title : do you have a light or
somethin', sweetheart?
oc / pairing : rob gilbert and
link taylor (roblink)
trigger warnings : none!

DAY NINETEEN : " do you have a light? "

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LINK DIDN'T KNOW WHAT POSSESSED HIM to come to his parents for Christmas. Usually, it was pretty much all the same. His sister Natalie extended the invitation to him, Link declined it, never showed up. The last thing he wanted was to come back to his family home. He didn't need dysfunction. He endured it for about eighteen years, and realized it wasn't healthy for him. He left, and he never looked back, even if he wanted to.

This year had been no different. Natalie found him at the auto shop, invited him. Initially, he said no. He didn't think that this was going to be the year to confront his childhood home, or his parents, for that matter. They never bothered to look for him after he left, so, he assumed that it was pretty much good riddance.

Maybe it was because of hope. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen them in ten years. But, he turned out to be curious. Curious to know if his parents had changed any. Natalie hadn't told him that part. Probably never will until he came to see it himself.

And now, there he was, parked near the driveway of said childhood home in his '66 Ford Thunderbird. The urge to smoke a cigarette creeps up on him, even though he was trying to quit. Rob sat in the passenger seat, accompanying him. He's staring at the house, probably getting cold feet. But, he was already here.

"Nervous, doll?"

Link looked at Rob. "I haven't seen them in almost ten years with the exception of Natalie," he told him, "don't even know why I bothered showin' up this year."

"You're curious," Rob told him, "you want to see if they changed. I would believe that's normal, innit?"

Link shrugged. That was some of the truth. However, he did miss his sisters. He took care of Natalie and Paige until he moved out. After that, no sight of them. Link didn't even go to Claudia's funeral after she was killed. He found out via phone call.

"I guess," Link replied, "but my parents have always been bullheaded. 'Specially my dad. and my mom's an enabler."

"Ah," Rob said back.

Link hated to think back on it. But being parked in front of that house made it inevitable. And he knew going inside would definitely bring it all back viscerally.

"Thanks, by the way," Link said to him, "for coming with me. I know you weren't very ... Keen on coming at first."

Rob shook his head. "Don't worry about it, doll," he replied back, "when you told me, I've never seen you look so scared. Figured it was something that had to do with it."

The two men eventually get out of the shiny red Thunderbird, making their way up to the porch. Link's nerves are more on edge than they were in the car. At one point, he had put them in his jacket pockets, but shortly, he had to take one of them out to ring the doorbell. He hadn't heard the sound of it in a long time. Not from the inside, anyway.

It doesn't take long for the door to open. A girl, she doesn't look older than twenty. She immediately gasped upon seeing who was behind the door. Link recognized her wide smile from a mile away, and for the first time today, it made him smile.

"Link? Oh my god!"

"Hi, Paige," he said back, almost sheepishly.

The first thing she does is immediately wrap her arms around Link, pulling him into a hug before he could even get a chance to speak again.

"I missed you. Like, seriously. It's been ten years," Paige told him, "I was starting to think you died or something."

Link shook his head. "Still here," he replied back with a chuckle, "Unscathed? Not quite."

Paige chuckled. She then looked at Rob. "And who might you be? Don't tell me Link got a boyfriend before I did!"

Link couldn't help but to laugh. Paige hadn't changed it a bit from what he could see. It was honestly refreshing that she came to the door rather than one of his parents.

The first thing Paige does is stick her hand out to shake. "Paige. Though, you probably already know," she said to him.

This made Rob safe enough. "Rob," he said back, "Link's told me about you."

Paige looked at her brother. She looks almost impressed. "British? How come you keep finding all the rare ones?"

Link shrugged. "Just get lucky, I guess," he told her.

Paige eventually let go of Rob's hand. "Jesus, I'm blocking the door. Come on in! Mom and Dad's gonna be happy to see you!"

Once the two men stepped in, Paige pretty much ran off. Right now, it was so far, so good. Link just hoped that the rest of the night would go as smoothly. If they even make it through the night.

"Not bad so far, doll," Rob said as they walked in.

"Wait until you meet my mom and dad," Link muttered.

The two walk into the kitchen. Paige is chatting with them. Dina, Link's mother, had immediately stopped mid sentence when she saw Link turn that corner. She quickly walked over. She had to be dreaming. It looked as though she didn't believe it at first.

