A/N: So, this is my first go at any fanfic (it's a product of my summer boredom, lol). Not my best writing, but reviews would be appreciated! Tell me if you like it, and if I should write something for the next generation or keep it as a one shot.
Pennetta looked at the old, dilapidated house. I guess it's mine now, she thought. She was truly grateful that she'd been adopted, but she kind of wished she had been put into a nicer home. Taking a deep breath, she walked inside. A few of the rooms were usable- there was a kitchen, workshop, bathroom, and home office, but all the other rooms were destroyed. I'll fix this up. My children will have a nice home. I'm just not sure how.
Suddenly, a computer lit up. Pennetta had mail! But- who? It was a marriage proposal from a nice guy named Orbit. They got married at once.
"I'm so sorry about the house," Pennetta said as they cuddled on the dingy couch.
"It's perfectly okay. Not a mansion, by any means, but with a bit of fixing up, this could be our dream home," he replied.
Soon, Maresse was born. Pennetta and Orbit marveled at her hair- it was red and black! However, they soon noticed that something was wrong. She was withdrawn, and she never went outside or played with the neighbors.
"Ressie, are you all right? You seem a bit blue," Orbit asked one day at breakfast.
"Yes, Daddy, I'm fine," she mumbled, absentmindedly stabbing her waffles with her fork.
Orbit exchanged a look with his wife. As they cleared the dishes, Pennetta whispered "you don't think she has depression, do you?"
He sighed. "I don't know. It seems like it."
"I'm just so worried," Pennetta said. "We're getting her therapy."
"Psychotherapy costs HOW MUCH?!" Pennetta's jaw dropped and she stared at the doctor in disbelief.
"$1,700, ma'am."
She squeezed Maresse's hand, even though she was too young to understand what was happening.
"Doctor," said Orbit, "is there any way we could get it cheaper? We can't afford that right now."
He shook his head.
In the car, Maresse started crying. "I'm sorry," she said, speaking for the first time in days.
"Shhh," Orbit said, holding her close. "It's not your fault."
"Daddy and I will work until we can get you help," Pennetta said.
And so they did- they worked nearly 24/7, trying to earn enough money for Maresse's therapy. However, she began to improve on her own- she loved playing office, just like her dad. That seemed to cheer her up a bit.
Soon, it was Maresse's birthday, but she was still a bit sad. Orbit bought her a cake, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Penny, love, where's Maresse?"
"I think she went outside."
Pennetta froze. Why wasn't she paying attention to her daughter, on her birthday, no less? How could she be sure Ressie was safe, that she hadn't run off?
"Orbit, wait!"
Pennetta ran outside, frantically searching through the bushes. When she finally found them, they were deep in discussion. Orbit noticed her and raised his eyebrows- her signal to leave. She walked back to the kitchen, feeling slightly offended.
She's my daughter, too! Why can't I join the conversation? I can help! She sighed, then started cooking Maresse's birthday dinner. If they couldn't afford to get her a present, the least they could do was make her favorite meal- spaghetti and pesto.
The front door creaked open, and Pennetta heard giggling.
Is that-
"Mommy! Daddy said you were making spaghetti and pesto!"
"I am, Ressie! Anything for my princess on her special day!"
"And Daddy told me he got me a cake! I've never had cake before! This is the best day ever!"
Pennetta smiled at Orbit, and he smiled back. This was wonderful- she hadn't heard her little girl laugh in years! Once Maresse left the room, she turned to him.
"What did you say to her? Whatever it was worked."
"She was hiding in a bush- she told me she does that when things get too much. Ressie was worried we'd forgotten her birthday- she told me it made her feel worthless and unloved. I told her of course we loved her and didn't forget her birthday. Then, she just told me about everything she'd been feeling. I think she just really needed to talk. We've decided we're going to do this every week. It's not therapy, but it's what we've got."
It had definitely seemed to help- Maresse was finally happy.
Soon, Viva was born. Maresse was excited- she'd wanted to be a sister for a while now, and, since she was a teenager, Pennetta would let her take more of a parenting role.
"It'll be good practice, and it'll give you an idea of whether or not you want kids," she told her.
However, Maresse did not like Viva, as it quickly became clear to Pennetta. She disliked her even more once she was old enough to have a personality.
"Mommy!" Viva screamed.
"What is it, darling?"
"Ressie turned off the shower while I was in it!"
"Don't call me Ressie, you little-"
"MARESSE! Go, make lunch! And don't turn off the shower while people are using it! Why did you even do it?"
"She was in there for too long! I hate it when people waste water! You should know that!"
Maresse stormed off to the kitchen. Well, at least she was doing something useful.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It was a young boy with a box of cats. She knew the family would love a cat, so she chose a black one.
"Her name's Misty," he said.
"Thanks! Maresse, Vi, meet Misty!"
Misty immediately seemed to like Pennetta the best, and followed her wherever she went.
Pennetta sighed. She loved Viva, really, but she was a handful. Viva was a happy and playful child, but she seemed to love getting dirty. Playing in the grass and dirt were her favorite activities, as was getting into mischief. If she wasn't outside, she was getting into trouble- jumping on the bed, banging dishes, and tearing Maresse's books. Maresse was becoming increasingly more studious, and she was always working on her homework.
"Mom," she said one day, "do we have enough money to renovate one of the rooms? I'd like a quieter place to study."
