first_in_time: (whatwhat?/curious)
[personal profile] first_in_time
A seven year old John Chesterton shared the task of setting the table with his father. Unfortunately, a child with a love of games should probably not be given any kind of responsibility which involved sharp objects. And neither should their father.

"Avarst! Ye matey!" Ian Chesterton cried at his son, brandishing a butter knife like a sword.

"Arrrr!!" John replied with one eye closed as though he were wearing an eye patch.

"Submit to me, matey, or I'll gut yer through!"

"NEVAAR!!"

The butter knives clinked once before Barbara managed to catch them at it; "boys!" she called from the doorway into the dining room. "That's quite enough. One of you will literally skin the other and I am not in the mood to drive over to the emergency ward."

Unfortunately, neither boy was paying much attention. To begin with they looked suitably shamed, but all it took was a quick exchange of looks and they lunged at Barbara, who screamed. And then giggled as the tickling fingers of John and Ian found her most ticklish spots. She managed to wriggle away, and ran for the kitchen, the hall and finally the lounge where they tackled her onto the sofa and tickled her until she managed to cry for mercy between fits of laughter.

Now breathing heavy, all three Chestertons sat on the sofa a moment, contemplating who to tickle next when the doorbell rung.

"I'll get it," Barbara said and pushed herself up to walk to the front door. Her hand reflexively went to her hair, double checking that everything was still in place. When she opened the door, flushed in the face from the giggling, hair didn't matter. Even dinner didn't matter. Nor sword fighting, or anything else.

"...Howard," she gasped.

Date: 2013-06-17 09:11 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Run?)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"I don't know if I can make it fly..." Howard says as John runs off, then sits back on the couch with the blanket and tries to picture some contraption of string and ziplines that'll please John just the same. He can probably do it; it'll just take materials. Maybe he'll scavenge from the desk drawer later.

He's more than grateful that Barbara's setting the boundaries for him. He's going to stress out that he's being too unfriendly, too damaged and unfamily-like, if he sets them himself. He pulls the blanket over him and lets the cats jump up next to him.

He wonders if anyone will be coming to say goodnight to him, or if he's much too old for that.

Date: 2013-06-18 07:39 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Sad - Hugs)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
Howard pauses for a while, too long, before hugging John back gingerly, as if he's afraid he'll get some contagious disease. But he does hug him back.

"Night, kiddo." He pulls the blanket over himself. "Turn off the lights when you go?"

He still doesn't sleep well. He dozes off easily enough, but he wakes in the middle of the night aching and trembling. He lays as still as he can on the couch while one of the cats licks drops of sweat from his brow. What he was dreaming about fades; the feeling takes a bit longer. After he's certain he's not going to vomit or start crying, he gets up.

He checks his watch. 2 a.m. He sits in a chair by the window, pulls out his journal, and starts writing by moonlight. The nightmare may have left anxiety in its wake, but it dragged a trail of ideas, too.

Date: 2013-06-18 11:10 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Background)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
After an hour of furiously writing a story about organ donors living on through their transplanted body parts, Howard falls back asleep. This time, he doesn't wake to fear, but instead to irritation that someone with a high-pitched voice is clamoring for him outside the door. He groans and pulls the blanket up over his head for a moment, then gets up out off the couch.

"I'm up, I'm up." He boots the cat off the couch and runs his hands over his face. He has to practically peel his shirt off to change into a new one; the night sweat has soaked it through. He only has one other right now, since he pawned off the rest of his outfits, so he'll need to wash it today.

Before he heads out the door, he takes a peek to see what he scribbled out last night. Not terrible. Not especially lucid, either.

"I think I heard someone talking about sugar and bacon," he says as he enters the kitchen.

Date: 2013-06-19 04:27 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Whaaaaaat)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
It's a good thing Ian does intervene, because Howard tenses immediately when John comes pelting towards him, startling like a deer and sprawling his hands against the door frame. It's only when the threat is gone - the threat that never existed - that he calms down. Mostly.

He hates how simple it is to set him off.

