Family Relations (Part Six)
Saturday, March 15th, 2014 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
challis_2070 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
mindcrackloveThis chapter gets rather more...depressing...than the previous ones, a warning.
link to part five- http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/597032.html
Pyro settled down into the window booth with his sandwich and soda. Millbee was sitting next to him while across from them was Baj and Dinnerbone, with Baj sitting next to the window directly across from Pyro.
It had been a long day, and it wasn’t even half way over. And now Uncle Baj wanted to talk to him about things? That was odd, anyways, since there wasn’t really anything to talk about.
“Thank you for lunch."
“You’re welcome.”
-----
Baj sighed softly as they drove back home, contemplating. He was trying to think of how to word things to Paul, particularly since it seemed his method of ‘dealing’ with things was to simply start to shut down entirely. Which, Baj thought, might help, so to say, in a place like the province, but it certainly didn’t help Baj any.
-----
Pyro curled up against the window in the back seat of the car. He was very tired, and not looking forward to getting back to Uncle Baj’s house.
Talking. He liked talking to people, but only when they talked back with him. He really wanted to get his laptop out and talk to his friends online; he hadn’t been able to do so last night, since he had wanted to be up early enough for today. And look what that got him, singing songs he shouldn’t have been singing, and now Uncle Baj wanted to talk to him about stuff and not drawing attention to himself or something.
He wondered what Baj would want him to do about this. His father had been telling him to be polite and to do as Baj told him to do and if he didn’t, well…
He didn’t really want to think about his father’s friends. Father probably wouldn’t really send him to them, but still. He thought it more likely that he’d be interned before father would let him anywhere near squaddies, ex or not.
Of course, as he thought about it, occurred to him that if he wasn’t good, it was even easier for Baj to deal with than even father. This was England, that place that half his family hated with such passion. They’d often talk about the Irish men and women held in English prisons, and how they were held there with even less reason than those interned at home. If that was the case…but he was still too young even for that, wasn’t he? He hadn’t heard of anyone interned that was younger than sixteen, maaaaybe fifteen at the youngest. And he was still three months from his fifteenth birthday. So that was unlikely to happen, right?
-----
“Well, we’re home. Nathan and Max, why don’t you go out back for a bit while Paul and I get his stuff settled?”
Millbee and Dinnerbone shared a quick look before looking back at Baj.
“Okay. We’ll make dinner, okay?”
“Okay, that’s fine.”
With that, they shared another look before running off.
-----
Baj and Pyro carried Pyro’s things into the guest room and put them on the bed. Once everything was on the bed, Baj closed the door before looking towards Pyro.
“So.”
Pyro looked at him, very carefully blank, but still far more nervous than he would like.
“What is it, sir?”
-----
Baj had realized that whenever Paul became that...polite…seemed to mean he was getting rather more worried.
“You seem to be concerned about drawing any sort of attention to yourself.”
“Ah...”
“No, I haven’t finished.”
“Sorry sir”
There that was again, with calling him sir.
“The thing you have to understand is, just by being here…you’re different. People will notice you. It’s unavoidable. But. It’s also not a bad thing. For one thing, everyone will be expecting you next week, given that Max and Nathan will certainly be talking about it. And…”
Baj paused, trying to collect his thoughts. Paul seemed to be watching him in the manner of someone who was trying to look like they weren’t watching something or, in this case, someone.
“Look. If you do do something wrong, your teachers would tell you. They’d deal with it then. Or call me. Nothing beyond that. You’re a kid, for god’s sake; no-one’s going to intern you or anything.”
-----
Pyro blinked at Baj, slowly.
“I…sir, while I have every reason to believe what you are saying is true, I don’t particularly trust the whole of the country to suddenly decide to react that way to me simply because I’m here from no fault of my own.”
He wasn’t sure that made sense.
-----
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean. You’re under my…purview, no-one can really do anything without my permission. I’m your temporary legal guardian.”
Did he really think that the whole of England would turn against him if he did something wrong, just for being Irish?
