A/N: A new chapter finished!
This chapter definitely had highs and lows this time around! So I hope you all enjoy everything that's going on because I greatly enjoyed writing all the scenes in this chapter!
And surprisingly, I don't have much to say this time around. So we'll just jump right into the reviews since I don't have a Fun Fact this time around either.
Thanks to all of you that reviewed the last chapter!
Benthino - LOL! Yeah, I figured that omake would be a great way to come back into Thunder Stone and you all seemed to enjoy it as well! Sometimes I wonder myself how I get everyone to interact, lol, but however I make it happen it seems to be working! Glad you enjoyed our drunken mages and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Joshua1277 - Yep! I kinda took that comment about you wanting to see Walker drunk more often and actually began to build the omake off of that! Because he is such a fun drunk! But I'm glad you enjoyed the omake and I may have them do some drinking games in the future. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Momochan77 - Glad you enjoyed the omake! And the story behind the Foxxie's Kiss will eventually be answered! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
WaterDragonMaverick - LOL, glad you enjoyed the omake and all the moments in it! Especially those ZanQuinn moments that you seem to love so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
XLil MEkoX - YES! I had to put that Thor moment in there! I just loved it so much! And I'm glad I'm back on this fic now too! I missed it so much! And it just felt right to be writing it again! Yep! Drunk mages (or people in general) tend to show how they really feel more easily, so that will definitely help them take small steps towards progressing their relationships! I was laughing the entire time I was writing that Planteggs scene! So I'm glad you liked that! And yes! I had to sneak another kiss in there for Quinn! And this time it's actually part of the canon story line unlike that Christmas kiss, lol! So I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Haley Le - Haha! Glad you enjoyed our drunken mages! And of course I had to have someone recording it! Raina had a lot of fun with that too! Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the drunk twins' personalities could have been their real personalities if they didn't have the past that they do. And Liam should really be thanking Shaw for saving Anna, lol. But yeah, Riku just doesn't know when to quit, so he's bound to get into more trouble. And I'm glad you enjoyed the scenes for Azielle and Tada as well as ZanQuinn! And yeah, I wasn't able to fit everyone in that omake, that and like you said, some of them are a bit more sensible when it comes to drinking, lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Halobeast - Glad you enjoyed the omake! And I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Dreadburner94 - Yes, poor Zander having to deal with a completely wasted team, lol! At least they all have someone watching over them, especially when Benny gives out free alcohol like that! Plus, it wasn't all bad for him. He did get that kiss after all! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
ColdBurn-3 - Yep, and being able to write Thunder Stone after so long was great for me! I just love writing it so much! And I'm glad you enjoyed the new omake! Yeah, it was supposed to be a celebration for Zander and the poor guy clearly had to do all the work by watching over everyone! He can't even get a break when they're supposed to be having fun! Well…until the end of that omake anyways, lol! And yeah, I figured Shaw would get a kick out of messing his drunken friends, especially since Anna always gives him such a hard time about his own drinking. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Credits
Todo Tadoa - Cat the Alien
Celeste Tadoa - Cat the Alien
I don't own Fairy Tail!
Please enjoy!
Chapter 47: Fathers and Mothers
"So you needed our help with something?" Hikari asked, staring up at Maddox with the rest of her team behind her.
"Yes, for a top secret mission," Maddox began, smiling when he saw Hikari's eyes light up at the announcement.
"Ohhhh! A top secret mission?!" she asked with a smile, "I knew you couldn't just leave us out of the games like that! Whatever it is you need, we'll finish it with a 100% success rate!"
"I hope you are all aware that a secret mission requires stealth and you can't go blowing your cover by screaming over anything that scares you," he said, looking to Mahrin-Kah, causing the blonde to sweat profusely in nervousness, "Or over any romance you might see on the way," he added, looking back over at Hikari, causing the earth dragon to cry dramatically.
"You're always so mean!" Hikari yelled at him.
"I thought you might have gotten enough romance out of Rey and Charlie," Maddox chuckled, hearing Rey shout profanities at him from the background.
"I was super excited to see our first romance blooming in the guild!" Hikari said, quickly changing moods to smile widely with hearts floating around her, "Spring love is the best! But it wasn't enough! There was only one couple all spring and Rey didn't even know what to do half the time! Taking a girl out to a weapons shop doesn't count for a first date! Even Titan could have done a better job than that! Hell, he even wrote a poem about fishing that was more romantic than that so called date!"
