Work Text:
After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the school day was finally over. Pump gleefully skipped along his way back home, uniform’s bespoke cardigan in tow, a certain spring in his step apparent that does not typically show itself on days that aren't October 31st.
This day was a day he had been looking forward to for a while; the day his parents were coming back home after their sixteen day business trip. Although said business trips were frequent for the couple, it was never something Pump got wholly used to. He was always sad to see them go, acting like they would be gone forever, and overjoyed when they came back, as if they had been gone forever. After all, sixteen whole days is a long time for a little boy like him who loves his Mom and Dad to pieces.
He grinned ear to ear at the remembrance of the fact that those sixteen days were over. He recalled from a phone call the day before that they were going to be back by the time he had finished school that day, smiling as the thought crossed his mind. He paid no regard to the other children and their parents walking the same path as himself, instead focusing on his desire to get back home as fast as possible and see two of his favourite people. His heart raced as he went.
He had felt this exact same aura of excitement many times before. Because of how often Mom and Dad partook in their work endeavours, he would get this feeling often. His buzz of excitement was his favourite part of the whole process of waiting for them to come back, often looking back at these feelings fondly. One thing he did not enjoy about it, however, was how the school day dragged on each and every time.
He enjoyed school. He was always what the teachers referred to as 'a pleasure to have in class', and he believed it wholeheartedly. Being in that building was something he enjoyed, except on days like these where he was expecting his parents back: school days that were typically enjoyable would become insufferable, everybody except his only friend becoming aggravating to be around. He would spend most of the day staring at the clock, unable to focus on any work because he was so preoccupied on how many hours were left before he could see his parents.
This happened every time his parents were expected to be back on a school day, and today was no exception. He had, again, spent the day focusing on the ticking clock instead of focusing on schoolwork. His excitement got more intense as the day dragged on, making the school hours feel like absolutely forever. He didn't mind, though, he didn't care anymore; he was on his way home to see who he had been looking forward to see all day!
Once stepping foot into the driveway of his home, he immediately noticed something amiss: the car that his father drove was nowhere to be seen. He furrowed his brow, looking around the driveway, noticing only the car that his grandpa drove. Weird, he thought, they were supposed to be back by now.
He stood there for a moment, and then promptly shook his head; maybe they had driven the car to the store; the house was looking barren after all.
His positive and excited attitude had returned as quickly as it dissipated and he walked into the house with a distinct spring in his step. He wore a bright smile on his face, expecting to see his parents on the sofa - but was immediately met with no one, except his Grandpa fast asleep on his signature armchair.
The smile on his face faded upon noticing that the house was quiet, aside from the quiet murmur of the TV program Grandpa had on before he fell asleep.
He glanced at the TV, and then looked around, clueless, as if this was not the house he was expecting to walk into.
Typically, when Mom and Dad had returned home, the house wouldn't be quiet. It would be filled with sounds of pleasant conversation, but this time it wasn't - instead, it was as quiet as it typically was when Mom and Dad were gone.
Maybe because Grandpa was sleeping?
Though, even when he was sleeping, the house was never dead quiet if Mom and Dad were back; everyone was used to Grandpa's antics and they knew a little bit of distant conversation would not affect his sleep.
Not wanting to wake him up, Pump slinked past his armchair and checked other rooms of the house. There were no signs of Mom or Dad in the main living room, or the kitchen, or any of the bedrooms, and the house stayed stagnant, quiet as ever, almost as if one could hear a pin drop.
He stood in the middle of the corridor, eyeing the pictures on the walls, when he caught his excitement and hope dwindling. He shook his head, getting rid of the pessimistic thoughts forming: of course they were back! Surely they were just at the store and would be back here in no time, he thought.
Not wanting his excitement to dwindle down to nothing, he promptly walked over and let himself into Susie’s room, almost expecting Mom and Dad to be in there talking to her, perhaps wondering how her own school antics had been. Maybe she was talking to them about distant gossip he was never allowed to know, or art, as that was always her forté, her best school subject.
However, upon opening the door, it was just her. Her phone on her bed as she stood close to her desk, evidently just about to set up her digital art equipment.
He then looked at her. The two locked eyes, and he immediately noticed her uncharacteristically disappointed eyes, the typical sparkle in them gone.
“You look sad.” He immediately began, dropping his cardigan onto the floor. “Are Mom and Dad back yet?” He asked.
She looked at him for a moment, brows furrowed. “Did Grandpa not tell you?”
“He's sleeping. He hasn't told me anything.”
“And you just got back from school?”
“Yeah.”
“But-” she began, moving past Pump and glancing outside her doorway and at the two’s sleeping grandfather. “He said he'd be awake by the time you got back-”
“He isn't though…” He promptly glanced outside as she did, and then looked right at her and his expression softened into something more worried than confused: “What's going on?”
Susie sighed, closing the door to her room as she sat at her desk. She waited until Pump was sitting on the foot of her bed to speak.
“Grandpa was meant to tell you when you walked in the door, but I guess I will…” she began, sighing once again after she spoke. “So you know how for the past, what, two and a half weeks they've been telling us that they were meant to come back today?”
“Yeah?”
“Turns out, no, they're not coming back today, they're staying until the weekend because of some emergency client thing.”
