Ty, June, and Dustin sat around the table as Mark served them. They were each presented with hand wrapped chicken cordon bleu, steamed green beans and mashed potatoes with brown gravy. The meal was delicious but halfway through Markie jumped up in a panic and exclaimed, "I forgot the beverages!" before dashing away.
Dustin was served a beer and June was served a glass of wine, then Markie looked at Ty and asked what he would like. Ty looked at Dustin asking, "Hey Dad, can I have a beer?" Ty missed out on watching Dustin's first transformation and wanted to see it for himself so Ty was hoping that forcing Dustin into acting as the Father would trigger it, if Dustin said no and reprimanded Tyler for the request he might get to see a double growth spurt.
Without hesitation Dustin said, "Sure thing son, you have kept up on your chores, classes, and sports so I don't see any reason to deny your exploration. Markie, would you mind grabbing one for Ty?" Tyler's previous wish was making Dustin very lenient. Dustin drinking his beer will surely spark a change and maybe Ty will find other ways to provoke it.
"Not at all sir." Markie said with lust in his eyes.
Ty realized that June and Markie are both set up to have relations with Dustin but didn't want drama so he made a quick wish that they knew about each-other and had threesomes often, and if Dustin was ever away on business, June's needs would be satisfied by Markie though Markie wouldn't have as much fun without Dustin's commanding presence.
Ty was watching Dustin as he suddenly started to fill out some and looked almost back to normal,apparently a reaction to his general parenting of Ty. Then he grabbed his beer and took it down without hesitation. He called out to Markie that he'd better bring him another beer while he's grabbing Ty one. Dustin began filling out once again and getting taller, Ty immediately wished that Dustin's clothes would fit him perfectly throughout this process so as not to seem strange to other people or Dustin himself.
The beers came and Markie sat back down with a glass of wine. They all continued enjoying the rest of their meals though June was eyeing Ty each time he reached for his beer. Ty realized that he hadn't actually changed June, just some of her mind, and that wasn't good enough. Her ideals on how to raise her son were the same, and also, probably, her alcoholic tendencies.
Ty thought about what to do to June but was distracted by Dustin's transformations which everyone else was oblivious to. Ty didn't want June to kill herself with alcohol and didn't think he was being fair by restoring Markie's youth and good looks but not hers. Ty realized that the alcoholism was a coping mechanism she had developed to avoid stress and responsibility and if he simply made her not drink, she would find something else to escape with. That COULD be interesting, Ty thought, but he wanted to be responsible with his powers. At least to some degree.
I wish that with each year that Dustin ages because of my previous wish.... June will regress physically becoming less dependent on alcohol and tactfully sharing her thoughts and opinions when something is bothering her. When Dustin is more than 3 years older than June both of their aging will continue normally, nobody but me will directly notice the changes but reality and their mental age will change with their bodies. I also wish that June was more trusting of Dustin's decisions and intelligence since he has supported the family so well after she had me so young.
Ty looked over at Dustin who looked a little younger than Ty (who looked 20 despite being 17). He was starting to grow some beard scruff and absentmindedly scratched at some acne that had developed on his face. So if he's 19ish and she's around 43, they'd meet around 31 and stop changing ages around 33 and 29 respectively. that means she had me when she was... 12?
No, no, that wouldn't do. The part of his wish that would have reality changing to match their ending ages would change things wildly by the time that part of the wish was fulfilled. I wish that both Dustin and June were six years older immediately and nobody noticed the change but me.
Dustin immediately finished becoming a man in a second, his frame and features filled out, a stubble beard filled in, he became a few inches taller, his acne disappeared, and his face took on a handsome masculine look with a few small wrinkles above his forehead that appeared when he raised his eyebrows. He was now clearly well into his 20's and with a few more adult choices would soon be entering his 30's. Dustin looked similar to how Mark use to look only more youthful. It was easy to believe that Dustin and Markie were brothers and one of them dyed their hair.
June immediately looked more frail, haggard, and wrinkly developing a gut. The natural aging progression of someone who drinks too much. Soon, that would be undone and her loose tongue would help keep her from needing to drown her sorrows as she will be more prone to voice them. Ty finished his beer and followed Dustin as he got up and went to the back porch as June and Markie cleaned up, Ty's prior wish made Dustin's "dad reality" real unless Ty called him out on it. Seeing that this was a punishment to Dustin he had every intention of making Dustin freak before Dustin became his dad fully. Because Ty left Dustin with the impression that he simply accepted his fate and was part of this reality he needed to be a little careful on how he snapped the original Dustin back.
