What Comes Around Ch 22 bit – Simpler not Better

~ crossovercreativechaos

A/N: Bits may be a little out of sequence from how they end up in the finished chapter. The bunnies always get stubborn when I get near the end of a story.

“So Richard’s still got his head buried in the sand?” Simon leaned back in his own kitchen chair, calculating what it might take to get Ja’far to just throw in the towel and rent an apartment next to his. Maybe with Tiburon a door or so over. Or maybe they could ask Malachy if anyone in the neighborhood might be selling a house. Sharing the same apartment would be too pushy, even he’d admit that; but in the same building? All of them would feel better being near enough for emergencies.  “Damn. I would have thought… he’s a lawyer, he’s faced evil in and out of the courthouse. And he’s dealt with law enforcement-” Er. Oops.

Three looks across his kitchen table. Amused green, patient red, and exasperated gray.

“Damn it.” Simon rubbed at a threatening headache. “I hate to say it, but some things were a lot simpler when kings were the law.”

“You don’t want to go back to a time like that,” Malachy said quietly.

“I said it’d be simpler, not better,” Simon admitted. “I guess it didn’t really hit me how out of the ordinary what we’re doing is. At least until I had memories to compare it to. I keep thinking Alan shouldn’t have to deal with Richard on top of everything else… and I guess that’s because when Sinbad was his age, there – wasn’t anyone left to tell him you can’t be responsible for yourself.”

Ja’far flinched a little, and sighed. “I know that mindset. Believe me, I know.”

“So how did you handle it, this time around?” Tiburon leaned forward, curious.

“Badly,” Ja’far bit out. “And it wasn’t the same. Everyone in the Magnos Clan knows we have to hide from the law. Avoiding law enforcement when there’s a magical problem to deal with – it’s what we do.”

25 thoughts on “What Comes Around Ch 22 bit – Simpler not Better”

  1. Well that is how Sunnydale Syndrome works – head stays firmly buried in the sand until monsters start eating you. So he is currently in the running “Most Likely To Get Eaten By Something.”

    I don’t think exactly what his son is will sink until he gets proof that he cannot ignore – which will probably be something like Alan having to use Extreme Magic in front of Richard, probably to save his bacon after he didn’t listen about some danger because ‘surely, it’s not that bad‘ or ‘why would anyone do something that, Alan is just a teenager with a magical multitool surely something so small cannot have too much power . . . .‘

    In the Aftermath:
    Someone: “Now do you believe us?”
    Edna: “I told you so. Again. Why do you never listen to me?”

    And Later:
    Alan: “I hope he got it this time. Belial is threatening to teach this lesson himself if Mr. Silversmith doesn’t get it very soon.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Also I like the idea of Simon getting a big house because everyone who lives with him or just popping over for a few days all the time . . . The Mad House as some people will probably dub it . . . it’s painted green and white, of course.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Simon idly calculating how to get everyone living in me same building, cracked me up. He just can’t give up scheming.
    Also Ja’far’s ingrained response to magical problems. Because laws are more like guidelines, anyway.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      3. Thereby validating the existance of lawyers in Ja’far’s eyes as other than “people to do the paperwork that I don’t want to.” (Because of course he’s Haddock’s legal representation. Or fakes it with enough research.)

        Liked by 1 person

  5. I think Simon needs to call his parents. Or at least visit. (Besides, they raised Simon into a responsible adult, even if he’s on the edges of Sanity, they are likely pretty awesome in their own right.)

    And Ja’far is a master of small print. He’s just a bit more…direct then most lawyers.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. I really want to see the scene, just because I could see Simon finally dealing with Sinbad’s memories of losing his parents. I expect spontaneous hugging. (and maybe some manly tears). Also maybe figuring out if he can talk his parents into a house near the palace/not quite palace complex.

        …okay, brain, I didn’t need an image of after the main fight in the sequel, the group comes back to find Simon’s parents, Ja’far’s parents and Alan’s stepmom talking while there’s a pile of unconscious minion thugs piled in the corner.

        Liked by 2 people

  6. The sad part about this is I feel like it’s coming about because Richard is *finally* trying to be a responsible parent. And conventional wisdom dictates that allowing your minor child to run into danger is not responsible, whether he technically has the skills to deal with it or not. Furthermore, from that perspective, letting the authorities deal with the magical nasties makes sense. Not Alan’s problem anymore if he can dump it on the Professionals and get back to a life where all he has to worry about is how Alan’s grades are and Serious Problems consist of whether or not he needs to force-feed some bullies a lawsuit. Sadly this will never be Alan’s life, but Richard’s gonna keep gunning for it because facing up to reality means facing up to the fact that he *can’t* protect his son, and who wants to admit that? I feel for the guy, even if I want to slap him upside the head with a clue-by-four.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. The sad part about this is I feel like it’s coming about because Richard is *finally* trying to be a responsible parent.

