Hey Descendants,
I can't believe we dipped for a whole week. Neither of us felt well and then a lot of health things kind of knocked us for a loop.
Sorry.
We're alive. And mending. And we're getting your chapters out to you as fast as my fingers can fly over the board.
Thanks for sticking with us.
Lots of Love!
-Dark-
He looks over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of the barrier-covered Isle in the distance as he checks to make sure no one was watching him.
Make sure she wasn't there.
Make sure she wasn't going to drag him away again.
Like anyone else really wanted him anyway.
"Brah," David's voice permeates through his mind, disrupting his thoughts.
His tone low and calm.
Mellow and concerned.
A soothing balm to the chaos.
He blinks.
How had he forgotten where he was?
He frowns. How long had he spaced out looking at the orange glow of the barrier?
How long had David just sat there? Silently. Patiently.
"You've flinched eight times since you got here." David continues as his eyes sweep over him with a small frown. "I usually wait for you to talk but…" He lets out a sigh.
Not of exasperation, he'd recognize that one.
Or annoyance.
Or anything he was expecting.
It sounded heavy?
Sad maybe?
But why?
He bites his lip.
He wanted to be here.
David assured him he also wanted him to be here.
He just wasn't sure how to explain what was bothering him.
He sighs.
Or, more honestly, he was scared to find out something else was wrong with him.
Who the hell could hear their mother's voice in their head?
So loud.
Yelling.
Over and over.
Worthless.
Unlovable.
Unwanted.
Good for nothing.
Mistake.
The things he'd heard his whole life.
The only difference was the voice didn't hit him.
Drag him through the fur closet.
Throw things.
It was-
It was just there.
Always there.
Yelling.
Screaming all the things that scared him to his very center.
Skin.
Bones.
Blood.
Even his cells.
Her voice could freeze it all.
David shifts on the floor, resting his weight on his hands as he leans back, his eyes tinged with… He wasn't sure. He just knew they were darker than usual.
He studies the man with a small frown.
He looked the way Mal and Jay did when they were upset.
Had David always been that tense?
Was he disappointed with him?
"Sorry." He gasps, suddenly realizing he was somewhere between holding his breath and hyperventilating.
"Brah," 'He frowns, "It's okay, I'm just worried. You've been on edge. More so than usual since the ceremony. Which is totally understandable. I mean, I'm still on edge too. It was a lot." He pauses, "Like, seriously, a lot." His eyes sweep over him. "And I wasn't even the one facing off against an evil dragon turning fairy."
"Actually, Maleficent is a dark fairy who can transform into a dragon."
As if that really made a difference right now.
Why did he do that?
Correct things.
Stupid.
David's lips tilt into a smile, "My apologies, but thank you. I'll do my best to remember that. I stand by the evil thing, though."
He shakes his head, "No, sorry, I-" He sighs, "think I've been a 'know-it-all' a lot lately." He finishes before he looks away.
"Doesn't bother me none, brah," He shrugs lazily. "I can't tell swell from sand with this magic stuff."
"It's really confusing, but I read about the fairies and stuff until I felt a little better about it," He squeezes his hands into fists at his side before he pulls his legs to his chest, "at least better about my understanding of it."
David's lips twitch in another smile, "Naturally." He nods. "If I wasn't chest-deep in-" He snorts, "I can't even- It could be a day in the sun and I still wouldn't put that type of work into something like that."
If he wasn't chest-deep in talking to a worthless waste of skin and air-
He closes his eyes against the grating sound of her voice.
She was not standing behind him.
Her alcoholic breath was not blowing down his neck.
She was not perched on the back of the couch, waiting for him to turn around so she could jump on him.
Not there.
Not there.
He takes a deep breath before he opens his eyes again.
But he couldn't bring himself to look over his shoulder.
"You're very thorough." David smiles up at him, "It's something I admire about you. I don't nearly have your level of drive. I can barely adult most days. Unless I'm working or surfing anyways." His eyes run over him carefully.
"I'm not sure spazzing counts as adulting." He admits with a frown.
"No, but it takes dedication. Responsibility. Accountability. Discipline. You're going to be one of those people who transition into adulthood smoothly. I can tell."
