The first thing she saw was the curve of the shoulder that her cheek was mashed against, the warm skin a little sticky. Or her mouth was. Ugh. She shuffled away and rubbed the side of her hand against Toby's shoulder, wincing drowsily and hoping it wouldn't wake him. Then she noticed how well she could make out her darker hand against his paler skin, and she frowned, eyes rising. It wasn't as dark as it should be, something dimly glowing against the blankness of her faded wallpaper. She twisted slowly, plucking at the blanket and slowly easing her legs free of the tangles. Just as her feet swung over the side, she caught sight of the mutely shining fairy sitting on the middle of her table. Which must've been the reason why she'd woken up. Normally she slept like the dead.
Deja vu much? she thought to herself wryly. Smirking a little, Evie carefully got out of bed and tiptoe-shuffled to the table.
"Hey, Twinkletoes, you doing okay?" Evie asked while slipping into a seat.
Finn's answering sigh, so overly dramatic and world-weary, had her smirk twitching into a truer, more amused smile.
"I guesss," Finn said, dragging out the whine and tugging at his tunic. "I didn't mean to wake you up, Evie."
She scooted forward and leaned onto her elbows, eyes slipping half-shut. "C'mon now, you know I'm always good for a talk. Especially with you, partner." He preened at the term, as hoped.
"It's just… The other sprites are so much bigger and better than me. Alana is so brave and strong, and Ben's so clever, and Collin is so cheerful! And I'm just… me. How can I… how can I help others like they can? How can I be a real sprite? I don't even have a Bell," Finn explained, pointy ears drooping.
"Aww, Finn, you've been doing so great! I can't believe you've been thinking all this again and haven't been talking to me," Evie said, guilt stabbing her right in the heart as she cupped her hands in front of her. Finn eagerly flew into the cradle of her palms, sniffling loudly. Evie brought him up to her face, nuzzling his soft green hair. "I'm so sorry, little dude."
"It's okay. You've been so busy and working so hard, and all these humans are coming and going. I didn't wanna make you worry," Finn told her thickly. Evie cast around and found a discarded napkin on the table. Finn mumbled his thanks behind it before he blew his nose. Evie bit her lip as the little fairy cleaned up a little. The little dart of guilt she'd felt had become more like a flood, a squirmy knot of it lodged in her throat.
"Finn, I will always make time for you, so don't ever worry about that again, okay?" Evie said seriously, holding him level with her eyes. He gifted her with a wibbly smile and a nod. "As for you not being a real sprite, that's just not true. You might not have a Bell, but you are a fairy. You've helped me so much, I wouldn't be here at all without you, yanno? You found me, remember?"
Finn plucked at the napkin with his fingers and sniffled again. "I know. I do. But it's hard to remember that when everyone's so excited about the Bells, and I'm… I'm just sitting around waiting for everyone else to do all the hard stuff." His ears drooped low as he sighed. "What can I do to be more cheerful, Evie? How can I be more like you, or Collin!"
"Collin? You think me and Collin are similar?" Evie asked, blinking in astonishment and trying not to laugh.
"Yeah!"
She quickly covered her mouth, hiding her barely suppressed chuckles and tight mouth under a pensive frown. She managed to get ahold of herself and come up with something to say before Finn started sniffling again. "I know we talked about taking initiative making you more leader-like, but maybe what you need to remember most is not to give up?"
Finn head tilted, gaze thoughtful. "Don't give up…?"
"Yeah! We're almost done finding all five of your siblings," Evie said, reaching out to set her finger in Finn's hand. He clasped it absently, nodding along as she spoke. "You had a goal, a really important mission, and you've done your best to accomplish it. Keep doing that, even after this one is finished… if we finish it," she muttered wryly to herself. "Just keep dreaming big amazing dreams, and don't give up on them. Don't worry about what you don't have, just… keep doing your best."
"Yeah… Yeah, I get it!" Finn said excitedly, his wings chiming wildly as they began to glow again. Relief had Evie grinning with him, giggling quietly as he flew up to cuddle under her chin. "You're right. I shouldn't worry about what the others are good at, or what I'm bad at. I'll just keep doing my very best and it'll work out. I found you, didn't I? I don't need a Bell to be a sprite. I'll find my own special way of being a sprite and make you, and Mother, and all my siblings, proud!"
"That's the ticket, Finn. I promise to spend more time with you. I'm so sorry I haven't been making time for you the past couple days," she said earnestly, rubbing her cheek to his hair.
"It's okay, Evie. We're partners, so I like that you're happy and have lots of friends. Maybe one day they'll all see me and they can be my friends, too!" Finn said.
"I'm sure they'd all love you. But…" Evie broke off with wide, jaw-cracking yawn. "Sleep first, yeah?'
"Yeah! I think I can sleep now."
"Good. Be careful where you fall asleep. You don't want Toby to squish you," she whispered, making her way towards the bed. Finn giggled as he jumped to the pillow, and for a moment, Evie thought she saw Toby moving.
