Hello :P It is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter. Like the last, I am continuing to focus on more details of Eli once he joins the group. And in this chapter, like the title suggests, he meets Justin's grandfather and James Morgan's father, Charlie! This one I wrote rather early on in developing the character of Eli and the dynamic of he and Justin. But it's still been kept very much the same. This one takes place earlier on when Justin and Eli are living together while Eli works in Kanto and Justin has a new living space to write and record music. Or is that really the reason they are doing that? This chapter hints other things! I hope you enjoy :P
Ages:
Justin: 22
Eli: 34
Charlie: 71
Disclaimer: I own the stories and the OCs mentioned!
I joined both of the deep hair coloured men in hopping out of the vehicle and after they both shut their respective doors behind them and one of them helped me with mine, the sound of scuffling on gravel could be heard as the one who assisted me and I moved round to join the driver. We both almost collided into the long legged male as he took a moment to look at the vast building ahead of us. The deep violet haired male peered curiously also but his gaze was towards the younger male rather than the mansion. And then it was almost as soon as the older male fixed his glance on the taller of the two, the deep purple haired male spoke.
"You do remember what I said about my grandfather, don't you, Eli?" Justin asked the deep violet haired male in a tentative way that was also mixed with seriousness and concern also. I glanced over at him. As Eli finally stopped looking right at Justin and had a glance towards the mansion himself, Justin pressed his lips together and took a step forward. He gained Eli's attention all over. The deep purple haired male continued in a voice laced with extra care. "You do remember what I said?"
I watched from the vast driveway as Eli took just one single moment – one single moment of staring right back at Justin – before both corners of his mouth quirked upwards and his nose scrunched a fraction. He responded mischievously.
"That I have to make sure that your grandfather is the moustachioed person that I'm talking to, seeing as both of your grandparents have a bit of hair on the upper lip?" Eli retorted and after a few words into his sentence, his upwards mouth quirk dropped down and his eyes were just laced with that mischief instead.
Initially, Justin's eyes simply widened as he believed that Eli was being serious and then he caught on. The deep purple haired male withheld an amused sigh and responded promptly just like the older male had done. His hands moved to his hips.
"No!" countered abruptly and a bit louder than usual. Eli's mischievous sunken eyes twitched in a way that caused Justin's hands to slip back away from his hips and he was forced to reconsider and retract his response. "Well… Well yeah I might have said that too but I'm talking about the other thing."
I joined in with the two males while they shared some teeth revealing and highly amused laughter at their little inside joke while they still lingered outside Justin's vehicle. Then when after my chuckles had died down and I basked in the beating yet welcomed sun of yet another August in Kanto and my back straightened also, both Justin and Eli were soon to follow suit. And it was the deep violet haired male's turn to take a (casual) step forward.
He knew that Justin was looking out for him when he broached that subject – albeit subtly – for yet another occasion so he had to reply to him in a way that showed he was grateful for his caring ways. Which he was.
Eli folded his arms over his brightly decorated chest and he added some more distance between them all over again by taking a step back. His eyes flickered between the younger male and Morgan Manor but they remained somehow fixed all the same.
"I do. I do remember what you said. But if you had my upbringing then you would be dead certain that there's nothing else that anyone else can say that could offend you in any way, shape or form. In fact, there's a high possibility that I'm immune!" Eli finished his sentences by adding some volume to his last little bit of humour. But even so, he only got a close mouthed half smile from both Justin and I. And in addition to that, the deep purple haired male's eyes flickered with sympathy as the older male rather matter of factly spoke about the kind of treatment he had endured. The deep violet haired male evidently didn't want pity from the way that he added more airiness. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to excuse myself to the bathroom and escape out the nearest window if he says anything below the belt."
I saw the way that Justin's sympathetic and serious gaze continued for a little while longer and even after I decided to straighten my back all over, wanting to show admiration for Eli's strong attitude rather than pity. This lasted on Justin's part for a couple more moments and then it was shaken away after Eli lightly jabbed him in the skinny ribs with his elbow.
The deep purple haired male was forced to sigh and then smile, sharing the admiration with me rather than concern for the older male. Additionally, he tried to show this by very briefly resting his hand on the shoulder of Jordan's cousin.
"Okey dokey. But if there's any window escaping going on then I want to be a part of that. Are you kidding me?" Justin widened his teal orbs with an extra hue of green for effect and you began to see the whites surrounding them all the more prominently. In response, Eli copied his gesture and then he grinned afterwards too. Justin followed suit by grinning also. And then the three of us finally marched towards Morgan Manor, abandoning the deep purple haired male's car for good.
It was a bit of an unusual day trip when I found myself accompanying Justin to visit his grandfather and along with Eli after he couldn't avoid his invites any longer but I was lapping it up even so! Though like the deep purple haired male I was a little curious in a concerned way as to how Charlie was going to take Jordan's unique cousin but I decided to just let the afternoon unfold.
