#and then adult Phillip ALWAYS has a sassy comeback 👏👏👏

[pampanope]

Thank u for tagging me, @jgvfhl @shadow18-1 !!!

I could see this.

Graves, no matter the age, would do something on his own terns, at his own choosing XD.

Loved that Adler stuck by him~

When Graves was young, he was a slow talker, didn't have a lot to say, and he was behind other kids his age with speech development.

It bothered his mother and the people around him. Given the time period and attitudes, they insisted that it meant something was "wrong" with the boy. Adler wouldn't hear a word about it.

"You should be concerned if he hasn't uttered a word at this age."

"Leave it."

"Russell, there must be something wrong with him."

"Leave it."

And when they dare suggest it in front of his son, he's quick to glower them into silence before dropping onto the floor next to his boy and taking his hand.

He lifts Phil's hand up to his face, the boy's skin still baby soft as he brushes the tiny fingers over her jaw.

"Don't listen to her shit, kid. You'll talk when you feel like it."

Phil is a big fan of Uncle Frank and his "friend" Alex. The men have no problem picking him up and carrying him around for Phil's amusement. Sometimes, he hears Woods muttering to his son as he lets Phil grab at his shirt.

"Your Uncle Alex doesn't talk sometimes, kiddo, and he's alright. You'll be too, don't listen to any of those fuckers."

And when one day he picks up his son, Phil offers his cheek a soft pat with a murmur of "Dad" alongside it? He glances around at everyone else in the room with the proudest, most smug father look he'd capable of as he rubs the toddler's back.

"Told you he'd get around to it when he felt like it."