Incidentally, this story fits in right after chapter 96 of Black Sky and continues on from there, parallel to the main storyline. The next update will be on Saturday, but after that they will be more spread out as this being a shared project means writing chapters take longer.
Co-written with the wonderful Insane Scriptist!
Parenting is not a Varia Quality
Pýř had not been expecting a call from Erica Lanza, especially not on Maínomai's phone. If anything he had expected one from Maínomai to pick him up, but probably not for a few hours more. Fling or not, Maínomai's date had been a source of gossip since Christmas, mostly because Erica Lanza was once of the few Quality people that didn't belong to the Varia. Considering the state of the CEDEF and how much she did both officially and unofficially for it, the Varia were not inclined to recruit her or else the CEDEF would probably collapse soon after she left the building. She knew it too and so ran as much of the Consulenza Esterna as possible, despite the lack of official authority her position commanded; while Erica could probably leave any time she liked, she cared more about the Vongola than that. Unfortunately the political circumstances wouldn't allow her to murder her boss and take over herself, for all that it would be practical and probably work out okay. It would be different if she had a solid political reputation or known combat skills, but her position left her all but invisible to the majority of the mafia and having the Varia's approval was not the best recommendation, especially when she was unknown compared to 'the Young Lion of the Vongola.'
Iemitsu, while not completely incompetent, was almost entirely unsuited for his position. He made for an excellent field agent but his inflexible mindset, ingrained prejudices and general carelessness meant he truly should not have been made the boss of the CEDEF. There was also a subtle yet annoying aura of innate spoiled superiority around the man, mostly due to Iemitsu being Nono Vongola's favourite nephew. That kind of privileged mindset gathered those of a similar ilk towards each other and reinforced their respective idiocy. In that sense it was more of a blessing that the age difference and Iemitsu's foreign blood excluded the man from Enrico's former social circle, as that prevented him from being worse than he already was. Previously Pýř hadn't cared about the man beyond the knock-on effect he had on the quality of the intel available to the Varia, but back then Iemitsu hadn't been the boss of one of his partner's friends.
Erica's short and audibly concerned call had Pýř put aside his knitting, toss on his new coat and collect a set of keys from Housekeeping; a quick taste of the air revealed the faint flavour of Mist Flames with a distinct ringing tang that allowed Pýř to identify that Oversight had been up to his usual tricks to torment the rookies with. The tricks were nothing damaging to the vehicle or passenger, but seeing the heat gauge rise or monsters in the rear-view mirrors were two of Oversight's favourites; he had many, many more in his repertoire than that though. On almost any other day Pýř would be amused that Oversight had worked his magic on a vehicle with modified hyper-responsive steering, but not today.
Today Pýř pulled up the burning, wild and cutting edge of his Flames instead of the darker, boiling ones and, with Storm Flames in hand, Disintegrated the Mist Flames clinging to specific sections of the vehicle. The clinging tendrils of Mist fell apart instantly and the vehicle wasn't even damaged afterwards either; his control was better than that. Smirking, the Cloud started up the vehicle with smooth motions and then put the hyper-responsive steering to use by driving in a way that made use of it.
While the Varia Mansion was technically a mere fifteen kilometres from the Vongola Mansion in a straight line, by road it was a whopping thirty-five kilometres, all of it on minor roads and tracks with lots of steep ascents, descents and blind corners. Still, a Cloud driving a vehicle with hyper-responsive steering who knew the area well could make the journey in under twenty minutes regardless of local traffic, which Pýř did.
Upon arriving at the Vongola Mansion he was escorted to the Housekeeping Wing by a young man that made him more wary than set him at ease. Pýř was around Mists frequently due to Maínomai's social nature so he was very good at picking up on all of their little tricks; it was why he had learned to detect Flames like those in tricks, traps and defences beyond the conventional methods that were only useful at sensing Flames being actively used. It also meant he was very accurate in determining Flame types.
"Do you spend time around a Mist?" The Cloud inquired in Sicilian.
"A Mist? An active one? Why would I do that?" The –latent– Sun replied, glancing at him oddly. "I'm on the Cleaning staff, not Security." Clueless; was this guy being messed with?
Then the feeling faded away completely so Pýř settled for scowling and let himself be guided through the Housekeeping Wing, wondering what sort of Mist-trick that was that he sensed. A lot like Oversight's borrowing of animals to observe through their eyes was his best guess, and then wherever his train of thought might have gone next was forgotten when he was let into a sitting room where his partner was and Maínomai didn't act like the usual Maínomai. In fact, he looked like he had completely mentally checked out of his head. In the course of their partnership Pýř had seen Maínomai happy, cheerful, childish, confused, lost, angry and emotionally distant in a way that could easily be mistaken for sadness. He'd never seen this before though.
"What happened that couldn't be said over the phone?" He demanded in Sicilian, turning on Erica.
"Don't shout at Mamma!" protested a voice in the same language from around knee-level. Pýř looked down into a chubby upturned face with olive skin, large, violet eyes and an amusingly strong nose framed by messy chestnut curls. The boy clinging to Erica's leg looked about three and had potent but inactive Rain Flames with a hefty portion of Storm. Somebody was certainly going to grow up interesting…
Pýř looked back at Erica. "This is your son?" He hadn't known she had children; she certainly wasn't married and her apartment had only had one person living in it. The child was vaguely familiar though; possibly from one of the family photos?
"Yes: this is Amadeo. Amadeo, this is Pýř, a friend of a friend."
"I don't like him; he's mean," the little boy said firmly.
Pýř smirked at that childish forthrightness. "I am mean," he agreed, "but I was only mean to your Mamma because I was worried about my friend." Children were generally more worthwhile conversationalists than adults, not to mention far more honest and forthcoming in general.
"Maínomai is your friend?" Amadeo asked, glancing over that the still-catatonic Mist. "He's been like that since Mamma told him she was going to have a baby; Mamma says she surprised him."
Pýř twitched. Understatement! "You're pregnant?" He asked Erica, frowning. "Since when?"
"New Year or slightly before," Erica admitted sheepishly. "I really should have paid more attention to my body but it's too late for that now."
"You're keeping it." If she hadn't been meaning to keep it the Rain would probably have quietly terminated the pregnancy without telling his partner anything.
"I may not be a very good mother but yes, I'm keeping it," Erica sighed, moving to sit down in one of the armchairs. Pýř settled opposite her, on the sofa next to Maínomai, who didn't even twitch. "Amadeo, go find your Grandma, please?"
"Yes Mamma!" The little boy chirped, pausing to gift Pýř with another suspicious glare before trotting out of a different door to the one the Cloud had come in by.
"What I didn't get a chance to mention before Maínomai went into shock was that I have to keep it," Erica went on quietly once her son was out of the room. "My mother is Maria-Chiara Vongola."
And with Federico as the only Vongola Sky still living other than the Ninth, the Vongola line needed all the potential heirs it could get. That meant there was an outside chance of the baby being a Sky, in which case it would take the Vongola name and be in the running for Eleventh, if not Tenth. Pýř made a face.
"I know," Erica said wryly; "politics. Sorry about that; I do my best to avoid them whenever possible."
"Why you're not agitating to be head of CEDEF," Pýř concluded. She was Vongola enough to take the position if she wanted it.