It had to mean something that the deep purple haired male had invited Eli along because among being protective of almost every single person close to him – he was also weirdly protective of Eli. That became apparent all over again when he gave the older male yet another shoulder touch before they reached the grand doorway – that time letting his hand linger there for a couple of seconds and he squeezed it also.
Eli didn't have a chance to shrug it off before it lingered there too long because by itself, Justin's hand slipped away and it moved to knock on the door of his grandparents mansion. His fingers then found themselves tangled in his shorter deep purple haired locks as they waited. I wondered what Eli was thinking as they waited. No doubt had he seen Charlie Morgan by photograph and probably heard a great deal about him also!
Yet somehow I knew that no photograph or story or anecdote could prepare him for meeting the equally unique male yet in a wholly extroverted way. He had the complete and utter power to brush you one way or the other. I silently wondered how Eli was going to fare. I didn't have to wait for much longer at all. I soon could hear the clicking of shoes on the freshly cleaned and polished halls of the great mansion and a couple of seconds later I knew that that had come to the males attention also.
Both of them stood a little straighter. Just one of them held their breath. The fiddling of the lock on the other side could be heard and then the doors swung open. The wooden frames of the door on either side of Charlie seemed to swamp him as his entire being was revealed and that was saying something! The man was a peacock. The man had an ego of the highest degree! Yet he was somehow shrunk by the size of his own home.
However, I couldn't help but notice how he seemed to grow in stature as well as pleasantness when his eyes locked onto his eldest grandson and he saw him standing there. There was a somewhat constrained aspect to his grin as he thought it wasn't very becoming or manly. So he merely smirked, the greying dark lavender moustache of his quirking upwards. But he couldn't dull the sparkle in his eye.
Charlie Morgan held out both hands in emphasis as he greeted all of us but needless to say, he greeted Justin most of all.
"Come in! Come in. Come one, come all." Charlie prattled and as he stepped aside for us three other gentleman to invite ourselves into Morgan Manor, I found myself wondering if the doors and the hallways made us appear smaller than ever. I believed that that was definitely the case for me! The moustachioed male turned his back on us but he gestured his hand to us all to keep following until the doors swung behind us. He continued enjoying the sound of his own voice. "It feels like forever since we've properly locked eyes."
And with that and with a great squeaking noise, James' father turned on his heel and he pounced on his eldest grandson, looking right at him. Just like he had been waiting for, the two of them made lingering eye contact. And after that was said and done with, Charlie held his arms out and pulled the taller and slimmer in a great hug along with some pats before he could refuse.
While Justin returned the hug in a sheepish yet meaningful way and mumbled the words "Hey Grandad" in between being largely patted between the shoulder blades, I looked up at Eli. Those sunken and fixed eyes that I had grown to know after the last year were flickering more than I had ever seen. I instinctively moved closer to him but tried not to smother him, merely brushing my tail against the back of his legs.
I then watched as grandfather and grandson finally pulled away from one and other and the deep purple haired male got down to business. Justin took a moment to smooth down his locks at first but then he started gesturing between Charlie and Eli. It was obvious as to why before even any words had escaped his lips. The greying dark lavender haired male began to focus his attention on the deep violet haired male there and then.
"Grandad… This is Eli. You know, I said I would be bringing him." The deep purple haired male started and from the way that Eli's eyes managed to stop themselves flickering and he stared right back at Charlie as he noticed he was being stared at, it wasn't clear at all what they were thinking of one and other at initial observation. So Justin rambled. "You know, Jordan's cousin. You know, the guy I've been living with to record some new stuff."
I couldn't help but notice the way that Eli flinched during some point of Justin's ramblings but I soon let it go to observe the way that both the males who were shorter than Justin reached out to shake hands without saying anything at all! They didn't smile. But they were not standoffish. From having eyes still lingering on one and other, it was all too obvious that they were sussing each other out.
And then when Eli began recovering from his subtle yet noticeable twitch, Charlie turned his body back to his grandson and he spoke to him rather than the two of them together. Even though they were currently sharing a living space.
"And that's working out for you, is it?" Charlie questioned in his usual British-accented drawl and he even reached upwards to twirl his moustache in his fingers. I caught on to the way that Eli watched his every move, especially what he was doing to his moustache.
It was Justin's turn to twitch. In addition to this, he froze. His eyes flickered as he thought of a couple of things but almost as soon as that peculiar moment happened, it was shaken away and a grin took its place. The deep purple haired male then responded promptly. He nodded his head.
"Oh, yeah. Eli has great taste in music." Justin complimented the older male but he didn't look at him all that much. I was the one nodding my head in agreement as I got the impression that I wasn't going to be acquainted with James' father all over and then it was that same man who was the one to look at Eli all that much. In fact, he looked at him rather intensely.
Charlie's body turned away from his eldest grandson all over again and his eyes locked on to Eli. He looked at him up and down. That was no doubt going to put a lump in Jordan's cousin's throat! Even more so when his hand outstretched towards him. Following that, the greying dark lavender haired male responded to Justin's words but he addressed Eli instead.
"And great taste in general." Charlie complimented Eli also – in his own way – and as the greying dark lavender haired male and the deep violet haired one shook hands all over again, it became obvious that Justin's grandfather was praising Jordan's cousin's sense of fashion.
