Hello :P It is not Wednesday but I am back with this new chapter today. I was painting well into the late evening yesterday so my mind wasn't in the right space to read through a story! But I just read through this one now after choosing it to be the one to upload and I have to say that I enjoyed it. The character of Charlie Morgan - James' dad who appears in the anime - and his relationship with his son is almost an important one to me. I hope you enjoy this story. It shows that someone who has been a bad father can turn into a decent grandfather :3
Ages:
Justin: 9
Jazmyn: 9
Charlie: 58
James: 30
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!
As I looked up at the interesting and swirly pattern on the ceiling, I found myself inhaling contentedly and smiling to myself. I didn't expect that. I didn't expect to have had such the pleasant and enjoyable day. But I had. At the beginning of it, I had felt rather on guard and perhaps a little anxious. Out of loyalty, I still felt that way a little bit. But as the day progressed, I realised that I had to face up to it with the open mind and non-judgment that I tried to carry with me on every other day. Just because James was wary and protective, it didn't mean that I needed to be. I was allowed to enjoy the time spent. But, naturally, the children were going to be my main priority. And it was because they seemed content enough that I found myself being as free as they were.
The lavender haired male had been very cautious and surprised when, a few months ago, his eldest son started to ask more and more questions about his grandfather. And not his father's grandfather, Noah, even though he called him 'Pops' as well. Justin started become very curious about Charlie, his paternal grandfather and James' dad. He began to ask lots of questions. What his name was. What he did for a job. Where he lived. Why they weren't close like James and Noah were.
The ex-rocketeer and his wife answered in child-friendly and simple ways but they never lied to him. Not once. They told him the truth. The truth was James and Charlie didn't have a strong relationship at all. And his relationship with his mother was even more complicated. They didn't really get on at all. Even though the lavender haired male and the older, darker lavender haired male had a similar appearance and some tiny similarities, they really couldn't be more different.
Justin listened intently to his own father's answers and it made him confused and a little sad when James finally said that Charlie wasn't the nicest to him growing up. He had given his father a tight hug. But that night, he had discussed what he heard in bed with his twin sister and the two of them began to grow even more intrigued. How come their Dad was so nice and their great grandfather was but their grandfather wasn't? That's what they asked. That's what they asked one and other. That's what they wondered.
And after a few weeks of wondering quietly and privately to themselves, they finally decided that they wanted to meet their dad's family member. Understandably, James was uncertain and apprehensive but since that day, he had allowed a good few chances to bond with their grandfather under his supervision.
He and his wife had begun to feel rather accepting about the whole thing and the day that I was with Charlie and the twins was the first special time without parental supervision. But James had still asked me to accompany them and I was fine with that. I understood that. In fact, I was honoured by that. I secretly knew a lot about what he had been through and I was glad to know that he trusted me to not let any of the sort happen to his dear Jazmyn and Justin.
The two deep purple haired twins had been with their grandfather since the late morning and after a pleasant lunch together, the four of us ended up in the moustached man's office. As he sat in his chair with the children cross legged on the rug and showed them some of his family photo albums, his eyes couldn't help but dart between the book in front of him and the clock. He knew it was almost time for his son to come and pick his children up. He knew that very well. And even though some would say he was incompetent in some areas, he liked to think that he was always on time and stuck to schedule.
Because of this, after the two children on the floor with me behind them had a giggle at the last page of the photo album that contained an image of their grandfather in his youth, he slammed the book shut with a quiet noise. He opened the drawer to the right of his chair and the twins knew exactly what this meant. They didn't hesitate to clamour. Justin stood up off the floor.
"Oh, you have time for one more!" the deep purple haired male spoke to the older male and made his eyes wider than normal. He even thought about darting forward and grabbing hold of his arm but he still wasn't that sure if he should do it or not. He peered up at him, going on tiptoes as well. "We don't always have to do nothing until Dad gets here. Really, there's time for one more."
