Chapter 3

Home for the Holidays 2019
Prompt - Sharing

May 12, 2020

5:20 pm

It took a few adaptations to the usual schedule and extracting a promise from Sting to meet them there after work. Still, when Rogue arrived at the community center, both of his sons were fed, washed, and ready for bed, and the list of questions he had failed to prepare for yesterday's interview was fully drafted on his phone.

The voice recorder was charged and equipped with an SD-card that had plenty of available memory left. The diaper bag contained everything it should and then some, and on top of it all, they arrived more than half an hour before the meeting was supposed to start so he'd have enough time to re-do the interview.

'The things you can get done with good planning,' he thought to himself as he wrestled the stroller through the entrance of the building.

Young girls could be heard singing and giggling over upbeat pop tunes. The sounds immediately drew the attention of the twins, especially Kuro, who started fighting against the stroller's straps so he could lean towards the direction the sounds were coming from. He was still too young to be able to point his fingers, but he made his demands very clear by reaching out and giving a loud, vocal instruction.

"Buuhhh!"

"Sorry Cupcake, I don't think that's meant for us," Rogue responded before turning to the receptionist. "Good evening, I'm here for the Dad's Club. Could you please tell me where I can find its meeting room?"

The receptionist's head snapped up at his voice. She looked frazzled, very much like someone who wasn't having a good day, but just as she was about to speak, Haku made a noise that made her peer into the stroller.

"Oh my goodness, aren't they sweet?" The receptionist made silly faces at the twins as Rogue

watched with mild amusement. She finally looked back up at Rogue, her lips curled into a friendly smile, a welcome change from her previous dour expression.

"The Dad's Club meetings are held in the daycare center, but that space is currently being used for rehearsals by a dance group. Unfortunately, the school holidays have led to the daycare center being double-booked, but the club meeting is still scheduled to take place as soon as possible."

"I see. Do Mr. Conbolt and Mr. Clive happen to be present already?" Rogue asked, feeling discomfort settle in the pit of his stomach at the name Clive alone, "I'm supposed to meet them ahead of the club, but maybe I got here a little too early."

Rogue startled as the doors of the community center suddenly slammed shut behind him. He looked into the stroller quickly to make sure the twins hadn't been frightened, but it seemed as if they were still focused on the music coming from the daycare center.

He turned around only to see Macao and Gildarts walking towards him, arms laden with several supermarket bags.

"You bought too much food again," Macao Conbolt complained, "What are we supposed to do with all this?"

"Stop worrying so much, someone will eat them, it's a bunch of guys right?" Gildarts shrugged off Macao's displeasure, "Seriously, I could probably eat all this on my own."

They hadn't seen Rogue yet, too intent on their bickering to notice anything around them. Soon they had reached the receptionist's desk.

"Is that why you were trying to buy the booze rather than the juice boxes I asked for?" Macao challenged, and Gildarts flashed him a careless grin while simultaneously grabbing a rose from one of the bags.

"Running this club has aged you, Macao, you'll never find a good woman this way," Gildarts handed the rose over to the receptionist who could only gawk at it and then at Gildarts. A look that Rogue recognized well from hanging around the man when he was younger, "Wouldn't you agree, Gladys?"

"When did you even get a rose?" Macao looked inside the remaining bags presumably to check for any additional contraband.

"A man is always ready," Gildarts shrugged before once again, dazzling poor Gladys with his winning smile.

Rogue found himself feeling sorry for the receptionist, Gildarts was unlike anyone else Rogue had ever met. He was big, loud, and brash, but he could also be incredibly charming and fun.

Once, he'd been like an uncle to him. A rather annoying uncle that was always involving himself where he didn't belong. Before he had much chance to think about the man, the receptionist ratted him out, probably to divert attention away from her.

"Uhm, that man over there was asking for both of you," Gladys helpfully pointed him out, and suddenly he wished the stroller were larger so he could just hide behind it. He wasn't sure how Gildarts was going to react when he saw him, considering their last interaction hadn't been a very pleasant one, and that made him awfully nervous.

To his surprise, Gildarts regarded him with interest, observing him as well as his sons with keen eyes. Rogue's unease began to mix with confusion, and an added layer of guilt to top it all off when he saw a familiar grin form on Gildarts' face as if nothing had ever happened between them.

"Never thought I'd see the day when the half-pint had a half-pint of his own, and two at that!"

