#fanfic where teddy and bob talk about their dads!! included most of what ive written atp bcuz im unsure if i will ever finish writing this

[br1ghtestlight]

Trick or treat! 👻🍭😈

"After all that, they STILL wouldn't give my dad a refund. Anyway, that's how my family ended up living on a fishing boat for three months in the Atlantic Ocean. It wasn't all bad, though. I still keep in touch with that fisherman," Teddy rambled to Bob as he wiped down the counter. Linda was out running errands and his kids were at school, so he didn't have anybody to help him escape from Teddy's non-stop conversation and stories. Bob loved his friend, but that handyman LOVED to talk. It was exhausting for somebody who was as introverted as Bob. Social interaction was hard for him, even with his close friends and family.

"Huh. Teddy, I don't think you've ever told me about your dad before," Bob said. "I've heard hundreds of stories about your mom, uh, but I've never heard you talk about your dad."

"Oh, well… He's dead, so—You know how it is," Teddy said awkwardly. "Don't want to tell people stories about a dead person. Brings the whole mood down."

Bob shrugged and focused his attention on Teddy. He knew what it felt like to lose a parent, and how uncomfortable talking about that could be with people who didn't understand. He ignored that and questioned Teddy further. "How old were you when he died? I was, uh, twelve when my mom died."

Teddy took a second to count out the years on his fingers before he answered. "I was thirty six years old, I think. Maybe thirty seven. He had a heart attack and was in the hospital for a few days… I didn't visit him, because we hadn't really talked for a few years. Didn't even know what happened until he was already dead. He and my mom were divorced, and I didn't keep up with his side of the family. I still don't."

"I'm sorry, Teddy," Bob said genuinely. Losing his mother was the hardest thing that he'd ever gone through, but he couldn't imagine how he would have coped if it happened so suddenly and when they weren't on good terms. Teddy's relationship with his father was obviously a lot more complicated than Bob's relationship with his mother, but losing a parent was never easy.

"Eh. It's alright. I didn't really get along with him, anyway. I mean, I WANTED to get along with him, but he didn't really seem to… like me," Teddy's expression darkened for a moment before he continued, as if he was remembering something from his childhood that he'd long forgotten. "I don't really think about him all that often, especially 'cause he's been dead for such a long time. He's more like a weird uncle from my childhood than, like, my actual dad. Does that make sense?"

Bob grunted in response and Teddy continued talking.

"I don't really miss him, I don't think. I mean, he was my dad and I'll always love 'em, but… He was so mean, Bobby. He was an alcoholic, y'know, and he treated my mom like crap. Me and Dana, too. It's hard to think about him without thinkin' about all the bad things that happened when I was a kid. Most of them were his fault. My therapist says that it's normal to feel resentful of my parents for what happened when I was a kid and how they treated us, but I don't know. Daddy issues. We all got 'em, right?"

Bob nodded. "My relationship with my dad is, uh, complicated. He's… a lot to be around, but he was also pretty much all of my childhood. At least you still have your mom around, and you have your sister."

"Dana is amazing, Bob. I should introduce you to her at some point. She's going back to college and studying to be a dental hygienist. Can you believe that? First person in our family to go college," Teddy perked up at the mention of his sister.

Bob had never met Dana, but he knew from the stories that Teddy told about her that he was very proud of everything his younger sister had accomplished in her life. Bob occasionally wondered what it would be like if he had a brother or sister, especially after seeing how close his own children were to each other. His father told him that they'd never planned on having another child after Bob was born, but he couldn't help but wonder if their decision had been influenced by his mother's worsening health.

"Yeah, it would be great to meet your sister," Bob agreed. "And, uh, if you ever feel like talking to me about your dad or telling stories about him—that's not a problem. I don't mind. I mean, I know what it's like to lose a parent."

*

"Yeah, but they're my only family. I gotta love 'em," Teddy sighed.

"I mean, that's not entirely true."

"Whaddya mean, Bobby?"

"We're kind of like your family too, aren't we? Me, Linda, the kids… You've always been a part of our family. You've been with us from the start."

*

"Hey! We could try setting our parents up on a date. Then we'd be best friends AND brothers! What do you say, Bobby?"

Bob grimaced. Ignoring the fact that Big Bob hadn't gone on a date since Lily died nor had he shown any interest in doing so, and Teddy's mother's obvious preference for dating younger men, he really didn't think he would want to be Teddy's brother. He was a good friend, but he was not sure about being related to him for the rest of his life. That didn't sound fun. "I don't know about that, Teddy."

"Yeah, you're probably right. You'd probably be a really annoying brother," Teddy agreed. "And I already HAVE a younger sibling! Don't need another of those."