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: 2013-04-08 02:01 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Mild Paranoia)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"Cats? There's more than one?" John looks around the room, excited at the idea of another cute animal wandering around. "May I be excused?"

He clearly wants to go find Jim Meowrrison.

Howard nods at Ian. "Yes, please. Not much." Ever since his disastrous experience with alcohol on his trip to America with Barbara - and because Orc's spectre still hangs over him - he hasn't been drinking much, but with Ian and Barbara around he'll occasional have a single glass. "I'll be right back."

And he disappears to the bathroom, returning looking a little bit freshened up, with some of the dirt of the day washed off his face and hands.

Date: 2013-04-14 04:59 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Well damn.)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"I'm always hungry," Howard says, forcing a bit of a smile. He takes a seat, wondering how polite at the dinner table he has to be around John. He wonders how much Ian and Barbara have forgotten about how he eats and takes bacon by hand.

"But you made bacon especially for Howard," John continues to protest.

Howard puts the piece of bacon back down, thinking a better person would just relinquish the food, thinking he's not that person. He takes a sip of wine instead.

Date: 2013-04-14 06:57 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Attention)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"I'd have asked the same question in his place," Howard says, taking another sip of wine and having his piece of bacon. Then he makes a point to move on to the vegetables before anything else.

"You know, John, vegetables are really good for you. When I was a kid I would have killed someone for some good veggies like this." Possibly literally, but he's not about to say that at the table.

Date: 2013-04-17 04:38 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Sad - Oh Noes)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
Howard fidgets a bit, picking at the tablecloth with his fingertips. It's hard not to snap at John for that, but he reminds himself that the FAYZ was half his life ago, that it was years before John was even born.

"Um. Working." He doesn't really have an excuse. Before he got fired, he went to work, went home, slept when he could and listened to the radio and idled away his time with building things and writing. He has no social life, really, no social hobbies. "Writing a book. Scrapping that book, writing another book, tossing that one out too."

Date: 2013-04-17 08:56 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Observing)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"The Rolling Stones are great. I could listen to Wild Horses all day," he says, hoping it'll keep John on that train of thought. He gives Barbara a skeptical look. "That's because I don't show you the awful stuff. This was awful, I totally lost track of what was going on in my own story and there were plot holes you could drive a truck through."

The cats park next to the dinner table to beg.

Date: 2013-04-22 05:17 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Oof)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
Howard cringes. This time he does a worse job of hiding it. His fingers around the edge of the napkin clench. He tries to keep track of the conversation with Barbara instead.

"Yeah, but you know I'd rather you see me at my best, right?" He kicks himself for that, because if that were true he wouldn't be showing up unwashed and homeless at her doorstep. "I'm thinking I might just do poetry instead. Maybe send some out to get published in magazines and stuff."

It's a testament to Barbara and Ian's encouragement that he's considering that at all, much less saying it out loud. He'd never consider something so 'sissy' in his teen years.

Date: 2013-04-25 05:37 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - For Real?)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
Howard bites his lower lip as Barbara chastises her son. He feels a bit guilty, but he's relieved it got John to quiet down about the vegetables. He doesn't know how much more he could have taken of that without panicking or snapping at John or having to leave the room.

It's not John's fault, he thinks. But knowing it rationally isn't doesn't change how tense it's made him.

"Well, I need to start getting paid for writing soon. I don't want to be fixing cars forever." Especially now that he can't, because he got fired. "And I don't have anything long enough to send out for a short story or book."

Date: 2013-05-18 05:35 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Happy - Ooh)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
Howard only just remembers, at Ian's chastisement of his son, to swallow his own food before talking. "Yeah? I been thinking about submitting stuff to kids' magazines. John, do you read Cat in the Hat with all the funny voices?"

He finishes up his plate; there's still some smears of food. He looks to Barbara as if silently asking if it's alright for him to literally lick his plate.

Date: 2013-05-18 06:04 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Don't Bet Money)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
Perfect. Count on Barbara to think of a solution. Howard grabs the plates and stacks them, and even pushes Barbara's seat back into place behind her, so it isn't butting into the walking space.

Over the sink, he asks, "do you think I should like, try to read him a bedtime story? Like, to get to know him without him asking questions about me?"

Date: 2013-05-18 06:24 am (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - Sneaksneaksneak.)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
Howard quietly licks a plate as he considers that. He takes his time. He sets each dish aside when he's done and cleans up the silverware, too.

"I'm going to be here a while, I think." He glances towards the room with the couch, where his suitcase and cat carriers have been moved to. "If you'll keep me. I need to get my feet under me again."

He knows eventually the truth will come out to them, but they've generally been good about letting him take his time, waiting until he's ready to say what's on his mind rather than pressing.

"I mean, if I try to avoid him I'm going to make him, me and you crazy. And probably Ian too. If I try to get to know him maybe I'll..." Maybe he'll be able to be around John without thinking of his own teenage years; maybe he'll be able to plaster over the old memories with new, fonder ones. "He's going to wonder why I'm weird, basically."

Date: 2013-05-18 08:57 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Default)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"I don't mean the fun kind of weird. Not like how I'm weird when I'm fixing radio out of bubblegum or whatever. I mean like the weird hours I keep, or the panic fits, or the food stuff, or you know. The not-fun weird stuff." He shrugs. The idea of John bringing friends over to gawk at him like some sort of zoo animal is far from appealing. "I did alright with the food stuff tonight though, I think. Mostly."

Date: 2013-05-18 11:05 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - For Real?)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"I don't really want me freaking out when I wake up dreaming of you guys dead to be 'fascinating'." He gets a dry-cloth out, so he and Barbara can do the routine they did when they lived together as three of them - she rinses, he dries and puts away.

"I promise not to eat nothing but candy around him, too."

Date: 2013-05-18 11:41 pm (UTC)
iselldrugstothecommunity: (Basic - For Real?)
From: [personal profile] iselldrugstothecommunity
"Of course I am. It's in the greatest hits collection, along with 'starving to death', 'eaten alive', 'everyone leaves me' and 'forgot my pants to work'." He forces a little laugh. "But yeah, maybe living back here will help."

Or maybe it won't. Maybe being around a kid will make it worse, those issues with jealousy and insecurity. He thought he got over them and grew up a few years ago, but they still ping him, sometimes.

"John seems to like the cats, at least."

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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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