Closed All Alone and A-Lowly

Connor clung to his dad - his dad - for an amount of time he knew was too long, but he couldn't bring himself to let go, desperately trying to make up for fifteen years of missed hugs. He only pulled away when his mum spoke, still sniffling and hiccuping as he pushed his glasses off and wiped his eyes, figuring there wasn't any point trying to keep them clean right now. "Are... are you back?" Connor asked quietly, hearing the shake in his own voice. He stared into the blurry face of his father, frowning when he spotted the smears of red on his face. "There's... blood?" He asked hesitantly, cutting himself off as he realised what happened. "Did Eric punch him?!" He asked in disbelief, turning back to Mum.
 
Ryan could sense the displeasure radiating off Melanie from a room away, knew she could tell how loose and unsteady his embrace of his son was. What was he supposed to do?! Connor was a stranger, and it was unnerving having someone so strong and so unfamiliar hold him so tightly. It was a relief when the boy let go and Ryan took a shaky breath, testing the full expansion of his lungs again. His breath caught though when Connor asked if he was back. He was here, but... before Ryan had even begun having to think of an excuse, he was saved by, of all people, Eric. He touched his face and was surprised to feel flakes of dried blood, having forgotten to clean his face properly after Eric punched him. "...It's not that bad." He said weakly as he tried to wipe his face off on his hands.
 
Melanie moved closer to Connor and Ryan, putting a hand on Connor's shoulder, gently pulling him back from Ryan a bit. She winced at his question. "One step at a time." She murmured, not wanting Connor to get his hopes up. She sighed softly when Connor noticed the blood, wishing she had thought to clean it up. Maybe a tiny part of her thought it was satisfying to see Ryan hurt after everything he put them through. "Yes, but he's fine." She told Connor firmly. "Don't give Eric a hard time about it."
 
ainsley walked past a house where people were having a very tense conversation that was none of her business at all :)
 
Connor felt anger boil hot under his skin. "Don't give him a hard time?!" He snapped. "So he just... gets away with hitting our dad like it's nothing?! I'm so sick of him getting away with stuff like this!" Connor rubbed his eyes in frustration, before putting his glasses back on, studying his dad's face again in more detail, now that the tears had been chased away. "I'm so sorry about him. Eric's a massive d*ckhead."
 
Ryan wasn't surprised that Melanie defended Eric for punching him, but he was surprised by the intensity of Connor's reaction. He wouldn't have expected either of his and Mel's kids to stand by him, and Connor's feelings were alarmingly strong. He shook his head warily, trying to head off whatever this was leading to. "It's okay, really. Mels fixed my nose, no harm done. Eric was just... surprised."
 
Melanie frowned at Connor, shaking her head. "Connor, calm down." She said. "Your brother is not a d*ckhead." She pulled him back a little bit more, frustrated and alarmed by his reaction. But then she blinked in surprise at Ryan's old nickname for her, the sound of it giving her a strange feeling. "Eric was angry." She said after a moment. "Not unreasonably, I might add."
 
Connor couldn't help a ping of confusion at the nickname for his mum. He had never heard anyone call her Mels before, and for a flicker of a moment he wondered if this was what it would have been like if his dad had stayed. But the subject of Eric was still boiling his blood, and he frowned, shaking his head. "Eric is a d*ckhead!" He snapped at Mum, too angry to be as respectful as he usually would. "He can't keep solving problems with his fists forever, he's an adult! He can't just do things like this!"
 
Ryan didn't fully understand the argument he was witnessing, but he was willing to bet this was a long-ongoing discussion he hadn't been privy to the start of. It felt uncomfortable, like something he shouldn't be here for, and he took a hesitant step back. "I should... be going." He said quickly, hoping to get this over with as fast as possible. "I'll... be in touch later, okay?" Ryan lied, wondering how bad it would be if he just.... left the country right now.
 
Melanie hadn't expected to feel as relieved as she did when Ryan said he should leave. She nodded firmly. "I think that's a good idea." She said, hoping she could go find Eric soon. Though it seemed like Connor needed her more right now. "We'll... keep in contact." She said coolly.
 
Connor's heart sank abruptly as his dad said he was leaving. "No, you should stay!" He said quickly. "I - please, I... there's so much we need to catch up on, it's been fifteen years, please!" Connor knew he was begging and couldn't bring himself to care, catching his dad by the sleeve and holding on, desperate to make him stay this time.
 
Ryan flinched at Connor's reaction, doing his best to be gentle as he pulled his sleeve away from the boy. "I've really got to go." He said softly, doing his best to be reassuring. "I've gotta pick the kids up from their grandparents'. But I'll be in touch, I can write you when you're back at Hogwarts, okay?"
 
Melanie winced at Connor's reaction. She tried to hold him back, but he didn't even seem to notice. She sighed softly, really wishing Connor hadn't come home so early. "Darling, it's okay." She said softly. "He has to go."
 
Connor started to protest, but his concerns died in his throat as his dad spoke. The kids. Kids who weren't him, or Eric. Jealousy burned hot in his stomach at the thought, and all he could do was nod when his dad promised to write him, letting go of his sleeve. All the fears that had plagued his childhood crept up again at once - that it was his fault somehow, that he hadn't been a good enough kid for his dad to stick around. And if these other kids were... he didn't know where that left him.
 
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