All
Aboard
by Maiji/Mary Huang
It was futile.
"Please, Dias," she said. "You're the only one strong enough."
"No."
"C'mon, Dias," he chimed in. "I can't do it by myself. I'm not that tall."
"No."
"It would make him so happy."
"Yeah, it would mean the world to him."
He groaned inwardly. They were going to win, most likely. That was the problem – well, one of several problems, actually – with coming back to the village for a visit. One Claude he could reason with, one Rena he could stall, but the two of them together, at the same time, with the same goal …
"That's ridiculous," he finally said.
"I know he wanted to come live here," Claude continued, blithely ignoring his comment, "but it's taking him time to adjust. Arlia is totally different from Lacour, you know, and he's still trying to find his place."
"He went through so much," Rena added, the sincerity in her voice almost overwhelming. "Even though it's over, it's hard to forget. This would really help take his mind off all those things. You can understand that."
He eyed the two of them, warily and wearily. "We could just pick up a book or whatever for him when we stop by Mars or Linga."
"Dias," they snapped at the exact same time, with – he swore – identical intonations and expressions.
It was, as he should have known, futile.
"We're not going to be back for a while," Claude said.
Rena pulled out her trump card. "What kind of a big brother are you?"
Dias crumbled under the combined assault. "Fine," he answered gruffly. "Hurry up before I change my mind."
They both beamed at him, and he blinked at the combined brightness. "Thank you, Dias," they chorused, but he had a feeling it was only a token gesture. They certainly seemed sure enough of their victory from the onset, undeterred by any of his rejections. He hadn't stood a chance.
Rena scrambled to stack the crates on top of each other, and Claude clambered up. Dias sighed and walked over, turning his back to them.
"Don't move," Claude warned, placing his hands on the older man's shoulders.
He rolled his eyes. "Do I have any choice?"
"Not really." The youth swung one leg over, then the other. Dias quickly grabbed Claude's knees with both hands to hold him in place, and stepped forward, staggering slightly as he got used to the weight.
"Wh-whoa!" Claude exclaimed, trying to find his balance.
"What in Tria's name are you doing?" Dias demanded.
"Eh?" The other man paused, then let go of the fistfuls of hair. "Oh, uh, haha, sorry. It's kind of like being on a horse."
"I'll tell you what it's 'kind of like'," he growled. "This is all your fault."
"I know, I know," Claude replied. "I told the stories, I'll take the blame. You can kill me later."
Rena clapped at them. "Stop squabbling and come on!"
It was still early morning as they proceeded on the familiar trail to her house, Claude perched somewhat precariously on Dias' shoulders. Rena skipped alongside, humming merrily, her arms swinging in wide circles.
"I feel a little silly," Claude admitted.
"Perhaps you should have thought of that earlier," Dias responded, his expression wry.
Rena giggled. "I think you both look positively dashing." As they arrived at their destination, she halted suddenly. "Oh-"
Dias craned his head to look up at the second floor of the small building. The shutters were closed.
"The sounds of the forest must still be bothering him," Rena said quietly.
Claude's hands released their hold around Dias' head. "Now what?" he wondered.
"You two didn't sort this out before you dragged me into this?" Dias asked, annoyed.
"Not particularly," Claude replied, nonchalant. "It was pretty much a last minute thing. Should I call him?"
"No," the older man hissed, uncharacteristically distressed at the thought of anyone seeing him like this. Particularly not the other little brats. "Just rap on the window and get him out quickly, and we'll do one lap around the house."
"One lap? That's it?"
"That's it."
"Aw, Dias … one lap is nothing."
"One. Lap."
He felt Claude shift his weight, looking around for something, and automatically trying to bend over before remembering that he was about six feet off the ground. "Er, Rena, hand me that rock over there, will you?"
"This one?" She bent down and picked up some small pebble, pressing it into Claude's outstretched hand. He turned back and threw the stone at the closed window. It bounced off with a light tap.
They waited. Nothing happened.
