Who: Tim P. and Poppy C. What: Poppy gets a family! (sappy outro) Where: Aubade 405 When: Today, afternoon. Warnings: None.
Poppy paced the living room nervously. She’d been thinking about this for a few days now, but she’d spent the time trying to talk herself into talking to Tim about it. But every time the opportunity presented itself, Poppy chickened out and changed the topic instead. It wasn’t until she saw Tim watching TV just moments ago that she finally decided to go for it. Classes would be starting soon and this was something that needed to happen before the fact. Forcing herself to stop pacing, she stood still and looked directly at Tim. She had no way of knowing exactly how he would react and that, admittedly, scared her just a little bit. “Tim,” She started with a shaky breath, “I don’t want to go to U-Dub.” She paused, exhaling a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She was so relieved to get the hard part over with that she didn’t even realize how that must have sounded to Tim.
Tim had been aware that there was something Poppy needed to talk to him about, but she hadn’t been able to come out and say it. He wasn’t too worried; she would figure it out and then talk to him. Of course, when she started pacing in front of the television while he tried to watch the latest Wizard Wars movie, Tim arched an eyebrow at her. It took her a minute to stop and look at him, and he waited silently until she finally came out with what she wanted to say. He definitely hadn’t been expecting her to say she didn’t want to go to UW. He sat forward on the couch, resting his forearms on his knees.
“Poppy, going to college was part of the terms of our agreement,” he reminded her, shifting slightly in his seat. This was going to throw a kink in his plans to finish up adopting her if she reneged on their deal.
It was a moment before Poppy realized what she had said and why Tim was saying what he was saying. “No, that’s not what I-” She ran a hand over her face and made a frustrated noise before trying again, “Tim, I want to go to college. Really, I Do! I get it! I just don’t want to go to U-Dub.” She paused again, trying to convey her message with a meaningful look. When it was clear that Tim didn’t quite understand what she was getting at, she breathed deeply through her nose. Apparently she was wrong, the hard part wasn’t telling him that she didn’t want to go to UW, it was telling him where she did want to go.
Pressing her lips together, she tried again. Her third attempt at saying the same thing within five minutes. “I want to see the world,” It was completely different approach, “I feel like I’m trapped here, y’know? I’ve been in this city for so long and I’m not ready to settle yet. I want to see France and Spain, Greece and Italy! I want to see the Great Pyramids and stand on the Great Wall of China.” She stopped to check Tim’s expression, but she couldn’t really tell what he was thinking.
Poppy was talking, and Tim was trying to listen, but he really wasn’t understanding. It wasn’t until she started talking about wanting to see the world that he understood. “So you want to go to college in another country?” he asked when she finally took a breath. She had listed off quite a number of cities and places she wanted to see, but Tim hardly cared about that. What he cared about was that she’d be going to college and getting a degree.
“Because, if that’s the case, then I think we could work out a deal. Something along the lines of ‘If you get B’s or better in all of your classes, during break you can travel wherever you want’. What do you think?” he asked, thinking it was a pretty good deal. To be fair, he probably wouldn’t have considered making such a deal if he wasn’t trying to get on her good side.
She paused, she hadn’t expected him to give in so easily or be so reasonable. Poppy hadn’t ever had much experience with a father, but over the past few months, she realized that Tim was pretty damn close to being her father. From what she saw on TV, this was not how fathers usually took the news that their daughters want to go far far away. When she finally realized what this meant, a wide grin broke out on her face and didn’t leave, even as she started speaking. “But I can still study abroad?” She figured she could travel after college, but she didn’t want to be stuck in this rainy city for all that time, “I’ll work so hard! I’ll write you and Harry, all the time! You won’t regret it, I promise!” She was so excited that she was making all the wild bargaining chips she’d saved up, into crazy promises and blurting them all out before she could stop herself.
Tim grinned and pulled her onto the couch next to him. With her hands in his, Tim said very seriously, “Poppy, I don’t care where you go to school, as long as you go and you do well. That’s all I ask. You’re a strong, independent, intelligent young woman. If you want to go to Europe for college, then that’s where you’ll go. If you want to travel during breaks instead of coming home, well I can understand that. You’ll always be welcome here, though.”
