Chapter Text
“Don’t forget your thermos, sweetheart.”
“I’m not you, Dad.” Holly held up her metal bottle, which was previously in her duffle bag’s side pocket.
Holland raised his arms in mock offense. “Okay, okay, Jesus. I was just reminding you,” he patted himself down. “Wait. Hold on, I need the keys.” He turned around, assumedly trying to locate the misplaced keys.
Holly scoffed. Really typical of her dad to forget. She was early in leaving for school anyways; it wouldn’t hurt to have him run over the place for a little bit.
Checking the drawers gave him no results, nor did his bedroom.
Ok, he paused, trying to remember- Got home last night, tossed the keys somewhere here, and slept. Yes, he might’ve been a little tipsy, but he could’ve sworn he put them here. Shit. Maybe it fell between the nightstand and the bed? Doesn’t hurt to check.
Holland dropped to his knees. Ouch, he winced, he didn’t mean to let himself fall that hard. Bending down he grabbed the bed’s frame for support while the other hand helped him not eat shit.
Holland poked his head under. He should clean more down here. There were some thick layers of dust collecting near where the bed met the wall. Well, that’s a problem for another time. He was about 77% sure there was something living in that cobweb over there.
He should scan left to right, right? Isn’t that what lifeguards do? Granted, it might be a little overkill for some car keys-
SLAP
March screeched and his head jerked up against the bed’s frame.
He recoiled, rolling onto this side with both hands clamped over his head.
“FUCK!” He curled in on himself. “Fuck, fuck, FUCK.”
His head throbbed, but so did his ass.
Holland groaned, hands still holding his head. There was a high probability that he had a concussion. God, what was his life. Why couldn’t he have been born rich and not worry about guns, drugs, and apparently bed frames. There really is a favorite and it’s not March.
Jingle, jingle
Holland froze.
Jingle
That motherfucker.
Holland opened his eyes to see Healy’s shoe staring at him from the doorway. No way.
“Looking for these?” jingle, jingle
A pair of car keys dangled from one finger. That smug bastard had the audacity to look amused. There he was, looking all cool and mysterious, leaning on the doorframe. What an asshole.
“C’mon, get your lazy ass off the floor. We’re going to be late to drop off Holly.” Healy disappeared around the corner.
“HEY ASSHOLE, YOU COULD’VE TOLD ME YOU HAD THEM.” Holland scrambled to his feet.
He winced as he straightened, one hand instinctively reaching back to rub his ass. Jesus Christ. Dude could pack a mean slap to his ass apparently.
“What the hell,” he whispered under his breath. “Men these days.”
Eventually, he made his way to the living room with a slight limp.
“You had the car keys and didn’t tell me?” Holland glared daggers into Healy. “You watched me run around the house searching for them.”
“Not my fault you don’t remember.” Said Healy nonchalantly. “Last night, you gave them to me.”
March paused. No, he didn’t. He threw them somewhere near his bed and went to sleep, right?
“No, I didn’t. You took them from my nightstand.” He was going to stand his ground, goddamnit. “Probably after I went to sleep. Creep.”
Healy raised an eyebrow. “You put your keys on the nightstand and went to sleep after you got off the car?” Of course Holland did.
“No dipshit, I magically flew from the bar, and a unicorn tucked me in.” March threw his hands up, exasperated.
“No, you’re the dipshit. You handed me the keys when Holly turned off the car and then passed out.” Healy argued back. “Wanna guess who carried you? Here’s a hint, it wasn’t the 13-year-old.”
March’s mouth opened. Nothing came out.
“No, uh, because, I-” Holland stuttered. There was no way in hell he passed out. He might’ve underexaggerated when he said he was a little tipsy. But he wasn’t passed out drunk for sure. He raised a finger in the air.
“Nuh uh.”
“What the fuck does tha-”
“I did NOT fall asleep in the car. I went to bed, like grown man.” March was going to defend himself; his ego was on the line for crying out loud. “Right, Holly?”
She was sitting at the kitchen table eating straight from a cereal box. Her duffle bag was on the floor next to the door. Holly looked entertained as she listened to her dad and Healy argue.
Holly coughed. “Healy is right, Dad, you did-“
“ALRIGHT, I THINK IT’S TIME TO GO.” Holland clapped his hands, slightly startling himself. Ignorance is bliss, right?
He turned. “You’re driving. And then opening a tab next time we’re at the bar.” He pointed accusingly at Healy. Looking at his watch told him they needed to leave now or else they’d be late. “Chop chop, chauffer.”
Healy let out a sigh and gave Holland a look that suggested he was wondering how the man survived this long without him. “Right,” he grunted.