"I guess I never thought about turning into an adult before." He purses his lips, "Which sounds weird now that I've said it out loud." He rubs the back of his head awkwardly, "Like, it's a normal thing that happens, and I guess I've always like, known that, but never like, applied it to me."
David's eyes soften. "Why do you think that is?" He asks gently.
He tilts his head to the side.
Why hadn't he ever thought about it?
His heart sinks as he hugs his knees to his chest tighter, "Because I didn't think anything would change."
If they hadn't come here, he'd be on the Isle.
Tending to his mother's every need.
Her hair.
Her feet.
Still brushing furs.
Treating them, fluffing them, conditioning them.
Cleaning a house that he never dared mess up.
Inviting robots to help lighten his load so he could spend more time with his friends.
Except on the Isle, they weren't friends.
No.
They had been friends; they just couldn't say it that way.
David frowns, "Fair," He nods, "It can be hard leaving the relationship you had with your mother. Most people who have been traumatized by a guardian, or honestly anyone that they love, struggle with it." He tilts his head to the side, "But do you think your friends would've left you in that situation when you grew older? That Jay or Mal or T wouldn't have pulled you out eventually? That Evie and Deez wouldn't care about your well-being? Gil?"
"You don't talk about that stuff on the Isle-" He sighs, "Not that the rules kept us from guessing. You just weren't supposed to care. So, I never thought about it. It just, you know, it was what it was."
He nods slowly, "So, none of them ever worried or showed concern when you were-" His tone grows softer, "And you very much were -forced to return home?"
He absently rubs at his back.
Why would anyone care about you?
He flinches at a sound behind him, but nothing could have prepared him for the breath suddenly hitting the back of his neck.
NO!
"Brah? Brah!"
He could hear David's voice, but it sounded far away.
Or was it just hard to hear him over the roar?
Roar?
"Carlos!? Come back, brah."
Back?
"Whatever it is, it isn't real. I swear nothing is there."
He blinks up into David's worried face that was somehow much closer and higher.
"Real?"
He reaches out, his fingers catching the hem of a heavy blanket as he grasps David's forearms.
When had he stood?
When had David moved?
When had he grabbed his shoulders?
"It's okay. Whatever you saw-"
His fingers tighten.
He needed to look.
Needed to know.
"There's nothing there."
His mother wasn't here?
He'd heard her. Felt her breathing on him.
For real.
She must have gotten free with Maleficent.
Free.
And now she was torturing him because he was a bad son.
He cries out as he rips away from David, twisting to stare at the couch.
The couch and the curtains hanging beside the window that framed the Isle in the distance.
The slightly moving curtains.
Curtains next to a firmly closed window.
He looks around in confusion. What was moving the-
White trim catches his eye.
The white trim of the AC vent.
He jumps at the strangled laugh.
Not his mother.
Just a breeze from the central air and heating unit that made rooms comfortable here in Auradon.
He staggers as he stares, but the hands on his shoulders keep him steady.
His cheeks burn.
How stupid was he?
He sags against the support holding him up before he straightens again, clinging desperately to the blanket around his shoulders instead of David.
So stupid.
So needy.
David slowly steps around him, the frown on his lips deepening as his eyes bore into him before he hesitantly steps back.
"It's her, isn't it?" He asks gently. "Your mother."
He nods numbly, swallowing hard against the fear and objection fighting in his throat.
"I, I-" His eyes burn as he stands there awkwardly.
Tell him.
Just tell him.
Yes, tell him how crazy you are.
"Always? Or since the ceremony?" David asks quietly.
"I hear her voice." He admits shakily before he squeezes his eyes shut, "In my head. I know it's in my head. I know it."
There.
Crazy or not, it was out.
David could help him or not.
But it was out.
He could hear his mother's voice in his head.
David nods slowly, "The mind is an amazing, powerful thing." He frowns, "And when you've experienced what you have, it can use its influence to trick you. To haunt you. Scare you. Manifest your deepest fears."
"It's not-" He blinks, "It's not a crazy thing? Like not a beyond help thing?"
