Coming Home // Sidemen AU (Minizerk)

The Walls We Build

The small six year old barely glanced up from his drawing when he heard the keys turning in the lock and the sound of the door thudding into the thin studio walls. He was sat at the tiny wooden table, only a few feet from the doorway and waited patiently for his father to take off his coat and shoes.

He was with the man for the week, as was the arrangement between his parents - a week with his mum, a week with his dad - barring any special plans either one had going on. It still needed some getting used to, having to adjust to the way each parent lived, as well as where they lived.

His mum had remained in their old flat, now considerably more roomier due to the lack of stuff, but his dad had moved into a tiny studio apartment, in a nicer area and closer to his work, but wow was it small. Kitchen, TV, sofa, table and bed all squashed into one thirty square metre space.

A bag was thrown onto the table in front of the child and then a large hand ruffled his hair. "Whatcha up to ya little tyke?" the young man greeted, reaching to lift up the sheet of paper.

"No! It's a secret!" the youngster exclaimed, practically leaping across the table, shielding his work with his body. For a brief moment, a spark of fear ignited in his heart. He knew his dad had only been curious and he'd acted a bit unreasonably - he'd seen in the past what his dad could get like when he acted up, or if his mum had been nagging at him - not a sight he wanted to see again.

But luckily the man only took a step back, holding his hands up defensively. "Alright, alright. Fucking calm down."

The boy gave a short nod. "It's a surprise Dad. You can't see it yet or it'll ruin it for you," he tried to explain. He didn't want anybody to see it until it was perfect.

"Okay, I hear ya little man," his dad agreed. "No peeking from me. Not until you say so."

Josh smiled, returning to his work while his dad busied himself with making a coffee. He could hear his murmurings of discontent as the man filled his mug with the cheapest coffee on the shelfs. "How was work?" he asked.

"Ah fucking stressful as always. You have no idea Josh, you wouldn't believe how many arseholes go into the business."

"But you're gonna be the boss of all them one day." Josh gave his father a beaming smile. "Right Dad?"

The man chuckled, ruffling his son's hair as he sat down with his coffee. "You said it kiddo."

"And then you can make sure no more arseholes work there neither."

"Absolutely. My company will have a strictly no arseholes rule."

Josh paused in thought, something niggling at him. "What if you need to take a shit?" he queried, and his father burst out laughing, nearly spitting out his hot drink.

"Your mother's gonna kill me. You spend a week here and you're swearing like it's nobody's business." Josh just pulled a face, unaware what was so funny. As far as he was concerned, it had been a very legitimate question. "Anyway, how was your day?" the man asked once he'd finally calmed down.

The boy shrugged. "It was okay, I learnt how to tell the time of twenty four hour clocks."

"Very useful skill to have."

"Also I got my finger trapped between a desk cause someone pushed it into me, but I didn't cry or nothing."

""That's cause you're a big boy," his father praised fondly. He took small sips from his coffee, waiting for it to cool down, all the while watching the youngster as he concentrated on his project. After a couple of minutes of silence, he spoke up, something very sombre in his tone. "You and me, we get along okay don't we? We're buddies?"