Hello Mom. Hi Dad (Damien)

[Damien Tremblay]

“You’re always the hero,” Damien teased lightly. Though he wasn’t entirely sure what that left him as. His sister might have said something snarky, like ‘damsel in distress.’ Not that he actually listened to her at all. Ever. That was why.

Though he wouldn’t admit it now, Damien was quietly curious about what, exactly, Jakob was saying in German. By the look of Josef’s face, he probably wasn’t going to tell him, either. Parents generally lived to embarrass their offspring. He’d certainly suffered through it a few times as a teenager, and throughout university. “I’m sure they do. Women have theories on everything.” Janice certainly did, as did his sister. Hopefully that sidestepped that. He suspected there was some sort of innuendo in there somewhere, and he wasn’t going to chase it. Josef looked red enough already.

Emma’s sudden call made Damien sit up straighter for a moment and glance down the hall. Well. There went that option, if Josef had wanted to stay. He offered a little smile and reached up to briefly touch his boyfriend’s hand in silent support before he left. Hopefully all Emma wanted was the kitchen cleaned, just like Jakob had said.

His attention was returned to Jakob when he spoke, the smile back in place. “I was nervous,” he admitted, trying to force himself into being more at ease. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had to meet anyone’s parents.” As for law school, he nodded. “Yes. In Victoria, more or less right after I, uh, graduated Hammel.” Josef was meta, so that was safe, right? He realized belatedly that it made him sound like he actually was a lawyer. While he had the schooling, he’d never written a bar exam, because he hadn’t had the desire to be one. He was happiest working behind the scenes.

Jakob’s passion for his work was clear as day, and Damien had to grin. “Do you have pictures of them?” His own job didn’t result in tangible things like that, so it would be interesting to see. His next question was also met with a nod. “I do. I’m a law clerk for a firm that deals primarily with civil rights cases. I do all the research for the cases, and help both attorneys prepare their arguments.” He’d had less fun working in Vancouver, being that he’d worked for a firm that dealt mostly with business law. At least in civil rights it felt like he was making more of a difference than helping settle business disputes. “Josef said you met Emma through your job?” Hopefully it wasn’t too personal of a question. He just found it interesting. And maybe a tiny bit romantic.

[Josef Muller]

Josef, on the other hand, didn’t believe in damsels in distresses. He would’ve called Damien a hero too. Or perhaps, if he felt like teasing, his side-kick. But probably not out loud because he liked their relationship as it was, and didn’t want to be given the cold shoulder.

“You say it like it’s a bad thing. You must have some…strong women in your life, yes?” Jakob offered him a grin. “This I understand. I have had many strong women in my life too. It never goes well. They are always very exact, and prefer to meddle. Emma is like this. Better to end up with Josef. He is more forgiving.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Josef sighed. “I hope that gets written on my tombstone. ‘More forgiving.’ God.”

Jakob added something in German to his son again that made the fiery blush return, and all in all Josef looked quite grateful to be called away, although he did offer Damien a look that said ‘call if you need anything’ as he squeezed his hand before he left. Then it was just Jakob and Damien, and Jakob seemed to slump back against the headrest, some of the energy draining from him—seemingly a show to reassure his son—but eyes still quite keen and curious.

“Less relationships, then?” he said. “Or less serious? Josef meets many parents, but we meet few of his partners. My fault, I guess, or perhaps…never mind.” He waved a hand. “So you are—meta? With what ability?”

Some of the energy returned at the question, and he beamed, leaning over and fetching them from his bedside table and plopping them right in front of Damien. “Here. This is a building in New York that I helped with. And this in Kansas, and this when I was learning in Germany…” They were beautiful buildings, with careful infrastructure and lines, even if they weren’t the most innovative; they were pleasing to look at. “So you are no…lawyer then.” He eyed him. “I am not sure if this is good or bad thing. Lawyers are wealthy, but not always nice.” He thought, then nodded. “Yes, I think I like that better.”

His lips curved up at the question. “Yes, she was a secretary at a place I worked. I courted her. The accent was a bit of a problem—Germans were not popular—but she liked it, and she liked me. We were married two years later. I talked her into it.” He chuckled. “Are you divorced, like my son?”

[Damien Tremblay]

Being Josef’s side-kick would have been nothing to be ashamed of, and truthfully better than being labeled a girl in distress. (Thanks, Melissa.) He wasn’t all that good with grudges anyway, so the idea of holding one against Josef was... actually pretty absurd.

Ha. Strong women. Damien resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and settled for a lopsided smirk. “You could say that, yes. My older sister would be one. My boss is another.” God, the stories he had about Janice. He could fill a book, he was sure. As for the forgiving comment, he just smiled at Josef and winked at him when Jakob wasn’t looking. “Being forgiving isn’t a bad thing,” he offered out to his boyfriend in a vague effort to placate him.