"I don't need nosey matchmakers causing trouble for me and my girl!" Rey shouted.
"She won't be your girl much longer if you don't treat her right!" Hikari snapped back, "Just let me plan one date for you already!"
"Hell no!"
Terran and Kimera turned glares on Maddox as the duo continued to argue, "Thanks a lot!" they both shouted.
Maddox was taken aback by their outburst for a moment, "What's the problem?"
"Look what you started!" Kimera yelled.
"She's not gonna shut up about this the rest of the day!" Terran added.
"Then all that pent up frustration about love is going to boil over," Kimera continued.
"And she'll eventually have to take it out on someone," Terran said.
"By playing matchmaker!" they both shouted again, "And you've stuck her with us the entire time we're here!"
"Well," Maddox began, smiling as he looked between the two of them for a short moment, "Is there something to work with between the two of you for her to go off of?"
Terran and Kimera paled at his question before glancing over at each other. They quickly jumped away from each other with blushes, "Hell no!"
Maddox laughed loudly before walking over and grabbing a still arguing Hikari. He placed her back in the middle of her team, causing her to stop yelling for the moment, "So what's the mission?" she asked.
"I need you all to play spies during our stay here," Maddox began, "I want you to keep an eye on Twilight Ogre. I won't put cheating past them and I want to make sure we're one step ahead of them if they are planning something."
"So does that mean we get to do some infiltration?" Terran asked, feeling a bit excited now about the mission.
"So long as you don't get caught, I really don't care what you do," Maddox smirked, "And if they do catch you, you have my permission to rough them up enough to leave them forgetting you were ever there."
"So you mean knock their lights out?" Kimera asked with a smirk.
"Exactly!"
"You got it!" the team shouted together, save for Mahrin-Kah who was on the verge of passing out from the mere thought of the mission she had just been forced into.
"Don't worry, Rin-chan," Hikari smiled, hugging the girl, "We're doing this as a team and we'll make sure to have each other's backs! Plus, you've been doing so great on our missions recently!"
"Okay," Mahrin-Kah answered quietly, but she was still smiling at her team nonetheless, "I'll help out too."
"Good! I'm sure you'll all do wonderful!" Maddox said before picking Hikari back up and placing her back in front of Rey.
"Thank you," she said to him before setting her sights on Rey again, "And another thing! You don't buy a knife as a surprise gift for a girl! You get flowers or chocolate or jewelry!"
"Then you obviously don't know Charlie very well," he huffed at her.
The guild seemed to sigh as one as the two dove into another argument about how a relationship should be.
. : + : .
It was quiet in the elevator that Tada and Azielle stood in, although Azielle could feel herself fidget slightly in apprehension. While she had been the one to offer to go with Tada to see his father, it still made her nervous to meet the man. Tada always seemed so cool and collected that she assumed that his father would be the same way only on a higher level.
'How am I suppose to deal with that?!' she thought, glancing up at a straight-faced Tada, 'It's already hard enough dealing with one of him!'
"Don't be so worried, Azielle," Tada said, interrupting her thoughts with an easy smile now directed at her, "My father doesn't bite."
"It's hard not to be nervous," Azielle replied, "What if you were meeting my father? Wouldn't that bother you at all?" she asked. Though, she sighed quickly at the sight of that easygoing smile not once faltering at the thought of meeting her father, "Of course it wouldn't," she mumbled.
"I'd like to meet your father one day. He sounds quite entertaining from what you've told me about him," he said just as the elevator came to the top floor and opened, "And you mentioned you have a brother too, correct?"
"Correct," she answered as she followed him on the short walk to a door across from the elevator, "You'll probably get to meet Axel soon since he'll be here for the games."
"I very much look forward to it," he smirked back at her before knocking on the door.
Azielle could only sigh again at this, knowing that Axel would probably have a hard time being around Tada. While her brother wasn't an idiot, he wasn't as smart as herself, so that would mean that Tada would be smarter than him as well; and she was sure Tada would have some fun teasing her brother at some point because of that fact.
