MINGLE TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT

[these_balls]

Who: ANYONE AND EVERYONE
Where: ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE
When: November 25 - 27
Summary: GET IN HERE AND MINGLE
Rating: BUT PLEASE MARK YOUR THREAD CONTENT ACCORDINGLY
Log:

Comments

[pressed_x]

[Shaun will find his father at the same age he remembers him, but in much better shape. Ethan has shaved and cleaned up pretty well in the weeks following the closure of the Origami Killer incident. The last he knew his son was curled up with his stuffed animal and he himself was asleep next to Shaun with a protective arm around his body.]

[Ethan still gets these strange dreams every now and then, and that is what he assumes this is. Presently he is standing near a Pokemon Center and is tilting his head at it, analyzing the architecture behind it. A small Drifloon that he hasn't seemed to notice floats behind him.]

[justlikehim]

[The first thing that strikes Shaun when he sees his dad is that wow, he looks like he did before Jason died.

There have been times over the years where he couldn't remember what his dad's face looked like, or what his voice sounded like. When Shaun's own face in the mirror was the most faithful rendering of Ethan Mars that he had to rely on.

But he knows the man in front of him as if he himself is 10 years old again. He gets up from the bench outside the center that he's sitting on, and hesitantly approaches the man he hasn't seen in sixteen years. His heart is about to pound out of his chest, working its way into his throat.]

Excuse me?

[pressed_x]

[Ethan turns at the address and immediately looks surprised. The man before him looks almost exactly like him ten years ago. But the younger man is taller than he is, just a bit.]

[The real tell is those eyes. Even set in a completely different face, Ethan could not fail to recognize his son's eyes. The breath seems to have been stolen from his lungs.]

Shaun.

[He takes a step forward toward him.]

[justlikehim]

[Shaun had been ready for explanations. For questions that even after fifteen years he didn't so much know the answers to as accept that he wasn't going to get answers. He was ready for disbelief. He was ready to pull out his trainer ID to show him, to answer any trivia that Ethan wanted to set to him to try to make him prove it was him. After all, Shaun Mars was supposed to be ten years old. Not twenty-six.

He wasn't ready to be recognized, and hearing his name from his dad's lips (god, he hasn't heard that voice in sixteen years) hits him like a ton of bricks, knocks the wind out of him, brings tears to his eyes.

He takes a step toward the father he's missed for over half of his life, now. Then another, then he stops just shy of hugging him, hovering uncertainly. His voice cracks the first time he tries to speak, but he manages to speak around the lump in his throat.]

Hi, Dad.

[pressed_x]

[Ethan sees the way his son reacts and it only confirms what he already knew. As Shaun comes closer it becomes all the more evident that he's shot up taller than his old man. Ethan can't help but swell with pride.]

[But this is clearly more than some casual meeting. Shaun is acting as though he hasn't seen him in forever. This is a strange dream indeed.]

Hi, Son.

[He closes the gap between them and embraces his boy.]

[justlikehim]

[Shaun sucks in a breath when his father pulls him into a hug. In that second he felt like he was ten years old again, and he couldn't help but cling to Ethan like he was afraid that the man was going to disappear if he let go.

Sixteen years.

His voice is taut with tears.]

I missed you.

[pressed_x]

[The tight hug feels really, really nice. Ethan can't miss the sentiment behind it; for some reason or another, his son hasn't seen him in a very long time. His own arms are wrapped good and tight around him, ready to support Shaun if he becomes overwhelmed.]

[The warmth of the body in his arms is hard to ignore, though. Ethan begins to wonder if this actually isn't a dream somehow.]

I'm here now. It's all right.

[He rubs Shaun's back with the hand that's missing part of a finger.]

[justlikehim]

[Shaun has his face buried against his dad's neck, and he's caught in that place where he's trying to memorize every detail about the man before him...

...But at the same time, everything's coming back to him and he realizes that he never forgot.

Ethan's hand rubbing his back, the words I'm here now, is what finally does it, Shaun draws a shuddering breath and lets it out in a sob.]

I love you, Dad.

[pressed_x]

[Ethan did not exactly expect his son to sob but his back rub only strengthens when he does. He has no idea where he is or why his son is so much older but he can wait to ask questions. His son deserves his full attention and that's what he is going to get.]

I love you too, Shaun.

[His palm is growing warm from the contact with his son's back. Ethan gives him a few seconds before he asks him.]

Are you alright?

[justlikehim]

[Shaun really doesn't want to ruin the moment by telling Ethan that no, he's not really okay, he's waited sixteen years for his dad to finally be one of the people this place brings back from the dead, and it's now while all the biannual weirdness is going on, which means he's not going to stay.

He doesn't want to tell Ethan that from Shaun's experience, he died sixteen years ago. So instead he pulls back and puts on a small smile as he wipes his eyes with the heel of his hand.]

Yeah. Just happy to see you.

[pressed_x]

[Adult or not, it isn't hard to tell when Shaun is hiding something from him.]

Somehow I think it's more than that...

[His voice is gentle, almost like he were talking to Shaun as a kid. Up this close it's plain to see how much Shaun has grown up to resemble him. Overall, he looks well, and Ethan is proud and relieved.]