Chapter 1: To Fix What Ails You
Tyr stretched his legs as he awoke. He felt something on his arm so he glanced over to find Sherry curled up beside him. She was sleeping peacefully. "Guess it's still too much for you to sleep alone yet, huh?" He murmured, stroking her hair. She nuzzled up closer to him. After a minute, her eyes slowly opened. She blinked a couple of times before realizing where she was.
"…Ah! Tyr, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…!" She sat up quickly, but Tyr put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"You're welcome to sleep here whenever you want, Sherry. I don't mind at all. In fact, it made me happy." He smiled. "It means you're starting to trust me."
Sherry blushed again, but didn't move. Tyr finally sat up, and suddenly was being hugged by his adoptive daughter. "You've been so great to me, Tyr," Sherry said, sniffing.
Tyr smiled and hugged her back. "Of course. Now, you want breakfast?"
"Yes please!"
They both climbed out of bed, Sherry going into her room to change. As she left, the back of her shirt slid down, revealing the twin cinnamon sticks emblazoned on the back of her shoulder blade. Cutie Marks, Tyr thought. They were supposedly the mark that residents of Equestria gained when they realized their true destiny. Wonder what I would have had, he thought to himself. Tyr threw on some jeans and headed downstairs. As he came down, he saw Sherry nose deep in a book. "Almost finished with that one?" He asked, going into the kitchen and getting some eggs. Because no one from Equestria ate meat, he had stocked up on a lot of non-meat foods. He didn't mind, however. He didn't eat a lot of meat anyway.
"Almost. I may have to go ask Ms. Twilight for another book."
"We can go together later. I find myself in need of a new book myself."
"Yay!" Sherry beamed with joy. Tyr found himself smiling as well. Sherry's appetite for reading was endearing. He quickly prepared a breakfast of toast and eggs before pouring himself a cup of coffee and Sherry a glass of apple juice. The two sat down together and enjoyed the meal. "You don't have any repairs to do today?" Sherry asked.
"Just a couple repairs. Apparently the oven at the bakery broke down during one of their rush orders, and they asked if I could come over and check it out. Plus, the boutique needs another sewing machine fixed."
Sherry's eye widened. "The bakery? Oh no, that means no sweets."
"Lord knows I know how you like your sugar." He grinned. "We'll go to the library after."
"Kay~"
"So, head on up and get dressed. I'll drop you off at Sweet Apple Acres so you don't have to sit through me working."
"Okay." Sherry made her way upstairs. Tyr followed, going into his own room to get dressed. He figured he would be fine just with his usual jacket, a long sleeved shirt, and his cargo jeans. He spied a hole in the center of one pocket. He had had the pants for a long time, and the wear was beginning to show. "Guess I'll have to get new ones…" He muttered, grabbing his backpack full of tools.
He was gathering up his tools when Sherry came out of her room. She was wearing a simple brown blouse and reddish skirt, with her hair braided. She smiled at Tyr. "Do I look okay?"
"Goodness girl, are you planning on going out on a date?"
"A d-date?" She blushed. "N-no, I'm not…"
Tyr laughed. "I'm just teasing. You look nice."
"T-thanks…"
"Come on Sherry. We should get going before the Cakes send someone to get me."
"Kay!" She grabbed a coat and headed outside. Tyr followed behind and once outside locked the door. The two of them made their way outside to where Tyr kept his motorcycle. The classic motorcycle had been a late birthday gift from his biker uncle, and Tyr had fallen in love with it immediately. He strapped his toolbox to the back and climbed on, while Sherry jumped into the sidecar. They put on a pair of helmets. With a twist of his wrist, they were off. Scenery shot past as they zoomed down the streets. Tyr loved riding his motorcycle, and Sherry did too. He had thought about getting a car, but he had never needed one. Probably wouldn't need one as long as it was just him and Sherry. It wasn't long before Candy Cane Corner came into view. The unassuming building was decorated with muffin and cake designs, and as far as Tyr knew had come over during the Merge. Having a cake shop suddenly spring up in the middle of town hadn't really bothered anybody though. He spotted Mrs. Cake, the proprietress of the store, outside adjusting a sign. She looked over and spotted him as he pulled in.