She froze with her hands on the covers and breath caught, but he looked completely and deeply asleep, chest rising and falling rhythmically. Slowly, she slid into place and turned over, back to Toby and facing the little fairy curled into a small ball just beyond her nose. He was still glowing dimly, smiling in contentment with his eyes already closed and tiny hands fisted under one cheek. Evie reached out and cupped his glimmering little form with a careful hand and let sleep drag her back under, anxiety and guilt still brewing in the deepest pit of her stomach. Despite that, she was fast asleep by the time Toby's arm moved to wrapped around her waist as he scooched closer. Finn and Evie frowned in their dozing state when the bed moved, but didn't wake.
In the darkness, bleary green eyes were squinting at Evie's cupped hand on the pillow… and at the faint light glowing against the curve of her palm.
…
It was dark and cold and damp when she woke up again later. Finn was whining in his sleep, wings buzzing occasionally, but it wasn't that that woke her. Evie rubbed at her face with her hand and glanced around, pausing just long enough to notice the bright red numbers of her alarm clock display was missing. A rumbling, cracking roar guttered overhead, and Evie couldn't help the slight flinch of alarm. It took too long in her groggy state to realize it was thunder. No, thunder, like real thunder. And under that almost constant growling was the annoying drip drip drip of water to wooden floorboards.
Evie twisted at the waist, squinting through the gloom, and noticed two things at the same time.
One, the other side of the bed was empty and cool to touch.
Two, the damp she'd barely registered upon waking was actually a huge wet patch growing over her blanket from a steady leak in the ceiling.
"Oh- Oh shit, are you kidding me!?" Evie yelped, flailing and throwing the blankets off her legs and grimacing at how cold her feet already were. It hadn't been too long, since her feet were barely moist, but her bed was going to be ruined if she couldn't move it.
Finn jerked awake with a muffled "wha?", but Evie was already shoving the blankets off the bed in a flurry of motion. He tumbled off the pillow with a surprised yelp of his own when her vigorous movements yanked the fitted sheet off so hard the pillow toppled off the bed to the floor. He flew through the air, spinning slowly with wide eyes and shrieking a little when another deafening crack rent the air outside. All around them were little drips and drizzles of rainwater making its way into the shack, still gloomy despite Finn shining as brightly as he could. Evie threw the bedclothes into the bathroom and, with a loud grunt, shoved at the bottom of her bed. The legs squealed over wood, scraping against the uneven boards slowly and painfully. Especially painful when Evie tried to hurry around the bed to push from another angle and stubbed her toe.
Her house filled with the names of every snack food she could list as loudly and vehemently as possible while thunder rolled above.
"Evie, maybe we should turn on the light?" Finn suggested timidly around the third time Evie growled 'nutter buttering nilla wafers' while shoving at the bed.
"Yeah, that'd… please, Finn?" Evie huffed, bangs fluttering over her nose.
He was across the room and smacking the light switch in seconds.
Nothing happened. He frowned and tried again. The switch flicked down, then up, the loud clicks echoed in the one room house, but nothing so much as flickered. Evie and Finn stared at each other, jaws dropped and eyes wide. Evie broke first, slumping onto the bed that was still slanted across the middle of the living space, and buried her face in her hands. The quiet twinkling approached and Finn perched on her shoulder to pat at her wrist comfortingly. Dripping and plopping echoed in the dark for one, long, quiet moment until Evie lifted her head, jaw clenched and eyes glittering.
"All right. Let's do this."
"E-Evie?" Finn asked hesitantly.
"Get every cup out of the cabinet and put them under the leaks while I finish moving the bed. Can you do that?" Evie ordered, voice brisk and movements equally so as she hopped to her feet and started pushing and tugging at the heavy bedframe with a fierce scowl.
"Y-Yeah, but… cups won't do much…" Finn pointed out.
"If you can lift the pot, you can use that instead," Evie replied with eyebrows raised and expression wry. Finn nodded and flew towards the cabinet.
By the time Evie had moved the bed out of the way of any leaks and had dug out some dusty old candles left in one of the kitchen drawers, Finn had put a cup and her frying pan under every drip. He was dragging a rag over a puddle, puffing and red-faced with exertion as he tried to sop up some of the puddles that had grown since the storm had started. Evie swapped out a few of the cups with her pots, beaten and battered as most of them were, and her one giant brand new pot placed under the worst leak. She poured the rainwater into the sink and lit the candles, one by one dripping wax into empty cups and carefully wedging the candle into its bed of hot wax and holding it still until the puddle inside hardened and held each candle upright. She put them in a cluster on the dining table, careful to place them on the other side from the frying pan that plinked and plunked and splattered water over the table's surface.
"Thanks, little man," Evie said quietly, kneeling next to him with some used towels from the laundry basket to help mop the water.
