The Prince

Part 33

Later that afternoon they were all congregated at Skye's house with his grandmother organising everything and stocking up cupboards with food. Skye was tired of following her around everywhere. He enjoyed spending time with her, but nothing could stop her when she was on a mission.

"I think you boys should be fine now," she turned to the three. "Are you sure you don't want me to find someone to help with the cooking and cleaning?"

"Thanks, Grandma, we're okay on our own for now, but I'll ask if things change" Skye quickly responded knowing that Noah would instantly agree to have a housekeeper.

"Arigatō o bāchan," Tsukasa smiled, blushing slightly. He had her to thank for moving him in after all. Now he could keep an eye on Skye and what his intentions were with Noah.

"I'm glad that you won't be alone now, so you should have fun," she hooked her arm into his as they walked to the front door to see her off.

'Now what?" Noah asked as the three of them were standing alone in the living room. It felt like they were in a standoff and he was sure that Skye was on the verge of murder.

"You show him around, I'm going to my room." Skye shrugged, turning to leave with his hands thrust in his pockets.

"Yes, Mother," Noah saluted him and nervously turned to Tsukasa whose chocolate-brown eyes were curiously looking at him.

"Eh, there isn't much to see, but you'll get used to everything," he led Tsukasa to the kitchen to get water. 

"Breakfast is at seven, sharp. If you don't get here on time you lose out and Skye is miserable for the rest of the day. Don't leave anything on the bathroom counters and always take your shoes off when you come into the house. Other than that, you'll learn as we go along."

"You seem to know him very well," Tsukasa noted leaning against the counter.

"Well, we've spent nearly every moment together between school, work and home. I was bound to pick up on some of his quirks," he chuckled, and there were many. "But he's a good guy, promise."

"Oh," Tsukasa quietly let out, rinsing his glass at the sink.

"Don't worry, we're going to have fun together," he cheerfully smiled watching Tsukasa relax a little.

"Well, I eh, I think I'll unpack."

Noah watched him leave, hoping that they would all get on well. He was used to Skye being broody and when he wasn't he was irritating and condescending, but he'd learnt that there was more to Skye than met the eye. Being his roommate quickly made him realise that.

At first, he thought that he had a major chip on his shoulder, that nobody was good enough for him or to be around him other than his friend Archer, but he realised that it was something different. It was as if Skye was pushing people away from him trying to follow a lonely path through life. He wondered what would have happened to nearly turn him into a hermit, but from what he'd seen when they were around his family, he seemed softer and more relaxed, it felt the same when they went to the lake.

Shaking his head, he decided to let tomorrow worry about tomorrow's problems. Rinsing his glass he moved to his bedroom.

--

Saturday morning, Noah stood with his mouth open at the front door.

"Eh, Mr Cook, please come inside," he stepped back to let Raymond in, before leading him to the sitting room which had partially been redone. "I'll go get Skye," he mumbled, nearly sprinting as soon as he was out of sight.

"Dad?" Skye stood in the doorway watching as Raymond stood up.

"It's good to see you again, son. We've missed you.

"Sure, what did you want?"

Raymond looked at his closed-off expression and body language and sighed quietly. Skye seemed to be holding on to his grudge and wasn't willing to move an inch. He felt tired and angry at the same time. Tired of the strain of this whole situation and was angry with both himself and Skye.

"Skye, I didn't come to fight, I'm not your enemy. All I want is to see you happy and thriving, but I also want you to consider others while you're working through your problems. Staying away from home has hurt your father, you don't know how scared he is of losing you."

"I know you can't forgive me for doing what I thought was right at the time, but as adults, we have to stand by the decisions we make. Son, I love you, I'll always love you, but what you're doing to your dad is unfair. Have you ever considered how he would feel?"

Skye stared silently at his father, the wind knocked out of his sails. He was so focused on being independent and showing his dad that he could do things on his own that he didn't stop to consider the person who was always fighting in his corner.

He felt the weight of what his father had said. He'd messed up and he had to make it right. No matter how much they fought or differed, they always stayed together. He felt worse realising that Jackson was suffering the most.

"I'll speak to Pappie later," he said dismissively in no mood to prolong the conversation.

"You can keep punishing me Skye, but what will that prove in the long run? That you were right and I was wrong? Is that going to make you happy? Have you ever tried standing in my shoes for a minute? " Raymond sadly shook his head. It looked like coming here had made things worse.

"Well, I'll get going," he waited for Skye to respond. "Right, this is from the two of us, he planted a large bag on the table before making his way to the front door. Hearing it close behind him, he turned to look back.

What had he expected would happen? Skye was still unwilling to listen to him and other than forcing him home, he didn't know what to do or where to go.  He'd only once ever been this afraid to lose his family and like then, he was going to fight tooth and nail to keep them together.

"Are you okay?" Noah asked tentatively walking into the sitting room where Skye was sitting staring dead ahead of him.

"You heard, I suppose?"

"Well, I didn't mean to, but what did your dad do that you'd hate him so much?" He looked at Skye's stony expression. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interfere," he turned to leave, but stopped,

"You and your dad are very alike," he turned to face Skye. "You can both be very clinical when it comes to the decisions you make, but there are many more things to consider when a person makes a decision. I'm not trying to defend him, but sometimes you need the whole story before you can understand the ending."

"Stop being cryptic, what are you saying?"

"Instead of focussing on how the story ended and what you thought had happened, look back and retrace his steps until you have the whole picture. But in the meantime, try and forgive your dad, at least you know he cares." Noah moved closer to Skye.

"What you have is pure magic. You don't think you are a prince, Skye, but you are. Your family adores you and you can see that every moment they have they want to spend together. You are the crown jewel to them, more precious than I think you know," he placed his hand gently on Skye's arm.

"Cherish what you have, because you could lose it all in a moment," Noah sighed, his eyes staring into the distance for a while, before giving Skye a watery smile and leaving the room hoping that Skye would be able to heal his relationship with his father.

Watching him go, he thought about what Noah had said. Was there more to what his father was saying and if so, why was he hiding it? Was he protecting them from something? If he set his childish feelings to punish his dad aside, he could see that the decision his father had taken was out of character. Before he had always come first, ever since he became aware of what Raymond did for a living, work had come second to family and yet this time...

Was Noah correct in telling him to retrace his steps? Would that help him understand the decisions that Raymond took. Could it be that he was angry at the wrong person?