"Ah, Tyr! So good of you to come!" She said as he got off his bike. He helped Sherry out of the sidecar before addressing the woman.
"Hello Mrs. Cake. So what exactly is the problem?"
Mrs. Cake frowned and motioned them inside. "It happened yesterday. Like I said over the phone, we were doing a mass order, and… well…"
"It exploded!" A mass of pink hair suddenly appeared behind the counter. From his previous visits, Tyr quickly identified the bright and cheery embodiment of laughter as Pinkie Pie, the Cake's pseudo apprentice. Her bouncing, curly pink hair and tail were as haphazard as her actions, but the huge grin on her face was pure and infectious. "It was belching smoke like a dragon after a full meal!"
Tyr wondered how much smoke a dragon could cough up for only a moment before Pinkie switched targets. "Sherry!"
Sherry jumped at the sound of Pinkie's voice. "Um… Hi Pinkie Pie…"
Much like Sherry, Pinkie and the Cakes were all from Equestria. Sherry had been interested in making baked treats, so naturally she had spent some time with them. "Well, how are you, silly-billy?" Pinkie snatched up Sherry in a tight hug. "You seem really happy!"
"Must be Tyr's influence," Mr. Cake said, coming from the back room. He coughed a little.
Tyr smiled and scratched the back of his neck. "I do my best. I'm just glad she doesn't have as much energy as Pinkie."
"Oh dear," Mrs. Cake murmured, imagining it. "We don't want to have another incident like that, do we?"
Tyr considered asking what she meant for a moment, before deciding against it. "So, where's this oven-dragon?"
"Follow me," Mr. Cake said. "It's settled down for now, but without it we will be severely behind in our work."
"No worries," Tyr said. He grinned. "I'll slay this dragon for you."
"Wow, Tyr, you're amazing!" Pinkie exclaimed. "You're really good with stuff like this, huh?"
"I've been fixing things since I was small," Tyr admitted.
"I guess if you had been a pony in Equestria, you would've had a wrench or something as your Cutie Mark!"
"Heh, maybe." Tyr glanced around to find Sherry standing behind him, a wet towel in her hands.
"Um… here, Tyr. You've got… gunk on your hands." She said timidly.
"Thanks Sherry." He took the towel and cleaned off his hands.
"So, where are you two gonna go now?" Pinkie asked. "Huh? Huh?"
"We're headed over to the library now."
"Ooh, to see Twilight?"
"Sherry wants some more books to read," Tyr corrected. "I happen to be an avid reader as well."
"Aw…"
"Wait, why are you upset?"
"Tyr," Sherry said quietly. "Are you done?"
"Yeah, we can go."
"Oh wait!" Pinkie suddenly zipped off. She returned a moment later with a box. "Can you take this over to Twilight?"
"Is this… a cake?"
"Yeah! I promised Twilight I'd get her and Miss Johnson a cake today!" She smiled. "Since you're going over there anyway, could you take it?"
"Don't mind one bit. Sherry, you mind holding it?"
Sherry nodded and took the cake from Pinkie. "I'll take good care of it."
Tyr, Sherry, and Pinkie came out from the back. The Cakes paid Tyr, a little more than he normally asked for, but refused to let him refuse. He and Sherry left with a cake, a bag of muffins, and a pair of happy smiles. It was another few minutes of driving before they pulled up in front of Oak Library, a regal old building with tree motifs all along it. Sherry almost skipped up to the door. "Someone's excited," Tyr murmured to himself with a small laugh.
They entered, and Sherry immediately made her way over to the main desk. "Hello, Miss Twilight!" She said happily.
"Hello Sherry!" The purple haired librarian said. Her hair was a deep violet with pink highlights, and her eyes were purple as well. Tyr had always thought the librarian was attractive, slender yet womanly, but they were friends. The actual person that caught Tyr's attention was—
"Luna," He said in a bit of surprise.