"Try again," said Rena, handing him another rock.
"Thanks," he said, and tossed it again.
After a moment, there was a scuffling sound, followed by the creak of wooden shutters opening. Dias twisted his head again, trying to see without dislodging his passenger.
Leon stared down at them in silence.
After a few seconds, he closed his mouth, blinked and rubbed at his eyes, feline ears flicking back and forth with the motion. Then he squinted, and looked at them again.
"Beep beep," he heard Claude say. "Star cruiser Calnus entering the docking bay."
Leon's eyes widened. "Big Brother Claude?"
"Want to go for a ride?" Claude asked.
"Wha …" The cat ears twitched once, twice. He looked dubious. "… Are you sure?"
"It's a lot of fun!" Rena called encouragingly.
"Don't worry," Claude reassured him. "Just grab my hand and climb on my back. Can you get closer to the window, Dias?"
Without a word, the other man turned and moved so that they were directly below Leon. He was merely grateful Claude hadn't subconconsciously continued to use riding commands and kick his legs against Dias' chest to indicate direction. After a bit more coaxing, he felt the younger man leaned slightly to the side, shifting his weight again. There was a yelp, and Dias grunted as the burden on his shoulders increased.
As soon as he was certain they were settled back in, he began to make his round.
"How exactly is this supposed to be fun?" he heard Leon demand.
"It might help," Rena suggested gently, "if you took your hands away from your eyes."
"Your suggestion makes no sense. I don't see how my removing my hands has anything to do with the purported experience of entertainment."
"What?" Claude exclaimed. "Leon, are you covering your eyes?"
"... Of course not."
"Put them down!"
"B-but-"
"You're the captain of the ship! You want us to crash into an asteroid or something? How are we supposed to navigate without your input?"
How were they indeed, Dias thought dryly.
There was a sharp gasp, and Rena clasped her hands to her chest. "Look how high you are!" She applauded with great enthusiasm, and Dias wished she wouldn't do it quite so loudly. "Isn't it fun?"
"I-it's h-high-"
"Much better," Claude said, satisfied. "Okay, Leon, I'm going to lift you up just a little bit, alright?"
The child fidgeted, balking. "I-I don't know …"
"Don't worry, the Calnus is equipped with all the latest catboy-catching technology and is totally safe. I guarantee it."
The door to the house opened, and an aproned woman stepped out. "What's going on-" Westa began, stopping the second she saw them. "Oh my goodness," she exclaimed, placing her hand on her chest.
"Good morning, Mother," Rena greeted her. "We're just taking Leon out for a walk around the village. That's alright, isn't it?"
Westa stared at them in much the same way Leon had been doing earlier. The child in question, meanwhile, was now waving and squealing with delight, Claude hoisting him up and down every so often while making appropriate star cruiser sound effects - so Dias assumed, having never heard one for himself.
Westa blinked. "No, I suppose not … but … do be careful!"
"Higher higher!" Leon cried, beating his arms up and down. Dias frowned; all of the movements caused Claude to constantly adjust his position, and he in turn had to adapt to keep them all upright.
At least they were almost finished the lap, he thought, as they rounded the corner with Rena spotting alongside, Westa following a close distance behind.
And there, to Dias' utter horror, were the children of the village.
"Was this part of your plan?" he demanded.
"No," Claude responded, sounding confused. Rena stared at the two of them blankly.
"Big Brother Dias!"
"Big Brother Claude!"
"Big Sister Rena!"
They swarmed the warriors on sight, tugging at his shirt and the fabric of his pants, and – for the few that could reach them – Claude's shoes as well. He further noticed, with even greater dismay, that practically all of them were there, including Bossman's son and daughter. He hadn't even realized they were able to get up this early.
"It's Leon!"
"What are you all doing?"
"Leon's on a pony ride!"
"Horsie!"
"Pony ride! Pony ride!"
"Big Brother Dias, Big Brother Claude, I want a pony ride too!"