David shakes his head, "Not crazy at all. Everyone hears voices in their head. Echoes. Some good. Some bad. It's just louder and feels more real for some people. And it's certainly not beyond help."
His shaky, numb legs nearly collapse under him, but the motion was so familiar he managed to sit across from David, pulling the blanket closer with fingers shaking and white from the chill still racing through his system.
"I, I keep thinking she's here now. That one day, it's not going to be in my head. She'll be there, standing behind me." He shivers as the chill reaches his spine, "Like Maleficent." He whispers.
David looks up thoughtfully before he sighs, dropping his gaze back down with regret. "I really, really, like really want to tell you that'll never happen. Want to assure you that you are completely safe, but I can't be certain anymore, no matter how much I wish I could, and for that, I'm sorry."
His eyes widen, "No, you don't have to be, I get it. I do. I think it's why I have to keep looking. It's just-" He shakes his head, "It's stupid. So stupid."
"It's not stupid." David shakes his head. "It's-"
"It is, though!" He snaps, "It's stupid because we faced Maleficent. A dragon. An evil fucking fairy dragon. What is my- what is she compared to that? Just an old woman who stole puppies because she's selfish. And she- And doesn't care who she hurts. She just wanted a new coat. Something no one else had. She betrayed her friend for that. For a fur coat. A fur coat made of puppies. Baby dogs. What can she do that Maleficent couldn't? Why am I more scared of an old woman than I am of Maleficent? It's stupid-" He coughs over the acid taste in the back of his throat.
And then his eyes widen before he covers his mouth.
Was he seriously yelling at David?
David?
The guy who always knew how to help?
Who played bot-fighting with him and always lost?
"Carlos…" David sighs heavily as soft eyes sweep over his face. "It's not stupid. It really isn't. It makes complete sense to me." He takes his arm, gently helping him up before he guides him to the couch and pulls him down with him. He sits on a leg to comfortably look at him.
"I-" He blinks as he settles the blanket higher on his neck, blocking the slight breeze from hitting his skin, "I didn't mean to-"
David holds up his hand, "I'm proud of you for yellin' brah. And am happy it was at me. Feel free to vent in any way you need to. You gotta get it off your chest. You can't keep all that fear and hatred bottled up like that, or you might go off on the wrong person and end up feeling worse."
He takes a deep breath, struggling to fully understand.
How could David be proud of him for raising his voice?
How was it okay?
He stares at David, looking for anything that might mean he was lying.
But, David promised to not lie.
Had not lied to him yet.
Didn't that mean it was okay to trust him?
But it felt wrong, yelling at David like that.
He liked David.
But he also didn't like the idea of accidentally yelling at Roy, or worse, Evie.
Nothing about yelling at Evie seemed like a good idea.
And yeah, he probably would feel even worse.
David wasn't crying or angry.
He was just-
David.
"Brah." David's voice breaks his thoughts again. "Seriously, I'm your counselor. It'd be weirder for you to not yell at me." His lips turn up in a sad smile, "I understand, at least on a level where it's comin' from and that you need to get it out. The emotions you've been bottling. The dark thoughts you've been hiding. They need an outlet."
It was like David could see in his head.
Knew the thoughts.
Like he hadn't even been trying to hide them.
"I'm still sorry, though," He manages to say.
He could see what David was saying.
He could even believe it.
But it didn't make him feel better about it.
David's smile widens slightly, "We can work on that at a later date, but for now, apology accepted and forgiven."
He nods before he slouches into the couch, pulling his knees to his chest once more before he wraps the blanket entirely around himself.
Silence settles over them until David gently clears his throat.
"Do you think you can handle a few questions for me?"
He lays his cheek against his blanket-covered knees and nods.
David rubs his back, "Who is the most fearless person you know?"
"T." He answers automatically.
He slowly nods, "Do you admire him for it?"
"Sometimes." He shrugs his shoulders, "But, sometimes it scares me too."
"Valid." David nods, "Can you list a few times T was fearless?"