The midnight haired girl looked up from her book at the sound of her name. "Tyr. I had not thought to meet you here."
"You know him, Princess… er, Luna?" Twilight said, surprised.
"We met while I was out buying a drink," Luna said. "Tyr… helped me."
"How is living in that apartment going?" Twilight asked. "I forgot to ask."
"It's… different." Luna said, closing her book. "Although Tia sends me money, I still found I needed employment."
"Tia?" Tyr asked.
"My older sister, Celestia. She's working with the Equestrian Diplomatic Effort."
Tyr thought for a moment. After joining worlds, a lot of distrust was held between the Humans and former Ponies. The leading figures of Equestria were working with the local government to… smooth out the transition. "I didn't know you lived alone," He said to Luna.
"It is… comfortable."
"I still don't think it's safe," Twilight said.
"I can handle myself," Luna said sharply. Twilight held up her hands in appeasement.
Tyr laughed softly as he set Pinkie's cake on a nearby table. "If I had known, I would have walked you home. It's dangerous for a girl to walk alone at night."
"I told you before—"
"I know, 'the night is my domain'," Tyr said. "But if something happened, no one would know."
"I… suppose that is true."
"What do you do for fun at home anyway, Luna?" Twilight asked, setting her glasses aside.
"I… read. And watch the television." Luna blushed slightly and looked down.
"I see." Twilight giggled softly. "Not very active, are you?"
"You're one to talk." A young man with spiked green hair said, entering the room. He walked alongside an older woman carrying a clipboard.
"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed. "Done organizing the back room?"
"Of course," Spike said with a grin. "Ms. Johnson helped me."
"Spike did most of it on his own," Ms. Johnson said. "I only helped with the older texts."
"And I was saying that you do exactly what Luna does," Spike said with a laugh. "You spend almost all of your time reading!"
Twilight blushed, and Luna and Tyr started laughing. "W-well, what do you do in your spare time?" Twilight demanded of Tyr.
He was momentarily taken aback. "Me? Well, besides reading, Sherry and I like to play video games together."
Luna's face picked up. "Video games? What are those?"
"I'm guessing you didn't have them in Equestria," Tyr said. "They're games we play on the TV, with controllers and consoles and stuff."
Luna's eyes sparkled. "Playing games on the television?
"And on computers if you had one."
"I would like to play one of these… video games," Luna said.
"Well, Sherry and I don't mind having another person to play with," Tyr said with a smile. "Come by around seven."
"Hey, Tyr," Sherry came over, a thick book in her arms. "If Luna is coming over, can I invite the Crusaders?"
The Cutie Mark Crusaders, or Crusaders as most people called them, were a trio of young Equestrian girls who in their world were searching for their purpose in life. It was still true, but they had added to their number, primarily Sherry. Tyr smiled. "Course. But only if their sisters agree to it."
"Yay!"
"You make a good father," Twilight said with a small laugh while she checked out Sherry's book.
"Tyr is very nice to me," Sherry said with a blush. "I lov—um, I like being with him."
Twilight patted her head. "Enjoy the books, Sherry."
Sherry smiled and nodded vigorously. "We'll be on our way. See you around, Twilight," Tyr said. "Goodbye, Luna."
"See ya!" Twilight said.
"Enjoy your day," Luna said.
Tyr led Sherry out of the library. "Twilight is really nice," Sherry said, getting into the motorcycle's sidecar. She slipped on her helmet.
"Yeah, she's got a gentle heart." Tyr agreed, getting on. After putting on his helmet, they took off.
"Do you like her?"
The question caught Tyr off guard. "And why would you ask that?"
"Just curious," She said with a giggle.
"Well, to answer your question, no, I'm not interested in Twilight like that."
"Aw."
"Aw? You sound disappointed."
"I just… want you to be happy."
Tyr felt a small pang of love for the young girl beside him. "Sherry, I… I don't have to have a girlfriend or anything to be happy. You make me happy, silly."
"I… I do?"
"Yes. And as much as I'd like to find love, having you with me makes me happy."
