Hello :P It is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter. In spite of the title name, this chapter actually focuses on just one of the people who is a ghost/angel and from "up there"! That person is Lynne, Misty's Mom. The other person is James Morgan. This chapter goes into a moment within the romantic relationship of James and Lynne. I really enjoyed revisiting that dynamic! I've written about them a fair few times, but it's usually focused on a more positive, heartwarming aspect. Although I have written about more tumultuous times, it's usually because of other people's views of them, rather than an issue they're going through themselves. But this chapter focuses on a harder moment for the two of them. And it ties in to Justin and Katie's intimate relationship also. I hope you enjoy :3
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!
I continued smirking to myself as I watched the lavender haired male playing with his equally lavender haired son, both of them trying to supress giggles as they darted around every corner of the room. I had been perched on the window sill and watching the Pokémon World go by before that and I really had been intending to go home! But when I looked at the playful pair, I simply could not. I didn't know why. Their antics were alluring, despite having seen that kind of thing a hundred times before. So I stayed. I stayed and watched. And I enjoyed myself almost as much as those two.
Johnny was hugging around his father's neck so tightly as he continued darting him around the room and spinning with him too as well as finally being unable to suppress his giggles any longer. And almost as soon as the older male's chuckles erupted from his lips, the lavender haired little boy burst out also but in a different way. His hands stopped clutching onto James' neck. His arms stretched outwards like an aeroplane so both of them were playing the same game. And he roared.
"Faster, faster, faster!" Johnny begged his father and as the older lavender haired male's switched from being outstretched and held onto his boy's back from behind but still managed to keep spinning around, the younger of the two's face scrunched up with glee. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and shook his head, his sparse curls bouncing. "Faster!"
I heard the noise that escaped James' lips that time as he continued holding onto his son from behind but finally stopped spinning in circles, just darting from one side of the living room to the next instead. And as soon as that noise could be heard and I smirked to myself all the more, the lavender haired male retorted.
"I don't think I can go any faster! I'm not as young as I used to be, man." James told his son but needless to say, Johnny Jinn didn't care much at all nor agree with him. His eyelids crept open and he continued grinning before making hearty aeroplane noises from the back of his throat. The lavender haired older male gasped a second time and added. "I think you're going to have to carry me instead!"
But nevertheless and despite the fact that those two had been at their antics for quite some time at that point and James was indeed not as young as he used to be, the older lavender haired male inhaled a great amount and gave it one last go. And boy did he really give it some!
The ex-rocketeer abandoned his tactic of darting from one end of the room to the other and instead just started spinning in mad circles on the same position on the carpet and revolving very quickly indeed. Johnny Jinn's eyes promptly squeezed together all over again and he resumed hugging onto his father's next tightly. But he grinned. He really grinned and he grinned and he beamed.
He hooted with enjoyment. I almost did as well. It was always so wonderful to see energetic play time. And sometimes I believed that that kind of thing would go on forever with the new members joining our gang all the time, as well as the seeming agelessness of some of the people that I knew!
However, like all things in the world, all good things must come to an end, and after spinning for a solid twenty seconds or so, James started to slow down and he began to spin towards the sofa. He span near it for a couple of turns but then he flopped down it, starting to pant a little bit as he switched his son from being behind him and he encouraged him on his front instead.
Johnny Jinn's oceanic blue orbs sprang open instantly. You could tell that he was about to stick his little pouty lips out in protest and widen his eyes even further. You could tell this. I could tell this. James could tell this. But the lavender haired male was quick to act.
Before his son could properly let out any noise or gesture of protest at the game clearly coming to an end, James dipped the toddler age boy downwards and over his lap, so he was holding him secure by his legs but his head was hanging backwards towards the floor.
Johnny took a moment to gasp and blink as he surprisingly was not expecting this at all! But like he did anything that he set his heart on, he quickly recovered and started giggling all over again. James smirked with him and bought one of his legs that were in his hand closer to his mouth and he craned his neck, pretending to sink his teeth into his son's skin. The lavender haired male made playful growling and chewing noises.
"Mmmm, Mr Wolf says its dinner time." He murmured and he continued smirking from behind his little boy's leg, his hand reaching to tickle his foot at the same time that he nuzzled Johnny's bare limb with his nose. After some more mock mouth smacking noises and growls, he pretended to shake his head like a dog devouring a bone. "What's the point of having kids if you can't do this to them?"
