#One of the kids gets injured and a ghost with an old fashioned doctor's bag drops down and takes care of them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kelpiemomma · 2 years

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For someone who loves AUs I cannot believe I am JUST NOW realizing I can absolutely play with a harvest moon universe of pokemon Arceus/bw mashup.

Young Akari (14-16) moves to run down, forgotten Nimbasa Town. It's largely a closed up ghost town due to people passing by it on the way to Nimbasa City. There's a busted up train track that goes through town. There's a general store, a veterinary clinic, and a doctor's office. Everything else is closed up and boarded off. Akari starts growing some seeds on an abandoned farm, sends them off, and makes a surprising amount of money. She's able to buy more from the general store which lets them get new inventory. She finds an injured pokemon in front of her home one day so she takes it to the veterinary office. It's a stray and unclaimed, so she pays for it and it's put under her name. She's a novice enough at farmwork that she's a familiar face at the doctor's.

She manages to bring attention to the town by stopping some plasma grunts trying to rob the general store with nothing but an old hoe and her pokemon partner. People try to interview her but she keeps ducking into these old buildings that have... Good bones. Good structure. The towns got a good aesthetic.

Elesa is the first to move in after. She retires from being a gym leader and sets up a boutique. She still models but now she can follow her passion, designing clothes and living quietly when she wants to. Akari's been wearing the same three outfits for almost a year so as soon as Elesa opens up, she's there with a literal bag of money asking if Elesa can make her or direct her to hardy wear. Elesa takes the opportunity to make her work clothes that are also fashionable and then asks Akari if she wouldn't mind her taking photos of her working on the farm in them as advertisment. Akari gives her okay, as long as her face is kept out of it.

Beni is the next person to move in, starting a little restaurant in an old cafe. He offers standard eating or battle meals. He's older and half-retired, but his food is good enough that the town's reputation grows even more. People start coming by not only because of Elesa and her latent celebrity status, but also because of Beni's cooking. A couple homes are bought, people moving into them as fixer-uppers to help provide liquidity to the town. The only issue is most people need to walk from Nimbasa City to Nimbasa Town, and despite the safety of the route... People are lazy.

As she was the one who initially caused the town to gain popularity, people start approaching Akari with the issue. Asking her how to fix it, what they should do. She doesn't know, she's still a kid! Elesa is the one who takes her aside and says she may have an idea, if Akari can help clear up the train tracks.

Akari cleans them up as best as she can, despite having no idea of what she's doing and STILL farming. She's gotten a few miltank and ducklet to help supplement her income, but her majority of profit comes from the plants. She wears herself out quite often, to the point where it's not uncommon for her to wake up in the clinic. Pesselle, who runs it with her husband and Croagunk, is always disappointed but literally can't stop her.

Once the tracks are cleaned up, Elesa brings in her solution: Ingo and Emmet. They, of course, have final say in what happens but Nimbasa Town becoming a re-connected railway line could provide not only transit to their town for residents, but a new destination for battle passengers and regular passengers alike. Surprisingly the town appeals to both brothers and they agree to petition for the line to be re-connected. Unsurprisingly, part of the draw is their friendship with Elesa- it will be easier for them to see and visit her with the trains running directly to town.

They start getting trains coming in regularly. The tracks run fairly close to Akari's farm, so she waves whenever she sees one go by. The conductors all get used to her and wave back, and sometimes if there's no battle going on Emmet and Ingo will as well. It becomes such a common occurrence and pattern that when they pass by one day and don't get a wave the conductor slows the train a little. With no battles, Ingo and Emmet are in the engine and everyone's looking around. They figure maybe she's elsewhere that day- until they spot her pokemon running frantically out of the crop field and towards them and then back to the field. It does this repeatedly, spitting out attacks but not chasing after them. Ingo and Emmet decide to check it out- they have no battles, after all. They manage to get off the train and cross the little river that lines the boundary of the farm. Akari's pokemon practically herds them to the crop field where they find the teenager collapsed amongst the plants, out cold. They quickly take her to Pesselle who is incredibly Displeased with the teenager once again being in her clinic. The twins hang around for a bit before deciding to visit Elesa.

They tell her what happened and she's like, "yeah, she does that. We've all picked her up and brought her in. We try to feed her and everything, keep her healthy, but if there's no one keeping watch over her she just... goes until she literally can't. since no one loves on the farm with her, or near her, we can only help so much." Which. Is highly unpleasant to hear. Elesa has said she's spent the night several times with the girl, but given she has her own store to run she can't be hovering over her to make sure she rests.

They start keeping a closer eye out when they pass by, slowing the train even during battles to make sure she is awake and alert. They have to get her to Pesselle a handful more and decide that you know what? This child needs more supervision. They swap their schedules so they can start working from Nimbasa Town as well, frequenting Akari's homestead when they're not running the trains to bring her meals and check on her. She's very much embarrassed by it but she's also grateful- she likes the company and will happily chat their ears off about what's growing well, what isn't, what Pokemon are thriving, which ones she's planning on rehoming... she doesn't battle but she listens intently to them talking about the trains and the battle system and their pokemon.