Sherry blushed furiously, thankful that the helmet she wore obscured her face. "Thank you," She mumbled. And just a bit quieter, added "Dad."
The rest of the ride to Sweet Apple Acres was silent. As the farm came into view, Tyr had to pause his swirling thoughts in order to fully appreciate the view. An apple orchard stretched almost as far as the eye could see, with apple trees of almost every variety lined up in organized rows. As they got closer, they could see a young blonde girl working. As he pulled up in front of the main house, she came jogging over. "Howdy Tyr. I'm guessin you dropping Sherry off?" Her southern accent was pleasant to the ear, and brought a smile to Tyr's face.
"Yo, Applejack. Yeah, I gotta go help at the boutique."
"Ah, I see. Well, get along, Sherry, the girls are waitin' on ya."
"Kay." Sherry started heading off, but stopped and turned back. "…See you later, Tyr."
"Have fun," Tyr told her. She smiled, nodded, and took off.
"She's a good kid," Applejack said. She took off her Stetson, a hat Tyr never saw her without, and wiped her forehead. She was a pretty girl, with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and a tail to match. Her cheery face had a few freckles scattered across it, and she had an easy, friendly smile. "You're bringing her up right, Tyr."
"Thanks AJ. I'll be back to get her around six." Tyr thought for a moment. "Speaking of which, do you need Applebloom this afternoon?"
"Probs not, why are ya asking?"
"Sherry wanted to have a game night with the girls. That alright with you?"
"I don't rightly mind," Applejack said. "I'm sure Sherry will tell her, so I'll just send her on her way."
"Alright, that sounds good."
"Well, don't let me keep you. Head on over to Rarity's."
"Yeah, you've got a lot of work to do too, huh?"
"No worries about me." AJ grinned. "I'm a working girl. I can handle it."
"I wouldn't put it past you. Don't work too hard!" He said as he sped away. As he drove, he felt a little lonely now that Sherry wasn't riding with him. But he'd see her much later anyways, so he perked up a bit. He pulled up in front of the boutique and shut off the engine. A sweet voice called him from above.
"Oh, my darling Tyr! My knight in shining armor!"
"Hello Rarity," Tyr said with a small smile, seeing the purple haired model leaning out of the second floor window. Her perfect marble like skin and well treated hair made her glitter in the sunlight. "You look amazing as always."
"Oh why thank you dear. But do come in, I need this sewing machine fixed as quickly as possible!"
She slipped back inside as Tyr entered the bottom floor of Rarity's boutique. He glanced up at the sign that read 'Carousel Boutique' as he came out into the showroom floor. Dresses and suits of all kinds and colors lined the walls, elegantly made and designed. Since he wasn't into dressy clothes that much, he ignored them and went upstairs. Rarity was waiting for him beside a sewing machine plaintively running its motor. "What seems to be the issue?"
"It's been making that dreadful noise every time I start it up," she complained, which due to her proper accent, sounded elegant. She was a beautiful woman, Tyr realized. Well, with that much time spent on appearance, he wasn't surprised.
"Give me a minute," Tyr said, turning the machine off. He opened the outside of the machine to get a look at the interior. He pulled out a few tools and began working.
"You really know what you're doing, don't you?" Rarity said with a bit of wonder. "My, you are good with your hands…"
"Um… Rarity?"
"Yes dear? Oh! I meant nothing by that."
"If you say so."
"On that note, do you have yourself a special someone?" Rarity asked, sitting in a nearby chair.
"Me? I'm too boring."
"I highly doubt that, darling. You are a very smart and dare I say—handsome—individual. I would believe many a girl would be after you. Human or Equestrian, for that matter."
Tyr paused in his work. He decided to throw a little teasing back her way. "And what about you Rarity? Interested in me?"
Rarity looked surprised. "I… I am not. I am not ashamed to say you are handsome, but I am not interested in you that way. I am flattered you'd consider."
"So what kind of guy are you interested in?"
"Does it have to be a man?" Rarity murmured, just softly enough for Tyr to not hear.
"What was that?"
"Oh, nothing. Is it fixed? I have quite a few orders waiting."
