>>5951184>>5951193>>5951201>>5951312>>5951389Your parents. It feels like forever since you saw them last, at graduation, they probably wouldn't mind a drop in visit. The more you sip away at your beer and let the stress of the past couple days circulate around you, the more you think a trip home is exactly what you need right now. You finish up your bottle and let it clunk into your plastic trashcan before grabbing another, you can afford to stay up late tonight and head over later in the morning, a stray thought passes your mind. Caesar, it's been a while since he's been in contact with you and vice versa, you pull out your phone and select his contact.
"Checking in, how's the family doing?"
You fire off the text, frowning at the time, if you had thought about it earlier you'd have called. Maybe you can talk to the Commander soon and see what the status of Caesar's dad is after this sting. You toss the phone on your coffee table and sit back for a night of channel hopping.
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You fill the closed space of your cold hands with warm breath as you walk to your car, the early hours are getting crisp now, hopping into the driver's seat you swallow a lump in your throat and check the silver flip phone.
No Calls.
No Messages.
Whatever that psycho is up to he isn't keeping you in the loop, not yet at least. You toss it into it's ceremonial spot at the back of the glove box and get the heat pumping as you head off to Burnside. You remember when they finally decided to come back that your parents had a spat over where exactly to move to, your dad was dead set on The Hills and it wasn't until your mother called you in and forced him to listen to some crime statistics they had been teaching you in the academy that he decided maybe the neighbors weren't worth the rent. Your mom of course would have lived in Bristol if they had an extra paycheck or two lying around but she eventually settled with being on the opposite side of Gotham River. You spend your drive thinking about your childhood and before you know it the time has passed and you're shifting your car into park and stepping out. You approach the door and give it your firmest "Police Officer" knock and assume the stance. A few moments pass and then the door cracks open and you find yourself looking at a mirror into your future.
"Mark!" Your dad lets out with a smile and raised eyebrows. He pulls you into a tight strong hug and then holds you by your shoulders as he looks you over.
"Hey pop." You let out with a smile of your own.
"Hey yourself big guy, what are they feeding you in the city? I swear to god you're twice as big as when you graduated." He calls over his shoulder. "Honey, Mark is here!" He pulls you inside and leads you to the familiar living room where you take a seat.
"Did I catch you guys at a bad time?" You ask him gesturing to the dress shirt and tie he wears.