I couldn't help but smirk that, even though the children didn't know every little thing about him, they had clearly noticed some things on their visits. And they had picked up on how he liked to be very organised and do nothing for the last fifteen minutes until James stopped by the house so he couldn't be accused of being late. And he couldn't be accused of being side-tracked either.
Charlie looked down at the deep purple haired nine year old boy when he finally took the plunge and grabbed hold of his sleeve lightly before letting go of him, still looking right up at him. He didn't respond with words but he sucked his cheeks in and pressed his lips together, shaking his head at him. It was a no. He was really determined to be on time. I couldn't help but wonder if he was determined to show his son how to properly act.
Jazmyn had stayed on the floor a good while after her Justin leapt up off the rug and her hands were reaching behind her to stroke my cheeks. I sure appreciated that! But she too was looking up at her grandfather. After she tilted her head silently for a moment or two more, she finally stood up herself and smoothed down her dress. She moved closer to Charlie's side like her twin brother had done. She didn't need to bat her eyelashes at him.
"Show us one more, we really want to see." She asked him and even though she still didn't flutter her lashes at him, her shoulders moved upwards just a fraction. She found herself putting on her subtle charm that she used to wrap her father around her little finger. Justin rolled his eyes and pouted his lips together but he remained quiet. He wanted extra time looking at photos too. "We just really want to see more photos of our Dad. And you, of course."
I of course noticed too but Justin noticed – or pondered – whether it was the second part of Jazzy's words that caused the moustachioed male to give in and relent. He tried to show the children that he was still boss by giving them an eyebrow raise and a subtle glance but he soon found himself going back to being the slightly fun person that I had seen accompanying the little visit. He paused for a few more seconds for effect before he reached into another drawer to pull another album out. He pretended to sneeze with the dust.
"Alright, alright, have it your way." He told both of the children and after they grinned gleefully at one and other and he put the album down on his desk, he used his hand to push back his already sleeked back locks. Following that, his finger traced the label on the front of the cover and looked at Jazzy and Justin as he informed them. "This one is very special indeed. It's your father when he was just a wee tot."
Upon hearing this, Justin didn't hesitate to move away from his grandfather and sit back down on the ground, his hands reaching behind him to stroke me like his sister's had done before. I really felt very lucky that day. The deep purple haired boy of the pair clearly knew what the older male's words meant but the girl didn't. She blinked up at Charlie and wrinkled her nose slightly but then she shrugged. She didn't care. She got to spend even more time getting to know the sophisticated man.
After she glanced behind her and saw her long haired brother sat back cross legged on the floor and ready to have the album held up to him, she found herself sidling even closer to her paternal grandfather. She hesitated reaching out like Justin had also done but after not much time at all, she knew that it was okay. She tugged Charlie's sleeve and that time she did flutter her eyelashes at him.
"Can I sit on your lap? Please? I'll see the photos much better from there." She asked her grandfather and she too got onto her tiptoes so she could be closer to the older man. (And she could wrap him around her little finger too). She decided to grin at him. "Daddy always lets me."
I moved round to sit next to Justin's side instead and gave him a glance. He was too focused on me and scratching my cheeks. I enjoyed that very much but I also knew that it was important to keep my glance on Jazmyn and Charlie. Even though the deep purple haired little boy wasn't watching, I was. And I was intrigued by the way that the dark lavender haired man's eyes widened before he waved his hand dismissively. But it was somewhat sheepishly.
"Oh, you don't want to do that, duck. You don't want to sit on an old man's lap." He told her and he tried to brush her aside and distract her by opening up the photo album and turning to the first page. Jazzy didn't bother to hide her expression of disappointment and confusion too. She didn't think her grandfather was very old. I knew that Charlie knew that he wasn't very old either. He remained turning her down. "Why don't you go sit back with your brother?"
