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( How long has it been since he's heard his son's laugh. A genuine laugh - directed at him. Now about him. Not in the room with him. Not in the room next to him. But, with him. Because, when his son laughs, he lights up the room.

He doesn't laugh nearly as hard, always the one having to keep it together, but a few chuckles escape.

Because one thing is true as his son's laughter subsides. Normally, he would say "You better," and as much as he might mean it as a joke, he knows how it comes off. And, so he puts it more delicately, under the guise of the sip he takes right after. )

I hope you will.

( Sip.

A long, suffering sigh, because he remembers that night. He holds his glass in hand, though, taken back. )

Here's a secret from me to you. That side of you, your mother is the proudest of. In her eyes, you're standing up. You are doing something. You stand for something. ( In Katherine's eyes, Stefan stands for nothing. He stands in "for" his father, or in place of, under his watchful eye - but he lost her confidence and her admiration a long time ago. ) You can't blame us for expressing emotions at you being arrested and, correct me if I'm wrong, our raised voices were mostly in the direction of the homophobic tax write-offs they call cops. We were worried for you. And they were contemptible. I'm sorry for raising our voices when we got home. You may not remember but your mother and I screamed, mostly, in each other's directions.

[ He watches with an eyebrow raised, fully expecting you better, but pleasantly surprised to hear something more agreeable. The chance he had to be a proper father to Tim is lost to time, and the youngest Salvatore would much rather be treated like an adult now instead of the clumsy efforts to make up for lost time, and this is...a little of both. A step.

Teo finishes his sandwich, quiet for a moment, not sure what to do with the praise. None of his extreme actions, not even the ones he got caught for, not the ones he took the blame for, knowing his parents would handle it, he regrets. They’ve shown that they care about him enough to keep the charges from sticking on him. They have the resources to do more. ]

That cop groped me. [ He didn’t say anything back then. It was the first arrest, he was sixteen and scared enough as it was. ] Not a pat down. A full grab. Franco, too.

[ Would his father even remember the names of the others? Doubtful. ]

As far as I'm concerned, he deserved every word.

( Stefano wishes he was back there. He remembers that night vividly. He remembers the language the officer used, the slurs, the innuendo - long before he deserved it - despite never deserving it. He wishes he could be in the room with that officer for five minutes. Just five minutes.

And just like that, he returns to this spot, a laughing teen girl sliding into the pool.

Despite the severity and seriousness of their conversation, the party rages on. That's Saltburnt for you. )

And Eamon?

( He does. He remembers more than his son thinks. But he has no reason to believe he would. )

I'm sorry you didn't tell us. You could've. ( No. ) You should've.

( His mother would've ran that officer through with her heel. And then her heel.

He turns over again, resting his sunglasses ontop of his head. They'll remain here the rest of the afternoon. )

I'm sorry you were caught between us.

( Because that's what happened, they didn't yell at him. Just over him. They always yelled over him. About him. Rarely at him. He would still draw him close, kiss him on the forehead. Pour him a glass of wine. )

[ He shakes his head. Eamon was handled by a different officer, if anything inappropriate happened, Teo never knew about it. His parents moved him to another school, they haven't kept in touch. ]

I'm not even sure why I'm telling you now.

[ To explain why it didn't scare him straight? Or how the thought of that priest at his school had him escalating to car bombs? ]

It's...

[ Not fine. It's the reason for all of this, the multiple men, the sex tape, the chill in his bones where warmth and excitement should be. But: ]

It is what it is. For what it's worth, I think you'll both be happier, when the divorce is final.

( Her happiness isn't for him to say. And in ways, over the years, he has found happiness. Here and there. Interests Enthusiasm. Business. Otherwise.

A switch has definitely been flipped.

But happiness has different meaning to everything. He has happy days. Happy hours. Happy times. But, is he - happy? Maybe with Niklaus. After a big deal is made. Here and there. )

Happiness isn't everything.

( And with that, he flips back, laying his head down. He stretches an arm behind his head. )

But it's achievable.

( Maybe.

Are you happy? He really wants to ask. He wants to delve, to know everything. But, maybe there's too much. Maybe things take time. He can't force information. He can't force information. And so, again, he falls into a comfortable silence. )

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cw sexual assault technically

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