Before anything else could be said between the two of them, the door was open to reveal a man in his early fifties, though he still looked a bit young aside from the few wrinkles on his face. Azielle could see the instant resemblance between the man and Tada, so she assumed that this was his father. He stood at 5'11" and his black hair was short and combed to the right, leaving it to appear tidied with a shine. He also had a finely combed mustache and goatee. Unlike Tada's blue eyes, his were a dark gray and they held a neutral stare in them. He wore a crisp, white shirt that was tucked into black formal pants. Over the shirt he wore a navy blazer with brown leather patches on his elbow. He also had on maroon, Chelsea boots and thin-framed, round glasses.
"Tada," the man said, his tone even sounding neutral.
"A pleasure as always, father," Tada replied, keeping his previous smirk on his face.
The man then looked down to Azielle, "Who is this?"
"Father, this is Azielle Morgan, a friend from the guild," Tada answered, "Azielle, this is my father, Todo Tadoa."
"Nice to meet you," Azielle nodded at him.
Todo simply nodded back in reply to her before a voice interrupted the greeting, "Todoooooo!" a woman called out playfully, "Who has come to visit?!"
"Oh? Has Aunt Celly come to visit?" Tada asked, ignoring the flat look on his father's face and pushed his way into the overly large apartment.
Todo stared down at Azielle again, causing the girl to laugh nervously and inch her way into the apartment, practically running to catch up to Tada when she was fully inside. She bumped into Tada's back since she hadn't been paying attention very well and looked around him to see a woman in her late thirties sitting on top of a large and well organized desk. She was a slender and well-toned woman with a still relatively youthful appearance. She stood tall at 5'10" with fair skin, gray eyes and bleach blonde hair that was styled into a flapper's bun. Although, her finely plucked eyebrows were black in color, proving that blonde was not her true hair color. She wore a long, form-fitting dress with a slit up to her right thigh and there was a single shoulder cape on her left shoulder that ended at her hand. She wore make-up that enhanced her youthful appearance along with a large pair of sapphire earrings and black, high-heeled sandals with thin, stiletto heels.
"It is you, Aunt Celly," Tada smiled over at the woman, "What are you doing here?"
"Tada!" the woman answered with a grin of her own, "I was here visiting your father while the Grand Magic Games are going on. I just had to come give him a hard time about missing his own niece's wedding!"
"It was only a distant niece that I have only met on one other occasion," Todo corrected her, still in a monotone voice, "You need to have your facts straight, Celeste, before you go spurting out information."
"I see that you're still such a stick in the mud!" Celeste retorted, "Honestly, I thought having a son as handsome and charming as Tada might get you to change a bit."
"Why, thank you for the lovely compliment," Tada grinned.
"Charm will only get you so far in business," Todo said, "And magic will get you nowhere at all," he added, Tada's smile quickly falling at the comment.
"Such big words from a man that uses magic himself and is even the seventh seat on the Magic Council," Celeste quickly intervened, disliking the way her brother always treated Tada for his choices in life, "And I am plenty charming myself and I do quite well. I'll have you know that just the other week, I…ohhhhh! Who is that lovely little thing behind you, Tada?!" she asked, eyeing Azielle who was still using Tada as a shield while she watched the exchange between the family.
Tada smirked down at the blonde and pushed her out from behind him to stand directly in front of him, "This is Azielle Morgan, a friend from my guild," he answered.
Celeste slid off of the desk and walked right up to the air mage. The first thing she did was gently lift up a long strand of Azielle's hair and gazed at it in complete admiration, "A natural blonde?" she asked, looking up at Tada. His smirk grew as he nodded at her, "Oh! How lucky are you! It's such a beautiful light color too! I'll never get my own to look like that!" she gushed, beginning to look over the rest of Azielle, "You're so light and petite too! Such a cute figure! You must let me take you to my tailor some time! And you're not even wearing any make-up! A natural beauty!"
Azielle felt a sweat drop roll down her head at the woman's antics. She could see where Tada got some of his personality from since it sure wasn't coming from his father, except for that smart business side of him. Celeste was definitely more relaxed and fun-loving when compared to the still straight-faced Todo. Though, Azielle didn't seem to mind Tada's father so much. He was quiet and straight to the point, even if he disliked magic and guilds. It was also the older man that finally managed to save her from Celeste's poking and prodding.