"It's gonna be okay, Evie. I'm sure it is. And you know Mother will let us stay at the Spring until the rain stops," Finn tried to reassure her, smiling gratefully at the seeming return of her cheerfulness.
Evie just smiled back and nodded. She kept to herself that staying up at a magical Spring for however many days wouldn't solve the water damage her already crappy house was sure to get, nor would it prevent mildew or mold from creeping into her clothes, her bed, the darker corners of her house. She also didn't point out how inconvenient it would be to run back and forth from Garmon Mines every day to take care of her crops–
"Oh… Oh no," Evie moaned, dropping the towels and rushing for her boots. She skidded to a stop and ran back towards her bags, ripping through them for the raincoat she knew was at the very bottom of her biggest suitcase.
"Evie, what is it!?" Finn exclaimed.
Evie threw the slicker on over her pajamas, shoved her bare feet into her boots, and then pointed her finger right at Finn. "You stay in here, Tinkers. The wind'll blow you right away and I need to hurry, got it? Stay near the candles, and I'll be… well, I'll try to be right back in."
"Evie!"
Evie pointed at him warningly, and he hovered in the air, hands wringing and wings buzzing, but let her throw herself out into the wild wind and lashing rain. Lightning forked jagged over the sky and it lit up her field in a parody of a summer's day brightness. Harsher, whiter, and starker. Illuminating what she dreaded in the worst way.
She stared at the dark mud of her hard-fought and tilled fields and tried not to cry. Almost a third of the crops she'd planted had been uprooted and blown away. The remaining few looked seconds away from following, bent almost to the muddy surface of the soil, leaves mostly stripped and the few flowers that would become fruits or vegetables shredded to baldness.
"Well… I don't have to water today," Evie said numbly, blinking away rain from clumping eyelashes. Her legs, mostly bare thanks to the short shorts she'd worn to bed, shivered and goosebumped and, woodenly, she stumbled towards the barn.
Inside was drier and warmer than her house was and Evie gasped in relief. Her little sheep baaed plaintively, fearfully, and Hera mooed hungrily, unphased by the raging outside in her placid cow way, but Evie just fell back against the wall of the barn. Then, slid down, slicker squeaking and squealing on the wood, until her bum hit the hay and dirt of the floor. Her raincoat underneath her kept her from getting too filthy, but she wouldn't have noticed anyway. She crossed her arms over her knees and lowered her head, stifling the angry sobs in the wet rubbery-plastic of her slicker.
If only she had worked harder. Spent less on Luke's gift. Waited to buy that new stupid fridge or shitty, rabbit-eared TV, mined more once her leg got better, spent more time fishing, selling more and eating less, anything. She could've pinched more pennies somewhere. She'd been doing it for three and a half years! The first two years she'd been even more stingy and thrifty! She barely had 5000 auree of student loan debt back in the city, because she'd been smart. And now… now this? Living in a shitpile house that pissed on her head while she slept because she hadn't worked harder to make the right choices and get her shit together?
How could she consider herself a hero? How could she give Finn advice? How could she be of any sort of use to anyone, especially the Harvest Goddess, if she'd let her own home be less of a priority than parties and watching stupid TV shows with boys? Well, and all her other friends here, but so much time wasted. Because of romance instead of practicality.
And he wasn't even here–
She scowled, teeth gritting, vehemently rejecting such a pitiful, pathetic thought before it fully formed. She didn't need anyone's help. Finn was okay, but anybody else? She could do it on her own. Hadn't she said that over and over and over? Hadn't she done and said terrible things, or insane things, to prove she could?
Rubbing at her eyes with the damp skin of her wrist, Evie got to her feet. She spent the next thirty minutes soothing each animal in her barn, petting and brushing and milking, calming poor Clotho far longer than the sheep actually needed once she'd been fed and brushed, honestly. She forced herself out of the barn and lowered her head to bulldoze her way through the wind to get to the coop, surely as warm and dry as the bard, thank the Goddess she'd done something right with her time. Before she made it, between claps of thunder and flashes of lightning, she heard the thin shout of her name on the wind. She jerked her head up and stared at the bright pink- and yellow-clad figure clumping up the road with a tacklebox hanging from one shoulder and a fishing pole over the other.
"Great day for fishing, ain't it?" Renee exclaimed, cupping the side of her mouth with her hand and grinning through the rain pouring over her flushed face.
"You're crazy!" Evie shouted back, laughing and feeling truly amused for the first time that morning.
"You don't know what you're missin' till you've tried it, Evie! I walked Kathy t'the Bar, but I thought maybe you'd might like a bit of company. I have all day to fish," Renee said, her voice dropping to reasonable decibels when she followed Evie into the coop. She paused, blinking in confusion. "Are you in your jammies?"
