While working on other fics I ended up making a lot of headcanons about Yuri and Flynn's childhoods and it inevitably turned into a fic of its own. Also, full disclosure, this was partially inspired by a minor plot point in Bomb Girls.
Letters Home
"You're so dumb, Yuri," Flynn said, shaking his head as twilight descended on the lower quarter. "There's no such thing as a monster that can eat an entire tree."
"There is, too!" He kicked a pebble and grinned as it bounced along the stone streets. "I heard a guy at the inn talk about it."
The sun was getting pretty low, now, so Flynn quickened his pace. The game of pirates he'd been playing with Yuri had lasted a bit longer than expected and they hadn't even started walking home until it was almost dark. Flynn hoped they didn't get in trouble. They were allowed to run wild through the lower quarter during the day when his mom was at work, and one of the only rules was they had to be home before it got dark. They were still only seven years old, after all. "Hurry up, Yuri. It's your fault we're late."
"Is not. You're the one who wouldn't let us leave until we put the plank away."
"We couldn't just leave it sitting out."
"Hrm…" Yuri grumbled, kicking the pebble again now that they'd caught up to it. He frowned when it fell off the edge of the street and into the muddy river. Yuri sighed and stretched his arms behind his head. He glanced at Flynn, smiled, and then shouted "Race you home!" before taking off.
"Hey, no fair!" Flynn took off after him. Yuri laughed all the way to their street, until Flynn caught up to him and tackled him from behind. They fell in a heap at the corner, Yuri giggling like mad as Flynn struggled to pin him down.
"I won!" Yuri said. "I got here first!"
"You had a head start," Flynn, who had a few pounds and over an inch on Yuri, overpowered him and pinned his shoulders to the ground. "It doesn't count."
"Hey, who's that?" Yuri turned his head and looked down the street.
Half-expecting it to be a ruse to distract him, Flynn risked glancing up as well. A knight walked toward them after stepping out of Flynn's house. The boys didn't move as the knight approached, and he looked down at them with grave eyes as he passed. Yuri's head followed his movements until the knight disappeared around the corner.
"That was weird," Yuri said. "Why's there a knight at your house?"
"I dunno," Flynn said, jumping up and holding out his hand to assist Yuri in standing. "Let's go ask Mom."
Yuri had been living with the Scifos for the past year, ever since Flynn practically adopted him off the street like a stray cat. He'd spent most of his childhood bouncing around between whoever had the resources to deal with an extra mouth, so the year he'd spent with Flynn was the longest he'd ever lived anywhere.
Their knees were bruised and they had scuffs on their elbows from the brief struggle, but this was so common they barely noticed. The sun had just set behind the buildings as they entered, meaning they'd officially made it home before dark and they couldn't get in trouble. Inside, Mom sat with her hands folded on the table and stared at the blank wall on the other side.
"Hi, Mom," Flynn said, kicking off his shoes. "Who was that knight?"
She turned her head to them and Flynn froze. Mom always looked sort of tired, but today she looked like she'd been up for days. For a long time she didn't say anything, just stared at him with her mouth hanging slightly open.
"What's wrong, Mrs. Scifo?" Yuri asked.
Mom swallowed heavily and took a deep breath. "Flynn… that was… he was a… a friend of your father's."
Flynn's smile faded at her tone. She seemed… sad. Really sad. Fear raced through him as he stared at her with wide eyes. Dad was always gone for long periods of time. He was a knight stationed in a faraway village, and he only got to come home to visit a couple of times a year. He was supposed to come to visit in two weeks, and Flynn worried that he was going to be late. "I-is Dad ok?"
Mom stared at him again, and after a long minute she let out a heavy sigh and managed to smile. "Yes, Flynn. Dad is ok. He just… he's going on a special mission for his captain, and it's going to take a while so he can't come home soon."
Flynn's face brightened now that he knew nothing was wrong. "Oh, ok! Come on, Yuri." They were going to play in their room until dinner. He looked back at Yuri, who was staring at Mom curiously. "Yuri?"
Yuri tore his eyes away and smiled. "Yeah, let's go."
They ran across the main room to the tiny back room they shared. Flynn dug toy soldiers out a crate, trying to ignore the lingering unease he'd felt around Mom. If Dad was ok, why did Mom look so sad? He didn't like worrying about this, though, so he pushed it from his mind and concentrated on setting up the tin knights in precise formations. He was going to be a knight one day, too, and he'd be in Dad's brigade and work together with him to protect people. He couldn't wait.
A month later, Flynn and Yuri had all but forgotten the knight. A whole month was an eternity when you were seven, and they hardly had time to ponder some knight when there were castles to build, pirate ships to sail, and buried treasure to find (even if the 'treasure' was more like 'scraps of tin found in the empty lot behind the bakery').
They'd spent the day fighting monsters, which might have been invisible but certainly fell against the might of stick-swords. It had been a great battle, and they'd each had a few chances to act out overly dramatic death scenes. They were eagerly reliving these battles over the dinner table when Yuri finished wiping his bowl clean and asked, "Mrs. Scifo, can I have some more?"
Mom froze, glancing at her half-finished bowl, and then she forced a smile, "Are you really still hungry, Yuri? You already ate a whole bowl of stew."