I looked up at the way that this finally clicked for Eli also and as Charlie continued looking at him up and down, with their palms still touching, Eli looked down at himself also. He looked down at his plum coloured blazer and trousers with a darker plum ironed check shirt underneath. Then, he looked back at Justin's grandfather in his emerald green velvet suit with crisp white shirt and pink and yellow tie and braces respectively.
It was clear that they had shared flair for all things colourful. At last Charlie pulled his hand away from Eli and as the deep violet haired male glanced sideways at Justin as he didn't know what to say in response to Charlie's compliments, Charlie of course took over the conversation all over again!
That time he spoke directly to Eli but Justin was the matter of subject.
"I don't suppose you could get this one into something that was a bit dandier?" Charlie questioned seriously but with a bit of a comical drawl to his voice also, he turned back to Justin and (potentially playfully) pawed at the material of his leather jacket.
After a comment was made about it being far too warm for that kind of thing and Justin simply just laughed, I saw Eli's gaze then sliding up and down Justin – looking at him from the top of his new shorter legs to his black boots with the steel toe cap on them. His eyes went up and down his legs in those tight skinny jeans of his a couple of times and then he said the first words to Charlie that he had ever spoken to him.
"I think Justin has impeccable style." Eli uttered in a very low and honest voice but it didn't have a hint of dislike towards Charlie. In response, James' father raised a bit of an eyebrow and he stared over at Eli for a couple of moments but then he shrugged. He continued pawing at Justin's leather jacket material for a bit longer but then he let that go as well as the leather in his hand.
The moustachioed male turned on his heel all over again and squeaked, walking a couple of paces before he gestured to us all with a flick of the ring-clad hand. We didn't hesitate to comply even before he directed us with words.
"To my study we shall go. I'm afraid the staff are off today due to sickness between them all so it'll have to be me fetching the tea. Justin, you show Eli the way. And I'll join you in a moment." Charlie commanded and following a split second of dawdling as we deciphered all of his drawl, we soon snapped into action!
True to his word, the greying dark lavender haired male headed off to the kitchen down the vast hallway of Morgan Manor and living up to his grandfather's instructions, the deep purple haired male lead the deep violet haired male (and I) towards Charlie's very own study.
Once James' moustachioed father was out of earshot and sight also, Justin stopped walking head and marched next to Eli instead, his hands going into his pockets and his eyes flickering towards him and the polished wooden floors to where they were heading.
As we both looked at Eli, it became obvious that he was having a moment to himself and he was taking in every little detail of Morgan Manor. The extremely high ceilings. The priceless portraits on the walls. The complimentary and complete colour scheme. The whirls and distant noises from the huge amount of rooms that he assumed there were.
Justin's sideways eye glance lingered on Eli all the more as his mouth finally started to hang open along with the wondrous quality in his sunken eyes and then soon enough, his mouth opened properly. However, he did not actually speak. He mouthed. Eli mouthed. The deep violet haired male mouthed like it was offensive to be impressed.
"How gigantic is this place?" Eli uttered without making a noise and though his own eyes locked onto Justin's for a few seconds as he spoke to him, he then found himself transfixed by the scale and the detail of the building all over. He added, a little louder that time. "Kinda ostentatious."
The deep purple haired male missed a beat and I almost collided into both of their legs as I had been walking behind them when they both decided to stop. Eli stopped first out of awe and then Justin stopped to join him.
The eldest Morgan son then nodded his head in response to all of Eli's words, his eyes widening and perhaps even rolling towards the ceiling. His lips pressed together, his dimples appearing.
"Huge." Justin replied and at the same time that both male's started walking all over again but a little slower that time, the deep purple haired male added in the same way that Eli had done. In fact, he really did add with a bit of dismay. "Incredibly ostentatious. Great reverb though."
The deep purple haired male followed up his almost insult towards his grandparents' home by complimenting it nevertheless and after that, the three of us took our last few steps and made it into Charlie's very own study without dawdling. Needless to say, Eli dawdled some more when we all made it into James' father's private room.
That particular space was arguably the most down to earth and unassuming of them all but naturally; it was still kitted out and polished to the max. It had a very brown and earthy rustic décor to it with brown leather arm chairs and brown tartan blankets piled on top of the radiator and bookshelves piled high with vintage material. The only thing that any luxurious colour to it was the silver drinks tray with clear decanters on them. But it goes without saying that the liquid inside was the same brown hue of the rest of the room!
Eli had a bit of a smirk when he saw the crystal decanter and multiple glasses to match laid out but he didn't have the time to properly comment on it and Justin didn't have the time to join his side all over again because Charlie arrived at the scene once more.
True to his word, he entered bringing tea and biscuits for us all on a drinks tray – another luxuriously coloured thing to bring into the room. We turned out attention to him and were quick to comply when he showed off a gesture of the head to get seated. Because there was only one other arm chair opposite the one that obviously was Charlie's own one, Justin of course let Eli have it and he seated himself on the stool in front of the piano. I was happy to hop up onto the window sill.
