Not By Choice

Jude actually grinned at the familial big brother, right? confirmation.

"Yeah, big brother like... a big brother I never had. Or... cool uncle, I guess? With his age. Older cousin? Something like that. I had a really small family, so I don't really have much to relate it to. What I imagine an older family member would be like. Trying to be responsible, but not really in a parental way."

The second question was... harder, and Jude paused, quiet for almost a minute as he worked it out. He was an obvious thinker, his face scrunching a bit as he processed the questions.

"I don't know. I guess I miss it. I don't want to do the whole hero thing here--it's not legal, for one--but I mostly just miss being back at home."

Going back wasn't an option. Even when he'd been in his world, there'd been no going back to his old life.

Was it like the police? Kind of. He considered that, offering a shrug.

"Similar. A bit more flashy. I had my own reasons for picking it, but yeah, it was kind of similar to being a cop, only with a lot less paperwork." A lot less bureaucracy, for that matter. Not that Jude was against bureaucracy--because that was kind of his job right then--but he didn't like the mixing of the two.

But of course, eventually, the questions came around to family, and Jude grimaced. Here it was. No way around this. He reached up, scratching absentmindedly at the back of his neck as he composed his thoughts.

Because that was the big one, wasn't it?

"It was just me and my dad. I never knew my mom--she'd left before I was old enough to remember. I had grandparents, but honestly I didn't like them, and my dad didn't particularly like them, so it was a see them Easter and Christmas and not at all otherwise kind of situation." He'd barely thought about them since coming to Manta Carlos, which was a testament to how little they'd mattered in his life.

"Me and my dad were... close? It's a bit complex, I guess. We had a lot going on."

His relationship with his father. Boy, that was a question.

"My grandparents were stiff. Very Catholic. They never really approved of me, and I didn't get why until I was way older. I didn't know who my mom was until more recently, but... To give the really short version, she didn't want me. I grew up wanting to know who she was, to find her or whatever, but knowing the truth I'm not really interested in... uh, looking her up?"

Not that it was an option, but it was easier to talk about things as if they were still happening.

"So it was just me and my dad. He was... uh." Summing up his father was beyond difficult. The whole thing was just... complex. "I love him a lot. And I know he loved me a lot. But he was really, really bad at showing it. Like, awful. Not good with physical affection. I kind of struggled with that before."

Jude didn't think he'd ever gotten a hug from his father. Not even once.

His day to day life.

Jude seemed to pause and consider for a long moment.

"I guess I had two," Jude said. "For a long time, I guess my life was pretty normal? I went to school, I came home, I did homework. I had hobbies, like anyone else. I read a lot. I went to the range--shooting range, sorry--and... I guess not much else? I didn't really have friends over or anything. Keeping secrets was important."

Jude paused for a long, long moment.

"About a year and a half ago I decided that I wanted to... to be a hero. Which was a real thing in my universe. So I did. I started sneaking out in the afternoons and at night. Doing the whole... hero thing when my dad wasn't paying attention. He worked a lot, so he didn't notice for a long time."