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When Evelyn came back from fetching the kids from another sleepover at their friend Martym’s house, Simon’s face was dark and stormy, and he was stomping as he walked into the WaffleHaus. Paultin could already tell the other kids were avoiding him, even Squiddly, which was incredible; Squiddly was always messing with Simon and Simon with Squiddly, if left unattended. If they ever started getting along, the terror they’d wreak on the neighborhood would never cease. But that was beside the point, which was: Simon just took a steaming pie from the counter where Strix left them cooling, and threw it as hard as he could on the ground.
“Simon!” Evelyn cried.
“Woah, hey, let’s not—” Paultin tried, only to be drowned out by Strix’s shriek, uh-oh.
“That’s a special order, Simon, they’re paid for already!” Strix wailed, and Evelyn zoomed over and scooped Simon up in her arms, holding him kicking and struggling against her armor. She must’ve had business at the Spires today.
“I don’t care!” Simon shouted. “They’re stupid!”
“What’s gotten into you, Simon?” Evelyn asked, and Paultin narrowed his eyes. Something wasn’t right. Simon wasn’t the type for wanton destruction of property when he was upset, that was Paultin’s gig. And if it became Simon’s gig, he’d have to break him of it posthaste. Too much dangerous stuff around here to keep tossing pies and throwing tantrums.
“Nothing! I hate you!” Simon spat, and Paultin winced as Evelyn began to wilt. Strix, for her part, seemed to sense the tension and stopped fussing about the ruined pie, retreating into her kitchen after magicking away the mess. Paultin could swear he heard a soft chorus of “nope nope nope” following her as she left the room. Yeah. He kinda wished he could leave, too, but it was Parenting Time, and he’d made a commitment not to skip out on Parenting Time when it was necessary. Screaming at his mother that he hated her was Not Okay.
Evelyn, in her apparent shock and sadness, loosened up her arms, and Simon wormed his way free and ran for it, only to be caught by the scruff by Paultin, who was keeping his face carefully neutral. Simon struggled and kicked as Paultin sat him down on the bar top, his face red, but there were tears in his eyes, too. What in the world was up with his kid? Evelyn floated in the background, and Paultin paused his visual scan to offer her a crooked smile and wave her over. She bit her lip, and Paultin motioned for her more emphatically. No way she was leaving him to deal with this by himself. After a moment, Evelyn approached, and Simon stopped struggling, though he was still breathing hard and blinking back tears.
“Now,” Paultin said, “we’re gonna calm down and talk this out. And you’re gonna start by apologizing to your mother.”
“She’s not my mom,” Simon muttered, and Paultin had to stop himself from clipping the kid’s ear. Corporal punishment was not their parenting style. They’d agreed on that a while ago. Evelyn’s eyes started to get all glassy and shiny, and Paultin sighed through his nose.
“Why do you think that?” Paultin asked.
“She didn’t have me. I was a stupid toy made in stupid Barovia,” Simon replied.
“By that logic, I’m not your dad,” Paultin said. “Is that what you want this relationship to be? Hmm? Just another rando kid living in our house with the other rando kids?”
It was funny to watch Simon’s mind work; his expressions were made even more pronounced by those thick dark eyebrows of his (uncanny resemblance to Paultin’s own). “No,” Simon finally said. “I want you to be my dad.”
“It’s okay if you don’t want me to be your mom, Simon, I guess it was rude of me to assume,” Evelyn said, and she was doing a very bad job of keeping the tears at bay with how hard her hands and voice were shaking. Paultin had no idea what to do; this was Simon’s call. Simon seemed unable to look Evelyn in the face, but when Evelyn let a sob slip past her, Simon’s face started to crumple up, too. Within seconds they were both boo-hooing, and Paultin’s insides squirmed. He didn’t know how to handle tears other than to fetch tissues, but the closest thing he had were bar napkins; he passed them over, and the twin honks Evelyn and Simon let out from blowing their noses into the napkins were almost perfectly in tune with each other. It made him smile, but better not let them see that.
“No, I w-want you to b-be my m-m-mom,” Simon bawled, and Evelyn let loose a weepy laugh. “I’m s-s-sorry I was mean.”
“It’s okay,” Evelyn said, and Paultin felt now was the time to step in.
“No, it’s not,” he said firmly, passing over more napkins. Simon, after the initial wave, was a little more in control of himself right now than Evelyn, who was surely switching over to happy tears at the moment and would cry herself out soon. The guilty look on Simon’s puffy, reddened face was made that much more pathetic by the occasional sniffs and leaky eyes. “Listen, blowing up when you’re mad is normal, but saying stuff like that isn’t okay no matter how mad you are. Alright?” Simon nodded. Paultin exhaled. “Alright. Are you gonna tell us why you’re so pissed and the other kids aren’t?”
