Things need said (Andrew/Josh)

Andrew had been trying really hard over the last few days to work on his relationship with Naomi, but she was still young yet. The relationship that needed the most work was between him and his son. Andrew had all but disowned Josh because he would not follow the same track as Andrew did. Things are coming to light now and maybe Andrew needed to change his life a little or the two best things in his life were going to be gone and he would not be able to stop it.

Andrew knew that once Naomi graduated from Hogwarts Josh would move out of the house because once Naomi left Josh would have no reason to stay. Andrew was very proud of his son the curse-breaker even though he had never told him anything of the sort. Andrew hoped that maybe with a little time and effort that his son would forgive him. He knew having his children continue to hate him was not the answer anymore, he needed to sit back and enjoy the life he has.

It was around lunchtime on Sunday and Andrew knew usually Josh was around somewhere even though Josh always tried to avoid him. Andrew asked Mari to give Josh the message to meet him in the kitchen for lunch if he was so inclined. Andrew had not be drunk in a few days and realized how nice it was to have a clear head for a change, and he was not going to order Josh to do anything he didn't want to do.

Andrew sat at the breakfast nook drinking a glass of tea and eating a ham and cheese sandwich. Reading a potions magazine he had received yesterday and waited to see if he would come.

Josh had heard from Naomi about what had happened recently. Her encounter with Healer Bowen, and the talks she'd been having with their father. Things were still bad, but they were trying to make a start. It was good to see Andrew at least making an effort, he hadn't seen that from him in a long time. When he received the message to meet for lunch, he decided that one lunch couldn't hurt anything.

Walking towards kitchen, Josh considered what had taken place over the years. The man used to be somebody he looked up to, before their mother's death. Then the abuse had started, both to him and his little sister. He had blamed Naomi for the death, even though it was an accident. On a couple occasions he had used unforgivables on them, as well as the mental abuse. He had tried to protect Naomi when he could, comfort her. It had taken a toll on him, caused him to turn from a carefree teenager into an adult.

His father had disowned him because he had stood up to him, and didn't follow what his father wanted him to do with his life. If he wanted he could move out, the curse-breaker job paid well enough to, but he liked being here when Naomi came home from the holidays. Avoiding his father seemed easier than the constant fighting, so that was what he had been doing. The arrangement seemed to be okay with Andrew, at least for now.

Stepping into the kitchen, he saw his father reading a magazine and eating lunch. Corin, his house-elf was there. "Hello Corin, would you please make me some chicken noodle soup? To drink I'd like some hot apple cider." Bowing to him, Corin replied, "Certainly, sir, if there's anything else let me know." Josh always treated the house-elves with respect, and Corin was kind of a friend to him. The elf returned quickly, and he thanked him.

He took his seat, and looked over at the man who had raised him. "Hello father, what are you wanting to talk about?" Josh asked coldly. Andrew wasn't deserving of any pleasantness on his part. It would be a painstaking process for him to earn any respect back from him. Somewhere inside, he knew he still loved him, but it was buried under years of hurt.

Andrew had heard Josh walked into the kitchen and to be honest he was actually surprised. He never thought Josh would ever come at his request, now Andrew was at a loss at how to start the conversation. It was easy to start a conversation with Naomi cause it started with her yelling at him.

Andrew was watching Josh over his magazine while he ordered his lunch. The one nice thing that was around her was each of them had their own house elf so there was never any problems. He continued to glance over the magazine until he finally sat down and directed himself to Andrew.

"Well I thought since I have been talking things over with your sister, that I should talk things over with you. That is if your willing to listen to your ol' man."

Andrew knew that it was going to be a hard time with Josh, but he needed to be willing to work things out with his children. Andrew had been a arse for too long and he didn't want to die with his children hating him any more. Too many things were going on in the world and a person never knew when they would die.

Josh enjoyed the look of surprise on his father's face, and he chuckled softly to himself. It was obvious that he hadn't expected him to show up, he hadn't even thought of what to say to him. This was going to be a bit of an awkward conversation to put it lightly.

