-6-
"Heya, Basket!"
Basket's heart raced and she grinned, turning to face her almost-cousin with her arms out wide. Nicky grabbed her and hugged her tight, and Basket laughed. "Nicky! I missed you so much!"
It was summer, between grades six and seven for Basket - and the last summer Nicky would be in town. She was going into the city for university, and wouldn't be able to live at home anymore.
Any time spent with Nicky was precious, now - especially since Nicky could barely appreciate the summer, herself, having to spend it packing. This was the only day Basket would be able to spend time with her. The last year of school was so fleeting, but Nicky had been her champion - she knew Basket had needed to be protected somehow.
But now that was over. In four days, Nicky was going to be gone, in order to follow her parents into the ridiculous maze of politics - as a diplomat. Basket both loved the idea and loathed it. Nicky would make a perfect diplomat, but Basket wanted her to stay home.
Basket was twelve. At twelve, you learn a lot about yourself, and you're not as innocent as the adults around you would like you to be. And Basket knew, without question, that she was in love with Nicky, and had been for a long time - perhaps ever since she knew how to love. But she also knew that Nicky wasn't that way. She'd known that forever, too. Nicky was impervious to love - except from her family. When it came to them, no one loved harder and truer than Nicky. But romantic love was never in her scope, ever, though she recognised it in others.
As she grew older, all Basket wanted to do was to show Nicky what romantic love could be, the best way she knew how. Yet, she didn't try. She knew Nicky couldn't change, even for her. Basket didn't really want her to change, not completely. She just wished that, somewhere, somehow, Nicky loved her in that way, too.
On this day, they'd met for dinner and a movie at Nicky's favourite mall. Basket insisted it was her treat (and had done enough chores for a month to pay for it, too).
"Sorry, Bass," Nicky said, meaning it, her face clearly regretful. "I wish they had the programme here, but Ryerson is the best, and is the closest one to home. I need to go there."
"I know," Basket muttered. "I hate it here."
"You do not," Nicky corrected, ruffling Basket's hair with a laugh, "This is where you will always belong."
Basket shrugged one shoulder, but she smiled. It was practically true.
Well, save one variant that was going away, soon.
"Did you pick a movie or not?" Basket wondered, as they walked towards the theatre.
Nicky grinned, looking so much like Asriel that Basket knew exactly what it meant. "Noo," she whined. "Not that one! I said anything but that one!"
"You also said it was my day!" Nicky shot back, and Basket had no reply to the truth of that matter.
The day was wonderful. The movie sucked, but Nicky had so much fun with it because of that, and Basket couldn't help but enjoy that. They shared sushi, and soon night fell. Being monsters, they followed tradition and got home before full sundown - delighting Alphys and Undyne, who also wanted to see Nicky.
"Ah!" Alphys cried, hugging Nicky tight. "No! The day can't be over!"
Undyne hugged them both. "It isn't over until we let go!" she snarled.
Basket hung back. Her mothers adored Nicky, her existence so mystifying at times. She was the first hybrid, and she had flourished into an amazing adult. Now with a second-known hybrid - Darian and Athena's child - the world was finally appearing to balance out between humans and monsters. All starting with Nicky.
"Peridot."
She looked up and saw Undyne's hand held out to her. She grabbed it, and was pulled into the hug, very close to Nicky. She blushed, then hugged her friend tight, trying not to cry. Crying wouldn't make Nicky stay.
"You're all acting like I'm never coming back," Nicky accused sourly, "when you'll see me the first weekend I have off."
Alphys was now crying, but silently, which it turn set poor Basket off into tears of her own. Undyne bit her lip and remained silent, shiny-eyed but the tears staying in place.
"Come on," Nicky said gently, but all she got were sniffles in reply.
Basket didn't see Nicky off a few days later. She didn't have the heart to. It was too broken, too fragile. She wasn't just losing someone she was in love with, but someone she trusted, adored, and admired. Nicky had been so wonderful to her in not only in her first year, but her last year with Basket, defending her against her tormentors - so much that it had been her best year to date, both emotionally and academically (though it wouldn't be her best overall - that would come later.). She didn't want the happiness she'd gained to drain away when forced to say goodbye.