“They’re orphans,” Simon said, and scrubbed his face with a new napkin. “They don’t get it. They’ve never had parents.”
“What does that have to do with it?” Paultin asked as Evelyn took several deep breaths. Simon fidgeted until Evelyn’s breathing was normal again.
“Well, we went over to Martym’s to play,” Simon said slowly. “And…and he told us his parents were splitting up. But when I watched them, they didn’t look like they were splitting up, they just looked sad. They even held hands. It looked like they loved each other, but then his dad left to sleep somewhere else.” Simon looked up at Paultin. “It’s weird. I don’t get it. And it made me mad.”
“Why would that make you mad, sweetheart?” Evelyn asked. “It’s always sad when a relationship ends, but if it’s someone else’s parents, there’s no reason to fuss this much over it. It’s real sweet that you’re upset for your friend, but he seems alright with it.”
“But why?” Simon complained, his cheeks reddening again. “I don’t get it. If they love each other, why aren’t they together?”
“Because,” Paultin said, and looked at Evelyn with wide help me eyes, “um…” When she shrugged and shook her head, Paultin sighed. “Listen, kiddo. Sometimes love just isn’t enough.”
“What does that mean?” Simon asked, and the outrage in his squeaky voice was almost comical. “Mom says love is the greatest thing ever.”
“And it is,” Evelyn said, wiping the last of the runny mascara from under her eyes. “But love can’t grow where it isn’t nurtured. There are things love needs to live, like all living things.”
“Like what?”
“Like trust,” Evelyn said, and looked over Simon’s head at Paultin as Simon started kicking his feet aimlessly in the space over the bar. In the silence Paultin frowned at her, and she gestured with her head towards Simon.
“And acceptance,” Paultin added, and for some reason couldn’t seem to shake her gaze. Her eyes being all red with tears made the blue really pop.
“And consideration,” Evelyn said, hardly blinking. Were they still talking to Simon here?
“And time,” Paultin said, and finally tore his eyes away from hers, looking back down at the thoughtful pout on Simon’s face. “And a whole bunch of other things. Sometimes, even trying your best, love just…dies.”
“Changes,” Evelyn corrected, and Paultin jerked his head up again. “I don’t think love ever truly dies. It just takes on different forms.” She smiled softly, and put her arm around Simon, breaking eye contact with Paultin. “Even when people pass on and leave us, their love for us is still here in our hearts, and in their hearts wherever their spirits are.”
“Like with you guys and your parents?” Simon asked, and Paultin snorted. No filter with this kid. Evelyn visibly blinked back tears again, but she was still smiling.
“Absolutely,” Evelyn said, and hugged him. “Don’t you worry about your friend, I’m sure he’s going to be just fine. It’ll take some adjustment, but I’m sure everyone will be happier in the end.”
“I guess,” Simon huffed, but he was squeezing Evelyn back, and reached out an arm for Paultin, who tried his best to get an awkward side-hug in there. Evelyn and Simon both pulled him into them, squashing them into a very uncomfortable (for Paultin, anyway) three-person hug that relaxed into something much more comfortable once Paultin didn’t have a face full of pauldron and a gut full of shoulder. Simon sighed, then sniffed. “I love you guys.”
“Love you too, buddy,” Paultin said, ruffling Simon’s hair, and Evelyn hummed in agreement, kissing the top of his head. Simon squirmed, and Paultin and Evelyn backed off so he could get out from between them and hop down off the bar. He started to run off, then skidded to a stop and ran back.
“Hey, I have another question,” Simon said.
“Yeah?” Paultin asked, just as Evelyn said, “What is it, pumpkin?”
“If you guys end up with other people, do I have to call them Mom and Dad, too?” Simon asked, and at Paultin’s blank-faced stare and Evelyn’s muffled squeak Simon’s face cracked into an innocent smile. “Just wondering. Bye!” He ran off, and Paultin let out the breath he’d been holding, scrunching forward to put his head in his hands. That kid. Gonna be the death of him, one day.
“Um…parenting high-five?” Evelyn said, and Paultin looked up to see Evelyn holding up her hand, ready to go for high-fiving, her expression something like determination and badly-concealed hope. It tore at him, somehow, made even worse by how he could still see the tear tracks on her cheeks. He cracked a weak smile back and met her high-five with his hand.
“Could’ve gone worse,” Paultin said, and leaned his head on his hand as Evelyn smiled and flitted away, already humming some Lathander hymn—wait, no, that was one of his, he’d played it a couple nights ago. It just sounded different in her high voice.
Y’know, thinking back on it, Love Never Dies was an awesome name for a song. He should try something along those lines one day. One day. For now, an hour of making fart noises into the Harper’s listening lute sounded like a great way to spend an afternoon.