"Learning to sword fight with Jay, and then Mal. When he jumped on Junior and Third the first time we met. Taking on adult sidekicks. Lying to Uma about knowing how to swim. Petting and holding onto a huge spider. All the herbs he tested just because he could. The stuff he made and tried on himself. The stuff I made and he tried on himself. When he poked Mal, every time he poked Mal. Talking to Ursula. Talking to Maleficent. Talking to the God. Making deals with the OVs. Standing up for people on the Isle. Picking fights with Deez. Picking fights with Atilla before he was any good with a sword. Spying on Shan Yu. When he tackled Deez down the well when her fire was white. Trying to hold Gil back from a god. The time he-"
David chuckles as he holds up his hand, "So a lot of stuff then?"
"Well, yeah. A lot." He takes a deep breath before he resettles against the couch, "Like so much."
David smiles, "Sounds like it." He shakes his head. "So, what do you think scares him?"
"Forgetting that he's playing hide and go seek Deez."
"Okay, interesting. That sounds like a story- But are you sure he was actually scared? Or do you think he was panicked? Maybe worried?"
"He looked-" His brow furrows before his eyes widen, "Oh, actually, that might have been what that was."
David nods, "How long have you known T- I know you guys didn't keep track on the Isle, but if you had to guess?"
He bites his lip, "I, I first met him right before Deez burned the coach and stopped coming to school." He sighs. It felt like forever ago, almost like another life. "At least five years, but like, three or four grades after we started school. I don't know. Evie's only birthday party was the easiest way to really tell time for a while."
"So almost half your life?"
"Yeah, that sounds right."
"And in those years, how much did you actually learn about T?"
"At first the only thing I knew was that he liked to jump from the shadows, hated bullies, and would leave if you asked him anything personal. And that he called himself T. Oh, and it was a kind of lie, but he said he was an urchin."
David nods almost knowingly, "Didn't VKs have a higher status on the Isle though?"
He shrugs, "Yeah. Maleficent. Ovs. The gangs. Then Vks. Sidekicks. Their kids. Nobodies. Urchins." He sighs, "It was stupid though."
David nods again, "Sounds stupid," He agrees. "So, why do you think T would claim to be at the bottom of the bunch?"
"So he wouldn't be worth it to anyone." He furrows his brow. It was what he always believed. Why else claim it? "I mean, who'd want to admit an urchin got the best of them?"
"Do you think that's the only reason he'd claim the worst status?"
He pauses. "Do you think there's another reason?"
"You said T left whenever someone asked him something personal, right? Who cares about the urchins?"
"Him and Deez. The older Urchins. Uma always took care of the ones by the docks. It was a big thing for a while if we saw an urchin we didn't know because they took bribes to spy."
"Okay, gonna let that one simmer for a bit, so let me rephrase, who cares about who their parents were?"
He blinks.
Oh.
Wow. Why had that taken him so long to see?
"No one." He slowly admits, "No one would press once you said you were a nobody's kid, because no one cares about the bottom of the Isle."
"But Frollo-"
"Is not a hero like he said he was." His face pinches in disgust, "He's nothing like Yensid."
David blinks, "He claimed to be a hero?" His face twists in revulsion.
"He, he said he came to the Isle to help people. Or souls. But he was just a nasty, mean, old stupid man who lied to people and made Deez and Uma feel bad about themselves and-" he blinks before he covers his mouth.
"And-?"
"And, and hurt T. Faustina. Because no one knew about her." He finishes softly.
David sighs, "Would anyone have been able to stop him from hurting them?"
"Y-"
He wanted to say yes.
Wanted to believe that the old them could have barged in and helped.
But he couldn't.
He wasn't T.
He wasn't Deez.
He had to play by the rules, or it made things worse.
Worse for everyone.
He sighs as he wipes his face against his knee, "No. Not back then."
Back then, half a year ago.
Not even.
Just a few months.
"So, half the VKs were wary of Frollo, understandably, and no one knew T was his, let alone knew Faustina, his 'sister', even existed?"
He nods, "We just avoided the red lantern district all together if we could help it."
"A church was- not the point." David shakes his head, "Valid, I would've too. Why do you think T took off every time something personal came up?"
He frowns.
Because-
Because it was so easy to talk to him, and even though T seemed to know everything about them, it was never because he had to ask.
He just, knew.