"I am!" he said with a big grin. "Flynn and I worked up a big appetite fighting monsters today."
"Is that so?" The lines around her eyes crinkled. "You must need a lot of food for a growing boy. Here, why don't you have some of mine." She pulled his bowl over and poured some of the contents of her dinner into it.
Flynn tilted his head. "Aren't you hungry, Mom?"
"Don't worry about me, dear. Are you still hungry, too? You can have some more if you like, too."
Flynn frowned, and glanced at the empty pot on the stove. Mom usually made enough food for leftovers or seconds, but it looked like this was all she'd made tonight. He wondered if maybe she wasn't feeling good and didn't feel like cooking a lot. If so, she probably needed to eat herself, so he shook his head. "No, thanks. I am sufficiently suffasticated."
Yuri snorted. "That's not even a word, stupid."
"It is too."
"Oh yeah? Says who?"
"Roger said so."
"Roger's an idiot."
"Well, he's older than we are!" He turned to Mom, who was finishing up her own meal and ignoring their little fight. "Mom, tell Yuri it's a real word."
"Oh, um… I'm not sure if I've heard that word before, Flynn."
"See?" Yuri said, trying to argue between spoonfuls of stew. "I told you you're dumb."
"I am not. You're the one who's dumb."
Mom just sighed, because she'd gotten more than used to these spats over the past year.
When Yuri had licked clean his bowl ("Ew, that's so gross, Yuri. At least use your finger. Mom, tell Yuri to stop being gross") Mom carried the dishes to the counter. She rested them in the sink, and then rustled around in her apron.
"Boys, I have a surprise for you." Flynn and Yuri froze in their argument and looked to her expectantly. She pulled out an envelope and waved it back and forth. "It's a letter from your dad!"
Flynn's face lit up. "Really?!"
"Awesome!"
Mom sat back down at the table and carefully unsealed the envelope. Flynn and Yuri could both read, but only just. They could read shops signs and write their names, but for longer things like letters they still relied on Mrs. Scifo rather than struggling through sounding it out themselves.
"It just came in today. Here it goes. 'Dear Helen, Flynn, and Yuri,
Wow! Mantaic sure is hot! You'd think I'd have gotten used to it after being stationed here for so long, but this kind of heat never gets familiar. I hope you never have to come out here yourselves, because the climate is pretty miserable. I can't wait to see your smiling faces again after all this heat.
We had a fight with monsters the other day. Don't worry, nobody was hurt. There were some big scary ones, but I fought them all off. Other than that, there hasn't been too much excitement around here lately. All the townspeople in Mantaic are very nice and friendly. Next week we're going to be escorting a trade caravan to Nordopolica.
I'm afraid I have to go. My break is almost over and I can hear my lieutenant yelling already. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get home for my planned visit, and it might be a while before I can come home again, but you are all in my heart and I think about you every day.
Lots of Love,
Dad'"
Mom lowered the letter and looked up with a smile. "It sounds like he's doing well."
"Yeah," Flynn said, smiling hesitantly. The letter itself had been wonderful, just like all Dad's letters were, but Mom's voice shook slightly as she read it and there was something uneasy in her eyes. Flynn wasn't sure why she looked so sad, and that worried him. "Hey, Mom? Do you think Dad will be home for my birthday? He said he would." His birthday was in three months, which seemed like a lifetime away, but Dad always managed to get home for his birthday so that was something he could look forward to.
She hesitated. "Oh… I'm not sure, Flynn. He might be too busy to get away. Here," she folded the letter and handed it to him, "put it in your drawer with all your other letters from Dad."
"Ok! Yuri, come on." They jumped up from the table and ran off to their room.
Life went on in the lower quarter. Spring faded into summer, and Flynn couldn't be happier. They didn't have a lot in the lower quarter, but they had each other and that was good enough for him. As the days warmed up and the sun set later, he and Yuri ran amok through the streets of their home.
They battled over territory against a rival group of kids a few times, because defending their fort in the patch of grass behind the bakery was a matter of utmost importance. It was the best place to build a fort, and sometimes the owners threw out perfectly good cakes or loaves of bread that were only a little stale. The battle had involved mud balls, small rocks, and swords made of sticks, and raged for an entire afternoon. They were outnumbered two to one, but since they already had a fort on the plot, they had a more defensible position. Since they hadn't been ousted from their fort by the time mothers started calling their children home for dinner, they were considered the victors.
On more peaceful days, they sat on the edge of the river skipping stones until the sky turned pink and mosquitoes came out to feed. Then they spent the next day scratching and complaining and swearing they'd never go near the river in the evenings again. A week later, once the bites had subsided, they were back at the river and the cycle continued.
Flynn began honing his instincts and preparing for surprise attacks at any moment. Yuri was determined to beat Flynn in a wrestling match and had taken to tackling him whenever he thought Flynn wasn't looking. To his eternal frustration, Flynn still always managed to win. The fact that Flynn had at least fifteen pounds on him probably had something to do with it. Flynn tried to point this out, but Yuri didn't want to hear it. Flynn attempted to reassure him that he'd catch up to Flynn in no time, since he'd been little more than skin and bones when the Scifos took him in and he'd bulked up considerably ever since receiving three meals a day at their table, but Yuri was just frustrated that it hadn't happened yet and Flynn was still stronger than him.
