By: Chibi-chan It was late. Jessiah Black knew that much. He was the only occupant of the orphanage that was still awake. Where is that boy? he thought, referring to his son, Billy. Billy has left the house in a hurry at about seven P.M. after a phone call and still hadn't returned home. It wasn't like the boy to stay out until all hours and Jessiah was starting to get worried. Jessiah looked at the clock on the wall. It read 2:37. Heh, if it were me staying out this late, I'd never hear the end of it from him, Jessiah thought, remembering his son's seeming love of nagging people, particularly him. Even in all the time that had passed since the family reunited, Billy still didn't seem to trust his father. Jessiah was shocked that Billy had willingly left him in control of the orphanage while the boy went out… Jessiah sat at the desk that his son had put in place of the candle stand, looking through some random comic book one of the kids had left lying around. He heard someone's footsteps behind him. "Son, where are you going?" he asked. The person who was walking behind him, who was indeed his son, stopped in his tracks, "Uh… somewhere?" he said, deliberately trying to hide something from Jessiah. Jessiah got up out of the chair and turned to face Billy. "And just where is 'somewhere'?" "Not here, obviously," Billy quipped. He paused, then said, "Uh, dad? Just remember, you're in charge here while I'm gone. If you need help, just ask Prim or Maria, OK? Bye!" With that, the boy exited the house quickly. Jessiah couldn't help but chuckle. "So I'm second-in-command around here, eh?" he said to no one in particular. He seemed really anxious to get out of the house… Jessiah thought. He muttered, "Don't tell me he had some kind of date…" The thought that his son, the one that had been a priest up until a year ago, would go on a date just didn't click in his mind. It was like telling him that Bigfoot and the Yeti formed a heavy metal band with Elvis and were touring Aveh; it just didn't seem too bloody likely that it'd be true. But still, he thought, he still is a teenager… Bartholmew Fatima noticed a certain someone was missing from his bed. Half-asleep, he turned his eye to the little alarm clock on the nightstand. "Two-thirty-eight?" he mumbled. He then heard someone exit from the small bathroom that was connected to the room. "Billy?" he asked, "What are you doing up?" The former priest looked at Bart. "I'm sorry, but I have to get going…" Billy began. The sleepy ex-pirate sat up. "Why's that?" he asked. "You said you'd stay with me." Billy sighed. "I know, but they're bound to be worried about me at home since I didn't give them much information about where I was going. Besides, would you feel comfortable leaving my father in charge of anything for a long period of time?" he said. Bart smiled at his lover. "I dunno, I think Jessie's more responsible than you give him credit for. What, you think he accidentally burned the house down or something?" Billy muttered, "I was listening for sirens…" Bart's smile turned into a look of utter disbelief. "I was only kidding," he said. "Well, anyway, I have to go," Billy said as he slipped on his jacket, "I already have a bit of explaining to do as it is." He walked over to the bed they had shared just recently. "I'll see you later, OK?" he said. He leaned over and gave Bart a brief kiss. He then said, "I love you," and left the room. "Bye, kid," Bart said softly, "I love you too." Jessiah looked at the clock again. It read 2:52. "Where the hell could that boy be?!" he said in a hushed tone, not wanting to wake anybody up. It was that time he heard someone step on the porch and unlock the door. Since the only light in the room was a candle on the desk and Jessiah had stepped away from said desk, Billy was unaware that anyone else was in the room with him as he stepped through the doorway. A candle? Is dad trying to burn the house down by leaving a candle unattended?! he thought. "It's about time you showed up, son," Jessiah said from the darkness. Billy's eyes went wide as he realized his father had been waiting up for him. "Uh… it's none of your concern," he said, trying to keep some small iota of dignity. "I'm your father. You're my son. You still live here. Of course it's my concern," Jessiah said flatly. "Now, if you don't mind, would you at least give me some idea of why you were out this late?" Billy said nothing. Sheesh, how do you tell your father you've been carrying on a romantic relationship with not just another man, but one that's also royalty? he thought. "Well?" Jessiah asked. With as much confidence as he could muster, Billy answered, "If you must know, I was on a date." "With who?" Jessiah asked. "S-somebody," the former priest said, wavering slightly. Jessiah, thankfully for Billy, had decided not to ask "Who's 'somebody'?", but asked instead, "And have you been seeing 'somebody' for long?" "You could say that," Billy answered. After all, it had been close to eight months since he and his beloved had actually become a couple and they had known each other for longer than that. Alarms sounded in Jessiah's head. Something about this person makes him think I'd disapprove… Time to run the ol' Approval Test on the boy. "So, do you love this person?" he asked. Billy blushed faintly. "Yes, very much." "And… this person loves you no less?" the father asked. Billy recalled back to the times he and Bart used to argue back when they first met… and some time after that… and so on… He said with a chuckle, "He'd better." Billy only noticed his slip a moment after he said it. Oh, damn… "He", hmm? That makes sense why he'd be reluctant to tell me, Jessiah thought. "And does he treat you well?" "You could say he treats me like royalty," Billy said, relieved that his father showed no outward signs of being upset about the fact the boy was in love with another man. All the pieces to the puzzle fell together in Jessiah's head. "Well, be sure to tell Bart I said "hi" next time you see him," he said. Billy blushed further. "Yeah, I'll do that…" The boy went as quickly as he could to the door to the next room, "G'night, dad!" he said right before going to the next room. Jessiah sighed. "Oh well… It is nice to see that he's happy. And hey, it's not every parent who can say their child's dating royalty," he muttered to himself. Billy leaned against the door and took a deep breath. See? It wasn't as hard as you thought it'd be, he thought, Still, I thought I was going to pass out for a while there… He turned around to the door and whispered "Thanks for understanding, dad…" Chibi's notes: This fic was somehow inspired by Eric Clapton's rendition of "Knocking on Heaven's Door", which tells you something about my odd thought processes. It was also about 1 A.M. when the idea came to me, so that's probably part of the reason why it was inspired by that song and explains part of the way I think as well. My mind goes odd places late at night. Rudy: Tell me about it. She got the idea that me and Zed'd be a cute couple late at night too… -_-;; You two WOULD make a cute couple! ^_^ Rudy: Eh, bite my kawaii little rear, lunatic. *WHAM!* *Tosses aside broken mallet* Some people are just no fun. *sigh* Little jerk, he would end up being my muse…
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