As James nuzzled his son's leg with his nose all over, Johnny Jinn shrieked with laughter and joy though he pretended to act like it was something else and kick his father away from him. But he failed. Despite the old age that the lavender haired male claimed to be, he was strong and swift and managed to keep Johnny from moving too much at all.
And the lavender haired little boy surprisingly gave up his kicking act rather quickly and went back to laughing; squeezing his eyes shut all over again. He let out a gasp as James pretended to really sink his teeth in and his eyes pinged open all over. Johnny hiccupped in between laughter as he tried to get a protest out.
"No time! No time, no time!" the lavender haired toddler boy insisted in between hooting but then he tried to give his father a serious look as he hovered over him, tilting his head on one side and raising his eyebrow. That was Johnny's way of telling the older male that it was his job in the game to ask what time it was.
James tilted his head on one side as he heard this and caught on as quickly as I did. He mimicked his son's own gestures and expression by him too raising his eyebrow but then he chuckled, squeezing Johnny's leg tighter and shaking it.
"I suppose I didn't. But you're my little boy so what I say goes when it comes to you." James retorted and after he said these words, he tried to show off an evil and carnivorous glint in his eyes before making more smacking noises in his lips. But even though it was just a game, when the lavender haired male saw his son's continuous raising eyebrow, he then laughed again – innocently – and corrected himself. "You're right. You have a say over whether I get to eat you or not. Let's play the game correctly."
And in addition to correcting his words, the lavender haired male even stopped holding his son quite so much but still didn't let him topple down towards the carpet. Then showing the fact that it really was all fun and games, almost as soon as Johnny noticed that his hold had weakened, he whined just a little bit and kicked.
James was forced to roll his eyes and smirk and take hold of his son all over again after he had pushed his mature, shorter locks from his eyes. The ex-rocketeer went back to gripping onto his toddler boy and pretending to growl at him and after Johnny peered at him, seeing him doing his part, he knew it was time for him to play along.
He exclaimed in words to these effect:
"What's the time, Mr Wolf?" the lavender haired little boy asked as best as he could and in between giggles as James had begun to pretend to nibble at the material of his rolled up jeans all over again. It was evident that he was not complying with leaving his son to himself and while I shook my head fondly from the window sill at this observation, and as time passed, it became all the more obvious that he would not be playing by the rules.
Even though he did stop nipping at and nuzzling his son and he pulled his face away from his, doing a good acting job of pondering and thinking to himself, James then didn't exactly comply to the usual rules of the game.
Before Johnny Jinn could predict what was going to happen or I could either, the lavender haired adult male acted quickly and he made a swift grab for his son, pulling him back upwards onto his lap. And before the lavender haired little boy could gasp or hiccup, James moved him to cradle him close and he gave him the biggest but most loving squeeze that you had ever seen.
"Cuddle time." James responded with an innocent smile and once again before it could dawn on Johnny what was going to happen, the lavender haired male pulled his son even closer still and started planting kisses all over his cheeks. Perhaps it was part of the game but at first, the toddler boy gave his father a little bit of a wary look as his cheeks got smothered. The ex-rocketeer added reassuringly in between planting a kiss on the end of his nose. "I won't bite. Promise."
And with that, I could tell that Johnny Jinn could tell that the game was over for good and it was time for a great deal of affection so he lapped that up instead. His little back arched and he stretched properly over his father's lap as he pretended to scrunch his face up away from the kisses but he enjoyed them wholeheartedly even so.
The lavender haired little boy wrapped his arms around his father's neck all over again, that time from being on his front and I smiled to myself. Yes, with occasions like that to observe, it was no wonder that I didn't want to go home!
I grinned all the more to myself and towards this particular notion, and then as my eyes wandered to the doorway behind the sofa in the living room of the Morgan Mansion, I saw somebody else enter. It was no surprise that the two Morgan boys probably had much enough of a commotion to allow other people in the house to hear. No doubt would it have piqued anybody's interest. But in particular, of course it was going to pique the little boy's interest.
I couldn't tell if she had been standing there long but Lynne entered the room there and then and made an intentional motion towards the two lavender haired males on the sofa, joining their side. However, neither of them noticed her at first like I had. James was still planting kisses to his son's chubby cheeks and snub nose albeit slower and softer ones and in return, the little boy was still clinging to his father's neck. And he had shut his eyes all over again.
