William Knox (smilingshark) wrote in willowbrookrpg, @ 2013-10-31 18:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | !thread, day: october 01, eli gilbert, player: cal, player: kelly, william knox |
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
WHO: Eli Gilbert and William Knox
WHAT: EMERGENCY brother meeting!
WHERE: Williams apartment
WHEN: October 1, 2013 around 11pm
RATING: probably just cussing
STATUS: closed/incomplete/started in gdoc
William had to call an emergency meeting to order as soon as Connor left his apartment. He texted his brother and begged Eli to meet him at a shitty little bar a few blocks away from Seagram Tower. Yeah, it was risky because of the location, but the place wasn’t really visited by members of the Syndicate. He didn’t want Eli to have to travel far in the middle of the night.
William grabbed his coat, phone, and keys, practically running out the door and across the lawn to a waiting car. William promised to pay the driver extra if he hurried. He was desperate to tell his brother the news. Eli had to know first. He had to know even before Anne. It was big. It was family. It was their family.
He was actually shaking a bit as he hurried to the bar, and it wasn’t because of the chilly night air. William was still buzzing from the life-changing revelation that he had a son. When he spotted Eli, he rushed over and gave his shorter, younger sibling a huge hug. William didn’t care right now who saw him. Few things in his life mattered when compared to his family. “Holy fuck, Eli.. I’ve got a kid. A son!” he declared. He just couldn’t contain it. William had refused to explain the urgency of this meeting via text. He needed to tell his brother face to face.
---
Eli had been doing dishes when the shrill ringer of his phone alerted him to the text, filling up the silent apartment with a rather soft instrumental that, all the same, surprised him and the water in the sink instantly disappeared, absorbing into his hands. Glaring down at the soap suds in dismay, he lifted the cell and opened the text when he saw who it was from. William was a top priority and he had set his phone to only let through a handful of people.
It was odd to be called out in the middle of the night and so close to home too but Eli did not hesitate to collect his jacket while typing out a quick ‘Alright, be there in a few.’ and hitting send. The dishes would have to wait and would only for his brother, Eli hated filth after all.
He arrived at the bar before William did and shifted outside, hands shoved in the pockets of his coat and eyes scanning the block, waiting and worrying all the while. Did something bad happen, had he been found out? No, he thought, surely he wouldn’t have called Eli out like this if he had. Exhaling a cloud of white in the chilly night, Eli nearly missed the arrival of his tall sibling and opened his mouth to greet him.
His words never left though; the hug threw him and he slowly raised his arms to return the embrace, patting gently against William’s back, brow knitting in concern. “What’s - What?” He said, surprise making him speak louder and he jerked back enough so that he could look at William’s face, searching for something, anything to explain it. A kid… was that just something that had gone unmentioned all these years? No idiot, his brain responded with a firm kick. Of course William wouldn’t do that but it wasn’t…
“A kid!” He repeated and then followed it up with a, “Holy fuck,” of his own. Eli was not the type to cuss often but he felt that this more than warranted it.
“Is...is it like, a little baby? You just knocked the mom up?” Eli asked, wondering whether or not asking Hey is it Anne? was entirely appropriate.
----
William pulled back but left one arm draped over his brother’s shoulder. “Come on,” he urged, ushering Eli to the door, “Let’s get some drinks. I’m buying.” Because he was happy. Nervous, but yes, definitely happy. This was a celebratory meeting.
“No, it’s not Anne,” he started to explain while grabbing a seat, as if reading his brother’s mind, even though that wasn’t one of his mutant abilities. “Not a baby either. His name is Connor. He’s eighteen. There was this one night stand with his mom when we were both students. She was older. She left campus soon after. I didn’t know why.” He shook his head, frustrated over the situation, because he would have liked to see his son grow up, but at the same time understanding. “I have a son. I have a grandson too!” That was possibly more shocking.
---
“I….” It was rather like computer overload, one large chunk of information being followed so quickly by another left Eli staring at his brother with comically wide blue eyes. Seriously? Eli almost protests the offer of alcohol but instead moved along with William, deciding that one or two can’t hurt and maybe, just maybe his brother needs it after this news.
Eli could understand how he would. “Tha-that’s amazing,” He finally managed to say, lips slowly pulling up into a tentative smile while he nervously rubs his hands together, realizing that he does not want to stay still and will have to form himself to sit down while he speaks with him about all of this. “Not that she left like that but -- a son and a grandson! He seems a little young for a kid th-”
Eli stops speaking, cheeks growing pink in the dull light of the bar as he realizes what he said. William was not all that old when he had Connor either if his quick math is right, and it usually is, and he smiles a little more at Will. “I’m sorry. I--He’s, he’s like us then? A mutant?”
How else would he have found his father? If they were both from the school, it only made sense.