Akari ends up spending a lot of time with the twins and Elesa. With the three of them providing local celebrity, Beni providing excellent meals, and more people constantly arriving and finding it a quaint, cute place to live... Nimbasa Town starts to thrive once again.

#Kelp tracks #Pokemon harvest moon #Phm #Pokemon legends Arceus #Pokemon bw #This is just one idea #Also considering Akari moving into sleepy town where Ingo and Emmet are conductors of the tiny local train #It only goes to the next town over but they put their hearts into it #Elesa still runs her clothing store #No pokemon tho just straight up humanified #Akari remains terrible at taking care of herself and the twins often find her passed out in various places #They eventually decide that this child with horrible habits is theirs to care for #She spends a bunch of time at their place anyway cause her own home is a literal wreckage #And she hasn't been able to fix it up #Or maybe Elesa runs a winery-boutique co-op store #Idk I'm playing with it

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buglife · 3 years

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Perhaps a meeting between Dadmaster and the White Lady?

“Do you think that they might be okay with taking students again?”

Mato thought for a moment, walking beside his child in the restored Royal Gardens. They were just enjoying the quiet sights for a while, when Ghost brought up the possibility of teaching nail arts to the guards and knights of the realm. The question was a surprising one, which for a moment worried the beetle that something may be going on that he wasn't being told about.

“They might be, why do you ask?” He leaned down to look Ghost in the eyes. “Are you worried about something?”

“I just...I can’t be everywhere at once, even as a god.” They admitted, averting their gaze as though ashamed of the fact. “I want my people to be protected, even If I can’t be there. I don’t need protecting, but they do.”

“Well, that’s a fine reason as any.” Mato answered with a reassuring tone to his voice, glad to hear that nothing nefarious was going on. It was just Ghost being Ghost, worried over everyone's safety again. “You indeed can’t be everywhere, and perhaps more people knowing the nail arts would be a boon to the kingdom.”

“I thought so too, but there’s only you, me, Uncle Oro and Sheo, and Grandpa Sly who know how to even teach it. I can’t teach everyone by myself.” They gestured to themselves and their current 'mortal' form. They were certainly not as large as their twin, Hollow, nore were they even tall enough to reach Mato's shoulder. Even being a god, they wouldn't be able to instantly teach a rather intensive and practice heavy technique like the nail arts. It would have to be done the old fashioned way with actual teaching. They were right, they couldn't do it all by themselves. They would need some help.

“Did you ask Sly about this?” Mato thoughtfully replied. “He was the one to teach us, after all. He’d be able to help you for sure.”

Ghost nodded their head. “I asked Grandpa Sly and he said, and I quote, “I trained enough kids, now I want to enjoy my goddamn retirement.”

“Then what did he say when you offered to pay him?” Mato crossed his arms and raised a brow, anticipating the answer.

“Where do I sign?” The void being snorted in amusement, shoulders shaking with the effort to not burst into outright laughter. Mato was not so reserved.

“HAHA! Of course that old miser would!” Mato bellowed a deep belly laugh and slapped Ghost so hard on the back it sent them stumbling a little. In the corner of his eye, he could see the posted guardsmen stiffen at the interaction. “To be honest, I think he also wants to be able to brag about being able to beat up knights and guardsmen all day without getting a treason charge.”

“That and I think Uncle Oro would be down with It too. He’s that kinda guy.” Ghost chirped, eyes now full of mirth. They didn’t seem to mind being bodily hauled around by their father, despite their status as a King. “He likes putting bugs who are a little too full of themselves back in their place, and I saw some of the new applicants. I think he’d do a lot of good here.”

Mato hummed in thought. Oro was very different from the rest of the brothers, and even Sly. He'd need special motivation and he wasn't always swayed by Geo. “What do you have in mind to get him out of his hovel and here in the city?”

“I think he wouldn’t mind if I offered to give him a private candy chef on call that I will employ.” They drummed their claws together, amused by their own cleverness. “I remember that he used to train me in exchange for honey I’d sneak out of the Hive. Imagine what he’d do for whatever sweets his heart desires that could be made on demand?”

“There’s my little tactician! That will get him for sure.” Mato beamed with pride, not like Ghost had to do much to get him to be proud of them to begin with. “Sheo I think might just be too busy with his husband right now for teaching beyond his art school.”

They nodded in response and smiled up at their father, who quickly reached down to give them a gentle noogie. They didn’t bother trying to escape and accepted their affection without so much of a flinch. Good. Mato released them after a chitin crushing hug and set them back on their feet.

“You know I’m proud of you, right?” He asked softly, deciding to voice the thoughts he was having. It was one thing to feel pride for someone, it was another to let them know that you thought as such.

Ghost nodded, a bit of gray coloring the shell that made up their face, nudging a few pebbles with a foot. “I know, thanks Dad.”

He was about to comment further when a little dragonfly suddenly dropped out of the air and pancaked into the cobble stones below them. Both Nailmaster and King leapt backwards from the sudden noise and movement, drawing their nails together in a smooth motion through instinct alone. Then, when nothing outright attacked them, they took a second look.

It was a messenger to be sure. The dragonfly was wearing a bag and a hat that denoted them as a member of the messenger corps. At first Mato thought that the bug was injured from the crash, but the amount of scrapes and cuts alone couldn’t have been caused by just hitting stone. They wearily reached up to hold out a hemo-stained letter, somewhat reeling from the hit they took, antenna bent and crooked.

