"He's… quiet."
Miguel didn't look up from where he was tuning his lute, "He is capable sometimes Tulio… is he sleeping?"
"No, he's reading."
Now that got Miguel's attention, his head shooting up as he turned to Eugene's corner of the home… and yes, Eugene was reading.
"Huh…. That's new."
"Tell me about it."
Slowly the pair moved over to sit by their son, both glancing at one another, waiting for the other to speak.
"Hey kid…" Miguel eventually spoke up, gently poking Eugene in the shoulder, "… what are you reading?"
Silently, Eugene held up the book so that his parents could read the title, eyes still focused on the pages.
The Adventures of Flynn Rider.
"Flynn Rider?" Miguel questioned, "I've never heard of that before?"
"The woman who comes into school to read to us brought them in." Eugene explained, still not looking at them, "He's a hero."
"Really?" Tulio raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "How?"
Looking back, he wished he hadn't asked the question in the first place as Eugene's face lit up and he clambered onto his Papa's lap, sharp elbows and knees digging into vulnerable areas. "Look here!" he pointed at a picture on the page, of a standard 'hero' man riding a horse, whilst avoiding arrows from blobs in the distance.
"The evil lords had stolen all the money from the people, so Flynn Rider went to steal it back!"
"Oh?"
Nudging Tulio harshly in the side, Miguel leaned in closer, "So what did he do?" he asked.
"He waited until the nasty lords were asleep, and then he snuck into their castle and threw the bags of money out of the window, where all the villagers were waiting! Then they took the money back to their homes and hid it, for when the guards came knocking. He did this every day for a week, until the lords had nothing!"
"And… did this Flynn Rider get any of the money?"
Eugene rolled his eyes, "Heroes don't need money Papa! He has the people's… res-pect."
"Does respect put bread on the table?"
Miguel frowned at him, nudging him again harshly in the side, "Tulio…" he hissed, "… stop it."
"I'm just saying- "
Eugene tuned out the argument, turning his attention back to the book.
They'd get through it.
…
"Put the book down Eugene!"
"Tulio, don't shout at him!"
Throwing his blankets over his head, Eugene desperately tried to focus on the pages…. The number of arguments had increased between his parents, getting louder and louder.
Papa hated hearing about Flynn Rider's adventures… heroes didn't exist according to him, they were either working for the villain and trapping the innocent villagers, or they took all the money for themselves.
"Stop babying him Miguel! He needs to learn that the world isn't all heroes beating the bad guys, and happy endings!"
"He knows that! Just let him be a child!"
"I don't need a child hanging around, I need something useful!"
Eugene found himself wincing at the words, peeking over the top of the book, just in time to see his Papa storm out of the home, slamming the door behind him, leaving Miguel standing there fuming.
"Daddy?"
It was clear that Miguel was trying to calm down, taking deep breaths, before spinning around to face his son, a forced smile on his face.
"Hey…" he whispered, moving to sit by Eugene, "… don't worry about him, he's just- "
"- angry at me."
Miguel winced, "It's not you… Tulio just doesn't know how to- "
"- read?"
"…. That's a bit harsh."
Eugene groaned, putting the book to one side, twisting around to face Miguel. However, before he could say anything, Miguel spoke up. "You know the damage words can do…" he gestured at the book, "… don't you remember getting upset when all those boys were bullying you, saying those hurtful things?"
"… yeah?"
"Well… Tulio has a habit of saying the wrong thing when he's angry."
"Well he shouldn't!"
"I know, I know…"Miguel held his hands up in the air, "… he's been like that since I first knew him, always flying off the handle. But, you need to be better than that. You and your Papa are very different, and that's not a bad thing."
Eugene frowned.
"Eugene… I know your Papa acts like he wants you to be the best thief ever, forever working with us. But I know that if you turn out to be a doctor… a banker… or a prince, then he'll be happy with that too."
"You won't be mad either?" Eugene bit his bottom lip nervously, "Even if I want to be a teacher or something?"
"I won't be mad… even if you want to be a guard?"
At the face that Eugene pulled, Miguel couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm sure you would never sink that low." He teased, "Besides, I think being a teacher is the best decision for you."
"Really?"
"Yeah… really."
….
Of course, Miguel knew that it wasn't going to go away that easily.
He decided to ignore what Eugene was doing near the door… just for his own sanity.
Night-time rolled around, and soon Eugene was fast asleep in bed, as Miguel waited up for Tulio, resting his back against the door as the minutes passed. Eventually, at around midnight, footsteps approached the door and the handle started to turn.
The bucket came crashing down and water soaked Tulio's clothes.
"WHAT THE- "
Tulio quickly cut himself off when he heard the giggling from his son's bed, turning a glare in that direction and storming over.
"You little- "
"- no, no, no!" Miguel leapt out of bed and grabbed Tulio's arm, pulling him back towards their bed, "Come on, come on."
"He- He- "
"- was upset about what you said and rightfully so." Miguel folded his arms and glared at his partner, "Do you really blame him? You basically implied that there was no point in him reading so much… and after all the stress we went through to put him in school!"
"I just- " Tulio stopped, pulling his wet shirt away from his skin, "- I know he loves reading, but he's been raised by us! Raised as a street child, who would hire him?"
At the ensuing silence, Tulio sighed wearily, "I just don't want to have him get his hopes up, only to be rejected time and time again."
Miguel couldn't say anything.
"Yeah…. Precisely."
