#val pearson

He had gone out alone, but returned to the near-empty club with two people in tow; Gwen, and Andy. "I hope you know that my previous threats do still stand." Val grumbled, "Dick—" "—Spoon, yeah, yeah, I know." Andy retorted, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I already said I was sorry, I really don't know what else you want from me, Val." "What I want," Val began, turning to face the younger man and pressing a finger into his chest to make sure his point was emphasised. "Is for you to leave my Gwenny alone. I don't know how many times she or I need to tell you, she doesn't want anything to do with you any more." "Well, then why am I in your club?" Andy asked smugly, as if that would prove a point. "Because you refused to get out of the fucking car when I asked." Val huffed, "Now will you please fuck off?" He began to walk again, making his way to a corner booth. "I really don't want to deal with you any more than I already have to, I would much rather just spend time with—"

His words died in his throat as he finally caught sight of Al, baby cradled against their chest as they quietly fed the mystery infant. Val's sudden silence did not go unnoticed by either Gwen or Andy, but before the latter could even think of something halfway witty to say about the sudden silence between them, his eyes landed on the same sight. The first sound that came from the trio was a hushed 'Oh my god' from Gwen. "Didn't know you had a bun in the— ouf—" Andy's amused remark was cut short by a swift jab of Gwen's elbow to his stomach. A glare from the woman beside him made sure he kept quiet. Now was not the time for any of his… Well, anything.

It was a surreal sight, for Val. More than surreal; it felt like something out of a dream, or perhaps a nightmare. On the one hand… It was lovely seeing Al be so domestic, Val couldn't help but admit that he had a soft spot for that. But where on Earth had the baby come from? And, a small, unusually timid part of himself asked, was Al expecting him to help take care of it, if they were even going to keep taking care of it? Val hadn't ever really considered expanding his family any more than Gwen — it had never appealed to him. Having Gwen had been bad enough, he had had enough worry and stress with just her, and that was when he was younger. He was much older now, and wasn't all that sure he would handle that stress very well a second time around. It had no appeal to him, as much as he did love Al. Slowly, Val lowered himself into the seat across from Al, eyeing the babe almost suspiciously.

"And who's this little… Tyke?" He asked, carefully. Al didn't even flinch at the sudden conversation. "This is Clive… His ma is a close friend of mine - isn't she?" They cooed at the baby, lifting him to their shoulder to gently pat at his back to burp him. "She asked if I'd look after him for the day — she's had a bit of a family emergency, and taking little Clive here could've just caused more issues…" Val nodded slowly, taking in the information as Al gave it to him. So, the baby wasn't theirs, nor did it seem like they were going to be keeping it for more than a day or so. "He been behaving okay?" He asked, slipping into that more paternal role. It was only temporary, so he didn't much mind it. He minded it even less since Al was the other faux-parent with him. Al slowly nodded. "He's been fine; he's not very fussy. He is definitely in that grabby stage, though." As if on cue, Clive went to grab at Al's hair. "Ah-ah…" They gently chided, carefully directing the infant's hand away from their locks. "You want to hold him?" They offered, eyes meeting with Val's for a moment.