Aeris sat in the chair in the apartment she shared with Leo, silently fuming. He was at it again. Leo was once more going into a string of his horrendous jokes. How could he not tell how aggravating this was for her? Here she was, trying to work out how they were going to pay the bills for the month - when the income had once more fallen short, and the savings were starting to get low - and he was making awful jokes at the top of his voice. She didn't even need to hear the jokes, she could easily fill in the blanks.
"Insert video game related joke here"
"Insert follow up console related joke here"
"Insert segue to your mom joke here"
"Insert excessive explanation of your mom joke's sexual implications here"
"Beat dead horse here"
It was getting to be more than she could stand. The last time things had gotten this bad, she had tried to abort him from time. ...that hadn't worked, for some reason. Finally, she couldn't take it any more. Slamming her hands down on the table, she snarled, "SHUT UP!"
Surprisingly enough, Leo fell silent instantly. She stared at him for a time, but he just watched her, waiting. After a time, she got up and grabbed her coat. "I'm going out. Don't touch the paperwork." She slammed the door behind her.
Sighing, she walked down the road, ignoring the snowfall. It was mid January, having just passed through the Christmas and New Year's festivities, and on top of trying to pay the bills she had also been working on their taxes...with little success. Sighing fitfully, she saw where she'd known she'd go. She came here sometimes, when dealing with Leo and exerything else - but mostly Leo - she came here to get a little thicker skin, as it were. Just something to help her deal, to get to the next day without exploring worse alternatives.
The barkeep glanced up as she entered. "Hey, Aeris. Haven't seen you in a while."
Aeris smiled as she came up to the bar. "Yeah. Christmas is usually a good time for me. Fewer troubles."
The barkeep smiled. "Well, that's what we're here for...to help with your troubles. So what can I get ya?"
Aeris reached into her pocket and fished out her wallet. Glancing in, she winced at how little money she had. "Umm...can you give me one of the cheapest...on my tab?" she asked, with little hope.
The barkeep shook his head. "Wish I could, Aeris, but you've run your tab up as far as I'm allowed to let it go. The best I can do is give you water...or someone else's dregs."
Aeris shuddered at the notion of drinking what someone else had left behind. "Yeah...thanks anyway."
"Oh don't be like that," came a motherly voice behind Aeris. "Put her drinks on my tab for tonight, why don't you? That's a dear."
Aeris smiled at the elderly cat woman who had come up behind her. "Thanks, Granny," she said. The woman's fur still had traces of what had once been peach coloring, though the year's had turned much of it silver. Despite age, her brown eyes were still quite astute. She wasn't of any relation to Aeris - or any of the other patrons - but she was a kindly old woman who foten visited the bar, lending an ear to anyone who needed it. She came from old money, often trying the unusual drinks behind the bar, and she often brought cookies to share with the other patrons. This had led to everyone calling her - since she gave no other name - 'Granny.'
Granny smiled as she sat down next to Aeris. "Now tell me, dear, what's troubling you this time?"
Aeris sighed as her drink arrived. Drinking slowly, she explained. "It's Leo...again. Is it too much to ask for him to grow up one of these days?"
Granny smiled. "Tell me about it, dear. I'm here for you."
They sat there for a couple hours, as Aeris once again unloaded her troubles and concerns to a sympathetic ear. She came here as much in the hope of bumping into Granny as for the drinks...although the drinks helped. She never drank too much, not wanting to waste money or become too uninhibited...but tonight the drinks kept coming, and she needed it.
Stepping out of the bar with Granny, Aeris staggered a bit. "Whoopsh! I'm feeling a little tipsy, I think."
Granny smiled, giggling a little. No matter how much she drank, she always seemed in complete control of herself. "Would you like a lift home, deary?"
"i'm fine," Aeris said, ignoring the fact that she'd nearly fallen over. "s'not far."
"Alright then," Granny said, getting into the back of ehr car. "Stay safe."
Aeris waved blearily as the carpulled away, and began to stagger home. As she approached the apartment complex, however, she accidentally stumbled into an alleyway, nearly tripping over some of the rubish that littered it. Leaning against the wall, she tried to regain her balance.
"Well, well," a voice said from behind her. "Look what we have here."
She turned. Had she been sober, she would have been more concerned, seeing three young men nearly three times her size leering at her. "Go away!" she said, trying to shove past them.
One of them pushed her up against the wall. "I don't think we want to. And I think we'd rather you stay."
Leo paced back and forth in the apartment. He didn't get it. Aeris used to love a good laugh, back when they were kids. But recently it seemed that she'd forgotten how to have fun, always being so serious. He tried to help her have fun, telling a few jokes - okay, he admitted his jokes weren't the best, but still - and she snapped at him. Why did it always go wrong?
He sighed to himself. All he wanted to do was help her to be happy. Why didn't anything work out the way it was supposed to? Sighing, he glanced at the paperwork she had been working on, careful not to touch as per her instructions.
He saw long columns of numbers he couldn't makes sense of, numbers having never been his strong suit outside of games. He wished he could do something to make things better for Aeris...but nothing he tried to do ever worked. Sighing, he glanced at the clock.
She'd been gone for nearly three hours. This worried him. The longest these walks had ever taken before was an hour, tops. Pulling on his jacket, he decided to go look for her. Stepping out of the apartment, he heard a ruckus nearby. Then he heard a shriek. His blood went cold, and he charged towards the noise.
The three thugs had Aeris cornered in the alleyway. Despite how slow his mind sometimes worked, Leo had no troubles seeing what they intended. As one of the thugs raised his hand to strike, Leo drew on speed he didn't know he had, and threw himself in between the thug and Aeris.
