Alright, this is the last chapter. Amazingly, I've managed to avoid torturing Scales in this one.
Un-beta'ed, so quibble away.
- o – o -
Chapter three: He Didn't Have to Be
For a ten-year-old, Scales was rather cynical. He knew this for a fact, because every other nipper on the planet was happy and liked their parents. He hated his foster dad, but… Well, this one wasn't so bad… Not really, anyways, and at least he didn't drink.
One thing he didn't quite get, though, was Father's Day. It was supposed to be something special that you did for your father, or step-dad, or—if you didn't have one of those—your uncle or the nearest male substitute. Previously, Father's Day meant he got to sleep in the trailer June 16th, just so he'd be able to make breakfast for the drunken tosser on Father's Day or risk a beating.
But now… Scales frowned as he stared at the contents of the fridge. He had no idea what Mr. Grayson would do if he didn't have breakfast ready on time for Father's Day. (Alright, he'd been ordered to stay out of the kitchen if Mr. Grayson wasn't there to help out, but this was different.) If he got a chair, he could reach the eggs on the top shelf and make an omelet. Omelets were good, and so was fresh fruit… The only thing he wasn't looking forward to making was coffee, because the grinder was so loud.
From experience, the ten-year-old knew that loud noises that woke the recipient up were a bad thing. He really didn't want to be kicked out onto the street because he'd done something stupid, like waking his newest father-figure up.
Half an hour later, as Scales was attempting to set the table, Mr. Grayson walked in. He had a rather stunned look on his face at the breakfast that had been laid out.
"Nicky…" Grayson began slowly. That was another thing Scales liked about Grayson—the man had given him a name. "Did you do all of this?"
Scales nodded, smiling a little warily. "Happy Father's Day?" he said, although it came out as more of a question. He barely had time to react before Ray grabbed him up in a tight hug.
"Thank you, Nicky," Ray said, settling the ten-year-old on his hip. "I appreciate this, really. But next time… Just wait until I get up before using the stove?"
Dominic nodded happily. "Alright."
And it was probably the best Father's Day either of them had had.
- o – o -
So, what did you think? Good? Bad? About ready to beat the crap out of Vince Sr. for destroying this little family later down the line? Drop a line and let me know.