Evie sighed roughly and swiped her soaked bangs out of her face when she pushed back her hood. "Yeah. I realized what this weather might mean for my crops and ran outta my house so fast I didn't even brush my teeth yet. Then, I just stood there and realized there was nothing I could do anyways," she explained. She turned away and went towards Dite and Eris first, knowing they'd have eggs ready for her. And that turning towards them put her back to Renee and hid her too expressive face.
"Oh, Evie, I'm so sorry. Summer can be the worst. Anissa used to cry when the storms came in when we were children. They ruined a whole field of sunflowers once and I think I might've cried with her. In fact, I'm sure I did," Renee admitted, reaching out to hug Evie from behind, despite the rain and extra paraphernalia she carried.
The newbie rancher couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the confession. "Thanks, Rey."
"Of course. I'm guessin' you didn't have time for breakfast this morning, either?" Renee asked, setting down her pole and tacklebox and going to the feeder box to help. Evie smiled gratefully at Renee's back.
"Nah. Toby was gone before I even woke up. Guess he felt bad for going in late or missing closing so often lately. Or maybe he heard the storm comin' in… anyway. No Toby means toast for breakfast. I'm a crap cook," Evie said with a shrug. She petted Thalia and cuddled her close for a moment, the duck taking to the affection like a dog, oddly. It would always be so damn odd.
There was a short pause and Evie realized how… coupley what she'd said sounded like. "Not that… I don't mean– Toby doesn't make me breakfast all the time! Just when he stays over, actually not even always then! We're not like… we don't have like a routine or something. That's weird, I'm still new here, yanno. We're not like dating, or anything," Evie babbled desperately, face flushing nearly hot enough to dry the rain right off her face.
Renee turned towards her, laughing at her bewildered and wild expression. She knelt down as the chickens and duck waddled rapidly over to her and her handfuls of feed.
"I don't see why not. You two make a good match, I think," Renee said. Evie spluttered and fishmouthed at Renee. "But don't worry, I promise not to say anything to my parents. Or worse, Hamilton." She winked at Evie and laughed again at the horrified face she made. "Well, since he's not here, and I am, and I haven't spent some quality time with you in a while, how about I treat you to breakfast?" She got to her feet and dusted off her wet coat the best she could before taking the empty feedbag back to the box.
Evie snorted, remembering how much Finn missed Renee's breakfasts, and then remembered where she'd left her poor little friend.
In her dark and leaking house.
"N-No, don't worry about it. You've got fishing to get to. Don't worry about me, toast and jam is good enough for me," Evie said stoutly, quickly getting her mayonnaise out of the mayo maker and taking them to the trade box.
"It's not a bother. Really. I meant what I said 'bout spending time together. I feel like we just haven' been making time and it's a shame," Renee said, clasping her hands behind her back and rocking on her heels in that cute way she did.
Evie flushed to her hairline and looked everywhere but Renee.
"It's um… It's just not a good idea. I'm a mess and I gotta change–"
"It's perfect then! I can whip somethin' up while you're in the shower getting nice and warm!"
Hopefully her shower got warm. The water heater was on gas… or electricity? She couldn't remember… Evie smiled awkwardly, more like grimaced, and rubbed the back of her neck.
"I…I don't think you can whip anything up for me," she finally admitted. Renee blinked in confusion.
"Didja eat everything in your fridge? Do ya need to buy some things from my shop?" she asked guilelessly.
"No… I have stuff in there. A little. Enough, I guess. But…" Evie sighed roughly, dragged her wet, hay-smelling hands over her face, and raised her eyes upwards. "I don't have electricity right now."
"What! Unacceptable! I'll go give Hamilton a piece of my mind!" Renee exclaimed furiously.
"Hey, c'mon, I'm the only house out here and that storm's really bad. For once, I don't think it's because Hamilton's a flighty moron," Evie interrupted heavily.
Renee blinked at her, frozen in shock. "Evie, are you okay? I've never… you've never spoken like that before. Not when you didn't have a broken leg."
Evie winced and dropped her head. "Sorry, you're right."
"Well… so are you. He is… can be… a little bit…He's definitely a flighty moron 80 percent of the time," Renee pointed out with a wince of her own and an awkward giggle.
The giggle was infectious and warm and had Evie joining within seconds. And then they were both laughing, doubling over and shoulders shaking, for no reason at all, really. But it felt cathartic and refreshing, truly lighting up the dark spaces in Evie that waking to her shitty, dark, wet house had caused.
"You think you're angry now, but… eh, might as well. C'mon," Evie said, gesturing towards Renee and ducking out of the coop. Renee grabbed her things and followed her out swiftly.
The two women hurried to the house and shoved inside. Rain pattered over her floor and the candlelight guttered warningly before Evie managed to shove the door closed. Renee dropped her things and gaped as Finn rushed forward.
"Evie, are you still upset?! I'm so sorry I couldn't help more and where did Renee come from? Can she fix the lights, Evie?" the fairy cried, tucking under her chin and shivering.
