Scribbles and Drabbles

Long Time No See 2

"You're sulking."

"No shit, Sherlock. I can't think as to why," Josh grumbled, picking over the same three apps on his phone in a stupid circle. They'd not let him outside the compound on his own since capturing him. The council gave him a slap on the wrist for the invalid address, and while they hadn't commanded him to stay with them, they had encouraged it. Marshall didn't give him the choice. He had very firmly put his adoptive father hat back on, and Josh would never admit he appreciated it.  

"It's your own fault," Marshall said, walking over. "You know better than to behave like this."

Josh flinched back from grabbing hands, but let Marshell take his phone. Marshall turned it off and kissed Josh's forehead, running his hands through Josh's hair in the same way he'd done a thousand times before. It was reassuring. Josh tried not to blush at how warm that made him feel.

"This isn't as bad as you are making it." 

"I don't understand why, though? I wasn't a combatant in the war. My involvement consisted of being the son of one of the human scientists and being a repeat hostage as a result. Why do I have to follow the same rules?" Josh snapped. He buried deeper in the sofa, hearing the whining in his voice.  It wasn't fair. He wasn't a danger to them. 

Marshall tugged Josh out of his ball on the sofa, collapsing next to him and holding him against his side. Josh leaned against him, making himself comfortable. "That would be a valid point if you overlook the fact that you were a noisy child who constantly got into trouble and have continued to get in danger from people not related to us. You have no one watching out for you, and we worry."

Josh hid a blush with a scowl. When Marshall laughed, the young man fell against his stomach and hid his face against Marshall's shoulder. "I don't need a curfew."

"Tough," Marshall said. "I won't have you running amok at all hours of the night. My children follow the same rules when they visit. I don't want to know what you got up to, and it will stop."

"I had fun! Not different to any first-year uni student!" Ignoring the aliens and transdimensional terrorists, but that went without saying.

God, Josh's life was weird sometimes.

"You can have fun and be home by eleven."

"This isn't home."

-x-

Marshall held Josh as tight as he dared. The urge to hunt down the boy's actual father burned low with his rage at the situation; it had not escaped his or Command's notice that the man hadn't contacted Josh throughout the entire debacal. The brat was bratting and desperately needed some stability. 

"It is your home for the foreseeable future. I thought you liked my rooms?"

"It's quiet without the others." 

That was a second punch to the gut. The vulnerability in those words was a little too tender to touch. Marshall didn't know how deeply his children trauma-bonded with Josh, but the answer was not zero. 

"They will be home soon. Lucie is starting at your university. She's looking forward to that. Seb and Ed are working as cadets, but once they are through basic, we can assign them back here." Where they belonged.

"Lucie is coming to Colmans?"

"Yes, the business school. She wants to open her own shop eventually," Marshell said, proud of his oldest daughter. 

"She'll take over the world," Josh said, full of the same longing Marshell felt since he raised his children to take the next steps in their lives. They're adaptable to peace, which was a wonder to watch, even if a few needed to complete their conscription.