And Dusk

Chapter 6: A Suitable Suitor

Warnings: none that I'm aware of

Word Count: 1674

With surprising patience, Pogo allowed for (Y/N) to clean the mess of his dinner off his lips. The girl softly smiled when he quietly hooted at her and returned to her own meal. "No fuss tonight, Pogo?" She whispered. "You must have had fun with Dad today."

"'Fun' is not the word I would use," Reginald spoke up as he lifted his wine glass. "We had... unexpected company the previous night and Pogo seems to have taken comfort in our home because of it."

"What kind of unexpected company?" Grace asked, looking up from her plate in concern. Reginald gave her a gentle look.

"I met quite the peculiar man that night. Our exchange was brief, but unpleasant, to say the least."

Grace's posture straightened and stiffened. "Did this man attack you?" When she didn't receive an immediate answer, she shook her head in frustration. "That worries me even more, Reggie. (Y/N) was attacked by a group of people when she was out on her date with Preston. He had to take her home and everything, and she was so shaken up about it. There's so many people out there who want to hurt her for obvious reasons... I-I don't know what to do about it at this point, we can't be near her all the time."

"Which is precisely why she has been spending her time with Preston," Reginald resumed eating as (Y/N) narrowed her eyes at him. "He knows what it takes to be a suitable husband, he knows what it takes to be a protector. (Y/N) is in good hands when we are not around."

"What is this, a babysitting job?" (Y/N) dropped her utensils on her plate and crossed her arms. "It's bad enough I have to go on... outings with him. Now he's going to be breathing down my neck when you two aren't around?"

Grace sighed and turned to her daughter. "(Y/N), darlin', believe it or not, we don't make decisions to make you miserable. We care about you, both of us," She quietly chuckled when Pogo hooted from the end of the table. "All of us. We want you to be safe, and if Preston can provide that, we'll have to do what's right. You aren't gettin' any younger and Preston is very fond of you."

"Furthermore," Reginald cut in. "He is the only suitor worthy of you. I cannot have my child, the heir to everything I am, courting someone who will eventually take advantage of her. That is what I am afraid of, (Y/N)."

She didn't respond, so he continued.

"There are dangers of this world you have yet to experience. You have not yet experienced adulthood, have not yet experienced heartbreak, true independence. Wouldn't it be fortunate to have someone beside you when it feels as if your entire world is weighing on you?"

(Y/N) didn't respond because she knew exactly how it all felt. Unbeknownst to her parents, she had experienced adulthood, true love, true heartbreak, motherhood, independence and loneliness. She's experienced it all. And through it all, she had someone to save her from the dark. Whether it be Anthony, Allison, her children, her mother or Five, she was never swallowed whole by that dark that dared to ruin everything she had made herself to be. And while none of her saviors were with her at this time, she at least had the most unlikely of families to do the job.

But Preston was not her savior. He was using her and she knew it.

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    "I present my daughter, (Y/N) Hargreeves." Reginald guided said girl to the middle of the parlor, where a blond-haired, brown-eyed boy had been waiting with his hands folded behind his back. His smile was nothing less of cocky and quirked higher on one side than the other. His hair was neatly slicked back, his eyes following her every move until she stood before him. One of his hands reached out and gently held hers, raising it to his lips.