"Partly; I'm also not a Sky, not a known fighter, only twenty and female," Erica pointed out with a bitter little smile. "Never mind that I had a child at sixteen and am therefore 'irresponsible'."
Pýř did not believe for a moment that Erica's son was the result of irresponsible behaviour; teenage Rains were almost pathologically incapable of being irresponsible. Deliberately disobedient or terrifyingly reckless maybe, but careless? Never. This was even truer for Mafia-raised Rains, which went a way to explaining why a larger percentage of the Rain mooks and apprentices survived to make Varia, giving the Rain Division the lowest recruitment and turnover rate within the Varia.
"Does Nono know that you're senior CEDEF secretary?"
Erica looked thoughtful. "Maybe? Iemitsu has no idea that I'm his girl-cousin's daughter, but then again I didn't see much of him as a child anyway. Grandfather knows I'm working as a secretary in the CEDEF, but he probably thinks I'm in one of the lower-level anonymous roles because if I was higher up, surely his nephew would have mentioned me by now?"
Pýř snorted. That was so funny it wasn't funny.
"Visconti probably knows exactly where I am and likely assumes Grandfather knows as well, so he's unlikely to mention it," Erica went on thoughtfully, "and nobody else really cares. My main concern right now is how to arrange maternity leave."
Pýř considered all the horrible things that might happen at the CEDEF in Erica's absence and had to agree with her; maternity leave was definitely going to be a problem. He knew her job at the CEDEF was stressful and that stress was bad for expectant mothers, but the CEDEF also needed to remain somewhat functional when she was actually absent.
"Is he going to be okay?" Erica asked, glancing worriedly at Maínomai, who still hadn't moved other than to breathe or blink.
"He will be," Pýř promised, adding in his head, even if I have to beat it into him. Erica was Quality and she was in a very difficult position, which was at least as much his partner's fault as her own. Besides, the baby was as much Maínomai's child as Erica's and as Maínomai was Pýř's partner, that meant Pýř had a claim on the child too. The Cloud got up, pulling his partner to his feet and towing him towards the door. "Take care of yourself; we'll visit."
The words, "Thank-you Pýř," drifted softly to his ears just before he closed the door behind him.
The first thing Pýř did after reaching the car and getting his partner in –Maínomai at least buckled himself in– was gain some distance from the Vongola Mansion and drive to as secluded a spot he could reach, which was rather secluded. Then he gained height, stalking his way up the path from the dirt track that served as a road. Maínomai followed sedately but sure-footed, face still a blank mask, as Pýř walked towards a seemingly abandoned building; it wasn't abandoned but Pýř knew that the owner wouldn't mind if Pýř borrowed his roof for a bit. Tesla had been the Varia who recruited him and while the man had been retired since shortly after Xanxus took over, he still kept in touch. The hunting lodge didn't get much use anyway outside of those who hunted migrant birds.
A few handsigns had Maínomai do a privacy check and Alter the rooftop for a 'safe zone', which was different from turning it into a Territory; safe zones were made to be temporary and not take a considerable amount of constant attention and focus once set up. The first step for calming a panicking Varia was isolation and the second –at least for his partner– was to prescribe height. The hunting lodge wasn't very big or tall, but it was the view that Pýř wanted height for and there really was a fantastic view from up here; a full 360 degrees too.
As much as Pýř wanted to shake his partner and demand answers he wasn't going to because that would just make Maínomai sullen and stubborn; not conductive to working through an emotional issue, which this clearly was. A family issue as well, which was worse.
Knowing all this did not make broaching the topic any easier as it was an unsaid taboo within the Varia; not that Pýř had ever had a problem breaking those. As a general rule the Varia didn't speak about their family and relatives; those that had living relatives kept silent out of safety considerations and the orphans that didn't know them or had lost their parents prior to recruitment generally didn't want to talk about their situation anyway. Add those from less than ideal family environments and the general atmosphere did not lend the Varia to be a place where people chatted about their family or even the Famiglia they belonged to, if they had even belonged to one prior to joining the Varia.
So Maínomai fathering a child changed things for him personally, but did not change the fact that Maínomai was still part of the Varia and Pýř's partner. He was also a friend, which didn't change.
"No one is going to ask you to stop being Varia." Pýř began, choosing his words more carefully than he usually did; he didn't speak Maínomai's native language, not officially. However it was impossible to be Maínomai's partner for years and not gain an understanding of more than the seven he officially knew when Maínomai spoke nearly seventy languages fluently; Pýř preferred actions to words and letting Maínomai chatter meant he could watch more closely and have a legitimate reason to ignore other people if he didn't 'know' the language they were attempting conversation in. "Nor do you have to become the primary caretaker of a newborn, as no one is asking you to do that; you were simply informed of the child's impending existence. You can be as involved or as removed as you wish. If you choose to be involved we will have to sort out details for visitation, contributions to security and education at the very least. If you choose not to be involved however it is unlikely you could continue your friendship with Erica as you would earn her relatives' ire and incidentally prove Iemitsu right about your being unsuitable."
Pýř received nothing for his unprecedented linguistic efforts but a lessening of tension in Maínomai's muscles and a twitch of his lips. Emotional defusing was a pain; he'd rather deal with a bomb. He wasn't a Rain or a therapist. Talk about a bad –no, it wasn't bad just complicated– a complicated situation. Just because all put together it made a political mess didn't mean that all their problems were not able to be simplified and resolved separately. They had certain ties that were tangled up together but nothing that couldn't be picked apart. He just had to get his partner to recognise this.
"Erica's pregnancy is unplanned for. I'm unaware if the CEDEF has an official or unofficial policy on birth control or not, but I'll assume that they do or their interns wouldn't be able to act as they did during the Christmas party. If the pregnancy had been planned for then Erica would not be busy trying to think of a way to arrange maternity leave that won't see the CEDEF collapsing in her absence. I believe that she would be a good mother to her family if the Vongola Famiglia didn't require her talents elsewhere. As I was unaware of her having previously had a child along with the fact she has her own apartment, it means it is unlikely she is able to spend as much time with her child as she wants to either. She will likely only be able to manage visits to her own children once her maternity leave is up."
Pýř could determine whether Maínomai and Erica had bothered with condoms or not later; if not then he had a partner to educate on always using them unless both he and whoever he was in bed with wanted a child. They weren't foolproof but better to have them and use them than not.
"The fact that Erica has Vongola blood is a peripheral issue that would only become relevant if her child is a Sky. Erica is a Rain, as are her mother and eldest child, so it is very unlikely that this next child will be a Sky. A number of Vongola have married into the Lanza and I can't think of any Skies being born to them since before Ottava's time. That political complication is minimal."
Probability didn't favour the birth of a Sky unless at least one parent was also a Sky, but it could happen and he'd worry about that and prepare for that possibility later. The unborn child could potentially be Vongola Decimo if it was a Sky and Federico went the way of his brothers before Vongola Nono finally passed the position of Don Vongola over. It wasn't like there was a surplus of Skies around to choose from. However Federico was still alive, so there was no need to borrow trouble for such a slim possibility.
"Even without a full-time parent the child will be taken care of, probably by his or her grandmother as their half-sibling is. Amadeo seems to be happy and well-adjusted even without his mother constantly there. Besides, I am going to be your child's godfather, so what is your problem with becoming a father?"
Well, he had tried diplomacy. If this didn't work his next stop was violence.