“Messenger Stikks, reporting with an urgent message from Kingdom’s edge!” The dragonfly slurred, struggling to focus enough to hold the letter out straight. They closed one eye and narrowed the other, adjusting their grip so that the letter was actually in front of Ghost and not a few feet to the left. “Antlion larvae have dug in from the wastes and they are everywhere!”

Ghost took the letter and read it quickly. Then read it again. They finally put the paper down and sighed, all the humor they had merely seconds ago sucked out by the reality of their station.

“Something the matter, my child? Do you need help?” Mato had yet to release his grip on his great nail, moving the other hand to rest it on their shoulder in an act of comfot.

Ghost shook their head with a huff of annoyance. “This wouldn’t be a problem if the coliseum would have just left the larvae alone. The letter is from the head Fool, apparently they caught a few, which then escaped, and now is tunneling under the arena and is causing sections to collapse on itself. They are requesting aid from me as per our treaty.”

“Well, they are called Fools for a reason.” Mato could only shrug at that. “Even I wouldn’t mess with a doodlebug.”

“...A what?”

“Just a nickname for them.” Mato bent over and picked up the dragonfly. “You alright son?” He looked the bug over. They were kind of smooshed and bent up, but it seemed like they’d be okay after getting some medical attention.

“Aye aye, sir!” The dragonfly saluted and missed, causing them to punch themselves in the head with a CRACK.

Mato was then holding a completely unconscious bug. He winced and waved over a guard, handing the poor bug over to be taken to the nearest doctor. Ghost was trying to not laugh, obviously feeling bad for the poor bug, but Mato had to admit it was kind of funny.

“You sure you don’t need help, Ghost?” Mato asked again, once the guard and dragonfly were gone. He focused hard with his dad powers to determine if Ghost was going to tell the truth. God King or not, they were still his kid and he’d be damned if he let them run off and get themselves hurt.

They shook their head. “No Dad, I will be fine. I’ll just have to pull out the larvae and then set them loose out in the wastes. Nobody else has to get hurt today.”

He nodded. “As long as you’ll be okay. I trust you to know your own limits.”

“I will.” They tilted their head up in a smile. “Feel free to wander around for a bit, I’ll be back soon and we can meet up with Quirrel and Hollow later for dinner.”

“Sounds good to me, come back safe.” He gave them a short hug and a pat to the back.

They nodded and stepped back, suddenly dissolving into liquified void, seeping into the stonework and vanishing from view. It was a very blink and you miss it type action for sure. Teleporting was different from bug to bug, but Ghost sure did know how to make and exit when they needed to make one quick. Soon the last bits of excess void evaporated and not a single trace was left behind that the King was even standing there. Well, with nothing else to do but wait, he decided to take their advice and take a look around. After the palace was built over top of the old one, the gardens were also revitalized. A lot of work had been put into the place and once things were green and blooming again, it was opened up for the public. It was fairly peaceful and offered a lot of nice spots to simply sit and reflect should one want to.

He decided that perhaps the best thing to do was to find such a spot and meditate for a while. Ghost had given him quite a bit of information to consider. The idea of teaching the nail arts to the next generation of warriors was a interesting one and he wasn’t quite sure how to implement such an ambitious plan. Perhaps a school would have to be made. He’d have to talk to his own father and brothers as well about it. Perhaps a solution would come to him once he emptied his mind for a while.

He walked around gardens, looking for a quiet spot for Ghost to find him later, when he was stopped by a sight that made him question his vision. He blinked a few times to clear his eyes, but he still saw the same figure that used to be everywhere before the infection began.

The White Lady sat on a stone bench, idlily watering a patch of flowers using a simple watering can. Mato could see no finery on her or any mark of a station beyond a civilian on her person. She was dressed simply in white robes, the roots on her head curled up and branching outwards in a mess of tiny white leaves and petals. She didn’t seem to notice him, giving the flowers on the ground a drink as she hummed to herself, her eyes closed in either thought or contentment.

To be honest, it Mato didn’t quite know what to think at first. Most of the citizens of Hallownest gave little thought to their previous Queen. Before Hollow was even locked into the temple, she had fled her people and her home to wall herself within her personal gardens, taking one of the great knights with her. When it was clear that Hollow wasn’t going to be able to hold back the wrath of the Radiance, the King also fled, abandoning the kingdom to their fate. Most remembered this, and cared little about the fates of the rulers who vanished during the kingdom’s darkest hour, leaving the common bug to fend for themselves with no leadership and no help.

They weren’t remembered fondly, regulated to history books and a cautionary tales of pride and cowardice.

It was only years of training that kept him from fully succumbing to rage. How dare she! How dare she sit here all pretty in the palace gardens, like she never allowed the king to murder their own children and abandoned every bug that looked up to her when things didn’t work out perfectly? The same lady who annexed an entire section of another people’s land for her own personal gardens? The same Lady that sat a scant few meters away from the home of those she most hurt?