"Sorry, Tinks," she whispered as Renee broke her silence with a loud gasp.
"Your poor house!"
Evie snorted loudly. "House. Sure. It's not a house until Luke and his Pops can do the first renovation and you know it. Call it what it is, Renee. Condemned."
"Oh, Evie," Renee said sadly. She turned to Evie with her bottom lip trembling. "This is just not right. You have to–"
A loud banging on the front door had both women– and a fairy– shrieking in shock. Evie hurried to the door to fling it open, and jumped back when Toby all but fell inside. He pushed his hair out of his face and raised actual wide and worried eyes at her.
"I'm sorry, Evvy, I had to take the grill back and open the store. The power in town went out and I came straight up– Rey?" Toby cut himself off, staring over at the woman in question, whom still had both hands clasped over her mouth.
"I wanted to go fishin' after walkin' Kat home. The power's really out in Harmonica?" Renee asked.
"Yeah, and Garmon, too. Not Flute Fields?" he asked, shaking out his sopping wet hair.
"Not when I left, but it was a while ago getting through all this rain," Renee said while biting a thumbnail.
When Toby started to take off his coat, Evie hurried to grab the few fresh towels she had left. Unlike her and Renee, Toby wasn't wearing a waterproof slicker, just a big overcoat he carefully draped over a dining chair. He took the towel with a smile that Evie hesitantly returned.
"You should've stayed in town, Tobes. I'm fine. I've even got Renee to help with breakfast," Evie said with a smirk over at Renee.
"You almost didn't let me in the door," Renee pointed out with a pout. Evie's smirk went sheepish.
"I was right about it not being the Mayor's fault this time, though," she retorted, still rather chagrinned.
"This is… this is worse than I thought," Toby said, frowning as he took in the multiple leaks and half-full pots. The frying pan was already overflowing onto the dining table and Evie sighed in annoyance. "You can't stay here, Evelyn."
"That's exactly what I was going to say!" Renee agreed.
"I said so, too!" Finn chirped. "Let's go to the Spring."
Evie rolled her eyes upwards.
"I have a big bed at the ranch, Evie. It'll be just like a slumber party!" Renee said earnestly, concern all over her pleading face.
"The storm might last for a few days. Paolo and me'll share and you can stay in my room until it passes," Toby suggested next. Renee propped her fists on her hips and glared at him, the candlelight flickering over her pouting lip.
"Is there something wrong with my house, Fisher? My bed's plenty big enough for us girls and she'll have much more fun with me. And it's closer to her farm!" Renee said with a smug kind of triumph.
"Not by that much," Toby retorted, one eyebrow rising.
"No, stop it! Both of you, just stop," Evie snapped. They startled in place and stared at her, Finn flinching against her throat in surprise.
"Evie?" Finn whispered.
"I'm not going anywhere." Evie placed her hand over her throat, patting Finn as discreetly as possible as she turned away from the twin looks of hurt being sent her way. Busying herself with emptying the full pots and pan helped calm her down although her hands kept shaking.
"Evie, we're only trying to help," Renee said softly.
"I don't… I don't need to stay anywhere. I have a house–" Evie gestured around herself and set a pot back in place. The water pinged loudly against the tin. "–and I'm going to stay in it. It's my own fault it's not ready for summer, so I'll deal with it, okay?" She rubbed the back of her neck and stared at a wall across the room, cheeks flushing red.
Toby and Renee exchanged concerned and bewildered looks that Evie ignored. She couldn't quite ignore the fairy hovering around her head, though, his wings trilling loudly.
"It's not your fault, Evie," Finn said, falling to her shoulder and gripping the collar of her coat in tight fists. "Not at all."
"What…what do you mean it's your fault?" Renee asked after a long silence.
Evie huffed and crossed her arms over her chest defensively. Water made its way down the length of her forearms, soaking the inner lining of her raincoat. Her legs were pebbled with goosebumps and her feet were distinctly freezing and squishy inside her boots. Why can't they just drop it? she thought almost furiously, and then immediately gnawed on her bottom lip as guilt filled her. Especially as their shocked and anxious looks never left her face.
"I should've worked harder!" she finally exploded, face red and fists tucked under her armpits. "I should've earned money faster, and been better about what I used it for. I should've just… I should've just been smarter, or focused more, instead of running around, wasting time on parties and karaoke and… I know better, dam-darn it. I know how to prioritize and it's like I completely forgot!" She threw her hands in the air and grabbed at her hair, mussing it wildly and groaning in annoyance.
"Work… work harder?" Toby repeated incredulously, eyebrows in danger of disappearing above his hairline. "You've barely stopped moving since you got here."
"You came here with barely a few auree to rub together, and look how much you've done since. Why can't being with friends be a priority, too?" Renee demanded, hands on her hips and cheeks just as flushed as Evie's. "You literally didn't have time to stop and smell the flowers till I made you."
Toby nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "You broke a leg and still kept trying to work. How could you possibly think you need to work harder?"