After we were all presented with our cups of tea and offered biscuits and Charlie lowered himself into his favourite arm chair, his pinkie finger pointing outwards as he held his own cup, Eli's eyes flickered towards the older male like it had been doing before. And despite the fact that Justin opened his mouth – his own cup of tea in his hand – as he prepared to make conversation himself, it was the deep violet haired male who got there first. He was very clearly talking to Charlie.
"You have an incredible home, Sir." Eli complimented sincerely but with not a quirk upwards of his mouth or a twinkle in his eye. He merely just said his words and took a sip from his cup of tea and that was enough. I couldn't help but notice the way that Charlie didn't tell him not to call him sir! I smirked from behind my own cup as the deep violet haired male added. Or rather, he mused. "Lots of décor from all across the regions. Have you lived in Kanto all of your life?"
Holding his own cup of tea but not taking a sip, Charlie was intriguingly quick to respond with a shake of his head and words also.
"No, no. No, no, no, no. Sinnoh is where I hail from." The greying dark lavender haired male responded without hesitation sure enough but there was a still slight nose scrunch that could be noticed by both Justin and I. As well as this, the two of us watched and we waited for Eli to wonder where the accent came from if he was born in the Sinnoh Region. But instead of this, it became clear to me as to why Charlie had responded so quickly, in addition to the growing twinkle in his eye. He gulped like he had swallowed a mouthful of tea and almost spluttered as he spoke hurriedly. "And you, Eli? You can't be from Kanto or Sinnoh."
Justin's head tilt right towards the deep violet haired male when his grandfather questioned him in a way that was incredibly unfiltered. He still didn't take a mouthful of tea and unlike his relative; he didn't hold a pinkie finger out as he held it despite their similar accents. He held the cup in both of his hands and in his lap. And he watched as Eli shook his head and answered plainly. He had nothing to hide.
"No. No, you're right there. Unova. I was born in Unova, as a family we moved to Johto but I spent lots and lots of time in Unova. Boarding school, you know? And I live in Unova now." Eli answered in a bit of a long-winded way but it was said with nothing but the truth. And I quietly to myself observed the way that Justin had a bit of a smile when the deep violet haired male uttered his last few words. Well, he was actually living in Kanto with Justin for a good many weeks thanks to a new work contract!
However, instead of focusing on that, I focused on the way that I heard Charlie breathe out the words "Oh I see". And then after that, I noticed his ever-growing twinkle in his eye. His moustache quirked upwards also as he smirked and he leaned slightly forward in his seat, evidently preparing to question the younger male some more. He blurted out.
"I could tell. I could tell. Your appearance speaks everything of your heritage. The deserts of Unova you hail from, methinks?" Charlie questioned in an intending to be airy way and I believed that he almost got away with it.
Having said that, it was then Justin's turn to breathe out. And at first, he breathed out the name he used for his relative.
"Grandad Charlie…" the deep purple haired male started in just above a whisper and it was obvious that the two other males apart from me didn't understand why these two words had escaped Justin's lips. So the eldest Morgan son sat further up in his seat and he knotted his brow together lightly but intentionally, clarifying. He educated his grandfather. "You can't make assumptions about where Eli is from based on his appearance. Just like you can't gage where I was born based on my accent."
I nodded my head inwardly as Justin's words were true enough and while Eli remained quiet and his eyes still fixed on Charlie, the greying dark lavender haired male made a kissing noise with his mouth. Needless to say, it was not a gesture of affection! It was more like a response to being told off – like a child would have done.
But when the deep purple haired male's eyebrows knotting together didn't fade away and his lips pressed together also, Charlie let that gesture go. But he didn't let his probing go. He moved further back in his seat but his body still remained turned towards Eli. And he questioned some more, evidently forgetting Justin's corrections to his behaviour.
"So have you ever met one of those ghastly coffin looking creatures? And do they really grab a hold of you and do away with you if you get too close to them?" Charlie interrogated and he moved forward in his chair all over again and out of strange excitement yet dread also, he almost knocked over his tea in his own hand. His eyes lit up and also narrowed as he waited for a response.
Justin just very loudly sighed. But Eli was quite unaffected by what could be described as ignorance. It was better than plain prejudice!
"I don't know for certain if it's true. If you ever meet one, you'll have to ask them." The deep violet haired male responded dryly but it was said with charm nonetheless and because of this, Justin's frown faded into disappearing completely and he even showed off a bit of a grin, taking a sip from his cup of tea.
In response, Charlie's nose properly wrinkled and he shook his head, wordlessly telling us all that he'd rather die than meet a coffin Pokémon from the deserts of Unova. The three of us sat in a wordless silence following those interactions and we quietly drank our tea and then biscuits were passed round.
I believed and Justin believed – and Justin also hoped wholeheartedly – that his grandfather would be done with asking questions that made Eli feel like a black sheep. But one of the traits from his father that James struggled to get used to but not letting things go and continuing the same conversation, even if there was no real interest other than feeling superior.