After their busy days, they spent their evenings at home and acted out battles with toy soldiers. Flynn's room was little more than a glorified closet with a straw-filled mattress taking up most of the floor, but it had a little window. Flynn had a crate that served as a table, a chair, and a storage box, and if they dragged it under the window, they could sit on their knees and rest their arms on the windowsill. They watched the light from the barrier flow in a great arc around the edge of the city, and fantasized about the wonders the world beyond it held.
Punctuating these idyllic days were the highlights of Flynn's life: letters from Dad. They came every few weeks, recounting adventures in the desert, fearsome monsters slain, and grand commendations from his superiors. These were the best days, because after they got a letter, the grass behind the bakery turned into sand, their fort became the tiny town of Mantaic, and he and Yuri alone were the knights who had to defend it.
There was something odd, though. One evening after they'd been read a letter from Dad, Flynn woke in the middle of the night with a desperate urge to pee. He found himself trapped against the wall by Yuri, who always managed to take up far more than his share of the mattress. The summer night was hot, and even with the window open to let in some air, the room was humid. Flynn was tempted to shove Yuri right off the bed, because it was way too hot to sleep with someone pressing against him. Instead, he carefully lifted Yuri's arm from his chest and moved it out of the way, and then stood slowly on the squishy mattress and carefully stepped over his slumbering friend.
He carefully pushed the door open, wishing it didn't creak. He crept down the hall to the toilet, but on his way there, he passed Mom's room. Candle light flickered under the door, and he stopped when he heard her voice.
She wasn't talking, though; she was crying. Flynn couldn't move, because in a world where Mom was the almighty figure of comfort, hearing her cry threatened the core of his beliefs. It was rude to spy, but Flynn couldn't help himself from bending to the keyhole and peeping. Mom lay curled on her side in bed, softly crying into her arms.
What should he do? Should he try to comfort her like she always comforted him? Except, she muffled her sobs and only cried now, late at night when he and Yuri were supposed to be asleep, so he got the feeling he wasn't supposed to see this. He pulled away from the door and shuddered, feeling cold despite the humid night. Mom was crying and it scared him, but he couldn't talk to her about it or she'd be mad at him for getting out of bed.
He ran to the bathroom as quickly and silently as possible before returning to bed. Yuri didn't wake up even when Flynn shoved him to the side to make room, and then Flynn lay awake for at least an hour, trying to forget what he'd seen.
Yuri left Hanks' house with a grin on his face and pocketful of gald. He'd spent the day running errands for Hanks, and now he had the payment to show for it. Having money was a novel feeling for Yuri, and he would be content to spend the whole day just listening to it jingle in his pocket. It was even better because he'd earned it. A whole day of running deliveries and picking up groceries and now he had real, earned money and Yuri had never felt so satisfied.
He was going to use this money to buy a cupcake for Flynn. Tomorrow was Flynn's eighth birthday, and Yuri wanted to get him something special. Last winter, when Yuri turned seven, Flynn's mom had knitted him a sweater. It was the first time anyone had ever got him a real birthday present before, and Yuri wanted to return the favour. Well, technically it had been from Flynn's mom, but Flynn and his dad put their names on the card. The other day, Yuri had caught Flynn practically drooling in front of the bakery window, so he was going to get Flynn something really special.
Yuri pulled Hanks' grocery list out of his pocket again and smiled. He'd been able to read the entire thing, too. Well… Hanks had needed to help him with 'broccoli' and 'lettuce', but Yuri had worked out 'milk', 'potatoes', and 'cheese' all on his own. All in all, it had been a pretty awesome day and he couldn't wait to see Flynn's face when he gave him the cupcake tomorrow.
When he got back to Flynn's house, he found Flynn in his room. He lay on his stomach with a toy eggbear in one hand and a tin soldier in the other. He smashed the knight into the monster while making light explosion noises with his mouth.
"Hey, who's winning?" Yuri asked, kicking off his shoes and falling on the mattress.
"The knights, of course." The rest of their soldiers stood behind the one in his hand in careful platoons. "Pow! Monsters don't stand a chance against the Imperial Knights!" One of his letters from his dad lay on the ground next to him, no doubt inspiring the battle he was carefully acting out. Flynn set the toys down and rolled onto his side to face Yuri. "Where were you all day anyway? Mom said you went out but wouldn't say where."
"I was doing stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
He crossed his arms and smirked. "Stuff stuff."
"Stop being so secretive. Everyone kept asking where you were."
"I was doing important stuff. I'll tell you later, ok?"
"No, tell me now."
"Nope."
"Argh!" Flynn tackled Yuri, knocking him to the side and pinning him to the mattress. "You'd better tell me if you want to get up!"
Yuri wriggled forward to escape the pin and shoved upward. "Nu-uh!" He grabbed Flynn's shirt and rolled until their positions were switched and now he was on top.
They rolled around on the mattress for a few minutes, kicking and shoving and struggling to keep the other pinned for more than a few seconds. They'd done this so many times before they each knew all the other's moves. They grinned and laughed between grunts and it didn't end until Yuri said, "Ha! I'm gonna kick your ass!"