And it was weird. Because the rules said don't talk about stuff. But T didn't care about rules. So it made him want to know more about him.
Made him want to know more about why he acted the way he did.
Which, T didn't want to talk about.
Because Frollo.
Because-
Because it was personal.
But later on, T did start to talk more.
Opened up more.
Just never about where he came from.
Never about where he went when he had shit to do.
Never about Frollo.
Even when his story started contradicting.
When he showed him the scars on his back, fair trade for knowing about the ones his mother gave him.
Because T knew how much it hurt him to let T see him like that.
But, he never went into detail.
Never asked more questions.
Why?
Because-
Because?
"Because T was scared we would judge him once we all started becoming friends. Or, or he was scared of Frollo finding out he left the church. Or maybe both." He finally says as he curls tighter around his knees."
"Is T still the most fearless person you know?"
"Well yeah, we're all scared of-"
Oh.
David smiles sadly, "How old do you think Frollo was?"
"Old. Like younger than Yensid, but who isn't. Still, old."
"Was he human or something more?"
"Human, just a-"
He sighs.
"I think I see your pattern," He admits with a sad, awkward chuckle.
Frollo was nothing more than an old, regular human.
But T-
Fearless, get the fuck outta my way T, was scared of him.
Or at least part of him was scared. And most likely of Frollo, or because of Frollo.
Just like he was scared of his regular, old, human mother.
"Figured you would," David smiles. "Do you remember the video chat?" He sighs heavily.
"Evie reminds us of it almost daily."
"She would," David smiles, "And do you know why Mal and Jay were so concerned when you guys first got here, right?"
"Because they were afraid that T was going to do something stupid, and we weren't there to stop him or help him."
"Do you know what that stupid thing was?"
He sighs, "Confront Frollo. Which he did do."
And then Harry had to save him, except they didn't get much information beyond that.
Except from Deez's letter, stating that if it weren't for Yensid, she and T might not have been able to join Uma.
So, what had Yensid done?
What had been done to T when Harry found him?
He squeezes his eyes shut against the thought.
Against the articles about Esmerelda.
But, what would make a god look, and sound, so disgusted?
Angry?
At the time, he'd been scared for them.
Harry and T.
The fact they were in Senior's temple.
But now, thinking back on it, it wasn't like the two were being kept captive.
They weren't being used as leverage against Deez.
T had even-
Teased?
Poked?
Definitely messed with Senior.
And wasn't slammed into a pillar for his efforts.
Or crushed.
What did that mean for them?
Was the god-
Was Deez's father actually helping them?
He sighs deeply.
If that was the case, and he wasn't even sure it was-
And it wasn't like it even solved a problem.
But it raised a few questions.
"Breathe, iki brah," David instructs calmly.
He nods, but struggles until he manages a weird gasp of air.
David silently encourages him, setting the pace of his breathing.
Breathing with David was one of the hardest and easiest things to do.
Hard to remember how to start, but easy because David never lost patience with him.
Ever.
And he'd done this for over an hour once.
"Almost done, I promise." David smiles tightly, "So, to my understanding, even the most fearless person you know, a person that stood between Gil and a god without so much as a flinch, who jumped at an inferno, who made deals with the Mistress of Evil, couldn't handle a man as old as dirt?"
"But- but that's different." He defends his friend.
"How?"
"I-" He blinks in surprise, "I um, I mean, my mother never, I mean she always said she'd let it happen if I kept messing up, sell me to the highest bidder so she could buy another coat."
David's jaw tenses as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "What makes you think T knew that was happening? Does the T you know seem like someone who'd return to that? Leave his sister to that? After all, why attack Frollo now? When from the sounds of it, he could've taken out Frollo years ago?"
Had T not known.
Stupid question.
David was right. If he had known, T would have gone and killed the man hurting his sister.
But then, why had he been afraid of Frollo?
"He... wasn't afraid of Frollo for himself?" He tilts his head to the side again so he can see David, "he was afraid of Frollo because of Faustina."
"And probably was punished for his effort, yet still went back, over and over and over."
"Because he had-"
No.
No, T didn't follow those rules.
He had to go home or it got worse. His mother got worse.