"Yeah, Barbara needs her rest." He straightens his shirt and goes over to the pantry. "I can make everyone oatmeal, if you guys want. Pretty simple stuff."

Date: 2013-06-19 05:05 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Well damn.)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"Right. I'll start that." He gets a pot out to get water boiling, tensing again when Ian asks the question Howard knows has been coming and still hasn't found an answer for.

"No. I, um. I have the day off." He starts getting coffee grounds together too. "Whole week off, actually, so you don't really have to ask. I needed personal time."

Date: 2013-06-21 05:40 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Run?)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just taking some time off, you know, to get my head on right." Howard tries to stay preoccupied with the oatmeal so he doesn't have to meet Ian's eyes, but unfortunately oatmeal tends to make itself. "I was getting tired of constantly getting jerked around there, anyway. I worked there what, six years without a raise or getting taken off apprenticeship? Meanwhile all these white guys get hired in front of me and make twice what I do six months after their start date."

He takes a breath. "Did, uh. Did Barbara tell you I'm staying for a while?"

Date: 2013-06-22 02:28 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - /Peeks)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"I'm always having difficulties somewhere," Howard says, to brush the whole thing off. He perks up a bit when Barbara enters - he loves Ian, but he's always been closer to her, and the last few weeks have left him feeling particularly vulnerable.

"Same as usual. Could've slept worse." He's sure she knows what he means - he's not about to say the night was good when he woke up panicky, but that seems to be becoming the norm lately. He always seems to just unwind towards the end of the year, as if his meticulous spiderweb is being plucked apart strand by strand. "I got a lot of writing done, at least."

Date: 2013-06-22 02:55 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Attention)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"Cutting people up for their parts," Howard responds bluntly, then realizes a moment too late that while he's allowed to be morbid and sour around Ian and Barbara, it's probably best not to say such things around a seven year-old. He corrects himself a second too late. "It's just a rough draft about immortality."

But the damage is already done; John's looking at him with an expression between fascination and horror.

Date: 2013-06-22 03:12 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Oof)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"Just a story, John. I told you I write scary stories." Howard's cheeks darken a shade, though. He clears his throat and stirs the oatmeal. "Um, Barbara, I made breakfast for you and Ian, hope you wanted oatmeal with apples and nuts in it..."

It's clear he's trying to overcompensate for misstepping.

Date: 2013-06-22 04:46 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Sad - Uncertain)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
Howard spoons some oatmeal into a bowl and artlessly sprinkles nuts and chopped apple into it.

He cringes a bit at the joke - he finds it okay when he makes awful comments, but coming from an adult figure makes him queasy. Always has since getting here. He once spent a trip out to the pier with Barbara and Ian vomiting in a bathroom stall after the couple standing near them had joked about eating up their infant's teeny little toes up (he told Ian and Barbara he'd probably eaten something bad).

"It was for organ donation..." he says weakly, not sure if he should follow Ian and John. He looks to Barbara to see if she's going. Maybe he can volunteer to go feed the cats instead.

Date: 2013-06-23 04:30 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Whaaaaaat)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
His shoulders untense a little as John and Ian go to eat in front of the TV, as he is permitted to stay here. "Yeah. I mean, the dream was about cannibalism, but I decided organ donation was a more interesting twist on it."

He would offer to let her see it, but he's seen the results of writing late at night. Good ideas, terrible execution.

"They're getting more frequent again. The nightmares. It's almost every night now."

Date: 2013-06-24 09:34 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Observing)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"Who would I even talk to?" At Ian and Barbara's insistence, he's halfheartedly sought help a handful of times in the past. It never sticks. "Nobody specializes in refugees from a spaceship at war with the Ohm."

Date: 2013-06-25 06:54 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Default)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"I know, but there isn't anyone. No one who'll just take me at my word, at least." He exhales deep, clearly frustrated - and ashamed. "Forget it. Whatever. Forget I brought it up. I won't bother you with it anymore."

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new layout? it's pretty!

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i like it very much XD

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Re: <3

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