Jazmyn didn't say anything in response to Charlie Morgan. She didn't need to. She was determined. She was determined to get her own way. At that point, Justin was watching despite the fact that he was still stroking my face in a friendly way. The deep purple haired girl went even further on her tiptoes and locked eyes with her granddad. She didn't bat her lashes. She just looked at him. She just looked at him and sweetly smiled. I didn't hesitate to nod with approval when Charlie caved soon after that.
"Oh, if you insist. Come up here then." He spoke to her in a nonchalant away but from the way that his moustache curled up as he smiled, you could tell that he was mildly pleased. And Jazmyn was overjoyed but she managed to hold it in. The grandparent lifted the child up underneath her armpits and seated her on his knee and held onto her. He knew he didn't need to ask Justin if he wanted to join them – he would ask if he wanted to. He didn't. Charlie turned the pages of the photo album to a particular one before finally holding it up. "There's the little rascal that is your Daddy. He's a lot younger than you are there."
Justin didn't want to sit on the older man's lap but when the book was turned towards him so he could see the old photo of his father, he found himself kneeling on his knees and putting his hand on Charlie's other knee so he could peer properly. Jazmyn didn't hide her joy when she was allowed on the moustached man's lap and she most definitely didn't when she saw a photo of her father at the age of her youngest brother. She held her breath. Justin nodded his head and looked but then promptly burst into laughter when he saw something amusing on the second page.
"Look! Your lip isn't hairy in that one!" he announced to the rest of the group and while Jazmyn stayed looking happily at the sweet, young version of her father, Charlie blinked and looked at his eldest grandson. He seemed very confused indeed. I understood right away and I understood even more when Justin giggled all the more and pointed between the photo, his own mouth and Charlie's. "You don't have your thingy there."
"It's called a moustache, Justin." Charlie informed the little boy with a sigh and after he pouted his lips together, the darker purple haired male shook his head and briefly rested his hands on Justin's. He didn't apologise but his tone got nicer again. "My moustache. That photo is me with your Daddy when he was a very little baby. I didn't have much of one there. But if you look closely, you can see it a little bit."
Perhaps unlike his father, the deep purple haired little boy recovered from his grandfather's sigh quickly and he nodded his head as he listened. He then leaned closer to the photo and Charlie tilted it for him. He was indeed correct. I even got showed the image as well. I felt very included. It was a sweet photo. And it was almost hard to imagine that things ended up between James and Charlie the way that they had.
"Have you always had it?" Justin asked with a curious frown, referring to his grandfather's 'hairy lip' and after Charlie turned his attention back to him, the beanie wearing young boy reached out and tweaked some of the hairs on his top lip. He giggled all over again at the texture of it. "Do you think I will get one when I get older?"
"If you want to!" the deep lavender haired male suddenly was very enthusiastic about the conversation and while Jazmyn occupied herself with turning the pages of the album, Charlie's hands held onto her even more. But his attention was on Justin. The young boy had brought up a subject that was very interesting to the older man. "I have one. My dad – your great grandfather, Noah – has one. I don't think your father ever has. But perhaps you will! It all depends if you can grow one or not."
Justin nodded his head and kept his hand on his grandfather's other knee but his brow furrowed slightly as he went back to looking at the photos with his sister. It didn't really make very much sense to him. Surely, if he wanted to grow one, then he could? He then wondered if anybody could grow one; anybody in the world.
But before he could turn his head towards Charlie and open his mouth to ask him, Jazmyn turned cutely to the moustachioed man and asked him a question of her own. She moved closer to him on his lap.
"What was our Daddy like when he was a little boy?" she asked him in a curious and sweet voice before she continued turning the pages and settled on the one that she liked the most. She stroked the page just a little bit. She explained, smiling as she did so. "There's a photo of Jayden looking exactly like this photo!"