Her hands gently cup his cheeks, the motherly touch that Link hadn't received in years. His mother never really gave it much as a kid, but he was getting it now, which was saying a lot.

"My sweet boy, my only son," she said to him, "my god, you've grown taller since the last time I've seen you."

"Hello to you, too, mom," Link chuckled.

It's not until moments after he spotted his dad. Paul didn't look so friendly. And frankly, you wouldn't even know that Paul was his father. Link captured all of his mother's features, as did the girls. When he walked in, the tension turned so thick that it could've been cut with a knife.

"Lincoln," is all that he could say.

God, no one had him that in ages. It seemed like forever, so long that he almost forgot that was his name instead of Link. It was like you could see him shrink in his father's presence. He's older, but for some reason he looked scarier now than he did when both of them were younger.

"Hi, dad," Link said back.

Paul then looked at Rob, before looking back at his son. "Still in one of those phases?"

One of those phases ... Oh, how he wished he knew how wrong his dad was about it. The snarky demeanor could become scary quick. Link took a breath.

"Dad, this is Rob," Link told him, "he's a friend."

Natalie, and now Paige knew better. Thought it was an unspoken rule to not share their same-sex relationships, especially with Paul. And Rob understood it, too. It was probably for the best anyway, the parents not knowing.

"Well," Dina said, turning to Rob. This was her attempt at breaking the tension, "It is very nice to meet you, Rob."

She then turned to her son. "You got here just in time. Dinner's almost done, you two make yourselves comfortable."

Link could only give a nod before she walked away. That craving for a cigarette was only getting stronger, and the scent of food didn't make that any better. Not even the gum that he was chewing could satisfy that craving.

"Your dad. Looks like he can hold a grudge for a long time," Rob said.

"Yeah, and he doesn't even have a reason to," Link sighed.

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" WOAH , WAIT , YOU'RE A TATTOO ARTIST ? THAT'S SO COOL . "

Rob and his sisters seemed to be getting along pretty well. Paige was absolutely enthralled by the mention of Rob being a tattoo artist. Link remembered for a long time that she liked art, but he didn't know that she liked tattoos in particular.

They're sitting at the dinner table. Link coincidentally on the opposite end of his dad, though he still sat next to Rob. His sisters sit across from him Rob and Dina.

"I actually have me own tattoo parlor," Rob told her.

Rue Morgue Tattoos. That was Rob's baby, other than Eddie of course. Link liked to listen to him talk about it. Maybe because he was so passionate about it. It was a rare thing to see these days.

"Really?" Paige gasped, "I might check it out! What's the name of it?"

"Rue Morgue Tattoos," he answered, "I did all of Link's tattoos. I'm sure he can vouch for me."

Link chuckled. "That's how he met. He did my first tattoo. And every single one after that."

Paige softly gasped. "Can I see?"

Link nodded. He stood up so he wouldn't have to lean his arm over the table. He pulled up his sleeve, revealing the small, but meaningful tattoos he had. It revealed three small tattoos so far, all in the trad style. The first one was a swan, as it had been Claudia's favorite animal. The second is a wrench, symbolizing what he does for a living. The last one is pretty simple. The triforce symbol. That one was more fun, considering that he has the same name as the hero from the iconic game.

Paige looked at the details of the tattoos carefully. She made a mental note to visit sometime. If Link trusted him with his tattoos, then she didn't see the issue. She let go of his arm, and Link pulled his sleeve back down.

"You do great work!" Paige told him, "trad style. Can't go wrong."

"Yeah. I think I might go," Natalie said, nodding in agreement, "you guys also do piercings?"

"I have someone who does them, yeah," Rob answered, "I do them, too, but not a lot."

Link could feel his father staring in disapproval from the other side of the table. He wished he hadn't looked up, because he knew what was about to come next. Or, at least guess what he was about to do.

He finally sat back down in his chair after showing his sisters the tattoos. He felt a bit awkward, and both sisters could tell almost immediately. His mother, too.

"So, what's it been, ten years?" Paul asked.

"Something like that," Link answered, looking away from him.

"To be gone for that long, you must've come back wanting something," Paul told him, "so, cut to the chase. What is it?"

Link looked at his father in disbelief. Honestly, he shouldn't have been surprised. His dad always assumed that he needed some type of favor from him, when that was not the case.