"Why, we have enough money to renovate two rooms! I've been considering it for a while."
Viva went into the room while the workers were doing construction.
"Vi, honey, get out of there! You'll get sick, and, besides, you're getting in the way."
Viva begrudgingly walked out of the room, but watched the workers with fascination. When both rooms were renovated, she celebrated by banging dishes.
"Vi! Stop, you'll break them! Come into the workshop, you can help me make pens."
One of the few productive things Viva did was play in the workshop.
"I want to be just like you, Mommy! You're my favorite person- I like you more than Daddy," she said one day.
IThis became very clear one night. Pennetta and Orbit were taking a walk around the house, when screams pierced the peaceful quiet.
"MOMMY? MOMMY, WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Vi, I'm right here! What's wrong?"
"I had a nightmare," Viva sobbed.
"Go get a drink of water," Pennetta replied, stroking her daughter's hair.
"When I'm done, can you tell me a story?"
"How about Daddy? He's got lots of stories."
"No, I want you."
"Alright, love," Pennetta sighed, quickly tossing together an idea for a story.
Soon, the time came for Maresse to leave for college. She hugged her mother before tearfully going to her father.
"Thank you so much, Dad! Without you, I don't know where I'd be- you were always so supportive. I hate thinking I'll never see you again."
"There's always email, love. It's not as good as seeing you in person, but we can talk, though, right?" He smiled, eyes watery.
"Well, my cab's here. I guess this is goodbye."
Orbit and Penetta sadly looked on as the cab drove away. Viva, however, seemed completely unfazed.
"MOMMY! CAN YOU HELP ME CUT SOME WOOD?"
Pennetta sighed. "Just a minute, hun." She didn't want her daughter to see her cry.
Viva was making a wooden car, and it was turning out quite well.
"Mommy, I'm hungry. Can we work on the wheels tomorrow?"
"Of course! What do you want for breakfast?"
"I don't know. Surprise me!"
Pennetta decided on French toast, but she had just finished cracking the eggs when she was disrupted by a loud bang and a giggle. Viva was banging dishes again!
"Vi! Enough is enough! If you want breakfast, you're going to have to get it yourself. You can't just ask me to make you food then disrupt me!"
A few hours later, Viva wanted to finish her car, so Pennetta helped her screw the wheels in.
Viva dashed off, likely going outside. Pennetta did some work.
Suddenly, the oven started beeping. Orbit was sleeping, so who was in the kitchen?
"Hi, Mommy! I still wanted French toast, so I'm making it myself!"
Pennetta couldn't help but laugh. "It's okay, honey. I'll do it- I don't want you to get hurt."
After breakfast, Pennetta got to work, only to be disrupted again by Viva.
"Viva! Stop drawing on the wall! You're ten now, you should know better," Orbit scolded.
"Vi, want to help me design a pen?" Pennetta asked, desperate for a distraction.
"Ooh, cool! Yeah!" An hour later, Viva had designed her very own pen, and was quite pleased with herself. Pennetta just hoped it would distract her for a while- she was in no mood to repaint the walls again.
Pennetta was very annoyed with Orbit. He always made messes and never cleaned them up, and now he'd broken the computers and refused to go back to work until SHE fixed it.
"You're the handy one," he'd said. It seemed he only spoke to her to make her do something.
Does he even love me anymore? she wondered. He didn't pay attention to Viva, either- he acted as if his very own daughter was invisible and his very own wife was his maid.
"Orbit, you need to do some work around here! Go! Dust the house! And make dinner while you're at it," she said, throwing the cleaning rag into his hands.
Soon, the house was dusted and dinner was made. However, Orbit had managed to burn everything COMPLETELY by accident. Pennetta sighed and made another meal. While she was waiting for it to cool off, she helped Viva in the workshop. When she'd almost completed the project they were working on, Pennetta heard the clanking of dishes.
"Orbit, what are you doing?!"
"Nobody was here, so I assumed you were all done, and, since you think I don't do enough in this house, I decided to do you a favor and clean it all up," he sneered.
"Bit, what has gotten into you? Ever since Ressie left, you've-" Too late. He'd already walked off.
She sighed and went to the workshop, where Viva was waiting. She was always either in the workshop or getting into trouble, it seemed.
"All right, Viva, want to help me with my job?"
Half an hour later, Pennetta and Viva had designed two pens. After they left the workshop and got a snack, Orbit went into the workshop. Viva followed him.
"Daddy, we were in here a few minutes ago! You should have designed pens with us- it was so much fun!Daddy, where are you going? Why are you avoiding us? Daddy?"
At that moment, Viva must have decided that she hated her father. On the rare occasions he didn't completely avoid his family, Viva ran away.
However, as time passed, the family's relationship somewhat improved. Orbit no longer avoided Viva and Pennetta, and Viva wouldn't run away when her father was in the room. As Viva got older, she became more obedient and started taking care of the house. However, she never helped her mother in the workshop, which she found slightly disappointing, but at least she could make it through a work cycle without being disrupted.
The next day, Viva left for college. It was not as emotional as when Maresse left, but maybe it got easier after you've done it before? Pennetta was still a bit sad, and, to add on tremendously to her sadness, Orbit died later that day. It was hard being all alone in the house, and it took her a while to recover. When she did, she decided to leave the house to Viva (I'm bad at endings, sorry :/).