The orange haired woman held a loving hand to her heart as she saw the endearing scene up close even further and she smiled to herself, unable to stop the look of love filling her oceanic eyes that she passed onto her son. She merely just breathed out at first. But then she so clearly wanted to be a part of that love.
I watched as Lynne moved both of her hands to the shoulders of her other half and she reached to plant a kiss to his cheek in an attempt to get him to be aware of her presence.
"Hey you." She greeted him before even the lavender haired male turned to the side to face her but it goes without saying that James became aware of her presence there and then. He did indeed turn to the side and he gave her a gentle smile but it was the younger of the lavender haired boys to react in the more obvious way. All over again, Johnny Jinn's eyes bounced open. And after Lynne switched one of her hands to stroke her toddler boy adoringly on the cheek, she uttered just to him and scrunched her nose up. "Jordan is looking for you, you know. And I have a sneaking suspicion that he has a gift for you."
My legs twitched underneath my body as I really had been sitting there for a long while but they still did not carry my body down from the window sill and out of the room. I watched and I watched some more. And I saw the way that almost as quickly as the lavender haired toddler boy's eyes had pinged open all of those times, his limbs vaulted into action and he scrambled to get off his father's legs.
And although he had had wonderful and enjoyable time with that same father, he did not hesitate to carry himself off and sprint when he heard from his mother that someone else was looking for him!
That was kids for you. And that was certainly Johnny Jinn.
The ex-rocketeer shook his head in disbelief but it was not the hurt or offended kind. He merely widened and then squinted his eyes before wriggling his fingers, only then realising how tender they felt from all the play time with his youngest child.
Lynne waited before saying anything else and simply smiled and slid her hands back onto the both of her other half's shoulders. And it was in that moment that the lavender haired male looked at her properly and continued smiling, and asked her.
"What is it that Jordan has for him?" James asked with curiosity in his voice and decorating his face but not particularly so. He soon dropped his gaze back down towards himself and resumed stretching out his fingers so he didn't see the way that Lynne's expression glinted with slight mischief and she grinned. She shrugged.
"Oh, I'm sure that he'll find something for him." The orange haired woman hummed but she could only keep up her own mischievous antics and expression also for a couple of seconds before she innocently giggled to herself. And after she felt James' head turn towards her all over again and him frown, wordlessly asking her what was the reason that she sent Johnny off then, she stuck her bottom lip out just a fraction. And her hand slid down towards James' chest rather than shoulder. Her voice lowered. "I want some cuddle time from Mr Wolf also."
I could have sworn that I saw the chest of James peeking out from his unbuttoned white shirt redden a little bit when he heard these words and his eyes glinted with naughtiness also. But I must have read it wrong. Lynne's words were not exactly suggestive!
I assumed that the blushing of James' skin died down and naivety returned because soon enough he smiled some more and moved his legs a little bit, his arms reaching to go around Lynne's waist, encouraging her on. But the orange haired woman waited for actual permission.
The lavender haired male gave it to her by nodding his head outwardly and gesturing for her to come closer and it was then that she complied! The orange haired woman from above slid on to her other half's lap and with her hand remaining lingering on his patch of bare chest, she craned her neck and rested her head on his shoulder. The two members of the in love couple embraced. But I had to admit that it wasn't the kind of embrace that I had seen from them before.
It was true that Lynne cuddled up close to James and he had complied with her sitting there – even going as far as blushing and encouraging her on! However, as soon as she was seated on top of him and she was cuddling him, I noticed that his hands hadn't moved to hold her in any place else. They remained simply on her waist but they barely seemed to be gripping onto her at all. They were just loosely rested there, as if they were going to slide off at any minute.
Nevertheless, before I could ponder this any further or jump down to have a closer look, Lynne smiled some more and sighed to herself and in these mannerisms she showed that she hadn't really noticed James' unusual amount of interest (or lack of it.)
The orange haired woman pawed at the material of his shirt ever so lightly and moved closer to him, softening at him and questioning him in an even softer voice.
"Do you want to do something tonight? Just the two of us? We could go out like we used to do." Lynne suggested in a low voice that was just for her boyfriend but I could hear it as clear as day. It wasn't anything to be embarrassed about or for me to get studious over. In fact, I smiled to myself. Their lovey-dovey moments were something that I surprisingly embraced from the beginning!
It was clear that the lavender haired male had heard his girlfriend's words and even though his hands finally started to react to her there and then, one of them sliding to her hand on his chest before the other lightly cupped her under the chin with his finger for just one second, he didn't appear to jump at what he was proposing.
