[Of all the things in the world Bro was prepared for, reading that last sentence was not one of them. He'd never, not once in his life, felt like Dave could ever see him as a father. Not after insisting on being called Bro. Not after how he'd been caught in the lie and still told him to keep calling him Bro.
For a while now it had been something he'd regretted. He wanted to feel... worthy of being a dad. Acknowledged. He wanted Dave to see him as that instead of as his brother. But he never, ever expected it to happen. Because he wasn't good enough for that. He would only ever be good enough as a brother. As an uncle. Never his father.
He had to read it several times over to convince himself that he wasn't just seeing things. that those three letters really did combine to form the word that he was seeing. That Dave had called him dad. He couldn't believe it. But... it was enough to make him feel good despite all the complete and utter shit he felt.
But even despite the good feeling, the overwhelming sense of disbelief won out over everything.]
filtered
For a while now it had been something he'd regretted. He wanted to feel... worthy of being a dad. Acknowledged. He wanted Dave to see him as that instead of as his brother. But he never, ever expected it to happen. Because he wasn't good enough for that. He would only ever be good enough as a brother. As an uncle. Never his father.
He had to read it several times over to convince himself that he wasn't just seeing things. that those three letters really did combine to form the word that he was seeing. That Dave had called him dad. He couldn't believe it. But... it was enough to make him feel good despite all the complete and utter shit he felt.
But even despite the good feeling, the overwhelming sense of disbelief won out over everything.]
you
called me dad