Reviews :
Firesong-Writes : That's so sweet of you. I'm glad others relate to what I went through, as well. And, yes! I can't wait to introduce Kepa, uhg it's gunna be so fun!
Burgie : Thank you! :D It's integral to the story, so I'm glad it's received well!
Lyssdoodle : Yeahhhhhh about that. Prepare the tissues now, we're gunna need 'em.
Song Listened To :
Mr. Fox in the Fields by Alexandre Desplat
Together We Map the World by John Powell
*Chapter 39*
"Alright, mini-me," Ralph grumbled cutely, in a fit of catching Gideon off guard, his massive hand effortlessly swiped Gideon off of his feet and into a huge bear hug. Gideon uttered a loud yell of elated, boyish giggling as Ralph squeezed Gideon up into his chest, messily twirled and finally came to a stop. Gideon beamed, his clumsy hands brushed his auburn hair off his forehead, his toothy Vanellope-like smile grinned into his father's eyes as the three boys waited outside for Vanellope to join them. Ralph narrowed his gaze and peered into Gideon's vivid, golden eyes, "You know the rules. Stay on palace grounds or else Zed will eat you."
"Eat you," Novus repeated in incredulous concern, he flattened his ears and flapped his beautiful wings, splashes of hot blue all on his ventral was always a delight on the eyes, "I didn't realize the King was a cannibal!"
"Oh yeah, he'll snatch up helpless souls that go wandering off his grounds," Ralph hissed in a scary tone, and though Novus was on the brink of looking genuinely concerned, Gideon largely rolled his eyes and looked up to Sugar Rush's minty morning sky, "Y'don't wanna mess with ol'blue..."
"That's Gideon's brother-in-law, stop it," Vanellope snipped cutely as she skipped off of their lovely front stoop, she nudged Ralph's arm and gestured towards the main palace ground's courtyard, of which their beautiful cross-striped tree stood in all its beauty. Beyond said tree was the entrance to the main part of the palace, the gateway to either the corridor to the main garage, for Vanellope, or the main teleport hub for Ralph, "C'mon. We're gunna be late."
"Alright, dude. You two have fun, you should really head to the Rec-Hall," Ralph concluded with a whisper, though he halted his words as Vanellope stepped closer and leaned down to give Gideon a hug and a kiss atop his head. Vanellope stood and looked to be stepping away, so Ralph leaned down and scooped Gideon into a snug little side hug as he concluded his notions with a whisper into the top of Gideon's head, "Tessa left cake in the Rec-Hall fridge, you didn't hear it from me."
"Thanks, dad," Gideon whispered, his face lit up with a grin that reached his eyes, Ralph nudged Gideon's littler shoulder and gave him the warmest smile.
"Love you, dude," Ralph concluded as Vanellope gave a kind wave and a blown kiss.
"Be thinking about what you want for dinner, Gid, it's your night to pick," Vanellope sweetly called, and as Gideon cutely ushered her a notion of agreeing, he waved and watched his parents finally turn heel and vanish into the palace's main building.
"Cake," Novus hissed cutely, though he inhaled a deep breath and stood proudly on his strong four legs. He sprawled his wings, flattened his ears and gave Gideon a look of boyish, excitable challenge, his incredible blue eyes held a world of vigor, "C'mon, let's fly there..."
"Novus," Gideon complained with a defeated smile, he shook his head and heaved a long sigh, "You know Tessa's gunna properly teach us later, when she gets home from Academy. I'm tired of getting in trouble."
"Oh, come on, it's like a two minute flight," Novus argued as he relaxed his pounce-like stance, stood straight and peered far across the palace lot. In the distance, the Rec-Hall could be seen eagerly glinting the morning sun off of it's big bay windows, the incredibly beautiful pool area it harbored equally glistened with the happy daylight that made the palace lot practically sing. With the bright pink spring-time grass Sugar Rush sport, the game was absolutely blistered with cuteness, a dainty touch of peppy goodness after a long, blue winter. Novus sagged the hefty wrists of his wings to the grass underneath with a thud and eyed Gideon with a fang-filled smile that was all Lickity, "C'mon... Just a glide. Who would be mad?"
Gideon heaved a long sigh through his nose and tucked his fists into his dark blue hoodie's pouch. He wore a pair of faded, lighter grey jeans with holes in the knees, and though the air was chilly, he proudly sport his bare feet in true wrecker fashion. His beautiful, intense eyes scanned the pristine palace lot for any signs of life before sagging his shoulders; said deflation had Novus grinning in eager delight, he bounced on his bigger paws once before he firmly nudged Gideon's shoulder, ducked down and extended his wing out of the way so Gideon could hopefully climb aboard his dorsal. Gideon side-eyed Novus with a boyish smirk and titled his head in Novus's direction, and though the boys had a meticulous stare down for at least fifteen seconds, Gideon gave in the second he looked away and trudged deeper into Novus's gravity.
