Emotional Blackmail
After a few years, Auron thought that he was better at the whole parenting gig than he'd ever imagined he'd be. The disciplining was easy; Auron's glaring skills more than made up for the fact that he was handicapped with a missing eye; his low growl of "Quit it" was scary enough for Tidus to stop cold in the middle of whatever mischief the child was doing; and he was stoically resistant to the boy's pleading for more candy, a later bedtime, or being allowed to touch any of Auron's possessions.
The man had even gotten used to the touchy-feely stuff like tucking Tidus in every night, gingerly accepting hugs, and comforting the kid whenever he woke up crying from a nightmare. Though Auron had stubbornly refused from the start to kiss any "boo-boos" better; there had to be some boundaries.
So by the time Tidus hit thirteen Auron figured the hard part was over. The mystifying and frequent crying fits had become less common to the point of never happening; the blond refused to allow the swordsman in his bedroom, so the tucking-in had ceased; and though Auron knew nightmares still occasionally occurred, Tidus had stopped yelling "Orrrr-uuunn!" in the middle of the night.
Tidus spent more and more time out of the house playing blitzball with his many friends. He would come home just after dark and eat whatever leftovers Auron had left in the fridge after his own dinner. Hardly any words exchanged between the two except for Auron reminding the teen about his studies and chores and Tidus huffing and griping but eventually getting things done.
Tidus was fifteen when he and Auron had their first serious fight.
"I'm quitting school," the blond mentioned casually one night.
Auron's eye narrowed and glared at the young man over the rim of one dark lens. "Why?" His response was a single mild word, but it carried a looming menace and the threat that 'your answer better be a good one, or else...'
Tidus (a typical rebellious teenager) seemed to ignore the warning. Puffed up with self-importance, he replied: "An agent for the Abes wants me to sign a contract! He says I'm what the team needs to get them out of their slump."
"No," Auron said. He turned back to the newspaper he had been reading.
"No?" Tidus repeated in confusion. "No?! Why the fuck not?"
Auron calmly turned a page. "Your education is worth more than whatever this 'agent' is offering."
Tidus crossed his arms and snorted derisively. "Really? My education is worth more than 20,000 gil a game?"
"Yes," his guardian said.
"Fuck you!" Tidus shouted. "You're a fucking hypocrite! You told me last week that I was old enough to work and contribute money to the household! I'm being offered 20,000 and you change your mind?!"
"Your father was lucky; he was one of the rare athletes who made enough gil playing to live on. The amount you've been offered isn't nearly enough. You should go to school and-"
Tidus cut him off. "I don't care what you think I should do! You're not my father! I'm better at blitzball than my old man ever was! You can't tell me what to do! I'm fifteen! I can take care of myself!"
"Just because you have been offered an adult job does not mean you are an adult and capable of living on your own," Auron stated firmly.
Tidus marched up and thrust his face right in front of Auron's. "You're not my father," he repeated. "I'm not eight and I don't need you anymore. Get out of my house, now!"
Auron's eye shifted to examine the teenager's finger pointed at the front door before meeting the boy's gaze. "You think you can take care of yourself?" he asked rhetorically. "Fine. Perhaps it is time I moved on." He stood up, Tidus scrambling out of the way, intimidated by the battle-hardened warrior despite his anger and even after being acquainted with the man for so many years.
"Well. Good," the lack of an argument leaving him with a similar feeling as having a trapdoor swinging open right under his feet. Tidus nurtured his anger and crossed his arms and did not deign to follow Auron to actually make sure he was packing. The man emerged after a short time wearing the clothes he'd worn the day he'd entered Tidus' life and hefting the huge sword Tidus had never been allowed to touch.
Auron grunted, "See ya, kid," and left.
Tidus celebrated his victory by taking off his shirt and leaving it in a crumpled heap on the living room floor, imbibing some of Auron's liquor stash, and getting sick. Lying on the cold kitchen tiles next to his puddle of vomit, Tidus began to feel scared and lonely. Now that the rage had dissipated, fear and uncertainty gnawed in his gut. He really couldn't take of himself! It hadn't even been three hours since Auron had gone, and Auron wouldn't really leave him, would he?
The teenager started to cry. Even the memory of his father calling him a crybaby wasn't enough to make Tidus want to stop.
Tidus thought he was hallucinating when he felt a cool hand settle on his brow. He
turned his head and open bleary eyes."Auron?"
The man grunted an affirmative. "Come on, kid," he said, picking up his friend's son. "Let's get you into bed." Tidus was tucked between his sheets like he hadn't been for several years. Somehow, though, the sensation of the scarred man pulling the covers under his chin was as familiar and comforting as if the tradition had never stopped. When Tidus saw Auron turn toward the door, he reached out a hand and grabbed the man's arm.
"You're gonna stay, right?" The guardian simply looked down at the blond and didn't answer. Tidus felt the fear start to creep back. "Please! I promise that I'll stay in school an' earn some money! I'm sorry for what I said! You were right about-"
"Quiet," Auron interrupted. Tidus felt relief; Auron's 'quiet' was the equivalent of a nursery rhyme mother gently saying 'hush.'
Auron's free hand stroked Tidus' hair like the man had when he was a bawling kid. "Yeah, I'll stay. Jus' no more yellin' like that."
Tidus smiled. "Promise," he said sleepily.
Auron ruffled blond hair affectionately then left Tidus' bedroom to clean up the mess.
End
Note: Auron would use emotional blackmail unscrupulously when raising a kid, wouldn't he? -snicker-