But nor did he reject her outright. So I didn't question it all that much. Instead I just watched with an open mind as although he didn't shake his head, the side of his nose crinkled a touch and his eyes squinted.
"I really don't think tonight is possible, do you, my love? Jorgie has been napping for a good while at this point. I don't think she's going to get to bed tonight without great effort and I wouldn't expect anyone else to tackle that challenge for me." The lavender haired male spoke to his girlfriend softly enough and he even reached to plant a gentle kiss to her cheek after he said these words.
And like myself, although they had been a very subtle rejection to Lynne's proposition at that point, the orange haired woman didn't think all too much of it. She melted all the more at being called a special name as well as the doting nature of the father of her two youngest children. She smiled all the more to herself, edging closer on his lap.
"Well, we don't have to go out then. But we can have some special time just the two of us after the little ones go to bed. Or now? We could do something now. Put a movie on, Jim Dear." The orange haired female continued suggesting but she added some more things, her hand at last sliding away from her boyfriend's chest and moving upwards to cup his face.
Then her hands couldn't help but find themselves tangled in his hair. He made a lot of jokes about him reaching old age but to some his hair was as soft and alluring as it had been all of those years ago.
That time, in spite the fact that James listened to his words and he smiled to himself when he heard them, he properly shook his head and even removed Lynne's digits from fingering at the strands of his locks. She threatened to blink but the lavender haired male diffused this by looking right at her and smiling at her. He even held both of her hands in his and planted a kiss on top of them.
"Johnny is going to come back here any minute and do you really think that he's going to be quiet enough to let us watch a film?" James questioned Lynne of their son together in a voice that was humorous enough and it had perhaps the intended effect because the orange haired woman lost her train of thought for just a second and she chuckled to herself.
I believe that this was the ex-rocketeers intention and I could have sworn that I saw his eyes twitch in relief as after his hands moved to Lynne's waist all over again, he tried to encourage her off him and stand up. The angelic woman complied when she felt her other half rising beneath her and she slid off. But she blinked.
Her hand slid over her heart but it goes without saying that it was for a very different reason compared to when she had first entered the room and seen James and Johnny playing together. Lynne didn't say anything at first and neither did I. In addition to this, she didn't move much at all.
Instead the orange haired woman from "up there" watched her boyfriend and her eyes followed him as when he was no longer held down by his girlfriend, he tried to casually move to the other arm chair where a book of his was resting. He picked it up in just one hand. And for some reason, this was what got Lynne to openly react.
The orange haired woman's brow quickly began to furrow and even though her eyes glistened with hurt, she tried to swallow all of this. Her hands played with each other. James was evidently about to move onto a whole other subject but Lynne reminded him of their last one.
"Would you forget the children for one minute? It's been forever since you and I spent actual couple time together." Lynne questioned before stating and though the book was being held in James' hand like that was the only thing he wanted to focus on, his eyes wandered to his girlfriend and he showed that he was listening too. I watched as in spite of the orange haired female not wanting everything to be about the children she shared, one of the children that she did not share with James became a brief topic of conversation. Her oceanic orbs began to glisten properly as their gazes met one and other. "Justin used to say that Jordan and I were ghosts when he was much younger, didn't he? But now I think that it's you and I who are… James, we're the ghosts of who we used to be."
At first, I didn't know about the lavender haired male but I for one twitched with unexpectedness when I heard this statement. But soon after I turned my attention to him, I saw that it had a similar effect. James looked as though he had been slapped across the face with the book that was in his hand. His eyes widened. And then they narrowed with surprise. His brow furrowed. His brow furrowed in a way that contained hesitance to address something that the two of them had been dealing with.
The ex-rocketeer didn't say much at all at first. His actions and his demeanour did all of the talking and after his face changed in the ways that I previously described, as well as this; he dropped his book back onto the arm chair with a thud. Lynne swallowed. James finally spoke. And he spoke in a voice that really showed his unwillingness to be part of that conversation.
He ran a hand through his hair before taking a seat on the arm chair with his book.
"Do you really want to get on to that subject right now? If it means that much to you then please love, let's just put a movie on now. I really don't think we should be discussing any of this." James made his way through these words and the more that the lavender haired male spoke, the more that the orange haired female's eyes wobbled and glistened.