Before Rogue had a chance to protest the use of that most hated of nicknames, Gildarts had already put down the bags he was carrying and moved over to Rogue, surrounding him in one of his infamous bear hugs that Rogue had to admit he'd missed. He wrapped his arms around the larger man slowly, unsure of what was happening but not wanting to fight the affection he was receiving.

They separated, and Gildarts peered into the stroller, "And who are these fine lads?"

"Guys, we're kind of blocking this area maybe we could move this reunion somewhere else until the room opens up? Gladys?"

"Let me check," Gladys looked at a map on her desk that was filled with dry erase marker entries, identifying the available spaces within the community center, "It looks like the small meeting room across from the daycare center is open."

"Wonderful, thank you, Gladys," Macao began to move towards the room Gladys had indicated with Gildarts hurrying to grab his bags and follow along with Rogue, both remaining silent for the moment.

There were so many things Rogue wanted to ask, none of them related to the Dad's Club. A glance at his watch, however, made him realize those questions would have to wait, they'd wasted too much time already.

The kids were being pleasantly agreeable for once, their eyes darting from place to place as they

looked at all the new things. The building, which was used as a community space, was decorated in cheerful colors with murals painted by a local artist by the name of Reedus Jonah decorating many of the walls.

They entered a small room containing a conference table that could seat six with enough room left over to comfortably place the stroller near the door so the kids could listen to the music.

Once Rogue was sure the kids were settled, he took a seat at the head of the table with Gildarts and Macao sitting on either side of him. Rogue could feel Gildarts watching him but chose to ignore it, grabbing his recorder and briefly looking at his phone screen to review the questions he'd come up with. Placing the recorder on the table, he made sure to turn it on, waiting for the red LED to light up before asking his first question.

"I guess I should start by asking what the club is, what purpose does it hope to serve?"

Macao and Gildarts stared at each other briefly with Gildarts gesturing for Macao to answer.

"Well. Makarov Dreyar and his friend Yaj Ima were both having some issues with their kids, and when they went looking for help, all they found were groups geared towards women. This was back in the eighties. They talked to some of their other friends and found that a lot of them were also frustrated by the lack of resources geared towards them, so they all got together and formed the first incarnation of the Magnolia Dad's Club."

"The idea was to support each other through problems and provide help, however possible. For example, Gildarts here was a social worker so occasionally he would be asked questions on fostering, child visits, things like that. Everyone lent their skills and expertise to help others."

Gildarts had been a social worker? For as long as he could remember, Rogue had heard his father complain about the dangerous missions his friend went on for work. Gildarts' daughter, Cana, would stay with them, forcing Gray and Rogue to share a room until he returned. Both Cana and his dad would be nervous wrecks until Gildarts booming voice could once again be heard.

"Okay, so if I understand correctly, the club was founded in the eighties?" Rogue verified, "and you mentioned that was the first incarnation, so what happened to it?"

"What happened was you all grew up, " Gildarts remarked, "I'm surprised you don't remember the club at all. You, Cana and Gray used to come to some of the meetings with us. We'd go get fast food after."

Now that Gildarts mentioned it, Rogue vaguely remembered something, but it was sort of hazy. He mostly recalled going to eat with their dads. That was always fun, especially when they were in a good mood and joking around together.

"Makarov and Yaj were getting old, they're in their seventies now, so when they announced their retirement and no one stepped up to replace them, the club just kind of died. That was about ten years ago," Macao added, an almost wistful expression on his face.

"So why start up again now after so much time had passed?"

Macao and Gildarts remained quiet for a moment, and this time it was Macao who gestured towards Gildarts, letting him answer.

"Well, Makarov reminded us that it was time for us to pay it forward, and he was right. It might be 2020, but the fact remains that for every one resource that exists for fathers out there, there are twenty for mothers," Gildarts explained.

"When I found out I had a daughter, I had nowhere to go to ask for help. I ended up at your doorstep with a crying little girl who had no idea who I was to her. Your father introduced me to this club, to other men like me who were just trying their best to be good dads, and it helped. It made me a better father and a better person overall."

"There are plenty of fathers out there who are lost, who knows maybe you're one of them," Gildarts gaze was intense as it fell on Rogue, "If I can help them out, don't I have the responsibility to do so?"

