InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "keep moving forward"

Friar Tuck Everlasting (friartuck) wrote in nevermore_logs,
@ 2020-10-05 16:30:00

Current mood:	cheerful
Entry tags:	daniel collins, friar tuck, will stutely

WHO: Friar Tuck Will Stutely, Daniel Collins
WHEN: Sunday afternoon
WHERE: Tuck's church and parsonage
WHAT: More chats, some of the difficult
WARNINGS: TBA

Every new first with Daniel and Michaela seemed like the best thing ever, and Tuck experienced a brand new 'best thing ever' during his sermon on Sunday morning. He looked up just as he took to the pulpit, to see his son, Daniel, smiling at him from the back row, his arms around Amelia. His son and granddaughter were in his church and he was about to do an entire sermon on the importance of family, found family, and love.

His entire body felt so warm and light, it was just lucky for his parishioners he didn't try to sing the sermon.

When he was finished, Tuck was uncharacteristically uninterested in chatting while he made a beeline for Daniel. "You came!" he grinned, opening his arms up for a hug. "I'm thrilled to see you both here!"

"We wanted to check it out," Daniel said, bouncing Amelia a little bit. She was falling asleep on his shoulder. "This is a really beautiful church, Dad."

Tuck was filled with such affection and love, and he wanted to just sit down with Daniel and talk, but he still had work to do. "Will you stay for awhile after? I can make us some lunch and Stutely is around somewhere! I should go check in with a few people, but I would love to chat if you have time."

"Dad," Daniel smiled at him, "I have time. Go make sure your people are alright, we'll be here."

Tuck gave Daniel an adoring smile and he rubbed his arms a little, "Thank you," he said fondly.

He made his rounds, chatting and catching up with everyone who wanted to talk to him. Every once in a while he would cast his eyes over to Daniel, who was always there just like he said he would be, occasionally chatting to someone himself. By the time everyone cleared out, Tuck went to hook his arm through Stutely's. "Dan and Amelia are here!" he said to his friend. "Do you want to come meet my son and granddaughter?" It was clear from every single thing about him, that Tuck couldn't wait to show off his son and granddaughter to his friend. His pride in them radiated off of him like the sun.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

sly_stutely
2020-10-07 10:09 am UTC (link)

Will scrolled through the gallery, marvelling at Daniel's work. He didn't know a thing about art, but it looked damned impressive. There was something real and raw in the colours; he didn't know how to articulate it. It spoke of passion.

(This was why he wasn't comfortable calling himself an artist. Will could make a fine-looking chair or knock together a dollhouse for a six-year-old, but he couldn't do anything like this, dreaming up worlds and bringing them to life on canvas.)

He passed the phone back to Daniel, smiling. "They're incredible. You've got a serious talent."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

friartuck
2020-10-07 11:52 am UTC (link)

"Thank you," Daniel said, sincerely. He knew his work wasn't for everyone, and he really appreciated when people liked it.

"And here we go," Tuck carried three bacon and cheese omelettes and a bunch of hashbrowns over to the table. "I can make something for Amelia when she wakes up," he said, taking a seat. "Dig in."

Daniel took a bite and sighed happily. "This tastes like my childhood. The happy part of it."

"That just means I've been making hashbrowns the same way for forty years," Tuck laughed. He was trying to stall because they were eating lunch now, which meant he should probably talk about the sheriff.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sly_stutely
2020-10-07 12:12 pm UTC (link)

"Nothing wrong with consistency, not when it tastes this good." Will shot Tuck a small grin as he dug into his own lunch. The hash browns were deliciously crisp.

But as he caught the Friar's eye, Will thought he saw a hesitation there. Like there was something else he wanted to say, but he was still working his way round to it. Will didn't comment on it, just took another bite of his meal and waited.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

friartuck
2020-10-07 12:17 pm UTC (link)

Oh god, here we go.

"You asked if I was happy," Tuck started right in, because he honestly didn't know how to preamble this. "I am. I love my church and my family, and Will. And having you and Michaela back is just- There aren't words for what it means to me," Tuck said earnestly. "But we're here, Stutely and I, because belief brought us here. And it brought others too. Namely...Guy of Gisbourne, Prince John, and the Sheriff of Nottingham. They're all here in the city and they're all...awful."

