You're Mistaken (An Arthur Ketch fanfic)

Part 6

So what does happen now? 

 "I think that's something your mother and I need to discuss...privately," Arthur said after a moment of silence. Y/S/N nodded before speaking up again. "Mom? Can we go home now? I'm hungry." You laughed lightly. "That sounds like a plan." Your son asked if Arthur could join you and you agreed softly. Arthur was right. You would have to talk about the future now that he knew about Y/S/N.

Arthur agreed to drive you and Y/S/N home to get cleaned up and then grab something for dinner. Afterwards, Arthur joined you on the couch in your small home. The three of you watched a movie until your son began yawning. As he made his way to his room to go to bed, Y/S/N turned toward you and Arthur. "I'm really glad I met you, Dad. Thanks for saving Mom and then me. You're awesome." With that, he went to bed, leaving you and Arthur alone once more.

Clearing your throat, you turned your attention back to your former lover. You opened your mouth to speak, but Arthur beat you to it. "I want to be in his life. If you'll let me." You blinked in surprise. You hadn't expected him to want to stick around. In truth, he hadn't expected it of himself either. But he did know one thing. Now that he knew his son, he didn't want to just disappear. If only to make certain the boy was safe and happy.

"Are you sure, Arthur? Because once you're in, you're in for good. You can't just run off for weeks, months, or years at a time with no word. You can't break his heart and leave me to pick up the pieces. If he calls, you answer the phone or you call him back when you can. If you say you're going to come see him, you better show up unless it's an emergency. Don't make promises you can't keep."

You half wished he would back down after that. You expected him to. Even though it had been over a decade since the last time you'd seen Arthur, your feelings for him had only diminished slightly. After all, you had a daily reminder of the man you once loved with everything you had in you to love. But you were scared of getting too close again and it being your heart getting broken along with your son's. So, you gave him the ultimatum.

"I can agree to that," he said without batting an eyelash. He regarded your expression with a smirk. Your eyes were wide and your lips were slightly parted in shock. "Oh don't look so surprised, darling. I've had time to think this over. I have been stewing on this from the moment Y/S/N entered the base the first time and told me that he was my son." You closed your mouth and nodded. "Alright then. I guess I have to get used to co-parenting now." Arthur chuckled lightly. "Indeed. But what of our relationship?"

You bit your lip and shook your head. "I can't think about that, Arthur. Y/S/N comes first and I don't want to overwhelm him. Or ourselves." Arthur's gaze never faltered the way your voice did then. He just stared at you intently. "Very well. Then I suppose I should be going. Until next we meet, Y/N." You smiled and showed him to the door.

Six months later

You smiled as you heard the front door crash open. It didn't take long for you to hear Y/S/N calling out to you. He came running into the kitchen, his paper target in his hands. "Mom! Look what I did!" You glanced at the paper target and then at your son, who was sporting a proud grin. The only thing he wanted from his father for his birthday was to go shooting range and Arthur had agreed to take him so you could finish the cake.

"The boy is a natural," Arthur said from the doorway. There was a hint of pride in his voice, but with something else lying beneath that you couldn't quite place. That puzzled you. Over the last six months, you and Arthur had unintentionally gotten closer again and you were able to read his moods almost as well as you could read Y/S/N's. There was something bothering him. However, you couldn't talk to him about it with Y/S/N standing there.

"Did you have fun?" you asked, peeling your eyes away from Arthur. Y/S/N nodded vigorously. "Dad's a great teacher! He said if I keep practicing, I'll be as good as he is one day!" The excitement in his voice made both and Arthur smile softly. It had been a long time since you'd seen your son so happy. Arthur had played a large part in that. So far, he had kept his end of the deal. He was there if Y/S/N needed him, even staying in a little apartment a few miles away from your house just to be near Y/S/N.

"Why don't you go put that in your room and get a shower? I need to talk to your dad for a minute before we go grab your birthday dinner." The now twelve-year-old boy turned to leave the room and cried out, "Best birthday ever!" You laughed along with Arthur. But the laughter died as soon as Y/S/N was out of earshot.

You turned back to Arthur. "What's wrong?" you asked him. He let out a little chuckle. "You always could see right through me, couldn't you?" Then, he sighed and placed one hand in the pocket of his trousers. That's how you really knew something was wrong. He only did that when he had bad or serious news.

"I've been called back to London." Those six words sent your world screeching to a halt yet again. Flashbacks of the years before flooded your mind. "I see. Are you going to leave again? To tell me again that I was just a distraction? That we were just a way to pass the time?" you snapped, unable to help yourself.

Arthur shook his head. "It isn't like that, Y/N. Mick telephoned while Y/S/N and I were out. The old men have decided that the old ways are no longer effective. They've asked Mick and I to take over Kendrick's with new methods of training hunters and British Men of Letters. More humane ways. No more senseless killing. Apparently the American hunters are still cleaning up the mess the British Men of Letters made, including killing those that try to kill them. The British Men of Letters is becoming extinct. They want us to change the way things are run so we can work with the American hunters and not against them."

"That still has you leaving...again! What do you expect me to tell Y/S/N? That his father decided once again that we weren't enough for him and that his damn organization is more important than his only son?!" you were yelling now and hoped that Y/S/N was still in the shower. "You're mistaken, Y/N. I'm not leaving his life, at least not for good. I want him to come with me."

"No. No way in Hell," you stated simply and Arthur sighed, prompting you to continue, "I'm not letting you take my son from me. Not like that woman wanted to do!" You could see Arthur's face turning red as his own anger climbed. "WILL YOU LISTEN?!" he shouted before clearing his throat and continuing in a softer voice, "I'm not planning on taking him away from you. I want you both to come to London with me."