We all looked down at it. My eyes were full of interest. The children's eyes were full of wonder. I didn't know if I could exactly read what was in Charlie's eyes. But either way, he looked down at the photo album. Like Jazmyn had described, it was indeed a photo of James when he was a bit younger than them and he was sat in the garden of his family summer home.
He was sat cross legged in the grass and he was sprinkling the blades like they were confetti. He looked happy. He genuinely looked happy. I was relieved that he was happy as a child. Even though his childhood had moments of loneliness and darkness as well.
Justin chuckled quietly to himself when he looked harder at the photo and nodded while fixing his beanie hat on his head, knowing which photo of Jayden that his twin sister was referring too. He saw the resemblance too. Perhaps he saw the slight cloudiness in Charlie's eyes in that moment while I only realise it as I think back now. He noticed it alright. He locked his eyes back on him rather than the picture. But it was gone soon enough. Charlie needed to speak. He needed to answer Jazmyn's question.
"Oh, your Daddy as a little boy was a lot like Justin. He was a lot like you, Justin." The deep lavender haired male informed Jazmyn with a light squeeze of her elbows before he looked at the deep purple haired little boy and told him too. But his eyes didn't linger on him for long. Maybe he was afraid of him sensing his deep-inside regret. "He was probably like the other two as well. He was a bit of a sensitive lad. But… But he had a lot going for him."
The twins didn't exactly know what Charlie meant with a lot of the words that he used but they understood the sentiment between them. But then, children being children, they soon got distracted by having a little competition between themselves by seeing who could turn the pages of the album the quickest. Charlie didn't stop them. He was still thinking. And then I was too. In fact, I reflected to myself almost for the first time that enjoyable day.
I couldn't help but wonder, did Lord Morgan think that it was a bad thing that his son was sensitive? I couldn't tell by the tone. I assumed that he didn't suggest that at all seeing as he said James was like Justin and he wouldn't be that obvious and direct to the little boy. But I couldn't be sure. That was the thing. I couldn't be sure. Although I had been okay with it and determined to not pass judgement, it was a tricky one.
I saw for my own eyes way back how Charlie and Johanna treated their son, James. After all, they pretended to be dead to get him back to their estate! It was the lowest of the low. And I had heard the words they used to describe him too. Useless. Ungentlemanly. Delinquent. It was most unkind. Nobody deserved that, especially not James. I suddenly realised how brave it was for him to allow Jazmyn and Justin to have a chance to bond with their grandfather.
None of the other children really wanted to and the lavender haired male was probably glad about that. He had the voices of his parents still in his head and the words they used to put him down rattling around his mind. And on top of that, he had the concern in his head and heart that they might do that to his own children. Charlie might do that to him. He hadn't at all. But he might.
James was very brave. Jazmyn and Justin were too. Because they were open. They were open to the fact that he might have changed. And they were also open to the possibility that they might be let down by Charlie like James had been.
"Look, children. There your father is with that Growlithe of his, not long after he got him." Charlie snapped me out of my thoughts by speaking to Jazmyn and Justin after being quiet for once himself, letting go of the little girl to point to another picture on one of the pages. His moustache turned up again as he smiled. I noticed that. "One thing about your Daddy is that he loved that Pokémon of his. He still does. They were good pals. They were amusing together."
I noticed the way that the deep lavender haired male's voice trailed off at the end of his words and I believed Justin did too that time. And as well as the deep purple haired male noticing, his twin sister started to as well. But all that came to an end. Something happened that could have been the reason for Charlie's quietness. I hoped it wasn't. I hoped it was something more. He spoke again.
"Oh, speaking of the devil, here he comes now." The moustachioed man told the children and after he felt both of their frowns towards him following his words, he shook his head dismissively and waved his hand in that way too. He meant it as an expression of speech. That surprised me. But he didn't know if he should bother explaining it or not. He continued instead, going back to holding Jazmyn while she sat on his lap. "Your father is here now. I can see him pulling up on the drive."