He listened to the explanation and took a couple bites of his soup, which was delicious and felt good on his sore throat. "She mentioned that you've been talking. Even though she'd never admit it, even to herself, I know she misses you." he said quietly.

Taking a deep sigh, he looked his father right in the eye. There was a slight look of hope in them, barely visible. "You can go ahead, I'll listen. I've been waiting for you to wake up one of these days and make an effort. Perhaps I should have, but I thought it would come to naught unless you wanted to talk too." Josh admitted. Looking down, he started to eat his soup, waiting to hear what the man had to say.

Andrew could feel the tension in the air, this was something that was always there when he was in the same room with his son. But he was trying to clear things out and hopefully start over.

"Believe it or not once I put down the bottle and allow my head to clear a lot of things come into focus. I realize I have miss my children as well." Andrew sighed and took a drink of his juice.

Andrew realized a lot of things since he put down the bottle. He realized that he has basically missed his children growing up. All he knew how to do was fight and throw curses.

"Most of the time until recently it would have been useless to try and talk to me. I guess it took your sister trying to blow of the house and my new girlfriend to realize that."

Andrew wondered where he should begin.

"Well I don't expect you to ever forgive me for the past, but I am trying to improve the future."

Josh was accustomed to the tension that was between them. It had been there for years, having started shortly after his mother died. Now he rarely noticed it, but today it was obvious. He knew his dad was looking for a fresh start, he'd yet to decide whether he would give him one.

"Funny how not being drunk allows you to think clearly." he said sarcastically, his tone harsh. The Night family was well known, and his father had become known as an alcoholic. Even though he'd never been into the pureblood mania thing that had made him mad. "Don't expect that to impress me."

Listening, he ate some more of his chicken noodle soup, enjoying it. Nothing was as good when you were a bit under the weather as this, in his opinion it was one of Corin's best dishes even though it was simple. Yea, that would be a bit of a wake-up call.

"Girlfriend?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "At least she was able to get through to you a bit. We're lucky Naomi didn't hurt herself any more than she did." he spat venomously.

When he was in his last few years as a kid, he'd heard his sister's screams on a regular basis. A couple times witnessed it when he tried to interfere. He honestly thought she was lucky to be alive.

"That's good you don't expect it, because it won't happen. As for the future, we'll have to take one step at a time. I might let you back into my life, but you are going to have to work hard to gain any measure of trust or respect." he explained, looking at his dad. "And if Naomi ever gets hurt because of you, I don't care who's fault it is, I'm out of here. I can't stand seeing her go through any more pain." he warned, glaring at him.

Andrew noticed his glass was empty so he got up and went to the fridge to get some more juice. Normally he would have just flicked his wand to fill it, but he needed to get up.

"Well Josh after everything I have done would not expect any less. I didn't quit drinking to impress anyone."

Andrew said as he closed the door and went and poured the juice into his glass and then went to put the juice back in the fridge. When Andrew said what he said the way he said it Andrew slammed the soor to the fridge.

"Do you think I planned for things to happen the way they did. I was so drunk the night before I forgot Jas was even here." Andrew spat back "It was that day I decided to quit drinking, I made a breakthrough with you sister that day."

Andrew should have known that this would end up with them yelling at each other. How was he ever going to fix things with his son? He could not believe how much damage he had done.

All Andrew could do was listen to his son. He knew that if they were ever going to work through their issues that Andrew would have to learn and take the words his son had to say to him. He wanted to just yell at him, but he help his tongue and took his message.

"All I can do is try to improve, and I will do my best not to hurt her any more." Andrew sighed then grabbed his dishes,

"Besides I don't recall making you stay here anyway. Your free to leave anytime you want."

Even though he hardly saw Josh being her he at least knew when he was home and that he was safe. But as far as he kids thought he didn't care. But he would miss not having either one of his kids there.

