"This? This is kids being morons. It's a permanent condition that cannot be solved," he quips back, giving Lightning a grin. "Thank you, for healing them.. and.. earlier." He realized later after they'd talked that he hadn't thanked her for healing him. He'd been a little.. yeah.

However, even the kids were picking up on the slip about the family. He must've given her the wrong impression earlier too. He hesitates and listens as Peter also chimes in that they weren't related. For whatever reason, it was difficult to say the words on his side. Did Peter ever have this problem? "We're.. uh.. it's complicated. We're not blood related," he attempts to say it a different way. How could he possibly call Peter, not his family when he was in every sense of the word but legal? His expression lingers on the young man in question and his heart twists painfully in his chest.

He was ignoring the other ridiculous conversation they were having, but the sound of their laughter and amused chattering was a gift he didn't feel he really deserved. "Speaking of young people.. you haven't met a little girl around here have you? About this big?" He gestures an approximate height. It might be a little off since he was now sitting down, but it should be obvious who he was talking about if they'd met her. "She's going by Buttercup."