Family Ties

Part 56

Papa, it's going to be my birthday soon!" Skye cheerfully observed as they were clearing up after breakfast.

"And what do you want this year?"

"A car!" He said in delight.

"I'm not sure we can afford that Squirt. How about something that your dad can afford?"

"But Papa, you never get me what I want!" He pouted, crossing his arms in a huff.

"That's because ever since you could string a sentence together, you've been asking for a car." He laughed at Skye's severe face. "Come on, get ready, Jackson will be here soon." He gave him a gentle nudge toward the bathroom.

Once they'd dropped Skye off, and were on their way to Raymond's office, Jackson reached out to take his hand.

"The little one's birthday is coming up soon if I remember correctly." He smiled at Raymond. He would never forget Skye's birthday, as long as he lived. He was still embarrassed about the circumstances under which he'd met Skye.

"Not you as well?" He wined, giving Jackson's hand a squeeze.

"What's gotten into you?"

"Oh nothing, he sighed. "It's Gilllie's turn to organise the party and she's been dying to go all out since she couldn't do it last year."

"Your family is weird," he shook his head. "Taking turns." He laughed. "Well, that's not such a bad thing, is it? At least everything will be taken care of."

"That's exactly the problem, heaven knows what will all be taken care of."

"You're being too pessimistic Cook, it'll all work out for the best." He leaned in to kiss Raymond once he'd brought the car to a halt. "Cook," he stopped Raymond from getting out of the car. "You still haven't answered me about moving in together."

"This isn't really the time..." He stalled. He'd spoken to Skye and his parents about it and they were all in agreement that this would be the natural next step. Everybody seemed so sure that this was the right thing, that he found it very hard to fault their logic or their arguments.

"There never seems to be a right time." He said in exasperation. "Move in with me. You can still keep your own place if it would make you feel better, but I'd really like us all to live under the same roof." When it looked like Raymond wasn't going to budge, he pressed on.

"Come on Cook. We were meant for each other and I'd never do anything that would put Skye at risk or hurt him intentionally, you must understand that." He pleaded, not letting go of Raymond's hand. "What do you say?"

"Well...," he started. There really wasn't a good enough reason for them to not move in together. The bond between Skye and Jackson was so tight, that he believed Jackson would never hurt them. Maybe he should get his head out of his ass and use some of that confidence that the Inquisitor has buckets of.

"Okay, we can try it." He gave in while Jackson grabbed him into a tight hug, leaving kisses all over his face. "But no going over the top." He warned, pushing Jackson away.

"Buying a new suit is over the top for you." He grimaced. "Pick you up later?"

"I'll be here waiting." he smiled, leaning in for a last kiss.

--

"Are you ready yet?" Jackson called down the passage to Skye's bedroom.

"Coming Pappie." He called out happily, running into Jackson's arms. "Do you think Papa will like our surprise?"

"Of course, he will! We've made sure that everything was okay, didn't we?" He watched as  Skye nodded. "Now, let's not spoil the surprise?"

He strapped Skye into the backseat and drove off to pick up Raymond. This had become their routine whenever he had to pick up Skye from school, but this time was different. Glancing into the rearview mirror, he grinned wide at the boy in the backseat, who had stolen his heart.

"You two are awfully quiet." Raymond turned back to smile at Skye who was occupied with a small plane.

"You're imagination keeps running away with you." Jackson grabbed his hand to kiss it.

"Wait, where are we going?" He took a proper look at his surroundings. They weren't heading home, instead, they were going in the opposite direction.

"We're going home, of course. That's a bit of an odd question isn't it?" Jackson frowned, staring straight ahead. He'd learnt that if he needed to hide something from Raymond, it was best to do it while driving. That way he couldn't feel your pulse, stare you straight in the eye or really read your expressions well.

He'd come to discover this little gap in Raymond's armour when he'd messed up and had to lie to buy some more time to fix the problem. It had worked ever since and he felt no need to tell Raymond that this was his only defence against those eagle eyes.

"This is your place. What are we doing here?" He asked as they stopped in front of Jackson's house.

"It's a surprise for you Papa! Skye pulled the car door open, waiting for his dad to get out. "Come on!" Grabbing Raymond's hand, he pulled him toward the front door.

"What's going on here?" He looked around the living room which had completely changed. Gone were the uncomfortable art nouveau furniture, replaced by comfortable deep couches, making the room cosy and inviting.

Skye pulled on his hand and dragged him toward a long passage to the back of the house. He noticed that one side of the wall was covered with Skye's artwork, all framed. He excitedly pushed open a bedroom door to reveal a room that seemed to be decorated specifically with Skye in mind.

"A whole wall of cars huh?" He looked around, seeing a desk near one of the big windows, with beanbags strewn around in one corner and a special locker for his football gear. It was very well done, he had to admit.

"Do you like it?" He looked down at Skye.

"It's perfect Papa!" He exclaimed, tugging on Raymond's to another room. "Ta-da!" He sang, throwing his arms wide. "What do you think Papa?

"And whose room is this?" He looked around at the wingback chairs that were placed next to the window overlooking the grounds and the forest behind. Jackson must have renovated it because the layout of the room was much different to what he remembered. For one, the bathroom was made bigger and the walk-in closet seemed to have grown by a few metres. Again, this room was perfectly styled.

"Your yours and Pappie's," he pronounced. He pulled Raymond from room to room, his excitement apparent.

"Well, what do you think?" Jackson asked once they'd come full circle of their tour, suddenly feeling shy and wondering if he'd gone over the top.

"It's quite a change since I've been here last, but it certainly looks more like a home than the art installation that you had before."

"Hey! This house was decorated by the most talented designer that there was!" He protested.

"No, they just gave you trash and charged you a fortune for it." He laughed. "But isn't this a bit too quick? We only discussed moving in this morning."

"This took a long time to plan and Skye helped a lot. If we're going to stay together, we might as well start now. And anyway, Gillie decorated and got you some clothes because the ones you had before, and I quote, "looked like a horse rolled around in it for two years".

"So you let her decorate and buy new clothes, that you know I don't need. You're more devious than I thought." Taking his hand, they walked to the kitchen.

"Do you like it, Papa? Can we stay with Pappie?" Skye could barely contain his excitement.

The word Pappie didn't slip past him. But Skye was so happy and excited, he didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise, so he smiled and agreed.

"Of course, we can stay with Pappie if it makes you happy."