-----
“Ah, well, sir, you see. I DON’T REALLY RECALL ANYONE ASKING THE PARENTS OF THE TEENAGERS HELD AT LONG KESH OR CRUMLIN ROAD IF THAT’S WHAT THE GUARDIANS WANTED DONE. So, respectfully, it’s not as though you’d have much say in that, sir.”
Íosa Críost, cén fáth go raibh sé ag rá go bhfuil? 1
“I, I, I, I’m sorry sir. I, I, I don’t, I’m sorry.”
Paul started rocking back and forth, mumbling about how he was very sorry and he should never have said that, and of course Uncle Baj was right, and he should never have doubted that.
-----
Baj was terribly lost and way out of his comfort zone. All he could remember was when Max had come to live with them, after Beth had passed away.
“Paul. Paul. Breathe Paul. You need to breathe.”
Paul only stopped his litany long enough to take a short breath before starting again.
“Ah, no, no, stop, it’s okay, everything is okay.”
Paul instantly stopped the litany though he was still crying, and was now staring at Baj, shivering, but not making any sound at all, despite the crying.
“Paul. It. It’s fine. You’ll be fine. You don’t have to believe me, you’ll be able to see for yourself when you go to school next week.”
Paul continued to stare at him, shivering.
“You…are you going to be okay? Do you want something to drink?”
“No, sir. Thank you, sir. I’m sorry, sir.”
Oh. That’s just great.
“Look, just…remember you’ll be fine. I…I’m going to go have some tea and…watch the television. You do…whatever you want. Stay here till dinner or go out and join your cousins, doesn’t matter. Whatever you want to do.”
Baj slowly backed his way over to the door before opening it carefully and slowly leaving, closing it very carefully behind him, as though afraid Paul might suddenly explode if Baj wasn’t extremely calm.
-----
Paul very slowly put everything on the bed away, before curling up on it and crying for a good long time.
He hated crying, but he felt as though there was nothing else he could really do at this point. He sighed before pushing himself back upright. It would be a good hour and a half before they had dinner; he had to look decent before then. And he could…
He got up and set up his laptop in record time. He very quickly logged on, before sending a quick message to his best friend (and favourite cousin) that he wanted to talk later that night. As soon as he did that, he logged back off and shut down the computer.
Once done with that, he went to use the bathroom. It was attached to the guest bedroom, of which he was very thankful for. It meant he didn’t have to leave the room at all to get cleaned up.
Once cleaned up, he felt better, though he was still cold, despite the warmth of the shower.
-----
Baj groaned. He thought he better call Tom after dinner. He could…he could call Lassarina, though. She was still in the hospital, of course, but she could take calls now. Or not, he didn’t want to upset her while she was recuperating.
He sighed before going to listen to see if Paul was still in his room. He stopped once he heard the shower running.
As he knew that Paul was still in the room, he walked towards the back of the house quickly, before quietly going outside.
-----
Millbee and Dinnerbone looked up as Baj came out the back of the house. Millbee thought that he looked very…tired and drawn. That…was very unlikely to be a good thing.
They both bounced over to Baj and waited for him to talk.
“Boys…please make dinner early tonight. And…if Paul wants to talk to either of you, for the love of god, let him.”
“Okay dad. Is he upset about something, or do you know?”
“I…yes. Yes he is, but you’ll have to let him say it himself. I only partly know what’s wrong myself.”
Millbee shrugged at Baj, helplessly.
“Okay then. We’ll do our best. Go have some more tea.”
Tea had always calmed Baj down when he got upset, he really hoped it still did.
Baj nodded at them before going back inside.
-----
They both stared at each other for a very long while.
“Welp. That can’t be good.”
“Nope. Not at all. Let’s go make dinner, then.”
“I suppose so, it is four thirty already.”
-----
Translations/Notes!
1 Jesus Christ, why did he say that? – It’s what he’s thinking to himself as soon as he finished shouting at Baj about prisons and teenagers.
link to part seven- http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/598581.html#cutid1
link to part five- http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/597032.html
Pyro settled down into the window booth with his sandwich and soda. Millbee was sitting next to him while across from them was Baj and Dinnerbone, with Baj sitting next to the window directly across from Pyro.