"And yet…" Evie trailed off, one hand waving expansively around her house. Dark and damp and pathetic. "That's all nice of you to say, but I'm here with you guys offering to help me again. I'm supposed to…" she broke off and rubbed a hand over her face, glancing to where Finn was hovering anxiously nearby, his sweet little face torn with concern for her sake. "I'm supposed to be better than this. I feel like I'm breaking a promise and becoming a burden. I'm supposed to know better, be better. At the very least be able to take care of myself!"
"That's asking a lot yourself," Toby said, frowning slightly. "You goals shouldn't be something you can only do alone, not when there are people who care about you. Who want to help you."
"You make…" Renee covered her mouth with her fingertips, but the words burst from her a second later, her expression wretched and eyes shiny. "You make it sound like we're a burden to you, too. It's okay to have friends and to need them!"
"I… I'm not supposed to need you," Evie said, frustration warring with her instinctive need to comfort Renee and Toby both. Shock rocked them on their heels, their gazes wide and identically hurt. "Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that," she said quickly, stepping forward with hands spread open and waving. "I just…I wasn't planning on staying here. I wasn't planning on meeting people like you," her eyes darting to Toby, heart clenching painfully, "but I did and I keep relying on you all. I'm making all the people I meet more important than what I came here for."
"Evie… you're going to leave us? You're supposed to stay here. You're the hero," Finn said, eyes wide and tears streaming down his face. His hands twisted and his ears drooped low. "Why would you go?"
"No, Fi–" Evie broke off. "Fickin' hell," she muttered angrily.
"I think we're missing something," Toby said slowly. Evie flinched at the low, almost emotionless tone of his voice.
Renee sniffled as she nodded. "Y-Yes, sorry, I know I shouldn't cry. I… I just get so– I'm fine. I just wish we could understand what you mean! Can't you tell us what you wanted when you came here if it wasn't to find a home here?" she asked, rubbing her eyes with her fists.
"Y-yeah. I…" Evie dropped her gaze to her feet. Her bare, fishbelly-white feet and the puddle around her. She shivered violently and pushed a clump of soggy hair out of her face. "I left my family for university." She sighed and took off her still barely dripping slicker. She threw it over a chair and slumped into the remaining one, hands on her knees and limbs shivering. "My family… especially my mom, they were pissed. Well, more like… betrayed. We have a family construction business, plumbing, lighting and wiring, you know, the works. It's something my grandfather started and my mom kept on, and my dad, he came from a long line of sheep farmers. When I told my family I didn't want what they did, that I wanted a degree, they– No, I implied their lives were something to be ashamed of. They refused to pay and I spent two years living off scholarships and part-time jobs. I still… I still refuse to take their money, and they refuse to offer, but we talk now. Sometimes."
"Evie…" Renee hurried to kneel next to her, both her warmer hands covering one of Evie's. Evie glanced up, eyes shiny and mouth tight and mulish. Finn's minuscule weight dropped to her shoulder. "People get upset and say things they don't mean all the time. Especially family."
"But… you're asking me to accept your help, don't you get it? I wouldn't even listen to my parents. I made them feel bad, and I was so proud of my own choices, I never asked for help. I didn't even call them for two years! If it weren't for my brother, I probably still wouldn't be talking to my parents. They'd only wanted what was best for me, and I threw it in their faces. I… I don't feel right taking helping now, after I gave up everything I told them I wanted." Her fingers curled into fists over her thighs, clinging wet cotton twisting and dripping over her legs.
"It's called growing up," Toby said. Evie glanced up, an unimpressed grimace on her face that had him smiling slightly. His warm hand hesitated over her shoulder where Finn sat before carefully falling onto her bicep. His thumb brushed over the ball of her shoulder and she sighed, eyes closing in sudden weariness. "You're supposed to learn from your mistakes so you don't repeat them. That's what living your life is for."
"I think…" Renee began, voice hesitant but as warm as her hands. Evie met her determined brown eyes. "I think that your parents would be proud of you for knowing now that you don't have to stand alone. That you've learned to rely on people who care about you."
"No one expects you to be perfect and do everything on your own," Toby added.
"We're partners, Evie! Remember! We're doing this together!" Finn said, nuzzling under her chin. Evie huffed a laugh.
"I don't know how to accept it. I don't know how to not feel guilty or… or like I'm in debt to you guys. I hate that awful feeling that I owe you for being kind. I don't know how not to feel it," Evie admitted, glancing towards Renee and then to Toby. "I don't know how to repay that kindness, either."
"Start with saying thank you," Toby suggested dryly.
Evie burst out laughing as Renee slapped at Toby's arm closest to her.
"None of that sass, Fisher!" Renee retorted even though her mouth was twitching. She turned back to Evie. "How about we start with some sort of compromise?"
Grinning, Evie nodded and rolled her eyes upwards. "I'll agree to rent a room at Ocarina if it'll make you guys feel better."
