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[Zennon Baros]

Recently, Zennon had taken to visiting Arvel whenever he had free time, which wasn’t a lot, granted, because Zennon was busy and they both worked, so free time was a bit of a common misconception - especially now with Finley at school, he’d been picking up more hours at work so he could take more time off when he was home on break to spend time with him. So free time was a bit of a luxury at the moment, but despite it, he liked to visit Arvel. They’d somehow managed to develop a bit of a friendly relationship since Arvel first apologised about things between them in school. It was nice, being able to have a proper relationship with Arvel that wasn’t teeming with insecurities and other issues that had come up between them. It was nice, he kept thinking about how nice it was.

“Finley still hasn’t sent me a letter. Those two girls from the hospital have sent me a letter and my own flesh and blood has not,” he said, walking into Arvel’s place mostly unannounced. Arvel knew he was dropping by and they lived so close together, it seemed pointless to knock, though he did on occasion if he’d been away from more than a couple of days. “Do you think he’s trying to punish me for something? I told him he should take Tinsel and the look he gave me when he left after break,” Zennon shook his head. He was pretty sure Finley was beginning to consider Zennon as over protective, but how could he not be after what he’d been through himself as a parselmouth in school? “He hates me, I’m sure of it.”

@Arvel Ayers ​

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Monty was not here, not even close to the scene in fact

 

[Arvel Ayers]

At first, Arvel had been opposed to Zennon turning up whenever he felt like it. More often than not, Arvel spent his days off lounging around the flat in his pyjamas, usually with a big pile of dirty dishes in the sink. Zennon probably wouldn’t have cared much about either of these things, but Arvel did, and that meant he had to keep himself and his surroundings clean and tidy at all times, just in case. Then something strange had started to happen. Instead of finding it all a big chore, he found that he wanted to make the effort. He felt… better when the place was tidy. When he was tidy. The other day, he’d even taken the curtains outside to thump out the dust. It was truly bizarre.

“Aye, but you’re his dad,” he said, putting a bit more water in the kettle and getting down a second mug. “It’s not cool to write to your dad. Tea? Coffee? I don’t think he hates you. He’s just a boy, nearly a teenager. That’s how they are.” Moody. Emotional. Angry. Arvel remembered it all too well. Being a teenager was awful. “Why would he hate you, anyway?”

 

[Zennon Baros]

“Does being his dad mean I must be completely devoid of any contact at all? Does he think nothing of me whilst he’s away?” Zennon lamented. He wasn’t really sure why he was complaining since he got enough updates as it was, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want updates directly from his child. He let out a deep sigh, he wasn’t frustrated exactly, more concerned. He couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing that he wasn’t hearing anything. Did it mean he was having such a good time he didn’t need his dad, or he was having a bad time and couldn’t say. “I don’t know, Arvel. Maybe I just expected a little more. I thought he’d want to write to me, even if it’s just to tell me he’s doing okay. I get it, he’s growing up, but it’s not like I’m asking for a whole essay or anything. Just a line or two to let me know I’m still on his mind.”

He glanced over to the kettle as it started to whistle, the sound a little too high pitched for him right now, but his expression did soften slightly despite it. “Maybe I’m just being… I don’t know, needy? I never really got that kind of reassurance from my own parents. And now I’m left wondering if I’m doing something wrong with Finley. Am I too much, too overbearing?” He didn’t know why he was asking Arvel, but maybe he could offer some clarification, or some kind of something that would make him feel like he wasn’t being ridiculous. “Neither, thanks, I don’t think my nerves could handle it right now,” he laughed mostly at himself, but maybe he wasn’t completely off about it since he really did feel like he was panicking half of the time. Sapphire said he was being silly, Finley is a growing boy and needs his space, but Zennon wasn’t sure how much space to give him, what if he gave him too much space and Finley resented him. “What if I give him not enough space and he hates me for being too clingy?” he said aloud not really knowing how to fully voice everything he was thinking.​