"You promised!"
Auron ran a hand over his face, scowling as he scratched absently at the stubble on the bend of his jaw. His fingers drummed against his coffee cup as the perpetually sticky fingers of his young charge tugged aggressively at the free-hanging sleeve of his robe, and the man struggled to keep the fabric from slipping down his arm. Internally Auron chastised himself for allowing the boy to order as many honey rolls as he could stomach, and for promising to take him to the Duggles scrimmage after school. The man grimaced at his own indiscretion and surmised that he was not cut out for parenthood.
"Uncle! You promised! Uncle! Mom says she can't! Please, please, please! Come on!"
The young boy jerked down sharply, half exposing Auron's fissured shoulder, for which Tidus received a hiss and a painful pinch. With immediate regret Auron sucked in a mouthful of air, pursing his lips and attempting an apology, though it came too late. Tidus paused, grasped at the newly blanched flesh of his arm with a look of utter betrayal, and began to cry. How Auron hated the sound of it! Though, 'hated' was perhaps too kind an appraisal of his feelings towards the noise of a child's crying. 'Despised' was more appropriate. The sound of snotty gulping and sniffling, and the telltale sight of a quivering lip filled him with a sort of divine fury, and Auron had to resist the urge to retaliate for fear of making it worse.
"I'm sorry. Please don't cry. Please."
"You promised!" Tidus snapped, red-nosed.
"I promised."
The warrior sniffed, wiped his nose and pulled a frown, watching Tidus swiping at his cheeks with tatty sleeves, regarding him from a distance above the rim of his dark glasses. Somehow for a moment, though blond and diminutive as he was, he was the spitting image of Jecht. Auron couldn't help but smirk. Impudent. Emotional. A brat. Even Tidus' snotty crying seemed, for a second, less an annoyance and more something of a fond memory. A memory? But of what?
Pausing, and breathing a sigh, "Fine," said Auron. "And don't call me uncle. I'm just a friend."
Tidus didn't seem to hear him, and instantly forgot his tears for favor of a loose-toothed smile. Auron did not protest as Tidus clambered up his knee, seating himself in the man's lap, though the muscle in his neck tensed as he felt the boy's surprisingly strong grip circle him in a hug, wet face pressing into the swollen musculature of Auron's chest. A waitress floated by, collecting the empty glasses from their table with the tenuous haste of a bumblebee drifting from booth to booth, giving Auron a flirtatious glance as she paused at his side. He returned her gaze with a quizzical expression before realizing she'd come with the bill. Auron's free hand fished about in his breast pocket, producing four 10 gil pieces. The coins kind of look like a honeycomb, he thought, stacking them up on his palm. He bumped his fist against Tidus' shoulder and pushed the money into the boy's hand.
"Huh?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to pay for breakfast?"