From her grandfather's lap, Jazzy peered at where he was pointing to the CCTV monitor on his desk and Justin stood properly up to do so as well. They both nodded their heads. They frowned too. But they both nodded their heads. Charlie assumed that it was disappointment that their time together had finally come to an end but I couldn't help but wonder if they still believed that their dad had been insulted.
"It's going to take him a good little while to get let in and come all the way up here, methinks." He told the children with an unreadable expression on his face but then it softened to a smile. His darker green orbs could have been seen as likeable if you got to know him there and then and no idea of his past. He found himself jiggling Jazmyn lightly on his lap. He reached out to lightly pat Justin's cheek. "Why don't you go and run down and greet him? I'm sure he would love that."
James' inevitable presence and the fact that he was about to arrive made me feel a little more uncertain all over again; like I had felt at the beginning of the day. I was a bit more protective once more. But when I looked at Charlie and saw what I believed to be some kindness and even genuineness too, I told myself to let that go. It was important. For myself. For the children. Perhaps even for James too.
The children both gasped quietly and then beamed upon hearing their grandfather's words. They nodded their heads and looked at one and other, excited to go and surprise their father. But then they realised they had something else they wanted to do. Jazmyn continued gasping and finally hopped off the moustache adorning male's lap. I hoped that I sensed that he missed it straight away. Justin was the one to explain, going back on his tiptoes.
"We could do that. But maybe we can do that next time. We want to say goodbye to the other people who are here. We want to say goodbye to all of them!" Justin explained with such child-like sweetness that I openly smiled and cooed and even Charlie somewhat did too. He was still missing the little girl from his lap but he finally stood up himself and brushed down his suit trousers. He shook his head. But it was in a fond way.
"Ah, yes. I had noticed that you were terribly fond of them all come lunchtime." He told the children with a chuckle, his hand going to smooth down his own moustache. He then nodded his head approvingly and even stopped giving his top lip some attention to pat their heads as well. "Off you pop, then. Say your goodbyes but be quick."
The twins nodded their heads and went taller on their tiptoes for a fraction longer but then they didn't hesitate to rush off. I found it sweet the way they reached for each other's hands to not get lost as they ran together down the vast halls of the senior Morgan Mansion.
I was then left sitting on the rug. It was then just me there after the twins left. It was just me and Charlie. But he almost didn't notice me. That subtle cloudiness in his eyes that I had noticed and Justin had too had started to come back. And it started to come back even more. Charlie began to frown to himself as well. He sat back down in his office chair and ran a hand through his sleeked back locks. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to say anything. I just watched. I was almost glad to see him in such a reflective state.
I had done my best to get past it but it had been difficult to entirely forget everything that he had put my friend James through. I had managed to do it, however, and I put it down to the influence of the children. If they were willing to be unbiased, then I had to be as well. Granted, I knew a lot more than they did but still, I had to try. And try I did. And because I did, I saw some things that I wouldn't have noticed if I was too busy being wary and protective.
Charlie was almost like a caricature. He slicked his hair back and he combed his moustache and he wore three piece suits no matter the occasion. That was how he presented himself. That was how he was towards the world. It was almost his place in the world. His place in the world was his image. And I found myself wondering what he was like at the end of the day, when the suit came off and his hair was a bit messier. I guess I wondered what he was like underneath it all. I suppose I wondered who the real Charlie was. I wondered if I'd ever find out. Perhaps I would. But perhaps I wouldn't.
The deep lavender haired male was too busy in thought and I was too so we didn't continue watching the monitor and see James walking up the stairs. We didn't hear anything either. We hadn't heard him when he knocked at his father's office the first time but we finally did when he continued knocking and poked his head around the door, almost entering the room. He had a slight frown on his face. He looked like he was trying to be a caricature as well. A brave one. Charlie looked up and spoke before his son had a chance to.
