summary: in which avoidance is an effective coping mechanism for loss

larry character development?
it's more likely than you think!

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"Mummy, wake up, it's time for breakfast," Connor called, crawling onto his parents' bed. "Daddy's making breakfast." Wrapped up in her duvets, Cynthia didn't respond. "Mummy," he whined, pulling at the covers. "Mummy, wake up."

The bedroom door creaked open. "Connor, what are you doing?" Larry asked in a low voice.

"Something's wrong with Mummy, she's not waking up," Connor said, beginning to panic.

"Shh… Mummy needs some time to be by herself, why don't we go have some breakfast?" Larry suggested, leading him out of the room.

"But why? Is there something wrong with her?" Connor pressed.

"No, there's nothing wrong," Larry said. "She's just feeling sad about the baby."

Connor's shoulders drooped slightly. "I'm sad about the baby, too."

"I know," Larry said sympathetically. "Do you want to do something fun today?"

"Ooh, what?"

"I was thinking we could go to the orchard, and then get some ice-cream at A La Mode. How does that sound?"

"Oh, yes!" Connor grinned, brightening.

He set out the bowls of food and water for Skywalker, while Larry and Zoe set the table for breakfast. Larry soon came out with a plate of hard-boiled eggs and slightly charred toast. "Daddy… can't cook as well as Mummy, sorry about that," he said a little sheepishly as they sat down to eat.

"That's okay," they laughed, buttering the toast and giggling at the burnt corners.

When they were done, Larry took a tray of food up to Cynthia's bedroom for her, and Connor skipped over to where Skywalker was finishing her food. "You wanna go out?"

At his words, she let out an excited bark and dashed towards the front door, fetching her red leash from the hook and returning to drop it at Connor's feet. He picked it up. "You finish your food first," he firmly instructed. "Then we'll go out."

They spent the rest of the late spring morning at the apple orchard, picking four leaf clovers, splashing in the pond with the ducks, and riding two rounds around the orchard on the hayrides.

"I'm so… hungry…" Connor panted after a game of fetch with Skywalker. "I want to eat something."

"Shall we get lunch? I know a nice fish and chips shop not too far from here."

"Yay! Fish and chips!"

"Let's go, I'm hungry!"

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"Do we get ice cream after this?" Zoe asked as they sat down on a bench with their fish and chips.

"Yes, but I have a surprise for you two first." Larry said with a mysterious smile.

"What is it?" Connor demanded eagerly.

"If I tell you now, it'll spoil the surprise."

"Aww, please tell us, Daddy… please?" they begged.

"No, he insisted. "You'll find out soon enough. Just be patient."

They hurriedly finished their lunch, and then they piled back into the car. Larry turned onto the highway and within a few minutes, despite the children's excitement, the exhaustion from their morning's activity overtook them, and they began to doze off—Connor first, followed by Zoe. Larry turned the radio on, turning the volume dial down low, as Skywalker stuck her head out of the car window, taking in the sights and smells.

After nearly an hour of driving, Larry finally announced, "Wake up, kids, we're here!"

"Hmm…?" Connor groggily opened his eyes as Zoe stretched and nearly smacked him across the face with the back of her hand. "Hey!"

"Where are we?" she asked, ignoring him.

"Remember how last week you were asking what an amusement park looked like? Well, I brought us to one."

"Oh my goodness!" they screamed ecstatically as they unbuckled their seat belts and scrambled out of the car, rushing in the direction of the ticket booth.

Larry cleared his throat. "Connor Murphy, I think you forgot someone," he announced good-naturedly.

Connor turned to see his father holding Skywalker by the leash. He blushed. "Oh, right." He sheepishly took the leash from Larry. "Do you want to go to the amusement park, Skye?" she barked appreciatively.

They waited impatiently as Larry purchased their entry tickets and finally they entered, nearly ready to burst from all the built-up anticipation. "What do you want to do first?" Larry asked.

"The merry-go-round!" Connor exclaimed.

"No! The Ferris Wheel!"

"We'll go on the Ferris Wheel first, since it's closer," Larry decided.

"Wow, it's super big," Connor observed as they stood in line. "It must feel super, super high up there."

They got onto one of the gondolas, and the ride ascended slowly. "Wow! It's so high up!" Zoe exclaimed as she tip-toed to lean over the railing. Connor stayed in his seat, slightly nervous about the height. The gondolas swayed slightly in the breeze and he wondered if it would tip them out.