"Just a little bit more… there." Tyr replaced everything and turned it on. The motor purred softly. "Perfect."
"You are just a lifesaver, Tyr!" Rarity smiled widely. "Now, how much do I owe you?"
"It's no problem Rarity, I just like to help."
"That will not do! I'm the Element of Generosity, just let me pay you."
"Rarity… sigh. Fine."
"Here!" Rarity quickly wrote a check for a hundred and fifty dollars. "That should cover it."
"…Thanks, Rarity."
"Now, I know this may sound rude but, get out. I have a LOT of work to do."
Tyr simply smiled and let himself be pushed towards the stairs. "By the by, Rarity, Sherry wanted to hang out with her friends tonight. You mind if I take Sweetie Bell off your hands?"
"Not at all! She rather enjoys playing with Sherry, so that is fine with me."
"Alright, I'll get out of your hair. See you around."
Tyr was only a few steps out of the boutique when suddenly he heard a curse. "Oh, damn it!"
A short way away from the boutique's front doors was a rainbow haired young woman standing over a bike with no handlebars. Well, not exactly, as the girl was holding them. "What happened?"
"I was biking my normal route and they just came off!" She tossed the broken handles onto the ground in anger.
"I can take a look, if you like."
The girl turned at his offer, sky blue eyes fixing him with a smooth glare. "You serious?"
"Yeah, I'm a sorta repairman around town." He knelt down and picked up the handlebars. The girl brushed her short hair out of her face and moved over to get a good look at what he was doing.
"That means, you're Tyr, right?" The girl grinned. "I've heard a lot about you."
"I haven't had the same pleasure. I don't even know your name."
"Oh, that's right." She grinned. "I'm Rainbow Dash, future Equestrian Olympic Athlete!"
"Olympic, huh? You good on this thing?"
"Fastest alive! I was faster in Equestria, when I had my wings."
"You were a Pegasus then?"
"Yeah, I was… hold up. You know about Equestria?"
"I adopted an Earth Pony. Her name is Sherry Spice."
"Never met her. Anyway, got my handles fixed?"
"Yeah, but you should get some specialty racing handles. They do better under racing stress."
"Thanks bro!" Rainbow jumped up on her bike and without another word, sped away.
"She moves at her own pace," Tyr murmured to himself. "Well, best gather up some snacks or something for the girls… Ah crap, I have to tidy up before Luna gets there, and from what I know of her, she's bound to get there early…"
"Wow Sherry, your house is big!" Scootaloo cried, running into the house. The purple haired girl was one of the three Crusaders, and Sherry's friend. The other two, a redheaded girl and one with purple hair highlighted with pink, watched their energetic friend run around.
"Slow down already Scoots," the redhead snapped.
"Applebloom is quite right," The other girl said. "You can't just be running around like that."
"Whatever Sweetie Bell," Scootaloo said with a roll of her eyes.
"Come on girls, we can go into the game room," Sherry said, trying to lead the group. "It's upstairs, just follow—"
Scootaloo was already upstairs before Sherry finished speaking. "That girl," Sweetie Bell murmured.
"Don't pay her no mind," Applebloom said, putting a hand on Sherry's shoulder. For a farm girl that young, she was still almost taller than Sherry. "She's just excited, that's all."
Sherry nodded. "Well, come on. She might have found it already."
The three of them went upstairs. Tyr glanced out of the open door, seeing Applejack in her family's van. "Thanks for bringing them," He said.
"No big deal," she said smiling. "I know you can't just up and carry four girls on that bike of yours."
"Yeah, I was dreading having to try."
"Well, the girls have everything they need. Take care of them, okay?"
"Gotcha."
Applejack gave him one last wave before driving off. "Well, guess I have to be a host now, huh…"
"We have arrived, Tyr." A voice declared proudly.
"Gah!" The sudden appearance of a particular night-haired girl startled him. "Luna! When did you get here?"
"Just as Applejack delivered the girls. Are we too early?"
"No, no, I was expecting you to be early, but… wait, you keep saying 'we'."
