Work Text:
Outside of the Campbell’s house blared an infuriatingly familiar car horn. “SHIT!” David yelled from upstairs, followed by the distinct sound of the two boys scrambling. Harry had been reclining in the living room trying to enjoy this unusually peaceful Thursday night. Evidently, that was no longer the case, as he bookmarked his novel and begrudgingly made his way to chat with the man outside.
As usual, Harry opened the door to find William sitting in his idle car, windows rolled down to show his face scrunched into an impatient scowl. “C’mon David!” he snapped, driving the heel of his palm further into the horn. Harry grimaced and wondered how neither of them had suffered from permanent hearing loss yet.
“Good evening, William.” Harry called out, trying to keep his greeting warm even though he had to yell to be heard.
William’s head swiveled to the porch and he lifted his hand away from the wheel in a dismissive wave. “Evening, Harry,” he responded with not an ounce of a smile, “what’s taking him so long in there?”
Despite the man radiating frustration, Harry plastered on a soft smile and responded evenly, “Exams are coming up. Last I checked on them they had worksheets all over the place. I told them to keep it organized but, well…” he shrugged his shoulders as if to say “what can you do,” trying his best to ignore how tense and rigid the movement felt. Harry didn’t like lying, but if it was for the boys’ safety, he would lie about damn near anything.
This seemed to somewhat appease him, judging by how William fell back into his seat with a huff. Harry turned his attention to inside the house, unable to hear any tumbling of footsteps down the stairs. He needed to stall for longer.
In a scramble for a topic, any topic, Harry mindlessly asked, “Did you do anything fun last weekend? Might be the last time we get weather that good.”
Harry’s musings caught the man’s attention, earning him a shot of pride over the success. William leaned as far as he could towards the open window and tilted his head slightly. The pride twisted in Harry’s gut. William’s grin felt… off. “Nothing as interesting as what you did, if I heard correctly.”
A jolt of panic rattled through Harry as he realized what he just walked himself into. Oh….. shit.
“You went up to the city for that protest for those queers, right?” He chuckled, clearly noticing the way Harry’s brows had shot up in surprise. “Trying to find yourself a specimen to examine?”
Fists clenched in the bend of Harry’s arm; his pulse flared with righteous anger. He thought of every patient of his who had come out to him, how frequently they had to deal with parents like William who made their hatred abundantly clear. How many times these kids had asked him how they could be fixed so their parents would actually love them. How, despite his best efforts to raise him in a safe environment, Exer, his own son, had struggled to accept himself.
How he saw that same turmoil in David.
How he was standing here, on his own front porch, distracting another father so he didn’t start to wonder if maybe his boy wasn’t actually doing homework with his ‘best friend.’
Harry took an extended breath, trying his hardest to keep himself outwardly calm. William didn’t deserve the satisfaction of seeing Harry pissed off. “I think of it more like campaigning for people in general.”
William rolled his eyes and groaned, “You wouldn’t be saying that if your son was one of them.”
Right then and there, Harry knew: he hated William. He was never fond of him to begin with; he was always pushing for the boys to be the perfect examples of masculinity, even to their own determent. It extended to Exer, and there was one time he crossed the line and had to be reminded that Exer was not his son, but Harry’s. He was thankful that David came flying out from the front door at that moment because, if he had to tolerate one more second of this irate piece of work, he would not be able to control what he said.
David clambered into the passenger seat, apologizing repeatedly for taking so long. William grumbled something about rolling up the window and drove off without allowing a goodbye. Harry let out a long-held sigh and every muscle in his body relaxed. Finally, it was over.
Exer echoed his father’s sigh, reminding him that he was not alone. “Thanks for occupying him, dad. Sorry that we took so long.”
“He shouldn’t be rushing you two like that,” Harry shook his head, “Especially when he doesn’t tell David when he’s being picked up.”
“Yeah,” Exer agreed, “He’s such a- I just- It really-“ Harry could tell Exer was trying his hardest not to directly insult William. It was amusing, given how Harry was trying not to do the same. “It really sucks.”
They stood for a beat in silent mutual agreement, neither of them knowing what could be done to help David’s situation. Another thing Harry hated was how helpless he had felt the past month when it came to, well, helping people. First with Jackson, now with David. At least he could be there for Exer. He could guarantee, best as he could, that his home life would be good. He glanced down to Exer, who was staring solemnly down the street, the Millers’ taillights no longer in sight. A cool gust brushed by, as if it was ushering them inside and, with a hand on his son’s shoulder, Harry directed himself and Exer back to the warm comforts of their home.