"While this must seem fun for you, Celeste," he began, moving to stand in between his sister and Azielle, "I'm quite certain that the poor girl does not appreciate it."
"Hmm? But she's quite pretty and it's not everyday that my handsome nephew brings home such a sweet girl," Celeste grinned, looking over at Azielle, "You should have seen some of the women I've interrupted him with at his apartment."
"Don't go putting strange ideas in her head," Tada retorted quickly, "Honestly, what kind of man do you take me for?"
"You really don't want me answering that," Celeste said, looking back over at Azielle, "He really is a good boy. I just can't give up the opportunity to tease him."
"I understand," Azielle replied, a slight blush on her face from what Celeste had insinuated about Tada.
"Well then, how about we make some tea and sit down to have a proper reunion," Celeste said, moving over to the large kitchen.
"I will not be joining you," Todo retorted, "I have a meeting to attend to."
"Yes, and that meeting isn't for another two hours," Celeste said smartly, "I saw the schedule on your desk, so sit down and talk with your son like a father should. You always act like any family interaction will kill you."
Todo didn't say anything in reply, but Azielle could practically see the man inwardly sigh as he sat down at the kitchen table. She quickly followed Tada to the table, wondering how much more interesting things could get while they were visiting.
. : + : .
"So cute, so cute, so cute," Quinn repeated happily as she practically smothered Tero in her arms. The group had moved to the Ryker house for the evening since Lazarus's mother had insisted they all stay for dinner the moment she realized that Quinn was back home. They were all sitting around a low sitting table after having finished eating and Quinn had managed to get her hands on the young boy, much to Tero's dismay. It's not that he minded Quinn's affections, especially after not having seen her for so long, but to have her do it in front of so many people he didn't know bothered him. Though, Quinn was much stronger than he was, so there was no escape for him at the moment. He had given up trying to get away and now simply sat in her arms with a flat look on his face while she hugged him.
"He never lets me do that to him anymore," a woman pouted from across the table. This woman was Lazarus's mother, Roxanne Ryker. She had long, dirty blonde hair that she kept tied back in a low ponytail with her bangs partially falling into stormy gray eyes and she wore a simple, blue summer dress. Roxanne happened to be the only woman, with Yuna aside, that Quinn would even communicate with, mostly due to the woman's attitude and temper since she refused to let Quinn turn away from her when she was a kid, "You're so lucky," she cried, "He's not gonna be that cute forever either!"
Jarrod chuckled at the scene, feeling a little bad for his youngest son, but not enough to do anything about it. Lazarus simply rolled his eyes in response, already having heard the same speech from his mother dozens of times. He then glanced over to Christopher, the man looking like he was about to explode as his eyes shifted over the three other young men in the room.
"Oi! Old man," Lazarus began, "You're gonna blow a blood vessel if you glare at them any harder."
"But there's three of them! Why are there three of them, Quinn?!" the man shouted, looking over at his daughter. Though, Quinn was still too busy cooing over the young boy in her arms to answer her father. This also happened to leave the men on her team open to her father's verbal abuse, "I don't like any of you!"
"You don't even know us, old man," Diesel grunted, still unsure how he got through the dinner without flipping the table over.
"And are you really dating Quinn?" Lazarus asked, finally speaking up about the issue that had bothered him most. He looked over at Zander with a narrowed stare. Zander wasn't sure how to answer the man at first. He was already annoyed that Walker had even brought up the subject, making him the biggest target out of the three of them for Christopher. Anything he answered with was going to sound angry, especially considering his earlier mood from his run in with Evelyn, but he also didn't want to say the wrong thing in front of Quinn's family since the woman could potentially attack him if he offended her family in front of her. So he settled with an eye roll and looked away from the blonde, "What the hell?!" Lazarus shouted, "I asked you a question! You sure as hell better answer it! And it's not like Quinn would even like a guy like you! She doesn't go for guys with shitty manners!"
'Looks who's calling the kettle black,' Jarrod thought, looking at his oldest son with a flat stare, 'And he apparently doesn't remember Alpha very well.'
"Lazarus Allen Ryker!" Roxanne suddenly shouted, fire exploding all around her as she stood above her son, "We do NOT speak that way to our guests! You're the one that needs to learn some manners!" she yelled, smacking him upside the head.