Josh waited as his father filled his glass of orange juice. He didn't have to get up, but he probably wanted some time to think of a response. It felt a bit strange talking to him again, it had been so long since their last talk.

"That's good, because you need to be doing it for yourself. I hope your withdrawal goes well father, I really do. If you need somebody to check on you I wouldn't mind helping do that when I'm not working." he offered. Trying to stop from getting yourself drunk nearly every day was a tough process, he could use all the help he could get.

There was the anger, he'd expected it to surface eventually during the conversation. The conversation without anger it in the Night household was pretty rare these days. This one was kind of his fault, but he didn't care. Naomi had been cut up because she'd gotten angry enough that her magic was unstable.

"Of course I don't think you planned it that way. Even if your girlfriend wasn't here though she probably would have been just as angry with you." he said, knowing that it was probably the case. "Yea, I know you did. I'm glad that you did." he told him. His voice was back to his usual calm tone again.

Anybody could see that the man was holding back the anger that his words were causing. His father looked like he wanted to start yelling again, but was controlling himself. Josh smiled a little bit, this was definitely an improvement. Usually he couldn't stop himself from becoming angry.

"That's all I ask dad, she's been hurt too much. You have it in you to be a good man, I've seen it. My mom had a tendency to bring out the best in you, even without her I know you can do it though." Josh told him, trying to encourage him a bit.

"I know I don't have to stay here, but I'm going to until Naomi's through Hogwarts. With my job I'm not at home a lot of the time anyways. After that I'll probably move out. Then I won't be here to annoy you any longer."

"So how serious is it with this Jasmine lady?" he asked him. "I actually have a date myself coming up this weekend. If you even care, I can tell you a bit about her.

Andrew took a sip of the juice and listened to his son, for a moment he almost sounded like he care too.

"Well so far its just morning and I am doing ok for now. I have been drinking a very long time, but then you know that." Andrew sighed

Andrew had never been honest to his son about anything and he figured it was probably time for him to start. Nothing like trying to have a clean slate

"It was what I thought I deserved for not being able to protect your mother. I know I blamed Naomi, but thanks to Jasmin I was able to realize that she was just a little girl who wanted her mother." Andrew sighed "What did I do, I took away both of your parents and I can never get those years back."

Andrew got up and turned around before his son could see the tears forming. When Josh said something to him about annoying.

"Josh your my son, the drunk me may have thought that, but the sober me knows that your not. I am very proud of everything that you have accomplished with your life." Andrew knows he has never told his son that before.

Andrew really didn't know what to say about Jasmin, "Well I have been with Jas for a couple of years, but to be honest we were always drunk and that only meant two things." Andrew sighed as he thought about it.

"But we are going to try and work things out. And before you ask I did rip into her about owling Naomi, she has no business getting in between my children and me."

Andrew had made his way back to the nook and drank some more juice, "I am willing to listen to anything you want to talk about Josh. I have always cared even if it didn't seem like it."

Josh knew his dad was beginning a battle that would take a while. Trying to stop from drinking as much as he did was a tough thing to do. He knew Andrew could do it though, he knew his dad was a strong man even though he hadn't shown it recently.

"Hey, it's a start, everybody's got to start somewhere. So I do, I know it was you trying to dull the pain that we all feel. I'm glad you're finally realizing drinking doesn't solve anything." he told him, a little bit of a smile appeared on his face.

Hearing his father talk to him honestly was refreshing, it reminded him of the way things used to be. He'd looked up to his dad growing up, even though his mom was his favorite. Andrew had taught him a lot as a kid.

"What happened to her wasn't any of our faults. You shouldn't have punished yourself for it. Yes, that is exactly what Naomi was." he agreed, his voice a bit sad. "No you can't, but maybe if we work hard the coming years won't be so bad. In case it makes you feel any better, I've tried my hardest to help Naomi through all of this. Taught her some of the things I learned from you and mom, she'll be okay." he tried to reassure him. Naomi was tough as nails.