Flynn gasped and loosened his grip in shock. "Yuri! You can't say that word!"
"Oh, yeah? Says who?"
"My mom!" He glanced nervously at the door, which gave Yuri a chance to tackle him and throw him off the mattress. Flynn yelped and clung to Yuri's shirt, dragging him along with him. They tumbled to a stop on the floor and lay on their backs while panting for breath.
"Let's call it a tie," Flynn said.
Yuri panted a few times, sweat trickling down his forehead. "Yeah… ok." Something dug into his back and he shifted to pull the toy eggbear out from under him. After setting it aside, his eyes landed on the letter. He picked it up to see which one it was, and to test if his reading skills were as good as he thought they were.
As his eyes skimmed the letter, a prickling thought hit the back of his mind. Something about the way the words looked seemed really familiar. He pulled Hanks' grocery list from his pocket and compared the writing. Did writing by different people usually look so similar? Yuri wasn't experienced enough with writing to know the difference. His own handwriting was sloppy and misshapen, but maybe this is just how all grownups wrote.
"Hey, Flynn, can I see some of your older letters from you dad?"
"Huh? Why?"
"I want to see them."
"Ok." Flynn got to his knees and dug through the crate by the mattress. "Which ones?"
Yuri sat up and shrugged. "I dunno. Any of the old ones, from like a year ago."
"Um…" Flynn shifted things aside and emerged a minute later with rustle of paper. "Here, I found one." He passed it over. "Why?"
"I wanna check something." Yuri put Flynn's more recent letter in the middle, and then laid the old letter on one side and Hanks' grocery list on the other.
Flynn leaned over Yuri's shoulder. "What're you looking at?"
"Look, the way this one is written looks more like Hanks' list than your dad's other letter."
"What do you mean?"
"Uh… see?" Yuri pointed to Flynn's name. "Look, in your dad's old letter, the Ns are really straight and chunky. Then in the new letter and Hanks' list, they're all curvy." Yuri frowned, eyes darting between the letters. "It… kinda looks like Hanks wrote this letter, don't you think?"
"That's impossible." Flynn pulled away and sat on the mattress. "The letter came from Mantaic and Hanks lives down the street. He's never even been to Mantaic."
"But… maybe Hanks made it up?"
"Why would Hanks send us a fake letter pretending to be my dad?" Flynn scoffed. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Uh… lemme see the other letters." He didn't wait for Flynn this time and pulled a big stack of them out. Flynn sat on the mattress and watched nervously as Yuri spread the letters out on the floor. Flynn kept them in the order that he'd got them, so it was easy to spread them out in order and see where the handwriting changed. He had been wondering if maybe people's handwriting naturally got curvier when they got older, so Flynn's dad would start gradually writing like Hanks as the years went by.
That wasn't the case, though. There was a clear shift, where one letter was in the old blocky style and the next was in the curvy Hanks style. "There," Yuri said, pointing out the letter. "This is where it changes." The last letter in the blocky style was the one apologizing about not being able to make it as planned because he had a special assignment from his captain. Yuri had a vague memory of seeing a knight at their house around then, and worry blossomed in his chest.
"Yeah, I see," Flynn said, craning his neck to look. "What do you think it means?"
Yuri hesitated, not sure if he even wanted to say it. It was scary to think about, but now that the worry began, he had to share it with Flynn. "Flynn… what if your dad didn't write any of these newer letters? What if… what if they're all from Hanks?"
Flynn frowned. "But why would he do that?"
Yuri bit his lip and his hands trembled. "Maybe… he wanted us to think your dad is ok, when really… he isn't."
Flynn gaped at him in shock for a few seconds, and then it turned to anger. "What are you saying?"
Yuri chewed on his lip, trying to figure out what to say. A very scary thought had taken hold in his mind but he knew saying it aloud would hurt Flynn. They needed to work this out, though. He'd never be able to relax until they got to the bottom of this now. "I don't know, but what if… maybe… maybe he died."
Flynn went rigid. "How could you even say that?"
"Well it makes sense! He might've died and Hanks has been sending us letters so that we won't be sad."
With jerky movements, Flynn grabbed his letters off the floor and shuffled them back together. "Shut up, Yuri. Don't even talk about that."
Yuri crossed his arms as his anger grew. He didn't know why Flynn was getting mad at him. He was just pointing things out and trying to be rational. It wasn't like he wanted Flynn's dad to be dead. "We can't just ignore this."
"Yeah we can."
Yuri threw his arm out to gesture at the stack of letters in Flynn's hands. "It's obvious these recent letters weren't written by your dad."
"They were, too," Flynn insisted. "So drop it."
"You just don't wanna believe it 'cause it makes you feel bad." Flynn couldn't really believe those letters were all from his dad now that Yuri had pointed the problem out. He was just being stubborn and refusing to even talk about this, but if something was wrong, they had to know. "Look, I get why you don't wanna talk about it, but-"
Flynn's anger snapped and he slammed the lettered into the crate before jumping to his feet. "No, you don't!"
Yuri glared up at him with anger. How dare Flynn act like he was the only one who understood worrying about a parent? Yuri's mom was already dead and his dad had left before he was even born. "I do, too! My dad is gone, too, you know."