It had been a long day, and it wasn’t even half way over. And now Uncle Baj wanted to talk to him about things? That was odd, anyways, since there wasn’t really anything to talk about.
“Thank you for lunch."
“You’re welcome.”
-----
Baj sighed softly as they drove back home, contemplating. He was trying to think of how to word things to Paul, particularly since it seemed his method of ‘dealing’ with things was to simply start to shut down entirely. Which, Baj thought, might help, so to say, in a place like the province, but it certainly didn’t help Baj any.
-----
Pyro curled up against the window in the back seat of the car. He was very tired, and not looking forward to getting back to Uncle Baj’s house.
Talking. He liked talking to people, but only when they talked back with him. He really wanted to get his laptop out and talk to his friends online; he hadn’t been able to do so last night, since he had wanted to be up early enough for today. And look what that got him, singing songs he shouldn’t have been singing, and now Uncle Baj wanted to talk to him about stuff and not drawing attention to himself or something.
He wondered what Baj would want him to do about this. His father had been telling him to be polite and to do as Baj told him to do and if he didn’t, well…
He didn’t really want to think about his father’s friends. Father probably wouldn’t really send him to them, but still. He thought it more likely that he’d be interned before father would let him anywhere near squaddies, ex or not.
Of course, as he thought about it, occurred to him that if he wasn’t good, it was even easier for Baj to deal with than even father. This was England, that place that half his family hated with such passion. They’d often talk about the Irish men and women held in English prisons, and how they were held there with even less reason than those interned at home. If that was the case…but he was still too young even for that, wasn’t he? He hadn’t heard of anyone interned that was younger than sixteen, maaaaybe fifteen at the youngest. And he was still three months from his fifteenth birthday. So that was unlikely to happen, right?
-----
“Well, we’re home. Nathan and Max, why don’t you go out back for a bit while Paul and I get his stuff settled?”
Millbee and Dinnerbone shared a quick look before looking back at Baj.
“Okay. We’ll make dinner, okay?”
“Okay, that’s fine.”
With that, they shared another look before running off.
-----
Baj and Pyro carried Pyro’s things into the guest room and put them on the bed. Once everything was on the bed, Baj closed the door before looking towards Pyro.
“So.”
Pyro looked at him, very carefully blank, but still far more nervous than he would like.
“What is it, sir?”
-----
Baj had realized that whenever Paul became that...polite…seemed to mean he was getting rather more worried.
“You seem to be concerned about drawing any sort of attention to yourself.”
“Ah...”
“No, I haven’t finished.”
“Sorry sir”
There that was again, with calling him sir.
“The thing you have to understand is, just by being here…you’re different. People will notice you. It’s unavoidable. But. It’s also not a bad thing. For one thing, everyone will be expecting you next week, given that Max and Nathan will certainly be talking about it. And…”
Baj paused, trying to collect his thoughts. Paul seemed to be watching him in the manner of someone who was trying to look like they weren’t watching something or, in this case, someone.
“Look. If you do do something wrong, your teachers would tell you. They’d deal with it then. Or call me. Nothing beyond that. You’re a kid, for god’s sake; no-one’s going to intern you or anything.”
-----
Pyro blinked at Baj, slowly.
“I…sir, while I have every reason to believe what you are saying is true, I don’t particularly trust the whole of the country to suddenly decide to react that way to me simply because I’m here from no fault of my own.”
He wasn’t sure that made sense.
-----
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean. You’re under my…purview, no-one can really do anything without my permission. I’m your temporary legal guardian.”
Did he really think that the whole of England would turn against him if he did something wrong, just for being Irish?
-----
“Ah, well, sir, you see. I DON’T REALLY RECALL ANYONE ASKING THE PARENTS OF THE TEENAGERS HELD AT LONG KESH OR CRUMLIN ROAD IF THAT’S WHAT THE GUARDIANS WANTED DONE. So, respectfully, it’s not as though you’d have much say in that, sir.”