---
William just chuckled at the age calculations happening in his brother’s head. It was amusing. William couldn’t help but be entertained a little by the fact that he and his son both conceived children around the same age. Genetics were a bitch. Connor took after William in many ways it seemed. “He is. He’s a student at Willowbrook. His mother just told him the truth tonight.” It would have been nice if she’d told William as well, preferably much sooner, but there was no changing the past.
Motioning to a waitress, William smiled brightly at her when she came to their table. “A bottle of your finest scotch and two glasses.” He wasn’t looking to get drunk. Not necessarily. But William needed booze right now!
The woman left, and William continued. “He looks just like me, Eli. I don’t know how I could have been so blind all this time.” It seemed obvious now.
---
“Ignorance clouds the eyes of the best men, William.” Eli was looking around the bar, making sure that no one he knew or that knew him was around before he continued. It helped that he was always a little paranoid, not mental of course but weary of being found out. “You didn’t see it because you didn’t think to. Like, adopted parents often are told how their children look just like them, have their eyes or nose….”
Eli has no idea why he is talking about any of that but damn it, he’s nervous. It’s either this or rearrange the bowl of peanuts he can see sitting innocently on the counter of the bar. Fidgeting with the cuffs of his dress shirt, Eli glanced back to his brother. “I can’t believe it though, he’s just been there the whole time and his mother kept it a secret…”
As someone who had his parents taken away from him, Eli can’t understand why a person would deliberately deceive the other parent and the child too. William would - will, he corrects - make a wonderful father and the woman had kept that from her son for nothing. Nothing that he can see.
“He’s…. Connor, is he….receptive to you?” Eli isn’t used to being excited but it is growing within him and he is controlling it just barely. He had no family except William and he knew how much this must mean to his brother and to see him so happy is a warming sight. “He’s the one that told you, right?”
--
The whole conversation was a bit of a blur. William remembered it in fragments. The blanks would probably fill in later when he had time to digest it all, but right now it was a scattered mess in his mind. He was terrified and thrilled at the same time. It was all so very confusing. And emotional. William didn’t tend to get emotional, at least not when sober. He wasn’t himself right now. His guard was down, which was why he didn’t bother inspecting the bar when they walked in. It was also why he’d hugged his brother without a second thought. Right now, the only thing he could think about was the fact that he had a son and grandchild.
“Yeah, he told me. It wasn’t a bad conversation. Could have gone better, sure..” William sighed and rubbed his face. That was when the bottle arrived. William poured drinks for himself and Eli. “I told him about you. Well, not you specifically. Didn’t tell him your name or anything. Just told him that he has an uncle, but that information would have to stay between the two of us. I can’t lie to him, Eli. He has to know. He’s family. We have to take care of him.”
---
Normally Eli was not unsure of himself when he was around William, being that he was one of the only people that he could be entirely open to. They did not lie, use false names or hide their ideas and beliefs. But now he was uncomfortable and Eli reached for the freshly poured booze without a second thought.
Sipping at the harsh liquid, which burned his throat as it went down, Eli’s other hand went to his cheek, absently brushing the pad of his thumb against his skin; a calming tic that he had developed during his teens and never managed to wrestle under control. He was used to it being just the two of them and now it was the four of them. It was a deliriously debilitating knowledge that felt too large in his hands.
William was usually the one in control of everything while Eli scrambled around like a frightened mouse and now William was exuding….emotion. Lots of emotions. “That’s just...wonderful. It’s --
I’m sure it went fine, there are bound to be hitches when you suddenly learn that you have a whole family you never knew about before. ” He breathed, lowering the glass back down. “I-I don...don’t expect you to, I do not want you to have to, William.”
His fingers played with the rim of the glass and Eli shrugged, no longer looking at his brother. “I mean…. I would want to meet him a-and his baby.”
--
Eli had a lot of nervous ticks. William was used to them. But they did seem particularly active tonight. Not that there was anything wrong with that. William had just revealed something monumental. He was twitchy over the information, and he was usually so calm and collected. Of course Eli would be a fumbling, bumbling mess.
“Really?” he asked hopefully, enthused by Eli’s response. “Because I really want you to meet them. Fuck, I really want to meet Lukas. That’s Connor’s son.” William paused before adding, “My grandson. It’s all so insane, Eli. I can’t fucking stop..” he was still shaking a bit, “There’s no way I’ll sleep tonight. I should probably call Anne. I wanted to tell you first. To tell you in person.”
---
“Yes, really.” Eli kept himself smiling; he was not upset, it was just that he had never been a particularly secure person when it came to moments like these and he likely never would be but he meant what he had said. “I would love for him to know about me. I’m not going to refuse him that when he’s only just found the family.”