The blow caught him hard in the chest, sending him rolling back into the alley. One of the thugs laughed. "Well, loks like we got some sorta wannabe hero!" Laughing, he tured back to Aeris, who had blacked out. "Aww, she's unconcious. Oh well. We can still have fun." He started to reach for her.
Leo threw himself between the thugs and Aeris once more. "Don't you dare touch her!" he snarled out, his fangs and claws bared, his eyes hard.
The thugs laughed again, and proceeded to wail on Leo for a while, several of their strikes punctuated by the snapping of bone. After a while, they attempted to turn their attentions back to Aeris, but Leo once more stood in their way, leaning on a length of pipe he'd picked up in the alley.
"Geez, you just won't stay down!" one of the thugs said, cracking his knuckles. "You've got pluck, but you ain't got no chance."
Leo stared him right in the eyes. "You come out here...seeking your fun, not caring who you hurt." He coughed up a bit of blood and spat out a tooth. "I come out here to protect her. I will kill - or die - to do this. What will you do?" With a shout of rage, he swung the pipe.
Aeris sat up groggily in her bed, groaning. Someone had kindly left black coffee and some hangover meds on her nightstand. Downing boh rather rapidly, she went to pull on her dressing gown...and noticed she was still wearing the clothes from last night. ...and they were stained with blood. As ice filled her veins, she ran out into the main room. The sight that greeted her made her gasp aloud.
Leo lay back on a hospital bed, stationed where the couch usually was (the couch was pushed back against the far wall). He was done up in close to a full body cast, the only things left mobile his face and hands. A doctor was monitoring his vitals carefully.
"LEO!" Aeris shouted, running forward. "What happened to him?" she demanded of the doctor.
THe doctor looked at her. "I take it you don't remember much of last night?" Aeris shook her head. The doctor sighed. "Well, fortunately for you and your case, the entire thing was caught on tape by the security cameras in the compound, and someone had the sense to call 911." He gestured. "A copy of the tape is in the DVD player, should you wish to review it. The case is already being processed through the courts as we speak." With that, the doctor turned to go.
Aeris, not sure she understood what was going on, played the footage. She watched, shocked, as the thugs cornered her in the alleyway, their intents obvious on the tape. She saw Leo come to her defense, taking a horrible beating to protect her. Then she saw him begin to dish out a beating in return, despite horrid injuries. She could see, when the police finally got there, that one of the thugs had a fractured jaw, one had a shattered kneecap, one a shattered elbow. All three had severe bruising on their chest, indicating broken ribs, and at least one broken limb. She stared in astonishment as Leo waved off police and EMT assistance as he lifted her over his shoulders and - leaning on the pipe - carried her back to the apartment. When the tape ended, she examined his chart.
It showed that he suffered from multiple breaks in all four limbs, 13 broken ribs, severe bruising and lacerations, and a severe concusion. Apparently, his insistence on seeing her home had exacerbated the injuries to his limbs, causing muscle damage, making it dangerous to move him at this point, which was why he was being treated here. However, it was of the doctor's professional opinion that he would eventually make a full recovery...assuming the concussion did not lead to a coma. Unfortunately, there seemed to be nothing the doctors could do one way or another about that.
Disbelieving, Aeris put the chart down. She turned back towards Leo, walking over to sit beside him. Almost absently, she began to smooth the fur on his face. "Leo...they...they told me what you did. I...I can hardly believe it. I never knew you had it in you." She shook her head. "Scratch that. I did know. This is who you always were, wasn't it?" As tears bead her eyes, she continues. "Re...remember how we first met, back in grade school, under HK47? Snake had just pushed me down in the halls, and you tricked him into the locker, then picked up my books for me. Back then, I thought you were just so cool, making it look like it was nothing." She wiped her eyes. "Back then...I thought you were my hero. It's why I always hung out with you after that. Heh, talk about the power of first impressions." She shakes her head. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is...you were my hero then, and my hero tonight. You've always been my hero..." Tears fall from her eyes. "But...I still need saving, so use a continue or something, okay? Don't...don't leave..." Closing her eyes, she leans in towards his face.
"...hey Aeris."
"Wah!" Aeris pulls back. Leo is smiling up at her, his eyes open, though the left one is a little blurry from the black eye. "Leo! You're awake!"
"Were you checking my temperature?"
"Huh?"
"When I was younger, my Mom would check my temperature by putting her forehead against mine. Is that what you were doing?"
Aeris flushed. "Yes. That's exactly what I was doing."
"Okay." Leo's eyes seemed to come into focus. "Aeris, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" He tried to move, but could only move his hands. "Huh. I seem to be imobilized. When'd that happen?"
Aeris sighed, finding herself repressing rueful laughter. "Leo, you're pretty badly injured. The doctor's had to immobilize you so you'd heal right."
"Oh. Huh." He glanced down, flexing his fingers. "So...I'm stuck in this position for...how long?"
"Until the doctors say so."
"Okay." He flexes his fingers again. "So...what am I supposed to do in the mean time?"
Sighing, Aeris placed a GC controller in his hand. "Come on," she said, booting up the Wii. "I'm gonna kick your ass in Brawl."
"Hah! You couldn't beat me if I had two broken limbs!"
"Seeing as you have four, let's find out!"
They played Brawl for a few hours - the matches came out pretty even, Leo always using Link...although he couldn't figure out why Aeris always used Zelda - and then Leo started to doze. Aeris turned off the system and put the controllers away. She smoothed back Leo's hair, smiling. "You're a real idiot, hero," she said with a smile. Leaning in, she planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. "But you're my idiot, okay?" With that, Aeris went to lay down, not noticing the goofy grin on Leo's face, or the slight hapy drooling.
Outside the window, the woman Aeris knew as Granny smiled. "That's my boy," she said proudly.
