Day Thirty: Are You With Me?
Characters/Pairings: Jake/Rose; Jonathan
Rating: T
Content warnings: unreality accusations
Don't forget that you can find me on tumblr: we - are - all - of - legend - now and that my ao3 account is wearealloflegendnow (even though I haven't posted there yet)!
~TLL~
Jake reluctantly kissed Rose goodbye.
"See you around," she said with a wink.
"Love you."
Rose grinned at him. "Love you too."
Then, she was gone in the middle of a crowded New York City sidewalk and Jake tried not to think too much about it. That was just how the Huntsclan operated and maybe when they were all grown up, he wouldn't have to think about it all. Maybe there wouldn't be a Huntsclan and the dragon would be normal, somehow, and they could just be Jake and Rose. For now, he was just fifteen, and he turned up the front steps of his family house, letting himself in the front door. He was used to being alone at this time of the day, if he got to come home at all, rather than being at dragon training with Gramps. Haley was doing her own dragon training and Jonathan was rarely home before six o'clock. Susan was usually the only wild card, sometimes she was working out of her home kitchen rather than from the 'office kitchen'.
Jake was surprised to walk in on his father being home. In fact, Jonathan was the only other person in the house and that was a rarity in and of itself. The fact that there were pictures torn off the walls and suitcases and clothing and mementos also lining the hallways made Jake pause.
Jonathan emerged from his and Susan's bedroom, his arms full of his work clothes.
"Dad?"
"Jake!" Jonathan dropped everything in a heap and grabbed his son into a hug. Jake couldn't remember the last time that he had a hug from his father of this kind. Normally, at this age, it was awkward side hugs and ruffles of the hair and claps on the back. "You're home!"
"Yeah, it's after school …" Jake let the words linger but Jonathan didn't offer anything else. "What's going on?"
"Your mother has taken Haley," Jonathan said, looking corpse white as he let go of Jake and went back to packing his work clothes.
"Taken? What does that mean?" It wasn't like mothers could kidnap their own children, right?
"They told me something ridiculous," Jonathan said. "And it's not normal and it's not right and I told Susan I would get her some help but Haley backed her up. They don't want help but I'm not going to get into a delusion of this kind in my own household and I will save my daughter but you … You are my son and I know that you can see sense."
Jake didn't know what to say next. He felt like he had seen this play out before, all the way back in the 80s, years before he was even a thought, let alone a real boy. Jake couldn't let it end this way, again, because his parents loved each other and his parents loved both of them, and it didn't really matter how crazy Jonathan thought that it all was – it was the truth.
"Dad, tell me what happened," Jake requested. "There must have been something. You and Mom have been married for, like ever."
Jonathan looked stern and determined and it wasn't really an expression that Jake was used to seeing on his easy-going father. Jonathan was more the type who would come in whistling and singing with unrequested but still reciprocated affection. This father who radiated coldness and efficacy was not the father that Jake left like he knew.
"Jake, your mother thinks that her father and you and Haley are dragons." Jonathan scoffed. "Like that's anything more than a fairytale! Haley offered to show me but it's … There's a gas leak or something in there but they're so convinced that they are right and that they're telling the truth that they won't hear of or even talk about alternative explanations!"
Jonathan slammed the suitcase shut.
"You didn't want to see the proof?"
"No! There is no proof because magic does not exist and they heed help! I'll get Haley help but Susan was so against seeing sense or someone about it! I know it's not fair to put all of this on you but I hope you see what I see."
Jake was seeing his worst nightmare. This was why Susan had never told Jonathan anything. This was why Jake had kept his other life a secret. This was why he and Haley stayed quiet when Jonathan railed on about how much time they spent outside of the house and what the bruises and the confusion really meant. In the end, their entire family had chosen to love him and protect him. It was only fair that they got the same thing back from him when it was time for the news to break. Except, Jonathan wasn't in on the deal. He didn't know what the terms and conditions were. And, Jake would have to be a lot dumber than he already was to miss the heartbreak and the concern that permeated Jonathan's every movement.
"I should call Mom or Haley," Jake said hoarsely. "I should try to understand their side –"
"They don't have a side!" Jonathan looked wild. "I just need to help them and we al need to get out of here because, I swear, there is something in the air!"
"Dad –"
"Jake." Jonathan levelled his gaze and it was the first time that Jake really felt the paternal authority in him. "Are you with me?"
Jake opened his mouth and then shut it.
"Or are you with them?"
This couldn't be him picking sides of his family, right? It couldn't just spring up on a random Thursday every afternoon, when he had no time to prepare or talk to anyone else or even try to understand what was going on. Right?
"Jake." Jonathan grasped Jake's shoulder. "I'm leaving now."
Jake stared up at his father's face, and it dawned on him that if he let Jonathan go now, his father would be completely on his own and there would be no chance to get their family to heal. He hoped that when he was able to get hold of Susan and Haley, that they understood, because Jake thought it made perfect sense.
"Yeah, Dad," he said. "I'm with you."
And then he let Jonathan embrace him with the tightest hug that Jake had ever gotten from his father.