And why was she here? From what he understood, Ghost did not like her one bit. Even gentle and sweet Hollow only recalled moments with her to be painful and refused to further elaborate on the matter. He got most of the story from Ghost, and what he heard made him livid. He often wondered what he would say to the former king and queen should he meet them again, and now he was being presented with such an opportunity.

He took a few deep breaths. As far as he knew, she was no longer his Queen nor any sort of authority over him anymore. He would get a few answers, no, he demanded them.

He approached her, no longer masking the noise of his movements as his boots crunched a few discarded dead leaves. She paused in her humming and turned her face to fix her startling blue eyes on him. Mato stared back, unafraid and resolute. She balked slightly from the force of his stare, but composed herself by sitting up and gently smiling down on him.

“Hello.” She said, her voice soft and whispery, like a breeze through the leaves of a willow tree. “How can I help you?”

“What are you doing here.” Mato demanded. The question was short and very much to the point.

“Me? Well, my child-”

“They are not your child.” Mato hissed, cutting off her words with an enraged snarl. “You don’t get to call them that, not after what you and the pale bastard did to them!”

She seemed taken aback for a moment, narrowing her eyes as her roots shuddered, before she seemed to slump into herself. She turned her head away for a moment, taking in an audible breath as she turned it back to glance back at the Nailmaster. “You act as if I don’t regret what we were forced to do.”

“You always had a choice.” Mato countered. “You could have done anything other than let thousands of your children lay dead at the bottom of the abyss. Have you even gone down there to see them? Offer some sort of rites like any parent would do for their deceased children?”

“It does not matter, Ghost has-”

“King Ghost.” He once again corrected her. Only family got to refer to them by their name alone and fiercely guarded such a privilege. Especially since they had to pick their own name. The Lady and the King didn't even feel it fitting to give them something as simple as a name.

“Yes." She sighed, "King Ghost has informed me that their siblings besides Hollow now reside within the void... at rest, which is now a part of them. Empty rites and platitudes will not bring them back, nor erase what I have...what we have done.”

Mato stared at her for a moment, scanning her face and body for any hint of lies or manipulation. To his surprise, he found none, just an old woman who was full of regrets.

“Then why are you here?” He finally spoke and crossed his arms in front of him. “My child obviously knows that you are here, why let you in? You told them to kill their own sibling and take their place in a plan that already failed, just to hold the mad goddess at bay for a scant few more years while you could still hide in the Gardens and play pretend. Why?” He could barely keep the fury from his voice as he spoke. He could see her flinch with each accusation, her eyes blurring with what might be tears, he couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that was he was saying was impacting her in some way, and he was happy for that at least.

She was silent for a moment, the roots and branches that made up her head curling in on themselves and shuddering slightly. A few leaves and petals dropped to the stones below and rapidly lost their otherworldly shimmer. “I don’t know, to be honest.”

Mato narrowed his eyes behind the hard shell of his mask. “You gottah be shitting me.”

“I speak the truth.” She shifted in her seat so she could face him fully. “All I know, is that one day, King Ghost arrived where I have made my exile. They commanded me to unroot myself. I could sense the brand on them, the pieces of my husband and I that made them, and the spark of a higher power, so I obeyed. It took time to unroot myself, but once I did they commanded me to unbind myself and to come with them.” She paused a moment to look up, as thought remembering a feeling or a snippet of a memory. “I had diminished myself, made myself weak. I could no longer see, so they commanded that I reside here to recover. I did so, and when I saw them for the first time I was astonished and humbled. I had believed that perhaps that they would take revenge and have me executed or banish me to the wastes, but... they did not. Instead, they told me that I will do what I was meant to do and I was not permitted to run away again.”

Mato was silent, listening as the White Lady spoke, watching her face as it went through a range of emotions. Regret, bitterness, elation, joy, shame...all flickered through her pale face and shimmering eyes.

“My sentence was to bring life back to the kingdom, as it was my duty long before the Pale Wyrm even chose Hallownest to rebirth himself in. I would, as they put it, ‘have to clean up my mess’ and I have been doing as such.”

“I did notice everything get greener.” Mato muttered. He had noticed the yields from the farms were also quite abundant and rich. The kingdom should have gone through a period of famine as they rebuilt, but there was food. Nothing refined at the beginning, but nobody went hungry. “Was that you?”

She nodded, serene as she put her watering can to the side. She lifted one of her roots from the ground, leaving a neat little hole that she dropped a single seed into. “Yes, I am a goddess of life and fertility, it brings me joy to know that life has begun anew.”

“Are you a prisoner here, then?” He looked, but saw no chains, no shackles, and not even the delicate weave of spells or magic. Nothing that could force her to stay here.

“Goodness no.” She shook her head, eyes curled up in slight amusement. “There is not a place I could run that my ch….my king could not find me. Nore do I expect that they are such a god to begin with. I am here as they said, to clean up my own mess. Nothing more, and nothing less. I have been given my own home here.” She gestured to a cottage nestled in among the trees, just barely out of sight, most likely for her own privacy. “I have no need to leave, nore am I under duress. I simply am.”

Mato’s rage was beginning to cool somewhat. From what he understood, his child had decided to grow beyond the pettiness and childish ways of the former higher powers, and instead, enact rather wise and mature decisions. With a start, he realized that he may have had a hand in that decision. He thought back to a moment, a scant couple years ago when rebuilding hasn’t even started yet.