"I don't want anything──"

"Money, it's probably money," Paul mumbled, "probably wasted it on stupid things. Like those tattoos. Probably dropped out of college and have to pay loans."

"Dad," Natalie quietly scolded, "c'mon."

"I graduated from trade school, actually," Link replied quietly. He felt like sinking down in his chair. Again, he felt sixteen again. Not even sixteen, ten. It was always something. At least, to Paul.

"Good for you," Paul said back. It's sarcastic, full of malice, "you probably don't even do anything with it."

"I've got my own auto shop," Link told him, "I worked to get through trade school so I could be a mechanic."

"You couldn't even come up with your own thing. A copycat is what you are. Had to go after what I loved."

And there it was, Link thought to himself. The constant competition. The assumption that he didn't have a personality of his own. It got under Link's skin so bad, even after all these years, when he conditioned himself that he was indeed his own person. And now, he felt like he had imposter syndrome all over again.

Rob saw the way Link was sinking in his chair. Head down, didn't bother to look at anyone else. And the fact that his father could make such bold assumptions about Link after not seeing him for ten years, that just told him what kind of character Paul really was.

"Oi, I don't think that's very fair of you to say that."

This made everyone at the table look, even Link. He looked like a deer in headlights. Almost urging Rob not to continue on, especially not for his sake. But, he kept going.

"Link's been me friend for a while," Rob said, "from what I've seen, he seems like a decent bloke to me, unlike what you're implying."

"No offense, but I think I know my son better than anyone else," Paul said.

"You haven't seen him in ten years. Now, I haven't known Link for that long," Rob explained, "but I know that he's genuine. He's a hard worker, and thinking that it's a competition between you two is insane, innit?"

Link's eyes change. They softened, knowing that Rob was willing to defend him. In front of his dad of all people. Not even his own mother did that, not in the years that they all lived in the house together. And for the first time he realized how he rarely understood such a concept until now.

"The worst part about it is I never knew it was competition until I moved out," Link muttered.

"Remember, dad, Link was the one who took care of us," Paige said, "the nickname just made itself. He pretty much linked us together."

"Yeah, and he turned out to be the weakest one," Paul spat, "in fact, he ran away. I don't even think he should be here."

Ouch. Link didn't even know what to say to that. He didn't say anything. Sticks and stones were an understatement. The words were the sticks and stones. And they hurt. They hurt a lot.

"Paul," Dina quietly scolded, before turning to Link, "you know he doesn't mean it. He's just ..."

"He's just what, ma? Tired? Got a lot on his mind? Drunk?" Link asked.

Dina didn't respond, though she did look guilty. Link shook his head. He wasn't going to take any more of this. He left for ten years, he could leave for ten more. Link finally had enough, finally standing up from his spot at the table.

"Well," he started, "about time the real truth spat out from his mouth. He doesn't have to see me ever again."

Before he moved the chair up to the table, he grabbed his jacket. Link wasn't going to take any more of it. And when Link left out, Rob followed behind him.

They're both outside, it's now cooler outside, though not much. 60 degrees, maybe. For the first time, it was like he could breathe again, being out of there, out of his father's presence. One thing was for sure. Link regretted coming back. He should have stayed curious.

He immediately gets into the car. It doesn't take him long to reach for the glove compartment, and grab the box of cigarettes that had been stashed all the way at the back of it. Link opened the box, taking one of them out and putting it in between his lips. By the time Rob got into the car, he'd been looking for a lighter, which he eventually found out that he didn't have.

Link looked at him. He looked stressed, and Rob could see it in his eyes. The taller of the two almost looked as if he was about to cry.

"Do you have a light or somethin', sweetheart?"

Rob almost immediately reached into his pocket. He lit the cigarette that rests between Link's lips. When Link took the first drag, it immediately calmed his nerves, blowing out the smoke.

"Thanks," Link muttered, as he rolled his window down.

Rob nodded as an acknowledgement. There's silence in the car now, other than the radio quietly playing some glam metal tune on the radio when he started the car. Link took another drag from his cigarette, dumping the ashes out of the window.

"Are you alright, Love?"

Link nodded. "Yeah. I'm alright, I just ... I wanna go home, that's all."

He finally pulled away from the childhood home. The home that repeatedly broke his heart. The home that never felt like home to begin with. And he was happy to drive away from there.