"I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."
Those words were taken from Kenny Segmunt, the father of Arthur Segmunt.
When it came to the last name Assas, that was Anastasia's (mother of Arthur) last name. So to the world of dragons, Arthur would belong to the Assas family. However, in daily life, Arthur's last name was Segmunt, coming from his dad's side.
Though, due to being closer to his mother than his father, Arthur typically preferred Assas.
"What?" Arthur asked in confusion. His dad pulled away, his flashy grin gone and replaced with a serious expression.
"I treated both you and your mother terribly when you were a kid. And for that, I'm truly, truly sorry. I promise you, I've changed," his dad said with a slight frown.
If Arthur were to say those same words, his own eyes would be down. But his father surpassed him greatly, being able to meet the gaze of the one who he apologized to.
"With that said…" His dad said, his frown slowly turning into a toothless smile. "Do you want hotdogs or hamburgers? Or maybe both?"
"Um, I'll take a cheeseburger," Arthur stammered out, looking away to avoid eye contact. His dad exhaled a laugh, patting Arthur on both shoulders, saying "Alrighty, I'm on it!"
His dad went to the grill and got to work. Arthur took a seat in a lawn chair, watching his dad work his butt off. His dad was doing all sorts of things with the grill that seemed really flashy, and Arthur didn't even know that was possible.
"Sooo? How was your week? Any better than the last?" His dad asked, keeping his eyes on the grill. Arthur let out an "ummm" before giving his answer. "So far, yeah. It's been a lot more normal than I expected, and not too painful."
His dad laughed, before putting a burger between two buns and grabbing some chips. "That's good! Sometimes a little bit of normal's what you need to properly relax. What kinda chips do ya want?"
"Um, I'll take the red ones," Arthur said, before his dad poured out the chips into the paper plate. He gave Arthur the plate, and Arthur looked the food over, suspecting poison of some kind.
'There's no way this stuff isn't poisoned. What if he's been captured by dragons and they're using him as bait to lure me out? The food's probably poisoned, and then when I'm weak, they'll attack me while I'm on the verge of death.'
Arthur sniffed the burger, and his stomach growled. He was a college student working at a grocery store part time, free food was his kryptonite.
Arthur discarded his life, taking a bite into the burger and chewing. His dad's statement about honing his skills for years flashed through Arthur's mind, and he knew that at the very least, his dad wasn't lying about that.
The texture was perfect. It was chewy but not crispy and burnt, giving him the feeling of a true dragon devouring. And the taste was juicy, flavorful and proper. Arthur hated fat on his meat, and there was none here. It was absolutely, truly, wonderfully beautiful, pristine and expertly made.
Arthur indulged himself, refusing to stop.
His dad helped himself as well, giving himself a hotdog and a burger, sitting down and looking at Arthur feasting like a pig. Or perhaps a dragon would fit better. No, pig was more accurate.
"Glad to see you like it! Haha, so those years weren't in vain! I knew I could cook up a mean burger; I remember you liking them when you were a kid," his dad said with a smile. Arthur let out a small laugh, finishing his burger and going up to get more.
"Help yourself to it! I made them all for you, after all," his dad said, though it took some time as he had to speak between bites.
It was then that a disaster occurred.
The weather, which was already cloudy, began to rain. His dad looked pretty surprised, before getting up.
"Keep my food safe! I gotta get an umbrella!" His dad yelled, taking off. Arthur, without thinking too hard, obliged. He looked around, seeing no one else at the park, before sprouting wings and keeping the grill safe, while also using his body to shield the paper plater.
His dad arrived with a pretty large umbrella, and he set up the stand over the grill and their chairs, keeping them safe from the rain. His dad checked his phone and he looked at the weather, clicking his tongue.
"Ah, crud, I should've checked the weather. Turns out it was gonna storm; I was surprised when no one else was here," his dad said in a bummed out tone, before shrugging his shoulders.
"I've gotta get better preparation skills, but it is what it is," he said. When he turned towards Arthur, who had immediately put away his wings when he saw his dad returning, he smiled slightly.
"Your wings were really sweet, they looked awesome," he said.