“Dad?” Ghost asked. They had just had their first molt, resting their now slightly bigger body against their twin sibling. Hollow was in bed, their head and body haven just gotten new fresh bandages. It had been only a bare few months after the death of the Radiance, and Ghost had had some time to sit and think about their situation.

Of course both of the void siblings were a mess after the final battle, and Mato had commandeered an empty home in Dirtmouth to care for them both. Herrah had awoken from her slumber and was there to care for Hornet, but she had Deepnest to restore. Hornet jumped back and forth between both homes, bringing honey from the Hive and silken bandages in the effort to bring Hollow back to some semblance of wellness.

“Yes, my child?” Mato had adopted Hollow instantly, the poor injured bug still was very much a child despite being the tallest bug they’ve ever seen. He coaxed Hollow into opening their mouth and letting him stick another spoonful of light broth inside. He patted them gently when they did, helping them get ready for the next spoonful.

“How did you learn to forgive Uncle Oro?” Ghost was staring at their new set of arms, clenching and unclenching their hands. They tripped over their new telepathy a few times, but they were able to be understood. Mato stayed steady enough to get another spoon of sustenance in his largest child, but was quite surprised by the question.

“That’s quite a question, Ghost. What suddenly brought this on?”

Ghost was silent for a few moments and Mato gave them time to get their thoughts together. Hollow tried a chirp of encouragement, but Mato tapped them on the snoot. No chirping, only soup for the moment. They harrumphed and took another spoonful, which earned them a nice rub to sooth the healing cracks in their face.

“Uncle Oro hurt you and Uncle Sheo, really bad.” Ghost started. “But now, you are all okay again. How did that happen? What do you do when someone hurts you, but you don’t want to be hurt by them anymore?”

Ah, there it was. No doubt this had something to do with the sibling’s awful, awful parents. He didn’t want to accidentally poison his child with his own bad memories, nor the awfulness of why the situation actually happened in the first place. Instead, he decided to be completely honest.

“Well, Sheo and I were hurt, yes. We took space for ourselves to sort out our feelings. By then, the infection was in full swing and we didn’t know how the other was doing. When you let us know that all three of us were still alive, that’s when we knew there was a chance.”

Ghost looked up, tilting their head backwards so they didn’t have to get up from where they where lounging. “A chance?”

“Yes, the only time a chance to fix something between someone is gone, is when they are gone themselves. When we realized that we were all still alive, I knew that a chance still existed to get my brothers back.”

Ghost nodded, listening closely. Hollow subtly curved their head to listen as well, and Mato suddenly found himself with the full undivided attention of two children. He would have to choose his words carefully

“So, a few weeks ago, we both went to see Oro, and we talked. We talked about how we hurt each other. We talked about how we were sorry. We talked about how we can improve ourselves and move on. In the end, we decided to give each other a chance again, at least for one last time. Obviously, Oro wanted to be back with us again, because we worked it all out. We missed each other a lot, so I found that we could forgive each other and start again.”

“Uncle Oro is still really grumpy though…” Ghost added as an after thought.

“Oro was always a grumpy little bastard, that hasn’t changed.” Mato laughed. “ What changed however, is that we realized what we all did to cause the problem in the first place, and apologized. Now it’s just letting time go by to heal the wounds and give everyone a fresh chance again.”

“That’s it? Just time and a chance?” Ghost tilted their head to the side, eye’s narrow as they did their best to grasp the concept. Hollow moved their head just enough to give their smaller sibling a nuzzle. Ghost sighed and shifted so that they could hug Hollow back with nuzzle of their own, melting into the cuddle pile.

“If you think they are worthy of a second chance, than yeah. If not, than don’t give them a third.” Mato stopped assaulting Hollow with soup for the moment, letting them have a bit of a break for a cuddle. He took the time to look over the bandaged socket where their left arm used to be. He’ll have to ask Sheo and Smith if they could do something about that. "It's up to you to even consider giving that chance. If you don't want to, nobody is going to blame you for that. It's your decision alone and nobody can force you to do otherwise." He waggled the spoon at Ghost to further get his point across, as well as a subtle unspoken 'I will beat anyone who tells you otherwise with this spoon'.

“Thanks, Father.” Ghost looked up, eyes shining with resolve. “I think I know what to do now.

“They are giving you a second chance.” Mato spoke aloud once he finished with his memory, startling the White Lady with the suddenness of his voice.

“I’m afraid I don’t..” She looked confused by it all, looking Mato up and down as though he suddenly went crazy.

“They are giving you a second chance to be in their life. Both theirs and Hollows.” Mato’s voice took on a hard edge again as he pointed to her. “They are deciding if you are going to hurt them again, as they are not going to give you a third chance.”

“You mean...they’d want me to be…” her eyes widened and glistened with moisture, speaking some delicate hope that still resided within her. Mato knew he could never understand her particular pain, nore did he feel like she even deserved to have that hope after all this time, but that was not his decision to make.

“I don’t think they want you as their mother.” Mato took no joy over crushing that bit of hope, but she needed to know the truth. “After all this time, I don’t think they can let you be that intimate with them, at least for a very long time. Of course I’m speaking of Ghost, not Hollow. But for Ghost, I would shoot for just being a friend, someone they can trust again. Maybe it can evolve into something else besides that, but who knows what the future can hold."

