(no subject)

[time_for_lynn]

On an ordinary weekend afternoon, an unexpected guest sat on Vito's couch, flipping channels on his television and looking pretty unhappy with the world.

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[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

Vito wandered out of his bedroom in a robe, yawning and making coffee while running on barely-awake autopilot. About halfway through the process, Vito stopped, turned his head, and stared at the back of the girl's head.

"Umm ... Lynn, is that you?"

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"Uh-huh. Why don't you have any good channels?" she asked, before taking a bite of the cereal she'd made.

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"I have fantastic channels. History, Food, Home and Garden TV, True Crime ... you name it, I got it. How'd you get in?" Vito had a hard-long row of locks on his front door, to the point where it would be easier to just knock the door down than to bypass the locks themselves. Even if he'd missed a few, several of them locked automatically.

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"Do you have HBO?" She asked, unimpressed. "My Mom let me in. She's busy and wanted me to be safe."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"HBO? No, there's never anything good on HBO. You want some hot chocolate?" His pot of coffee was brewing.

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"Can I have coffee?" she asked, not moving her eyes from the television. "Are you mad at my Mom for dumping me here?"

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"Aren't you a little young for coffee?"

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"If I don't get it from you, I'll just get coffee from friends and you know how that's going to end up."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"You're aware that it's a gateway drug. right?" Vito asked, smirking. "How do you take your coffee?"

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"A lot of sugar but nothing else." she said, "but I'm not going to do any real drugs. Not even drink alcohol, but Mom does a lot."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

Vito assumed that Lynn meant drinking, in relation to her mom. "Lots of sugar, got it. Hungry? I think I have bagels."

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"You keep ignoring what I'm saying" she complained "Yes, please. I want a bagel. How come you're still with my Mom? Why don't you dump her?"

Lynn could be very direct.

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"Why would I dump her?" Vito started toasting two bagels. "Cream cheese, smoked salmon, or both?"

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"Both." she smiled "You want to dump her because she's um. Not really your type, and she's gonna break your heart and she really belongs with my Dad. Not you even though you're really nice and Dad has this really pretty neighbor with blonde hair and is only a little weird."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"Hm. Well, maybe your dad will take up with the neighbor lady and I can keep making you breakfast. Here you go."

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"She's not his type." Lynn said, jumping up to get her bagel "My Mom and Dad need each other, and if you date the neighbor lady I don't think she ever gets in trouble like Mom does, and she hates skiing."

Lynn smiled sweetly at Vito "But you can still make me breakfast."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"Nope, it's a package deal," Vito said. "You get breakfast while I'm dating your mom."

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"Are you going to arrest her if you two break up? Because you can't. And then I wouldn't have to go to that school. It feels weird."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"We're not going to break up, so that's really not an issue."

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"Yes you will. She'll leave you behind like everyone else. AND I don't need to go to school, especially not one with holy water."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"Everyone needs to go to school. And it's a good school, so it's worth the occasional splash of holy water."

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"Not if it stings." Lynn said, unhappily "My Mom didn't go to school until high school and then she went right to college."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"But you're lucky, you get to have school before high school and then college afterwards," Vito said, ignoring the bit about holy water stinging.

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"I don't want to!" Lynn exclaimed. "I don't even want to go to college."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"So, what do you want to do with your time? Watch HBO and eat bagels?"

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"I'm going to be a hero." Lynn said, proudly

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"I see. And heroes don't need school?"

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"Mom and Dad can teach me everything I need to know except about anger management and coping skills."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"I see. You still need to go to school, there are laws about it and everything."

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"I don't want to." she said, her eyes flashing dark for just a moment "Your laws are stupid. My Mom doesn't even need you. When her job finds her she'll have all the money she can ever want and she'll be able to move on her own and quit the really bad job you got her."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"She seems like she's happy doing what she's doing," Vito said. "Does her happiness mean anything to you, or are you just looking for an increase in your allowance?"

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"She'll be happy with my Dad." sighed Lynn "I don't care about allowance cause she doesn't give it anyway."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"If she was happy with your dad, she'd be with your dad," Vito said patiently.

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"She's not with him because they keep making stupid mistakes and never end up together and always date other people. But they're like Romeo and Juliet except for the suicides and eloping and Mommy doesn't dress like an angel and she doesn't look anything like Claire Danes."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"Romeo and Juliet ended really, really badly. I don't think anybody should try to be like them. Especially considering that they weren't actually in love, they were just obsessed with each other for a few days and then died for it. If they'd taken a few minutes to think about it, any of it, they'd have avoided each other like the plague."

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"Mom and Dad have known each other FOREVER. And, they're not going to die. So they shouldn't avoid each other. Mom keeps telling me that Juliet was my age and that's why I should never have a boyfriend but I think she was closer to 14 and teenagers are horrible."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, okay. How's your bagel?"

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

"It's good. Thanks." Lynn said, frowning a bit. "You aren't going to tell my Mom I talked to you, are you?"

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

"I taped it," Vito said. "I'll replay it for her later. More coffee?"

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

Lynn glared at him, and folded her arms. "I'll tell her that you set me up."

[vito-the-mook.livejournal.com]

Vito said, "Okay," and poured himself more coffee. He held out the pot to her. "More, or no?"

[time-for-lynn.livejournal.com]

She poured another cup and glared daggers at Vito for ruining her plans for the day.