Maínomai looked thoughtful, if not all the way back yet, so Pýř just had to wait for a reply. When half an hour had passed in silence Pýř asked, "Do you think you'll be a bad father?"
"Yes," was the instant reply: "I know I will be a bad father. I have no idea how to be a father! I'm mostly certain I killed my own back when I was young after an argument and I was able to use my Flames for the first time because I wanted him to suffer and die if not in that exact moment and it wasn't like he was ever around when I was little either. Mom had separated from him when I was five and made sure that he wouldn't get custody in the event of her death or a medical emergency and she was even flightier than I am! So I lived with my aunt, her son and my brother from when I was eight and my uncle was never around because he was working elsewhere and then my cousin died after taking a header off a bridge and no one is certain if it was an accident or murder because Ivan made a promise to help my brother and I with something that weekend and he didn't break those and... and... Pýř what am I supposed to do?"
His partner turned teary puppy-dog eyes on Pýř, complete with wobbling lower lip. Well, it was better than blank catatonia…
"We'll figure it out." The Cloud told him. "Even having no idea how or what to do you can't do worse than my parents. I committed matricide and blackmailed my father into arranging an inheritance for my cousin because my mother was the other woman and knew it."
"Pýř?" His partner squawked in a different sort of shock. "Matricide?!"
"She hit my cousin." Pýř explained; that wasn't the whole story –not even close– but it was certainly the most relevant fact. "We'll talk to Erica tomorrow, possibly her mother too. See what they've managed to come up with concerning the CEDEF situation. Maybe talk to Kuchisake to see about rotating a few Quality people undercover through the CEDEF secretarial pool and set up some wards so CEDEF's less an embarrassment to the idea of security."
"Okay," Maínomai agreed quietly. "Can we have ice cream?"
"Yes." Ice-cream was Maínomai's comfort food, so Pýř was prepared to drive them to a gelateria despite it being winter and fairly cold. They could take the ice cream back to Varia HQ or just find another rooftop to eat it on; it depended on how well Maínomai was coping at that point.
Erica was not entirely sure what she had been expecting from Maínomai, but catatonia hadn't been it. Calling Pýř had been the obvious decision –that her former lover had let her fish in his pockets for his phone had been reassuring as it proved that he still trusted her– but after the Cloud had come and gone she was left alone with her worries and even more unanswered questions. The Rain was also left with her toddler son's questions and her mother's unspoken disapproval of her taste in men; the former Erica could deal with but the latter irritated her. Irritated her enough that when a member of staff came to tell her that she had a guest waiting for her in the gardens, Erica excused herself and left before even asking the man who the guest was.
When she did ask the footman didn't answer for a moment, then stopped, turned around and confessed he didn't actually know; he hadn't asked. That was so out of character that Erica instantly suspected Mist-involvement, which suggested another of Maínomai's colleagues had followed Pýř and wanted details. Erica therefore gently but firmly dismissed the confused footman, called up enough of her own Flames to shield her mind from tampering and collected her coat, hat, scarf and gloves from the cloakroom before venturing out into the grounds behind the Family Wing.
She'd made it five metres from the building when she felt her mood plummeting, which told her exactly who was waiting for her.
"Wanhope," she said as soon as the stocky, white-haired Mist came into view around a box hedge. The silent Varia assassin peered at her sideways for several seconds, then walked a few steps and sat down on a nearby bench set in an alcove. Erica joined him; the miserable aura he radiated was challenging, but keeping her mind Tranquil enabled her to differentiate between her own emotions and the Mist-imposed ones, meaning she could work past Wanhope's aura so long as she remained focused. He wasn't wearing a coat, just his uniform, but he didn't seem to be feeling the cold at all; maybe he didn't? Mists could certainly ignore all kinds of things if they put their minds and Flames to it…
"You followed Pýř?" She asked.
Wanhope shook his head, then tapped his temple; the universal gesture for indicating a person who was a bit touched in the head.
"You were following Maínomai?" Erica wasn't sure what Wanhope's specialty was but if he could keep track of specific individuals' thoughts from nearly fifteen kilometres away then he was scarily gifted.
Wanhope ducked his head, eyes dropping to his feet as his shoulders slumped even further than usual. Erica carefully reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's okay, I forgive you for eavesdropping," she said gently. He'd probably sensed his colleague's distress and listened in so as to determine its source; he didn't seem the type to spy just so he could blackmail people with the information.
Wanhope stole a sideways glance at her face, looked down again, bit his lip then slowly reached out and wrapped a large, square hand around her gloved fingers and squeezed gently for a moment.
"Thank-you; that's very kind of you," Erica said, feeling a little subdued. It really was very kind of him to comfort her; so far he was the only person concerned for her feelings on the subject at all.
Wanhope shifted on the bench, then slid sideways until Erica's shoulder was touching his upper arm and her knee was resting against his thigh. He didn't look at her, but his solid presence was oddly comforting despite the abject despair he was radiating. Erica let her head rest against the silent Mist's shoulder and sighed, relaxing a little. She was safe and she didn't have to put on a front; Wanhope wouldn't be offended by her tumultuous emotions and wouldn't let anybody harm her. She could work through her feelings about Maínomai's reaction and the baby in peace.
The next morning Pýř got up early and made sure he had all the necessary bits and pieces for a long, complicated talk with the mother of Maínomai's future child. He also went into his partner's room to grab a few different things; Maínomai was still asleep –although stress had probably meant he slept badly– but Pýř knew which piece of knitting his partner was currently working on, where he kept his stationary and what weapon was most suited to this situation.
Taking weapons to a discussion about sharing child-rearing responsibilities may have sounded extreme, but it was a comfort and security issue: being armed made assassins more comfortable. Leaving his partner to sleep a little longer Pýř went to breakfast.
Breakfast was interrupted by Wanhope. The perpetually depressing Mist entered the small breakfast room two minutes after Pýř had sat down, collected a coffee and sat opposite the Cloud.
"Morning," Pýř said shortly in German. He honestly had no idea which languages Wanhope understood beyond Italian and German; the Mist had to understand at least seven, but beyond that nobody really knew what he knew due to him being mute by choice.
Wanhope nodded. It was a very deliberate nod. Pýř felt a shiver run down his spine as his instincts abruptly screamed at him but it was too late: he'd lost control of his body. His hands were still holding his breakfast and his mouth was still chewing and swallowing, but that wasn't him.
The white-haired Mist's aura shifted slightly, from pure despair to faintly irritated misery. Wanhope then put down his coffee cup and started signing, using the Varia-specific handsign dialect rather than any of the official ones.
Mainomai was being stupid. If the stupid progressed into Stupid, Wanhope would take steps. Rain-associate required support for medical reasons. Pýř was Squad Leader, but Wanhope would be providing backup as necessary.
The Mist then finished his coffee and left the room; Pýř regained control of his body fifteen seconds later and broke out in a cold sweat. Then he gulped down his own coffee and headed back upstairs; Maínomai needed to know about this. So did Fuseau, but that could wait.
Waking Maínomai when he slept poorly was a chore and a half, which thankfully proved unnecessary when Pýř realised his partner was actually already awake and vaguely irritated as he looked as if he had just stepped out of the shower, damp hair and all; he'd probably woken up when Pýř had left or had already been awake and had given up on sleep as a way to refresh himself so had resorted to slapping cold water on his face. He was at least dressed though and looked in need of a good six hours more sleep or failing that, caffeine; tea maybe? Hot chocolate would be easier to find outside of Headquarters though, especially if they were going to meet Erica...
