om_main | Jean-Paul and Simon, evening

Jean-Paul breaks the news to Simon.

Jean-Paul had no idea how to approach this.

He knew how he wanted to do it. He wanted to drop the letter in front of Simon and explain it loudly and at length while calling Simon's father every vile name he could think of in two languages. And perhaps his mother for good measure, since she wasn't doing a damn thing to come to Simon's aid.

But Simon loved his family. Jean-Paul, himself used to cutting caretakers out of his life, didn't understand why the emotional attachment persisted in the face of bullying and rejection, but tried to accept it. He sure as hell didn't want Simon feeling more torn between loyalties than he already might.

Which was why he approached the door to their room as quietly as he could, trying to be calm, and slipped in with hardly a sound.

"Simon? Can we talk?"

"Hmm?" Simon answered from his bed, where he was stretched out on his stomach, engrossed in something on his laptop. He didn't lift his gaze, too distracted by the article on neurotransmitters to register the tone of Jean-Paul's voice.

Jean-Paul stalked over to the head of Simon's bed, seating himself on the edge of the mattress with grace that belied the tension in every limb. "Your dad sent me a letter. About us...you and me."

Simon's hand froze on the mouse, though he didn't look up right away. He stared instead at the edge of the computer's screen, his thoughts suddenly flying. the fact that the letter had gone to Jean-Paul was not encouraging. Fear crept into the pit of his stomach and he swallowed finally before glancing aside at Jean-Paul's hands. "What did he do?"

There were several stiff sheets of paper in Jean-Paul's grip, many-times folded and crumpled. Despite the abuse, however, it was no issue to recognize the letterhead of Gabriel Tam's office, or mistake the watermark of the expensive paper. Jean-Paul slid the letter along the thin span of mattress between them.

"Short version? He got wind of what happened with my sponsors and offered to make it worth my while to break up with you."

Simon didn't pick up the letter yet. He would read it, but he didn't doubt Jean-Paul's interpretation of the contents. In fact, the worst part was that it didn't even surprise him that much, and maybe it should have. He wasn't sure what to say. Equal parts livid with anger and sick with disgust, he closed his eyes for a moment, just trying to keep his head. He slowly sat up in the meantime, shoving the laptop away.

Jean-Paul ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it rumpled. "I could strangle him just for sending that here. Even couriers blab."

"I'm sorry. I...don't know what to say," Simon answered haltingly, finally looking up.

"There's more to it," Jean-Paul said, gritting his teeth down on a sigh. "He...one of the conditions was that I announce it publicly. I guess it's no good just to break your heart, everyone has to know that Gabriel Tam's son isn't with the faggot freak anymore."

Simon flinched at the language, swallowing down the sickness in his throat and letting the anger overwhelm it instead. He pushed off of the bed and paced toward the window, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair.

"I could almost understand it if he seemed to care about you at all," Jean-Paul went on. "I could understand wanting to protect you. But this is all about him."

Staring out the window, Simon tried to hold back the temptation to slam his fist into the glass, fists clenching at his sides. "It's always been about him."

"I haven't decided how I'm going to respond yet," Jean-Paul admitted. "The first thought was to fly to Virginia and punch the stupid out of him, but getting arrested probably won't help anything."

It was telling that Simon didn't bother to question Jean-Paul's judgement on the issue. For one thing, a large part of him would have been happy to have Jean-Paul assault his father. A much smaller part knew that it was just the bottled rage talking. "I would leave them. I would just take off. But I can't leave River alone in their care."

Jean-Paul rose to his feet and came to stand at Simon's back. "And if this is any indication of how the bastard thinks, she will be the next bargaining chip he tries to use." The anger he'd felt for his own sake had long since transformed to fury over how little Simon's father seemed to value his son. That was almost as inconceivable to him as Simon's attachment to family to start with. Yes, he was used to the idea that children were disposable, but Simon was worth something just as he was. Smart, funny, kind, dedicated...

"The man is insane," he muttered, almost to himself.

"What are you going to do?" Simon finally asked.

"Tell him to go fuck himself, and if he keeps trying to make you miserable, I'm going public." He settled his hands on Simon's hips. "It would make a very good David-and-Goliath story, don't you think? The poor queer, mutant orphan, recently and unfairly stripped of his fortune standing up to the bigot trying to take away the boy he loves?"

Simon didn't lean into the touch as he usually did, but didn't pull away, either. All of his emotions were in turmoil, and he knew he would probably make River upset if she was anywhere in the vicinity. For the first time since she'd been taken, all he wanted to do was go down to the gym and be violent with the equipment. Or maybe go for a run. A really, really long run.

"Do it. Warn him that you'll go public. Tell him to mind his own business, and I'll tell him the same. I'll do an interview with CNN if I have to," Simon told him quietly.

Jean-Paul nodded. "Hopefully that will make him think twice." God, he was tense. Even resting his hands lightly upon his hips, he could tell Simon was like knotted wire under his hands. "Want to get out of here?"

"Yeah," Simon agreed quietly. "But alone, if that's okay. I need to get some air."

"Yeah..." Jean-Paul let his hands drop. "Yeah, that's fine."

The minute Jean-Paul let go of him, Simon regretted it, and turned, reaching out to grasp JP's hand with his own. "It's not because of you."

Jean-Paul managed a smile for him. "I know. I'm not that dense. I just wish I could help you more, that's all. Make it hurt a little less."

"What about you?" Simon asked quietly. "I can't make it hurt less for you."

"You do, actually. Because you stand by me. That's...I'm still getting used to that."

"Well, you've got plenty of time," Simon murmured, moving to get a pair of track pants and a t-shirt out of his dresser.

Jean-Paul looked away, his expression struggling between pleasure and frustration, then finally, he slipped up behind Simon for a brief hug. "That helps too. And I mean it...your dad's insane if he can't seen how lucky he is to have a kid like you."

This time, Simon paused to allow himself to take a moment of pleasure from the hug, then nodded slightly. "And he's just as insane to take on a stubborn ass like you. Fortunately, he'll soon figure that out."

Jean-Paul laughed against his shoulder. "You are such a brat. I see where River gets it."

"River's ten times worse than me," Simon protested, but without much heat. Gently, he pulled out of the hug, then headed for the closet to grab his running shoes. He'd change in the locker room. "I'll be back in an hour."

"Take as long as you need. I'm not going anywhere."