In the moments before his father replied, Pavi took the opportunity to lean forward a little and peer at whatever it was that his father was signing off. It always seemed like he had a lot of work to do but when he had asked Luigi about it, he had told him, and in rather colourful language too, that that was what came with owning and running such a successful business as GeneCo. Everyone loved papa, which was why Pavi wanted to be just like him when he was older.
Innocent eyes glanced up again at the familiar voice, heart warming at the smile he received from his only parent before he nodded and began to speak again, slowly trying to form the words properly past the stupid speech impediment that he hated so much and that Luigi constantly teased him for, "C-Carmie is too t-t-tired and Luigi told m-me to g-go away...'cept he used b-b-bad words and called m-me names..."
The small dark haired boy looked up to his father with a soft frown. He was used to his older brother not wanting to play with him, but he didn't like it when Luigi called him names and made fun of him. It hurt and if he got upset then Luigi would just tease him further or call him a wimp.
A mildly exasperated sigh passed the fathers' lips, and he placed a hand against his forehead, rubbing slightly. Luigi had a bad temper, and rarely seemed to exhibit any sort of brotherhood towards his siblings. It was something Rotti desperately wished he knew how to handle, but running GeneCo was slowly winning out over him being a father. Still, he did the best he could with the situation they were in. He didn't like to think about the reason he was a single parent- in fact, it was something he refused to think about or discuss with anyone.
"Oh my son," his voice was soft, empathy masking the irritation at his eldest child, "He just has some issues with seeing the line between what is proper for a child of his age and what is not." He reached out a hand to ruffle Pavi's hair, then moved to pick the boy up and pulled him onto his lap. He cupped Pavi's chin, meeting the boys wide eyes with his own tired ones. "You must remember, the names he calls you do not define you. I know they may sting, but if you show him that they don't bother you, he'll most likely stop. Bullies only keep doing something if it causes a reaction."
He made a mental note to schedule a few more sessions for Luigi to help him learn how to control his anger. He was the oldest, and he remembered more than the other two, so it was no surprise that he was finding it difficult to deal with handling his emotions. Children should not have to live with so much grief, Rotti mused.Â