This of course had never been James' intention. I later understood that it was because his unwillingness and his near dismissiveness was a shadow of the man who was usually so communicative with her and emotionally generous.
The orange haired woman let out a shaky yet loud sigh which would have probably knocked her boyfriend over if he had been standing. She ignored the hurt of James acting like couple time with her was a chore and focused on his – from her point of view – cowardice.
"I really think that we should be talking about this, James. The art of not talking is how this mess happened in the first place." Lynne retorted in a cool voice that had an edge to it and it was telling nonetheless. And for the second time, James reacted like he had been slapped about the face with his beloved book.
However, he didn't pause before speaking unlike the time before. He had words on the end of his tongue and that had been whirling around his mind for quite some time so he came out with them. He shook his head. He managed to remain reserved and gentlemanly. But it was clear to my eye that there was real damage there.
"How this mess happened in the first place? Really? And you wonder why I'm finding it hard to look at you the same way anymore? You judge my boy so much…" James trailed off with a shake of his head and he looked down but after not even a second, his eyes locked back on to Lynne's. He added lowly. "You judge my son with Katie."
It was Lynne's turn to look as though she had been slapped about the face and I quickly understood that that was going to be a common theme that day. The two of them had a very loving and raw and genuine relationship but many aspects of it were private. And good on them. There and then I understood that there were issues that they had been facing for a little while at that point.
And like the two of them expressed in so many words – it was down to the subject of Justin and Katie, and the intimacy that they had previously shared.
The orange haired female didn't deny any of James' cool but disappointed observations and I believed that it was this that caused the lavender haired male to look away all over again and his jaw to tighten. But to contrast this, Lynne continued looking at her other half and she appeared to gain some strength by the fact that he had finally said at least some of what he had been meaning to say.
The orange haired woman's eyes stopped trembling so much and they grew courageous. They grew courageous in a gentle way. She breathed out.
"So look a little harder, James… Look beyond any of that and beyond anybody else's business." Lynne murmured and I had my own second long assumption that James' meadow orbed and soulful glance was going to continue to look right down at the carpet. But I was stood correct. The lavender haired male looked up at his girlfriend all over again and it was at the same time that he did this that she approached him, a hand moving to her heart. She approached him and stood over him. Her hand slid away from her chest and prepared to outstretch towards him. "Forget all that for a minute. And let's just be together. Let's get close like we used to. Nothing else matters."
I finally jumped down from the window sill as these words glided into my ears but for some reason and like how it had been yet another occurring theme of that day, my legs could not carry me away from what was going on. I was fixed, much like James' eyes were fixed onto Lynne's all over again.
The angelic woman's eyes began to tremble once more while her boyfriend's gaze was rigid. He looked down at the floor once more. Lynne kept her hand outstretched but she believed that it was to be another rejection so she prepared to whimper. But all of a sudden and out of nowhere, the lavender haired male stood up and he took the hand of the mother of his youngest two children.
Soft fingers brushed another pair of soft fingers and then they entwined. The relief of perhaps finally hearing a little bit of what her boyfriend wanted to say washed over Lynne and she collapsed in his arms all over, both of her hands finding James' chest and brushing over them for comfort.
The lavender haired male exhaled and his brow furrowed but his hands slid up Lynne's back and drew her closer, his face moving to the top of her head. He did not press a kiss there but he continued inhaling and exhaling. And he continued holding her close.
As well as this and naturally for the pair of them and more instinctively than they had acted with each other at all in the past few weeks, their bodies started swaying and they invested in a little bit of a slow dance together. Lynne's breath hitched in her throat but she didn't let this chance to be very close with her love escape her for one minute.
One hand still on his chest, her other hand slid upwards before wrapping around his neck, her body pushing into his as though she wanted to merge with him and discover everything that he had been keeping from her. James' hands trailed down to her waist like he very much wanted the same thing as his orange haired angel, and his eyes shut.
However, then as Lynne went onto her tip toes and moved even closer to James and she inhaled and exhaled along with him, like she truly was desiring to get everything out of him, something inside him suddenly switched. It was not a violent switch. It was not a violent flip. But it was a very unmistakable one.
The lavender haired male in the middle of inhaling felt a loud hitch in his throat and he gasped. And almost as soon as this simple sound was uttered, he pushed Lynne away from him and he pulled away from her himself. He went to go and sit down with his book all over again and that time as shaky legs managed to hold him up, he buried his head in his hands before his fingers tangled in his hair.