Flynn took a deep breath, his face flushed. "It's not the same at all! Your dad just ditched you – he could still come back if he wanted to. You're saying mine is dead, and that means he can't ever come home."
Yuri jumped to his feet with his hands balled into fists. "I'm not saying he's dead, just that we should talk about this and figure out why Hanks is sending us letters."
"That isn't something we should talk about." His lower lip quivered with the force of both anger and oncoming tears. "You wouldn't understand, Yuri," he spat. "You never even had parents so you have no idea how I feel."
Yuri felt like he'd been physically struck. Yuri gaped at him, having no idea how to respond to that. He'd never heard Flynn speak with such acid, and especially not directed at him. It wasn't like Yuri missed his parents specifically, because you couldn't miss people you'd never met. It was a harsh reminder, though, that he didn't have a family or a home of his own and even though he ignored that most of the time, to have it thrown in his face like that hurt.
"Fine!" he shouted back, covering up his hurt with anger. "See if I care! I was just trying to help. You know, I bet he is dead but you're never gonna know because you keep clinging to those fake letters like a big baby!"
"Shut up!" Flynn snarled and then shoved Yuri against the wall. "Shut up, shut up! My dad isn't dead!"
"You'd never know if he was." Yuri struggled to push Flynn off of him. "At least I know my dad's not coming back."
"I hate you!" Tears welled up in his eyes. "You're making this all up, you – you ass! I'm telling Mom." He pushed Yuri away and then stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
In the wake of his absence, Yuri leaned against the wall and panted. His anger continued to burn, even as he stumbled forward and fell onto the mattress. Stupid Flynn. He didn't even want to believe what was right in front of him. What a jerk-face. Still… maybe he'd said some things that were a little harsh. But Flynn had started it! He deserved it. Jerk.
Flynn stomped into the hall, bristling with anger. How dare Yuri question his dad's letters? Those letters were all Flynn had of his father, and Yuri said they weren't real? What a jerk! He held onto his fury, because he knew as soon as it disappeared he'd be left with the nagging fear that Yuri might be right. He didn't even want to think about that, so he filled himself with anger instead.
Without really thinking about it, he found his way to his mom's room. She lay in bed reading book when he entered, and she looked up with surprise.
"Hi, sweetie. Is something wrong? I heard you and Yuri yelling." She frowned when she got a closer look at him. "Are you ok? Were you crying?"
He closed the door and stood hesitantly before the bed. It was so dumb. Yuri was being a jerk. He shouldn't involve Mom in this. But maybe… he would feel so much better once Mom officially told him Yuri was an idiot.
"Yuri is being dumb."
She smiled and set her book down, and then patted the bed to tell him to climb up with her. "Is he?" she asked while Flynn crawled onto the bed. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him against her side. "What is Yuri doing now?"
"Yuri said… he was looking at Dad's letters and he said they're not really from Dad. He said they're from Hanks."
Mom stiffened. "He… said that, did he?"
Flynn looked up with worried eyes. "He's just being stupid… right?"
"Flynn…"
She wasn't immediately reassuring him and Flynn's fear spiked. They'd gone longer without a visit from Dad than ever before and Yuri was right, those letters did look different. He remembered the time he'd found Mom crying in the middle of the night, and all the times she looked sad when she thought he wasn't looking. He couldn't keep his voice from shaking as he asked, "Mom… when is Dad coming home?"
Mom wrapped her arms around him and pulled him against her chest. "Oh, Flynn… I… I'm so sorry."
"W-what for?" he asked, muffled against her chest. It was hard to breathe but he was too scared to pull away.
"Flynn," her voice shook, too. He was scared to look up in case there were tears in her eyes, because he didn't know how to handle Mom crying. "This is something I sh-should have told you a long time ago."
She pulled away and let him breathe. Flynn sat on the edge of the bed while Mom placed both hands on his shoulders and met his teary eyes with her own shimmering ones. She took a deep breath and Flynn swallowed heavily.
"Flynn, a few months ago… your dad had a very special assignment he had to do for his captain. He needed to go into the Weasand of Cados – that's a cave near Mantaic – to protect a caravan of merchants travelling to Nordopolica and back. When they got back to Mantaic, Dad realized one wagon had fallen behind and was still in the cave. He wanted to go back and help them, but it was late at night and his captain said it was too risky to go just for one wagon. But, your dad is a very brave man and he wanted to protect people, so he went on his own to help them. While he was in the cave, they were attacked by monsters. Your dad fought them to give the wagon a chance to escape, but Dad… he… he didn't make it."
By the time she finished talking, tears fell down her cheeks. Flynn wanted to cry, too, because he knew something was very wrong even if he didn't fully understand what. "W-what do you mean? He didn't get back to Mantaic? But he's ok, right? They can go get him?" He imagined Dad being trapped in a dark and scary cave, and maybe the other knights were too scared to go and get him. Flynn would have to go himself and get him out!
Mom's face constricted even more and her fingers tightened around his shoulders. "N-no, sweetie. Dad…" she took a deep, sniffling breath, "Dad is gone. He – he's dead."
The word clanged through Flynn's head. Dead. Dead like the beetles he and Yuri crushed under their feet. Like the cat that got run over by a cart that they found on the side of the road a few months ago. Like the people Mom mentioned in the lower quarter who died of sickness or old age – people Flynn had never really met and couldn't understand the significance of their absence.