So when Alphys came in and said, "She's on her way, now, Bassy," Basket immediately got to her feet and threw herself into her mum's arms, sobbing the moment her feet touched the ground. Alphys was prepared for it and hugged her close, giving her gentle kisses on her forehead.
"Mummy," wept Basket. "Now I have no one. Nicky was my only friend!"
Alphys shut her eyes, giving Basket another kiss, then two more. "You can't say that. Wh-what about your friend, Hedwig?"
"Hedwig hates me!" she bawled, which wasn't quite true. Hedwig was indifferent towards Basket, ignoring the torment unleashed on her unless they thought it was too much for her, and they stepped in. But that was rare.
Basket was not loved at her school, especially with her increasing physical speed and smart mouth. Alphys knew her daughter was telling the truth.
"Hey," Undyne stood in the doorway. Alphys looked up at her and nodded, and she came over and gave Basket a huge on her other side. Undyne and Alphys's eyes met, and Undyne nodded.
"Basket," Alphys began carefully, trying to keep her voice steady as she spoke. "I-I know we've t-talked about this in the past, b-but... I-I was bullied, too. B-badly."
Basket nodded against her shoulder, so Alphys went on, her voice wavering despite her efforts. "It was... bad. It didn't get better, not even in university. Honestly, I felt as if nothing would get better for me."
Basket jerked away, furious. "Thanks, Mum, that really helps me in my time of need!" she snarled. Alphys met her glare with such sad eyes that she froze, her additional angry words dying in her throat.
"I know," Alphys agreed. Behind Basket's back, Undyne had grabbed Alphys's hand tightly into her own for support. "I'm not trying to make you feel better, Basket. I'm trying to be honest with you."
"Meaning, what? I'm destined to be miserable forever?"
"No," Alphys suddenly snapped. "Do I look miserable?"
"Yes!" Basket shot back. "Right now you do!"
"Basket," Undyne snapped, and Basket closed her mouth, cheeks burning in both anger and embarrassment.
"Please let me finish, t-then I'll g-go, and leave you b-be," Alphys added, and of course Basket nodded, though admittedly she didn't want her to go. "I didn't get to be happy until I was an adult, Basket." She bit her lip. "And even then, it's been touch and go." Her hand went to her chest, and both Undyne and Basket reached up and pulled it away together - both with love. Alphys smiled sadly; that shared gesture alone proved her point more succinctly than words ever could.
"But, Basket," Alphys continued. "The point I'm trying to make is that, even when I wanted to - and even almost did - I didn't give up. I didn't. I kept going."
"But, how? Why?" Basket demanded, her face falling again. "If you had nothing, why go on, Mummy?"
"To keep looking for something to have," Alphys replied. "And to not give up until I found it."
"Did you, Mummy?"
Alphys gazed at the tear-stained face of her daughter, then to the beautiful face of her wife, before smiling so happily she practically beamed. "My Basket, that's kind of obvious, don't you think?"
"Mummy. Mom," sobbed Basket, grabbing hold of Alphys but pulling Undyne around her like a blanket. "I love Nicky."
Undyne jumped in surprise, but Alphys nodded. "I know you do, Bassy," she admitted. She'd known for quite some time, even if Undyne hadn't. "But you know Nickname, and you know how she is."
"Yeah," agreed Basket, sniffling.
"Peridot," Undyne said softly, still surprised but handling it well enough. "Nicky will always be your best friend, no matter how far up in the world she goes."
"And just because you can't be her girlfriend doesn't mean you have to stop loving her," Alphys added.
Basket looked up with dark, vulnerable eyes, but they had a light of understanding to them. She knew she wouldn't lose her friend forever, even if it felt like it.
She would never, ever stop loving Nicky.
But she would learn to love another - one she least expected.