Lynne had barely enough time to adapt to any of this and it was the same for me. Out of habit, her hand moved to her own chest and clutched at the material of her homemade dress. Her eyes widened and watered. She could almost see the inner turmoil of the person she loved. That came even closer to the surface and out of the tip of his tongue there and then. He very nearly hissed.
"No, Lynne, no. We cannot just forget everything for a minute and get close to one and other." James uttered and all Lynne could do at first was continue to blink as her previous words were used back at her. Then as the lavender haired male's head buried in his hands all over again and his fingers slid to his hair and tugged like some strands were actually going to come out, Lynne felt herself moving forward. She hovered over her boyfriend before kneeling in front of him. She was still there to listen in spite of it all. James swallowed. "The way you judge the way that Justin and Katie feel about each other and everything that went on between them makes me unable to look at you, Lynne… Because it makes me think: what the hell do you think of you and me if you think so lowly of them?"
I had to admit that that was something that had crossed my own mind before but I still felt it from Lynne's point of view when I heard James' words there and then. They came crashing over me like an ocean and left little room to breathe so goodness knows how it felt to the orange haired woman.
Somehow she still managed to hold her own. She looked shakier than ever and like both of her hands longed to clutch onto her chest for comfort but they reached out to her other half's knees. She longed to comfort him as well. She longed to comfort him most. She longed for them to see the same way. But it was evident that they did not.
James elaborated. And he elaborated in a way that was filled with gulped down bitterness.
"We were not long split up from our own loves when you and I were intimate for the first time. And Misty was in the hospital. Do you remember this…?" James questioned lowly and Lynne's initial reaction was to roll her eyes a little bit as if to share the fact that she could simply not forget.
But after this reaction happened and the rest of James' words sunk in, all Lynne could do was shake her head. And naturally it was the lavender haired male who understood the essence of his shake of her head long before I did. He had to look away again in disappointment when the orange haired woman responded to him, putting her own perspective across.
"We were in love, James. We were in love. Of course I remember that. And the situation was pretty damn different to the one that went on recently." Lynne put across in such a level tone that it caused James to look up all over again in uncertainty. As well as this, her voice rose towards the end and it made the lavender haired male's eyelashes twitched.
There and then the orange haired woman showed off more of what she felt inside and that was utter bewilderment that the two situations were being compared. And as well as this she felt utter hurt and betrayal and confusion that something that she held so dear and tender and she believed was meant to be could be judged as something that shouldn't have happened.
The lavender haired male felt the same way. But he felt all of these things towards the private occasions that Justin and Katie had shared more than two months prior. He expressed this very clearly.
"Exactly. We were in love. How is that any different?" James exploded in quite the calm way and I was expecting a swallow and the shake of a head and disagreement from Lynne but I was shown quiet surprise instead. And perhaps because this was the orange haired woman's reaction, the lavender haired male had a moment to think about his words. And alter them. He very almost corrected them with a frustrated sigh. "Exactly… I don't know my son's whole business and I don't know Katie's either. It could be different. It could be the same. I don't know. But I cannot judge... How can you…?"
"I don't judge, James, I protect." Lynne responded to her boyfriend in a bit of a whisper and from just in front of the window sill I watched as her hands balled into fists on his legs before they retracted and were saved for herself. Then she moved away from him entirely, standing over him and gesturing. Her oceanic blue eyes watered with how seriously she took her following words. "My granddaughter has a heart and it deserves protecting. If you don't know if they're in love or not then it's clear to me that I'm doing the right thing by protecting her. If it was true then she would know. Maybe you should spend the time that you're making excuses for him, instead questioning what exactly he was playing at."
My mind went through a barrage of images there and then as flashes of possibilities of all of James' reactions were seen in my mind's eye. I knew that he was past his unpredictable and occasionally hostile time of his life but part of me still wondered if he was going to push Lynne to the side and storm out. That same part of me wondered if he was going to tear the book that he was sitting on into shreds out of frustration of it all.
Yet another part of me wondered whether he was going to break down in tears. I wondered if he was going to cry, feeling so much a part of his son and like they belonged together, that each other's pain and anguish belonged to them both.
A good chunk of me believed that that was the most likely possibility. But I still snapped out of it and watched and waited and witnessed his true reaction.
I watched and waited and then I witnessed him reacting in a different way.
