Chapter Text
It was dark. Very dark.
The house was quiet save for the occasional creak and groan of the old Benbow Inn, a sign of the buildings growing age.
The floors were hard and cold against against Jim’s tiny feet as he crept, quickly and quietly down the halls, trying as best as a 3-year-old could to navigate his way through the house without waking any of the sleeping inhabitants.
Normally, by this time of night, Jim would be tucked snuggly under the covers, fast asleep in his bed, dreaming of shooting stars and tales of pirates and treasure, but tonight was not like other nights. Tonight, Jim was on a mission, and he was determined to see it all the way through.
After what felt like an eternity, Jim finally reached his destination. The door he stood before looked no different to any of the other doors that lined the hallway, but it was not the door itself that set apart this room from all the others, but rather the inhabitants of it. Reaching up, Jim wrapped his tiny hand around the doorknob, and as quietly as he could, turned the brass knob and pushed, allowing the door to swing open, and for him to enter.
This room in particular was one that Jim was very familiar with, as it had, at one point, been his room. All of his things had to be moved out to a different room earlier in the year however, to make room for the ‘new additions’ that had arrived a few weeks previously.
Jim giggled excitedly to himself as he trotted across the room toward the crib situated against the back wall of the room. Pressing his forehead against the bars, Jim peered into the crib, his attention totally fixated on the two tiny infants sleeping peacefully beside one another.
“Hi Eli. Hi Annie” Jim whispered quietly, not wanting to wake his new baby siblings up.
Jim had always been jealous of his friends who had little siblings, and had wanted a little brother or sister of his own for as long as he could remember. When his mother told him a few months ago that he was going to be a big brother, to not one, but two baby siblings, Jim was beyond elated by the news, and had spent no shortage of time pestering his parents about when his new baby siblings would arrive. Now that the twins were finally here, Jim simply couldn’t get enough of them, and began sneaking into their room at night so that he could watch over them and make sure they were safe.
Using the bars to help keep his balance, Jim began to slowly climb up the side of the crib, trying his best to make as little noise as possible. Once he reached the top of the crib, Jim swings his leg over, sitting with each leg on either side of the wooden beam, taking a moment to balance himself before slowly lowering himself onto the mattress, careful not to accidentally step on one of the twins.
“James Pleiades Silver” a deep voice whispered harshly. Jim looked up and gasped, seeing the silhouette of a hulking figure standing in the entrance to the room.
“No” Jim protested, trying to sink further into the crib as the large man trudged into the room toward the young boy.
“Nooooo” the boy whined, shying away from the approaching man only to end up cornered by the other side of the crib, and before Jim could even think of another escape route, a pair of big, meaty hands had already wrapped themselves around his midsection, lifted him into the air, and placed the toddler gently against a broad shoulder.
“Pap, please” Jim pleaded as his father carried him out of the room, closing the door to the nursery behind him.
“Jimbo. Do ye have any idea how late i’ tis. Ye shoulda been asleep hours ago” John scolded harshly as he trudged down the hallway toward Jim’s room.
“But Pap, I need to watch the pups” Jim tried to explain, but his words fell on deaf ears.
“Pups don’ need watchin’ lad, dey’ll be jus’ fine” John sighs tiredly.
“But Pap I-”
“James” John snapped, cutting the boy off before he could continue, a quick indication that Jim was to stop talking. The boy deflated, turning his gaze down toward his hands, before leaning down to rest his head against his father’s shoulder in defeat. John sighed again, his frustration quickly turning to guilt as he continued walking down the hallway, his son refusing to look him in the eyes.
Jim hated it when Pap called him by his full name. Pap never called him by his full name. He was always ‘Jim’ or ‘Jimbo’ or ‘kiddo’ or ‘pup’ or ‘twit’ or ‘little scamp’, but never ‘James’. The only times Pap ever called Jim ‘James’ was when the boy was being especially ill-behaved, and even then the scolding tone he used was never quite this harsh.
The sound of a door swinging open tells Jim that they’d arrived back at his room. John closes the door behind him before flicking the light on, illuminating the otherwise pitch dark room.
“A’right now, back into bed wit’ ya” John says, gently lowering Jim into his own bed. The boy continues to look down at his hands, avoiding his father’s gaze and saying nothing.
“Jim” John said, his voice softer and gentler than it had been a moment ago. Jim ignores him.
“Jimbo” he repeats, taking a seat on the bed, trying to catch the boy’s eye. Jim looks away stubbornly.
“Com’on lad, look a’ me will ya” John pleads, placing a finger under Jim’s chin and gently lifting it so the boy will look at him, using his thumb to wipe away at a few tears that wetted the boy’s cheeks.
“Wha’s goin’ on Jimbo? Dis is the tird time jus’ dis week I’ve caught ye up in the middle o’ the nigh’, sneakin’ into the pup’s room.” Jim frowns, wiping his nose on his sleeve.
“I wanna watch the pups” Jim says bluntly. John heaves another tired sigh, rubbing his eyes with his organic hand.