So after a mouthful of biscuit and following Charlie putting his half empty cup of tea down on the supper tray and he held the treat in his fingers instead (with his pinkie still pointing outwards), the greying dark lavender haired male grilled Eli some more.
"Being from Unova and all…" James' father started and upon hearing this, Justin groaned out loud and uttered his name all over again! And it made me giggle. As much as anything it was out of the knowledge that Charlie would only tolerating a telling off and corrections to his behaviour from his eldest grandson and his eldest grandson alone. He waved a dismissive hand at Justin all the same and continued out rightly asking. "I suppose you know all of the great tales and myths? Is there any truth to them? I hear its rich with that sort of thing."
I became surprised with the way that Eli chose to share a look with me rather than the deep purple haired male when he heard these words. And more importantly so, he even shared a look with me when he heard that specific word.
That time, Justin didn't groan out loud and try and correct his grandfather and perhaps it was out of him quickly draining his tea as he believed that a third telling off would lead to retaliation.
Eli and I continued sharing a look with each other as it became obvious what sort of thing that Charlie wanted to hear from the native Unovan male. It was clear as day that the moustachioed male knew of the tales of riches in the deserts of Unova as well as the gold that could be found beneath the sands of Desert Resort.
Part of him wondered if there was any truth in it at all. Part of him wondered if Eli had come across the gold, that's why he looked as young as he did. As this thought crossed my mind and it certainly did Charlie, the deep violet haired male answered at last.
"I'm the wrong person to ask about that." Eli uttered and the way that his voice came out level and in an introverted way like it sometimes could, I felt Justin leaning forward in his seat out of protectiveness. However, he didn't have the inclination to do anything else nor the time. Jordan's cousin shook his head and added before Charlie could catch on to his uneasiness. "I don't come from riches at all. I grew up quite poor indeed."
I shouldn't have been surprised but I was a little bit when I saw a notch of – dare I say it – sympathy wash over Charlie's face and glitter his eyeballs? As he leaned backwards in his seat and munched on the biscuit that he had been holding in his hand, I knew that sympathy and regret from him wasn't too far-fetched from the way that his own parents had humble beginnings, despite the aristocratic life that their son had gone on to live.
There was a bit of a silence following those moments but not a very long one. After leaning back in his seat and eating his biscuit, and Justin's eyes had flickered between the biscuit packet and Eli watchfully, Charlie decided to rise in his seat. And as he did this, with a crumb flecked finger, he gestured for the deep violet haired male to stand up also.
The deep purple haired male was a little surprised when the person he was living with complied and without hesitation (but still rather clumsily) got to his feet. The greying dark lavender haired male swanned over to his bookshelves and ran his clean finger along the spines of them all and Eli knew to follow this as well.
Still a bit uneasily but compliantly even so, he moved closer to Charlie and the two suit wearing males stood together, the older of the two still running his fingers along the spines of his book. Then, he gestured of the art all around. And he finally spoke.
"Many, many treasures from Unova I have in here, Eli. And in this house too. Some even hailed from your neck of the woods, dare I say?" Charlie uttered and I decided to hop down from the window sill near to where Justin was sitting and move between his legs instead as we watched, one of us watchful and the other curious. Eli's sunken eyes dilated as he listened and they didn't flicker once. It was like he knew that more was coming. Charlie continued in a notably quieter voice. "Your region and your very own home is filled with riches, Eli, I am certain of it. Not all treasure is silver and gold. And some people are rich in other ways."
And with that, I knew that both of us watching were rather touched when after Charlie was said and done with these words, he reached out and squeezed Eli on the shoulder. He looked a little uneasy so luckily it was brief but I think that that was just Eli's default reaction. From behind the eyes, he looked a little flattered – perhaps even touched too.
He didn't say anything in response; instead the deep violet haired male merely exhaled a breath out of his lips. And like was often the case, the dark grey lavender haired male was the one to break the silence all over again, even though he had been the one talking before! Charlie made sure to ask.
"Now, are you sure you don't want to see any of these relics of mine?" he questioned and I was taken aback from the way that he hinted that he already knew the answer despite having never asked that question before. It was instilled in me more than ever that none of us really knew the man that was James' father, even though a lot of us had a lot of different assumptions about him.
And an assumption that I myself made that day was that Charlie and Eli could be united in their straight-forwardness and their bluntness also. The deep violet haired male very openly shook his head and though he smiled politely, his unusual hued eyes twinkled mischievously.
"No thank you. I'm not really interested in those kinds of treasures." Eli responded honestly and with a shrug and I could tell that he was about to turn away and join Justin back in sitting down Charlie holding a finger up got his attention.
The dark greying moustachioed male held a finger up to get his attention while his ring clad pinkie finger continued poking outwards. Then, he held his pointer finger to his lips. He got an idea. Evidently, he got an idea and it caused Justin's eyebrows to knot all over again but that time it was out of pure curiosity. His protectiveness had washed away for the time being. Before Eli or any of us could really have a clue has to what sort of idea or notion had ran through Charlie's mind, he surprised us all by dashing across the study in rather a spritely way for his age!
