who: Albus Potter & Credence Barebone when: Sunday, July 29 where: A restaurant in Tumbleweed. What: Albus has some questions for Credence concerning his future. warnings: None too severe, discussion of character (Emmeline's) death, and adoption is discussed. status: COMPLETE.
While setting his water glass down, Albus turned his attention away from Credence for a moment, glancing to the waiter who had just come over to take his empty plate. "Thank you," he said, before letting his gaze shift back to Credence, his arms folding over onto the edge of the table. Once the waiter had finished collecting everything and was walking away, he brought in a breath. While he'd told Credence he wanted to go somewhere with just the two of them, he hadn't exactly stated why, and only really had tried to make sure he knew it wasn't a bad thing.
"I wanted to talk to you about what I want to happen in the event I get sent back." He said this calmly. In all actuality, Albus didn't think this to be very likely. There were individuals who had been around as far back as Mount Weather and they seemed to be the ones least likely to leave. It honestly came as a surprise anytime one of those original number did vacate and it would send a momentary burst of concern through him, as he'd been building a life in this reality, but that concern would temper down when more months would pass without one of his oldest fellow community members leaving.
Credence had taken a sip of water when Albus said what he was intending for them to talk about and he had to put the glass back down as he looked over. He hadn't really known what to expect, but this was more serious than what he was anticipating. And it also was outside the realm of anything he thought he knew what to deal with. After all, while he might be an adult, it felt most days as if he were a just barely functioning one.
For the moment he sat up a little straighter and asked: "What do you mean?"
Albus drew in a breath. While it wasn't something he thought likely to happen, he knew he didn't want it to happen either. "If I get sent back to my time. I wanted to make sure you knew what I wanted to happen. There's a few things I would like for you to do if you are willing," he explained, quietly, with his eyes locked on Credence. He was gauging his reactions as he spoke and hoping this wouldn't upset him.
Credence was freaking out slightly, but even as he did he told himself to get it together. He’d always been the oldest and his younger siblings had always been in his care. And he knew, he could feel even, that he knew more now than he had then. That whatever his Ma would have said about his ability, she’d still trusted him to care for things and he knew Albus did the same. Beyond that, Albus had taught him how to use his magic and turn it into something that could be used and wasn’t only going to kill him someday.
He nodded, putting his hand around the glass. “I can take care of things,” he told Albus. “I think I know this world enough now.” And there were others, Charlie, Flash, his cheeks heated slightly, and even Luna could help in her own way. He straightened up. “What do you want me to know?”
"I trust you can," Albus said, with a small smile, and no indication that his words weren't actually truth. And they were. He trusted Credence more than he did most people in Tumbleweed and it had been that way for a long time now. "And I think you do, too," he offered, encouragingly, before nodding his head.
"There's a few different ways this could go," he said quietly as he straightened up himself. "If it's just me that goes...Helena should stay with her Uncle or Aunt. In the event they've left or they leave later...at that point, I'd like you to be her guardian." He gave a pause after saying this before asking, "Is that something you would be willing to do?"
It wasn't a comfortable thing to think about. Albus and Helena had been his first family here. But it also meant that the answer was a very simple one to make. Credence nodded his head. "Of course," he told Albus. "If you think -" he stopped. Hadn't Albus just said that he did think exactly that. Instead of finishing what he'd been about to say he smiled and shrugged slightly. "I like Helena, and if she didn't have any family here, she's like a younger sister to me. I would see that she's looked after regardless, but if you want me to, of course."
"I think Helena's always going to have some family here, but you are her family too. And she's closer to you than anyone else," he explained, because this was true. While Albus was conflicted on how to handle any future reappearance from his parents, because he didn't know how to handle their almost inevitable disappearance, the notion of Credence disappearing would be a hundred times worse. "I'd just rather Jamie and Lily first because I don't want to force that kind of responsibility if I don't have to," he added on.
He drew in another breath. "And, whether she stays or goes back with me, if the house stays? It goes to you. Luna as well, so long as she's still here. But I want to put it into official record that you are to inherit it in my absence." He paused. "And if it disappears, I've got a contingency for that, too."
"Oh." Credence looked up at Albus, his eyes wide. Maybe he shouldn't have been startled by this. Of course it made sense if Helena were here still and Credence were looking after her that the house might be his, but it was still was so much more than he might have expected. The house was so much larger than anything he had at home, really, and to think of it being given to him, officially?