      On one hand, happy about adults trying to be responsible parents. Especially since my brain keeps wandering into Harry Potter territory where responsible adults, let alone responsible parents, and having one being able to openly act in such a manner, are difficult to come by.

      On the other hand, it’s hard to argue that one should let the adults and professional handle something when there pretty much isn’t. You can’t go to law enforcement for magical problems. First of all, they don’t believe in magic. Second, I’m sure Ja’far, Malachy, and their respective Clans all have horror stories about what happens when government and magic get mixed.

      Also Alan is a King, not a magician. Don’t think too many without past life memories appreciate that there is a difference. While there are definitely some stuff that a magician can teach a King like Ja’far did Simon, there is stuff that only another King can do or has to deal with. And I’m not just talking about sharing headspace with one (or more) extremely powerful, very ancient, and very not human spirits. And so far, we have one other King around. Simon. Who needs just much practice and experimentation with his powers as Alan does.

      Lastly, Richard hasn’t acted like a parent for most of Alan’s life. I doubt he’s going to react well to him suddenly behaving like one. Probably from Alan’s POV, Richard doesn’t have the actual right. He might have the legal right (depending on whether or not he ever signed over his parental rights to the child, or whatever else custody agreements they had in place, etc – not to mention what Alan would say because family court would ask his opinion because he’s fifteen) but . . . .
      “You all but ignore my existence for fifteen years and now all of sudden you want to act like a father? If you wanted to be my father, you should have started that a long time ago. Too little too late now.”
      He might not say it out loud but he’ll be thinking it.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      2. Part of the problem is, unlike the HP ‘verse, there really isn’t much of a magical community. It’s all underground and “I know a guy who knows a guy”. So there may be common customs and practices when dealing with other magical types. Laws? Not so much.

        (Although you could argue this actually makes the situation better than HP, given how law enforcement seems to work there. Obliviating Muggles makes me cringe.)

        And yes, the big problem here is Richard finally got forced into the position of “Someone needs to be a responsible parent to the kid, and I’m it.” On the one hand – very decent of him, finally. OTOH – yes, Alan knows very well he was kidnapped, he’s not happy about it, he was literally biding his time to figure out how to get enough resources to bolt. Until Simon derailed him with Interesting Stuff.

        ATM Alan is sitting on his (considerable) temper about the whole mess because 1) Aladdin, Maria, and the Hamlets need someplace to go, 2) Alan knows he needs all the self-defense training he can get, and 3) going back to Boston would be insane, and trying to get started in a whole new city without resources would be difficult.

        So he’s keeping his cool. For now.

        …As Tiburon said, Alan is not fine. And it’s a good thing he’s going to get to blow some stuff up…

        Liked by 2 people

  7. Rather boring legal note, it’s likely Alan was going for an emancipated minor before the beginning of the story(note that he made an argument to family court to be left alone, and that he was responsible for his mom’s inheritance, plus Domingo’s own thoughts about how he kidnapped him and there was a chance a judge wouldn’t let him do so.)

    While I’m not up on Mass. Emancipation laws(I’ve known people who’ve gone for it in three different states, and it was way different in each one, and of course Vathara doesn’t have to use any of them.), it’s very likely that yes, Richard was considered to have abandoned his parental rights. Even though his name is on the birth certificate. My guess is that legally, Richard is using the fact he’s Alan’s only known next of kin, and the fever meaning that Alan was unable to legally consent to anything to set everything up, and move him into a jurisdiction with different laws.

    …of course, this means he should be really, really thankful that Alan doesn’t want to leave Hancock and respects Edna and Sam, because that legal mess could get ugly. We’re talking nuclear option ugly. I think this falls into Richard doesn’t think clearly at all about Anne and that whole situation. The best thing for him right now is likely to back off and approach Alan as another adult, but that doesn’t seem likely to happen. (Which means, Simon? Add on plans for another room for a bed big enough for three people.)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Bingo. Alan was working on getting to a point where he could take care of himself.

      …He now has to worry about himself and dependents, because Kings are like that. So he’s going to be patient. He remembers being at least 21 and how patient he could be then, he can try for that now….

      Yeah, this is sticky. It’s meant to be. Happier ending, not a perfect one. 🙂

      Hopefully people will sit down and talk things out before they go boom. 😉

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. Re: Thoughts about custody

    Either he is considered to have abandoned them or Anne had him sign them away when Alan was born. OR they had some other legal agreement because Anne doesn’t strike as dumb enough not to a legally binding agreement that would make it difficult for Richard to take her son away from her or something. Also, if he signed away his parental rights, it would explain why Edna assumed that Alan would never be living under her roof. Also seems to fit with how the state seemed to be willing to let Alan be until the fever and how Richard was speaking more often to Alan about the situation than any state authorities or family court representatives.

    As BcAugust pointed out, all of this depends on Mass. laws about enmanicpation, child custody, etc. Since that is State thing, not a federal thing, the rules vary (sometimes a lot) from state to state.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

Leave a comment