Holly jumped from her chair. “Finally.” She picked up her bag, giving a glare at her dad for taking so long.
The three filed out of the house. Holland fiddled with his fingers.
“You got your PJs?”
“Yes.”
“Socks?”
“Yes.”
“Underwear?”
“Oh my god dad, yes. I have everything.”
Healy locked the door behind them as Holland took shotgun. Holly looked out the window, already done with the day despite it just starting.
“Hey, look. I’m not driving 4 hours away to drop off some pants.” March defended himself. Holly rolled her eyes. “I saw that.”
“You’re not that heavy, you know.” The engine roared to life. Healy smirked. “Maybe a little less drooling next time, yeah?” Holly was grateful for the topic change.
Heat creeped up his face. Holland stared forward, not wanting to meet the eyes of his supposed carrier. “Just shut up and drive, Healy.”
The car pulled out of the driveway and headed to school.
Holly was going on an educational three-day field trip. Something about science and nature or whatever bullshit the state’s curriculum wanted to enforce. Two nights. March and Healy were dropping off Holly bright and early at 8am to catch her bus.
Currently it was 7:45am. Might’ve cut it a little close but the busses never left on time. Besides, teachers still had to do roll call and that was at least another 10 minutes.
They were heading up about 4 hours up north to some fancy state park. Frankly, Holland had enough of nature after finding that dead guy in the forest.
Speaking of which.
“You got your knife, Holly?”
“Yes, Dad.” She threw her head back and groaned. “Yes, I’ll always keep with me. Yes, I won’t go alone. Yes, I’ll stick with Jessica. I know, I know.”
Healy looked at her from the rearview mirror. “Your dad’s a little paranoid.”
“I am not paranoid!” Holland rushed to say. “I think I’m being reasonable.”
One hand out the window and the other on the wheel, Healy gave March a side eye and a look as to say really?
“Forgive me for being on guard after the whole porno assassination thing,” he explained. March turned to face Healy. “What if something happens?”
“In an 8th grade’s science field trip? Please.” Healy raised his eyebrow, clearly done with Holland’s BS. “And you, guarded?” He accused.
“Yes!”
“You passed out last night.”
Holland paused.
“I had to carry you!” Healy drove his point in. “You didn’t even have your gun with you.”
Hold up.
“Wait. How do you know I didn’t have my gun? It’s hidden!” Holland screeched. “Did you search my unconscious body?!”
“Oh my god, how are you an adult.” whispered Holly from the back.
Baffled, Healy’s eyebrows raised. “What? No, in the car you tossed your jacket at me. It was inside out.” His eyes found Holland’s for a brief second. “Nothing in the hidden pocket.”
Oh. How much did he drink to forget about that?
“Ah,” Holland smartly replied.
They had to be nearing the school now. It wasn’t too far from their house. He needed to either change the topic or get out.
“Yeah Dad, Healy carried you like a princess.” The devil herself flames the fires. His own daughter just wants to see him suffer.
The older man smirked and then laughed. “Like I said, very light.” Yeah, what an asshole.
March buried his face in his hands, beyond embarrassed. For his own sake, both of them were pranking him. Healy, the devil’s assistant, kept on laughing as he pulled up on the school’s parking lot.
Grumbling and rubbing his face, Holland prepared to get out of the car to help Holly with her bags. Unfortunately, Healy beat him to it.
“Wouldn’t want the princess to hurt herself,” he winked to March, rubbing salt into the wound.
Holland let out a low growl. He was this close to throwing a fist to Healy’s head. The fucker deserved it, and he could always say it was payback for his arm.
Got to keep his cool in front of Holly’s classmates. No fighting, for now.
He turned to Holly. “Alright sweetheart. Don’t forget to call and bring some cool rocks home.”
“I’m going to bring back a bear,” stated as seriously as a 13-year-old could. Well, he always wanted a pet.
“Sure sweety, have fun!”
Holly said her goodbyes as she met up with her friend, Jessica, or Janet. He could never remember which.
Holland felt a prescence besides him. He kept his eyes on Holly as she got on the bus. He was sure she was fine. She could handle herself better than the teachers who were supervising the trip.
“They grow up so fast.” Healy’s low voice cut through the science between them.
“Yeah.” He couldn’t imagine Holly grown up. To him, she was still a little kid. A little kid who could handle a gun but still his little kid. Man, wasn’t planning on crying today.
He sniffled a bit as his eye watered a bit
“Are you crying? For fuck’s sake, she’s coming back in two days, March.”
Holland laughed. “No, it’s the pollen, you asshole.”
“Yeah, sure.”
They walked back towards the car in tandem. Two days. She’d be fine.
Besides, it wasn’t like Holland would be alone.