"It is clear that you do not like me, or approve of my presence here at all. So why tell me this?" She bent her head down to regard Mato as though searching for the punchline to a cruel joke.

"Because it's the truth, and yes, I don't like you one bit, but the ones Ghost choose to be in their life is not up to me. If they want to give you a chance along with Hollow, than so be it. It's their life, not mine. BUT..." He stopped slouching and pulled himself up to his full height. "If you hurt them again, either of them, I will make you regret that. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "I do."

"Good, then we have nothing more to discuss." He turned on his heel and left, not even giving her a wayward glance as he left her behind. He could have dragged more answers from her for sure. Even if they only needed one vessel for the plan, they could have taking in the 'rejected' ones and cared for them. Was she even there when the selection was taken place? Did she also leave Ghost to fell back into the abyss, never to see light again for years, maybe decades? Too many questions, and he doubted he'd get satisfying answers to any of them. Perhaps for now, it was best to let it go. Ghost or Hollow will bring it up on their own time and he would do what he always did, be there when they needed it. He loved them, even if it was later in their lives than he wanted it to be.

He wished he could have been there from the beginning. How different would they have turned out if he could have scooped them up at their hatching and carried them away to raise and love? All of them, not just those two, every single cracked shell in the abyss belonged to an individual child. He didn't know how, but he figured he'd have enough love for them all if needed. Perhaps he was feeling jealous that she could have had that, but chose to throw it and her own children away instead.

Too many feeling and not enough answers. He needed to get some meditation done and sort himself out before Ghost came to find him again. It wouldn't do for them to see him angry and conflicted like he was. He marched along until he found a nice, quiet section of the gardens and sat. He folded his legs under himself and let his cloak fall around him, emptying his mind and falling deep into the calming waves of meditation. He let the feelings come and wash over him, letting himself experience them without becoming consumed. The memories and the experiences were neatly sorted as he pulled himself together where he'd be able to experience them again should he wish to. Soon, there was nothing but calm. Everything was in it's right place and Mato let himself drift away into the nothingness and soothe his heart.

He started back into reality when he felt a tug on his cloak. He instinctively looked down where he expected a tiny void creature to be tugging on his cloak, looking for hugs. When he didn't see them down there, he looked up to see his grown child tugging on his cloak, eyes curled up in amusement.

"Hey Dad," they said with a giggle. "Sorry to wake you, but I'm back."

"That you are." Mato replied with a 'smile' of his own, standing up to stretch. He must have been sitting for a while, as his legs began to buzz with pins and needles as he worked the numbness out. "How did it go?"

"Well. The larvae were moved with no more injuries. The Fools will have to fix their own coliseum, since it was their fault it got damaged in the first place." Ghost giggled again, something amusing must have happened, and no doubt they were saving it for dinner later.

"Let me guess, there's more too that?"

They nodded, vibrating slightly. "Yes, but I want Quirrel and Hollow to hear it too. They'll get a kick out of it and you'd spoil it if I told you now."

"Then let's not keep them waiting." Mato mock bowed. "After you, your majesty."

"Dadddd noooo." They waved their hands around, trying to get him to stand again. "That's embarrassing! Monomon doesn't do that!"

"She isn't allowed to bow because it gives her cover to get smoke bombs out of her veil without getting caught." He countered with a laugh.

Ghost just sighed dramatically and grabbed his hand, dragging him off towards the palace where dinner and company awaited. Mato found that he couldn't stop laughing, letting his child drag him around just for the fact that he could.

It was then he realized that he pitied the White Lady. All these little moments she willfully gave up, never to experience it for the foreseeable future. It struck him as very sad that she would give up such a thing, but he decided there was no use in trying to understand why.

After all, he would be too busy coming up with ways to spoil his own children, and that thought would consume most of his days, as It should be.

---

Heyo another request down!!! Next up will be SIBLING DAY!!!

Also antlion larvae are terrifying, but the fact that they have 'doodlebugs' as their nickname is strangely endearing.

I feel neutral about the white lady. Yes she willfully participated in the plan and no in no way innocent, but boy did she make herself suffer for it. Hence here, Ghost gave her a chance to just be who she was before, just god doing god things, without having to balance a kingdom. She just has to help clean up the mess she left her kids to deal with and can't run away when the going gets tough again. To be honest, I feel like she's a lot happier now to just have her nice little private cabin in the gardens with no royal responsibilities and the hope that one day she may have more than a professional relationship with Ghost and Hollow.

Hollow knows she is there, but is working through their own feelings before they decide on what to do about it. They love her so much but remembers the pain in being constantly rejected and treated as though they were already dead by her. It's complicated, but there are therapists in the kingdom now and that will help over time.