It was a sign of how focused on his partner he had been yesterday that he had not yet called Erica to inform her about how Maínomai was coping, which needed to be corrected; plus there were things that needed to be discussed now that Maínomai was in a state to do so.
"Phone?" Pýř prompted, which his partner produced and handed over.
Scrolling through Maínomai's list of contacts, he found Erica's number and memorised it before calling it. She answered on the third ring, "Maínomai?"
"It's Pýř, and Maínomai's better. Do you want to talk to him?"
"Yes," She said and if she said anything after that Pýř didn't hear it as he passed the phone back to its owner.
"Hi! Sorry about spacing out like that on you yesterday, I was just, yeah shocked. Very unexpected and I'm still trying to deal with it. I mean what should I do, how involved should I be and I have some other things to talk about later or in a bit? We could meet up and Pýř's claimed godfather or at least uncle privileges and he's my partner so work issues to figure out beyond yours but less dire. Hey! What do you mean by that! Of course I work; we just have irregular hours and stop laughing at me. So when and where? Really? Alright, see you within the hour then."
Pýř waited for the verdict as he closed his own phone with Erica's number now programmed into it; he hadn't had it before as he hadn't had a reason to. Now however the situation was very different.
"Erica's taking a sick day, so we'll meet her and possibly her mother back where we were yesterday to discuss things. I didn't ask about that but well it's the Housekeeping Wing and her mother basically is Housekeeping... I probably need to be somewhat serious and ugh, I'm going to have to Placebo my ADHD medicine." Maínomai ended that complaint with a distinctive whine, pulling a face as he did so.
Pýř smiled at his partner's whining as it proved his mood was much improved; the Mist didn't mind the medicine –it worked, even when it was a Mist-trick version done to himself– so much as the side-effects. It effectively killed Maínomai's appetite for twelve hours, shot his heart-rate up at least 30 more bpms so intense physical activity could become dangerous when sustained for too long. It also made him twitchy, a little more impatient and irritable but did absolutely nothing for his kleptomania; in fact it probably made the kleptomania worse, because when Maínomai was irritated his fingers got stickier.
"Half-dose after you eat something?" The Cloud confirmed, because hopefully what they would be talking about wouldn't require the full dose; the medicine was a stimulant and the crash afterwards was part of the reason his partner wasn't on it full time.
"Yeah, I wanna be able to eat lunch after all and avoid as much of the energy crash later as I can. So food's important, and then we get to talk things out. You all ready?"
"Almost. I'll meet you in the car." Pýř said, handing the Mist his weapons and gathering the knitting and stationary.
Maínomai hadn't realised that Wanhope was that fond of Erica until his friend told him about what Wanhope had told him at breakfast on the drive over. Wanhope had told Pýř all that while Puppeting the Cloud, which his partner hadn't appreciated all that much. They'd have to talk to Fuseau later since Wanhope had decided to make a proper mission of things and Fuseau was Wanhope's partner and therefore automatically involved. Since Fuseau and Mab were dating and Mab approved of Erica as a person, the retired Mist Squad Leader might involve herself as well… the petite, fiery Mist would make a good godmother though. Maybe he could suggest it?
As it happened the situation was pretty much mission-level complicated and thinking of it that way helped him corral the lines of thought that would lead him to a proper panic attack if left unchecked. So pretending it was an on-site re-negotiation of the mission's contract helped, although it wasn't that exactly and it wasn't quite providing mission support to a fellow Varia in the field either. It did however mean he could focus on that sort of organised thinking about what he could and would do, plus what he could not and would not along with why or how. Having weapons on him helped for all that he was a Mist and technically didn't need a weapon other than his mind; the weight was comforting.
So while he was still panicking a little at the thought of impending fatherhood, he could function. And like Pýř said, they'd figure it out. Soon enough they were at the Housekeeping Wing and had been escorted to Erica.
Now that he wasn't worried or completely panicked, Maínomai could see that it was a very nice room. A decently high ceiling plastered with raised curlicues and painted with pale pink panels and gold accents, silk wallpaper in a slightly darker shade of pink on the walls and large windows looking out across the gardens around the Manor. The carpet was also pink –a very dark pink indeed– and the furniture was dark, polished wood with upholstery that matched the wallpaper. However most of what was in the room was space: it was easily as large as Erica's entire apartment and all it had in was a coffee table, two side-tables, three chairs and a three-person sofa, leaving the entire half of the room between the coffee table and the window empty. Well, technically empty: that bit of floor was strewn with duplo blocks and there was a sprawling train set of the same toy line looping around the loose bricks and more obvious constructions. There were a number of other abandoned children's toys as well: plastic My Little Ponies, about a dozen Smurf figurines and a variety of action figures. The child responsible for the mess was however not in evidence: Erica was the only person in the room and she was sat at the far end of the sofa.
First off, Erica looked like she needed a hug so Maínomai didn't hesitate to do just that or apologise properly for his reaction to the news while hugging her; she really was huggable. "I really am sorry to have reacted like I did yesterday. It's no excuse but I'm still trying to process and figure everything out..."
"He's high-strung. You have to be gentle breaking news like that to him," his partner cut in, speaking Sicilian. "Or else he panics and the Housekeeping Wing is not a place to panic when you don't live there. It is even less a place to panic considering where we work, the prejudices inherent to that and his Flame type. It would have caused a scene, but most certainly a much larger mess and brought even greater scrutiny."
Maínomai pouted at Pýř, and with great restraint he refrained from making a face and sticking his tongue out at the Cloud. His friend was being very diplomatic.
"That, would have most certainly been a mess." Erica admitted, as Pýř's point hit home to Maínomai as well. It really would have made all the people and politics they were avoiding notice and cause a high-level scandal which then would have meant they couldn't do hardly anything without some sort of supervision by politically interested parties. It would make manoeuvring people into positions to cover for Erica's absence almost impossible, if Erica agreed to that anyway.
"So, I'm not sure how good I'll be at the whole fatherhood part, but as a friend I'll support you as much as possible. I swear it."
"Thank you, Maínomai," she said, before asking, "Why don't you think you'll be a good father?"
"I'm flighty, whimsical and some days I can't even take care of myself." He began. "There are a number of reasons beyond that like not knowing how to be one. I don't remember mine too well, and that was even before my parents ever separated when I was four or five. After that I didn't see too much of him. Maybe a couple visits a year? He didn't even attend my mother's funeral. She died when I was eight."
"Oh, I didn't even think to ask if you were part of a Famiglia! Are you?"
Maínomai couldn't help it, he laughed. Pýř joined in, chuckling more quietly.
"It's an important question." She protested.
"No, it's funny, really," Maínomai told her as he tried not to laugh again. He could understand why she thought that and if he had belonged to a Famiglia they would have had some additional complications of the political sort through Blood or Loyalty Claims. It was still hilariously off track though.
Pýř explained. "Maínomai has told me that the CEDEF recruits heavily from the mafia academies for low-level secretaries, field agents and analysts. Not just for their individual talents but also their connections and innate understanding of the mafia. The Vongola mostly does the same with exceptions made here and there for talented individuals. However the Varia's main standard for recruitment is Quality and the Varia doesn't care where that Quality is found, hence why the Varia can recruit from all over the world without issue."