"He… he can't be…"
Death was such a foreign concept. It was a thing that happened, he knew. He'd been told that all living things died, but it always felt like something that happened to other people. Never his loved ones. The whole world rocked off its foundations. Dad could not be dead, because he was the strongest and bravest knight in the whole world! If he could die, that meant Mom could die, too. It meant Yuri could die, or even himself.
"I'm so, so sorry, Flynn." She pulled him against her chest again. Flynn couldn't even move. His arms hung limp at his side as Mom smothered him. "I'm sorry. I made such a horrible mistake in keeping this from you. I just… I saw your face so full of hope and I couldn't do it. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you the truth. I asked Mr. Hanks to write letters for you, until… until I felt you were ready."
By all rights Flynn should be angry with her for doing that, but he had no emotion to spare for that. He didn't understand what death was or why it happened, but he knew it meant that a dead person could not ever talk or breathe or smile or anything, ever again, forever. He was never going to see Dad again, and when that finally sunk in his brimming eyes overflowed with a sob. He wrapped his arms around Mom tightly, squeezing as hard as he could and sobbing into her chest.
It wasn't fair. Dad wasn't supposed to die, not ever. He promised he would come home for Flynn's birthday, and now he wasn't and that wasn't fair.
"All the people on the wagon lived and made it back to Mantaic," Mom said softly, rubbing his back. "Dad saved all their lives. He was so brave."
Flynn didn't care about those people. He had never met them and he never would, and in that moment, he hated them. Why did those stupid people on their stupid wagon have to fall behind? If they hadn't been there, then Dad would be here right now, getting everything ready for Flynn's birthday tomorrow. Why did those people get to live but his dad didn't? It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair!
Flynn sobbed against Mom's chest until his tears ran out. His shoulders heaved, snot poured form his nose, and his were red and puffy when he finally pulled away from the large wet stain on the front of her blouse. He looked up at Mom and tried to compose himself enough to speak. "W-what are we going to do?"
She stroked the back of his head. "We'll be ok."
"No we won't." He leaned against her again, trying to get as close as he could to her warmth and softness. If Dad could die so suddenly, that could happen to Mom, too. He wanted to cling to her and make sure she never left him. "It won't ever be ok."
Yuri sat on the floor outside Flynn's mom's room, holding his knees. He felt guilty for eavesdropping, but he wanted to hear this.
He had never really known Flynn's dad all that well. He'd only met him a couple of times when he came home to visit, but otherwise he just knew him from the letters. Even so, Yuri would never forget the fact that he'd taken Yuri in. He sent them money every month and that money went toward feeding and clothing Yuri, and he always included Yuri in the letters he wrote. When he came home, he always brought a present for Flynn and he never failed to have something for Yuri as well. He wasn't Yuri's father, but he'd done more towards earning the title than anyone else.
Yuri didn't even know who his real father was. When he was little, he'd asked the innkeeper who was taking care of him at the time. She said he had been a drifter of some sort, only in town for a few months, and left before he even knew his mom was pregnant. She couldn't even remember his name. Flynn's dad had stepped into that blank even though he didn't have to, and Yuri would miss him now that he was gone.
There was something else that worried him even more, though. Now that he thought about it, he realized food portions in the past few months had been smaller than usual, and Flynn's mom worked longer hours. It made sense – they weren't getting money from Flynn's dad anymore, and now Flynn's mom struggled to make ends meet.
Yuri knew perfectly well what this meant, because it had happened to him before. When the people he stayed with came on hard times, it was time for the guest to leave. Sometimes he found a new family to stay with for another couple of months, and sometimes he slept on the streets for a little while until finding a place to stay. No one ever actually kicked him out, of course, but Yuri knew when they needed him gone and was determined not to be a burden. It was time for him to move on.
He got to his feet and returned to Flynn's room. There was no point drawing this out, because if he put it off he knew he'd lose his nerve. He had to do the right thing and leave, because Mrs. Scifo shouldn't have to worry about him when she had her own son to take care of.
In Flynn's room, he threw all his belongings into a backpack. This didn't take too long, since he owned very few things. Most of the stuff he used was actually just things he shared with Flynn, but he'd leave those behind. They properly belonged to Flynn, not him. He stuffed in the few clothes he owned, his toothbrush, an old blanket he'd brought with him when he came here, and threw his stuffed wolf on top. On second thought, he buried Growly the wolf under the blanket, just in case anyone else looked. It wasn't like he needed a stuffed animal to keep him company, but… it sure beat being alone on the street.
His things packed, he crept out of the room. Flynn's sobs could still be heard from his mom's room, so Yuri knew he had time to get out before they noticed. In the kitchen, he briefly considered grabbing some food before heading out. Then he thought better of it; he didn't want to take anything from them anymore. They couldn't afford it.
He paused at the front door and built up the courage to actually step through it. This was the right thing to do. Flynn didn't want him around anymore anyway. Mrs. Scifo would probably politely find a way to get rid of him as soon as possible, so it was better that he took care of himself.