"Then, you have to let us take turns feeding you! If you have to pay for room and food, you'll have to work even harder to make that money back," Renee said firmly. Evie sighed roughly.
"It's not that expen–" Evie started and cut off at Renee and Toby's equally wry expressions. "Right, compromise," she said with a chuckle. "Fine, okay. I'll come eat with you guys."
"Good!" Renee exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Toby nodded.
"Now, let's get some breakf–" Evie twitched, ducked her head behind her elbow, and sneezed three times so hard she rocked the chair she sat in and Finn toppled onto her lap with a startled cry. "S-Sorry." Renee, Toby, and Finn all laughed as Evie blushed bright red, face still hidden behind her arm.
"You should go shower, sweetie. I'll get you some dry clothes to change into," Renee said, still giggling.
"I'll start breakfast."
"But I wanted Renee's pancakes!" Finn whined. He shook himself and darted up into the air. "I wanna bath, too. We can talk in there without them hearing us!"
Evie sighed, but didn't bother trying to protest. To any of it. "I'll be a jiffy."
"Only grandmothers say jiffy," Renee teased.
Evie stuck out her tongue and slipped into the bathroom. She left the door open a crack, just long enough for Finn to zip in and for Renee to turn to Toby, putting a hand on his arm. Whatever she was about to say looked serious, and Evie was pretty sure she wasn't supposed– or wanted– to hear it. She closed the door and filled up the sink with hot water for Finn to splash around in. Then, she handed him a little piece of soap she'd chipped off her own bar before she stepped into the shower fully clothed.
"Finn, whatever I said out there… it wasn't because of the… the mission or whatever it is," Evie whispered as she tossed her clothes onto the floor from behind the curtain.
"But… you're really sad and upset, Evie! Why didn't you tell me how sad you are? I always try to tell you…" Finn said. She could just picture the heartbroken expression on his face and she stalled from answering by messing around with the shower. Steam slowly began to fill the bathroom before she managed to answer.
"I've been worried that I haven't been with you enough, Finn. That I haven't been focusing on the Bells enough, either. I didn't want… I didn't want to admit to you that I thought I wasn't doing a good enough job. Not when you believe in me so much," Evie finally admitted. She sighed softly, for once grateful that her hot water was connected to gas instead of electricity. It took some dithering to figure out in the dark which bottle was shampoo and conditioner, until she decided just to use both at the same time. She needed to be fast anyway.
"I still believe in you, you know," Finn said, little splashes coming from the sink. "I'll always believe in you, no matter what. You've helped us so much already. I know you'll do it. You'll save Castanet and the Tree and Mother will be all well again."
Evie smiled and lay her forehead against the wet tiles. "Thanks, Finn…"
"But you gotta tell me when you're sad and when you want advice from me. We're partners, you said so. So come to me, too. I wanna help!" He said it so fiercely it had Evie's heavy heart lifting. Lightening and expanded three times in her chest. She realized then how Grinch-like she'd actually been acting.
"Okay…okay yeah. I can try. I'll try a lot harder," Evie agreed, then chuckling slightly. "At opening up more, I mean. At telling you how I feel and… if you want… I could tell you about my mother, my whole family, if you want."
"Yeah! I wanna know! I only know Cris. I would like to know about your family, too!" Finn said eagerly, his wings chiming and water sloshing over the sink onto the floor. "Oops…"
"What'd I say about flapping wings in the bath?"
"Sorry…"
Evie giggled and finished washing up. She had other friends to continue making up with waiting outside.
...
After Renee had handed her clothes and Evie had managed to get dressed in the dark, the three of them sat down to breakfast by candlelight. She was giggling behind her hand as Toby placed plates of eggs and weirdly burnt toast in front of them. Finn actually whined like an abandoned puppy at the sight.
"I've never toasted bread on a pan before," Toby said defensively as the two women snickered.
"And yet, it was done for centuries before the toaster was made," Evie teased.
"At least he didn't put right onto the fire. I think he thought about it," Renee said in a faux-whisper behind her hand while leaning towards Evie.
"I think you have me confused with Luke, the one who actually likes setting things on fire," Toby said dryly.
Evie and Renee burst out laughing as Toby sighed and raised his face upwards, as if looking for patience. Just as the lights began to flicker. Renee and Evie slapped their hands over their mouths, eyes widening, as suddenly the small house lit up. Evie vaguely remembered Finn flicking with the lights earlier, and he must've left the switch up.
"It's back!" Renee cheered happily, clapping her hands.
"I dunno if it looks better or worse now," Evie said, laughing somewhat, "but I'm definitely glad my food won't go bad."
"Lights don't fix the leaking roof," Toby pointed out. Evie rolled her eyes at him.
"Don't rain on my parade now, and no that was not on purpose, ugh," Evie said, dropping her face into her hands as the other two chuckled. They jumped skyhigh when a sudden thudding sounded at her door. "What the barnacle…?"