"Are you certain? I mean, I'd keep Luna obviously with me if she were here. I'd want to, she's also like a sister. You're all… well. You're all family." As much as he had family.
"I'm certain," he answered without hesitation. "And I'm glad you'd keep Luna with you. I didn't think that you'd do otherwise but I like knowing she has a home, too." He felt his smile come back with that admission. "You're our family. It's why I want you to have these things and why I wanted to talk to you about them. I want to make sure you are taken care of, even if I'm not here."
Credence got it, even if there was a certain amount of anxiety in doing so, but there was also a bit of pride - pride in knowing that Albus was willing to trust him with his daughter, and his home, in the event that he shouldn't be around to take care of those things himself. "I -" he reached once again for the glass, grounding himself by touching it. "Thank you," he offered quietly. "I appreciate that you'd think of me and I would try to do a good job. I don't think you're going to go though."
Granted there were no guarantees, and Credence knew that, but Albus had been here for much longer than he had been. He sort of depended on him to navigate everything.
"I know you will do a great job," Albus offered up with a supportive look. He honestly had no doubt. Credence was one of the most responsible people that Albus had ever had the pleasure of knowing. He trusted him. He reached out and picked up his own glass in preparation. "And, no, I don't think I will either."
Roxanne had said he ought not jinx himself. It wasn't a matter of jinxing though. Albus had faith in numbers and statistics above anything else. They were dependable and statistically? He wasn't likely to leave.
He took a drink to give himself a moment to figure out how to phrase the next moment. Once he has, he set the glass back down and cleared his throat. "We can go over the rest of the finances with time, and I'll teach you how to manage them, but there is just one other thing I wanted to discuss."
Credence nodded. He would have to do that, and he hoped that the math he'd learned was strong enough to be able to do it. Sometimes he felt so incredibly stupid compared to people here. And at least some of the things weren't even things they had at home, so he knew that it was ridiculous to judge himself by those standards, but still.
He looked up at Albus' words, eyes a little wide. What else could there possibly be along with the other things? But it surely couldn't be bad. He nodded, smiled. "Yes?"
"It's alright if you say 'no,'" he offered up before actually delving into what he wanted to say. "Emmeline and I had talked about it before," he said gently, always being cautious when he spoke of the witch that had been so integral in Credence's life. He and her hadn't ever been close themselves but they shared a common love for Credence and his well being. "And I know you are an adult but..."
He sighed. It was a lot harder to put this into words. Perhaps because he was mildly concerned about rejection. "...We had been talking about asking to adopt you. Her and I." He hesitated for a moment. "And I would like to, if...you would like to."
Credence was doing better, with Emmeline, but it still was painful thinking about the fact that she was no longer there. He missed her, a lot. He thought about her nearly every day, but it had at least become more bearable.
But Albus' words pulled him out of any spiral of grief that might have been waiting to pop up. "Adopt?"
"Yes," he said in response, quickly, so that there didn't give any false indication that Albus was unsure about the suggestion or that it wasn't something he actually wanted to do. Regardless of whether Credence decided to accept the offer or not, it wouldn't change how Albus felt about the younger man. Credence was his family just as much as any Potter.
"I don't want you to feel pressured. It's just that...you are my family and that won't change if you say no but...it was an idea."
If there was anything that had always seemed a certainty in his life, it was that he hadn't really been wanted. His Ma had taken him in not because of love, but because of a desire to do the right thing and to save him from his own parents who had been evil magicians. Those were known facts, understood instinctively at home, and here, they were understood on a different level.
Albus had brought him home, been patient with him, taught him things, and made certain he had the ability to learn from others. Credence swallowed. "I of course. Yes. I mean." He'd never thought he wanted it, really, but. "You'd be my dad then."
He held onto his glass as he watched Credence's reaction. There was the briefest moment, as the boy swallowed, where Albus felt his nerves give a twist, fearing he had misunderstood. But Credence had just said they were family, hadn't he?
When he finally did speak, the feeling of anxiety lifted, and Albus burst into a smile. "Oh, good," he said quietly, through the wide grin.
He brought in a breath. "Well, I kind of already felt like I was," he admitted warmly.
Credence wasn't going to cry. He wasn't. But his eyes felt moist as he looked across the table. He wasn't certain he deserved the amount of good-will that Albus had extended to him. After all he wasn't perfect, and the Obscurus was still there, and there were likely things he was going to do wrong, but still.
