Warning pure fluff ahead....
Short update in which Erik is OCD about language, because he never does anything by halves.
This was scene was meant to be part of the last chapter but that was getting so long that I just wanted to post it already.
"Sure you don't want me to get you anything?"
Pietro asked plonking himself on to the chair next to Erik's bed, simultaneously slipping his school backpack off and tossing it on the bedside table.
"I know -chocolate!" Pietro exclaimed before Erik could reply again and started rummaging through his backpack, spilling school supplies and books on to the small table.
"What?" Erik asked, more perplexed than usual by his son's behaviour.
"You're supposed to bring sick people chocolate and flowers in hospital right? I got a Hershey bar in here somewhere…here it is!" He said triumphantly retrieving it and tossing it to Erik. "I'll bring you some flowers next time…"
Erik chuckled at Pietro's relentless determination to make him feel better.
"Don't trouble yourself….I don't want you raiding Charles' rose beds…" One of the books that Pietro had dumped on the table caught Erik's eye and he picked it up attempting to read the title. He squinted at it but his vision still wasn't right. Another adverse side effect from the temporary lack of oxygen to his brain. Hopefully that would right itself soon… After staring at the cover for a time he just about made out the words: "Oliver Twist". Erik flipped it open and tried to read the small print, but much to his frustration his eyes refused to focus. Being in bed was going to be extremely tedious if he couldn't read….he might even go a tad mad…left alone with just his thoughts for hours on end…Maybe he could ask Celia to medically induce another comma until his vision sorted itself out. He couldn't contemplate watching the rubbish that was on television for hours and hours either.
"You ok?" Pietro asked noting Erik's knotted brow " I mean I know you're not ok, but - "
"I've thought of a way you can make yourself useful. Read me some of this.… Maybe I can bother Charles for a radio later if he ever ventures back down here again.." Erik said holding the book out to Pietro.
Pietro's face fell. He looked at the book like it was bomb.
"What's the matter?" Erik asked puzzled by the look of horror on Pietro's face.
"N-nothing…" Pietro forced himself to take the book "You uh…want me to read it… like right now?"
"Well that was the idea…" Erik gave Pietro an accessing look "You can read can't you?"
"Course!" Pietro lied. Flipping open the book at the first page. Desperately trying to think of a way out of his predicament. "But-uh…don't you want to eat your candy bar first?"
"I'll save it for later. After you've read the first chapter to me." Erik said now scrutinising him. Pietro knew he had made a mistake, instead of distracting Erik he'd made the man turn that laser like focus his way. Even in hospital and on some heavy medication Erik had sixth sense that made him see right past any deception.
Pietro cleared his throat and focused on the first page. Praying that the letters would magically make sense. They didn't. He felt Erik's eyes on him. Then an idea occurred to Pietro - he'd make it up. It was a kid's book anyway right? Erik probably hadn't even read it. Pietro took a deep breath and began confidently:
"There once was a kid named Oliver, his last name was Twist. He grew up in England. Which is real far away. He lived with his parents in a biiiig house, made of…uh…. Ginger bread….One day a witch turned up on the doorstep and turned both is parents into frogs… "
Pietro risked a glance at Erik. Who was watching him with raised eyebrows.
"Well well…" Erik drawled "That story certainly has changed since I was a boy."
Pietro could feel his face turning red. "You've uh read it before?"
"Several times."
Pietro looked back down at the pages. Now everyone was going to know he was stupid. He wished he could just melt into the floor or teleport out the room. Perhaps he could run-
"Start again."
"Huh?" Pietro looked up.
"Start again." Erik repeated simply. He didn't sound angry. "Read words on the page this time. Not the ones in your head"
Pietro swallowed. "I can't….I can't…read" he felt his face burn.
"Try." Erik ordered.
"-but I can't-"
"-Start with the first word, break down the letters and sound it out." Magda had been an avid reader, maybe even more so than he was. Their taste in books differed greatly but not their passion for them. They both encouraged Anya from an early age, and Erik knew there was no way she would have neglected her son's education. He was sure Pietro could at the very least read and write the alphabet and pronounce letters.
Pietro's brow furrowed. He sounded out the first real word with serious effort. Erik corrected the sounds and words where he stumbled and gave him the sounds of the English characters when he pronounced the Cyrillic ones by mistake. The boy eventually and somewhat painstakingly made it through a whole sentence.
"You see, you can do it. The rest is only practice….and attempting the task honestly instead of making up nonsense."
"But I sound like a dummy…..and it takes me all day…it doesn't take any other of the kids that long…and they don't get confused….I don't even know half the letters!….Erik…don't tell anyone….please?"
"Pietro…your teachers will have to know. I don't even understand how you've been able to hide this for so long."
"Please! Scotty can't know about this!" Pietro pleaded desperately jumping down from the chair and griping the bars on Erik's bed again. "Everyone's gonna tease me for being a dunce!"
Erik sighed.
"Pietro you are not a dunce. You are merely confusing the sounds of your Russian alphabet with the sounds of the English one. Which has caused other problems for you. A new language is not something the other children have had to contend with. You have done quite well to learn English in such a short space of time and yet still remember your native tongue."
"…Thanks… but the others will still think I'm stupid." Pietro said looking at his hands, though it helped a bit that a least Erik didn't think he was a moron. Erik looked at Pietro's dejected posture and then sighed again, this time in defeat. He was going soft….
"Alright."
"Alright what?" Pietro asked confused.
"Alright I won't tell any one about your…situation."
"Does that mean you won't tell any one I can't read?"
"Yes" Erik clarified. A smile spread over Pietro's face. "But you are going to learn. I will not have my- I will not have you, remaining illiterate. Tomorrow you will find a copy of a Russian and English dictionary in the library and you will bring them here, and together we will rectify this problem."
"You're going to teach me to read?" Pietro said still smiling.
"I am going to teach you to read English. I suspect you already know how to read Russian, or did at some point, but you have had no occasion to practice and so you have somewhat forgotten the skill. Nevertheless I will need some way to assess that, you will also find a Russian book in Charles' library. So we can practice that."
"Hey wait- why do I have to read Russian books too? I only need to learn to read this one for class…" Pietro protested holding up the book his smile faltering, he seemed to have unwittingly signed up for a ton more homework. It would be great getting to spend more time with Erik, but he wasn't sure about all this extra stuff the man was expecting from him. "Look I'm not real into books….I just want to know enough so that I don't look like a pinhead in class. You don't have to turn me into a genius or nothing."
"Or anything" Erik corrected. " 'A genius or anything' Your grammar is atrocious. We will need to correct that too. Otherwise it will start to affect your writing…. and don't use that word either… slang makes you sound….common."
"What word? Pinhead…but it's not cussing- "
"-It's a made-up word that doesn't exist in the dictionary, so in effect it has no meaning -if you use words with no meaning then you can never mean what you say, and a gentleman should always mean what he says."
" ….'kay…." Pietro answered now wondering if it was possible to talk Erik out of helping him, but judging by the zealous look on Erik's face… probably not. It was the same look the man had when he'd talked about breaking out of Omega…..and… Erik wasn't the sort of guy you talked out of stuff….Ms McTaggart and the rest of his teachers were nowhere near as picky about the way he spoke….in fact none of his teachers had been, and the ones at the orphanage had been happy to let him daydream at the back of the class while they went through motions….Pietro swallowed, something told him he'd have no such luck in Erik's lessons….