Daniel put down his fork then and he met Tuck's eye, "are they after you?"

Tuck didn't even hesitate before he answered honestly, "yes."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sly_stutely
2020-10-07 12:45 pm UTC (link)

Will watched Daniel's face quietly for a reaction. God, it felt awful dropping this on him. The lad had seen his father shot dead as a child. Now he was as good as hearing that it could happen again.

They had to know, though. It wasn't fair to keep it from them, not when it concerned their safety and not when it concerned someone they loved. But shit, it felt cruel.

"We're all of us shaped by our stories. The Sheriff, his is a simple one: he exists to come after us. So that's what he does." He was careful with his words; he wasn't sure just how much Tuck wanted to tell Daniel. The full truth of it was hideously bleak.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

friartuck
2020-10-08 02:52 am UTC (link)

Daniel glanced back and forth between his father and Will. "Is he the person who broke your nose?" Daniel asked warily.

Tuck sort of absently raised his fingers to his nose, testing if it was still tender. It was, but it had mostly healed. "He is," Tuck acknowledged anyway. "I caught him snooping around and he wasn't thrilled about it."

Daniel poked at his lunch with his fork a few times before throwing the fork down. "Well fuck!" he exclaimed. "I don't know what do with that!"

Tuck reached out to put his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "It's alright, Dan. No matter what happens, I'll always come back."

"You know, Dad, that is really the least reassuring thing you could have said to me," Daniel explained, his voice a little wavery, "because it sounds like you expect him to kill you." Tuck made a sort of guilty face at that and Daniel's eyes widened, "oh my god, how many times has he killed you!" Then, when Tuck looked up to the roof and started counting on his fingers, Daniel flapped his hands at his father. "Stop that! Jesus Christ."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sly_stutely 2020-10-08 03:08 am UTC (link)
	"We're not going to let him kill anyone," said Will firmly, and mercifully opted not to finish that sentence with again. He turned to Daniel with sympathy in his eyes. "It's been a bad few months, I won't lie. We're all treading lightly at the moment, and yeah, the danger is real. But we've beat him before." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

friartuck
2020-10-08 03:20 am UTC (link)

Daniel didn't look entirely reassured, as he stared at Will. "Did you die in the last few months?" he asked pointedly, and Tuck made the guilty face again. Daniel just groaned and scrubbed at his face with his hands, and then his phone rang and he jumped.

Pulling it back out to glance at the caller ID, his lips thinned when he said 'Mother' there. "Oh godddddd," he moaned, immediately hanging up on Sarah. "She's going to try back in a moment. She always does. I don't know what to say to her. Fuck it." He switched his phone off and stowed it back in his pocket.

"Right. So you all just...live with these three arch villains coming after you?" Daniel asked. "You'd think they'd move on or something."

"Belief is a powerful thing," Tuck sighed. "Dan- You should eat your lunch, son."

Daniel groaned, but he picked his fork back up. "I suppose it was always going to be like this. Can't just have something good without the bad."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sly_stutely 2020-10-08 03:40 am UTC (link)
	Will looked down at his plate, his appetite gone. "Maybe not," he conceded, sighing. "I'm sorry, lad. It's a shit of a thing to have to lay on you. If it helps any... we're not completely on our own. Tuck's had a couple of saint friends keeping watch over the church." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

friartuck
2020-10-08 03:45 am UTC (link)

"No, I- I'd rather know now," Daniel said, shaking his head. "Rather know before I witness something awful again when I could have seen it coming. I'm glad you told me. I wish there was something I could do to help," he groaned.

At that though, Daniel raised his eyebrows. "You have saint friends?"

"I do," Tuck smiled. "Francis. One of my oldest friends who isn't a merry man. He's been incredibly helpful, as has his entire family."

"Like...Saint Francis? The bird guy?"

