Chapter 6

'Here goes nothing.'

Alex inhales deeply as he wipes the last waterdrops from his forehead and joins father and son again. "How are things going along?"

"Zero already 'sits' and 'lies down', but giving his paw doesn't seem to work…" Peter anxiously reports. "Well done, the most important part is, that you manage to make your voice stern so he knows it is a command." Alex smiles encouragingly.

"Have you tried squatting in front of him and holding out your hand before you command him to 'give'?" Peter's eyes light up with the new idea and he squats in front of Zero, who was attentively listening to the surrounding humans.

"Zero!" Zero ears perk up, focusing his gaze at the kid. "Give!" Peter holds out a hand, doing his best to look stern. Zero notices the outstretched hand and places his paw in the palm. Peter lunges forward "Good boy, you did well" and hugs the big dog.

Alex smiles contentedly, everything works out smoothly. He allows himself to shift his gaze to the gorgeous guy. Just looking, not touching.

He was surprised to see a warm smile on the rumoured mafia-boss's lips. You can say about him all the bad stuff you want. This guy in front of him genuinely cares for Peter.

Daniel, feeling the gaze upon himself looks up to see Alex smiling at him. They lock eyes.

"Teacher Alex, what else is there to do?", Peter interrupts the moment. Alex quickly turns back to Peter, feeling a light blush creep up his cheeks. He makes sure to keep his back to the father, not letting him notice his revealing reactions.

Daniel himself also got back his bearings, reminding himself that now was about Peter.

"I think we are now ready for battle. Peter, go and grab the leash in the next room. Then we are ready to go." Alex points towards his bedroom door. Peter complies and quickly vanishes in search of the leash, allowing Daniel to get a glimpse of the other man's bedroom. It doesn't reveal much. A double bed with dark covers, a chair buried under clothes, then the door was shut behind Peter.

Daniel shifts his focus back on the rookie teacher. "Teacher Alex, I am deeply grateful towards you. Know matter how this turns out today, I will always appreciate your actions."

"Thank you. I am trying my best." Alex felt uncomfortable since he doesn't know whether his plan will bear fruits. "We can at least try. But I don't know whether it will be for long, since the mother's might just instil the rumours in their kid's heads again and again. The goal is for him to find one friend that doesn't mind his background. Than it doesn't matter what the other kids say. One ally will make all the difference."

"But aren't you already that ally? I never expected Peter to be able to overcome his fear so quickly. You must have left a great impression on him."

"Well, I won't be enough. He needs someone his own age." Alex quickly glances away. He can no longer stand these mesmerizing green eyes fixed on him. Attraction was a fickle thing. He has got to get back his bearings.

"Peter, are you alright?" Alex notices that it took the kid a long time to find an easily visible item in one room. "Teacher, I am sorry, I can't find it." Alex follows Peter in his bedroom when he realizes he left the leash on the commode next to the entrance. "I am sorry Peter, I forgot I left the leash in the hallway."

Peter, proudly, put the leash on Zero with the instructions of Alex. "We will walk from here to the kindergarten. It is just a 20 minutes walk and you can get accustomed to how excited Zero is once he is outside." Alex guides his guests towards the entrance.

Before he could ask Peter's father, Daniel says "Well, I think my part here is done. I will leave the rest to you, teacher Alex. If you don't mind, today I will personally pick up Peter so maybe you can tell me what happened."

Then, as if forgetting something he starts to rummage in his pocket taking out his wallet. He hands Alex a business card "On here are all my numbers. If anything goes wrong or if you need me with anything, please feel free to call me." Alex curses the slight blush the already starts creeping up his neck. 'He is just worried about his son. He isn't really giving his number to you.', he scolds himself to be realistic.

Nevertheless, he takes the card and places it in his pants pockets. Today would be very exciting and many things could go wrong. It would be good to be able to contact Peter's parent directly.

"Okay, thank you. Peter and I will now take our leave." After ushering everyone out, Alex busies himself with locking up the door so he doesn't hear how Peter, who embraces his 'father' whispers in his small voice.

"Don't worry, uncle Daniel. Teacher Alex is my ally."

As if this explains everything Peter grabs the leash tightly and guides Zero outside, Alex at his side, feeling equal parts of dread, excitement and happiness.