"What Pýř isn't saying is about half of the Varia start out from a civilian background. There're also the few mafia born prodigies who join the Varia because they're that good at killing. Then the rest are born into various criminal backgrounds and reach a high enough level of Quality to be recruited or accepted when they apply. As Varia, our first Loyalty is to the Varia. There are no Blood Claim issues as Pýř and I were previously civilian."
"And civilian covers a wide range since we're talking about what legal background they were born to, not their profession. Former military, runaways, street-rats, bar bouncers, clerks, teachers and Royalty even," Pýř added, giving Erica a better idea of what they meant. "Most 'civilians' recruited have killed before, often when inadvertently accessing their Flames for the first time or later on due to complications. Some however are recruited just because they can use Flames and leaving them as they are is unwise. I'm the former."
"I'm the latter, although the risk was minimal 'cause I'm not an idiot and I had figured out how to use my Flames by the time I was eleven but I've learned quite a bit since joining," Maínomai admitted. "But that's not what we're here for. So either I or Pýř will try to be there for you as much as possible now that I've got a bit more adjusted to the idea."
"First," Pýř began, "is sorting out your maternity leave if you haven't found someone to cover for you during that time. We've talked about possibly rotating a few Varia through –the specifics to be determined later– as the ones we've got in mind should be able to do your job with a little training, at least for some time. Even if you have found someone, then they or we can do something to improve security and do some training for those that are Flame-active in the field teams. My partner would cover the costs for that."
Maínomai mourned the soon-to-be-emptied state of his poor account, although he could cash in on favours people owed him for some of it. If he spun it right to a few people he might even get their assistance for free, although why might be left out and if they happened to draw a wage while doing that, it was the CEDEF's money, they were doing the work so they earned it. Double-dipping like that was a good deal if a person could get it.
"We'd have to talk to Lal Mirch about that and get her approval for it," the pregnant Rain informed them, "but it's a very good idea."
"Thought so." Maínomai sighed, mentally bidding a farewell to solvency. "And well, anyone we rotate through has to know how to do the job and be able to tolerate Iemitsu. There are also ways to fool Iemitsu without him realising it that we're going to have to use. Otherwise he's going to be claiming that the Varia's moving against him or something. It will take a leetle bit of work when he's out of the office; we do it right and he won't even notice you're gone and his secretary has been replaced for most of the year at least even if we sneak a different Flame-type in."
Erica sighed and sat down again, prompting Maínomai to settle next to her so he could snuggle a bit and Pýř to sit in one of the chairs opposite the sofa. "Pýř, you can sense the Flames of those around you, right?" she asked.
"Of course," the Cloud said flatly, offended that she even had to ask.
"Right, sorry; how do I feel? To a cursory scan, I mean?" she asked.
Curious as to why she was even asking, Maínomai reached out with his Flames and made the superficial check he generally carried out shortly before performing a major Alteration in public; it was best not to do that kind of thing if there were near-Active people present or individuals with unusually large Flame reserves, as they tended to get caught up and make a mess.
Maínomai knew that Erica was a reasonably strong Classic Rain, but she didn't feel like one. That was unusual.
"You feel like a civilian," Pýř said bluntly, eyeing her curiously; "a weak civilian."
"I think that is why Iemitsu never bothers to remember me," Erica said, her tone indicating a degree of frustration as she pushed her fringe back from her eyes. "He's a strong Sky if rather lacking in finesse and is likely aware of the Flame type and intensity of everyone around him. Because he can feel people like that, he likely uses it to identify and keep track of people. However since CEDEF has a large turnover of low-level people, he probably also uses that sensing ability to judge those who come into range and subconsciously dismisses the ones who don't feel 'strong'. He certainly orders the field teams according to Flame Activity and strength, which suggests that the reason he can't ever remember my name or face is that my Flames just don't register to him."
"That's a rather major blind-spot," Maínomai couldn't help pointing out. "You're a very strong Rain, just a very subtle and Tranquil one. If you're right, which I think you are, he probably wouldn't even notice you killing him until it was too late." He probably wouldn't notice Glace doing it either; Glace was another subtle Rain.
"It is, but as we're intending to take advantage of it I'd prefer it if it didn't get pointed out just yet," Erica said a little sharply. "My point is that Iemitsu never notices me enough to remember what I look like, so as long as my replacement can hide their Flames from a cursory superficial scan and doesn't pick a fight, Iemitsu probably won't notice I've been replaced anyway. As senior secretary and de-facto deputy director of human resources I have free reign to choose anyone I like to replace me while on maternity leave, so as long as I warn Lal Mirch that I've hired a few Varia nobody will say anything about it. My replacements will even get paid accordingly; being Iemitsu's secretary is the worst job in the building so nobody is going to complain so long as the paperwork gets signed promptly and filed appropriately."
"That's… kind of pathetic," Maínomai mumbled, his already low opinion of Iemitsu Sawada plummeting further.
"Helpful though," Pýř pointed out.
Maternity issues settled for the time being, Maínomai then told Erica the next issue: he and Pýř had to go on working and while the Varia generally ran on irregular hours, their particular specialty was a bit unusual.
"Next is figuring out mine and Pýř's work. Usually we work as 'campaigners' so we spend up to three months away at a time on a string of missions, up to and including missions off-continent, so we're going to have to cut that down to be less than a month in the last months of the pregnancy and after the baby's born. Mammon may not be happy about that, especially during the busy season; September is one of our busiest times, world-round. As I'm fluent in far more than the minimal seven language requirement, Pýř and I get pulled in on a number of missions that require someone able to speak the language. Depending on the importance and urgency of that mission and where, we may get advanced notice of anywhere between ten minutes and a month in advance. In all but the most urgent matters we should be able to make the check-ups and... medical. Shit medical issues."
"Maínomai?" Erica asked.
"Family histories. For things like allergies or inherited conditions and..." Maínomai took a deep breath and continued the explanation. "I don't know what my mom died from, if I was ever told it I don't remember it and it could be important. Whatever it was, it was quick and I assume it was either fatal from the prognosis, something the doctors knew couldn't be fixed, or that the medicine or whatever wasn't there due to Austerity because the local priests were always there in the week before she passed on and wouldn't let me into the room those last few days. I'll have to find out."
Pýř swore a short curse in German, and wrote a note on the paper he had brought with him. "Blood-type incompatibility?" He asked in the same language.
"Blood type issues?" Maínomai translated automatically into Italian. "For whom?"
"I think Pýř means for me, in case the baby has a different blood type than I do as that can cause complications. Mine's A-positive."
"A-negative," Maínomai replied, "so no issues there. Good. Um, let's see what else. Education but that'll differ based on who the baby takes after in Flames and won't matter for a few years after the birth anyway. Visitation to here isn't that much of an issue, getting my own place will work as a screen for curious colleagues but I'd need to set up security there before moving in, even if I'm only there part-time. Reminds me that I need to see about the security for here, if that needs to be checked, added to, updated if necessary which we're going to have to speak with your mother for and I need to make a good impression there so I'd like to scout what's here; I mean the defences here are likely very formidable, but how many are working and what do they do? Who has control of them? How effective are they and everything. Plus if and when you're allowed to leave here or if I need to bring your plants from your apartment over here."