'Oh. Fuck.'
"Uh… yeah? Wait, what wings?" Arthur asked, trying to sound as confused as possible. His dad had a proper laugh, holding his stomach before going over to the grill as he spoke.
"Man, you suck at lying. Well, I guess your mother raised you pretty well, if that's the case."
"—"
Arthur looked away, sitting down in the lawn chair. The rain started out as light drizzles, but after just a few seconds it immediately began to downpour, and quite heavily at that. But the food was okay, so that was all Arthur really cared about.
"Um… how much do you know about dragons?" Arthur asked, trying to break the small silence.
"Oh, uh, not too much. I mean, I know your mom was one, and that the families of dragons can be kinda coocoo, but not too much beyond that," his dad said nonchalantly. "What about you? Your mom didn't mention anything about dragons to you when I was around, so did that change after she left me?"
"No, not really," Arthur said. "I only found out very recently. Honestly, it's scary. I'm in a whole new world, and the only allies I have are either untrustworthy or unable to help me. Everyone else, the whole world, they're all after me because I made one mistake, one mistake that I had no choice but to make."
His dad frowned lightly hearing that, and went over to him, having refilled his plate with another burger and more chips. Arthur took it with a small smile and ate more.
"Yeah, I can see why your week sucked, then," his dad said, taking a small pause. "Actually, what about your mom? She can't help you?"
Arthur let out a small "hk," before keeping silent. His dad noticed the somber expression, and began fearing the worst.
"Is she… what happened… is she okay?"
"I think so, yeah. But… I got tricked into joining another family, and that's a taboo for the dragons. No matter what, they won't listen to my side, and mom was sent to…"
Arthur refused to finish his sentence. In the distance, he saw lightning, and the thunder reached his ears before there was any continuation.
"I… I see," his dad said, sitting down in a lawn chair. Arthur's legs shook, and he tapped his feet repeatedly, sitting in silence.
"I… I don't know what it's like to be a dragon. I don't really have any advice I can give, I don't have any experience in that field."
'Naturally.'
"But if it means anything, I'll always love you, no matter what. I might be pretty strong from working construction, but I know I can't exactly beat up dragons like you could. I can't promise I'll protect you from threats, as you're your own person, I'm not attached to you; I won't always be there to save you if you're in danger."
"However, I'll always support you. I won't be there in your fights, punching dragons and casting spells or whatever you guys do. But no matter what, I'm rooting for you. Even if it's the whole world against you, I'm rooting for you. That's the least I can do."
"—"
Arthur cried.
"Ah? Hey now, what'cha cryin' for?! I'm tryin' to be supportive here!" His dad yelled, laughing as he did so. Arthur wiped his tears, sniffling and nodded his head.
"Yeah, I probably shouldn't cry now," he said. "Um… thank you."
"Of course! If you're ever hungry after beating up some dragon king or whatever, gimme a call. I'm always down to eat with you."
"Heh, of course you are," Arthur said. He looked away, seeing the pouring rain. His smile slowly faded, and he looked down.
"I should probably get going. We're not in public, and as I mentioned before, the dragons always come after me. They only leave me alone when there's lots of other people around. I don't want them to come and hurt you too," Arthur said.
"Ah, that's fair. Well, it was nice while it lasted," his dad said. "Mind helping me put the stuff away?"
"Oh, yeah, of course," Arthur said. With his dragon strength, he was able to easily help his dad, though they both got soaking wet due to Arthur being wary of other people maybe seeing them.
Once they got everything put away, Arthur looked at his dad with a smile, waving goodbye.
"Wait," his dad said. Arthur raised an eyebrow, and his dad looked him in the eyes. "Yeah?"
"Um… this is a bit awkward, but… no, hold on, give me a sec," his dad said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. His heart was racing, and in all honesty, what he was about to ask was something which he was deeply, deeply afraid of.
It was something which made his heart tremble more than anything.
He faced it head on.
"After meeting with me again for the first time in so, so long, after getting to see a bit of who I am now… can you find it in you to forgive me for what I did in the past?"
Such was the question that meant everything.