"I'm not sure what you're trying to say —"

"My wife left us when my son was very young," Macao interrupted, trying to defuse the sudden tension that had taken over the room, "I was really lost until I found an ad for the club in the Teacher's Lounge of the high school I teach at. It took me a couple of weeks to admit to myself that I wasn't okay and that I needed help, but once I did, these guys took me in. They helped me get through arguably the toughest time in my life. I'd like to do that for others."

"Yeah, I mean it's not like Makarov fed us drinks until we agreed or something," Gildarts scoffed while Macao glared, "That would be silly."

Rogue wasn't sure what to make of that last statement. With Gildarts, it was hard to tell what was fact and what was fiction sometimes.

"Okaaay, you mentioned yesterday there was babysitting, what other services do you provide?" Rogue tried to steer them back onto more neutral ground.

As Macao opened his mouth to answer the door to the daycare center opened and he scrambled to grab the bags. Rogue noticed Gildarts sneak something into the bag nearest him with an impish grin.

"I'll go set up the snacks and get the coffee going before more people arrive," Macao declared with his usual friendly smile, "I'll be happy to answer any additional questions you might have after the meeting."

Rogue nodded at him and gave him a sour smile in return. Gildarts showed no sign of moving, looking pretty comfortable in his seat, so that meant he was stuck with him for now. Not even the twins were going to save him this time, they were both completely focused on their toys. No crying, no screaming, no attempted escapes or diaper explosions. Of course, that only happened when it was highly inconvenient. Great.

"So-" Gildarts finally spoke up, drumming his fingers on the table, "Long time no see. How've you been doing? Looks like you've been busy." He raised his eyebrows as he shot a quick but amused glance towards the twins. And while there weren't many things that defined the word busy like caring for two very dependent, tiny humans did, knowing Gildarts that wasn't what he was referring to.

The repetitive tapping of Gildarts' fingers on the wood grated on Rogue's nerves. It sounded unnatural, like fingernails scratching against a chalkboard. His eyes were instantly drawn to the offending digits only to realize he'd somehow managed to forget that Gildarts' left arm and leg had been replaced with prosthetic limbs. A souvenir from one of his missions that had gone horribly wrong.

"I'm sorry," Rogue ignored the comment, offering a long overdue apology instead, even as his eyes remained glued on Gildarts' fingers. "I know you were just making sure I was okay back then, but I was just so angry for being left alone for so long. It—"

"You don't need to apologize for anything, Rogue," Gildarts interrupted him, the use of his actual name a clear indication that he was serious for once. "I should have gone sooner, I let myself get caught up in my own shit and — nevermind. Point is we're fine."

"I guess we both did," Rogue thought aloud, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. He was glad that Gildarts had accepted his apology, but it didn't make him feel any better about his actions. He'd been upset about being alone, but Gildarts had been dealing with his whole life being turned upside down. "You probably miss them too, huh?"

"Every day, kid," Gildarts winked, but there was an underlying sadness that Rogue could relate to. He reached out with this right hand and ruffled Rogue's head, messing up his ponytail and changing the topic. "I like this new look you've got going, it suits you."

Rogue's hands moved to his hair, gauging the damage before giving up and letting it down. He ran his fingers quickly through it, glaring as Gildarts began to chuckle at him.

"You are so annoying!" Rogue blurted out loudly, making Gildarts laugh even harder.

"There he is!" Gildarts exclaimed, his grin making him look younger than his fifty-five years, "I'm still me, you know. The prosthetics just make me harder to beat in a fight." Gildarts pumped his fists in a pretend punching motion.

"When the hell were you a social worker?" Rogue didn't know why that question felt so important, but it was in stark contrast with everything he thought he knew about the man.

"I'm insulted you didn't know. I have a Master's Degree in Social Work, but I enlisted in the Navy right after graduate school. Hmm, let's see, that was right when I first found out about Cana. I did it for a few years, but I hated it. I got better results in the Navy."

He looked down at his watch, "We'd best get moving, You'll probably get most of what you need for your article from the meeting itself. Plus," Gildarts rubbed his hands together in glee, "I don't want to miss Macao's face when he finds my little surprise."

"What did you put in the bag?"

Gildarts gave one of his goofy grins as he stood up, "You'll see."

Rogue followed suit, collecting the recorder and slipping it into his pants pocket before walking over to the stroller and following Gildarts out.