The others had a harder time when he stepped out of line.
But T-
He blinks. T followed those rules to protect Faustina.
Except he and Faustina were the same person.
So then-
His eyes widen, "The burns. The bruises from falling from the roofs. Nicks from sword practice. He and Faustina had to hide those from Frollo, or-"
Or they weren't able to.
And that was when T vanished for weeks, only to come back with apologies and half-answers about forgetting what he was doing.
Reading for two weeks straight?
T could barely sit still for an hour.
At the time, it hadn't been strange.
T and Deez both vanished from time to time.
Neither liked talking about it. Everyone just kind of rolled their eyes, and life went on.
And the whole time, T was suffering as two people without even knowing it.
Without them having the ability to perceive it, let alone understand it.
It was different.
But, they were all in the same place.
Don't talk about it.
There's nothing you can do.
Don't call attention to it.
Don't dwell on it.
Don't ask questions.
Don't care.
How had he faked that for so long?
Lived like an animal for so long?
He startles at a sound, only to realize he was sobbing.
"I hate that place." He chokes out as he buries his face tight against his knees and curls into the tightest ball he can. "I hate that we did that to each other."
Hated that it hadn't been that long ago.
But most of all, he hated that people he cared about were still there, doing that.
Having to fake it because of the stupid OVs.
David comforts him.
He wasn't even sure how long he was stuck there, trying to come to terms with how much he hated the Isle.
David just sits with him, reminding him to breathe, but otherwise just a silent comfort.
Until his muscles let him loosen his grip on his legs.
Until he calmed down enough to wipe his face.
Until he could breathe again.
"Think you have one more answer in you?" David asks softly.
Did he?
He knew David always had a point, so he hesitantly nods.
"Do you think it's stupid to be afraid of your mother?"
He bites his lip, trying hard to hide the tremble.
His mother terrorized him.
From his first memory until even now when he wasn't with her.
When he'd been taken from her because she was a bad mom.
All those years, all his life, he'd been convinced he was a bad son.
Her voice still chanted it in his head.
But that's why he was afraid of her, wasn't it?
Because she'd been able to do that.
Because he believed her, each and every threat.
Didn't clean good enough?
Didn't brush the fur the right way?
Messed up her hair dye?
Hurt her feet when he was massaging them.
Every time she wasn't happy, it was his fault.
All his fault.
He did something wrong.
She had all the power.
She could do whatever she wanted with him.
Toss him in the fur closet.
Sell him.
Beat him.
Starve him.
Take him away from the people he felt somewhat safe with.
Make him feel stupid and worthless.
And she did.
But, if it wasn't stupid that T was afraid of Frollo-
Then was it stupid Cruella scared him?
He takes a deep breath before he shakes his head, "No, I guess it's not."
David shoots him an approving grin, "Because it's not, and never was. You have so many legitimate reasons to feel the way you do. Everyone has something they're afraid of. Someone. That doesn't make them stupid. It makes them aware. Aware of danger. Aware of what traits to avoid in future relationships. Aware and intelligent enough to want to avoid the source of their pain. But it takes getting out of the abuse to see it."
He hugs his legs as he pulls the blanket even tighter around himself.
Anything to ward of the chill.
The chill only his mother could make him feel.
In his skin, bones, blood, and cells.
To his core.
His not so rotten core.
He blinks back tears.
He hated her.
But he also found himself wanting Lilo and Hiro.
"You can cry, you know. Or yell, or punch pillows. No judgment. Just quiet encouragement. So please, for me, brah, don't swallow that. Whatever that is."
He slowly turns to face David again.
"I was thinking-" He sniffs before he rubs at his eyes, "About how much I hate what she did. But then I thought of Lilo and Hiro."
David smiles as his eyes melt into warmth, "What about them?"
"I spaz so much on them, but they're a lot like you. They just let me, maybe they get scared, I think Hiro broke things on the rocket after Roy and I got back from talking with Roger and Anita-"
David humphs in amusement.
"But, they don't. They never try to scare me. Or hurt me. And they spaz when we have misunderstandings."
"Trust me, they spaz at a lot of things."
