Note: This is my second fic with a 14 year old Ziggy that had to be reraised from age 4 by Summer and Scott. There’s a past m/m relationship mentioned (Dillon/Ziggy).
Very Much Missing The Point
by EstiRose
“You should get to know Dillon more,” his mother had said, her voice strained. Something was going on here, Ziggy was sure of it, but he didn’t say anything about that.
Instead, he said, “Oh, okay.” As if it didn’t matter. But he knew, as she did, that Ziggy Grover had been Dillon’s lover, and that Dillon was having a hard time getting used to the fact that he was not Ziggy Grover anymore. Which was probably why there had been a team meeting - one without him - a week ago. One that he wasn’t supposed to know about, but he’d over heard his parents talking about anyway.
“We’re going to have you stay with him over break.” The way his mother said it so casually said how uncomfortable she was with it.
“I don’t have to, you know.” He looked at his mom, who was trying to be reassuring, he thought. “Just because he and, well, me kinda, were lovers before….”
“It’s not just that, Ziggy.” She leaned forward. “There’s a big initiative to marry kids your age off, and I don’t want you caught up in it. Dillon’s your best physical protection just in case your Dad and I fail.”
He gulped. His mother didn’t want to force marriage on any of them, but she sounded willing to toss her son into a love affair with his former self’s lover in order to save him.
It said something about how bad the situation was, and how much they weren’t telling him. Which meant that he had to do his best to make the situation as pleasant as possible for everyone involved. Well, at least it was someone he was attracted to. He’d just have to ask questions and do the best he could to be prepared.
“Okay.” There wasn’t much he could say to that. He’d make his mom and dad proud by handling the matter well.
This meant finding as much as he could about himself before, his former self’s relationship with Dillon, anything he could. Gemma would probably know best, and he could pry stories about Ziggy and Dillon out of Flynn.
Gem was the one who picked him up after school, and it had taken just a smile and a question for them to be heading out to the McAllistairs’ place. Gem was more than happy to see his sister, and Ziggy figured he’d be able to get the stories out of Flynn first, and then ask Gemma about his original self’s love life.
As soon as they were inside the converted garage, he let Gem greet his sister while he headed into the kitchen area where he saw Flynn. His parents had often said that it was better to let Flynn do the cooking in that family, unless one wanted the bread to suddenly blow up.
“Hello, Ziggy,” his honorary uncle said, clearly surprised. “What brings you to the Garage?”
“Mom and Dad said that I’m supposed to spend a week with Dillon, and I want to make sure I don’t, um, piss him off while I was there.” He didn’t know Dillon too well, but he did know that he was a Venjix hybrid, and he wanted to get along and be able to please him if he needed to. “And he’s a bit mysterious, you know?”
“Just be yourself,” Flynn said, putting down the salad he was working on. “You try to be too much like your past self, and you’ll cause him and yourself a lot of problems.”
“Okay, don’t act like my past self, got it.” He wasn’t sure how he’d act like Ziggy Grover, considering he didn’t even really know who the guy was. “How do I not do that?”
Flynn sighed. “Lad, there’s not causing problems, and there’s trying too hard. You’re not going to do yourself or Dillon any favors if you try to be anyone other than who you are.”
“But….” If he was going to sleep with the man, wouldn’t it be a good idea to know what things had been like before?
“Scott and Summer have done a good job with you,” Flynn said, patting Ziggy on the shoulder, “But sometimes there’s such a thing as being over-prepared, lad.”
“There is?” Ziggy asked.
“Yeah,” Flynn said. “Don’t worry about it. Your folks just want you and Dillon to get to know each other, that’s all.”
Ziggy sighed. How was he supposed to get this right if nobody would tell him anything? Well, except Gemma. And maybe Gem.
Gemma chose that moment to bounce over to them. “Oooh, Dillon will be so glad!” she exclaimed, wrapping Ziggy in a hug. “It’ll be so nice for you two to be back together.”
Ziggy just hoped so. But with what he wasn’t being told, how was he supposed to get it right?
“Er, Gemma?” Flynn looked at his wife. “Ziggy’s staying over for a week so that Dillon stops avoiding him, and so that the government doesn’t do something we’ll all regret. It’s not like we’re expecting him to sleep with Dillon there.”
“You’re not?” Ziggy asked. “But….”
Flynn blinked, and then looked horrified. “No, lad! Where’d you get that idea?”
“Well, it would keep me from getting married off, or I think that’s what mom implied.”
Groaning, Flynn said, “That’s not what she had in mind at all, Ziggy. She - we all - wanted to have you in a safe place, because of everything that’s going on. Dillon might not know what to do with you, but he’d protect you from anyone who came for you. We’re not expecting you to sleep with him!”
“Oh. Whoops.” He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten the idea, but he was apparently very wrong. He knew he was starting to blush.
“Don’t worry there, Ziggy. You’re a teenager, and I know you’re attracted, but… your mom would never do that to you. I think you should go home, be yourself. Because that’s all we’re ever going to ask you to be.”
“I think I’m going to… just go home now,” Ziggy said. It suddenly sounded like a really good idea at the moment. “Thanks, Flynn.”
Flynn gave him a small smile. “You’re welcome, lad. Just remember… be yourself.”
“Be yourself. I’ve got that.” He just hoped that when he got to Dillon’s that he’d remember that.