"So that's where Quinn gets it from," the rest of Team Aftershock mumbled, looking over at the still distracted memory mage.
"Now then," Roxanne began in a much calmer tone, smiling over at the team. Lazarus laid across the floor with swirls in his eyes from his mother's attack, "Have you all been taking care of our little Quinn?"
"Of course we have," Walker answered with a smile before Diesel could answer with an annoyed grunt of how Quinn and Yuna never needed to be taken care of.
"Then that's all I need to know. You all seem like nice boys."
"Nice boys?! Look at them all! Just waiting to do something to my precious daughter!" Christopher shouted.
"Shut up!" Roxanne snapped, instantly quieting Christopher. She once again turned back to the team with another smile, "Sorry about our family. They're all a bit…overzealous."
"I hope you know that includes yourself," Jarrod mumbled.
Roxanne's eye twitched in response, but managed to keep her composure for the moment, "Now, we've been asking you all these questions all night and having you tell us about your missions," she started, "Is there anything that you would like to ask us? I'm sure you're all curious after meeting your teammate's family."
The team exchanged glances, none of them real sure what to ask exactly. Walker's face then lit up when he finally realized the most obvious thing to ask.
"Well, I've been wondering, where is Quinn's mom?" he prompted, not noticing how quiet it suddenly became in the room. Quinn had even stopped nuzzling against Tero and became frozen in her spot, her bangs momentarily covering her eyes. Though, the others in the room seemed to noticed the odd chill in the air, "It seems everyone is here but her and no one has made mention of it yet. Is she out of town? Or is she a mage and out on a-"
Walker was quickly cut off by Zander grabbing onto his arm tightly. The blonde looked down to that hand before looking up at Zander to see a serious look on his face. Walker then looked out across the room to see how still and anxious everything had become.
"Quinn?" Tero asked quietly, looking back at the woman behind him. Since he was still so young, Tero was in the same boat as the rest of Team Aftershock in not knowing what exactly was going on or why everyone had become quiet. In response to the boy's question, Quinn released him and stood up from the table.
"Quinn?" Walker now asked, "If I said something wrong, I'm sorry, but I was just curi-"
"Dead," Quinn answered in a lifeless tone, "My mother is dead," she said, turning to leave from the room in order to make her way back to her own home.
"Quinn," Christopher began in serious tone, "You know that's no-"
"She's dead, okay?!" Quinn suddenly shouted, her fists clenching tightly at her side, "She's not ever coming back! And I don't want to talk about it anymore!"
With that, Quinn stormed out of the room and out the door that led to bridge to the dojo, the group flinching slightly when they heard the door slam shut. Silence filled the room, no one knowing quite what to say after that outburst.
"Sit down, Christopher," Jarrod said when he saw the man moving to stand and follow Quinn, "Whatever you go say to her is bound to make her even more upset," he added, watching as his friend sat back down with a sad, almost guilty look in his eyes. Jarrod then turned towards the team of mages, "Don't hold her actions against her. It's a very sore subject for her."
"I'm sorry," Walker said, feeling guilty for even bringing the subject up.
"It's not your fault," Jarrod said, "You couldn't have known that her mother left her when she was just a kid. She doesn't talk about it with anyone."
"So her mom is still alive?" Walker continued.
Before Jarrod could answer him, Lazarus intervened, "Yeah and you went and drudged up all those memories for her!"
"Lazarus!" Jarrod shouted, sending a glare his way.
"No! It's not right! Since they've gotten here, they just get away with whatever they want! Now they've gone and upset Quinn and it just pisses me off!" he yelled, turning back to Walker, "You should have kept your mouth shut when you don't know anything! All of you should just leave!"
By this point, Jarrod got up from his spot at the table and came to stand in front of his son, grabbing him by the front of his shirt, "And you still don't know when to keep your own mouth shut," he snapped, "It was a normal question to ask and it's normal for them to be curious about it as her teammates. Sit down and shut up."
"I've got to go check on Quinn first," Lazarus huffed.
"I think you're a bit late on that, buddy," Diesel said, motioning to Zander. They barely managed to catch a glimpse of him before he had completely disappeared from the room.
"Aren't you gonna stop him, old man?!" Lazarus shouted, looking over at Christopher. The blonde only earned a grunt in response from him. Lazarus clenched his teeth in anger, more at himself for waiting too long to leave to go after Quinn. Now someone went and beat him to the punch. He finally sat back down with a huff, not at all pleased with the way the night was turning out.