Upon hearing that, he felt his heart drop and his hope dwindle. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
He sat there quietly, looking around Susie’s unbearably pink room as he felt his vision go cloudy. His eyes landed on the picture of Mom and Dad with the words ‘We love you so much’ written at the top. He then felt the tears in his eyes involuntarily fall, and looked down at his hands fidgeting with one another.
The sadness he had felt during moments neither mom or dad would pick up the phone came back to him quicker than a tidal wave would've. The same sadness he felt when they first told him they had a business trip to attend.
Both him and Susie had mutually felt this kind of sadness whenever these issues would occur. Although deep down they both knew it wasn't their parents' fault, they, especially Pump, simply wished they could at least say ‘Hello’ or ‘Have a good day’ to their parents in person, instead of having to ship packages and cards, or having to dial a phone number he always struggled to remember.
Of course, there was Grandpa, but he simply could not deliver what their parents could, the two had talked about this prior.
This kind of longing he felt was quite complex for his age, and it overwhelmed him, leaving him in tears.
He just wanted his parents more than anyone else at that moment.
Susie looked back and, upon noticing her baby brother’s upset, neglected what she was tending to on her desk and sat down next to him.
“It's okay, they said on call earlier today they couldn't really nope out of it…and plus, we can wait until the weekend. We can call them too.” She muttered. She, too, thought the situation was ridiculous and was upset just like her brother, but was trying to comfort him nonetheless.
“But they said they were supposed to be back today…!” He whined, his shaky voice turning into a sob. Susie promptly pulled him into a hug, and he immediately hid against her.
“I know, but nobody could really avoid this coming- it's stupid, but they're upset about it too. The best we can do is just wait for the weekend.”
“But…” he attempted to respond, sniffling. He pulled back from the hug ever so slightly and dried some of the tears that had fallen down his pitiful red face. “But we all miss them…”
Susie forced out a faint laugh. “Yeah, I know, they miss us too…but it's gonna be fine...I promise. They'll be here on the weekend…look at the bright side, we won't be at school by the time they come back!” She said, putting on an optimistic tone to, hopefully, cheer her brother up.
It seemed to work ever so slightly, as he wiped more of his tears and his whines turned into faint giggles. “Y-yeah…”
Tears fell down his face again.
“See? So it's fine. There's no need to cry.” She reassured, taking her uniform's blazer’s sleeves and drying his tears for him. He then promptly hugged her again, and she hugged back, arms around each other.
The two stayed like that for a while, as they both simultaneously and unknowingly pondered the same thing. They both longed for the same thing: their parents, and not being able to have them was, admittedly, something they both found upsetting.
Sometimes all a child wants is their parents, regardless of their ages.
In the midst of the silence between the siblings, Pump was drifting off to sleep, unable to keep his heavy eyes open. However, just before he drifted off, Susie noticed. She wanted to keep him awake.
“I know I don't let you use my art stuff, but…”
Before she completed her offer, his eyes lit up and he looked straight up at her. She let out a giggle upon seeing this.
“That woke you up- anyway, if it'll help you feel a little better, you can draw something if you want to.”
His eyes lit up even more hearing the offer, and he started to giggle, as if he wasn't crying ten minutes prior. “Yeah! Please!”
“Alright-” She smiled, releasing him from the hug. She got up and pulled the pencils, crayons, and a piece of paper from her drawer, pulling her own drawing tablet out of a separate drawer. She then looked back at Pump, noticing his eager grin. She smiled back at him: “Maybe draw something for them for when they get back.”
“Yeah! I can do that! Thank you!” He eagerly went over to her desk, picking out crayons and drawing what came to his mind first. It, for once, was nothing morbid.
She, on the other hand, took her drawing tablet, connecting it to the computer on her bed.
The two drew their own respective art pieces, silence hanging in the air between them both. To Susie’s relief, Pump was very obviously feeling better about the situation their Mom and Dad had wrapped themselves up in, and he seemed to accept quite quickly that he would have to wait a little while.
☆
It had become Saturday quicker than the two had expected. This time, they were stationed in the living room, doing their own separate things.
The day prior, the family had gotten confirmation that mom and dad were due to be back the next day. Because of this, Pump had uncharacteristically denied the offer to spend time with Skid that day. It had been a tradition for the two to play out on Saturdays, but he denied it so he could see his parents when they walked through the door. It also contributed to the reason why he decided to spend most of the day in the living room, as the front door was visible from said room.
He sat on the carpeted floor. There was a set of plastic figures on it in front of him, however his makeshift game was momentarily paused and his focus shifted from that to the front door; he had heard a car pull up in the driveway. He scanned the living room, and Grandpa was right there, in his armchair, so his own car surely was not the one pulling up.
He stared eagerly at the front door, hoping, praying that it must be mom and dad. He stared, and noticed the doorknob twisting. His eyes lit up, and upon noticing the one opening the door, he started to giggle.
“Dad!”
“Heyy! Wi- oh!”
Before he could finish his own statement, his son had darted over to him, dropping the figure in his hand and latching himself onto his Dad’s leg, as a means of hugging him. He picked the boy up and held him tight, as if he hadn't seen his son in forever. Susie then came in shortly after, hugging her Mom who had entered the house shortly after.
Shortly after the commotion, the two’s Dad went and complained to his own father about the chaos that had occurred with clients and travel, preventing them from getting home until that day.
Now, hopefully, their next work trip shouldn't have such an issue.