"EVIE! EVIE, IT'S LUKE! OPEN UP!"
"We haven't even started eating yet," Finn bemoaned sadly.
Evie hurried to the door to let in Luke, stepping back as he came in shaking water everywhere like a dog. She gaped at him as he looked around the house and grinned.
"Oh good, the power's on. Me n' Bo n' Pops just finished fixing up the power lines over Garmon. We were pretty sure it'd fix up your place, too. I ran down to check 'fore me 'n Bo head over to Flute Fields, hey, Rey!" Luke waved wildly even though she was barely three feet away. Renee smiled brightly and waved back. "Oooo, food! Can I have some!?" He was already walking towards the table, hands outstretched.
"You can share my toast. Load on the butter and blueberry jam, all right?"
"All right," he cheered, dropping into Evie's vacated chair and grabbing some toast. She pulled up the last chair to share the plate, snagging the next slice of toast. "Dude, why is your bed all over the place?"
"I felt like a change of scenery," Evie deadpanned as she slathered on butter.
"Evie!" Renee scolded, her lips twitching.
"Did you happen to notice the roof?" Toby said with a rise of an eyebrow.
Evie snickered. "Ruff?" she whispered. His wry gaze turned towards her. "It's roof."
"You're in the country now. We say ruff."
"Oh, whoa, Princess. Your house is messed up. You really shoulda done it up first, not the barn. The animals've been fine for a coupla days," Luke said, whistling in dismay.
"I think I made the right choice. Hera and Clotho wouldn't have been able to go stay at Ocarina for a couple days until the storm passes. I can," Evie said, glancing towards Toby and Renee with a half-hearted smile. They both beamed at her and she quickly shoved egg and bread into her mouth, cheeks red.
"Huh? Why you gotta do that? It's kinda expensive," Luke said, blinking at her.
Evie scowled and swallowed hard. "If you think I'm gonna stay at your place, I already told these two no, and I'll tell you the same."
"What? My place!? Are you kidding? My Pops'll make me marry you first or somethin'. He's more old-fashioned than Ramsey," Luke said, bursting into laughter. "I meant, I can fix it for ya." He gestured up at the ceiling negligently as Evie's jaw dropped. "I gotta help Bo in the Fields, then we're meeting Pops in Harmonica to check out the lines there. But 'fore dinner, I should be able to make it back and patch it all up."
"P-patch it up? But… how much would that cost?" Evie asked, eyes widening as Toby actually facepalmed next to her.
"I dunno, less than a few days at Ocarina, I know that. I'll ask Pops, but I bet it'll be just a couple hundred for the whole thing," Luke said with a nonchalant shrug, completely oblivious to Renee's embarrassed gasp and Toby's low groan.
"Luke. You… You angel!" Evie exclaimed. She threw herself onto him, ignoring his still soaking wet (and ill-fitting) raincoat to hug him tightly. "You're a genius! I can stay on my farm now! I won't have to spend so much money!"
"Jeez, it's just 'bout an hour's worth of work and it won't hold all summer. You gotta pay for renovations a-s-a-p, though," Luke said, trying to sound stern while grinning and patting her back.
"I know, Lu, I know. I will. As soon as the storm lets up, I'll make sure to be ready. Thank you, thank you. You're the best, brojelina!" She smacked a kiss to his cheek and had him sputtering, face ruddy and pleased.
"Really? Brojelina? Not, like, bropitt or somethin'?"
"This is fantastic! I'm so angry at myself for not thinking of you sooner, Luke," Renee said bashfully.
"We really should've thought of him," Toby agreed, shaking his head. "We could've avoided…" he trailed off and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah! For once, Luke saves the day instead of being sillier than Collin!" Finn cheered happily, his face smeared in egg yolk and his little hand waving a piece of toast. Toby twitched, the hand next to Finn reaching for the napkin nearby before lying flat again. Finn stared up at Toby's chin, squinting in confusion, but the man didn't look down. Just shook his head over at Evie and Luke, the former still pressing loud kisses to Luke's face and the latter flailing and trying desperately to get away.
"Holy Goddess, stop, Evie! My Pops really will make me marry you!"
"Does that mean I'll get a family discount?"
"NO!"
A/N: Heya! Sorry for the late update! If it helps at all, this is updated BEFORE my AO3 account. For some reason, the website isn't working right over there. Anyway! I hope this mess of a chapter made sense! If the first scene looks familiar, you're right. I've written something like it before. But in the game, there are like, 3, and this one was supposed to be after Collin, not Ben. *facepalms* So I slammed it in here. Mainly for the big "OH! HE KNOWS!" moment. But does he really... see? Hmmmm...
The next chapter is a timestamp that takes place during THIS chapter. It's really short, so I'm updating a little earlier. Two weeks instead of three. :D
UPDATE: 2/28/18