"O-Oh!" he snapped out of his thoughts and stood up when his eyes took in the lavender haired male standing there. He shook his head slightly at how his voice had come out. He tried to smile. Mainly, his fingers went to play with his moustache. He nodded his head. "That was prompt. The twins wanted to say ta-ta to the staff before you came to pick them up. Terribly sorry."
"I-It's okay." The lavender haired male found himself answering his father quickly and even though he knew that he should feel at ease when he smiled at him, he just didn't. At the same time that Charlie's hands stopped playing with his upper lip and stuffed into his pockets, his did as well. He leaned up against the wall. Truthfully, he didn't know where to look. "I guess I'll go catch up with them. Thank you for being with them today. I'll see you again sometime."
The words coming out of James' mouth seemed rather rehearsed and understandably so. I half wished that it wasn't like that between them but it couldn't be helped. It could be understood. The rug that I had been on for the good chunk of the afternoon was very soft and inviting but I finally leapt off it and settled myself on the lavender haired male's shoulder before he tried to leave the room. He held his hand half up as a sort of wave to his father before he went. Charlie suddenly stopped him.
"Before you go!" that same tone from Charlie came out again and I could feel him inwardly scolding himself. But his expression didn't change. His hands came out of his pockets. He used one to open the door wider before his son slunk out of it and his other hand briefly tapped him on the chest. He didn't freeze. He stayed standing. He didn't have time to wonder what the older male wanted. He soon came out with it.
"James, that son of yours. That son of yours – Justin – he's…" Charlie moved his hand off James' chest and found himself almost recoiling slightly like he would do to Johanna when the lavender haired male tilted his head at him and looked at him with defensive eyes. They asked so obviously and with such protectiveness that the deeper lavender haired male quickly explained himself. His hands stuffed back in his pockets. "He's quite a little fellow, isn't he? He's… He's a delight. The girl is too. You did… Yes… Quite."
That time, the lavender haired male froze. He hadn't done when his father put his hand on him. But he did when he heard his father's words. His eyes wouldn't have changed all that much from the perspective of other people but I knew him very well. I knew him very well indeed. They widened just a fraction. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Charlie… complimenting him? Was he complimenting how he's raised them? He and his wife?
I realised that a little part of him imagined saying something bitter and dismissive but he knew that would've been wrong. He had had a long day feeling a bit anxious about the children but he knew he had to continue doing the right thing even after the day was over. He held his tongue. In fact, after a few seconds, he found it easy to. He nodded his head, still rather suspicious of the compliments. But he addressed them and replied back, his hands still in his own trouser pockets.
"They're good'uns." James responded and Charlie did well by not ruining it all and wincing at his choice of language. His son nodded so he nodded back. The lavender haired male then continued. He surprised himself by continuing. He didn't look at his dad at first. "They enjoy their time with you too. They always talk about it at dinner time… Yes… They have fun."
"Wonderful." Charlie responded to James and he finally managed to speak promptly without it coming out in a high pitched way. He nodded his head. He paused. It was obvious that neither of them really knew how to converse with one and other. But that was okay. They were talking. And that was the main thing. I noticed the moustachioed male's shiny shoe twiddling slightly as he said some more words. "You know… You might have fun too. If you decided to join us one time. Perhaps. In the near future."
James was left frozen for a second time but it wasn't as dramatically as the first time. He was still surprised. But he was almost getting used to it. He tilted his head subtly. Was his father… inviting him to join both of the twins with him next time? He certainly believed so.
It surprised him. It really did. It was trying for him to let his beloved children go to his father. But it was obvious that Charlie was trying very hard with them. James nodded his head, moving out of the door a bit more and finally looking at the older male.
"Perhaps… Yes. That might be nice. That might happen soon enough." The lavender haired male told Charlie with a second nod and a slight uneasy smile before his feet twitched and moved and got ready to carry him back down the hall to find his children. He didn't say goodbye. Charlie wasn't fazed. It was usually like that between them. He knew what to expect. Or perhaps, he knew to expect his son hesitating. And he did.