Dustin lit up a cigarette as he stepped onto the porch, catching Ty by surprise as he followed him outside. Ty felt as reality shifted, Mark use to smoke but Dustin always hated it. Ty accessed the memories he had from the false reality and remembered his father smoking for as long as he could remember. It probably was his escape for having a kid at 21, maybe a habit that carried on from his rare excursions of being wild with the guys. Regardless, being surprised was unsettling to Ty though it did make sense that Dustin would be a lenient father to make up for the fun he lost by having to be a responsible parent so young. Maybe?
"What's on your mind son?"
"Oh, nothing Dad, I just wanted to spend time with you, that's all." Ty stammered getting caught off guard mid thought.
Dustin gave Ty a suspicious glare then tossed the lighter at him and handed over the cigarettes, "First you drink my beer, then you bum my smokes. What's next? You already took my car." Dustin was referring to the car Ty got in the new reality on his 16th birthday, Ty also realized that for the past few months or so he would follow Dad outside a couple times a week and they would have male bonding over a few cigarettes and sometimes a beer or two.
Ty lit up, wishing that he could fulfill his Dad's expectation of being able to smoke without coughing and keep pace without having to conscientiously think about it.
"You're growing up so fast son. God, I remember holding you as a baby and in another year or so you'll be heading off to college. Speaking of which, have you given any consideration to what schools you want to go to or what you want to do for a summer job?"
Ty realized that he was no longer a freshman but an overdeveloped junior about to go into senior year. "No Dad, I hadn't given it any thought, I'm not even sure where to begin."
"You should think about what your strengths are, I can tell you now, one of your strengths are your muscles. I don't know what Markie's been feeding you but it's been working." Dad gave a soft chuckle and lovingly punched Ty in the arm hitting a solid rock of muscle. "But, I don't want you to rely on your physical strength alone son, you've got a good head on your shoulders and a good heart. Those things will take you far if you are willing to strive for something, but you need to have something to strive for, think about it son."
Ty was honestly taken aback, and deeply touched by his father's words. Mark had never given him this kind of attention or guidance and for the first time in... forever Ty actually felt loved, not just dealt with. Tears started to well up in his eyes and as much as he tried to hold them back and hide them from Dustin, he saw.
"Hey big guy, it's nothing to be scared about, there's plenty of time between now and then, and Mom, Markie, and I will help you find a job and figure out college."
Thank God Dustin didn't know why Ty was really crying, Ty thought, but he didnt know why he was so ashamed of his feelings. On impulse Ty wrapped his arms around Dustin and said "I love you Dad."
"I love you too son, more then you'll ever know", this brought on a new wave of tears to Ty who had given up the hope of ever feeling accepted by a parental figure. Ty's world was shaken, he knew Dustin wasn't a real father, but part of Ty's mind knew that he was. Although Ty wasn't effected by the new reality he created, he had access to the new memories that came with it. A small part of him knew Dustin as Dad and the rest of him wanted to follow suit. Dustin was a great father, he worked very hard but when he was home he made every second count. He was fun and loving, understanding and kind, he listened when Ty spoke, and disciplined only when necessary.
"Wait here son, Ill be right back."
Ty was still teary eyed and examining his new emotions in his mind palace infinitely far away when Dad returned. He was brought back to the present by a pssht as his Dad opened a beer, there were 5 more in front of him. Ty grabbed one, opened it, and started talking.
"Dad, what if you did something expecting one outcome but getting another that was better than you ever thought it would be?"
Dad raised his eyebrow causing heavy wrinkles to form, "Then you'd be ahead." After a moments pause he added, "We aren't talking about sex are we? 'Cause you know where that got your Mom and I..."
"Eww Dad, no, we aren't talking about sex."
"Good"
"Pretend someone was really mean, and then someone else decided to punish them by taking them into the woods and leaving them there, and when the second person came back to check on the first they found that the first person was really cool and built a awesome tree-house and was nice when there weren't other people to be mean to."
"You lost me Ty. What's the question?"
Ty realized he wasn't making much sense to someone who didn't understand the whole story. "What should I do with that first person? Should I let them stay in their tree-house forever because they are happy and not mean? Should I take them back to other people at the risk of them being mean again? I mean person two, should person two do those things?"
Dad thought long and hard about the options presented. "What if you asked person one directly which they would prefer? You know, leave it up to them?"
At this Ty burst out in laughter at the irony, he wanted for nothing more than to say that is what he is doing but instead said, "If it was you, which would you choose?"