Tuck laughed, "that's the one. He would be delighted to be known as the bird guy. I've known him almost thirty years," he explained, and then he faltered a little, remembering how he had met Francis in the first place.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sly_stutely
2020-10-08 04:08 am UTC (link)

Will could take a good guess where his friend's thoughts had gone. Tuck had talked about what a bad place he'd been in when Francis had found him, sleeping rough on the streets of San Francisco after his previous attempt to find his family had led only to heartbreak.

"He's a good bloke," Will put in smoothly. "Gentlest soul you'll ever met, and he scares the living daylights out of the Sheriff." He almost mentioned the rats, but that would involve bringing up Tuck being killed again, which seemed like... not the best idea.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

friartuck
2020-10-08 08:30 am UTC (link)

"How does a gentle person scare the sheriff?" Daniel asked, and Tuck chuckled.

"He has his ways," Tuck replied enigmatically. "I'm sorry. Not all the ins and outs of being us are pleasant."

"Putting it lightly," Daniel mused. "Bee's mom just can't stop ordering stuff off the TV. Would they- Would these men hurt me? Or Michaela? Or Billie and-" Daniel glanced over at his sleeping daughter.

"I don't believe so," Tuck was quick to say, "they tend to believe they're doing the right thing so 'innocent' people are safe. Will and I are thieves, you see. Criminals. So they can justify their actions."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sly_stutely
2020-10-08 09:00 am UTC (link)

Will wasn't so sure about that. The Sheriff might not outright hurt somebody he considered an innocent, but if he knew that innocent meant something to the Merry Men, if he thought they'd been led astray, would he see it as fair game to use them to get to his quarry? At what point might he decide they were accomplices, and therefore deserving of punishment themselves? And Gisborne, shit, Gisborne didn't care about doing the right thing, he only cared about coming out on top. The sadistic fuck would probably get a kick out of coming at the gang through their loved ones. The Prince, he didn't like to get his hands dirty, but it wasn't out of any concern for innocents. If he was feeling the right kind of spiteful, and he was confident it wouldn't blow back on him, Will reckoned he'd happily send Gisborne to rough up a family member or two.

He'd been thinking a lot about these things since he and Clio had started getting serious.

But instead of all that, he said, "In any case, we're not gonna give 'em the chance. Right now, they don't know who any of you are; they don't even know Tuck has kids. We're gonna keep it that way. We'll take precautions to make sure they don't get anywhere near you."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

friartuck
2020-10-08 09:32 am UTC (link)

Daniel was listening closely and he nodded, "right, makes sense. We can do that. We can be careful." He didn't look entirely convinced, but he started eating again, so Tuck relaxed a little.

"None of them are getting anywhere near you on my watch," Tuck summed up.

Daniel nodded, and after a few moments of silence, he said, "so you're a thief, hmm?"

Tuck snorted, "only if someone deserves it. Will and I were out on a date one night and these five little shits decided to be homophobic, calling us names and finally one of them pushed me. Will's on parole so he has to be careful, so he couldn't do anything unless they started it, but once they pushed me, he jumped in there and let them scuffle a bit. I played the scared old man. Will let them think they'd overpowered him and came away with every single one of their wallets. They were clearly country club kids with money to burn. So we took the cash and handed it out to the homeless in Times Square. It was a pretty good date!"

Daniel just shook his head, amused. "Uh, because you used to be really firm about bedtime rules and now I find out this!"

"Proper sleep is important!" Tuck winked.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sly_stutely
2020-10-08 10:45 am UTC (link)

Will snorted in amusement. He hadn't heard about that particular date, but he wasn't surprised. Pampered brats probably never knew what hit 'em.

God, it had been so long since he'd done a real job. Not since the one that had landed him in prison. None of the jobs after prison counted; they'd all been for profit, and he'd been... fuckfuckfuck don't touch that thought now, leave it alone.

"Rob from the rich, give to the poor. Don't say nothing in the code about bedtimes, sorry," Will smirked.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	friartuck 2020-10-09 09:54 am UTC (link)
	Daniel just laughed and continued eating his food. "I suppose their wouldn't be. Got any more stories about my dad?" Daniel asked, glad that the subject matter was somewhat cheerier now. "I would like to remind Will at this juncture, that while he has many stories about me, I have some about him too," Tuck grinned. (Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -