Thread:DatAsymptote/@comment-31597382-20200112210638

Hi! Got done with this quicker than expected because once I started I didn't want to stop! You said like Batman and Alfred, and this is my interpretation of that, I hope it matches yours!

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"Go to sleep."

Franz ignores the "suggestion," "Not yet." He was in the middle of a very interesting section of one of his new books. And he didn't want to stop it yet, not until he was finished.

"That wasn't a friendly suggestion Franz." Johann spoke with the patience that you only got after years of dealing with these situations and those similar to it.

"I'm going to finish this." The boy said calmly, even as he said it fighting back a yawn.

"This is exactly why I've told you not to start a new book after 9." Johann let a bit of exasperation seep through his voice, he's had this conversation, (at least versions of it), more often than he could count. And they all pretty much ended the same way, it was just slightly humorous to see how long Franz would drag it out this time.

"Franz...." Johann bit back his smile at the pout the boy gave him, as he waved one hand as if brushing his "father's" concern aside.

"Come on, just let me finish this." The more tired Franz got, the younger he seemed to act. One key sign that the boy really needed to go to sleep as soon as possible, was when he started...whining for lack of a better word.

Johann laughed and it turned into a quick cough, laughing at Franz wouldn't be a very good idea, it would just prolong the inevitable, and right now he wasn't in the mood for this to go longer than absolutely necessary.

"I'll just take the book away, put a bookmark in, and set it on the end table. Okay?" Johann reached for the book, only to have it yanked away from him.

"I'll stop when I'm done!"

"With the chapter or with the book?" Johann challenged.

Franz' lack of a response was all that Johann needed to know. He was smarter than Franz often gave him credit for, as the boy had pulled the "let me finish I'll stop when I'm done!" and really meant the book and not the chapter that Johann thought he meant. Clarification was something that he had to ask for when it came to Franz and his books.

(Not so much the old ones. If he's read them before, he was usually okay with putting it down so he could do something that was important to his health, like eating, and sleeping. Not always, sometimes he was in a mood, or to use his words 'noticed something that he overlooked the first time', but for the most part, it was a safe bet to only put a time limit on when he could read the new books.)

"Come on, you need to sleep. It's good for you." Johann really tried to reason with him, they had been doing this for like 45 minutes and Franz didn't look like he was about to give this up any time soon.

"You sound like a dad."

"Don't say that like it's a bad word Franz." Johann playfully flicked Franz' fingers, to get his point across.

"Still sounding like a dad."

"Will you just go to sleep Franz?" Johann was done with this banter, he could tell that Franz was too, but was just pushing his limits for whatever reason. Johann hadn't actually learned why Franz did that sometimes, but he usually blamed that on how tired he was.

"Hang on." Johann stood up, getting something quickly.

Franz tried to turn back to his book, but before he read more than a word, something warm was pressed against the back on his hand.

"Coffee?"

"Why on earth would I give you coffee when I'm trying to get you to go to sleep?" Johann couldn't get the frustration out of his voice, though he could see the smile pulling on the boy's face. He knew he was messing with him, probably as payback to try to get him to stop reading.

"Drink it. It's hot tea." Franz raised an eyebrow. Johann sighed as he forcefully, (yet still in a somewhat gentle way), pried his hands away from the book so he could place the cup in it.

Franz sighed as he drank the tea. "It's not that bad."

"Ah!" Johann smacked a hand on his chest as he pretended to faint from shock. "The boy just gave me a compliment."

"I complimented the tea I didn't compliment you." Franz shot back.

"That is true, but I did make the tea, so in a roundabout way you gave me a compliment. I say it counts."

Franz opened his mouth to say more, only to get cut off by a yawn.

"I believe that is further proof that you need to go to sleep. I don't want you to wind up being a grouchy zombie tomorrow." Johann helped Franz stand up, the (thankfully empty) cup falling over.

"My book?" Franz asked, trying to reach for it.

"It's on the table. It will still be there tomorrow. I promise I won't touch it." Johann soothed as he led the boy from the living room into his bedroom.

"I can walk to my bed by myself." Franz protested as Johann leading him didn't stop when they got into the room.

"I know you can, but I also know that there is a ninety-nine percent chance that you won't." Johann laid him down on the bed, and pulled the blanket up to his chin. "I'm going to stay here until you go to sleep."

"Fine." Franz finally stopped putting up a fight as he let his eyes close. Johann smiled, but knowing his angsty emo (totally not his son) as well as he did, he knew he'd have to wait there just in case Franz was messing with him, or he woke up again.

(Also the reason I finished this as soon as i did may or may not be because this is very similar to an interaction I had with my mom not that long ago.) 