In fact, he barely reacted at all. It was true that his eyelids narrowed a touch and a sound that could be described as a scoff could be heard coming from the back of his throat. But other than that, all he did was simply lean back in the arm chair and clasp his hands together. And as he spoke to Lynne, he looked her head in the eye. He told her.
"He doesn't have to explain himself to me. I know what kind of person he is without having to say a word. And whether you see it or not, I know that he wouldn't have done a single thing without it being an expression of some kind of love." James near enough whispered as he got towards the end of his sentences and then he reached beneath him to pull out that book. He leaned further back and intended to read it. He was evidently done with the discussion that he never wanted to have in the first place. And this filled Lynne with all the more frustration.
She was frustrated to see how the two Morgan men who could be so similar were indeed both acting highly uncommunicative and seemingly narrow minded.
However, she resisted making the verbal observation that they really were two peas in a pod. And she didn't express her anguish in a heated way at all. That was never Lynne's style. And it was never going to be the case there and then either.
Instead she leaned forward as James held his book in front of him, intending to read, and she took it right out of his hold. She snatched it in a telling way rather than disrespectful. And as soon as James' eyes met hers all over again, she uttered.
"Do not confuse love with lust, James." Lynne murmured and with a look and a telling notion in her eye that only James really caught. And I could tell this from the way that he responded.
It was true that the orange haired woman from up there was not expressing her anguish in a fiery way. James had not been doing it before either. But then as Lynne handed the book back to her boyfriend, the way that there and then he tossed it to the side made it obvious that he was finally about to add some passion into the mix.
The lavender haired male stood up to his full height. Defending his son yet again was going to happen, it was obvious.
"Do you know what? That is below the belt, Lynne. I know my son. I know Justin. And that boy would never-"
But James never had a chance to finish his sentence, nor defend his deep purple haired son in the way that he intended. Because there and then and in that moment in time, the mid length deep purple haired male that was being defended stood in the doorway.
And he furrowed his own brow and exhaled as he addressed the both of them.
"Oh will you give it a rest?" Justin muttered in a voice that couldn't have been further from fired up or heated and was very calm and quiet indeed. While the two other adults head's turned and they blinked, having very different inner thoughts to being caught in the act of getting things off their chests, the deep purple haired male came further into the room and holding Johnny Jinn on his hip. "Seriously, give it a rest. I would usually say don't stop for my benefit but I can hear that it is me that is the subject of your disagreement. But just put a sock in it, would you?"
Much like the two other adults, I blinked as well. But almost as soon as my reaction joined them, they had very different responses all over again. The lavender haired male looked as though he was going to sink into his chair before running into his son's arms while Lynne looked as though she didn't know what to do with her hands at all. And she didn't know what to do with her mouth either.
Nonetheless, before her lips could utter an apology even though she was evidently going to stick by her words and reasons for that discussion – or James could apologise either – Justin let out another sigh. He let out a hearty sigh but he approached his father and his step-mother too and looked between them. Johnny was unusually quiet on his hip.
"Lynne's right, you know, dad? You should look a little deeper. You shouldn't let my business change the way you feel about one another, let alone act with each other. You need that time together. It's important. I'll mind the little terrors." Justin articulated in such a low voice but in a fast way that it took both James and Lynne a couple of moments for it to register to them what was being proposed to them.
As well as this, the orange haired woman had a little bit of a moment to blink that even in the heat of it all, the deep purple haired male was agreeing with her!
Needless to say, it was the father of Justin to snap into a reaction first and he rose from his seat, standing next to him and looking right at his son. He looked at his son with all of the surprise yet love and tenderness in the world.
But he prepared to shake his head and sigh.
"Justin. Justin, no, I-"
But James was cut off all over again and he was of course cut off by the deep purple haired male a second time. After Jorgie finally came trailing in behind her biggest brother and lulled by his side, still feeling very sleepy from her nap and having missed everything else that went in – and Justin rested a light hand on the top of her hand while still holding his Jinn – he shot both adults another firm look.
"It's not up for discussion. You're going out together and you're having that much needed time. I can take care of these two." Justin insisted in a continuous level voice and maturity in his demeanour and then after he turned to the side and pretended to bite Johnny as the toddler's finger tried to poke him in the teeth, the deep purple haired male added, showing more of his true feelings towards everything. A strand of hair untucked itself and flopped over his nose. "It's the least I can do seeing as I've come between you so."