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painfulstitches17 · 5 years

Text

The Fires of Spring

6. Someone you loved.

The ticking of the clock was dangerously close to driving him crazy. Bandit was now sitting in front of his father, whom had a difficult time looking him in the eyes, let alone shaking hands with both Jäger and him when they arrived. Something was off with him, he hadn't looked at Bandit with his air of disdain yet. Jäger was sitting next to Bandit, fidgeting with his empty coffee cup. Bandit's mother could be heard humming from the kitchen, or so she tried, she had been crying since seeing her son for the first time in seven to eight years, Hannover got in the way and when his brother ended up in the hospital ? He didn't even try going back. She refused both of their help, the usual when her kitchen was involved, it was her kingdom and anyone disturbing it would be cursed out.

She came back with a tray, a fresh pot of coffee, milk, sugar and a plate of cookies catching Bandit's attention. They looked like his favorites.

"Mama, did you really make caramel chocolate pecan cookies ?" Bandit's heart pinched at the thought of almost having let down the woman by ghosting them.

"Of course sweetie." She held one out for him with a bright smile. He accepted it with a thank you.

They were good, fuck they were so good, Bandit hadn't realized how much he had missed such comfort, the little things he used to enjoy, even the place. The round dinner table they sat at, the old TV in the corner with the big soft sofa and armchairs, the coffee table he once -or twice- hurt himself against as a kid, the kitchen with its large door frame and old fashioned doors always remaining open, the cuts around the corridor's frame indicating Bandit and his brother's height growing up. Could he go check out their bedroom ? Was it still theirs ?

"So..." His mother brought him back from his thoughts. "What do you do for a living now Dominic ? Do you two work together ?"

"We're in a counterterrorism unit. We specialise in defense, people, places... Marius here is the best engineer around, I'm just good with a weapon. Guess I climbed the ladder pretty well." Glancing at his father, Bandit could tell it made something in him react.

"I knew you were still in the taskforce but I didn't expect such..." His mother couldn't find the right words. How did she know though ?

"Dangerous job ? It's what I'm good at mama. Plus, I've got that guy to help me out." He pointed at jäger with his thumb before taking a sip of his coffee.

"I see. Are you two close friends ?" She was smiling at Marius now.

"Y-Yes ma'am-" he got cut off by Dominic.

"He's my fiancé." His monotone voice hiding the laughter he was dangerously close to as he watched everyone around shift uncomfortably, Jäger from embarrassment because he had dared, his mother from shock and his father's frown, probably disapproval. Marius wasn't going to go against the grain now as he was in front of complete strangers, but he sure thought the oldest GSG9 would pay for this one day.

"Congratulations to the both of you" she tried to discreetly nudge her husband to make him nod in agreement. "How long have you been together ?" She asked. It did sound slightly strained which made Dominic hurt somewhat.

"Oh a few years, Marius proposed not long ago, we're so happy, right, Schnuki ?" He glanced at Jäger who was fuming inside, smirking behind his coffee cup as to hide his amusement.

"Absolutely Liebling, I couldn't be happier !" Jäger smiled back, now squeezing Dom's thigh until it hurt.

"I always knew you had a thing for... Both genders but I never thought you would marry sweetie, you always said you weren't interested."

"It's Marius we're talking about mama, he's better than anybody I've ever been with, or maybe just anybody." He answered.

The serious look Jäger received made him realise something, it was a genuine comment.

Where do you live ? How often do you work ? What have you been up to ? Do you eat properly ? Have you been hurt ? When are you retiring ? Do you still smoke ? When did you get this tattoo ? And this one ? Why are you on sick leave ? The last one he did not answer. Marius looked overwhelmed, too much interaction for his busy brain, he would crash down at the hotel tonight for sure Bandit thought. He picked another cookie and shoved it in Jäger's hands as if it could console him. The hours were passing by, his mother's curiosity never faltering.

Then he heard them, a few knocks on the door.

"Are you expecting someone ?" Bandit's panic was slowly rising.

"Nobody at this hour." His mother sounded genuine. "Let me get the door."

Everything felt like slow motion for Dominic when the door opened, the familiar voice close to his own reaching his ears.

"Hello mama ! Sorry, I'm late."

Bandit's eyes fell on his father. "What the fuck did you guys do ? I told you I didn't want to see him !" He tried to lower his voice as much as possible.

"Your mother didn't do anything, I did." The only sentence his father managed to say in three hours.

"What did I fucking expect from you ? I should've known you would do something like this ! You always liked to stir shit up." He got up, picking his and Jäger's cups before storming out of the living room and into the kitchen. Jäger followed suit, and damn did Bandit looked awful. He watched him set down the cups in the sink, avoiding making any noise. They would be hidden as long as his brother didn't make it to the kitchen. The knuckles of his hands were white from gripping at the border of the sink.

Bandit focused back on the conversation playing, as much as his heart pounding in his ears would allow.

"You look stressed out mama, are you okay ?"

"I'm fine, we've had some guests over and I've been cleaning, it's the old age catching up Mausebär" His mother was trying to save the situation at the very least. "Why aren't you using your wheelchair ?"

"I have to make my legs work mama, it won't get better if I sit around, the doctor already told you. Don't worry, I look older than both you and dad with this cane." His brother was laughing and it felt so good, like he was back twenty years. His speech wasn't quite as it used to, voice slightly trembling, sometimes stuttering the words out. How much damage had he suffered ? Did he just mention a cane, worse, a wheelchair still ?

"I'm not old, I'm only 35 ! Come on, let's take a sit." His mother's humour, were they trying to break him ?

