had the help of a few contractors as well.”
Kyle wasn’t really listening. His eyes had glazed over as they entered through the door to the wing. It wasn’t exactly the same - it had been repainted and decorated to be more child-friendly - but he remembered this hallway. This was the old section of the building that he had lived in.
Stark noticed he was lagging behind. “Are you okay, Kyle?” he asked gently.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Kyle said. “Let’s keep going.”
They continued down the wing corridor while the receptionist pointed out different rooms for painting, playing, feeding, and napping. There was also a lounge for the staff and a nurse’s room, just in case.
“There’s not much to say about this wing,” she said with a laugh. “When they’re this young, most of the time they’re asleep, but we do have activities planned for when they’re awake as well.”
Stark nodded and began to ask her questions about the specific rooms. Kyle was glad his mate took the lead because he was still in a daze from being in the same building. The memories darted in and out of his mind, edging at his consciousness. But he noticed that they weren’t painful - the tight feeling in his chest was replaced with something else - hope.
“And here we have our big playroom,” the receptionist was saying when Kyle shook himself out of his thoughts. “You can see we have some little ones in there right now. The ones that are awake, anyway.”
Kyle peered inside, and when he did, his heart fluttered. About two dozen shifter children were playing with the daycare staff on colorful play mats. Seeing them so happy in a place where he had suffered so much made Kyle’s eyes water.
“Kyle?” Stark asked softly.
“I’m okay,” he said with a small smile, wiping the tears away. “I’m just a little emotional.”
