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Rupert lets out a sigh as he walked down the smooth grey cement path. The trees around him were covered in orange, brown, yellow, red leaves with many having fallen onto the ground, making rather satisfying crunching noises when his shoes stepped on them. A cloudy morning fog hid most of the woods, only the blurry silhouettes of the trees visible in the background. The air is filled with a distinct earthy smell from the decomposing leaves, bringing back nostalgic memories of the past.
It's been a long time since he ever did something calm and relaxing. Being busy with his duties as a Toppat recruit, a father ̶a̶̶n̶̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶̶i̶̶a̶̶r̶ consumed pretty much all of his free time, leaving him too exhausted to go outside. However, the current Toppat Chief, Right Hand Man, has decided to give everyone a break for a few weeks with the arrival of the autumn season and the not too recent capture of the Airship division by the Government which left everyone on a tense edge.
The ex-police officer didn't think he would meet Henry Stickmin again after he escaped prison. Was it krama or just fate likes to make fun of him? He has no idea but all he knows that the thief has bust his way into the airship one normal day, has taken the clan's leader, Reginald Copperbottom and handed him to over to Captain Galeforce (It's been a long time since he heard that name that Rupert almost forgot about him).
It wasn't the first time Henry ruined things for the Toppats since Rupert remembered hearing Gene rant about how some random thief stole the Tunisian Diamond, completely sabotaging their operation to get the gemstone. By the end, Right decided to take leadership since he was the second-in-command though the Toppat recruit wonders if it was partially out of guilt for letting Reginald get captured considering they seem to have a close relationship.
But Rupert wasn't in a position to know that kind of information since he was still at the lower end of the Toppat hierarchy even if he is steadily rising through the ranks in the Train Division that Mr. Macbeth was considering him to be nominated as an Elite. At the current moment, there was no confirmation, just simple meeting talks. He wasn't too sure if they were going to make a decision or not considering all the recent events.
His thoughts were interrupted by a small tag on his coat. Looking down to see it was Micheal, his youngest and only son. The golden hair boy was holding a bright red apple in his hand, curiously gazing up at his father.
"Where did you get that, Micheal?" Rupert asked a little worriedly but trying to disguise it as curiosity. He knows Micheal has the tendency to collect things he considered interesting or give it to someone he likes as a sign of affection (usually his father and sisters with occasionally his uncles and aunts) but he hoped he didn't actually climb a tree to get that fruit.
"I found it over there." The young boy signs with his hands, pointing to a part of the foggy forest that was straying from the path they were on.
"Mikey, I don't think that's a safe place to go—"
The sudden sound of leaves crunching under boots caught Rupert and Micheal off guard, pausing their conservation while turning around to see who was making that noise.
It was Right Hand Man wearing casual autumn attire while his adopted son—Tin Tintin—if he remembers correctly, leisurely walked beside him.
"Morning, Rupert. I see you're taking a break and brought your kids as well," Right greeted, tipping his hat.
"Morning, Chief," Rupert greets back, giving a slight nod, "I wasn't expecting to see you and your son around here."
"Hi, Micheal! Hi, Uncle Rupert!" Tin happily signs.
"Hi, Tin! Hello, Mr. Right!" Micheal signs back.
"Hello, Tin," Rupert says with a slight smile.
"Heya, little man," Right chuckles, ruffling Micheal's hair.
"Also ya can drop the formal stuff today," The chief says to Rupert, "We aren't chief and recruit, just two parents hanging out with our kids."
The ex-police officer would be formal with his boss but decided to give in out of politeness.
"Of course, Right, I'm fine with you two joining us for our walk." Rupert answers.
Further up the path, Olivia appeared, calling out, "Hey, Tin, Mikey, do you want to come and play with us?"
Before either adult could say a word, Tin had already grabbed Micheal's hand and ran off to where the girls were playing.
"Damn, Tin's fast, isn't he?" The Toppat recruit playfully jokes as he and Right started walking.
"He is," The orange-haired man sighs, "He's grown up so fast,"
"With all due respect, Right, I wasn't expecting you to come to this park," The Toppat recruit admits.
"What can I say? I do enjoy a nice walk in the fall, Rupert," Right answers, "How are things with ya?"
"We are doing fine," Rupert looks at his shoes, "But sometimes I get worried..."
The chief titled his head but waited for him to continue.
Rupert fidgeted with the end of his coat; he wasn't one for telling his insecurities and fears...but he really wanted to talk about this with someone. He knew Right wasn't outright nasty, sure, a bit cocky and boisterous when he gets his way but then again, he was also like that during his police officer days so he can't exactly judge.
"I'm...worried I won't be a good father. I mean, my own father wasn't exactly the father of the year. The closest father figure I had wasn't always there for me since he was busy with his own family and other matters. It's just-"
"You're worried you wouldn't be good enough for your kids?" Right finished his thoughts.
Rupert nodded and stared at the trees with a nervous expression, wondering what he would say.
"Rups, that's a natural fear to have." Right began in a gentle tone, "You're going to be a great dad, I promise ya."
"But...what if I make a mistake and ruin their lives despite everything I do?" The Toppat recruit asked.
"That's the thing though, Price, you're gonna make a shit ton of mistakes while raising them."
The ex-police officer winced at the bold statement.
"But that's ok, parents always make mistakes one way or another. Messing up things once in a while? That's normal."
Rupert stares at his chief.
"No parent is perfect, but in order to be a good parent, you need to understand that despite all the shitty things ya have done as long as you don't stop trying for your kids and love them with all your soul, you're doing a good job at being one."
Right fondly smiles at a memory before continuing his heartfelt statement.
"Parenting ain't easy. I have been a father for eight years yet Tin and I still have our issues, but I still love him because he is my son and want to try my best for him, and I know he loves me too because of that."
He places a firm hand on the ex-police officer's shoulder.
"As for you, well, you're already halfway there. You know a thing or two about coming from a not so good family background and you're starting to learn sign language for your son. You care about the kids' well-being so much and that's honest proof you're going to be a good dad."
There was a moment of silence before it was softly broken.
"You really think so...?" Rupert whispers quietly while wiping the tears that started to gather around his eyes.
"I think so," Right confidently smile and takes his hand off, "You're going to be a great parent, and the munchkins are lucky to have you. Me and the other Toppats are here to help when you need it, don't forget that. Now, let's catch up with our kids before they get up to trouble."
Rupert lets out a small laugh before gazing upon the path ahead of him.
There was a lot of challenges that was going to come his way, but he was going to think about them later.
He has an autumn walk to go on right now.