Steeling himself, he opened the door and crept onto the silent street. It was a warm summer night, for which Yuri was thankful. Sleeping on the street was no fun in the winter. He still had the gald from Hanks jingling in his pocket, which was reassuring. The previous times he'd been homeless, he never had any money. At least now he could buy breakfast tomorrow.
He stayed on the main roads that still had working street lamps, just in case. For the most part, the people of the lower quarter stuck together and were always friendly to each other. That didn't mean there weren't still nasty people who lurked around at night and might want to take advantage of the gald in his pocket.
Yuri wasn't scared, though. He'd been out here on his own before and he knew where he was going. Flynn would be scared if he was here, he thought bitterly. Flynn was such a baby. He had no idea how to live without mommy and daddy taking care of him. He never even appreciated how lucky he was to have a dad and now he was making a big fuss about losing something Yuri had never had in the first place. What a whiny brat.
He sniffed and rubbed his sleeve over his eyes. He wasn't supposed to cry, darn it! He wasn't a little baby like Flynn. It wasn't like he needed a family like Flynn did. He was fine on his own.
His path finally took him to the bakery. The colourfully frosted cupcakes in the windows made him think of Flynn and the gald in his pocket felt heavy. He was supposed to buy one tomorrow for Flynn's birthday. Well, too bad. That was over. He didn't live with the Scifos anymore and Flynn hated him anyway.
He snuck through the alley at the side and crawled under a loose fence board to find the tiny patch of crab grass where they'd built their fort. They'd dug a shallow trench under a cut-out in a battered piece of plywood that served as the entrance. Yuri crawled through this and then pulled out his blanket. Half the fort was open to the sky, but some rotting pieces of wood balanced on the brick walls that enclosed the lot made a roof over one side. Yuri spread his blanket on another sheet of plywood to keep himself directly off the ground and sat down, preparing for the night.
This would be his home now. He'd just live here where he wouldn't be a burden on anyway. He could scavenge food the bakery threw out and sleep in the fort and it would be perfect. He didn't need Flynn or Hanks or anybody.
"It's just going to be you and me now, Growly," he said while pulling the battered wolf from his bag. He sat Growly on top of his bag to speak to him. It was dark in the shadows below the roof, but the barrier cast enough blue-green light to see by.
That's right, Yuri, Growly silently replied. Grrr, we don't need any of them.
Yuri pulled his legs tight and leaned against the old brick wall. "Flynn is stupid, anyway," he grumbled. "Just because I lost my mom and dad a long time ago doesn't mean I don't know how he feels. My mom is dead too. I miss her, don't I?" Sometimes he thought he remembered her. He remembered a smile, or a flash of dark hair, or a warm voice saying his name as strong arms embraced him. Mrs. Hanks told him his mind was making it up, because he'd been too young when she died to have memories like that, but he did remember. He wasn't just creating memories based on things other people told him; he knew he remembered her. He had to, didn't he? She had been the only family he'd ever had.
From the street, the wind blew an old can along. It clattered down the silent road and Yuri pulled himself tighter. It had been a long time since he spent the night outside Flynn's little room. He heard shouts in the distance, probably drunk people going home from a pub. Yuri scooted a little closer to Growly. No one would come back here; he was safe.
As the warm night dragged on, Yuri finally had a chance to properly calm down after his fight with Flynn and the following revelation. The more he thought about it, the more he felt bad for saying those things to Flynn. It had probably been really mean. It was too late to worry about it, though. Flynn's dad was dead and the happy life he'd known for the past year had to end. He wasn't going to rely on anyone anymore.
"Boy," he mumbled to Growly, "being alone sure is lonely."
Growly offered silent agreement. He made a better friend than Flynn; Growly never argued with him.
Yuri lay on his side and pulled his thin blanket over him. The wood wasn't nearly as soft as the mattress in Flynn's room, but it was ok. This wasn't too bad an arrangement, really. He had his own little place and it was much better than sleeping directly on the street.
He had almost fallen asleep when he heard the tell-tale scraping of wood that was the fence board being lifted. Yuri jerked upright and reached for Growly. He didn't know what good a small stuffed animal would be against whoever was invading his fort in the middle of the night, but it was better than nothing.
Footsteps crunched in the dry grass, and Yuri held Growly out like a weapon. "W-Who's there?"
A blond head poked under the entrance to the fort. "Yuri!"
He lowered Growly and angrily asked, "What are you doing here?"
Flynn crawled the rest of the way into the fort. "I was looking for you."
"Go home." Yuri crossed his arms and glared at him. "Your mom's probably worried about you."
Flynn shook his head and knelt in front of him. "No, she's out looking for you, too."
Yuri stared in surprise. "She… what?"
"I went back to my room and you weren't there and neither were your things. We thought you'd run away and we were really worried about you."
"I wasn't running away. I was leaving. I don't wanna be a burden for your mom."
"Don't be stupid! You have to come home."
"Don't call me stupid!"
"Well, don't act stupid!" Flynn scowled and then crawled forward to sit next to him. "Will you at least come back with me to talk to my mom? She's really worried about you."
Yuri stared at his shoes. No one had ever looked for him when he left before. They were usually secretly – albeit guiltily – glad when he was gone. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Ok."
They sat in silence for a minute, and then Flynn said, "I'm sorry about before. About what I said."
"Yeah. Me, too."
