they got a sick blouse, ON SALE!

He stood back up and looked in the mirror. The suit was a little rumpled, maybe a tad too big on him, but he’d grow into it. He would. 

He straightened his hat, took a deep breath, and began.

“H-hello! Mister Freeman!” He plastered on a smile, then turned nervously to Sunkist. “Is—is that a good start?”

She barked.

“Okay. Um. Hello, Mister Freeman! I—uh—I hope I didn’t…catch you at—a bad time—no, that’s no good, it’s just gonna—okay, let’s…start over. Uh—hello! Mister—“

“Knock, knock,” a voice interrupted, along with the soft rapping of knuckles on Tommy’s doorframe.

Tommy jumped in surprise at his father’s voice. “Oh! Uh—hi! Dad!”

“Hel-lo, Tommy. And good, evening.” The G-Man looked his son over, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

“S-sorry I didn’t ask you if—if I could borrow your suit!” Tommy said quickly. “I just, um, I wanted to—“

The G-Man held out a hand, chuckling. “It’s, quite alright, Tommy. No need to…apolo-gize. You’ll be wearing it, soon enough, as it is. It looks…very well on you, my dear boy.”

Tommy beamed.

“Although…”

Tommy’s smile faded. Here it came.

“It could do with some…tailoring. As could your…speech. This will be your, first time, seeing Mister Freeman in 20 years. We want to make, a good first impression, don’t we?”

Tommy nodded. “Uh-huh!”

The G-Man stepped closer, looking him over appraisingly. “Perhaps, writing it all down, would be of…some help,” he suggested, brushing off Tommy’s shoulders and straightening his tie. “Might make it more…difficult, to forget, hm? Now, why don’t you…show me, what you have so far?”

Tommy gulped. “Um. O-okay.” He stared ahead, towards an imaginary Gordon. “Hello, Mister Freeman! I hope I didn’t catch you at—at a bad time!” He laughed nervously. “Um…what should I…say next…”

“We’ll…workshop it,” his father interrupted. “Why don’t you…write down, a few drafts, and I will….look over them, in the morning. How does that sound?”

“O-okay.”

His father put a hand on his shoulder, giving him one last glance over. He plucked the propeller cap from his head and handed it to him.

“Best, put this away. We wouldn’t want you…forgetting, to take it off when you see Mister Freeman.” He glanced down at the golden retriever on the floor, her head resting on top of Tommy’s shoe. “And, do try not to get, dog hair on my suit. If you please.”

“Okay, Dad! I—I won’t.”

“And, Tommy.”

“Yeah?”

“Relax. You are going to be, fine. After all, you are…my son.”

Tommy turned towards the mirror, the G-Man following his gaze. Tommy wasn’t a young man by any means; his face was lined, his hairline was receding. But in the presence of his father, he couldn’t help but feel small.

ac: @//cowpokebeetle / @//starshapedspider, @//pseudok9, and @//badface (along with some clips from the HL2VRAI trailer and Scorpy's Chronicles of Benry)