Erica giggled at him, her head leaning into his shoulder. She felt happy, which was good and helped him calm down a bit. She wasn't worried so he didn't need to worry either, as she'd done the parent-thing before and could help him even if she was a mother and not a father. Most parenting was pretty interchangeable, right? After all, the child's needs didn't change...
Pýř let his partner ramble about various concerns, making notes at various points. They'd have to get a complete medical history, but Pýř suspected that may be harder than advertised. It would be better to do so in person, if only for information control which would mean leaving soon in order to retrieve it, so travel would have to be arranged to and from Romania; maybe through Bulgaria or Hungary? Hungary would be easier if they were sticking to land travel, but Bulgaria's capital was closer if they caught a flight. Former Yugoslavia wasn't really an option, as it was still something of a warzone in places. Something to find out and Maínomai was native to Romania and still had living family there he was on good terms with, so a visit after 'family news' wouldn't be out of the ordinary and would explain any recent abnormal behaviour.
But yes, having a place of their own away from Headquarters would be nice for later. Shopping for alternate accommodations generally wasn't done unless someone was going to retire and not join Housekeeping; close-knit squads and work partners generally retired together and stayed together afterwards. They knew how to work together, everyone's skills, habits and quirks so from a security perspective it was far better than living alone. Some place nearby would be best; it could even require some fixing, as that would be the best excuse to tear it apart to install wall-plating, bulletproof glass-windows and other security features. There was quite a lot of reasonably empty hillside between and around the Vongola and Varia Estates, so he and Maínomai were spoilt for choice. They'd have to keep an eye out for other retired Varia though.
"Mamma? Grandma wants to see you."
Pýř registered the change in Erica's body language as her son appeared, and then again as the message was delivered. Mother-daughter relations were a bit tense. Maria-Chiara likely deeply disapproved of her daughter's life choices, even if she loved Amadeo, who was still in the room and had flopped down to play with his toys.
"Does she know I have guests, treasure?" Erica asked her son. Maínomai really needed to get to know the boy and hopefully move past his rather awful first impression. Amadeo was going to be the baby's older sibling after all.
"I don't know; shall I tell her?" Amadeo asked in return, turning to look at his mother with a Smurf in each hand.
"That's a good idea, darling; would you?" Erica said with a smile.
"I'm going, Mamma." Amadeo dashed off, again through the back door of the room. It was curious really how the room had three doors, only one of which could possibly lead into the hall. Where did the other two go?
"Why does us being here change things?" Pýř asked.
Erica smile, eyes dropping to her lap. "That's a Vongola secret," she said demurely.
Maínomai perked up. "Ooh, tell us!" he demanded, wrapping an arm around Erica's shoulders and trying to get her to look him in the eye. Pýř watched the playful tussling in amusement; if it had been a really secret secret Erica wouldn't have mentioned it at all.
By the time Amadeo got back Maínomai had chased Erica off the sofa with threats of tickling and was pursuing her around the chairs, laughing cheerfully as Erica giggled right back.
"Mamma, Grandma says that they've got to promise not to tell!" The toddler said, running into his mother's legs and hugging them.
"Well, gentlemen?" Erica said, glancing from Maínomai to Pýř and back again. "Can you keep a secret?"
The two assassins exchanged glances. Pýř decided to ask for clarification.
"Secret from whom?"
"You can tell Xanxus; he already knows anyway," Erica clarified. "Nobody else though, not under any circumstances ever."
Boss was the only person they couldn't legitimately keep secrets from anyway, so Pýř could deal with that.
"We both promise to keep this Vongola secret from everyone except our Boss," Pýř agreed, Maínomai chiming in to promise with him:
"We won't so much as think a word of it to anybody!"
"Can I show them, Mamma?" Amadeo demanded, pulling on his mother's trousers. "Please Mamma?"
"Go for it, baby boy," Erica said with a smile. Amadeo whooped and dashed around his mother's legs to grab onto Maínomai's hand and drag him off towards the door he'd just come in by.
"Come on! Grandma wants to talk to you!"
Maínomai shot a mildly panicked look back over his shoulder at Pýř, so the Cloud obligingly set off after his partner, Erica falling in beside him.
"So, where are we going?" He asked quietly.
"What shape is the Vongola Mansion and what functions do the various Wings have?" Erica asked in turn as they walked past a bathroom and through what was probably Amadeo's bedroom into a narrow back hallway.
Pýř frowned. He could tell this was a trick question but couldn't work out how or why. "The Iron Fort is shaped like the cursive letter 'h'," he said. "The main building serves as the horizontal; the long vertical is made up of the Guest Wing in front and the Service Wing behind, with the Housekeeping Wing making up the short vertical opposite the Service Wing."
"Officially, yes," Erica agreed as they descended a curving servant's staircase, slipped along another back passage past a number of people in servants' uniforms and out into a wide basement with alcoves full of crates, barrels and bottle racks but empty of people. "Actually what most people believe to be the Housekeeping Wing is the Vongola Family Wing; there aren't many people living in it these days, what with the bloodline being so diminished. I have a very well-appointed suite there simply because I am one of only three people within a generation of the Vongola line still alive. There are two great-aunts, Ottava's younger sisters, but they share a suite at the other end of the Wing and their living children are fully integrated into other Families. Most of the other rooms on the upper floors are empty; the ground floor sees more usage as there are reception rooms, training rooms and other public spaces there."
"So where is Housekeeping?" Pýř asked as they hurried up another set of stairs and into what he recognised as being the Guard Room tacked on the exposed left-hand corner of the main building.
"Here," Erica said simply, leading him through what had looked like a bricked-up archway.
Pýř stared around at the long hallway that had opened up in front of him, windows along the right-hand wall giving a clear view of the Guest Wing opposite and the wide open sward in between where the Christmas snowball fights were traditionally held. "This is a Territory," he said flatly.
"Yes; Housekeeping has six resident Mists who are responsible for it, although Great-Grandma's Nebbia helps out too," Erica told him as they continued along the hall after Amadeo and Maínomai. "Most of those living here are Flame-latent and untrained in combat, so security is higher than in the rest of the building."
Don Vongola and his heir could look after themselves, as could their Guardians, guests came with their own bodyguards and the civilian staff that lived away from the mansion were only allowed in the low-risk areas. This Wing on the other hand housed the people who dealt with confidential matters and kept the entire Famiglia running smoothly, along with their various dependents; no wonder it was as fiercely protected as any Varia member's private rooms.
"Could you move in here?" This was the kind of security he had been hoping to arrange.
"I could," Erica conceded, "but I'd much rather just have the security on my suite increased. There are a lot of people living here already so there aren't many rooms to spare."
With a bit of Mist-assistance it would probably be possible to ensure that Erica's suite was only accessible from the Housekeeping Wing despite it being in a different building altogether, so Pýř just nodded and tried to keep track of where they were going. It was not easy; they'd already turned five corners and the view out of the nearest window was not very helpful. Clearly the building had been made deliberately mazelike as a further defence against intruders.
Amadeo eventually dragged Maínomai into a large office with plain cream walls, a tiled floor and an entire wall taken up by bookshelves and filing cabinets. There was a desk in the corner with a computer but nobody was sitting at it; instead Maria-Chiara Vongola was standing in the middle of the room, talking to two butlers, a housekeeper, eight maids and three footmen in rapid Sicilian while gesturing at the flip-chart she was standing beside. Pýř determined quickly that preparations for the Valentine's Day Masquerade Ball were already in full swing and was glad the Varia didn't host that kind of thing. It had to be a security nightmare.
