Disclaimer: Not mine, never were, never will be.
A/N: This is again some Joan/ Kevin bonding... I promise some more characters in the chapters to come ;-)
The Fire and the Wood
My Own Wheels
(A scene to show what happened after Kevin left dinner unfinished)
"I've already got my own wheels."
Kevin's sentence still hung in the air when he'd already left the room. Helen let her fork sink to her plate, upset and frustrated, looking as if she was going to cry.
Luke and Joan looked at each other, not saying anything, but -like their parents- suddenly extremely aware of the lift bringing Kevin upstairs.
Will looked at his wife and slowly shook his head, knowing her well enough to feel her need to get up and talk to their son. "Give him some time. He'll calm down."
Helen nodded and Will said to Luke and Joan, "Go on. Food's getting cold."
They obeyed though they both weren't really hungry any more. They couldn't get used to Kevin's anger, to his fits of rage and to the many meals he'd left unfinished. They both picked at their food until their mother finally released them and told them to bring their plates into the kitchen and help her clean up.
When they were finally done, Joan and Luke both went upstairs in their individual rooms until Joan stopped before entering hers. She nodded towards Kevin's room where the door was open but no light on.
Luke shook his head, obviously not thrilled by the idea to face his brother again tonight, so Joan shrugged and entered alone and at her own risk.
"Kev?" she asked quietly, wanting to talk to him, "Are you awake?"
"No," he answered, the voice coming muffled. "I'm sleeping. And I'm not answering any questions concerning cars."
Joan's eyes had finally adjusted to the dark and she saw Kevin lying in his bed on his back, the blanket pulled up over his head.
"I'm not here to talk about cars. I'm here to talk about Mom." Joan said, knowing that it was only half true, but better than nothing.
Kevin sighed, but pushed the blanket from over his head and reached for the trapeze above his bed to pull himself in a seating position. Supporting himself with one arm he now sat on his bed and looked expectantly at Joan. "And what's there to talk about?"
Joan sat down on the bottom end, next to her brother's feet and said, "You really hurt her. She asked a simple question, maybe one you didn't like, but you really hurt her. She didn't deserve that."
"I know," Kevin said slowly, scratching his head with his free hand. "But she makes me so... err... I just couldn't stand it any longer."
Sighing, Joan looked at the ceiling before looking at Kevin again. "How long are you going to continue these games? She wants you to do something, you don't want it and you two end up fighting or not talking or whatever. Could you please have in mind that there are five of us living here? Not only Mom and you?"
Kevin raised his hands in defense and raised his voice. "Then tell her to stop bothering me. I will get a job, I will get a car, I will do it and she will finally be happy, but I need some time for it. The world out there does look a little bit different when you're sitting down, so bear with me."
"Maybe she just thinks that you had enough time to adjust and to figure things out." Joan tried to explain. "She really wants just the best for you and you're giving her such a hard time."
"She sent you again?" Kevin suddenly asked, a suspicious frowning on his face.
"No, not this time," Joan said. "I'm as tired of your melodramatic leavings as everybody else is. I'm just trying to tell you that this effects all of us, not only you and Mom."
Kevin's voice was really angry now. "I know that. Of course I know. But how am I to change it? She's the one to always interfere in my life, to always make me feel like a little boy."
"You ever told her that?" Joan asked, her voice quiet as if to calm him down.
"That I'm tired of her interfering? Yeah, I did." Kevin stated as a matter of fact but his tone also implied that it hadn't changed anything.
"And do you know why she does it?" Joan continued asking, knowing she'd need him to understand their mother before things could get better. "Don't you think there's a reason for that?"
"Because she's Mrs. Know-it-all?" Kevin re-asked provocatively.
Joan sighed, not understanding why he was so restive. "Come on, Kev, you know that's not true."
"Yeah, I know," her brother nodded, finally giving in, at least a little. "So you want me to ask her?"
"Yeah, I want you to understand her and maybe you can make her understand you. And then the rest of us will finally be out of the line of fire." Joan said and looked relieved when Kevin nodded again.
"Okay. Fine, I'll ask her. But not now and maybe not even tomorrow. But I will, okay? And I will try to be nicer to her. You're right, she deserves it." Even though I deserve some respect too, Kevin thought, but chided himself not to go down that road again. Joan was right, it was his turn to be a little nicer to their Mom and he would, right in the morning. Maybe he could say her thanks and maybe they could really stop fighting.
Joan nodded. "Guess that's the best I'll get for tonight."
Kevin grinned. "Yepp. It definitely is, because I'm going back to sleep."
"You're going to hide under your blanket again?" Joan asked teasingly.
"You should try it," Kevin said. "Even though it's really just a temporary solution."
"Yeah," she laughed, "I figured that much out. So go back to sleep."
"Good night, Joan."
"Night, Kev."
She quietly left the room, watching her brother lie down again, this time not pulling the blanket over his head. Maybe they'd figure it out, she hoped. And maybe that was the last dinner Kevin left without finishing it.
More to come...