“Jimbo, yer Mum an’ I are tired. Between the twins, yer Mum runnin’ the Inn nearly all by ‘erself, and me havin’ to go to work still, dere’s barely enough time in the day fer us to get everyting done, an’ dis tomfoolery o’ yers ain’ helpin’ neither.” Jim sniffles, casting his gaze back down toward his hands in shame.
“I know Mum an’ I haven’ been dere for ye lately an’ I’m sorry lad, I really am. But wit’ everyting dat’s been goin’ on lately we jus’ don’ have the time we used to.”
“I know” Jim mutters softly, fresh tears beginning to fall down his cheeks.
“I know you and Mum are tired and that things are different because the pups are here, so I wanted to try and help by watching the pups so you and Mum don’t have to worry about it, that way you don’t have to work so hard all the time” Jim sniffles, trying to wipe away the tears that leaked from his eyes. Throughout this whole ordeal, John’s expression had shifted from tired and frustrated to soft and understanding.
“Ah Jim… com‘ere you.” Jim wastes no time scrambling into his father’s arms, latching into his shirt with tiny fists and burying his nose into the crook of his neck, snuggling as close to his Pap as he physically could. A metallic hand lays itself gently against Jim’s back, rubbing gentle and comforting circles into the boy’s skin. To others, the ‘hunks of hardware’ that John had to wear in the aftermath of ‘The Incident’, were very strange and unnatural, what with all their nuts and bolts and extra attachments that made them more of a glorified Swiss Army knife than prosthetic limbs. But Jim was completely unbothered by the metallic appendages, having been far too young to even remember a time before his Pap needed prosthetics in order to get around and function like everybody else.
Every so often, a couple of Jim’s friends at daycare would ask him if he liked having a cyborg for a dad, a question that confused little Jim to no end every time it was asked. Whenever Jim looked at John all he ever saw was his Pap, not some crazy weaponized cyborg like the ones in some of his story books. Pap’s arm didn’t have a sword or a gun, it had a knife and some tools that he used at work or to fix things around the house. His leg didn’t have a bazooka that shot grenades or blew open doors, it was just a plain old metal peg that helped his Pap walk around. And although his eye and ear did give him incredible hearing and x-ray vision, Pap only ever used it for tracking Jim down during a game of hide and seek or looking into rooms without having to open the doors. Compared to the cyborgs that Jim was familiar with, his Pap was positively ordinary, but Pap was Pap and Jim loved his Pap with all his heart, and since the metal prosthetics were just another part of his Pap, then that meant he loved them too, regardless of how strange other people thought they were.
A few moments of silence pass before John finally peels Jim from his shirt, placing the sniffling boy on his knee.
“I’m sorry, Pap” Jim apologizes, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Ah, ‘s alright lad. Ye were jus’ tryin’ to help. Yer a good man, lookin’ after yer siblings an’ makin’ sure dey’re safe, ye know tha’?” Jim nods his head, a small smile spreading across his lips. His Pap smiles back at him.
“Tell ye wha’, after tings have settled down a bit more an’ the twins are a little bit older, what’dya say we all go visit Gram and Gramp for a few days?” Jim brightens immediately.
“Really? You mean it?”
“Course I do” John chuckles. “An’ we can do wha’ever ye want while we’re dere too, how’s dat sound?”
Jim nods his head excitedly, his mood now massively improved with the promise of getting to go visit his Grandparents. Jim pauses as a thought crosses his mind.
“Pap, will you teach me how to solar surf?” A surprised expression flashes across John’s face, completely caught off guard by his son’s request.
“I don’ know ‘bout dat lad, I tink ye might still be a bit young fer it” John answers apprehensively.
“Please, please, pretty please, Pap” Jim begs, pouting up at his father. John rubs the back of his neck with his metal arm, unsure of what to say.
“Well, yer Mum wanted me to wait a few more years before I tried teachin’ ye how to solar surf or anyting but… I suppose it wouldn’ hurt too much if ye started learnin’ a bit early.” A wide grin spreads across Jim’s face, and the boy burst out laughing, reaching over to wrap his little arms around John’s belly. The older man chuckles.
“A’right ye little trouble maker, time fer bed” John says, lifting Jim off his knee and placing the small boy on the mattress, tucking the blankets snuggly around him. With a ruffle of Jim’s hair, John gets up from the bed and heads toward the door.
“Pap” Jim calls, stopping John just as he’s about to flick the lights off.
“Wha’ is i’ lad?”
“I love you.” John stares at the small boy for a moment, eyes wide with shock, before a warm, affectionate smile spreads across his lips. John abandons his spot at the door and trudges back over toward Jim, placing a kiss to the top of his head and wrapping his arm around the boy.
“I love ye too Jimbo. Now ge’ some shut eye, yer a nightmare to deal wit’ in the mornin’ as i’ is, much less when yer low on sleep.” Jim giggles to himself, knowing that his Pap was only teasing him.
“Goodnight, Pap” Jim calls, stifling a yawn as he gets comfortable under his blanket.
“G‘night, Jimbo.” And with that, John flicks the light off and gently closes the door behind him, leaving Jim to drift slowly into a restful slumber, dreaming of space ships, the etherium, and a planet made entirely out of gold.