Family Ties

Part 34

Ringing the doorbell to Raymond's apartment, Jackson stood back, hands loosely on his hips, his foot tapping out a light rhythm. He heard a shout from inside before the door was ripped open, revealing an out-of-breath Skye.

"Mister!" He exclaimed in delight, waving for Jackson to come in.

"I think you should call me Jackson, what do you say?" He knelt down in front of Skye, holding out a small box to him.

"Jackson." He said slowly as if testing the way it sounded. With a grin, he nodded his head, took the box and ran off.

With a smile, Jackson followed him to the kitchen where Raymond was taking something out of the oven with Skye bouncing beside him.

"Give me a minute Squirt." He said, turning to place the dish on the table. When he looked up, he locked eyes with Jackson. His heart rate picked up a little and he would have stared for much longer if Skye wasn't clamouring for his attention.

"Looking good as always." Jackson grinned walking closer, then realised that they were about to eat. "I, eh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise that you were having supper." He said looking embarrassed.

"That's okay, why don't you join us?" Raymond asked, motioning for him to take a seat.

"You sure? I can come back another time." He was still feeling uncomfortable at having broken into their family meal.

"One meal together isn't going to kill any of us." He shrugged, turning to Skye. "Now, what have you jumping out of your skin?" He asked, taking the box that Skye was holding out to him. He could only sigh when he saw a miniature aeroplane peeking out from the inside. He could tell from the packaging that this wasn't a regular toy store plane either.

Yet another person to stop from buying Skye toys, clothes or ponies. It's a miracle he hasn't turned into a spoilt brat from all the attention and gifts, he thought.

"Really Jackson?" He raised an eyebrow, holding the box up. "I thought we talked about the gift thing."

"It's much smaller than the car, so you should be grateful for that." His face couldn't hide his happiness at being there. "So, what are we eating, it smells great."

"It's only mac and cheese, not a gourmet meal." He laughed, handing Jackson his plate.

"I've never had it." He commented, before lifting his fork to his mouth. "Oh my god, oh my god!" He wailed in between bites. "What is this?" He asked again.

"You're funny," Skye observed with a giggle, watching Jackson's reaction, before turning back to his meal.

"You've never had mac and cheese before?" Raymond asked incredulously watching as Jackson hoovered up the food. "Well, at least for tonight I'll hold the title of best mac and cheese." He laughed when they were done.

"Where you off to Squirt?" Raymond called after Skye who made a beeline toward the coffee table. "Chores, remember?"

"Do I have to?" He moaned, looking from Raymond to his plane. Finally, he sighed and gave in, setting the box on the table. "You're no fun!" He mumbled as he walked back to the kitchen with a forlorn look on his face.

"You only have to wipe the table and pack the dishwasher!" Raymond exclaimed. "I'm not sending you to a death camp, you know?" Instead of a reply, Skye opened the dishwasher door and held his hand out to Raymond.

"My father would have had me do a hundred push-ups by now." He grumbled, handing Skye the dishes.

Jackson sat and watched the two and their exchange of humour. They were so similar to each other and not only in looks but temperament as well. He wondered what it would be like to be around them all the time. He had yet to see Skye have a fit or get out of hand, but then, their time together had been limited, but he was confident that he could handle anything when it came to the little guy.

Dating a dad was considerably more complex. You had to impress two people at the same time, but with the rest of Raymond's family, he probably had to impress another hundred or so. He watched as Skye gave an exasperated sigh, throwing his dad a death look before walking off to find his plane.

"Thanks for supper, it was really good." He smiled when Raymond put a cup of coffee in front of him, taking a seat himself.

"You were easy to please." He laughed. "Next time I'll do something fancy." Raymond winked at him, taking a sip of coffee.

"I'd like that." He sighed with relief, so there will be a next time. "Actually, I came here to find out if you wanted to give it another go. You know, the two or three of us." Waiting for Raymond to respond was excruciating, as he searched his face.

"And what happens the next time things go wrong? Will you run away again?" He kept telling himself that he was asking the question because Skye needed a stable life, but he was really asking for himself.

"I'm sticking to you like superglue." He grinned at Raymond, reaching out to take his hand. "I'm not going anywhere unless you kick me out, and even then, you're going to have a hard time getting rid of me."

"Well, I did warn you." he smiled interlacing their fingers. "But there are rules."

"Rules?" Jackson wondered what sort of madness was about to come.

"No buying Skye and me unnecessary gifts or toys and no staying over when he's here and when you're summoned, you'll have to drop everything for the family. The rest I'll let you know as we go along." He listed, leaving enough room to reign Jackson in if it was needed.

"Why does it sound like an open invitation for you to be a killjoy the whole time?" He asked with a chuckle.

"That comes with the territory. If you stick around long enough, you'll come to see that I'm always right." His laughter rang out through the room, with Jackson chuckling along.

"I'm not about to test that theory." He grinned happily, leaning closer to Raymond. "But there are other things we can do..." he whispered pulling Raymond's hand to his mouth.

"What are you doing?" Skye asked, looking at their hands and then from one to the other.

"Hey, Squirt!" Raymond pulled his hand away from Jackson and jumped up, blushing slightly. "I didn't even hear you come in."

"Why are you blushing?" Skye asked again. "Did you do something wrong, Papa?"

"No reason, it's slightly hot in here." He lied knowing Skye would keep picking if he didn't end this conversation soon.

"Maybe I should be going." Jackson got up and ruffled Skye's hair. He received a suspicious look from Skye and could almost see his mind working away trying to solve the puzzle.

"Coward!" Raymond whispered loud enough for him to hear, as he walked to the door.