Again with the German. A part of Damien desperately wanted to know what he was saying, but if the blush was anything to go by, he was fairly certain that Josef wouldn’t tell him without a significant amount of bribery. Well, maybe when he wasn’t so stressed out and worried about his father.

He shifted as Jakob settled back down, quietly admiring the strength it must have taken to hold himself up like that to keep his son from fretting. It was something his own father would do, and he found it endearing. ... Well, until the questions came. He shrugged slightly. “Less relationships, I suppose. My longest lasting one was in university. I’m, uh...” How did he put this nicely? “I guess I’m just really shy around people, and I got sidetracked by work. My boss tried to set me up dozens of times, but I didn’t really take her up on them. I thought I was okay on my own, but Josef... he kind of changed that.” This brought on a real smile as he thought about his boyfriend. “Yes, I’m meta. I can make myself invisible.” Which had probably also had a hand in hindering his love life. It was hard to attract someone when you were easily missed in a crowd. Side effects. Beautiful things.

At least they could move on from the questions about relationships and being meta. With the enthusiasm back in Jakob, Damien leaned in to look over the photos. They were amazing buildings. He couldn’t imagine the work it took to make them go from drawings to physical things. “Wow,” he said softly as he studied them. “They’re incredible, Jakob. Really.” He passed them back, only to drop his shoulders slightly. No, he wasn’t a lawyer. He had no real desire to be the one in the spotlight, making arguments and picking through testimonies for holes on the fly. He did better in the background. As Jakob thought, he bit at his lip, more a nervous habit than anything else, and wondered how much trouble he’d get in if he really did vanish outside for a few minutes to settle his nerves. Though it seemed he didn’t have to do it so quickly when Jakob finally spoke again. That earned a slightly nervous smile from the law clerk. “Thank you. It’s got better rewards than money.” At least the attorneys he worked for were nice, even if Janice was a little pushy sometimes.

Jakob’s recounting of how he and Emma had met made Damien grin. There was never anything better than that kind of love story, and it really was sweet. Jakob’s next question made him shake his head, though. “Never married, no. I wanted to be once, but she had other ideas. Apparently travelling the world sounded better than settling down with a family.” Which brought him back to Josef. “It’s unfortunate about what happened to Josef. I can’t image going through it.” It was something he’d never really discussed at length with his boyfriend. All he really knew was that he had been married, and had ended up divorced. He’d never pried, and hadn’t wanted to. “I want to make him happy, you know. I do. I would never hurt him.” If nothing else, maybe that would get him into Jakob’s good graces. Not because he was trying to suck up, but because he was simply telling him the truth.

[Josef Muller]

Jakob grinned slightly. “When I was working, women weren’t bosses. That was a waste. Most of them were better than I was, or managed to find flaws that I didn’t, My wife was like that. But all women should be strong. It keeps men in line.” And his wife was definitely strong-minded, but Josef remembered that his father had liked that. He’d loved how strong-minded Emma was and had enjoyed that she had those opinions, asking her opinions more often than not. But Josef was grateful for the wink and smiled at him. He was also happy that Damien hadn’t asked what his father had said. Better that those things largely remained unknown, especially to his boyfriend.

Just like the fact that Jakob wasn’t quite as healthy as he indicated. Definitely better his son didn’t know this fact.

“So you’re…shy,” Jakob said slowly. “And not likely to trust people, yes?” He offered him a smile. “Then I’m glad you like my son, and he changed things for you. He is a good man. Impulsive, but good.” It is important to remember at this point that Jakob has spent very little time with his son since Josef was married. And Josef had rarely spoken to either of his parents after the divorce, choosing instead to deal with it on his own time and in his own way. And for the most part, they’d respected it. However, as they’d never liked William, they thought it was for the better. This hadn’t helped the general lack of communication. Jakob’s eyes crinkled up at Damien’s next statement. “Invisibility? This must be useful. But you don’t seem the kind to, ah, use it.” He waved a hand vaguely. “You know what I mean.”

Jakob had the exact same expression that Josef did when he was trying to throttle down the obvious pride he took in his work, and was failing. “They aren’t so good as that,” he said, taking them back from him. “But I’m glad you like them. Still standing, all of them. Now this is something I’m proud of.”

He tilted his head to the side. “Then that is important. Don’t be ashamed, Damien. There is nothing wrong with it. After all.” He laughed. “My son teaches people how to hit others! At least you work at a desk.”