"Ah! In that case then I have the exact sort of thing that you'll want to see then, old bean." Charlie held his finger up all over again before he reached into one of the drawers of his study desk opposite to where his grandson was sitting and after I couldn't help but observe that Eli didn't care much for being called "old" or "bean", I made my own conclusions up as to what on earth James' father was doing.
None of them were right. None of my assumptions were right. I wondered if Justin or Eli had a better idea than me. I understood that that couldn't be the case when the greying lavender haired male pulled out an album of some sort from one of his drawers – brown and leather to match his study room – and they needed to have a wordless explanations for the frowns to fade away from their faces.
Charlie didn't hesitate to give them exactly that! With a smirk that caused his beloved moustache to quirk upwards at both sides, he did another little twirling motion before he revealed his exact intentions. He revealed what was the thing in his hold.
"I'm sure you'd like to see these little treasures, wouldn't you? These photos from when Justin was very little." Charlie grinned and almost as soon as these words had escaped his lips, a gasp escaped from the deep purple haired males. And in addition to this, he sat upwards like a flash, almost sending his last droplets of tea everywhere!
And in response to the deep purple haired male's reaction and with equal energy also, the deep violet haired male responded and it became obvious that he was growing a little (or a lot) more comfortable in Charlie's presence. Before Justin could utter the words "Oh no he wouldn't", Eli hooted:
"Oh yes he would!" Eli retorted and he did something rather bold by snatching the brown leather photo album from Charlie's hold but he didn't seem to mind at all! In fact, it put yet another twinkle in his eye to see the two male's being a bit boisterous and playful with one and other.
I knew that Justin was unlikely to snatch it off Eli at the best of times but especially not in front of his grandfather so I chuckled myself at this and hopped back onto the window sill to observe. I knew that I was going to observe a lot of embarrassment from Justin. So I sat back and prepared to enjoy the ride.
Both Charlie and Eli sat in their armchairs all over again while the deep purple haired male made noises that could only be described as low moans in between trying not to tug out strands of hair as he pulled on it. Without pausing, the Unovan male slapped the photo album in his lap and started poring over all of the photos and the details inside. I was lucky to have a good view and still good eye sight even at that point in my life so I could observe everything that Eli was seeing.
"Oh… Oh… How cute." The deep violet haired male vocalised in a rather low and introverted voice but the way that his mouth tilted up in the corners made it obvious that he was enjoying what he was seeing. And what I was seeing was the same thing that he was seeing. While Justin plainly covered his eyes and dreaded what on earth the kind of old photos that his grandfather had of him, we saw a photo of a seven year old Justin with tumbling curls and a beanie hat. "You haven't changed in the slightest!"
Charlie chuckled in a way that caused Justin to curl his lip from behind his palms covering his face and while he rose from his seat all over to move to the drinks tray and pour himself a good amount from it, Eli's words became all the more true as he flicked through the album and he stopped on particular ones.
He saw countless photo memories of Justin below the age of ten and with a guitar in his hand and sat at various points in his home. Sat on his bedroom floor. Sat on his bed. Sat on his parent's bed. Playing in the music room at school. And then there were photos of him once his family had moved into the home that they currently owned. And once more, there were countless photos of him above the age of ten and still playing his guitar.
He was in his garden having wired up his amplifier there. He was playing to and with his younger brothers. He had his arm wrapped around his father as he was bestowed upon yet another guitar by him. Needless to say, Eli's grin took permanently over his face as he looked at them all. And he addressed the adult version of Justin as his red face finally was revealed from behind his hands.
"You've really been at this a long time, haven't you?" the deep violet haired male said with a smile and a crinkle decorating his sunken eyes that caused Justin's face to cool down and redden all in the same moment before he slowly nodded his head.
As usual, Charlie took an opportunity to speak and even though he'd had a little to drink at that point and the crystal glass was still in his hand, his input was welcomed like it wouldn't have been years ago.
"My grandson is the most dedicated person I have ever met." Charlie uttered frankly and Justin's expression cooled down for good and he couldn't stop himself from smiling gratefully at the compliment from his sometimes hard to please grandfather. However, before the deep purple haired male could rise from his seat or be offered a drink, the greying dark lavender haired male hovered closer to Eli's side, suggesting to him. "Take a look more towards the back. You'll see when he was in the process of making it big, as it were."
And though the Unovan native male gave no indication other than turning pages to make it obvious that he was listening to Charlie's words, it became clear that he was complying when he turned to the last fifteen or so pages from the back. And as I peered, I knew that the moustachioed male knew that photo album of his eldest grandson like the back of his hand. For there were then indeed countless photos of Justin climbing his way to success. Eli spoke of all of these.
"Playing at your school winter ball. Winning a competition that got you time in a real recording studio. You surrounding by papers of your own songs… You smiling with your guitar and with teeth and braces a little too big for your mouth." Eli teased Justin but from his blunt genes that he shared with Jordan, he was definitely telling the truth. Justin's cheeks reddened all over and his face scrunched up when he heard this.
