darker_london | Hurt (Thomas, James)

Taking his son shopping might be a simple pleasure, but it was one of Thomas' favourites. It was like showing the world he had just what he had always wanted, even though, by and large, the world didn't give a damn. James brought Thomas such joy and Thomas wanted to take James everywhere.

"Want to go into the music store and visit Daddy Spectre's pictures?!" Thomas asked his son and James giggled and nodded. They both ducked into the nearest CD shop and Thomas headed to the prog section. He located A Pilgrim's Prog and he showed it to James. "There's Daddy! Say hi, Daddy!"

"Hi, Daddy!" James said to the CD, cheerfully. He even waved at it. "He's holding a shiny thing."

"Yes, that's a..." Thomas stared at the shining treble cleft in Spectre's fingers on the front cover. "...music thing." He finished up. "I'm sure he can explain it."

"It's shiny!" James said, as if that explained enough. "More!"

Thomas replaced that album and he pulled out the EP. "This one has a surprise! Look!" Thomas knelt down and he turned the album over so James could see. "Who's this?"

"Deedee!" James exclaimed.

"That's right, it's Aunty Deirdre! And look, who's that?"

"Flynny!!" James bounced because he loved Flynn.

"And look, there's Daddy playing his guitar!"

"Hi, Daddy!" James said again.

Thomas then realised that they were being watched by exactly seven people. He looked a tad sheepish and he chuckled a little. "He uh...likes the pictures. Of the...his Da... Ahem." And Thomas put the EP away.

"Bye, Daddy." James said, a little glumly. "Let's buy him cake!"

Thomas snorted and he scooped James up into his arms. He had left James's stroller in the car, preferring to carry him or walk beside him. It was just sweeter that way. "I think he love that. And even more because it was your idea." Thomas planted a big kiss on James' forehead and James beamed at him.

Once they had visited a grocery store, and were now one cake richer, they headed back towards Thomas' bitchin' car. Thomas could see, up ahead, a man between them and the car. And the man was screaming at a small child at his side. Thomas, who had been holding James' hand, scooped him protectively into his one free arm instead. He didn't want this son anywhere near a man who was screaming at a boy who couldn't have been more than five years old. As they got closer, Thomas could hear what the man was saying. And it was horrible.

"You piece of shit! You break everything! What the fuck is wrong with you? What were you doing, touching that lamp, huh? Huh?"

Thomas glanced at the store the man and boy were standing in front of. It was an antiques store and Thomas could only guess that the little boy had broken something and the man had been forced to pay for it. Thomas quickly put himself in the man's situation, but if James had broken a lamp, Thomas would say accidents happened and pay without complaint. Never would he scream at his son and call him names.

The boy shook and he cried and he said pathetically, "I didn't mean to."

"Well you did! You're a worthless piece of shit. Do you know how much that cost me? Huh? More than you're worth! You can just go without dinner. You cost me money, I ain't buyin' you no food, you hear me?!"

Thomas was instantly reminded of his husband and his grip on James only increased. Thomas tried to cross to the other side of the street, but he would just have to come back, as the car was right in front of them. It would be pointless. Instead, Thomas made to turn around and come back later, as his blood was literally boiling with rage and he was going to hurt someone soon if he didn't leave. But then the man realised Thomas had been staring and he started to yell at Thomas. "What the fuck is your problem, huh? This ain't no movie screen."

Thomas didn't qualify that with an answer, he just glared defiantly. He hated people who treated their children like shit. Even his own worthless father hadn't done anything like this.

"Mind your own fuckin' business!" By then, the little boy was howling with fear, and the man turned and he smacked the child across the face.

Something inside Thomas snapped and for a moment all he could hear was his blood, rushing in his veins as his heart pounded against his ribcage. He was seconds away from charging forward and beating the living daylights out of the man, but then he heard James make a frightened sound in his arms. James then hid his face in Thomas' neck and Thomas knew he couldn't go rushing forward like a white knight. He couldn't let James see him reacting to violence with violence. What if James was then afraid of him?! Still, Thomas wasn't going to be quiet on the issue. "My problem is what you're doing to your child!" He hissed back and then he looped the shopping bag onto his wrist so he could dig out his mobile.

"That ain't any of your business!" The man yelled and then he grabbed the now inconsolable little boy harshly and he began to drag him away. Immediately, Thomas rang the police and then Tasha, to see if anything could be done, but as he didn't have a name, he couldn't make a formal complaint. The poor boy. Thomas only hoped that someone closer to the family would do the right thing. As for him, he had done all he could.

When they finally got back to the car, Thomas placed the cake in the back seat and then he started to buckle James into his carseat. "Daddy? Why was that man so angry?"

Thomas took a deep breath and he licked his lips. Finally he crawled into the seat beside James' and he ran his hand gently over the little boy's head. "I don't know, James." He said sadly. How did you explain the shitty things in the world to a two-year-old. Even if James was extremely attentive, he was still very young. "Some people are just angry. They don't deal with things that upset them. Like...if one of your toys got broken and it made you mad, you might cry. Other people get mad and they yell. But that man was doing the wrong thing."

"He hurt that little boy." James said, looking slightly scared. "It was scary."

"It was." Thomas agreed. "That was wrong of him to do. The boy made a mistake, but people shouldn't get hurt for their mistakes. James. I won't ever treat you like that man treated that little boy. I promise. No matter what. I love you." Thomas wanted to be a father like Joe was. Julian had made some of the worst mistakes he could possibly have made, and Joe loved him. Joe met up against everything with love. Thomas wanted to be the same.

James smiled at his father, though he couldn't truly understand the concept of Thomas' words yet. It was still an incident he would remember with startling clarity his entire life and when his was older, he would hold it as a prime example of the amazing man his father was. Thomas had ensured that James knew he was safe before James would even have known to worry, pre-empting any fear that a mistake would be met with anger. "I love you too, Daddy. Can we have cake when we get home?"

Thomas smiled in relief at James' cute little request. That of a completely safe and happy two-year-old. Any fear that James would be scarred by the experience drifted away and he nodded, kissing James' forehead. "You know what, Kiddo? I think cake sounds perfect. Want to listen to Daddy Spectre singing on the ride home?"

"Yeah!"

With that, Thomas and James headed home, with the incredible Spectre singing in their ears. At home there was love and cake and that would take any remaining 'yuck' of the day away.