Íosa Críost, cén fáth go raibh sé ag rá go bhfuil? 1
“I, I, I, I’m sorry sir. I, I, I don’t, I’m sorry.”
Paul started rocking back and forth, mumbling about how he was very sorry and he should never have said that, and of course Uncle Baj was right, and he should never have doubted that.
-----
Baj was terribly lost and way out of his comfort zone. All he could remember was when Max had come to live with them, after Beth had passed away.
“Paul. Paul. Breathe Paul. You need to breathe.”
Paul only stopped his litany long enough to take a short breath before starting again.
“Ah, no, no, stop, it’s okay, everything is okay.”
Paul instantly stopped the litany though he was still crying, and was now staring at Baj, shivering, but not making any sound at all, despite the crying.
“Paul. It. It’s fine. You’ll be fine. You don’t have to believe me, you’ll be able to see for yourself when you go to school next week.”
Paul continued to stare at him, shivering.
“You…are you going to be okay? Do you want something to drink?”
“No, sir. Thank you, sir. I’m sorry, sir.”
Oh. That’s just great.
“Look, just…remember you’ll be fine. I…I’m going to go have some tea and…watch the television. You do…whatever you want. Stay here till dinner or go out and join your cousins, doesn’t matter. Whatever you want to do.”
Baj slowly backed his way over to the door before opening it carefully and slowly leaving, closing it very carefully behind him, as though afraid Paul might suddenly explode if Baj wasn’t extremely calm.
-----
Paul very slowly put everything on the bed away, before curling up on it and crying for a good long time.
He hated crying, but he felt as though there was nothing else he could really do at this point. He sighed before pushing himself back upright. It would be a good hour and a half before they had dinner; he had to look decent before then. And he could…
He got up and set up his laptop in record time. He very quickly logged on, before sending a quick message to his best friend (and favourite cousin) that he wanted to talk later that night. As soon as he did that, he logged back off and shut down the computer.
Once done with that, he went to use the bathroom. It was attached to the guest bedroom, of which he was very thankful for. It meant he didn’t have to leave the room at all to get cleaned up.
Once cleaned up, he felt better, though he was still cold, despite the warmth of the shower.
-----
Baj groaned. He thought he better call Tom after dinner. He could…he could call Lassarina, though. She was still in the hospital, of course, but she could take calls now. Or not, he didn’t want to upset her while she was recuperating.
He sighed before going to listen to see if Paul was still in his room. He stopped once he heard the shower running.
As he knew that Paul was still in the room, he walked towards the back of the house quickly, before quietly going outside.
-----
Millbee and Dinnerbone looked up as Baj came out the back of the house. Millbee thought that he looked very…tired and drawn. That…was very unlikely to be a good thing.
They both bounced over to Baj and waited for him to talk.
“Boys…please make dinner early tonight. And…if Paul wants to talk to either of you, for the love of god, let him.”
“Okay dad. Is he upset about something, or do you know?”
“I…yes. Yes he is, but you’ll have to let him say it himself. I only partly know what’s wrong myself.”
Millbee shrugged at Baj, helplessly.
“Okay then. We’ll do our best. Go have some more tea.”
Tea had always calmed Baj down when he got upset, he really hoped it still did.
Baj nodded at them before going back inside.
-----
They both stared at each other for a very long while.
“Welp. That can’t be good.”
“Nope. Not at all. Let’s go make dinner, then.”
“I suppose so, it is four thirty already.”
-----
Translations/Notes!
1 Jesus Christ, why did he say that? – It’s what he’s thinking to himself as soon as he finished shouting at Baj about prisons and teenagers.
link to part seven- http://mindcracklove.dreamwidth.org/598581.html#cutid1
no subject
Date: Sunday, March 16th, 2014 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, March 16th, 2014 08:13 pm (UTC)Well, he'll be talking to his cousin in the next one. So. Maybe better, maybe worse. Kind of depends on how dinner goes, honestly.
no subject
Date: Monday, March 17th, 2014 01:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Monday, March 17th, 2014 01:10 am (UTC)