He chuckles softly before he sighs, "I miss them."
Which felt strange.
He'd never missed an adult before.
Well, he missed Yensid, but that was different.
David purses his lips to his side, "You can call them, you know, they won't mind. Even if they can't come out, I know they'd love to hear from you. For you to reach out to them."
He bites his lip. "But they're important people."
"So are you."
He blinks.
So was he?
Hiro dropped everything, left his school, and flew back just to get him pizza and tell him he should be spontaneous more often.
It scared him at the time, but Hiro said he was worth it.
Hiro even said he was proud of him.
Trusted him with new inventions.
If someone like Hiro thought he was special-
Why did he have to hear that so often?
Why didn't he ever hold on to it?
Believe it for very long?
"It takes time, you know," David squeezes his shoulder, "To see what everyone else can after a life of being ripped apart and torn down. It'll probably take years for it to really register. How important you are. How amazing you are. How brave. Selfless. And thoughtful. And Kai, so many other awesome things. But as long as you're willing to put in the work, I'll be here, reminding you."
He blushes as he looks away, "I want to get there, so yeah. I'll keep working."
"I had no doubt. You really are one of a kind, brah, and in all the best ways."
One day he'd be able to accept that. Hold onto the compliment.
Believe it.
He trusted that.
One day.
With enough work.
He slowly pulls his phone from his pocket before he looks at the door.
"Do, um, do you have someone else coming yet?"
"Nah," David grins, "I always make sure you and Jay are my last clients of the day. And when needed back to back."
He smiles. He and Jay had a habit of running over the one hour mark in the beginning.
But the way David said it, it felt like he actually looked forward to the extra time with them.
Like they weren't a burden.
Or just his job.
He understood Jay.
Jay already treated David like the dad he always deserved.
And yeah, he knew David would be his uncle soon.
But still, it felt nice to be wanted.
To feel like their time together was good.
Or was he just lying to him-
He shakes his head.
No!
No, not right now.
He wanted to enjoy the feeling.
Belonging.
"Would it be okay if I stayed a little longer to call them?"
"Of course, Iki Brah," David grins before he lazily slides to the floor, "Just, ya know, poke me if ya need me." He grins over his shoulder before he rolls onto his back, cupping his hands behind his head as he looks up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression.
He smiles at David before he looks back down at his phone, tapping the speed dial to pull up the number Hiro programmed that would call both his and Lilo's phones.
His finger hovers over the screen.
David said they'd want to hear from him.
Would love that he wanted to reach out to them.
So then, why was it so hard to do it?
He sighs.
"Why is this scary?"
David glances at him from the corner of his eyes, "Session ended when I rolled to the floor." His lips twitch into a small smile. "It's 'cause your mom was a mega-huge-bitch."
Huh.
David wasn't usually that-
Ah.
Jay told him David had a rule like that with him.
Dad or counselor, but never both.
Did that mean?
He snorts, "Thanks, Uncle David."
David turns to smile at him with a small salute, "Any time."
Yep. Looks like he got that rule too.
He chuckles as he looks back down, surprised when he sees the phone dialing.
Tch. Stupid.
The only thing stupid bout our pup is the bitch who popped him out.
Our poor little genius.
This one seriously hurt.
To read.
To write.
To write David for.
Thanks Dark. *glares*
And yeah, I know T came up a lot in the chapter, but it made sense, right?
It just seemed like the easiest way to convey how not-stupid it is, how complicated and complex it can be to deal with an abusive parent.
I get it C, I get it.
It's hard to face a monster that's terrorized you since before you can remember.
Seriously. Fucking hard.
Dark tells me all the time that it's normal to have complex emotions bout my rents. All the time. And I'm fucking 31 and have had 10+ years of counseling.
Carlos is barely 14.
Shit's fucking hard to shake man.
*shakes head*
Do you think David handled the sitch well? (Asking for me.)
Did your heart break for the pup?
Fave quote:
David glances at him from the corner of his eyes, "Session ended when I rolled to the floor." His lips twitch into a small smile. "It's 'cause your mom was a mega-huge-bitch."
-David
What was yours?
Much love and appreciation,
-Twisted