Father Figure

Caleb is 8, Ethan is 6.

"C-Caleb?" Ethan said meekly, looking up at his big brother with trustful and watery eyes.

Caleb stroked his hair and whispered, "yes, Nibbles?"

"Is D-Dad ever c-coming home?"

He sighed heavily, wondering that for himself. "I don't know. Mum says… no. But, you remember, this isn't the first time he's gone out."

Ethan looked away from him. "I-I don't w-want h-him to c-come home this t-time."

Caleb knew why he said that, all too well. Ethan, while only 6, was their father's golden boy. But golden boys don't have stutters so their father was trying to get it out of him. And not in the nicest of ways. Caleb only hugged Ethan, tightly. "Me neither, Nibbles," he admitted quietly as if saying it allowed would cause catastrophic things to happen. "But it's okay. We've still got Mum."

"M-Mum just c-c-cries..." he said, almost sobbing himself.

Caleb didn't have anything to say to that. It was true. Their father would be angry or drunk or horrible, and their mother just cried, getting on with life as quietly as she could. The only time she's come back happy was when she went away on Thursdays. Caleb recalled her saying something about bridges, but nothing else really. And he would never forget her smile whenever they came home from school. She always held them and told them she loved them. But then their dad would come home and the 'fun' would start over again.

"Go to sleep, Nibbles."

"S-stay?"

"Always."

They stayed like that, cuddled on Cal's bed, until the morning. They slept peacefully, a rare occurrence considering whenever their Dad left before as angry as he had done, he'd come crashing in in the early hours, waking everyone up and scaring his sons. But as Caleb slowly woke that morning, it was silent in their house. The sun had risen fully, their mother wasn't crying, and their father wasn't being heard. Maybe things would get better after all.

Caleb kissed his little brother's forehead and held him softly. "I'll look after you, Nibbles."

Caleb is 10, Ethan is 8.

"W-why can't i-it just g-go a-away?" Ethan wailed into Caleb's shoulder.

Caleb had seen a lot of this. There were times when Ethan was okay with his stutter, but after a school assembly where Ethan had to say something and barely made his way through, his stutter became a problem again. "Come on. Mum's out. I'll make you...um... a Thursday Night Special."

"W-What?" Ethan said, growling to himself as he stuttered again.

"A Thursday Night Special! It's my new creation. Mum's out at her... thing-y-me-bob, and I'm babysitting. So come on, wash your hands and sit down."

Ethan did not look amused.

"Nibbles."

He huffed but did as he was told. Meanwhile, Caleb snuck around, trying in all the cupboards to find the secret stash of crisps that their mother only let them have on special occasions.

"What are you looking for?" Ethan asked as he sat down, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Crisps," he said, head in a cupboard.

"You're looking in the wrong place."

Caleb immediately retreated back. "What?"

Ethan shrugged. "You're looking in the wrong place. They're in the far right top cupboard. You'll need a chair to reach them."

"How do you...? Nevermind."

And a few minutes later, a crisp sandwich was placed in front of Ethan, beside a glass of milk.

"A Thursday Night Special! Just... don't tell Mum, yeah?"

If Ethan gave an answer, Cal didn't notice it. Ethan's mouth was already full with part of the crisp sandwich.

Caleb laughed, making Ethan try to chew quickly while trying not to laugh himself. "Don't choke, Nibbles. Mum will never forgive me!"

Caleb is 12, Ethan is 10.

His mother had only shown him how to do it once, and Ethan would be very alert of what he needed to avoid, but now, Caleb wasn't sure he knew how to use it. "Where's your EpiPen?"

"B-bag."

"Okay, okay," he muttered to himself. "Right."

He rummaged around in Ethan's school bag, looking at the phone out of the corner of his eye. He was told to ring 999 after using the EpiPen. But all he wanted was some help. Their mother had popped out to get some milk, and Ethan was having an allergic reaction.

Caleb, with shaking hands, prepared the EpiPen like he was taught. He looked down at his struggling brother on the floor. "I'm sorry, Ethan," he said and jabbed the needle into his thigh. He counted to five in his head, then removed it, carelessly dropping it on the floor.

"Ethan?"

"C-Caleb," he whimpered, looking terrified.

"It'll be alright. I'll get help." He shot up from the floor over to the landline phone and rang for an ambulance. "It'll be okay, Ethan. I promise."

Caleb is 14, Ethan is 12.

"I like Cal," Caleb said suddenly as they were playing Cluedo.

Ethan didn't look up, too focused on his sheet of paper. "C-Caleb, what are you t-talking about?" he muttered, stutter almost non-existent. Cal knew this was the best time for Ethan. While they were relaxing, just the two of them, and having fun, Ethan's stutter seemed to fade.

"Cal. As a nickname," he said. "I never liked Caleb. Too formal and posh. Eugh"

This made Ethan look up. He tilted his head slightly, fiddling with his pencil. "Cal," he whispered as if testing the name out. He smiled. "I like it t-too."

They put their focus back on the board as Cal had his turn. Halfway through his turn, Ethan spoke again. "D-does that mean you can s-stop calling me Nibbles?" he asked hopefully.

Cal grabbed him from around the side and hugged him tightly with his arm. "Never, Nibbles."

Ethan shrugged and lightly smiled. "It w-was worth a t-try."

Cal let Ethan go. "Now stop trying to put me off."

As soon as Cal finished his turn, Ethan said: "no need."

"Huh?"

"There's n-no need to try and p-put you off."

Ethan looked smug, Cal knew what was coming next wasn't going to be good.

"What do you mean?"

"It was M-Mr Green in the s-study with t-the candlestick."

They turned over the cards, and sure enough, Ethan was correct. Cal was shocked that his little managed to get that, so only said: "I let you win."

He hoped Ethan believed that.

Caleb is 16, Ethan is 14.

"You did it, Ethan!" He grinned with excitement, so proud of his little brother. Ethan had just come home, beaming with happiness for getting full marks on his speaking test.

"A-and I barely stuttered!"

"Told you that you could do it, Ethan."

Ethan shrugged. "You helped me."

Cal did help him. He was up for the past week helping Ethan go through it over and over again and helping him with techniques not to get nervous or stutter. And even if it meant he got a couple of detentions for not handing in his homework, that didn't matter. Ethan was his little brother, and since they had a non-existent Dad, Cal made it his duty to help Ethan in any way he could.

"Who cares if I helped you? I wasn't there in the room with you and you did that all by yourself." Cal clapped Ethan on the shoulder. "Goon on you, Nibbles."

Ethan smiled mischievously. "And you, Caleb."

"Hmmm... I'll let that one pass just this once. Now, Mum's out. Thursday Night Special?"

Caleb is 18, Ethan is 16.

"I'll be back at Christmas, Nibbles. Don't worry."

"B-but that's three m-months away!"

Cal looked sadly at his little brother. While he wasn't so little anymore - he was going into his AS Levels after all (how time flies) - he was worried to leave him for Uni. They'd grown so close over the years, ever since that man left them. And their mother relied on him a lot. He didn't want to leave Ethan.

"We can write to each other. I'll still keep in contact." He ruffled Ethan's hair. "When I'm gone, you're going to be the man of the house, yeah?"

Ethan didn't answer him, he just looked at him.

"Come on, Ethan. Love you."

Ethan let the corner of his mouth lift and he hugged Cal tightly. "Love you too, Cal."

This is completely panic-at-casualty's headcanon (Cal and Ethan's dad walked out on them when they were young, so Cal pretty much raised Ethan instead) and this story was originally posted on Tumblr around a week ago.