“It’s just…so human,” Xander said in quiet surprise. Aryan was many things, but ‘human’ was never a word Xander ever considered. It was strange to know that his dad, who’d always seemed so larger than life, also struggled with something as mundane as reading. He was pulled out of his thoughts by his father’s comment; you could have come to us. Out of habit formed over several years, Xander scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Right, sure. Because you’re so damn approacha–” He stopped abruptly and sighed heavily. No. He couldn’t do this anymore. His dad had been trying–really trying–and Xander couldn’t expect him to keep making an effort if he shut him out again.
“Look, Dad, you’re…not exactly the easiest person to talk to,” he tried. “And before you ask why I didn’t tell anyone else, it wasn’t that big of a deal at first. I could get by well enough, so I didn’t even think I needed to say anything… But I fell more and more behind as I got older, and the longer I didn’t tell anyone, the harder it got, and… I don’t know. I guess after a while I just felt like I couldn’t. So. I didn’t. I got by on memorization and, like you said before, using my thrall on my teachers to skate by. Only I didn’t know I was doing that until you pointed it out.” He sighed again and looked up at his dad. “But you could have asked, you know,” he pointed out. “If you really thought something was going on, you could have just asked me if I was struggling instead of trying to force me to read random books, ‘cause… I just felt cornered. Or like I’d done something wrong.”
“Human? That’s a new one,” Aryan chuckled quietly. He didn’t tend to get many people calling him human. He supposed that was why it is so strange for Xander to hear he had such a flaw. “I suppose there are worse things to be compared to.” Not many, but a few. Aryan saw Xander’s emotional hackles go up at once, and he was ready to do the same in return, but he was surprised when Xander backtracked almost as quickly as he’d flared up. They were working things out, slowly but surely, and he was glad Xander was trying to take that seriously. he was a teenager, he was always going to have his stuff ups, but Aryan appreciated he at least could identify when he might be reverting to old habits.
“I know,” Aryan sighed, “but if you’re struggling, you’ve gotta tell someone. Me, your mother, your aunt, your teachers... someone. Reading is unfortunately one of those essentials in life, regardless of what you do with it. You can do it Xander. Anyone can read, as long as they know the basics, and you do know those. The rest is just... tricks to help it all make sense.” Aryan raised a pointed eyebrow at his son. “Would you really have told me the truth?” he asked. “I’m sorry I made you feel cornered like that, that’s not what I wanted to do, I just... wanted to know before I stuck my foot in my mouth, which we both know I’m prone to. Look, it’s easy to work on, and I didn’t really work on it until my teens either, I had Ariya happy to do my reading for me. I can help. You might just have to accept it’s my brand of help.”