Jakob looked more thoughtful as he processed this and sank down a little farther into the bed. “Do you still want to get married?” And, a little more hopefully, “I keep hinting to Josef I want grandchildren. Perhaps you would be the better one to tell.” He beamed at him. “Adopted is fine. But only if you really think you will never hurt him. My son has been through much.” A pause. “Mostly his own fault, you understand, but I worry.”

[Damien Tremblay]

“I guess it’s a good thing times have changed, then. And Janice is the only woman in the firm. Believe me, she keeps all of us in line.” Even Josh and Niko, though he was pretty sure that Niko wouldn’t set foot out of line anyway, with or without Janice around. Nor would he, of course. Still, it was nice to know that Jakob was of the mindset that women were good leaders. There were a lot of men, even now, that didn’t share that view.

Damien cocked his head slightly in thought, having to push back some of his hair behind his ear as he did so. “Shy, yes, but I have no problem with trusting people.” Once he got to know them, of course. He just wasn’t very social a creature. “Josef is a good man, I know that.” Maybe impulsive, though he hadn’t seen much of that side of him yet. All he knew was that he did like Josef, a lot, and nothing seemed to be hindering that. “My dog sort of introduced us, and everything just sort of fell into place from there.” He wasn’t going to admit that he was the one that had proposed going out at all, because it really didn’t matter anymore. He and Josef were together, and they were happy. As for his invisibility, he had to smile and shrug a little. “I used it once or twice on my sister, but no, you’re right. I didn’t really prank anyone with it.” Maybe a few times in university, but never for any kind of ill means.

“They look like something to be proud of, Jakob.” Especially if they were still standing. If his marks in physics were any testament to his skill set for building, nothing would have ever gotten off the ground. He had to admire Jakob for that.

“Josef teaches people to defend themselves,” he pointed out. “It’s pretty admirable, when you think about it.” Even if he had peeked in on an advanced class one day and actually chickened out of going in to say hi. It had looked pretty intense. “As long as he loves what he’s doing, it doesn’t matter to me what it is.”

Of course, they moved on to harder topics. Damien swallowed as he considered his answer. “I believe in the sanctity of marriage, yes. And it’s something I’d still like to do, with the right person.” Whether or not that was Josef, he still didn’t know, but it was a nice thought. As for grandchildren, he had to smile. “My parents are hinting, too. My sister’s married, but she put off kids until recently. Now she’s taken care of, they’re working on me.” He shrugged. “I love kids. I wouldn’t be opposed to it, it’s just... not something Josef and I have discussed yet.” He glanced down at his hands before shaking his head slowly. “Hurting Josef is the last thing on my mind, Jakob, I assure you that. I...” Like sounded almost comical here. It wasn’t right. After glancing down the hall to ensure Josef wasn’t coming back at that moment, he looked back at Jakob and smiled at him. “I think I love him too much to do that.” Funny. First time he’d said it, and it wasn’t even to Josef. But it felt right.

[Josef Muller]

Of course Jakob had that idea in his head. He was married to a woman who was incredibly strong-minded—he would’ve been stupid NOT to have the idea. “Well, good for her, then,” he said with a smile. “Still, if she gives you trouble, Josef is very good at deflecting people or charming them. I taught him the second.” He’d been decently good at charming people since he was a young man, and had taught it to Josef in an attempt to get him to get him to get along better with his mother. “Still, she sounds interesting.”

His lips curved up faintly at his statement, and he nodded. “He is a good man. I’m glad you know this.” And he didn’t really care who had gone out first—so far, he was quite pleased with the relationship his son had formed, and was generally inclined to accept Damien as he was and tell Josef that he had FINALLY picked the right kind of boy. “You have a dog? Good. Josef likes pets. We never had any.”

Jakob lauighed. “You are a good man. I would have been everywhere! Including places I shouldn’t have been, to tell the truth.” He winked at him. “More proof you are good.”

He smiled at him again and nodded for his thanks, then tilted his head to the side. “Yes. But in my time, it wasn’t viewed so good. Now he seems to prefer this.”

For this next topic, Jakob sat up just a little straighter and folded his hands in his lap, watching him with a head tilted to the side. “I see. Interesting.” He smiled. “It is early yet. Take your time. But…I do believe you.” He reached forward and took his hand and squeezed it, then pulled back, smiling at him. “You’re a good man, Damien. And you will be good for my son. Thank you for telling me this. It…puts me at ease.”

He let himself fall back. “Now, I think it is time for me to sleep. It was good to meet you, Damien.”

Later, Emma thanked Damien with a hug and a list of instructions for Josef. Josef took Damien back to the hotel and thanked him again for taking care of his family, and fell asleep with his arms wrapped around him gently.

((Annnd wrap!))