wine stains

saviour complex

"Good afternoon, America. I'm Zach Herron. Today, the verdict of the Marais v State will be soon released to the press. We have our reporter and my fellow news anchor, Daniel Seavey. Daniel, are you there?"

Daniel's image is seen across times square. "Hello there, Zach, yes I'm here. Inside sources tell us that the trial is over and that a final verdict has been reached -" He pauses when he sees Christina. "Here we have the prosecutor, Christina Harris, leaving the court, I'll do interview him." Daniel lunges towards her, trying to get a front row to get her statement.

She takes out a letter from his pocket and opens it. "The juri has decided to consider Jonah Marais guilty of all charges and the murder of thirty-four other victims. He will get a sentence of seven years per victim, which adds up to a grand total of two hundred and twenty-eight years. Thank you, no further comments."

Everyone keeps trying to get to Christina to answer questions about the trial, but she just ignored them. The screen turns back to Zach.

"And that's the end of a very complicated and deeply disturbing saga -" Jack tunes out his beloved once Josh Herron stands in front of him.

Jack stands up and shakes his hand. "Mr. Herron. Thank you for your time." The two sit down.

"What do you want, Avery?" Josh is quick to ask.

Jack sets a small emerald green box in front of him."Your blessing." He goes straight to the point. He doesn't see the need to go on with such rodeos when he didn't want them either.

The man chokes on his own saliva. Once he recomposes himself, he looks back at Jack. "I won't ask him just yet." He clarifies.

"Why do you have the ring then?" Josh asks. "Are you trying to give someone a heart attack?"

Jack shrugs. "I'm still figuring out how to propose to him. What if the perfect opportunity strikes and I don't have a ring?" He calls on the waitress to get their order.

The two men order, and Josh turns to him. "Why are you asking me for my blessing?"

Jack grabs the box and opens it. He smiles softly when he looks at the ring. "I can't exactly ask his grandparents... and you're his father. Whether you like it or not." Josh nods, understanding his way of seeing things. "Your son... makes me a better person. I become warm all over and find myself always thinking of him." He confesses as he puts the box back in his breast pocket.

The waitress sets down their pastries and coffee. Jack thanks her, and Josh takes a sip of the coffee.

In a way, they stained each other. Jack stained Zach by helping him become more confident and less worried. Zach helped Jack by making him see the world with rose colored lenses. Everything seems less grey and more colourful.

"Listen, kid, I can't tell you what you can or can't do." He sets his coffee down. "I made my choice, and I must live with it."

"You still have time to change things. You're here today for some reason."He counterargues before taking a sip of his latte.

"You called me twenty times." He reminds him.

"You picked up." Jack raises an eyebrow, defying him.

Josh closes his fists. "I could sue you for stalking."

"And I'd happily represent myself in court." He smiles, completely unbothered by his threat. "I bet I could even win." He defies him.

"Very funny." He scoffs. "You clearly don't know me."

"Neither do you know me." Jack shrugs. "All I'm trying to do is to get you to stop being scared of talking to your own son."

"So you have a saviour complex?" Josh raises an eyebrow.

"I have a Zach complex." He merely says."I want the best for him. And having some type of family to rely on is good." He sips on his latte.

"You have a family to rely on, and look where that got you. "He points at the television, where his mom was coming out of court. "Going against your own mother in court."He scoffs.

"It was bound to happen." He dismisses him. "My mother may be ruthless, but I know I can still rely on her when I need to." He leans forward. "Don't change the subject." Jack smirks.

Josh leans forward as well. "You talk too much, kid."

Jack leans back. "I'm not asking for the impossible. I'm asking you to step up as his father. You owe him that much. "

He sighs heavily. "He doesn't want me in his life. I was a shit father all the time." He crosses his arms. "And I can see that he doesn't want to do anything with me. He built his own life." Josh looks down. "With you. And he seems healthy."

"There's still time to be there for him now." Jack hands him one of Zach's cards. "Give him a call." He insists.

He stands up and sets a twenty dollar bill. Jack starts walking away but stops when Josh calls him. He looks at him.

"The answer is yes." Josh merely says Jack raises an eyebrow. "You have my blessing." The curly head smiles and nods before walking away.

Josh inspects the mint green card. It seems like it's fitting for his son. He picks up his phone and searches for his son's name. He reads the articles about him and his achievements. His heart is filled with a sense of pride. He's so young, yet he's done so much.

He had seen him on the news several times, and it always brought him the same feeling. His son is important. He has made a name for himself. Zach kept fighting despite having been mistreated by his parents. He fought against all odds, left Texas, and found a way to truly be himself.

Josh sighs as his fingers run across the card. Green truly is a fitting colour."Always a fighter, huh." He smiles. "Now you've got your own soldier... and you're stronger than ever."

After all, green is the colour of hope.