"Oh? That is… my apologies; I was so used to using royal language back home."
Tyr stepped aside to let Luna in. She looked around the ground floor of the house with unveiled interest. "Just make yourself at home. If you want, you can go up to where the girls are."
"What are you doing down here?"
"Putting stuff away." Tyr motioned to the grocery bags sitting on the kitchen counter. "I bought some stuff earlier today."
"…Would you require any help?"
"I think I can handle it. Go on up, Sherry was looking forward to you coming."
"I understand. I will do so." With that, Luna went upstairs. Tyr felt his own gaze lingering on her as she walked, so he forcefully looked elsewhere.
"What am I doing?" He murmured. "I'm stealing glances at Luna. I'm crazy."
"Tyr, where do we keep the shooting games?" Sherry called.
"They should be in the blue CD case," He replied. A few moments later, he heard the familiar sounds of a Call of Duty game starting up. "Guess she found them."
He finished up downstairs quickly and headed upstairs. Despite his usual reserved feelings towards spending money, he had splurged a bit and built himself a sound proof gaming room. It had two TVs, in case he and Sherry wanted to play online with each other, two PS3's, and a computer on the far wall. There were also two couches and a few folds out chairs. As he entered the room, a disheartened cry came from Scootaloo. "You killed me again, Sherry!"
"You were running around out in the open," Applebloom admonished. "The first thing Sherry told us was not to do that."
"Sorry Scoots," Sherry said, giggling.
As the four Crusaders were sharing one couch, Tyr plopped himself down on the other, Luna sliding over a bit to give him room. Otherwise, the midnight girl was watching the girls play with rapt attention. Tyr glanced at the scores quickly. Sherry was quickly outclassing the others, as she knew the game pretty well. However, to his surprise, Sweetie Bell was keeping close in score. Scootaloo was at the bottom, although Applebloom was not much better off. "You caught on, Sweetie," Tyr said.
"She figured out how to snipe," Sherry said, sucking her teeth as Sweetie killed her with a headshot.
"When you spend all your time sewing and doing precise stuff, this is easy!" Sweetie said proudly.
"I'm still getting the controls," Applebloom said with a sigh.
"Sherry and Sweetie keep killing me!" Scootaloo cried.
"Just slow down," Sherry advised.
Tyr nudged Luna. "Hey. Want to play?"
"Can I?" She replied instantly. "Oh, but that would mean one of the girls would have to stop playing…"
"No, we can set up a larger game. Sherry, we need to set up everything."
"Okay!"
Before long, the two PS3's had been linked into making a six person lobby, with three people playing on each. "This is impressive," Luna murmured, looking over the controller. Sherry had given her a rundown on how the controls worked, and Luna seemed to have taken everything in.
"So, are we going to play on teams or not?" Tyr asked.
"We should!" Scootaloo said. "Four on two!"
Applebloom face palmed. "Scoots, how is that fair? Luna doesn't know how to play—"
"We accept!" Luna said proudly.
Before Tyr could say anything else, the game had started. "Well then." He began to do as he normally did, checking corners quickly as he moved through the map. Before long, he noticed someone running full tilt down the street. Without thinking, he popped off a perfect headshot.
"Ah!" Scootaloo complained. "Tyr killed me!"
"I told you not to run out in the open," Sherry sighed.
Luna sucked her teeth, falling prey to both Applebloom and Sherry. Tyr mentally marked the position she died at on his map, and dropped to a crawl facing a doorway. Sure enough, someone wandered in. For their troubles, they got several new holes in their chest. "I always forget to check the floor," Sherry sighed. Tyr popped his character up and sprinted across the short street into another house.
"I saw you!" Scootaloo said eagerly. Tyr dropped a grenade at his feet as he ran for new cover. The explosion caught the eager girl as she chased after him. "Hey. No fair!"
"Too early," Sweetie said with a frown, as a shot impacted the wall in front of Tyr.
"Luna, where are you?" Tyr asked.
"I was figuring out the map," Luna said proudly, gunning down Applebloom. "And now that I know, the fun has been doubled."
