“Soooo…” Aslaugh took her ‘friend’s’ hand as they walked towards the village.
“So what?” Niklaus couldn’t help smiling, but tried to avoid the subject. He would never get permission anyways.
“So, let’s
go hunting tomorrow. Come on, it’s not going to be far or anything.”
“That’s not
the problem, it’s not like my parents are going to give me permission to go,
and even less because Esther’s stupid parents are coming to visit.” Seriously,
the guy never did, why now?
“That’s a bigger reason to go, you have said so yourself, those old people are some big jerks.”
“Yes, but they
will want me to be there anyways.”
“Well, you don’t
lose anything by asking.”
Aslaugh
shrugged. They actually got to hang out more since Nik’s mom and dad had had some kind of
disagreement and they barely talked now.
The little
boy sighed tiredly, he really wanted to go, he enjoyed hunting and fishing and hiking
with her, but didn’t need to be a genius to know his siblings’ dad would have
an opinion about it.
“I can ask
and tell you later, but just don’t expect good news.”
However,
that was more than enough for her, who immediately threw her arms around his
neck. He was going to be her husband someday. For then, she would be happy with playing together and hanging around.
The boy
smiled and hugged back before actually separating. They had arrived to the part
of their Viking village where the houses were, besides he was planning on arriving kind of
early and helping with some stupid chores before asking for permission. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but any extra possibility was just fine.
“Where were
you?!” Of course, considering his usual luck, Mikael was not in a good mood
when he arrived.
“…Me?” It’s not like there were more
people there apparently, but the kid couldn’t help it, and judging by the exasperated sigh the man let out, the boy noticed he had that confused
expression on his face that wasn’t the man’s or his mother’s at all…
“Of course
I’m talking to you, that’s obvious,” Mikael managed to sound just serious
instead of angry at the reminder of his wife’s chesting. “Why aren’t your
siblings here with you?”
“Well, I
don’t know where they are.”
Mikael
actually raised an eyebrow. His kids were almost always together, or at least
aware of each other’s whereabouts.
“Why
weren’t you al ltogether?”
“Uhm… oh, I
stayed with a friend after school… Do you need help with something, Papa?”
The man
was not stupid, and of course he noticed
something was going on because, to begin
with, that child was never home early, he had to practically be dragged
out of the woods, and second of all, the boy’s only chore was to feed and give
water to the barn animals, and he usually did it, but rarely offered to do
something else just because.
“I would
actually like for someone to help cleaning up the kitchen,” as expected, the
boy didn’t like it but didn’t openly complain, he wanted that permission after
all.
“Is mother
washing the dishes later?”
“I don’t really know, since she is still at the neighbor’s house,” that awful
lady was Esther‘s friend and they spent almost all last afternoons together
lately, probably complaining about him.
“I can wash
them, then,” that offer came out pretty lame compared to the first one. He
sounded so annoyed about washing the dishes that it was a miracle he managed to
not roll his eyes
“…That would be good.”
The kid
started cleaning silently, trying as hard as possible not to get distracted or
to knock anything over or break stuff, because the whole point of being back so
soon was to get on his father’s good side and being allowed to go hunting with
his friend the next day.
“Why didn’t
you stay with your siblings today?” Mikael wasn’t the chatty type, but he was at least decent
noticing when the hellions were up to something.
“Because…” Niklaus
thought about his answer pretty well. He knew matter of factly that his dad didn’t like Aslaugh very much. “I stayed with a friend after class to check
something.”
“Which
friend?” Things were just becoming weirder, it’s not like that kid gave a damn
about something like he didn’t understanding a class.
“…Aslaugh.”
Now the man cursed aloud.
“Niklaus, you
know very damn well I don’t like you spending time with her.”
“Well, we
go to school together and she had questions too.”
“What a
surprise.”
“Well, I had some stuff to clear out with the teacher and you said you wanted
me to improve my grades…”
Mikael just
frowned slightly, because yes, he had said so.
“Actually Papa,”
the boy began, “I asked my teacher what assignments did I need to turn in and
she offered to tutor tomorrow afternoon.” He knew his parents hated being lied
to, but after being reminded so clearly about the man’s strong opinion
regarding Aslaugh, it’s not like there was any chance of him being allowed to
spend the next day’s afternoon with her just because.
“Tomorrow
afternoon.”
“Niklaus,
do you remember your grandparent’s are coming tomorrow?”
“Yes, I do
remember, but it’s the only day she can and I have so many questions…”
“However…”
“And she
would do it for free.”
“…Well, your grandparents are staying until dinner, they surely will be still here when you
finish your classwork.” It’s
not like he wouldn’t pay for it if needed, but he had
five children, a wife and a barn to support, so yes, any saving they could make
was more than welcome. Besides, that child really needed to improve those awful
and embarrassing notes.
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