"It gives my tummy a funny feeling," he mumbled, griping Skywalker a little tighter for fear she might fall out.

"I can see so far!" Zoe continued. "I can see all of the amusement park!"

"The weather is lovely today," Larry commented as the cool breeze ruffled their hair.

"I think I smell something yummy," Connor said, as the Ferris Wheel headed back down.

Larry scanned the fairgrounds. "Oh, see, there's a hotdog stand there, and there's popcorn too," he pointed towards their right.

"Can we buy food there later, Daddy?"

"Of course," he said as the ride ended and they got off.

"Let's go on the merry-go-round now!" Connor squealed, making a beeline for it. He and Zoe rode three rounds on the merry-go-round, picking a different horse every time, as Larry waited for them with Skywalker.

"That was so fun!" they exclaimed breathlessly as they got off the ride. "What's next?"

"There's a little rollercoaster there, you've never been on one before, how about we give that a try?" Larry said.

"It looks scary…" Connor said hesitantly.

"No, it's fun, you should both try it. It's not scary, it's the one for kids." Larry urged.

"Okay," Zoe agreed. "I want to try it."

"That's the spirit!"

They got into line, as Connor nervously watched the rollercoaster race around the track, as everyone screamed their lungs out.

"Why are they screaming?" Zoe asked.

"Because it's fun!" Larry replied. Connor didn't believe him.

Most of the people riding were children, and one little girl came off crying loudly, which only made Connor more concerned. A man's cap flew off when the rollercoaster went around the bend, making both Connor and Zoe laugh.

Connor tugged at Larry's sleeve. "Can Zoe go first?"

"Yeah, I want to go first," Zoe said before Larry could reply.

Connor waited with Skywalker as Larry and Zoe got onto one of the cars near the back. The rollercoaster started slowly, but then it zoomed down the hill and around a bend. Connor waved to them, but Zoe was screaming and Larry was laughing and holding on to his hat so he guessed that they didn't see him. The ride was over soon enough, and Zoe raced towards Connor, her hair windblown as she exclaimed,

"That was so fun, Connor! You should try it!"

"But you were screaming," he pointed out skeptically.

She shrugged, retying her messy ponytail. "Everyone was screaming, so I decided to scream, too."

"Connor, your turn, are you ready buddy?" Larry said.

"Okay…" he replied apprehensively, reluctantly handing Skywalker's leash to Zoe.

This time, he and Larry got into the front car—Connor could see the orange tracks hugging the ground and then heading up the hill. The ride lurched forward and he tightened his grip on the metal bar in front of him. Going up was fine, the hill wasn't very steep and the rollercoaster was slow and the clickety-clack was almost soothing. He could see the blue sky and white clouds stretching out in front of them, and maybe it wasn't going to be so bad after all.

But then the rollercoaster reached the top of the hill and shot down the track, and Connor decided that he didn't like it. At all. It was too fast and he felt like they were going to shoot off the rails and he buried his face in Larry's lap. He could faintly register the sound of people screaming behind them but the wind was roaring in his ears and then suddenly, they jerked to a stop.

"The ride's over, Connor," Larry said with a laugh, pushing back the safety bar. "Did you like it?"

"No…" he mumbled, shakily stepping off.

Zoe skipped towards them. "Did you like it, Connor?"

"No, it was too scary," he muttered, moving to sit down on a nearby bench.

She frowned slightly. "But it was so fun!" She said, then turned back to Larry. "Can I go again?"

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After filling themselves up with hotdog, popcorn, and cotton candy from the amusement park, they headed to A La Mode to stuff themselves with ice-cream, and finally headed home, Connor and Zoe stumbling up to their bedrooms, exhausted from all the fun and games. Larry watched them go, wistfully noting the smiles and laughter on their faces, grateful that they could temporarily forget the sad events of the past two days.

Because this was the only way he knew how to cope. This was the only way he knew to help his children.

And that was to avoid the situation, and pretend that maybe, just maybe, it didn't happen.

And to pretend that everything was okay.

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hi hi so school fucked me up this week and i literally just finished this chapter five minutes before posting so please forgive me if it's not well-written. i'll try to stay on top of writing this fic. thank you so much for all the comments! they're very motivating :D

anyway, hmu on tumblr (thewickedverkaiking) or comment here and tell me what you liked about this chapter! constructive criticism is much appreciated 3