Madam Vongola then clapped her hands and the staff streamed out of the room past the four of them, leaving Maínomai facing the Head of Housekeeping with Amadeo still clinging onto his hand. If it hadn't been for the toddler Pýř knew his partner would have tried to retreat slightly, so he moved forwards until he was standing at Maínomai's shoulder. The Mist's shoulders relaxed slightly with his approach, then further as Erica came up on Maínomai's other side.
"Mother, these are Maínomai and Pýř," Erica said, reaching down to catch her son's free hand. "Amadeo said you wanted to meet them."
"I intended to meet the father of your child yesterday," Maria-Chiara Vongla said dryly, "but that proved impossible so I was hoping that today might work out."
Madam Vongola was a rather scary Rain. A Classical Rain like her daughter, her Flames had a weight to them that Pýř found to be similar to the pressure that might be found at the bottom of a glacial lake. There was a distinct sense that she could very easily crush you, were she so inclined.
Erica's mother was another person the Varia recognised as having Quality; even Bel was slightly intimidated by her and Lussuria was not inclined to get in her way if he could avoid it.
"A pleasure to meet you Madam," Pýř said politely, gently kicking his partner in the calf.
"Yeah, um, it's really nice to meet you," Maínomai agreed with a small smile. "I'm sorry about yesterday; Erica kinda ambushed me and I panicked."
"Hn." Madam Vongola did not sound impressed, but she wasn't attempting murder either. Yet.
"My partner and I will be doing all we can to support your daughter in the coming months, Madam Vongola," Pýř said firmly, taking over since his partner was clearly not anywhere near the top of his game. "Could you arrange for us to meet Lal Mirch in the Iron Fort so that a proper discussion on appropriate defences, maternity leave and other necessary arrangements can be had?"
The stony-faced blonde lady softened slightly. "That sounds very sensible, Pýř. I will see to it; would the day after tomorrow be too soon? Around mid-afternoon?"
"That would be perfect, Madam," Pýř said with a polite nod. "Thank-you for your forbearance."
"You are very welcome. Erica, why couldn't you have picked the sensible one rather than the pretty one?"
"Mother!" Erica wailed, flushing pink even as Maínomai looked like he'd been slapped around the face with a fish. "Stop it!"
"I call it as I see it, dear," Madam Vongola said, utterly unrepentant.
"I happen to like the pretty one, mother," Erica replied tartly, recovering admirably quickly. "He's amusing and sweet, both of which I need more of in my life."
"I suppose I should be grateful you're not marrying him," the older woman mused, shaking her head. "Really, dear, your taste in men… oh well, nothing to be done about that now. Off you go. Shoo!"
"Can I play in the gardens, Mamma?" Amadeo asked as Erica hustled the four of them out of the office and towards a different staircase to the one they'd come up.
"If Pýř or Maínomai agrees to go with you, yes: I need to call work and have some paperwork sent over," Erica told the toddler.
"Will you be staying in Housekeeping?" Pýř asked.
Erica eyed him. "I could do," she conceded.
"Then we will both accompany your son," Pýř said firmly. Maínomai needed to bond with the boy and he personally intended to see what he could coax out of the three-year-old about the situation.
"Thank-you Pýř, that's very kind of you. Amadeo, remember to put on your coat, hat and winter boots; you can't go outside in slippers."
Pýř watched his partner and Amadeo play around in the gardens until the sun started to slip past high noon, at which point he reminded them that Amadeo would likely want lunch, checking his watch to confirm it was indeed getting towards one o'clock. Maínomai had been a bit hesitant about playing with Amadeo, but he had let the energetic toddler choose the games and had fun once he had lost his nervousness. Pýř had even joined in a couple of rounds of hide and seek. Just doing that kind of thing with Erica's firstborn had really eased a lot of his partner's worries concerning his ability to interact with children, which was good to see. So after a nice lunch with Erica and her son, the two of them pleaded having 'responsible adult things' to do, so they couldn't play more, or so they told Amadeo. Pýř had just waited for his partner and Erica to say goodbye to each-other while he told Amadeo to be good for his mother. Amadeo had just asked if Mainomai would be coming back, which Pýř readily promised on his partner's behalf.
On the drive back they took their time and went the long way around along the back roads and tracks between farms, because somewhere between the Varia and the Vongola was likely going to be their new place of permanent residence in a few years; probably somewhere up in the mountains because as much as Maínomai disliked the cold, he had always liked height. Pýř liked the isolation as picking out who belonged and who didn't would be easier and they'd still be close to a main road. Pýř was more of a generalist within the Varia so being able to have clear sight lines on whoever approached was something he preferred. They'd either have to speak to a realtor or have Housekeeping purchase a property they had scouted beforehand on their behalf. Probably the latter would be better, as Varia Housekeeping were more likely to know who had already settled where and enable them to avoid any eccentric or overly nosey neighbours.
"We're going to have to speak to Mab as well, if just to find an eventual residence to remodel." Pýř told Maínomai on the way back. "Kuchisake too."
"Oh, for Fuseau and Wanhope, plus Kuchisake has official pull should we be allowed to rotate a squad through the CEDEF right?"
Pýř nodded as he drove on. "Yes, and they may even wish to attend, so the meeting will have to be set up in the Vongola Wing which is less secure and we will need to inform Maria-Chiara promptly should they decide to attend."
"Do you even have her number?"
"No, hence needing to talk to Mab. Fuseau first, as Wanhope is his partner, so you get to find Mab in the meantime."
Finding Fuseau was easy as his 'schedule' was both well-known and deliberately regular so other people didn't have to interact with Wanhope or his aura; he was at Wanhope's tower. With any other Varia having such a regular schedule would be a liability, but Wanhope being a Puppeteer meant that anybody attempting to take advantage would be noticed, co-opted and forced to commit suicide. That had actually happened a few times shortly after Wanhope joined up, after which everybody had wisely decided that attempting to assassinate Wanhope or Fuseau was Stupid. The regular schedule therefore continued.
Due to the aura of despair that Wanhope projected everywhere around him, Wanhope wasn't housed anywhere near anyone else's rooms. In fact, the official function of the ground floor of Wanhope's tower and the three floors above that were as receiving rooms for clients that the Varia didn't like or wanted to be uncomfortable that made requests to the Varia in person; Wanhope's aura had ingrained itself in the stone, which put itself severely at odds with the wonderful view out the windows and how comfortably the rooms were furnished. It unnerved clients very well, as they didn't know why they were feeling so off-balance. The otherwise empty floor below Wanhope's rooms was where Pýř found Fuseau, so Pýř was in range for the worst of it.
Pýř knocked twice for politeness' sake, identified himself and was allowed entrance. He hadn't expected Fuseau to have turned the room below his partner's into a spinning and weaving room. There was an honest to god full sized weaving loom in there. Pýř didn't want to know if Fuseau dyed what he spun himself, but there were no dying buckets, bins or however that happened in sight. Maybe that happened in one of the other rooms on this floor then.
"You're not my usual guest, I'll have ya know." Fuseau stated in drawling Russian as he gestured towards a place to sit with one of his spindly hands.
