Recap:
Unlike mamma, papà was till awake, but all his focus was on the two standing next to the couch. Papà was staring at them in resigned silence. Wren put that aside for now and went to work sawing at the ropes binding his papà.
Wren seemed to go through the rest of the day in a haze. He'd called for an ambulance, and went with his parents to the hospital. Jaeger and Bermuda said they'd be back when he was ready to talk, and he'd just nodded along. The police came by and questioned him. They'd stopped when he'd answered their first question with Vindice. As he was instructed. Occasionally nurses came by and tried to talk with him, seeing him as a normal toddler who saw their parents bruised and bloody.
He'd just wanted to shout at everyone who talked down to him.
Wren sat in a chair by his parent's bedside. He'd accepted the tray of food given to him by one of the saccharine nurses. He knew the importance of eating even though you didn't want to, but he just couldn't bring himself to eat.
His parents had ended up between himself and the mafia. Only in trouble because of him. Wren stared blankly at the pasta on the tray.
Mama and papà hadn't woken up yet.
It took three days for mama and papà to wake up. Another for them to stay awake for any amount of time.
Mamma was the first to start talking. The only one to start. Papà's throat was slashed by the mafia, and would never recover. Wren tried not to blame himself any more than he already did. Mamma and papà wouldn't want him to tear his self apart because of something outside of his control.
So he dutifully ate his food. Slept the eight required hours. Occasionally took Risma's hand and went home to change and take a shower.
"Renata, I think it's time to answer some questions." Mamma waited six days since the mafia incident to bring it up. The last two days had been filled with idle conversation, avoiding any mention of what had happened.
As relieved as he'd been by this, the anticipation and the suspense was killing him. He sat up a little straighter and looked both mamma and papà in the eyes.
"Why. Why were they torturing us, asking about you?" Papà turned to mamma with pity in his eyes. Wren suspected papà was involved with the mafia at one point. And got out relatively stringless. Wren ignored that theory for now. It was the time for answers.
"They are the Mafia. And they were after me because I have something special in me." Wren paused, getting ready to explain something he didn't even fully understand.
"But first, you have to understand one thing. We all have flames inside us, Dying Will flames. They are awakened when you are in an impossible situation, on the brink of death with no escape." Mamma clenched her hands and Wren forced himself to focus.
"There are seven, normal flame types. Storm, Sky, Sun, Lightning, Rain, Mist, and Cloud. They all have different supernatural properties and colors. I got lucky and managed to get the eighth, most unusual flame type. Because of it's rarity, the mafia want me." Wren made eye contact with papà. Wren recoiled when he saw the horror in his eyes.
"What is it, Renata?" Mamma didn't seem to grasp the situation, it was like she was playing along with him. Like he was making this up, and she was pretending to take him seriously. But it seemed that mamma was asking the questions papà wanted to.
"The night flame. According to Bermuda and Jaeger, it's main ability is to create rips in space. Allowing one to teleport, temporarily defy the laws of time, and create pocket dimensions. A highly desirable, flame to own. Whether it is yours or not." Wren avoided mamma's eyes. She would just look at him with those shallow eyes.
If he wasn't sure before, he was now. Something broke in mamma the day the mafia tortured her in their living room.
Papà nudged mamma, and pointed towards Wren. Mamma took a minute until she understood.
"Are you alright, Renata? They didn't hurt you?" Wren shook his head. His worst injury was a single scratch on his shin.
"They didn't hurt me." Wren hugged his middle.
Once mamma and papà fell asleep, he trudged to the nearest nurse station. He caught the attention of a nurse who wasn't doing anything.
"Excuse me miss, but where is the nearest general store?" The nurse hesitated before telling him. Only seeing his age, but she must've assumed he was getting the info for a parent.
"Thank you miss." He waved and smiled cutely at the nurse. He wasn't old enough for a lot, but he fully utilized his innocent smile to his advantage. Take what you have and weaponize it. He would have to now that he's stepped in the mafia world. No matter how unwillingly.
Before Wren left the hospital, he counted his money in the lobby. Risma had given him pocket change so he could get drinks and snacks outside of the water fountain and the restricted meal times. He counted seventeen euros. He pocketed his money and walked out the doors into the cold night.
He was counting on the Vindice to protect him from any altercations that may come. He didn't care how presumptuous that sounded, he was going to the store, and if anything happened they would protect him.
Wren stalked to the store. He glared at the workers in the store when they tried to ask where his parents were. They backed of for now. He walked up and down the aisles looking for stationary.
He found it on the third aisle, and grabbed the cheapest notepad and pen set he could find. He threw it on the counter and glared at the cashier until he rung it up.
The walk back to the hospital was brisk and quiet.
Mamma was asleep when he gave papà the notepad.
"Papà, here." Papà took the butterfly decorated notepad with an almost reverent look. Wren looked away and gave his papà some privacy. Papà probably hadn't even considered writing things until now. He didn't even have a way to ask for one that wasn't charades.
His arms were too cut up to mime earlier. But now they were healed enough so he could now pick up a pen.
The scratching of the pen drew his focus back to his papà. Wren climbed onto his bed and waited.
How did you get night flames? Wren cringed at the question. Right off the bat.
"I guess you already know the requirements?" Papà nodded. "I was hoping to wait a bit longer. No time like the present." Papà squinted at him.
Wren sucked in a deep breath and explained. Everything. Papà didn't stop him once, but he seemed to believe everything he said.
So, do you want to change your name? Renata is pretty feminine. Wren huffed a laugh at that. He should've know Papà would just accept it. Papà loved him from the very moment he was born. He was always telling him about the first time he held him, and how he grabbed papà's finger and didn't let go. Papà fell in love with him then and there.
"No, but I always liked the nickname Wren." Papà held his arms open, and Wren took the opportunity presented to him. He snuggled up to his papà and fell asleep.
It didn't take long for word to reach Estraneo and Vongola of a Night flame user. A young, impressionable one.
Feelers were sent out.
A/N: heck yeah! happy trans day of visibility! almost missed my self appointed update schedule bc of tumblr.
this story is very fly by the seat of my pants, so if there's something you want to see, leave a comment below and i'll see what i can do. mostly because this is a test of patience for me, usually i post a fic and update once a year, so yeah. this is unusual, feedback def helps too.
things are ramping up behind the scenes, and wren has come out to his dad. daddo man accepted him and now mom is up next.
the only negative reactions (if any) to wren being trans will come from the uber evil guys (ex: estraneo, human traffickers) but nothing detailed or more than a passing mention. i'm not out to make anybody uncomfortable.