"I'm not a goddamned pony," Dias wanted to snarl, but because Rena was standing right next to him, he settled for grinding his teeth. He could hear Claude trying to stifle his laughter from above him.
"It's not a pony," the younger man answered. "It's a spaceship."
Something remarkably resembling a hush fell over the small crowd. The children exchanged befuddled glances.
"Space … ship?"
"Claude," said a little boy, raising his hand. Dias recognized him only as one of the refugees from Clik. "What's a speship?"
"Space-ship," Claude corrected. "It's a ship that sails in space, Ketil. You know, like the ones in Clik, only flying in the sky."
"Oh, Claude," Westa laughed. "You have such a good imagination."
Claude chuckled. "Not really."
"I want a spaceship ride!" Lucia exclaimed. The cry was instantly taken up by all of the children.
"Spaceship ride!"
"Me two!"
"Me three!"
"I want a spaceship ride!"
"Hold it!" Leon shouted from over his head. Dias had a vague flashback of the pint-sized scientist hollaring commands at soldiers and sailors at the Front Lines and the port of Hilton. "I'm the captain of the ship!"
"Awww," the group grumbled, clearly displeased.
"Leon …" Rena started.
"And I say, if you want to ride, we're going to take turns!"
The crowd around his feet broke into enthusiastic whoops and cheers. Dias glanced frantically at Rena, who, after a moment's hesitation, smiled and shrugged helplessly. Her expression was contrite. She stood on tiptoes and leaned close, cupping a hand over her mouth.
"I'm sorry, Dias," she murmured. "He's being so generous; he's going to make so many friends. I don't want to stop him."
"Uh-oh," said Claude.
--
His shoulders and back were sore as hell and his legs felt like the jiggly slime cuisine they'd been subject to on Nede; not even Rena had been able to do much for them. But he found smug satisfaction knowing that Claude was suffering likewise, even to some degree.
"Mayor Regis will walk me home, so you don't have to move," Rena said brightly.
"That's great," replied Claude. "Because we can't."
"Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough," Dias muttered. "I don't know how much longer I can take this."
"What, those kids?" Claude teased from the opposite bed. "Worse than monsters?"
"Much worse."
"Wise Men?"
"Can't even compare."
"Leon said it was the happiest day of his life," Claude laughed. "But I think I agree with you."
"Oh, stop your griping, you two," Rena scoffed. "It was fun! They all had a wonderful time. Deep down, I'm sure you both enjoyed it too."
"Enjoyed it like I enjoy being trampled by endless hordes of screaming little devils," Dias replied, slapping a fat pillow over his own face.
"You can say that because you weren't a spaceship," Claude agreed, his retort sounding somewhat muffled through the thick textile.
"Well, speaking of tomorrow," Rena continued, unfazed, "Alen's carriage will be here before midday, and we'll see you off to Salva Drift then."
"Sounds good," Claude answered.
"Good night, both of you," she said, her voice growing fainter. She was probably backing out of the room. "Sleep well and have a swift recovery."
"'Night, Rena. 'Night, Dias."
"Good night."
The lamp's already-muted glow faded into the darkness, and through their exhaustion they easily succumbed to sleep.
Before awareness fled, with faint shrieks and laughter still ringing in his ears, he mused that, once again, what Rena said was not necessarily a lie.
Author's Notes: Did most of this in early August, but put off posting for a long time. I dunno why, the whole thing felt really rushed, and I got stuck. Oh well, I suppose a bit of mindless stupidity/fluff every so often doesn't hurt anyone. XD Many thanks to Elysian, Aphe and Val for feedback (and credit for the title also goes to Val xD)
The actual image of Leon piggybacking on Claude piggybacking on Dias, with Rena looking on, came to me … one night … IN A DREAM … well, actually it came to me during a really boring bus ride home from work. I drew it for no reason other than the fact that it amused me terribly. (The sketch is posted in The Wend link in my profile.) But after I thought about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. My god, they would make the most adorable/awesome family ever. I wish it were a real ending. In a sense, they would all be able to have what they want the most.