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Eliot Graves usually knew when to expect a visit from his son. Usually. Charlie had a nasty habit of remembering when visits were planned, he didn't... An out of the blue appearance though was typically unheard of in Mr. Graves housefold though. It had happened for the second time - the first being Eliot's 40th birthday party - on a Sunday afternoon.

There was a knock at the door, and Maragret looked up, blonde curls tossed for a second. She was only one year younger than Eliot, but didn't seem to act it, keeping her hair constructed in an elaborate tangle of gold, and enough makeup to cake her face into a permanent disgruntled expression of heavy lidded eyes and a scarlet pout. Despite her evident fakeness though, she had been the most reliable friend (if not occasional girlfriend) that Eliot had had for years - and the closest thing that the eternal bachelor would ever have to a wife. She spoke in a low tone, flicking between Eliot's stern face and the door. "You want me to get it?"

"Nah, it's perfectly alright." He said with a flash of a smile, instantly taking several years off of his face. Maragret returned with a smirk. There was a faint thudding noise as his cane hit the floor, followed by the creak of the door - only to see the familiar shape of Charlie in the doorway, orange eyes wide. Eliot blinked, before giving a little smile. "Charlie! I wasn't expecting you... Something wrong?"

The guardsman peered through the doorway, spotting Maragret curled up on the couch who gave him a little wave. He returned the favor. She had babysat him for an awful long time as a kid, and he was used to the routine that she and Eliot would likely keep following till death - he wasn't even sure if they were dating at the moment, but it never really mattered since if they weren't they would be in a few weeks. He gave a little smile to her. "Hey Maragret-" As his smile faded though, a serious look swept over his face. "Dad, can I talk to you... Alone? Just for a second?"

Eliot frowned, turning over his shoulder. Damnit, this was one of those father-son moments that he never really knew how to handle - for being a father, he had always felt as though he'd done a piss poor job. And yet Charlie continued to surprise him by not being some runaway hooligan selling himself for money on the streets of Aekea. Maybe he had been doing something good afterall. "Be right back, Maggie."

She shrugged, grabbing the dishes off the coffeetable with a sighing chuckle. "No problem; gives me a chance to clean up your goddamned mess for once. I honestly wonder how you can get by, sometimes..."

Mr. Graves rolled his eyes and stepped outside, shutting the door behind him to meet Charlie eye-to-eye, almost. It had never ceased to be a miracle that Charlie was so tall, but he couldn't really dwell on the fact for too long before it made him agitated that he wasn't as tall, and other semipetty things that eventually drug him way off topic from the matter at hand. "Something bothering you?"

Charlie fidgeted for a second, before shoving his good hand into his pocket, pulling out a small picture. His voice was hesitant before talking. "I just... Well, I was talking to a friend of mine, and there were a few coincidences."

Eliot raised a heavy eyebrow, craning to look over at the picture just hidden from his view. "So?"

"So I found out a little more about her. Her name is Thil. And I knew I'd never ask you about her, but sometimes, life has a way about making things happen..." He handed his father the picture with a serious expression, biting at his cheek. "Thil's the little darkhaired girl, right there." He pointed towards the child with a goofy expression, but Eliot's heart stopped for a second at the woman in the portrait.

He gave a sigh, looking over the picture, at the happy family, cursing himself and the coincidences lined up. "...I can honestly say after you said you didn't care, that I never expected this to happen..." Eliot scratched at the back of his neck. "What do you want me to tell you? I'm sorry I couldn't have told you about her myself, I just wanted to do what you asked."

Charlie put a hand on his dad's shoulder, his mouth tight. "I'm not mad, I'm not sad... Having a friend in this situation has made things a little different. But you don't need to tell me anything. I know her name's Irene, and I knew you met during the war." He lifted his hand with a little frown, before changing it into a smile. "I just wanted to know what you thought, what happened, if you knew everything..."

Eliot looked over the face in the picture with another sigh. "Just come on in Charlie, I'll bring you up to date... Maragret can come back over some other time. Even if my dishes need fixed." Remembering a little darkhaired boy he'd never expected to have, he herded the guard into the cabin with a little chuckle. "God, you really should visit more inbetween these adventures, y'know?"

((NEW LOOK FOR ELIOT - gray patch hair is perfect, and beard/stubble is gone

and semipermanent side character, Maragret. Essentially he's the closest thing Charlie has to a mom-stand in, having been Eliot's on and off girlfriend since Charlie was a kid. They don't really intend to get married, but they're the closest thing that either one would ever want to get into. <: ))