He was definitely going to become even more embarrassed from the way that Charlie perked up all over and then he yelped out.
"Oh! If you want endearing photos like that then turn to the middle." The dark greying lavender haired male directed and to take a bit of an upper hand, he reached into Eli's lap and flipped the pages for him. He surprised me by not being too bothered by this. Perhaps the reward of seeing all the more photos of little Justin Morgan was worth it.
The grin that Eli had all over again after he had turned over a couple of pages only proved this. He appeared to like seeing an extra look into Justin's youth as much as he enjoyed teasing him. I didn't realise that that was a thing in their relationship.
"Oh… Oh… Oh bless." Eli mused to himself and from that tone of voice and from that tone of voice alone, Justin knew that they were going to be the youngest photos of him and the most agonising of all. So for that reason, Justin stopped sitting on the stool in front of the piano for no reason and started making good use out of it.
The deep purple haired male gritted his teeth and blushed and tapped on the keys and played a tune to try and block out Charlie from telling Eli embarrassing tales from some particular photos. The greying dark lavender haired male looked disapprovingly over at his grandson for the racket from the piano and humming noises he was making but it had about as much depth as Justin's clenched jaw. It was to make a point as much of anything.
Even so, the deep purple haired male purposely played a very duff note on the piano and then after that rang out for a couple of seconds; he deadpanned over at his grandfather rather than Eli, answering something that the Unovan male was secretly wondering.
"Really? With you embarrassing me like this, is it any wonder that you weren't allowed to meet me until I was nine?" Justin retorted to what he felt was a personal attack albeit a light one and I saw the way that Charlie's eyes flickered when he heard this. I wondered if Eli spotted something no one else did. I gathered that Justin definitely didn't because he continued playing the piano but more tunefully that time and I even hopped up to join him, pressing the odd key.
I saw James' father shrug and I heard him respond coolly like he always had an answer to everything. Because he probably did.
"Well… That was your father's fault among others." Charlie stated with a shrug and I didn't have the time to wonder if he believed that he was one of the people at fault. I didn't have the time because Eli stopped sitting in the arm chair and with the photo album on his lap.
He approached Justin instead. He approached him playing the piano and he waited for his notes to die down before he spoke to him plainly. I watched from the top of the instrument as he nudged his elbow against the younger male's lightly.
"You're evidently lucky to have your grandfather now, Justin." The deep violet haired male spoke coolly and my eyes flickered to where Charlie wasn't smirking when he listened to this. He was just resting his elbows on the back of the armchair where Eli had been sitting. And maybe because the dark greying lavender haired male was being unusually conspicuous, the unique individual that was Eli turned to include him. "What would you say is the greatest thing that you've received from him?"
The deep purple haired male had been playing the piano all over again quietly as Eli began talking to him about Charlie as a way to subtly dig playfully at his grandfather all over again but he was forced to trail off when he heard this many layered question coming from the older male next to him. He blinked at first and then he furrowed his brow. His two pointer fingers hovered over two black keys on the piano. Justin's head then tilted.
He saw the way that Charlie was looking at him expectantly and rather hopefully too though he was trying to male his eyes flicker between the two males and the drinks tray. And for this reason, the deep purple haired male couldn't help but get him back one more time. He pressed down on those two black keys and stuck his nose in the air.
"I'll let you know when he stops taking such pride in mortifying me!" Justin announced and the way that his lips pressed into the corner of his mouth made it obvious that he was trying to suppress giggles. I chuckled at this interaction. I chuckled more when Eli rolled his eyes at the stubborn male and then proceeded to flash an embarrassing photo of him to redden his cheeks all over again.
It became clear to me that Charlie really did enjoy the banter between those two unusually bonded males from the way that his dark green orbs softened as he looked between them. But it goes without saying that he couldn't miss having the last word. And he couldn't miss making a very direct point back at Justin.
Charlie approached his grandson that time. While Justin played his own grand piano and tinkled on the ivories, the greying dark lavender haired male poked him in the chest but it was done in a playful manner. The deep purple haired male looked at him up and down. Charlie sneered. But Charlie sneered airily.
"I already know the answer already. You're thankful that you've got my wife's good taste in men from me!" the moustachioed man retorted in a mock haughty manner and that was one of the things that I remembered most that day. And of course, I remembered the laughter that followed it.
I remembered the hearty laughter. I remembered less so the glances that Justin and Eli exchanged following these words and remembered the wholehearted belly laughs.
In fact, I was thinking about those things in the Morgan Manor hallways in the middle of the night that night and from sleeping on a chaise long by a window because both Justin and Eli had stayed there too long to be reasonable to drive back home.
I was thinking about the laughter. I was thinking about the amusing moments. And then I was thinking about Eli's question. And I too wondered, what was the best thing that Charlie had bestowed upon Justin?
And it was evident that I was not the only one thinking about that and lying awake that night. As the moonlight danced in through the window and the mid-summer night breeze breathed against the wispy curtains, Charlie had been thinking about the answer that Justin had never given him so much that he was padding along the vast hallways! He had been thinking about it. And he wanted an answer. He wanted an answer there and then so he sought out one.