James turned back on his heel to face his father. For the first time in a very long time, he properly faced him. He looked at him. He didn't feel scared. He didn't feel judged. He felt uneasy. But he felt in control. He didn't need his dad to be a good father because he knew that he himself was at least passionate about being a good one. He was in control. And that made more words come slipping out.
"You know…" he spoke before he could stop himself, leaning up against the wall once again but still managing to look Charlie in the eye. He looked at him back. I noticed that he found it harder to look at James than James did with him. James cleared his throat. His eyes dropped down once. But then he had words for his father. "You're not the same as I remember. You're different. Maybe it's me. Maybe… I remembered different."
"Maybe you remembered wrong." Charlie couldn't stop himself from pointing out to his son but he didn't smile at him. His eyes flickered but then they locked on his face back. These words were potentially going to deter James. I looked at him. I felt as though they might. I was wrong. He was still in control. He knew who he was. He knew what he had. I was mistaken.
"Maybe I didn't." James told Charlie adamantly and firmly but still respectfully and fairly too. He looked down at him. His hands stayed out of his pockets. His fingers pushed his long locks out of his eyes. He shrugged. He breathed out softly. "Maybe I don't need to pass judgement on you anymore. Maybe I don't care if you were good to me or bad to me. You're… You're good to those kids. You're good to my kids. You're a good grandfather. And I appreciate that."
And with that, it was finally time for James to scurry back down the hall to find his twins but that was not until after he had given Charlie an awkward but approving pat on the shoulder and his father had given the same to him. He didn't look back. He didn't look back at his father. He had hardly believed he had said those words to him, let alone the fact that he thought them.
It unsettled him a bit but then he decided to go with it. It was okay. He was moving on. His children helped him to move on.
And speaking of the twins, he wondered where they had got to. He wondered what was taking them so long. It was a pity that he didn't know where they were and followed them into another room. For what used to be a room filled with Charlie's favourite artwork collectibles had been replaced. And in its place were various mementoes and newspaper article cuttings and memories. They were not his own memories. They were his son's memories.
Charlie loved James even though he couldn't really show it for whatever reason. But, in fact, he did show it in his own way. Because from the minute that his son had got successful and began to do what he truly loved, he had followed his career and each time he stumbled across an article about him, he had clipped it out and stuck it on the wall and in a frame.
One wall in his house was filled with clippings and articles and photos and memories. And they were all of him. They were all of his son. He loved his son. He loved James. Perhaps in his own time he would be able to tell him that. Perhaps in his own time he would be able to show him that. But he showed Jazmyn and Justin that he appreciated them instead. And in some ways, that was even better.
And in some ways, that was even more special. And maybe it was sweeter that Charlie admired James in his own time. It made him appear more human. It showed a glimpse of who he truly was. He wasn't just a man who was proud. He was a proud man. And he was proud of his son.
The End
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 The subject of James and his parents is something that I've thought a lot about and Charlie especially is someone I've always wanted to write about. I think this is a good start. Obviously it's apparent in the anime that James' parents are deceitful and conniving and potentially quite toxic. I have my own ideas of what kind of childhood James had and that's reflected here by him not really wanting to expose his children to the same behaviour. But he's brave for them. I find it interesting how it's the twins who are the ones who ask the most questions and want to spend some time with Charlie. Maybe they see the good in him. Maybe they think that there's a lot of good in their father and Noah so it must be there in Charlie too. And I think that that's one of the reasons that James begins having a little bit of a relationship with him. His mother, on the other hand, it takes a lot more time. It's quite hard to get a balance when writing about Charlie - he's got to be charming and sophisticated but also show a few traits of what he was like towards James as a child - and I'm pleased with the results :3 Thanks again for reading and I will be back on the 28th with Dear Daddy so see you then!
AmyBieberKetchum signing out :P