Tyr popped his character out for a split second, drawing another shot from Sweetie. Half a second, he thought, gunning forward. He made it into a better obscured spot as another shot thudded into where he had been. "Bolt-action," He said with a smile.
"Ah! Luna!" Sweetie cried, as Luna had snuck up on her and stabbed her in the back. "Where did you come from?"
"You have to be careful for stuff like that," Sherry said, just barely surviving an encounter with Tyr. She sighed as she walked into a landmine. "Tyr, you're too good at this."
"I've had this game for ages dear," He said with a laugh, rushing Applebloom and Scootaloo for another two kills.
The game continued for another hour, before Tyr glanced over and saw Sherry discreetly massage her stomach. "Hungry?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Well, I'll go make us a pizza."
"Make…? You aren't going to order one?" Sweetie Bell asked.
"No, I have all the ingredients on hand. Plus, I like to cook. "It'll be a little bit, so you guys can keep playing."
"Do you need any help?" Sherry asked.
"No, I can handle it. Have fun with your friends."
Tyr headed downstairs and into the kitchen. He quickly retrieved what he needed from the pantry, and set to work. It had been a while since he had made his own pizza, but the time spent in his uncle's pizzeria came back to him quickly. Like riding a bike, he thought with a laugh. He was smoothing out the tomato sauce onto the crust when soft footsteps alerted him to someone approaching. It was Luna.
"Needed something?" Tyr asked.
"I was interested in what making a pizza looked like." Luna took a seat at the counter.
"I had thought you'd be too interested in the game," Tyr laughed, reaching into a nearby bag for a handful of shredded cheese. "You seemed to be enjoying yourself."
"It was quite fun," Luna admitted. "But… my curiosity got the better of me."
Tyr simply nodded, content to let her have her way. He quietly continued preparing the pizza. Since he knew Sherry and the others didn't eat meat, he simply layered on extra cheese before sliding it into the oven. "That's that." He turned to find Luna watching him intently. "Um… what's up?"
"You are a strange man," She said suddenly.
"Why do you say that?"
"You are a man who willingly took in a girl you hardly know, on top of being from another world. You treat her like your own kin, and it is quite obvious you care deeply about her."
Tyr was silent for a moment. "Is it that strange?"
"Upon our arrival in this world, we were beset by many different kinds of people, some understanding, others… distrustful." Luna's face screwed up at an unpleasant memory. "At the time, I believe the only people we could truly trust were our own kind. Yet as I watch you… Young Sherry Spice seems to trust you explicitly."
"I would hope so," Tyr said with a chuckle, but Luna's gaze was still serious.
"I want to know about you, Tyr. Why are you so kind?"
"It was drilled into me by my grandfather," Tyr admitted. He fell silent for a moment before continuing. "He raised me after my parents… passed away."
Luna blinked, realizing she had touched on a sensitive subject. "I apologize Tyr, I was unaware…"
"It's fine. It's not particularly something I'm trying to keep a secret." He smiled a bit, hoping to reassure her. "This house felt empty once he was gone. So, when I heard about the… merge, I guess, I met Sherry." Tyr glanced over at the oven, checking the time. "She was alone… much like I had been. So I took her in. And I've grown… attached to her."
"Tyr…"
Tyr laughed suddenly. "Who am I kidding? That girl is as important to me as my own life. I love her. I want to keep her safe and happy. I just… want to be…"
"Dad."
Tyr and Luna froze up. Tyr's eyes glanced past Luna to see Sherry standing at the foot of the stairs. He took a long, ragged breath. "Sherry?"
"I've been wanted to call you that for a long time," Sherry admitted, rubbing at her eyes. "I um… Didn't know how you'd feel about it…"
Tyr motioned for her to come over. She did, and he immediately pulled her into a tight embrace. "You mean it? You'd be fine calling me that?"
"You're my dad now, right?" Sherry said, hugging him back. "It's only fair… right?"
"Right."
Neither noticed Luna slip back upstairs, a small smile on her face. Tyr was a gentle, and honest person, she surmised. He and Sherry would be happy together.