. : + : .
Zander quickly made his way across the bridge and through the dojo. Though, he had to search for the door leading into the Lohr home since he hadn't been shown where it was. He eventually came across a door that looked similar to the one that led to the Ryker home. This door was also slightly ajar, as if it had been slammed so hard that it had bounced back off the doorframe. Zander sighed at the sight of it, knowing that Quinn must have been the one to try and slam it shut. He pushed the door open and walked through the bridge that led to the actual house. When he opened the next door, he could hear stomping coming from somewhere upstairs before another slam of a door. As he walked through the house, he could hear more noises coming from upstairs as if someone was throwing things around. He paled a bit a the thought of having to go up the stairs to where that noise was coming from, knowing the woman behind them would be fuming; but he also knew that he couldn't let her continue to be that way.
He finally found his way to the stairs and stood there for a moment. He took a deep breath before he began the trek up. Once at the top of the steps, he turned to the right when he saw light filtering underneath a door. As he came closer to the door, he noticed that the noises had stopped and it was oddly quiet. He knocked lightly on the door when he came to stand in front of it.
"Go away!" Quinn shouted, giving the response Zander had expected.
"Why is it that we always end up in these situations, Quinn?" he asked, hoping a bit of teasing would get her to open up.
"I'm not in the mood for your dumb jokes, Zander."
"You can't blame a guy for trying, right?" he asked, waiting for a response. Though, he never received one, causing him to sigh, "Come on, Quinn. I don't want to talk through a door."
"Then just go away."
The response had been so quiet and broken that Zander was surprised he had even heard it at all. And at the sound of the heartbreak in it, he knew he simply couldn't just stand there or leave her alone in the room. He tested the doorknob first before resorting into kicking it open. It seemed that lady luck was on his side that night when the knob easily turned and the door opened. Either she hadn't remember to lock it or she had wanted someone to come into the room, and part of him was willing to bet it was the later.
He walked into a room decorated in a plethora of martial arts items, anything from scrolls to paintings to weapons. Along the walls were a few bookshelves, all of them being packed full of either fantasy novels or books on the martial arts. Photos were also hung up on the walls or were setting on shelves. Zander noticed that some of her collectibles and photos had been knocked to floor. This was mostly due to the fact that she had flung her boots, jacket and sai across the room, letting them land randomly and messily. He then turned to the back wall where a bed was pushed up against it next to a window and a nightstand with a desk lamp on it, which was where the light was coming from. On the bed he saw a lump underneath a dark green comforter. He knew this to be Quinn and he moved to sit next to the tightly curled ball she had turned herself into after shutting the door.
Quinn felt the bed dip and she attempted to inch away from him, but it was hard to move anywhere being curled up the way she was. While she made no remarks about having him go away, she didn't say anything to him either. She stayed quiet mostly out of anger, but she also felt a bit stupid for how she had acted back in the dinning room. She had no idea what the rest of her team was thinking of her, and even worse, she had practically thrown a tantrum in front of the guy she liked. And that same guy was now sitting on her bed trying to talk to her while she continued to act like a child.
'Way to freaking go,' she thought, hoping that the redhead next to her would eventually say something to break the silence in the room.
"So," he began, finally granting Quinn's wish, "It seems I'm not the only one with family issues."
"It seems so," she said, her voice muffled by the blanket.
Normally, Zander would have forced Quinn out of the blankets by now, but considering the circumstances, he let her be for the moment. He was afraid that if he tried to push her on that subject, she really would kick him out of the room. He was thankful that she was at least responding to him now, "And it looks like this explains some things…the whole trust issue with women."
"Looks like it."
He let a moment of silence pass through them, trying to figure out how to word his next sentence. Though, he quickly gave up trying to be delicate and decided just to voice his thoughts, "Jarrod told us that your mom left when you were a kid, not that she died."
"She might as well be dead," Quinn retorted, circling in on herself even more, "It would be better if she had died. Then at least I would have known what the hell happened."
"I don't think you really wish that," he said, looking down at the ball of blankets next to him with a frown.
"What do you know?"
"I know how it is to have parents you don't like, but I don't wish to see them dead. And so I believe you don't wish that your mother was dead either."
