Chapter Text
“I’ve had enough of this!”
His fingers grasping his fork loosened, startled at the exclamation at the dinner table. Yelling matches between his parents weren’t uncommon, in fact he would often chalk up at least once or twice a day to hear them upon his return home from break. There were of course times when he wouldn’t hear either of them, his father using his work to keep away from the house while his mother seemed to always be in the house unless she had to leave for a work reason. Even then he would be requested to come along to watch her as he always had as a child.
His throat tightened as he lifted his eyes from his plate towards the opposite end of the table.
Usually, his eyes would go towards the right where his mother would be.
Perched at the edge of her seat, feet firmly planted upon the floor and head lifted as she would stare down towards his father. Her hands on her lap despite the cutthroat words she would toss across to his father on the other end. Yet this time Riddle’s attention was to the left, to where his father sat.
His father rarely attended dinner at the table and when he did it was either a silent affair or a spiteful verbal jousting towards the end.
However tonight was…Different.
“I beg your pardon.”
His father rolled his eyes at his mother who lifted her chin up at the action, “You’re speaking to me in that way. Do you have any idea what that means.” Riddle couldn’t help the subtle flinch in his own posture along with his father’s own body from the corner of his eye.
It wasn’t a question….It was a demand. A slight reprimand with a hint of a warning to his father to be careful. How many times had Riddle come to always hear that tone? Yet his father, for once, did not respond as normal.
No, his father only straightened his posture instead of curling into himself.
“Yes, I am,” his father responded as he slowly stood up, “And you already know why.”
“I don’t approve of this.”
“I don’t need your approval for this, it’s his choice.”
His choice…?
His? As in…Riddle has to decide?
Riddle could feel dread settle in his stomach, trying to keep himself as still as possible as he could feel his mother’s gaze shift towards him. What was happening?
“The answer is no.”
“This is his choice to make, not yours,” his father gritted his teeth and Riddle could feel his body shake as his father was now looking at him.
“…I…”
What was happening?
“Riddle,” his mother spoke up and he looked at her. On instinct, years of hearing her voice call to him and obedience followed right after. No arguments, no negotiations…Riddle swallowed the lump in his throat as he sat in silence under her gaze. She seemed pleased at his silence before his father spoke up.
“I want to take you to meet my family, not here. But back home.”
Riddle looked at his father.
His…Family?
His mother angrily slamming her hands down on the table, “He is not going and that is final!”
“Didn’t I just say this was his choice?!” His father yelled back and Riddle could feel himself grow a bit dizzy the longer he sat between them. Both of them sinking into their usual argument…Riddle feeling like his limbs were in water.
A faint memory of seagulls in the sky, the way the sand felt underneath his feet…And the waves of the ocean.
Riddle remembered the picture of the mermaid princess back at school.
He hesitated, feeling more and more like a child as he sat at the dining room table. Dread, giddiness, fear, frustration…Emotions colliding and growing until he finally looked at his father.
Their eyes met, and Riddle gave one quick movement of his head to nod. A movement so quick his mother only caught the end and only perceived it as him bowing his head. “This conversation is over and my word is final!”
His mother sat back, sipping from her glass as his father fell into his chair in silence. From the edge of his peripheral, his mother’s red stained lips were pulled up onto a tight smile. A smile upon the belief she won this argument…If she only knew…
His entire body reacted to the growing defiance inside him. How he had made a decision, of his own, against his mother’s wishes. His eyes went back to his father who sat in a slouch, his face hidden…But when he lifted his hands a bit, Riddle could see a smile.
He inhaled before standing up, excusing himself before he could take back his decision.
He…Wanted to see beyond what his mother made him know. He wanted this…To know more about the other side of himself, of his father and the rest of his family.