He paused for a moment and then decided to go for it. “The time you’ve spent with me, and with Harry, has been wonderful. With everything that’s happened in the past week, though, it’s made me think. You know how Harry’s officially moved in with us right?” He waited for her to indicate that she did before he continued. “Well, I’ve come to consider you family Poppy. I’d...I would really like to...that is...” Tim took a deep breath. “I’d like to formally adopt you before you start school.”
Once upon a time, Poppy would have resisted Tim’s strange behaviour, but now that she really trusted him, she just accepted it as part of who he was. She listened intently as Tim explained that she could go wherever she wanted and the one condition he had. “I promise, I’ll do my best to get good grades and learn everything I can,” She nodded solemnly, “And I’ll come back to visit, of course! I’ll miss you and Harry too much, if I don’t.”
Her brows furrowed as Tim became more serious, but she nodded when he mentioned Harry’s moving in after the whole thing with the reavers. She watched at Tim seemed to get as nervous as she was, just moments ago, but she waited patiently for him to finish. Her eyes widened as he continued. He wanted to adopt her? She didn’t think that anyone who knew the real her (not just he make-believe version) would ever want to adopt her. He looked nervous as he waited for her answer and she felt like she couldn’t make him more nervous, as much as she wanted to. Instead, she just gave him a goofy smile and nodded, “I’ll only agree to that if you promise to never take it back. Even if I get sent to jail, you have to keep being my dad, okay?” She was still smiling, but she was serious. If she was committing to this family, she didn’t want them to leave her ever. She didn’t think that should could take that, she’d become too attached.
Tim smiled warmly, glad that she was willing to keep in touch. Of course, Tim had expected that given that he’d e the one footing the bill for her college experience. Not that he would hold that over her head, but it was an expectation he had. He was more nervous about her reaction to adopting her officially. Her goofy smile made him smile and tears formed in the corners of his eyes as she went on to state her condition.
“Of course,” he chuckled, pleased and relieved. “I’ll always be there to bail you out Poppy, and I’ll never stop being your dad,” Tim added sincerely, his eyes never leaving hers as he spoke. He meant every word, and Poppy would always be taken care of. That would never be a problem for them, because he already considered her his daughter. The paperwork would just make it official.
“You better be,” Poppy tried to make a serious face, but broke into a big smile within seconds, “Cause I’m not going to be able to bail myself out. What with trying to keep my grades up and planning my travels. I might just have to revert back to drunk frat boys in college bars.” She was kidding, of course, she’d seen the light and she was never turning back. Though she had resisted being parented for so long, she found this kind of enlightening. Maybe that was what growing up was truly about. Mentally, she decided that if this was what growing up was like, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.
“Thank you,” She gave Tim a sincere smile, “For everything. I’ll come back all the time and who knows! Maybe after I’ve seen the world, I’ll find that Seattle is where I want to settle. Or maybe you and Harry will get bored of this rainy city and come live with me, wherever I happen to be.”
Tim was so happy that he couldn’t stop himself. He pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around him, giving her a warm hug. She could steal from whoever she wanted, as long as she kept her grades up. She’d improve just being in a foreign country, being forced to focus on body language. He was too busy focusing on the fact that she wanted to be his daughter.
“We’ll end up together in the long run, Poppy. I’m sure of it,” he replied, his voice soft as he spoke. Tim was so proud of her and beyond thrilled at the turn of events. Even if he was going to be saying goodbye to her for an extended period of time, Tim knew she’d never truly be far away, and that was all that mattered.
Poppy tensed at first, but relaxed into the hug, wrapping her arms around his back and squeezing tight. Despite any grief she’d ever given the man, she could not deny that she would miss him dearly. As excited as she was to explore the world on her own, she would definitely miss her new family and she made a promise to herself, then, that she would visit as often as she could. When they released each other, and Tim said what he said, Poppy found herself tearing up just a little bit. She’d never had a real family before, at least not one that she didn’t have to pretend around. Now that she had one, she would never ever trade them in for the world.