Pýř was unwilling to get drawn into the usual Mist-double-speak today, so decided that to speak plainly was best. "Wanhope decided to take initiative and join Maínomai and me in supporting an associate of ours. She's due in September."
"Ah, Erica then?" The Mist asked after a moment of thought.
Pýř nodded.
"Then I have no problems 'bout that. Happy ta help since you'll likely need it. I'll assume you're going ta talk with Kuchisake then and have her adjust your mission schedules?"
"And with Mab." Pýř added.
"To appoint her as godmother or for information ta acquire a residence nearby for your eventual retirement?" Fuseau questioned, arching a brow. "Either or, when you see her and are done, send the Faerie Queen my way. We've got plans."
Pýř heard the innuendo loud and clear, so he closed the door and tried to banish the image of the tall, manipulative Mist and the tiny but fierce –if retired– Mist together.
Finding Mab was harder as she did not keep a regular 'schedule' for all that she had 'retired' to Housekeeping. Even so, some habits didn't change and Monday afternoons had consistently been spent with Kuchisake for at least the last few years unless one of them was on a mission; not that it made wherever they were at any easier to find, as that did change. Chances were that his partner had already explained the situation as it stood to his superior and the other woman they both trusted; unlike Ottabio, Pýř actually trusted both Mists despite the widespread assumption that Mists were naturally deceptive and just waiting to betray others. A lot of that was prejudice and just how those in the mafia were raised, but the idea had been around nearly as long as the Vongola and there were a number of people that believed it, Mists included, throughout the Mafia.
The Varia was the Varia however so ideas like that... they frequently were proven wrong or proven to be a product of mafia culture such as it was. Even so, some of the Varia had played on various stereotypes and ideas like that and reaped the benefits. Pýř had certainly done so, as being a Cloud had its advantages like being able to intimidate a mook into telling him where Kuchisake was last seen with nothing more than a glare and mentioning the Mist Squad Leader's name; thankfully close-by in what was known as the 'costume room', although it had originally mostly contained spare uniforms and appropriate clothing of various sizes in case someone didn't have heavy winter gear and had a mission to somewhere where it was required. Now it also held a selection of disguises, make-up kits for undercover work and bolts of fabric for those Varia who wanted to personally alter their uniforms.
Entering the room and following the chatter across the spaces between the high shelves Pýř could tell Maínomai was with them both, although it took him a moment to realize that Mab was helping Kuchisake assemble a dress. Mostly because it took a moment for him to recognize that it was Kuchisake who was wearing said garment; she didn't look like she had waltzed out of someone's nightmare for once, which was a description that had only gotten more popular since she had gotten those stitches instead of being merely very creepy.
The only problem was that Mab seemed to be lecturing Maínomai on something and Kuchisake was chiming in on it and Pýř didn't know the language; didn't even recognise it as something he'd heard before. That was more of an occupational hazard than not around high-level Mists, who using Mist Flames could copy and paste languages into their minds and thus learn enough to be fluent in less than a month. It didn't always mean the knowledge would reliably stick for more than a few weeks, but that's what practice was for.
Still, Mab looked like more of a pixie than a faerie queen with a short, curly bob of orange hair, freckles and clearly Mist-constructed dragonfly-like wings holding her a distance above the ground, which was the only reason she was able to get up high enough to pull his partner closer to her level by his hair. Pýř wasn't certain she was more than 150cm tall and she might actually be shorter than that.
"Mab." He said, gaining her attention.
"Ah, Pýř," Mab said, switching to Danish. "This fool here was telling us about how careful and responsible he's been, despite it having been a fling. Well, other than the Christmas party and the 3rd of January which deserves far more than this!" And with that the pixie flew up higher and put her knuckles to Maínomai's head and rubbed. Hard, judging by the squirming. "The only reason he's not getting worse is I'm the babe's godmother."
Maínomai whimpered, but didn't try to retreat behind Pýř until Mab waved him off. She was done with him, for now.
Mab bobbed in the air, flicking her wings as she continued, "So don't worry your silly little heads off. Something like this woulda happened eventually, although most of us have the sense not to get entangled up in politics like fools, but love no matter how brief makes fools of us all eventually. The Irish know that better than anyone after all. Now then, because you're the sensible one Pýř, I'll tell you that I'll call over and arrange it so that both Kuchisake and I will attend on Wednesday as well. As for where you're looking at, you're in luck that I've already looked in that area for my own reasons. Now which side are you looking at because your neighbours will differ?"
"The backroads from Santa Cristina Gela to Marineo instead of off the Strada Provinciale 5; preferably off of that road too, up to and including on the mountains. Nothing fancy, as we won't be full-time residents for some time, which will give us time to renovate as we wish."
"See, the sensible one. Now for neighbours, if you'd gone off of Strada Provinciale 5 and onto 103 then you'd be close to one of those loonies from Marvel Squad. He retired almost a decade ago and hasn't gotten any saner since. Since you're on the back roads 'tween towns, there's a bit of open land used for farming and whatnot. You won't have a former Varia neighbour until either Santa Cristina Gela or Marineo but you'll have Talbot and his sheep if you settle about halfway across. Most retirees either go back to their native country, their Famiglia or settle further away. Generally not somewhere halfway between here and the Vongola."
"The ring-smith?" Pýř asked, mostly for confirmation.
"You know any other Talbot? He's got that apprentice too, the one that went and humiliated Vongola Nono's Guardians before Massimo's drowning eclipsed that round of gossip. All accounts have him as a strong Lightning, smart enough for the ring-smith to have taken him on with plenty of self-confidence and devotion to his Lady. I'd like to see if I could get a meeting with Seer to scrape up some self-confidence for Doninha and Kayc, but passing on the message that the Varia's willing to hire any of his Lady's associates that are well trained and willing to kill will have to do."
And if that wasn't an implied order then Pýř didn't know what was.
"Best to let Maínomai do that." Kuchisake sighed and did a twirl to show off the dress. "He's got better social skills, although I've heard you've been very diplomatic lately, Pýř." She dragged out her last phrase in a breathy voice, and she was too close.
When had Kuchisake gotten so close? Sensing his discomfort, she leaned in ever closer before dancing out of his reach when he moved to defend his personal space. His attempt was met with laughter; the creepy send-chills-up-the-spine laughter that was pitched just right to sound on the wrong side of sanity.
"I promise that I'll behave, like a good girl." Kuchisake purred that promise like a sex kitten before she turned on her heel and switched back into being a professional. The change in body language wasn't as jarring as it had been when Pýř had first witnessed it; he had gotten used to it, although it was still startling to witness the change. "I'll even look nice, since any sensible woman knows better than to think pretty means stupid."
Pýř decided it was best to not intrude on their time together further, so he relayed Fuseau's message to Mab and exited the room with his partner. Maínomai was clearly more confident about this now.
"Finally adjusting?"
"Yeah, Mab set my head straight, threatened to render me impotent and congratulated me while interrogating me about precautions because if I hadn't taken any at all she'd Curse me with more than impotence for sheer idiocy."
"That all?"
"Just the summary." Maínomai said with a smile. "I took out the impolite words and phrases. Kuchisake told her that she needed to get practice in not cursing if she's going to be around a child so that'll be fun to watch."
Pýř laughed and then something resembling understanding fell into place. Well, if Mab got her way then Maínomai's child would have a not-much-younger playmate.