Eli shifted in his seat, soles of his shoes scuffing the floor and he leant forward, placing his hand against William’s arm. “It’s fine. Everything is.” He said this because his brother was shaking and something told Eli that, while happy, he was experiencing more than he had in a long time. And surely that was scary for him? “Connor will let you meet him soon and I bet the little guy loves you at first glance.”
He laughed a little, quiet and quick. “It is insane and...well, maybe we should have expected this? It’s a happy little surprise. I, uhm….” Eli pulled his hand back and quickly finished the whiskey, speaking past the burn in his throat as the alcohol settled in his stomach like a small ball of fire. “Thank you….for telling me, for including me. It’s--our family is going to continue! It has by two generations, I never...I bet they’re just amazing.”
His sentences were not complete but it was not something Eli could help, he was flustered.
---
William appreciated the small physical gesture. He needed it. He needed his brother right now. Eli loved William unconditionally and always had. They could trust eachother with anything and everything. "I don't wanna fuck this up," he admitted. He'd told Connor that he would try not to fuck up, and he would, but he was so very afraid that it was unavoidable. William had always been able to maintain a certain level of emotional distance at school. He wouldn't be able to now, not so long as Connor was there. It was no longer William's life alone that was at risk if he was discovered as a double agent. What would they do to Connor?
"He showed me a picture of Lukas. I wish I had a copy I could show you. Cute baby." William smirked. "Good looks run in the family." William wished he had baby pictures of his own to share, family pictures in general. He had nothing. Not a single possession from his past. "I should show Connor that family tree I compiled years ago. You know, since we don't have pictures..." It was something. Connor would be curious, and William wanted to share what little history he'd been able to find.
---
“You won’t.” The longer they spoke, the more Eli was slowly becoming used to the idea, some of his own fear and worries dissipating, he did not know why that was, just that it was. Maybe it was because of William and his own needs right now, ever the rock in their relationship, he needed something to lean on and Eli wanted to provide that. It was more than he deserved. “You’ve practically been a dad to me all these years and the kids you recruit love you. Connor will be getting even more of you than any of them ever have too!”
He smiled properly now, trying to imagine what the baby looked like and ended up with the traditional images of bright blue eyed infants that he saw on the television, which was the extent of experience he had with them. Eli lacked any real applicable skills when it came to babies and small children, something he had never thought about until now. “Good looks. That explains,” He motioned between them, “This meeting.”
Charms could only go so far and no doubt Connor was as handsome as his father and Lukas an adorable version with fat cheeks and… Eli lifted his empty glass but kept his eyes on William. “I think he would like that. I mean, we don’t have anything else and that way he can see where he comes from on the Knox side.”
Eli exhaled, trying to calm himself and not quite managing. “This is just unexpected and fantastic…”
---
William smiled warmly at the compliments. He was good with kids. He liked kids. Connor was a bit older, but William didn't care. However, recruiting his own flesh and blood would be strange. He couldn't pull his usual tricks. He had to be honest with his son. And the truth was fucking scary at times. What if Connor couldn't be swayed? "I care about him so much already. It's frightening."
"I think a few days to get used to all this will be good, then I want to have him over for a proper chat. We have a lot to talk about, including you. And....our past." That was the part he dreaded. But it was absolutely necessary. Connor needed to know where he came from. He needed to understand his family's strength and bravery.
"It is wonderful, but terrifying. And I feel like I have so much more to lose now. What happens if I'm caught?" It could spell disaster.
---
It was a little sad to see William go through this dance of emotions and Eli kept himself concentrating on the good of it; that they weren’t alone anymore and that their family line would be carried on if they died. It was morbid perhaps but that was something good that was coming out of this, besides the obvious of course, and it was something which he had worried about occasionally. Eli did not believe he would ever have kids, let alone get married, and he had thought William was on that same path. “Of course you do, he’s your baby.”
It was expected. Their parents had not known either of them well, always being separated from their children with just short visits and yet they had loved them dearly. “It will go fine, William. I’m sure of it. Connor likely wants this just as much as you do, maybe even more. He’s always known he had a father out there and he’s been waiting for these talks.”
He shifted in his seat and then took the bottle up, pouring the whiskey into his glass which he picked up once he set the bottle down. “If you’re caught the Syndicate will protect you and them both. There’s no way that we’ll let any one of you get hurt and...Willowbrook has it’s fault but I don’t think they would do anything to him if you were found out.”
---
"The talks we never got to have," he added bitterly. "He needs to know. He needs to hear about the people who tried to destroy our family." Connor would understand then. He would see that the Centurions were wrong, and the Syndicate members were fighting for a just cause.
"Maybe not Willowbrook, but what about the Centurion agents? I don't know, Eli. They're so...fucked up. I'm still furious that they won't let Syndicate agents visit the grounds on Memorial Day. It's..." he sighed heavily and shook his head. He couldn't express how much it angered him. "What if they locked up Connor and treated him like a spy? He's just a kid."