Bandit turned back around, Jäger looked distraught, watching him carefully like Bandit could break any moment and he wasn't wrong. Jäger put his hands on Bandit's arm, stroking them gently in the hope to calm him down if only a little. They both jumped as the little mama came in, pale as a sheet and clearly taken aback by the situation. They watched her make a new pot of coffee, grabbing more cookies, taking out a new cup, a jar of cream since Cedrick preferred it as Dominic remembered. She opened the fridge, taking out a large cake covered in whipped cream and decorated with strawberries. She set it down not far from them along with candles. His mother out of the kitchen, Dominic inspected the cake more closely, reveling an heartbreaking message, 'happy birthday Cedrick and Dominic'.

He wanted to break down, had she done this for eight years ? The chatter outside of the room came back.

"Ah, mama, you've made cookies. Aren't those Dominic's favorite ?"

"Yes, I saw the recipe in my cook book and couldn't help myself, it had been so long. Have a taste sweetheart." That woman was an angel sometimes. Bandit thought about leaving out the kitchen window, both of them had done that several times under grimmer circumstancesas teenagers. So long for their bags, he would never come back.

"Have you had any news from him ?" His brother asked.

"No, you know how it is with your brother. Have you ?"

"Nothing. Last time I saw a few ex-colleagues they told me he had joined the special forces but that's about it." There was a pause "I don't even know if he's still alive, have you seen the news ?"

"I'm sure he's fine Cedrick, you know Dominic, he's tough." The tension of keeping the secret was palpable.

"You're right. He's always been unlucky though. If he's injured we're going to be called the crippled brothers, our new band name !" He was laughing, Dominic clearly was not.

"Why are you running after him ? He abandoned you. He doesn't have the courage to make it right." Their father bit back.

"Are we really going to have this conversation again ? On my- our birthday no less ?" Cedrick sounded like his cop self again.

"Just face the truth son, he doesn't care."

"Why don't you try to face the truth father ? You've always tried to bring us apart, I was your favorite and he was too much to handle for you. I know why, he saw through your bullshit."

Dominic saw himself in his brother's anger. Marius was worried, Dominic on the verge to cracking under the pressure, turning into a sobbing mess, desperately trying to hold it together for the other one.

"He was a troublemaker Cedrick, no wonder he went undercover ! It was right up his alley !" The tone of his father changed for the worse.

"We did our shit together, why can't you ever see it ? I'm not an angel, fuck I was worse !" Cedrick's stuttering became worse as well. "Why am I arguing with you ? You don't care, you never have. I'm glad he's out of your grip, thank God we reacted and thank you so much for beating him up, father, we managed to escape because of that."

"He got what he asked for."

"Defending mama when you were screaming at her ? Sometimes I wonder why you never left, mom."

"He's dangerous, look at what he's done to you !" Their father was screaming now.

"Well at least you can't deny he's your son by your logic, he's as violent as you were then ! You were an amazing exemple for him, good job ! You disgust me."

Dominic couldn't hold it anymore, he started crying as quietly as possible in front of Marius who was in clear shock. He couldn't stand hearing his brother like this, again, after so long. The truth was out wether he liked it or not, no going back. He got pulled into strong arms, the embrace almost suffocating him. Kisses on his neck, slowly coming up until they reached his lips. Marius was whispering in between kisses, 'sorry', 'i'm so sorry', 'it's okay, I'm with you'.

The voices out of the kitchen were blurred out. Bandit had made his mind, he had nothing to fear, his brother had just proved all of his worries and doubts wrong. He took his time, appreciating the kisses he was receiving, calming himself down as much as he could. He'd do anything for the man in front of him right now, he felt grateful. Bandit leaned in to kiss Jäger passionately, they both knew where their friendship was probably headed now. He reluctantly left the other's arms before turning to the cake, putting the candles one by one around the message written on top. He grabbed the nearby lighter and lit them up.

His heart was pounding in his chest as he left the room, the cake in his hands. The first thing he turned his attention to was his brother's back. The short, deep golden hair, the silhouette of a beard that would make Andreas jealous. He was twitching somewhat, arms filled with tremors, one of his legs looked like it had a hard time moving compared to the other. He looked restless and his current anger didn't help.

The screaming match stopped as Dominic put the cake down on the table in front of his brother.

"Come on now Cedrick, let's not talk about this on your birthday."

Dominic didn't know if he should laugh or cry as his eyes fell on his brother's face. The pure confusion and hurt on the face that looked like his own, albeit slightly paralyzed it seemed. The loud 'oh my god' that followed from his twin's mouth left him speechless.

"No way... No way..." His brother got up, straightening himself up with the help of the table. Trembling hands set themselves on Dominic's face, was it the tremors or the emotions ? "You're back. You're here. Fuck."

His brother was looking at him in disbelief, quickly turning into a crying mess in front of him. He got pulled into a tight hug, he hesitantly put his hands on Cedrick's back before finally giving back the embrace.

Just like that, he felt whole again. ___ Chapter Index.

#rainbow six siege #r6s jager #r6s bandit #r6s #bandit/jager #bandit x jager #fanfic #fanfiction #PainfulStitches17 #the fires of spring

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