I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me

[sonoflongshot]

It had taken sending his aunt after his father for Aiden to finally get the chance to talk to Longshot alone. And even then, he still had to wait for it to happen. Aiden assumed Dad was really not happy with him after hearing about his phone call with Mom. Due to some twists of luck, Longshot was either in the room when Aiden was asleep or he had company. Never a chance alone. Aiden couldn't tell if that luck was on purpose or not, but he hoped it wasn't because Dad wanted nothing more to do with him and the presence was just that Japanese form of politeness. So, the teen fiddled with his bed sheet as his father came into the room and closed the door behind him.

"I've been told you wanted to talk to me," Longshot said as he turned around. Aiden couldn't really pick up any emotional tone to his words.

"I..." He sighed and looked up at his Dad. "I'm sorry, Dad. I shouldn't have ever told you to forget anything. I didn't handle our last con-argument right. And if I made you think I don't love you anymore, I was more wrong than the last test I missed. Which hasn't happened in awhile! But..."

He scratched the back of his neck. He waited for a reaction. Except his Dad was being as cool as the stream that ran not far from their home. Aiden dropped his hand down to the bed with a hollow flump. The silence lingered, and Aiden wanted to squirm under his father's steady gaze.

"So," he tried to break the silence, "I'm sorry. I still love you. And, uhm, I'm ready for any punishment."

"A month," Longshot replied quietly. "Which is down from the rest of your life."

There was a sinking feeling in Aiden's stomach, but he was not going to argue the punishment. He could take it. He nodded. "Okay."

That got a reaction from Longshot. He stepped closer and looked confused. "No arguments? You're not allowed to leave the grounds for a month."

"I knew I was going to be punished when I left. I don't regret leaving. If I didn't, Misha wouldn't be alive. I might not have went the right way about it, but I'm not going to fight what I don't need to." He started to tug his top sheet between his hands. It took a minute for Aiden to catch the nervous gesture and stop himself. "So, I'm grounded for a month. What else?"

That made Longshot squint. He seemed to be looking his son over like he was a pod person. "Since you're determined to go out and get in over your head in duels, you have early morning lessons. You will attend them and not even be a minute late. Logan was kindly willing to teach those lessons to you."

Aiden nodded again. The lessons part by itself wouldn't be bad. The early morning portion would be torture. Especially since Logan was teaching it. There would be no dozing or charming his way out of it. "Alright. Then what do I have to do to make everything up to you?"

"Aiden..."

"C'mon. There has to be something. I said I'm sorry, but it doesn't seem to be enough. You probably think I hate you or something, and you probably don't like me anymore because you've been avoiding being alone with me. Err. Being with me when I can talk to you alone. So, what do I need to do?" There had to be something. He didn't want to see the worry and hurt in his Dad's eyes. Longshot might have thought he was covering it up well, and he was to a point. But sometimes he let his guard down and his son picked up on it.

Longshot sighed and rubbed his chin. "I.. don't know, son. You hurt me and disappeared. So the hurt's been around awhile."

"Oh." Well, if he couldn't get things back to square one with his father, Aiden had no chance in hell of getting any of the other family things fixed. He couldn't look at his Dad anymore. He was too ashamed. Instead, he stared at a spot right next to his knee. He blinked a couple times. He sighed and shook his head. "I didn't mean to make you hate me..."

There was some sort of sigh from Longshot. Aiden couldn't place it and didn't try to. His mind was racing on how he could still make things right. He almost jumped when his father gently grabbed his hand. "I don't hate you. I could never hate you, Aiden. I love you more than life itself. And you know me. I'm a pretty life-loving guy."

Well, the spot by his knee wasn't interesting anymore. Though he couldn't quite look up. Maybe looking at his father's hand on his should count. "So, what do I need to do to make this right? If I can't make it right with you, I'll never be able to make things right with Mom."

"You already did what you needed to make this right." His hand disappeared from on top of Aiden's. The side railing disappeared and Longshot was sitting on the very edge of the bed. Two strong arms wrapped around the teen. "I'm just built for drama. Sometimes, I have a hard time letting it go. I see you're sorry. I see you still love me. That's all I need, Super Frog."

The laugh couldn't be stopped. It was relief in its best form. Dad was stilling calling him Super Frog. It wasn't irreparable.

"You're still on thin ice, Aiden. But I know you can work us back to where we need to be. I am proud of you for saving Misha. That was some quick thinking. And luck with your girlfriend there. For a brief second, when there wasn't an explosion going off around me, I knew that you were my son without a doubt." Longshot gave a gentle squeeze. "And I almost died on the spot when I saw you standing there with a sword through your chest. You might be closer to an adult in age, but that was my baby boy over there. The one who looked up at me when he was six months old and told me Ecuador was the top exporter of bananas in one word."

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Has anybody told you you're weird lately?"

This time, it was Longshot's turn to laugh.