Tears Before Bedtime {James}

[Dr. James Campbell]

James had grown up with an idealized view of romance too. Both sets of his grandparents were obviously in love, not to mention any number of aunts and uncles who had the metaphorical house with a white picket fence, three kids, and a dog. And his own parents had married at sixteen, because he'd been on the way, but they'd stayed together through four kids, a recession, and the discovery that their eldest had a psychological disorder.

And then he'd been through some messy relationships, but he'd ended up with Chase. So he still believed in true love. How could he not? There was no night on a white horse, only him showing up in the rain, desperate to know that he hadn't made a terrible mistake. And apparently, he hadn't. It could have been a soap opera.

He hadn't realized exactly how serious Misato was about his worries about the boy he was going on a date with. Yeah, most men still had their times when they were ridiculously immature, but that was part of being an adult. "No, that's not a shallow worry at all." James knew he could pull off charming pretty easily, and more than one person had commented on his tussled hair. But he knew that Chase loved him for everything about him, even when he was being a little crazy. "And he'll eventually realized that he needs to think with the big head too. But he may not show it right away. At the moment, it seems like it's "cool" to be a little on the immature side."

After all, all those Judd Apatow movies were popular for a reason, right?

James self-consciously put his hand to his nose. The comments were usually more along the lines of "His eyes." But he had to admit, yes, Ginny did resemble him enough that people could recognize them as family. "I do miss her. That picture was taken last year, at my parent's party on the Fourth of July. They have one every year, and we all come home for it, if we can. The other man in the picture is my little brother, Mike." (Though it was hardly fair to call him little. He was taller than James, who was an inch or so (depending on whether you counted his hair) above six feet tall.)

Honestly, Misato's idea seemed sweet. And he could use some practice, because of his and Chase's plans. "I would like that. Actually, Chase--Mr. Kilbourne--and I are planning on adopting a child sometime soon." He smiled at the boy, "And I think you're a much better role model than some of the other students here."

[Misato Hazukashi]

James' words gave Moe some hope that everything would be okay. Maybe not today, maybe not in a year, but eventually, eventually his life would settle down, and he could live his happily ever after with all the dreams that came with it.

There was only one case in Misato's large, extended family - not unlike Jamie's own - that was not a happy tale. One of his Uncles had fallen for a very pretty young woman, and she had fallen for him. It had been going so well until she had been killed in a hit and run, and the Japanese boy's uncle was now shrouded in pain and bitterness, unable to smile. Moe feared broken fairytales, the idea of having that one moment of bliss, only to be given a lifetime of misery.

Shivering, the boy pushed that thought from his head, then nodded and listened to James eagerly. "That's what I hope. He can't always be kinda thick, can he?" Wrong, Misato, I'm afraid Vincent's brain is constantly trapped in his very tight pants. "Maybe I'll buy him something nice to show I can deal with his childishness!" Smiling, the blonde boy smoothed his dress down and rested his small arms on the chair. "Thank you for not laughing at me." He added, brown eyes going wide for a moment.

"I'd like to have a family one day." Misato said softly, staring at the photo with some longing in his eyes. "I know I'm a boy, and I like boys, but I'd love to have a little life in my arms and bring it up right." Glancing up at James through his hair for a moment, he suddenly shook his head. "You look so happy when you talk about her, Doctor Campbell. But a little sad too." Reaching out and shyly touching James' arm, the Japanese boy gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure she thinks about you just as much as you think about her." He nodded softly, then withdrew his arm and fidgetted with a paperclip on the desk. "My little brother looks a lot like me. He wants to be meta too so he can come here, but... he's only a year younger than me, and it's rare for powers to take that long to show up, right?"

The idea of him being a good role model lit Misato's face with pride. "Thank you." He said gently, flapping his wings happily. "You'd make someone very happy, someone without a family." Perking up, the blonde laughed gently. "If you want me to babysit, I'd be happy to. I'm used to it."

[Dr. James Campbell]

Perhaps Misato should have told James whom they were discussing. Maybe then, the recruiter might have been able to give him a real, honest answer. Instead, he said, "No, he won't always be that thick." Oh James, if only you knew. The suggestion of buying him something nice was interesting, but if he was really all that immature, possibly ill-advised. "Or maybe you could go with him to a museum or something? Find an art museum with an Arms and Armor exhibit and an exhibit you're interested in, perhaps? Find balance between your maturity level and his."

So much of relationships were based on compromise. People might be perfect for each other, but they still were people and weren't perfect. "I wouldn't laugh. When I was your age, I had a crush on the guy who used to beat me up." Of course, when James had been in high school, he'd been deeply in denial about his sexuality. It was great to see that there had been enough change in the past two decades that it didn't matter if a boy wanted to wear a dress. (Okay, it probably did matter. No one was 100% comfortable about everything, but still, Misato would have been harassed constantly if he'd gone to high school at the same time as James.)

"You can have a family someday; I do. And they mean the world to me." The way the boy described holding a baby was uncannily similar to how he'd felt the first time he'd held Ginny in his arms. Sure, he didn't see her nearly as much as he wanted to, but he knew that he'd helped her have a good life so far. He was happy when he talked about here, but there was a distinct feeling that if things had turned out differently, he could have been a better father. So he was happy enough to have the subject changed to Misato's brother.

"Yes, it's rare for that to happen. But Chase... Mr. Kilbourne, I mean, didn't manifest until he was sixteen. So it's not unheard of, but it still probably won't happen." Unfortunately, though it sometimes seemed like meta-human powers were genetic, there were many sets of siblings where only one of them were meta. That's how James' family was; he was the lone meta-human out of four children.

The look on the boy's face made James smile as well. "Of course we'll have you babysit. I'm sure you're great at it. Now, is there anything else you need, Misato?"

[Misato Hazukashi]

"I think he'd like that." Moe said truthfully as he touched the arms of the chair. "Vincent likes pointy things and stabby things and explosions." Ah. Moe finally said the boy's name, and all too late, by the sound of it. "So that's a good idea, I'll take him to the weapons and armour museum and he can make silly noises." The boy wrinkled his nose slightly. "He's so embarrasing sometimes." And Misato hasn't even been dating the goth boy for that long, I pity what he's going to be like in a year or so.

"Thank you for everything, Doctor Campbell. I was so upset when I came up to see you, and now I feel normal Moemoe again." The little blonde nodded his head and broke into an honest smile. "I hope you and Mister Campbell and eventually your little child have a wonderful life together." The boy tapped his chin, then rose from his chair. "I think that's it now, but thank you for listening. I know you're busy and I hope I haven't messed up a schedule." Misato pushed his fingertips together worriedly, then hovered for a minute by the arm chair, his expression as though he wanted to say something else.

"If you ever want someone to help you change your house up inside, let me know?" Moe looked up brightly. "I'd really like to get some practice in and I think I'm pretty good already." The boy looked his most confident yet, then let out a deep breath, bowing his head politely. "Thank you again Doctor Campbell!" He chirrupped, setting the chair back and trotting to the door.

"And good luck with the adoption!" And with that, the Japanese teen disappeared out the wooden door, smiling to himself as he headed back to his dorm.