"I'm just…. I don't know what to do." He stared at his knees and his voice turned very small. "My dad is dead."
Yuri glanced at him worriedly, not sure what to say. Flynn looked like he was going to start crying again, and Yuri didn't know how to deal with that. "Yeah."
"I miss him."
"…Yeah."
Flynn vigorously rubbed his eyes. "I don't know what I'm gonna do without him or his letters to look forward to, but… but I can't do it alone." He turned his pleading eyes on Yuri. "Please don't leave, Yuri. I don't want to be alone. I – I don't think my dad would want you to be alone, either." He grabbed Yuri's hand and squeezed. "Please stay with us."
"Do you really want me to?"
"Of course!" Flynn leaned forward and squeezed tighter. "I just want things to go back to the way they were before. And – and I know they can't, because Dad is... he's gone. But if you went away, too, I don't know what I'd do."
Yuri couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so wanted before. He'd always just been the orphan kid, passed around to whomever could afford an extra mouth that month. While he'd never exactly felt unloved, he had never gotten the impression that anyone specifically wanted him around. "Ok." He nodded and squeezed Flynn's hand back. "Ok, I'll go back with you, but only if your mom says it's ok."
"Yes!" Flynn threw himself at Yuri and pulled him into a tight hug. "Please don't ever leave again."
"O-ok." He could really move with Flynn clinging to him so tightly.
He finally pried himself off Yuri and said, "Let's go home. Mom is really worried about you."
Yuri silently bobbed his head and packed his things into his bag. Flynn crawled out first and then the pair walked side by side in the direction of Flynn's house. They walked silently, because neither knew what to say now that the world had been flipped upside down by Flynn's dad's passing. That didn't matter, though; they were content just to appreciate each other's company.
"Mom!" Flynn called as soon as he saw her. Mrs. Scifo wandered down the street ahead of them with a lantern. "Mom, I found him!" He grabbed Yuri's wrist and started running.
They almost crashed into her, but it wouldn't have mattered because as soon as they were close she handed her lantern to Flynn and swept Yuri into her arms.
"Yuri! I was so worried about you!" Yuri's face pressed into her stomach as she smothered him. "Don't ever do that again!" She pulled back and looked down at him with her hands still holding his arms. "What were you thinking?"
"I… I didn't want to be a burden on you. Mr. Scifo is gone and you shouldn't have to support me, too."
She shook her head and crouched so she could talk to him at eye-level, still not taking her hands from his shoulders. "Yuri, it will never be a burden to take care of you. You're part of our family now, and you don't abandon family as soon as things get tough."
His mouth hung open but he couldn't think of anything to say. Family. He was… part of their family?
"Come on, now, let's go home."
She held his hand and started walking toward home. Her hand was warm, and Flynn walked close beside him, and Yuri realized he belonged with them.
It was a quiet walk. The reality of Finath Scifo's death hung over them, and Yuri knew it would be a long time before things started to feel normal again. Out of the shadows of the fort, Yuri could tell Flynn's eyes were still tinged red and there was a crease in his brow that made him look older and more tired than he had this morning. It was scary to think that staples in life like Flynn's dad could just disappear one day, but they would get by. For the first time in his life, Yuri had a family, so he knew things were going to be ok.
Back at home, Flynn's mom lead them right to their room. They took off their shoes and changed into pyjamas, and then crawled onto their mattress. Flynn's mom crouched and pulled the blanket over them, and then ran her hand over Flynn's hair.
"Goodnight. I'm… sorry. I should have told you boys sooner. I made a mistake, and I hope you'll find a way to forgive me."
"It's ok," Flynn said, though Yuri had a feeling Flynn just desperately didn't want to fight or cry again.
"Sleep well," she said, before leaving the room.
Yuri and Flynn lay in the darkness. After a long silence, Flynn whispered, "Yuri?"
"Yeah?"
"…Don't tell anyone I was crying."
"Ok." Yuri looked to the window, but from this angle he couldn't see the sky very well. He whispered, "Hey, do you know what time it is?"
"I dunno." Yuri felt Flynn shrug beside him. "Past midnight, I think."
"That means it's your birthday."
"Oh. It doesn't feel very much like a birthday."
Yuri wriggled his arms out of the blanket. It was cozy, but the night was too warm for it. "You can have my birthday, if you want."
Flynn turned his head. "Huh?"
"Next time it's my birthday, we'll celebrate yours instead."
"But what about you?"
"Well, on your birthday I got a family. That's better than anything I would have asked for, so I think it's fair."
"Hm… ok." He yawned heavily and then said, "I'm going to sleep, now. 'Night, Yuri."
"'Night."
Flynn rolled over and closed his eyes, while Yuri lay still and listened to his breathing. He wasn't ever going to have to leave this place. Every place he'd ever stayed at had been temporary, but here… he could stay. Even though he'd been here for a long time, he'd never really thought of this as permanent.
Flynn pulled the blanket closer to himself, not for warmth but so he could cuddle it against his chest like a giant security blanket. Yuri didn't mind, since it was so warm, and he just watched Flynn fall asleep with the hint of a smile. He could stay here, sleeping in this room with Flynn, for as long as he wanted. Even if it was small and broken, it was nice to have a home.