I'll Always Love You, No Matter What

by Pixelated_CapAdornment

Summary:

Thaniyel & Brad share a nice, comforting father-son moment! :]

Brad looked dejectedly at the participation award in his hands. Turitopulis just held its annual “Largest Watermelon Competition”, and he came last. Dead last. After the two and a half months of hardship caring for the watermelons, it stung when he didn’t do as well as he hoped. Not by a landslide. His throat had that weird feeling at its back; the one you feel when you want to cry but you’re trying your hardest not to.

His dad, Mayor Thaniyel, was still at the competition, giving out prizes to the winning participants. (His dad was the organizer of these events after all.) So Brad was home alone recalling the memory of the competition. His dad was the very one to give him the participation award. Although he wouldn’t participate in his own event, everyone knew he’d easily win. And here Brad was, barely managing to keep the damn melon alive.

What a disappointment. Thaniyel never looked disapprovingly at his son at the competition, but Brad sure imagined he had. Probably was the same reason he never told him about the Venomshank. Because he couldn’t do anything right. Warm tears trickled down his face.

“CRY1NG 1S F0R L0S3RS.” Brad thought to himself.

He couldn’t let his dad see him like this. Hastily he wiped the tears away on his skull graphic t-shirt and ran off to the Rugged Rainforest. There was a mango tree “not too far” from Turitopulis, which had become a quiet reflection spot for the locals. It was a myth, of sorts.

“Bring your troubles to the mango tree when you need someone who’ll listen to you. Trees don’t judge.”

.•••.

It was 2 o’clock when Thaniyel finally got home from the Watermelon contest. He told Brad to wait after he gave him the award, but he knew Brad well enough to know he’d run off one way or the other. Truth be told, Thaniyel was proud of his son. Not only had he finally got him off those videogames, but he managed to teach him a life skill.

So it took him by surprise when Brad wasn’t home. After checking every nook and cranny thrice for his son and still not finding him, Thaniyel panicked slightly. Sure, it wasn’t that unusual for Brad to go “missing” like this, but it made Thaniyel’s heart drop a little each time. But there was always one spot he went to when he did. The mango tree.

.•••.

It was 5 o’clock when Thaniyel reached the mango tree. Right as rain, he saw the silhouette of a young boy sitting on a branch near the top of the tree. He gingerly climbed the behemoth of a mango tree, movements made precise from boyhood training. He soon sat next to Brad on the branch, who was looking out at the sunset.

For a while, nothing was said between the pair. But soon Brad said, in a rather small voice,

“1m s0rry f0r 3mb4rr4s51ng u 4t th3 c0nt3st.”

“What could you mean?”

“I F4IL3D. I H4D TH3 W0RST M3L0N.” Brad snapped, his voice cracking a little.

“You still brought a melon, no? That’s something to be proud of.”

“I C0ULD B4R3LY K33P 1T AL1VE.
I TR13D MY B3ST 4ND 1T W4SNT G00D EN0UGH.” Brad was in full on tears now.

Thaniyel placed his hand at Brad’s side, huddling him closer as he lay his head on Thaniyel’s shoulder. Thaniyel didn’t seem to mind the tears soaking into his lime shirt.

“What matters is you gave it your all. That helps you learn for the next time. You’ll keep improving with each try. So long as you don’t give up.”

It was mostly quiet for a while again. The two just sat there and thought quietly. Brad stopped crying at some point. He silently gazed at the sun dipping below the horizon. His feet were swinging back and forward off the edge constantly as Thaniyel checked his watch.

“Ready to go before the mosquitoes swarm us?”

Brad nodded.

.•••.

Brad sat in the passenger side of the jeep, looking at the flora as they made their way to Turiotopulis. He took the participation award out his jean’s pocket and absently glanced at it. Thaniyel, although focused on the road, seemed to notice this by some sixth sense. They hadn’t talked at all in the jeep until Thaniyel whispered, just loud enough for Brad to hear,

“I love you no matter what.”

Brad turned his head back to the jeep window so his father wouldn’t see the tiny smirk on his face.

“I L0V3 U T00.”