His father's eyes had started to tear up a bit before he turned away. The man really did care for him after all, he realized. It was touching, and he felt a tiny surge of affection for his dad.

"Thank you, that means a lot to hear you say that. I've worked hard to get where I am, I love my job. There's nothing so satisfying as the feeling I get when I manage to break through all the traps and curses guarding magnificent treasure." Josh told him, grinning widely.

He knew that his father brought girls home sometimes, but he'd never bothered to find out who. Part of him was surprised that it was the same woman the whole time. "I see. It'll be interesting to see what'll happen now." he admitted.

"Best of luck with that, you could use a woman in your life. True, but I'm guessing that Naomi was just as insulting as Jasmin was. She didn't take too well to finding out you have a...well maybe not girlfriend, but something close." he said, sighing. "Perhaps I could meet her sometime."

Josh let his thoughts wander, thinking about Esmerelda. Not a day went by when he didn't think about her. A smile slowly lit up his face. "Well, I'm not sure if you remember, that my favorite artist slash photographer is Esmerelda Tenebrae. I bumped into her one day at the old Roman Amphitheatre. We kind of hit it off and she invited me over to her house. This Saturday is our first date, I...I really like her." he said, blushing a little bit.

Andrew took a drink of his juice while he listened to Josh. He knew it was real refreshing listening to his son talk and understand some of the things that he was going through. He actually never thought his son would ever sit down and talk like this at all.

"I miss your mother a lot, especially at night. She always made the house feel like a home. Always made all the holidays feel special around here. Thank you for being there for Naomi, maybe if I would have let someone be there for me I wouldn't have gotten this bad."

Andrew was finishing up his juice when he heard Josh talk about breaking curses, "I imagine that you have probably broken some of my own curses, I have done many things in my past that most days I am not proud of." Andrew sighed.

Andrew thought about his relationship with Jasmin and he knew he must have some feeling for her somewhere because he kept going back to her.

"Well this relationship is completely knew for us. We have only ever been together drunk, so that's all we know. But she is the only woman I have ever been with since your mother." Andrew sighed, "I was alone for years after your mothers death."

Andrew flicked his wand this time and filled up the glass with juice,

"Wow, Esmerelda Tenebrae I sure hope everything works out great for you. After everything I have put you through you deserve to be happy."

Now that he was sitting down talking with his father, he realized how much he still cared about him. It helped that he wasn't drunk and acting like a jerk to all of them. Josh was glad his father had asked him to come here today. Glad that Naomi and him were working on things as well. They were even more complicated than himself and his dad were.

"I always miss her the most when I come down to eat breakfast. That's when I'm reminded she isn't here, she'd always be in the kitchen by the time I got down." he said, a small smile on his face at the memory. She certainly did make this place feel more welcoming. Perhaps not, but we can't change what happened in the past. It's time to start looking forward as a family." Josh told him with a grin.

That made him laugh a bit, and he nodded. A couple times he had broken his father's curses. "Yes, I have broken a couple over the years. I know father, I know. What's important is we all came through it, a little scarred emotionally, but we can begin the healing process now."

If his dad had been sleeping with one woman for that long he must care about her as more than just a...companion. Sometime he would like to meet this Healer Bowen, maybe they could go on a double date.

"Hmm, well if she's still hanging around after seeing you sober you might have a chance at something good. Good luck with Jasmin, I won't you to be happy." he replied, nodding when his father said he was alone. "I was too, I didn't want to lose somebody again. If...if you want to go on a double date sometime, that might be fun." he suggested.

"She's amazing, not stuck up at all like you might guess. Esmerelda's really funny, smart, artistic obviously, beautiful, not to mention kind. Who knows, she could be a keeper. Thanks for listening, dad." Josh told him seriously. Getting him, he walked over to him and gave him a bear hug. "I never stopped loving you, you know. We need to have a family outing or adventure sometime. What do you think?" he asked, finally releasing him after a long hug.