A/N:
30/1/15: Rewritten because copy #1 made my eyes bleed. Guys, how the hell did you manage to read it without wanting to be sick?
The storyline of this chapter just diverged sharply from what was originally there. My imagination ran away with me, and like an obedient pet author, I followed. If anyone misses the original (and I highly doubt they did, but if you do) feel free to PM me or leave a review and I'll put it up.
Hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I don't own the story, or the characters, because if I did, this would be part of a book and not just fanfic, correct?
Anniversary
It's not a good day.
It's not a good day, and Eden's already bad eyesight keeps getting made worse by tears itching in his eyes, and he can't pay attention in class because there is something tearing his lungs apart in his chest.
A teacher calls on him for an answer and Eden's mind comes up blank; he takes a look at the board and guesses an answer that's way off - for one thing, the answer was supposed to be in words, and definitely not the string of numerical code he just spat out. Eden sits back down, flushing, glaring at his fists.
He should have listened to Daniel and stayed home today.
After class he gets cornered by a bunch of bullies, big-sized boys with shoulders twice the width of Eden's own skinny frame and ugly sneers on their faces. And they call him blind, call him a stupid little geeky kid who doesn't know anything but numbers and tech-
-and Eden flushes, grits his teeth and balls up his fists and glares at the ground, furious, raging, swallowing down his hundred-and-twenty-six retorts until one of the bullies says: "That famous brother of his is pretty worthless, huh? Bet all the stories are exaggerated - I mean, he couldn't even keep his own little brother safe. Look, the kid's blind and probably deaf, too-"
And the boy can't get anything else out because Eden has felt something inside him snap, busting open like a grenade splintering into fragments, and there's suddenly skin ripping beneath his nails and a nose cracking beneath his fist and points are being rapidly deducted from the edges of his vision and Eden doesn't care.
Daniel is all he has left.
They don't get to judge Eden's big brother. They don't get to judge the only family Eden has left.
Eden has lain on a table while scientists discussed his big brother's death above his head. He has learnt of his mother's death from a cold-eyed guard and he has cried tears mixed with blood from eyes that could no longer see and no one to hold him close, because as far as he knew everybody he'd ever loved was dead.
And Daniel came back. Daniel was alive when the rest of his family wasn't, Daniel ran back for him as the rest of the world exploded into fire and war. Daniel picked Eden off the street and carried him to safety. Daniel saved the Republic, Daniel stopped a war, and Daniel would do absolutely anything for his family, and no one gets to badmouth him while Eden is around.
Eden has lost too much to stand around doing nothing while people insult his family.
And then teachers are pulling Eden off, and Eden's eyesight is blurry because his glasses fell off in the commotion. He doesn't care, his bloody lips are pulled back in a snarl and he's being forcibly restrained by three teachers, and the all boys are doubled over, choking on cries. One of them has a broken nose and another has been kicked so hard in the untouchables that Eden hopes he doesn't ever manage to have children, and the third one has a black eye that Eden can see even without his glasses.
Eden really enjoys his new life in Antarctica, where everything is a game, but he has to admit, the constant loss of points every time he throws a punch is really annoying, and he is very glad that he lost his glasses because seeing little numbers being subtracted at the edge of his vision was seriously frustrating him. At least in the Lake sector people were able to fight without seeing little numbers going down.
It takes all three teachers to haul Eden into the office. Once there, Eden glares at the floor, picking blood and skin from beneath his nails, and it's only when the secretary picks up the phone and says "Daniel Wing? Yes, there's been some trouble with Eden, we'll need you to be here," that Eden starts to feel the prickle of guilt in his gut.
It's not a good day. Daniel shouldn't have been called.
It's not five minutes later that Eden looks up and sees Daniel standing outside the window.
His first thought is: this is the sixth floor.
His next thought is: shit, Daniel looks worried.
Eden tries for a smile, big and bright, and he watches Daniel's shoulders relax. His big brother smiles back, blond hair blowing into blue eyes, and points at the secretary.
Watch this.
Eden grins, real this time, and sits up straighter as Daniel begins tapping on the window.
Just a single tap, at first, and when the secretary doesn't look up he taps twice. The secretary glances up, twisting around in her chair to look out the window. By then, Daniel's ducked away from the window so that he's not visible, so the secretary shrugs and goes back to her work.
Daniel pops his head back into the windowframe, grinning, and Eden swallows down a laugh.
His big brother taps his fingers in a rhythm on the glass - tatatatata-tata. The secretary looks at Eden and Eden shrugs. Behind the woman's back, Daniel holds one finger to his lips.
Hush.
The secretary frowns and pushes her chair back, striding across the office to open the door and sticking her head out. She pulls her head back in, still frowning, turns around-
-and jumps back with a scream, a hand reaching up to cover her mouth. Daniel grins, waving, and motions at the window; after a few moments of clutching her chest, eyes dilated with horror and fear, the woman hurries over to the window and lets him in. He scrambles through the window, lean and lithe, and Eden bits his split lip so that he doesn't fall out of his chair laughing.
"Daniel Altan Wing?" The secretary asks, voice shaky but still managing to pull off disapproval. Daniel flashes her a grin, brighter than all the school's florescent lights put together.
