07-25-2017, 10:18 PM
“Of course, princess. C’mon, I’ll teach you. You and me, and your brother and sister, we don’t have to worry about drowning, not once we know the basics. You’re safe, love, and you can always, always get back to the top of the water with nothing more than a thought and a few steps. Alright?” I pull Kylin in for a hug, holding her close and then pulling back to brush the hair off her face. “You’ve got this, baby girl. And I’ll be right there with you.”
And for as long as she wants, I’m all hers, running across the water, diving through the waves, playing and laughing and catching her anytime she needs me to. Teaching her more about our shared gift, and how to keep herself safe and have fun on the water. And when she’s finally ready to stop, when she’s all played out and ready to head back to shore, I tuck her up against my side for the walk back to dry land.
“Kylin, love, there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about,” I say, reaching over to brush her forelock out of her eyes. “And I think I should start by apologizing for not having this conversation sooner. I shouldn’t have tried to put it on your mom the way I did, I’m just not the most talented person in the world at navigating feelings, especially when they belong to someone female. Hell, ask your mom, you know? Seems like every step I take with her is the wrong one. But I wasn’t being fair to either of you, and I’m sorry about that.”
Is there any way this can go well? I guess that’s not really the point, is it? My job’s to do the hard shit, say the hard words no one wants to hear when they need to hear it so bad. Need to understand. “I talked to Kharon, baby girl. I caught him looking at you, and we had a long talk, him and me. He told me how things have been between you two, that it’s crossed the line from brother and sister to something more...complicated. That your feelings for each other aren’t the innocent sibling kind. And baby, I understand how that happened. You’re close, you spend so much time together, your bodies are changing and you’ve got all these hormones rushing through your veins, and you’re growing up. Both of you.”
I sigh, glancing over at her briefly as I search for the words to say what I need to say. “You can’t be with your brother like that, honey. Any other guy, and there are so very, very many. You can find one who isn’t blood, who’ll treat you right. Hell, you can find more than one if you want, and girls too if that’s something that interests you. But not one that’s related by blood, and especially not so closely like that. You can’t. That’s not how family works, baby. That kind of love, that’s for outside of family. It’s good to be close to your brother, but not that kind of close. You can’t kiss him like that, can’t touch him in ways that stir your blood. I’m sorry, baby, I know this isn’t something you want to hear, but it’s important that we talk about this. So, uh. Talk to me?”Bite my shiny metal ass.
And for as long as she wants, I’m all hers, running across the water, diving through the waves, playing and laughing and catching her anytime she needs me to. Teaching her more about our shared gift, and how to keep herself safe and have fun on the water. And when she’s finally ready to stop, when she’s all played out and ready to head back to shore, I tuck her up against my side for the walk back to dry land.
“Kylin, love, there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about,” I say, reaching over to brush her forelock out of her eyes. “And I think I should start by apologizing for not having this conversation sooner. I shouldn’t have tried to put it on your mom the way I did, I’m just not the most talented person in the world at navigating feelings, especially when they belong to someone female. Hell, ask your mom, you know? Seems like every step I take with her is the wrong one. But I wasn’t being fair to either of you, and I’m sorry about that.”
Is there any way this can go well? I guess that’s not really the point, is it? My job’s to do the hard shit, say the hard words no one wants to hear when they need to hear it so bad. Need to understand. “I talked to Kharon, baby girl. I caught him looking at you, and we had a long talk, him and me. He told me how things have been between you two, that it’s crossed the line from brother and sister to something more...complicated. That your feelings for each other aren’t the innocent sibling kind. And baby, I understand how that happened. You’re close, you spend so much time together, your bodies are changing and you’ve got all these hormones rushing through your veins, and you’re growing up. Both of you.”
I sigh, glancing over at her briefly as I search for the words to say what I need to say. “You can’t be with your brother like that, honey. Any other guy, and there are so very, very many. You can find one who isn’t blood, who’ll treat you right. Hell, you can find more than one if you want, and girls too if that’s something that interests you. But not one that’s related by blood, and especially not so closely like that. You can’t. That’s not how family works, baby. That kind of love, that’s for outside of family. It’s good to be close to your brother, but not that kind of close. You can’t kiss him like that, can’t touch him in ways that stir your blood. I’m sorry, baby, I know this isn’t something you want to hear, but it’s important that we talk about this. So, uh. Talk to me?”