arescere ✿ xavier thorpe

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37 - dead man's justice

"peter." wednesday mumbled, sounding almost empathetic. the boy stood staring down at the grave. his auntie. the sheriff's wife, tyler's mother. making tyler... his cousin. he turned to look at the boy who he could see cleaning tables of the seats outside the shop. who seemed to pause in his tracks feeling the cold gaze on his skin, finding wednesday addams standing in a graveyard. staring directly at him peter walks away. wednesday turning sharply to follow him up the path to nevermore.

the tables of food, seemingly unable to be counted. far too many crowding the courtyard. families sat, laughing and smiling. and he felt rage. stupid fucking absent father. he watched from afar as enid's father brushed her hair behind her ear after her mother used it as a metaphor for something. he wondered if his father would treat him differently if he were a girl. if he looked like daphne maybe his father would act otherwise. would xavier? he pondered. finding the boy groaning to one of ajax's mums. his words branded on his mind.

"i wish you were a girl."

"i know i'm not your dad, but i thought maybe you'd need someone." a voice spoke behind him and he spun on his heel. the tears brimming in his eyes came to a fault. the man with salt and pepper hair stood proudly. he wore a cream shirt tucked into dark green plaid trousers with a brown coat. he looked smart. very theodore nott like, casual outfit for him. and the grin broke onto peter's face as he dived at the older man. wrapping his arms around his waist as theo laughed, patting his back.

"thank you." he heard peter mumble softly, and he felt his heart break. theo had been right, his father was no show.

and eyes bore on peter's back, across the courtyard gomez and morticia addams staring the belfiore son like he had personally hurt them. wednesday's words still hung in the hair.

"my appetite eludes me, mother. the same way the truth eludes you."morticia started, he was so alike to his father. but she wondered, did he look like william but have the fire of franciose?

"we have to tell her." gomez spoke, pulling his eyes away from the unaware boy.

"she'll never believe us. we must stay strong. and hope something more morbid comes along to distract her." morticia replied, not even bothering to pull her eyes from peter, who lead him over to taliah after she called them over.

"someone like him." gomez could merely hum a response as he looked down at the pile of food on his plate. taking a bite of the taco and forgot all about their previous conversation as they led their way to a table.

"so baby, who is that boy" enid's mother asked looking over the girls shoulder to peter who was meeting taliah's mother. he laughed as he listen to lesley's story of taliah trying to eat sand when she was younger. lily roaring with laughter as her girlfriend went bright red in embarrassment.

"he's just a friend mama." she laughed, growing sick at the thought that maybe her mum thought something was going on between enid and peter. it was strictly platonic, infact the boy seemed to have a knack for platonic female friendships. he had went from only having rowan as a friend to having a group of girls friends. (all queer coded too, slay.) before her mother immediately changed the topic of conversations to their peculiarity. the topic of wolfing making the blonde girl rather uncomfortable.

and the double doors to the courtyard swung open, the chattering and mumbling came to a fault as the officer's arrived. standing proud and tall. sheriff galpin glaring into the crowd of freaks.

"can i ask what this is about, sheriff?" ms weems spoke as she blocked his walk into the yard. but he made quick work of detouring around her, beeline for a table where gomez addams sat drinking cranberry juice. his eyes often drailing over to a boy with a pale face and piercing eyes. the same features of his late wife.

"gomez addams." he called coldly, silence growing louder as the man gently place the cup down. standing to face the sheriff, showing no sign of fear.

"how can i help you, sheriff?" he questioned, plastering a smile upon his glum face.

"you're under arrest for the murder of garrett gates. you have the right to remain silent. anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law" the man finished, not wasting another second as he fishes the cuffs from his police jacket. a short wave of mumbling broke through nevermore.

"dad?" pugsley cried as he watched his father be cuffed and lead away by the sheriff of jericho. the silence became mutters and questions, so many questioned spoke around him. peter watched in shock, watched as he was pulled away. and he still found himself being viewed by the sheriff. what was the sheriff's problem with him anyway? was it the fact he was franciose's nephew? that he and she were belfiore’s? the man glared, a man glared at a young boy. for something as simple as a name. peter looked to the wife of gomez, morticia sat effortlessly beautiful. he had never seen anyone look beautiful when one cries, but morticia cried so graceful. single tears rolling over pale dusted cheeks.

and so peter pondered. why did everyone turn cold at the name of belfiore? what had the belfiore siblings do? and who the fuck was garret gates?