"That's me."
"I would appreciate if you would enter by more traditional means."
"Where's the fun in that? Anyway, I wanted to be here as soon as possible, you made it sound like my presence was of utmost importance, cousin." His old Lake sector slang slips into his words; deliberate, because Eden knows that Daniel happens to be a master of disguise - nothing slips past his lips without him wanting it to - and because Eden knows that mischievous sideways twist of his big brother's grin.
Daniel has always, always loved spiting authority. And he's tried to reign it in, tamper it down to raise Eden right, but he can't stop it any more than Eden can stop thinking of things to build. It's a part of him, after years of living with less than enough, after all that he's been wronged, and he can't just swallow it down.
"It is still not appropriate," the secretary says. Daniel shrugs.
"I didn't lose any game points over it, so what's the problem, cousin?"
Her face twists in annoyance for a moment, then she frowns and clears her throat. "Well. We are sorry to have bothered you, but it is necessary that we discuss Eden's inappropriate behaviour."
"Oh?" Daniel looks genuinely curious. "What did he do?"
"He got into a brawl with three upperclassmen and caused considerable disruption."
"What did the upperclassmen do?" Eden is encouraged by the fact that Daniel immediately blames the other side.
"They ganged up on me and insulted you."
"Ganged up on you?" asks Daniel. Eden nods. It's not the main reason, but it's true, and anyway the main reason is none of the secretary's business.
"Then they deserved it." Daniel turns to the secretary. "So what's the problem, cousin?"
"We do not encourage students to settle arguments by fighting, and we would prefer that they find a more peaceful solution to things," the woman says, icy and crisp. Her eyes could cut diamond, Eden thinks.
Daniel shrugs.
"I'll talk to him later." The secretary smiles a brittle smile and nods, thanking Daniel for his trouble, and Daniel inclines his head towards her before turning away. Eden jumps out of his chair and scampers after him, happy to escape the office.
As they walk home, Daniel speaks up. "So, what happened to the rest of the boys?"
"They had to go to the nurse." Eden replies, and Daniel laughs, asking about how his baby brother turned so fierce. Eden just smiles, feral, and Daniel ruffles his hair.
"So what was the real reason you went after them?" Daniel asks casually, and Eden jerks his head up, shocked.
Daniel just laughs.
"You don't go after people without good reason. What did they do?" Eden hesitates, because this is true, but he supposes that he was a little too hasty in attacking them.
"They insulted you." Daniel raises his eyebrow.
"That's all?"
"They said that you were useless, and that the stories were exaggerated, and I hope the jerk I kicked never ever has children because he's such a bastard he'd raise them badly-"
"Language, Eden. And where did you kick him?"
"He was a jerk," Eden insists, glaring at the ground and kicking a stone. "And castration was invented for a reason."
Daniel laughs, ruffling Eden's messy hair. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."
Eden scowls at the ground. "You're not useless," he says fiercely.
"Glad you think so," Daniel says, taking it lightly because he's always taken himself lightly, and Eden smacks him on the shoulder so hard Daniel yelps.
"You should think so too," Eden says, and runs off before his big brother can catch him.
-x-
They're earlier home than they expected.
"Guess what," Daniel says, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Eden here got his first suspension today. Can't tell you how goddy proud I am."
Eden shoves Daniel's shoulder. "Daniel! Don't tell her all the bad stuff!"
"Yeah, he's growing up just like me. Big and strong and fierce, yeah?"
"Get real," Eden throws in, before Daniel gets a swollen head, and Daniel smiles sideways at him.
"He's growing cheeky. I should beat that out of him-" Eden whacks his brother, hard.
"I'll beat you!"
"Hey!" Eden sticks his tongue out at Daniel. Daniel rolls his eyes. "Lucy's keeping us fed, you'd love her meat pies. His eyes are getting better, too. Maybe I'll sign him up for archery - he could be goddy Hawkeye, yeah?"
"Daniel!"
"Alright, yeah, he's good. Aced all his classes, they're thinking of promoting him early. He's a goddy genius, is what he is."
"And Daniel's been so boring," Eden puts in, because stupid Daniel doesn't talk much about himself. "He just runs buildings, every single day since he was able. But he's not dying anymore, so I guess that's good-"
"You guess?!"
"-and he tries to help me with my homework - do you know he can assemble eighteen different kinds of bombs?"
"Thirty," Daniel puts in. "Eighteen without materials on the black market."
"He's also a big fat showoff."
"Aww, baby brother, don't worry, I'll teach you." Daniel grins, swings out an arm like a drunk man.
"So we're good," Eden says, and smiles big and wide. "We're both fine. I'm looking after Daniel, and Daniel's looking after me, and Lucy's helping."
"Yeah." Daniel's voice is low and his smile is soft. "We're great. So don't worry."
"We miss you," Eden says, and his voice is choking up, and no, no, no he was doing so well-
Daniel wraps his outstretched arm around Eden, gentle and strong. Eden's vision is blurry with tears.
"Take care, mum."
The one picture they have left of mum, faded and soiled with brown at the edges, smiles back at them. Her eyes are piercing even through the paper and glass.
And Eden buries his face in Daniel's chest, face hot and damp with tears, as his world shatters apart.