And with that, I knew it was true but I still very much hoped with all parts of me that Lynne took these words for Justin as an intention to do better in the future. While he could never apologise for his feelings, he felt that his actions hadn't always been the wisest and therefore had some improving to do. But if anyone was going to grab that bull by the horns then it was going to be Justin.
Even so, I was shown there and then that someone else could grab a bull by its horns and let go of some stubbornness also. And that was Lynne.
After the lavender haired male found himself smiling somehow in spite his son's words and gave all three of his children a kiss on the cheek and a ruffle of the hair, and he stood back to make sure the deep purple haired male was certain – the orange haired woman took a step forward.
She took a step forward towards Justin that the younger male was not expecting. Like himself, she didn't apologise for how she had been feeling. But she showed that she regretted at least some of her actions.
Lynne took action there and then and she reached her hand out towards Justin's face. She cupped it lightly and briefly but she told him while looking right at him.
"You're a still a good boy." She told him and she let her hand linger on his face for one more moment before it pulled away and she moved away to head on out with the lavender haired male like had been put in place by his son.
And thankfully Justin didn't take offence to these words. He didn't seem over the moon with them. But he accepted them nevertheless. And he accepted them with a polite smile. Then he showed that he was a good boy. A good son and a good brother too.
He turned towards Johnny Jinn on his hip as the toddler boy continued trying to poke him in the mouth and he decided to jiggle him instead, having a proper smile towards the little boy and addressing him and only him at first.
"You and I are going to play aeroplanes, huh? I know that I can go tons faster than our dad." Justin stated with a bit of a grin and he didn't turn back to look back at their father and this somehow gave it more affect! And for once Jorgie didn't need to whine to be included either. As soon as her thumb in her mouth slipped out from in between her lips, the deep purple haired male leaned down to her level. He patted her head all over. "You too, Jorgie."
And what commenced following those moments was a bit of a déjà vu of when I began telling the beginning of this story. The deep purple haired male's skinny frame managed to have Jorgie on his back in piggy back style a couple of minutes later and with Johnny Jinn sitting proudly on his shoulders. And then the three of them indeed became aeroplanes!
They zoomed around the room, their arms outstretched and laughing and making noises. Needless to say, Jorgie whined a little bit when things got a bit too fast but soon enough she held her own – and like her little brother earlier on in that day – she was begging the deep purple haired male to go faster.
And before I left the room for good and my legs carried me away, I noticed that James and Lynne's legs hadn't carried them away for a special date either. They still weren't standing together. But then the lavender haired male changed that. He could see that they were both watching his eldest son with the younger two that they shared together and after swallowing and nodding his head to himself, he decided to approach Lynne.
He decided against holding a hand out to her tenderly and went the whole hog instead. James moved close to her side and nuzzled his nose against her cheek which she was not expecting. Then he pulled her close, wrapping both of his arms around her. And he whispered to her.
"Shall we just stay in and enjoy watching this lot instead?" he murmured to her and I could tell right from the beginning that Lynne didn't need to respond with words at all.
Her eyes had changed and danced and moved at the sight of the three Morgan children playing together anyway and then the possibility of remaining close to her boyfriend's side while they remained observing together was too much to pass up. Lynne's eyes watered all over again as she heard these words but for a very different reason to the previous time. She bit her lip. She sniffed. But then she nodded her head and clung onto James further.
So that's exactly what they did. And I left them to it. I left them knowing that sometimes those children of theirs – together and apart – were going to separate them and pit them against each other. But they were also going to bind them. They were going to bind them so tight.
And if a little patience was had then not only would James and Lynne see eye to eye once more but Justin and Lynne would as well. And I for one knew that was a day worth waiting for.
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 I really had fun going back to the subject of James and Lynne, as well as focusing on James being a doting father to Johnny Jinn. This story and concept has been in my mind for a long time. It's inspired by a song that shares a title with part of my story title. I really do believe that somehow for one of the first times, after Justin and Katie grow intimate and then break apart and Lynne has disapproving views on that whole thing, it is one of the first times that James realises his angel isn't perfect. Of course, he's never meant to put her on a pedestal. But this instance really gets to him in particular. And this is of course, like he expresses, because he worries that Lynne's view on Justin and Katie sometimes ties to deep, hidden feelings of regret for how the two of them came to fall in love. Thankfully, differences get put aside and all people involved move forward. But it's always fun to explore that kind of thing :P Thanks again for reading and I will be back again on Wednesday with another chapter so see you then!
AmyBieberKetchum signing out :)