I instinctively followed and padded my own feet along the hall when Charlie knocked at the door that his grandson was staying behind while Eli had been sent to the west wing. I arrived peering around the corner at the time that Justin – seemingly sleepily – opened the door. He looked a little dazed and confused at the presence of his father's father. But the moustachioed male got to business right away, clad in silk pyjamas and a dressing gown.
"The best thing that I bestowed upon you, Justin? What is it? Are you really going to make me wait until morning?" Charlie questioned and his voice seemed to grow all the more British as he simpered. From the other side of the door, Justin switched in between leaning his hand on the door frame and folding his arms over his chest and abruptly uttered "Yes". Charlie tutted and I could see his eyes widening in the moonlight. "Please?"
Justin sighed and just missed one single beat. During that one, single beat, his arms unfolded and his long and skinny arm rested against the doorframe all over again. He resisted looking at his grandfather like he was a child waking his parent up in the middle of the night and inhaled.
"Fine." He mumbled in a playfully exasperated voice for being just woken up and at the same time that Charlie exhaled and waited for an answer, Justin responded plainly. But it was very wholeheartedly at the same time. "The pocket watch you gave me, of course. You gave it to me when I came out. And it felt brilliant that you accepted me for me."
And like I knew that I was doing, I got the impression that Charlie's mind had been wandering through all the expensive treasures and days out and advices that he had bestowed upon his eldest grandson. But he was quick to blink when he heard his true words. And though he furrowed his brow and his moustache jiggled like it was almost suspicious, the dark grey lavender haired male then ruffled his hand through his own locks.
"Well of course I was going to do that." He uttered rather frankly and with that, though Justin's mouth didn't smile, his eyes definitely did. And he swallowed a bit of dryness in his throat.
Neither of the Morgan male's said anything to each other after that. There was a moment of almost an awkward silence and pause as the two of them wondered what to do but it was quite endearing nevertheless. And then the two of them sprang into action. They both bowed their heads and said goodnight to each other and I watched as Charlie clad in his nightwear and slippers padded back towards his bedroom with Johanna.
The deep purple haired male watched for quite a long time and he watched his grandfather head off completely, wanting to remember the words that he had said to him and the words that had been said back to him as well as the sight of James' father. There was a good chance that that was the case. There was a good chance that that was the truth. But it was also something else as well.
For you see, Justin had a bit of a smirk on his face and a head shake to show off when he was sure that Charlie had disappeared and he was alone and it was something that I would be informed of and shed the light to many, many, many years later.
What I didn't know was that the moment that Justin shut the door behind him and he turned back into the bedroom that he was staying in in the Morgan Manor, there could be rustling heard in the bed that was meant to be just his own.
The deep purple haired male bit his lip and ran a hand through his midnight, untidy locks and he couldn't stop a beaming grin from taking over his face. He uttered teasingly as he approached the rustling noises in the bed.
"Do you know what? It's lucky you're as short as you are." The eldest Morgan hummed to a seemingly empty bed that was not actually the case.
The truth was, the bed rustled all the more when it was addressed and then the covers got pulled down. They got pulled down over someone's head. From Justin's bed in the Morgan Manor, Eli pulled the covers down from off his head and revealed his own unruly locks.
Eli's face was rather bashful and a little bit red from hiding so still under there but after Justin stood still on the carpet and folded his arms over his chest, the deep violet haired male tilted his head and then retorted himself. He chose to brush past the teasing on Justin's part as well as he could.
"Justin Morgan, stop it! Are you coming back to bed or what?" Eli just questioned as he ran a hand through his hair, smoothing them down while Justin lingered on the carpet for a couple more moments.
And then of course after Eli had time to shoot him a second look, needless to say, Justin didn't hesitate to comply. The deep purple haired male moved over to the bed that he was meant to be in alone and he got in beside the deep violet haired male. He scooted close to his side and before he pulled the covers over both of their heads that time, he took a hold of Eli's face with his hand and murmured to him before kissing him right on the base of his neck.
"Are you going to keep it down this time or what?" the deep purple haired male mused and then they hid everything that was going on between the two of them by tugging the large and plush white sheets above their heads.
And it goes without saying that I went to bed at the same time that this was going on but I actually went to sleep. It was the same for Johanna and Charlie too. They were none the wiser. Just like I was.
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 So yeah, I think it's safe to say that Justin and Eli are a little more than friends! Needless to say, Sammy isn't in a relationship with Eli here. Justin and Eli become love interests for a brief but intense period. There will be much more as to the degree of their closeness (it's not just a bit of fun) and why it doesn't end well as well as why it ends the way it does - the end of the last chapter hinted that. This one was a good one for giving more insight to Eli though and Charlie also, as well as Charlie's relationship with Justin. He may be fond of his grandson and proud of him, but he is certainly none the wiser to what Justin is experiencing and concealing during those moments of his life! Thanks again for reading and I will be back next Wednesday with another chapter so see you then :3
AmyBieberKetchum signing out :P