SHORTS AND SPECIALS

Father's Day 2024

Claus

It didn't matter how much time passed, or how well Frey acted his way through life, Claus could always tell when his smile was genuine.

And it usually appeared around horses.

"You might want to give her some room to breathe," he suggested through a chuckle as Frey scratched the foal behind her ears for the eleventh time. He didn't even seem too bothered by the flies surrounding the horses nearby, courtesy of the shady part of the pasture. "But then again, she hasn't moved away either so who am I to say anything?"

"She's amazing." Frey stroked the white marking on the otherwise black filly's forehead. "I didn't even know Rusty Rose Tea was having another foal."

"Mr. Glowell told me pretty early on," Claus admitted, failing to look awfully proud of himself. "But it was such a perfect timing for her to be born so soon before your twentieth birthday, so I considered it a sign and told them not to tell you about it."

"Well, it wouldn't be you without perfect birthday gifts." Frey beamed once he finally looked back at his father. "Thank you."

Claus' smile was almost as big as Frey's. While his son remained grateful for every gift Claus gave him, he'd grown a little too comfortable with expecting new things all the time and his excitement had faded over the years, but this time it was back. It was the pinnacle of excitement that Claus had missed.

"I reckon she'll have a tea related name, like the other offspring?" Claus nodded to the foal, and Frey hummed in thought.

"Well, there's no hurry with that." He gestured between him and Claus. "We can think of one, the two of us."

"I suspect you'll be spending a lot of time here from now on, then?" Claus raised an eyebrow, looking over his shoulder before continuing. "Though I doubt the Glowell children will complain. I think they're both quite infatuated with you."

Frey dismissed it with a low laugh.

"I don't come here looking for something like that."

"Well..." Claus tilted his head. "... Are you going to start looking for something like that soon enough? Perhaps meeting people your age?"

Frey wrinkled his nose, though still holding on to the smile on his lips.

"I just don't think that's something for me."

"At all?" Claus' heart stung, though it was not his place to question his son's choices. "You're not... Interested in finding someone? Build a family?"

"My apparent inability to find someone I like aside, I think the feeling is mutual as far as the others are concerned. You know I don't get along with them."

"Really? I know plenty who've been interested."

"Not in me." Frey's expression was unfaltering. "My title, my looks, my wealth... My youth... But not me."

Claus hesitated. He'd had the conversation with Valdís so many times over the years, and it always ended the same.

But it did not sit right with him.

"You... Know there are people out there who would appreciate you for the side you're forced to hide, right?" He couldn't help himself. He couldn't stand the idea of Frey feeling like he wasn't good enough. "For the real you."

Frey, however, laughed.

"What are you talking about?" His ever so persistent grin was accompanied by a wrinkle between his eyebrows as he shook his head at his father. "This is the real me."