mazeofrelationships | (no subject)

[Keith is proud of his dad being a firefighter because it means he's a hero. A boring desk job where all he did was suck up to a boss and wear boring suits and ties wouldn't fit him, plus Dad's so nice and he's always helping other people anyway.

But when Dad has to work extra late or gets called for an emergency, Keith gets worried. So far Dad's always come back safe and sound or at least alive, and while he's grateful for it he also knows about the kids whose parents are cops or firemen and one day they didn't come home. Even if they didn't die, one girl's cop mother and her partner got taken hostage for three days and that old lady would have probably killed them, the news story said.

Dad promises he'll never let something like that happen to him, that he'll never be in that kind of danger. But right now, as he and Matt watch TV in his room, he can't help being worried and distracted.]

[Matt's usually pretty happy when Keith's dad has to work late, because that means Keith comes over and stays the night.

He can understand why his friend is worried, though. There are times that Mom gets really worried when Dad goes to space and doesn't send a message back for a few days. He turns to his friend, and looks worried himself, wondering how he can help.]

Hey. I know your dad's gonna be ok. He's smart and strong and knows what he's doing.

[To be fair, Keith enjoys getting to stay the night with the Holts, too. Even tiny little Katie is getting to be fun to play with, and they usually end up letting her follow them around.

He turns to Matt, leaning against him a little.]

I know. He's always come back before, and he's really good at his job...I feel kinda dumb for worrying so much sometimes.

Sometimes you can't help worrying. Mom and Dad have been together forever, and Mom still worries about Dad when he goes to space. It'll be ok.

[Matt leans back, thoughtfully. He's kinda glad that Katie isn't bumbling around today, sometimes she says just the wrong things at the wrong time and makes everyone fussy.]

[Keith doesn't mind a three-year-old bumbling around, kids his own age have done way more embarrassing things and they're supposed to be old enough to know better. But it's nice when he can just be alone with Matt, too.]

Dad says he can't help worrying about me at school, too, or when we go on field trips even if the teachers never let anything happen to us.

It's fine at school! There's all kinds of adults around who know what to do if something happens. I don't think Mom worries about me there.

Katie tends to run off when we go to the store, though. One time she ran off in the grocery, and we found her cuddling a cereal box.

Yeah, and the teachers are usually good about stopping bullies. Even the mean ones don't let them get away with anything.

[Keith laughs.]

That's not so bad. I did the same thing with a sack of flour when I was her age...well, more like laid down for a nap and used it as a pillow. The thing with cereal boxes is they're not that soft.

[The manager didn't mind that as much as she did the teenagers building a fort out of tampon boxes and canned tuna, at least.]

Yeah. I get some nasty comments at me, but people mostly ignore me.

[It's not a big deal to him. It's just how it is.

He giggles a bit, smiling at his friend.]

That's silly! I think Katie wanted that particular box because she wanted the same kind of cereal I got.

She wants to do everything you're doing. She really looks up to you!

[Keith nestles a little closer, relaxing more. Talking about silly little things like this always helps.]

Sometimes I wish I had a little sibling. I know Katie can be a handful, but still.

Yeah, she can be a bit much, but I'm glad we have her. She's just fun to be around.

[Matt smiles, laughing a bit at something on the TV]

Do you ever think your dad will have any more kids? Your mom's gone, right?

[He's curious, not mean like some kids can be.]

[Keith laughs, too, then his face turns serious and a bit sad.]

I dunno. He told me she just "left," she's not dead or anything, but he doesn't date other women and he's never told me anything but good stuff about my mom. He won't explain why she left, though. It's...weird.

I guess maybe if she comes back they will, though.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories.

Huh. I wonder why he won't tell you. He tells you pretty much everything. Maybe she's a spy, and he can't tell you because you can't know in case the bad guys come and ask you questions!

No, it's okay! You were just asking, I know you better than that.

[Keith smiles a little.]

That'd be really cool if she was! I bet that's it, otherwise Dad would've told me everything. But he can still tell me anyway, I can keep secrets!

You're good at keeping secrets!

But... that's probably it. She has some kind of secret job and she can't talk about it. She'll be back at some point. I know it.

I hope you're right, Matt. I really do. From what Dad tells me she's a great person...I can't even remember what she looked like. I guess it hurts Dad too much to look through her pictures.

[He nestles more against Matt, partially because he feels safe but also a bit out of embarrassment. It's hard for him to really open up about his own feelings sometimes.]

[Matt puts an arm around him, just snuggling his friend. He knows it's hard for him to talk about things, so it means a lot that he is.]

He really loves her, then. And that's good. It's also more likely that she'll come back. He wouldn't love someone who was just an asshole.

Yeah. Dad's a nice guy, but he's not dumb about it. He'd never let people walk all over him.

[Keith manages a small smile, relaxing more. He just feels so comfortable with Matt...with all of the Holts, but it didn't take long for him to like Matt a lot and start trusting him.]

He's like Mom. She fusses a lot over people, and she's really nice, but when she gets mad, everyone knows it. No one's going to put anything over on her!

[Until he met Keith, Matt never thought he'd have such a good friend. People just ignored the skinny, nerdy kid in the corner, which was ok. At first.]

Yeah. You can be nice without being a pushover.

[Just like Keith was the surly, quiet boy who ignored people because he was shy and awkward and afraid to trust them. And then he and Matt just...clicked. It was like magic.]

Exactly. There's a lot of people who are nice, but set boundaries.

[He smiles, curling up a bit more in the bed.]

Sometimes I don't get what people get from being mean.

I dunno either. Cause it makes them feel big? The fifth-graders who make fun of kids for being short sure think so.

[Keith shrugs, resting his head against Matt's shoulder]

They're stupid, though. They're gonna be short when they go to middle school and then the bigger kids will pick on them.

Oh, yeah. Make fun of people for something that people literally have no control over.

[Matt rolls his eyes, and laughs a bit.]

Yeah. No one should be picked on, but they should get a taste of their own medicine.

Dad says no one deserves bullying, but sometimes it's nice to see jerks get the same thing they've been dishing out.

[Keith snickers as the Jerk Of The Week on the TV show gets humiliated after spending the whole episode being mean to the main character.]

Like that.

[Matt laughs a bit, nodding.]

Yeah. Exactly. People need to stop being mean and getting what they want. Just... be nice.

Or at least be decent. Or civil if they can't be anything else.

[The main character's getting in their shot at the jerk. Good. Keith doesn't like when TV tries to teach the "rise above it" lesson, he's heard it enough in real life. If he can't get away with smacking people who are mean to him, watching it happen on TV is just as satisfying.]

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Dad's working late again

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