"My mother left me when I was eight!" she shouted, her voice ringing out clearly now, "No notes, no words, no last goodbyes! Just nothing! Poof! Like she never even existed! But she did exist because I remember her! All these abilities with memories and I can't even make my own disappear!"
"Quinn, you don't want to make those memories disappear either."
"Yes I do! She just left me! And she broke my heart! How can someone do that to a little kid?! And their own kid at that?!"
Zander had no answer for her and so he stayed silent as he stared down at her, letting her continue her rant.
"And now I'm a freak of nature because of it! I'm a woman who doesn't trust women! I know it's not their fault for what my mom did, but I can't get over it! What if they all leave like she did?! I don't want to feel that pain all over again! The one woman that was supposed to love me and protect me more than anyone else just gave up and disappeared! How else am I supposed to think about the rest of the world now?!"
Another thick silence passed through them. Zander couldn't think of a single thing to say to the woman next to him, but now at least things made sense. Now he could understand why she acted the way she did towards women, and he really couldn't blame her for it. While he could empathize with her on family issues, he couldn't fully understand what it was like to have a parent just completely disappear like that.
"Ten years and nothing from my mother," Quinn said, her voice now much quieter, "Did she not want me?"
Now this was something that Zander could understand. His own parents had disowned him. He knew what it felt like to be unwanted and he would never wish those same feelings upon anyone else. So it was this thought that made him roll her off the bed until she was sitting on the floor right next to him with the blanket still completely covering her. He threw an arm around her waist to keep her from reverting back to curling up on the ground and to ensure her that he was there.
"So, I never met your mother and I can't say what she was like or what she thought of you," he began softly, "But I know for certain that you are not unwanted. Your family loves you and the guild wants you. Our team counts on you and we aren't complete without you. And…" he said, drifting off for a moment, "And I need you around. You make everything more interesting and fun. And I need you to smile for me to remind me that things will be okay. And without you I probably wouldn't be here. This scar is enough to prove that, right?" he asked, grabbing the hand that had the scar on it from Mt. Hakobe when he saw the blanket begin to drop. Both of them stared down at the scar for a moment before Quinn finally looked up at him, the blanket having fallen down around her shoulders. He turned a warm smile towards her, "You'll always be wanted as long as I'm around."
Quinn blushed lightly at his words before turning away to stare at the floor. She had to wonder if he fully understood the weight of his words, but she didn't bother to question him on it now. It would probably ruin the mood. So instead, she situated herself to lean up against his side and lay her head against his shoulder, "I'm…glad to have you around," she said quietly, "Sorry about all of this."
"You don't have to apologize. It's not like I was any less of a mess today."
"But I was suppose to be strong for you today."
"Quinn, it's all right," he said gently, "It's okay to be sad. I won't think less of you for it."
Tears spilled over at his words and she hadn't even realized she was crying until they dripped down on her hands. She lifted her hands to wipe them away quickly while trying to stay silent as well. She was sure that Zander already knew she was crying, but she didn't want to make a big deal out of it, and so, she tried to be as discrete about it as possible, "Sorry," she mumbled, feeling embarrassed about the whole situation and not really knowing what else to say, "I'm sorry," she continued, feeling annoyed that the tears wouldn't stop falling, "But thank you."
Zander didn't say anything in reply, but he did grip her side tighter to let her know that he was still there and he had heard her. Even if neither of them had fixed either of their issues, it still felt like a relief to have told someone about them at least. He had kept his own emotions bottled up for so long that he understood how Quinn was feeling now. He hated to see her heart breaking like this and he was sure that she had hated watching his own heart break, but he figured that a little breaking was necessary in order to fix things. Now that they knew what was broken, they could start to take the steps towards gluing the pieces back together, and they could make sure they wouldn't be alone while they stuck those pieces together.
A/N: And there we are! I hope you all enjoyed it!
Oh man! All these emotional scenes! And even before the games start!
There was supposed to be one more scene at the end of this chapter, but with the way things ended in team Aftershock's scenes, I felt like it was a better stopping point than what would have been added. So that scene will get pushed back to the next chapter…more than likely it'll probably start the next chapter.
Anyways, I should have the next chapter up soon!
Please remember to review!
Yours Truly,
MyDearWatson
