Chapter 26 ~ All Our Days

"Kaden. His name was Kaden."

That was what Roslyn had said to him once his pleas had convinced her. Now he wished he hadn't. He wished his curiosity hadn't gotten the better of him, but it did.

At first he wanted to deny it, but the story and the name checked out. His father was Kaden which meant his mother and his sister were….

"Ratchet?" Roslyn's concerned voice sliced through the thoughts rushing in his head like a knife. When his eyes met her beautiful ocean eyes he noticed the longing to provide comfort within them, but also he noticed pity in them as well. And that small little notion was enough to make him leave before she could say anything else.

"Wait, Ratchet!"

But he didn't wait. He couldn't. Not when he felt like he'd been hit by the most destructive fusion grenade of the galaxy. He had made peace a long time ago that he was alone, that he didn't have any family of his own. That there was nothing for him in the dimension the Lombaxes now resided in, but that was no longer true.

"All this time…"He thought as he neared his destination, Roslyn's room.

Under normal circumstances he would never enter someone's bedroom, but when he saw the small pocket watch Roslyn had mentioned sometime ago laying on the bedside table. The one that was meant for Liam….that was meant for him, all of the standards he lived by were long forgotten.

He took the small golden watch in his hands examining the intricate details of the etched cogs on the outside of the watch. Even though he had seen it a few times before it held an entirely new meaning to him as he committed every detail to memory. He leaned back against the bedroom wall as he opened the watch.

He'd never seen the inside of the watch before. Even though he had caught Roslyn gazing into the contents of the watch before, he never dared to ask what was inside the watch. He figured it was a picture of someone and he could definitely say he was right, but that wasn't what was important.

Rather it was what the picture itself depicted.

It was a young beautiful female Lombax, whose fur was sandy with caramel stripes, in a hospital gown clutching two lombax kits ,without their stripes, as they stared curiously at their mother. One child, whose fur was sandy like the mothers, was wrapped in a small pale pink blanket. This had to be Kathryn.

Whereas the other child whose fur was golden, much like Ratchets, was wrapped in a pale blue blanket. Both of the children's eyes were a deep emerald green like unpictured their father.

But what made Ratchet begin to weep was the pure love expression adorned on th- on his mother's face as she smiled down at the children. Her amber eyes held nothing but adoration for her children. Adoration for Kathryn and for him.

He slid down the wall until he was on the floor clutching the pocket watch to his chest as everything became too much for him. So much that he began to weep as hard as he had when he lost Clank all those years ago.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Roslyn finally came to her room finding him still on the floor still clutching the pocket watch.

Even when Roslyn stepped into the bedroom, he didn't dare look up to meet her eyes. Not wanting to see her look at him with pity once more.

Instead of saying anything she sat next to him on the floor taking in a deep breath before finally saying the words. "I'm sorry."

He looked up immediately not expecting those words. If anything he expected a speech or words of encouragement, but an apology...was definitely at the bottom of the list.

" I thought there were similarities, but never once did I think for once you were…." She trailed off for a second when her eyes met his. There was comfort still in them, but the pity was replaced with understanding. To which he was grateful for.

"Regardless." She began again. "I should've realized it sooner. Then maybe this wouldn't have hurt you so bad…"

"Honestly." He admitted, his voice hoarse from his weeping. "I'm just overwhelmed."

She nodded as a small sad smile adorned her expression, she looked back towards the door sighing.

"I know." She said simply and the silence fell between them once more.

"Were you overwhelmed when you learned about Alister?" He asked.

"Definitely." She answered. "I remember I was feeling so many different emotions until eventually I just focused on being angry for a long time. Even now I let my anger get the better of me."

"Flynn mentioned that to me earlier. He said you never really learned how to conquer it." Ratchet said as he looked over at her. She nodded confirming the accusation. "So how did you learn to-?"

"Cope with it?" She asked as she hooked her arm around her raised knee. He nodded. "Honestly, Kathryn and Leah helped me. Even when my anger turned on them. They remained steadfast with patience and kindness. No matter what I said or did, they always gave me the love I needed. They always stayed by my side. Much like you." She looked at him as her smile turned comforting.

Ratchet's heart warmed at the comparison as a small smile became apparent on his face as well, but the smile soon faded as he thought of Kathryn. Thankfully, tears didn't fall but the worry he was feeling must have been evident for without even hesitating Roslyn leaned her head against his shoulder.

"What if she dies before I even get to meet her?" He whispered, not bothering to clarify who he was referring to. He knew he didn't have to, for Roslyn understood.

"She won't." She answered with more confidence than he'd ever heard in her tone before. "Kathryn is smart and way too damn stubborn to die. She knows how to keep herself alive. Just like her brother."

He smiled fully then at her confident words as he closed his eyes feeling a small amount of peace and hope pass through him.

"Thanks, Roslyn." He whispered as he leaned his head against hers.

She freed one of his hands from the pocket watch watch as she intertwined her fingers with his. It took everything for him not to become bashful by the small innocent gesture.

"You've been there for me when I needed it" She whispered back. "It's about time I do the same for you."

This time he did flush, but he was grateful his voice was calm when he spoke once more.

"I'll always be there for you." He said, gripping her hand a little tighter to make sure he understood how much he meant his words." No matter what or long we have. I will stay with you all our days."

She lifted her head to look at him with an affectionate smile that he was sure he'd never seen on her face before. So sure that his eyes flickered to her lips for a brief moment as his heart beated a little faster.

Damn, he really had it bad for her.

But before he could decide what to do or even say to brush off the electricity between them. Roslyn took initiative as she leaned in planting her lips on his cheek, quickly giving him a kiss.

"I like the sound of that." She said before standing up.

Ratchet didn't move, still trying to wrap his head around the fact she had kissed him. Okay it was on the cheek, but that definitely counted.

He was definitely smiling stupidly when her hand was reaching towards him. He took it letting her help him up,but he made sure to keep her hand in his.

"Come on. Let's head back to the recreational room and see how badly I can lose to you at hologames."

He laughed at the truth behind that sentence. She really was terrible at hologames. No matter how much he tried to teach her the simple mechanics she never picked it up.

Putting the watch in his pocket he continued to laugh as he let her lead the way until a thought rushed into his head making him stop abruptly.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Does this mean I have to start going by Liam now?" He asked genuinely unsure what to do with that small information, but Roslyn quickly dismissed the idea with a simple 'Nope'.

"You're always going to be Ratchet to me." She said before dragging him again once more. He willingly followed smiling even more stupidly than before.

If it wasn't clear then it definitely was now.

Ratchet was definitely falling fast for Roslyn Azimuth.

Me: Ahhh fluff chapters…..gotta love them. Always have a healthy dose of it every once in awhile. I sincerely recommend it.

Well lovelies, thank you always for your kind words and thoughts. As always I'll see you guys for the next chapter. Stay safe and stay healthy.