"I-" he hesitated and then pulled in an inhale. "You have been. I think. I don't really know what a Dad is supposed to be like, but if I were imagining it. You would be like one."
He drew in a breath and willed himself to remain smiling, but his throat had tightened some. He had treated Credence as his own for a long time now that he could hardly remember a time where he hadn't thought of him as family. And somewhere along the way, it had changed from a ward to a son, and one that he was immensely proud of.
"I try," he admitted. He was never certain if he was doing things right. His biggest mistake had been keeping his other child a secret, but that was a long time ago, and a mistake he had learned from. "And you are everything I could have ever dreamed of in a son," he said, quietly. He hadn't quite realized that his own eyes were glossy. "I'm very proud of who you are, Credence."
Credence looked up and then glanced down, reaching his fingers up to wipe at his eyes. "I've never had anyone tell me that," he said softly. "No one but you." Well. "And Emmeline."
That did not surprise Albus with what he knew of Credence's upbringing but the lack of surprise didn't stop the slight pang of heartbreak from the words. Credence deserved to be told it frequently enough that there was never any doubt. "She was very proud of you," he told him. It was a fact he knew deep down in his heart to be true.
"I hope she would be," Credence smiled, sadly, but he could smile when he thought of her, which was an improvement. He missed her. She'd taught him so much, and she'd been so kind to him, like an older sister, or maybe a mother, but she'd cared. Like Albus did. He still had Albus. And Albus was, despite all of Credence's flaws, wanting to adopt him, wanting him to be the one to hold things together if Albus left for any reason. Credence straightened his shoulders and looked over at him. "Can I call you Dad, or is that weird?"
"I know it," he assured him, glad to see that there was a smile as he spoke about the woman who viewed him as her son, too. He knew there would always be the feeling of sadness but he hoped that one day it would be a situation where he could remember her with a bit of happiness, too.
Then he gave a bit of a smirk, "If you want to, I would be more than okay with it." In all truth, Albus sort of loved the idea. He hadn't thought it would be a title Credence would want to use but he was not against it.
"All right," Credence smiled. The conversation had started out somewhat stressful, but now despite that overhanging knowledge that he would be in charge if Albus left, there was something else. A contentment he hadn't felt for a while. Albus wanted him to be his son, for real, not just his ward. And on top of that he did trust Credence enough to trust him with these things.
It mattered. A lot.
"I don't - how do we do it?" He asked Albus. "Do I have to do something?"
"There's forms we'll need to fill out and submit from my understanding but it shouldn't be difficult. It's mostly paperwork," he replied. He hadn't procured the paperwork just yet, out of caution in case Credence did not express interest, but he knew they'd be able to get their hands upon it with relative ease. "And, considering the Bureau sets up everything, we might just need to go through them to have it made official. I imagine that'll be a lot quicker, actually. I'll ask Ianto," he said, warmly.
Credence nodded. "That sounds good," and the smile that followed that was echoed across his entire face, all the way into his eyes. He'd never really felt like a part of a family, even if he'd had one. And while he missed his sisters, he'd always felt as if he wasn't good for them, or good in the family, and Albus had never made him feel that way. Albus had always made him feel like he belonged. And now he would. "Does Helena know?"
"We'll make it official as soon as we can," he assured him, and found that he was delighted to see such a vibrant smile. It ensured no doubt sprung up as to whether or not Credence wanted this. Seeing the young man that happy only reinforced to Albus that this was the right call for all involved parties. He was offering a similar smile back towards him before he shook his head. "I think you should be the one to tell her." He knew his daughter would be ecstatic. Helena already viewed Credence as her brother.
"Can we go home and tell her as soon as we're done?" Credence grinned broadly.
"We can," Albus agreed, grinning himself. "Perhaps we can get dessert to go and celebrate with her?"
Credence nodded enthusiastically. The idea of dessert sounded great, but right then he really wanted to go tell Helena. He hoped she'd be excited about it, and he thought she would be. But even if she wasn't exactly? Dessert probably sweeten the news. And if she was excited, which he thought she would be, then dessert was the perfect celebration. He reached for his cup of water and took a drink. "Let's get that chocolate cake then, if we're taking back to her. And then let's go home." A beat, and before he could feel too awkward about it he added: "Dad."