Before I Forget

How I Met Your Father

Must be your lucky day - a second update! Once again in the realm of chapters where absolutely nothing happens, but what can I say - writing this little bit made me happy.

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They ate the tacos, and also the salad Sky's dad had made, and then some ice cream too, and afterward, Hawk had zero idea if any of that had tasted good, because Sky was sitting on the couch with him, leaning her head against his shoulder, and there was only room for that one thing in his mind.

She seemed to love the movie, which was quite frankly not that good - but it wasn't like he was going to tell her that. Besides, he didn't really give a shit which movie they were watching, he only cared about Sky, that she was there sitting next to him, and he could take her hand, press his palm against hers and let their fingers entwine. And if that weird, hot fluttering in his chest that followed, wasn't pure happiness, he sure didn't know what was.

It was late when the movie ended, and when Hawk dug his cell phone from his pocket to check the time, he noticed a dozen messages from Mom asking where he was and telling him to call her immediately or otherwise he'd be grounded for life.

"Damn—" he muttered, scrolling through the messages and typing a quick response that he was on his way home. "I have to go—"

"Your mom?" Sky asked and he turned to look at her, met the gaze of her green eyes. She didn't look like she was going to cry anymore, but she still looked pale and tired in her cute, pink hoodie, and again the guilt that felt like a knife sliced Hawk's chest, ripping through the fragile happiness he had felt only moments ago.

He took her hand back in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could stay–"

"I'm just gonna go to bed anyway," Sky replied. "I'm feeling kinda tired."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied but her smile wouldn't reach her eyes. "You should go, your mom is probably worried."

"Yeah, I guess."

Mr. O'Brian who had been collecting the dishes and leftovers, glanced over his shoulder to take a look at Hawk and Sky on the couch. Hawk noticed how he looked at them holding hands, and suddenly feeling way too self-conscious he pulled his hand away, breaking their contact and making Sky blush.

Sky's Dad raised a silent brow, clearly noticing Hawk's discomfort and just as clearly not giving a shit about it.

"I'll give you a ride, Eli," he said, and Hawk almost choked.

"No, it's fine–" he tried. "I don't live that far, I can walk—"

But he gave Hawk a stern look that said clear and loud that he wasn't going to take a no for an answer: "This wasn't a question. I'm driving you home."

For a guy who wore silly aprons, he was surprisingly scary.

"Dad—!" Sky pleaded, her cheeks turning red, but he seemed unaffected by the fact that he was clearly embarrassing her.

"No buts, daughter mine. You take care of the dishes while I'm gone, I won't be long."

Sky muttered something under her breath but didn't protest further, and neither did Hawk. He glanced at Mr. O'Brian who had thrown a leather jacket over his T-shirt and was already standing by the door, fidgeting with the car keys.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Hawk said to Sky, brushing her hand lightly with his fingertips, yearning to touch her more, to pull her close again, but didn't dare to do that in front of her surprisingly intimidating dad.

"See you, boyfriend," Sky replied with a small smile, and at that word Hawk's heart thumped loudly in his chest, so loud that he was sure all must've heard it.

Boyfriend–! Holy shit, I'm really her boyfriend now!

He was still feeling that word when he followed Sky's dad out of the door and into the car, and only when he sat down on the passenger seat and took one look at Mr. O'Brian's serious face, did it slip off his mind.

He told his home address to Sky's dad, who gave a silent nod and started driving - and the awkward silence that fell on them made Hawk wish he'd be anywhere else but here. He kept staring out of the window, as if this street, the trees that lined it, the houses that all looked the same, had suddenly become the most interesting landscape in the world.

"So, you're dating my daughter, then." the older man finally said, when they stopped at the first red lights.

Hawk glanced at him, nervous. "Yeah, I guess."

"I must say that I'm not thrilled," he replied, keeping his eyes in the red light.

"I gathered," Hawk admitted. "But I'm really sorry–"

"Save it," Mr. O'brian interrupted. "I heard the apology, and yeah, I get it. You got jealous. You're not the first boy to feel that way, you know. But after watching how my daughter cried her eyes out all afternoon because of the way you acted, well–" he shrugged, and as the light changed he started driving again. "I just felt like we needed to have a little chat."

"Yeah, okay," Hawk said, in lack of better words.

So Sky had been crying all afternoon? Because of what he had done? Yeah, he had known she was upset, but still, hearing this made his stomach turn. 

Mr. O'Brian gave him a sideways glance.

"I'm not one for those over-protective fathers who won't let their daughters date anyone." He said in a bit gentler voice. "I want her to have a life."

"Okay."

At least that was a relief.

"But having said that - I'm also the father who watched his daughter fight for her life in ICU because her boyfriend decided to try to kill her."

Mr. O'Brian gave Hawk a dark glance, his hands gripping the steering wheel. "So you see where I'm getting at?"

"I think so, Sir." Hawk replied.

"What I'm saying is, that if you have bad intentions—"

"I don't, I swear—."

"Don't interrupt me, kid." Another death glare quickly made Hawk shut up. "I was saying that if you have bad intentions, if you are only going to use her and ditch her, or even worse - if you're going to hurt her - then just... " he paused, took a breath before continuing. "Then just please walk away now. If you're not going to treat Sky the way she deserves, then you shouldn't be with her."

There were many things Hawk wanted to say to that. He wanted to defend himself, to say that he would never hurt Sky, that he would always be there for her, that he was falling in love with her, and that Mr. O'Brian didn't have to worry, that he would make Sky happy, not sad, happier than she had ever been, and–

And it all formed this big lump in his throat, and he couldn't get the words out, so in the end, he simply nodded and said silently: "I understand, Sir."

"Good," said Mr. O'Brian and stopped the car in front of Hawk's home. He really lived close by and could've easily walked this distance. "You seem like a nice kid, you really do Eli, but I've been wrong before."

"You're not wrong this time," Hawk said, briefly locking gazes with the older man before stepping out of the car. "Thanks for the ride, Mr. O'Brian."

"Thanks for the chat. And if Sky asks, we talked about the weather. Got it?"

Hawk swallowed. "I got it."

"Good, now go home, lad," he replied, and even if he said it with a smile, Hawk felt his gaze in the back of his head the whole time it took for him to walk from the car to his front door.

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Fun fact - once I went to a liquor store and the guy who worked there looked exactly like Neil Patric Harris. I still think about that sometimes.