Author's Note: It's been forever, and I mean FOREVER, since I posted anything, but life's just been so busy lately. I went to see the Broadway performance of Mary Poppins yesterday, and ever since I've wanted to write something with Bert. He's such a fun character. This takes place just shortly before that famous scene where Roxas tells Axel he's leaving the Organization. ("no one would miss me..." you know, that one.) And I'm so sorry if I butchered Bert's accent! I'm not good at writing accents!
The boy was likely lost, stumbling about on the rooftops as he was. Bert had thought it rather odd to see a young boy up here. Judging from how out of place he seemed on the rooftop, he wasn't there to sweep chimneys, and the chimneysweep couldn't think of another reason to be walking along other people's roofs.
Perhaps he just wanted the view, and Bert would say he didn't blame him. Standing right under the stars, seeing all the rooftops across London, was a mighty fine sight indeed. But the boy's face wasn't turned heavenward; in fact, he didn't even seem to register where he was.
So, being the curious man he was, Bert made his way towards the boy and called out a greeting. The blond jumped about a foot in the air before spinning to face him. His blue eyes widened further, if that were at all possible, as he caught sight of the soot covered man.
"What brings a boy like yerself up here with the chimneysweeps?"
The boy stared at him in confusion, eyeing the sweep in Bert's hand. "What's a 'chimneysweep'?"
"Ya don't know of chimneysweeps?" Bert exclaimed in surprise. Now, if the boy were any younger he might have suspected this, but seeing as he was well on his way to becoming a man it surprised him greatly that he had never heard of chimneysweeping. It wasn't exactly an uncommon job in London. "Why, it's a sad day indeed when a man don't know of chimneysweeps. 'What's a chimneysweep' he says. Only the most exciting job in all of London."
Glancing around, the boy finally seemed to take in where he was. "This is London, then?"
Bert eyed him carefully. He took a seat on the roof and patted the spot beside him, beckoning the boy to do the same. After a moment's hesitation, he did. "Not from around 'ere, are ya?" The boy shook his head, gazing distractedly at the ground in front of him.
He had such a lost way about him, and more so than the fact that he was unfamiliar with London. It seemed to Bert that the boy was unfamiliar with life itself. He seemed so scared, but of what, Bert couldn't be sure. They sat in silence, and Bert took the time to study the boy. It had been hard to see earlier in the dark and the smoke, but he could now clearly see the black, long coat the boy wore. It was such an odd outfit for a boy to wear, but it seemed useful, for the boy wasn't shivering in the wind like Bert was.
"Name's Bert, by the way. So, where you from, stranger, where there's no talk of chimneysweeps?"
The boy looked at him blankly. Bert waited for an answer, but it didn't come. "Far away, huh?" he asked finally, and was happy to see the boy nod. At least it was a start in conversation.
"Well, to answer yer question, lad, a chimneysweep is a mighty important business. We sweep away all the soot from inside these chimneys 'ere. And while we're at it, we get one of the best views in all of London," Bert said, motioning towards the stars above them. "Why, just look at those stars. Beautiful, ain't they?"
The boy nodded slowly, gazing up at the sky. Bert watched him, before turning to look back at the chimneys he was supposed to be sweeping. If they boy wasn't going to talk to him, he might as well get back to sweeping.
"I'm Roxas."
The chimneysweep looked back at the boy in surprise. He wasn't quite sure what to be more surprised about though. The fact that the boy willingly spoke or that he had such a strange name as 'Roxas.'
'Foreign, maybe,' Bert thought.
"Well, Roxas, what 're you doing up 'ere?"
"Thinking, I guess."
"Thinking 'bout what?"
"…"
Bert sighed. And they had been making such progress too.
"I don't know who I am," Roxas whispered suddenly. He said it in such a pitiful, broken way that Bert half expected tears to follow. But the boy didn't cry, merely continued gazing at the stars.
"Don't know who ya are?" Bert shook his head. "And why would a boy yer age be troubled with such a thing?"
"I'm a replacement."
A replacement? Now what an odd thing to say. Bert was still puzzling over the statement when Roxas continued.
"I thought…..that I knew who I was…..but I don't. I'm so confused and everything's going wrong. I don't know what to do. The Organization won't tell me who I am."
It seemed the more this boy answered, the more confused Bert got. He wasn't usually this confused unless Mary Poppins was around. But just because he didn't know what this boy's story was didn't mean he couldn't try, in his own way, to help him.
"Now, Roxas….Oi don't know who this 'Organization' of yer's is, but Oi can tell ya that ya shouldn't be waiting for them to tell ya who ya are, anyway."
Roxas looked at him, as if desperate to hear what the man had to say.
"It's not anyone else's job to tell ya who ya are. It's something that ya just have to find out for yaself."
The boy stared at him and Bert waited to hear how the boy would reply.
"You're…right. It's…..my job," Roxas said slowly, gazing at his gloved hands.
The chimneysweep smiled. "Roight." He held out his hand and Roxas stared at it confused. "It's luck if ya shake a chimneysweep's hand, ya'know."
Hesitantly, Roxas grabbed Bert's hand in his own and shook it. Bert stood. "Well then, best be getting back to my job. Hope all goes well for ya, Roxas."
Roxas nodded and for the first time, Bert saw him smile. "Thank you, Bert."
"Not a problem, kid." Bert turned away from him, bending down to pick up his sweep. A strange noise made him turn around. A strange black mist was slowly disappearing into the night and Roxas was no where to be seen.
Bert stared in surprise at the empty roof. Running a hand through his sooty hair, he sighed. "Oi thought Oi had gotten used to these kind of things after meeting Mary."