"I'm only doing this to get to the cake faster," Gideon muttered, though he bit his lip and approached Novus's spine with a rising stew of nervousness.
Having never mounted Novus before, never once given the proper opportunity to fly Novus, Gideon felt like a fish out of water, though upon the prop onto Novus's spine and the final settle just underneath his powerful shoulder blades, Gideon's gentle hands felt the velvety, dark brown mane of Novus's spine and felt a rush of imagery suddenly soak him. Like bolts of lightning, streaks of enchanted clouds flit by him like shooting stars, a whole whirl of cosmic color and sky soaked his eyelids in a kiss of a mild hallucination before he furiously blinked his eyes and shook it all away. Gideon huffed a shaky noise and finally allowed his eyes to revist the still, pristine show of the palace lot's beautiful pink spring grass, everything was as still as a photograph. Gideon nervously grappled Novus's mane and was thrilled that Novus picked up on Gideon's nervousness. Gideon flinched the second Novus's brotherly tone ushered Gideon warmth, said loving warmth that only really ever came about in moments of rare secrecy between both boys.
"We don't have to if you're uncomfortable, Gid, I just..." Novus stated lowly, sweetly; he shifted on his powerful feet and flared his tail sails, "I don't know, I get the sense you know what you're doing. Like you've done this before."
"I haven't," Gideon stated, though he almost questioned it and narrowed his gaze in an odd sense of near-disassociation. He shook his head and huffed a whisper of a conclusion to himself, "Have I?"
"I mean, unless you like dreamed it, or something," Novus chuckled, he shrugged and remained still with Gideon proudly on his spine, "I don't know, man, my animal instincts just somehow are making clear to me that if there's anyone to fly with, it's you."
Gideon smiled down to Novus's beautiful pelt; a gradient of near-black brown at the tip of his bat-snout to an easy melt of creamy white down to the tip of his tail, his mane was so beautifully swirled with the cozy, creamy stream of said gradient all the way down the dorsal of his body. Gideon sighed and lulled his eyes closed in a knowing smile. He had done this before, his controlled dreaming had prepared him for it, it was all he had ever wanted to do, and although he had never physically gone through this process, he was somehow shocked to find that Novus's animalistic intuition had cued him to potential preparedness for said endeavor. Gideon inhaled a readied breath and gripped Novus's fur, and with said gentle lurch of Gideon's posture, Novus perked up and easily sagged into non-verbal communication with Gideon. With a lunge and an easy extension of Novus's beautiful wings, he took off with Gideon's silent instruction.
Gideon huffed a small, silent laugh as Sugar Rush's cold, spring-time air licked his face and whipped Novus's beautiful fur about. Although Novus wasn't technically flying and more just hung in a tight glide about ten feet off the ground, Gideon could still feel their united heartbeats just race and race. Gideon leaned a little into Novus's left shoulder blade, cueing him to lightly bank, and with an easy cut of a right-bank and a press down into Novus's shoulder blades, Novus successfully came to a rolling gallop and eventual trot up to the beautiful, grass-grown-over cobbles of the Rec-Hall. Gideon grinned, bounced off of Novus's spine and was eager to see Novus easily crown a huge grin, as well. Both boys hissed silent, excited, whispery notions of blown away delight to one another, a tight pact of excited secrecy over what had just happened, though as Gideon's grinning demeanor turned heel so to press into the Rec-Hall, he stiffened in terrified surprise as to the being sat in the shade, someone of which they somehow didn't see.
"Rule number one, my guy," Zed's deep voice casually eked from his figure; he sat comfortably lounged in one of the Rec-Hall's beautiful splay of outdoor furniture, though he was tucked away and sagged in pure stillness cozily reading something from his phone whilst sipping on a cup of coffee. Gideon and Novus both grew as stiff as boards as Zed's sweet though nearly grumbly, deep tone carried on, "If you're on palace grounds, nine out of ten times, you're being watched."
"Zed," Gideon hissed nervously, he grappled his hair and looked back and forth between him and Novus, to which Novus largely flattened his ears and did the same. Gideon gestured to his chest and in full-flustered terror, he began to approach Zed's comfortably sat figure, "I-I... I just wanted to see, I wasn't gunna like... Fly off the grounds, or anything, we just glided-"
"Gideon, bud, relax, c'mere," Zed blurt a chuckle and gingerly waved Gideon over. Gideon sagged his shoulders and defeatedly trudged over to Zed; upon reaching him, Zed sat up a bit and lovingly gripped Gideon's bigger wrist, and though Novus nervously followed, he eventually stood tight to Gideon's side in Zed's gravity. Zed blurt a chuckle and assessed both boys as he lovingly rested his hand to Novus's bat snout, "Just because I'm King doesn't mean I'm some jerk that's gunna delete the lot o'yah."
"We just glided," Novus mumbled sorrowfully, "Don't tell my mom."
"Even if I did, I don't think anyone would be mad, why are you two acting like it's the end of the world, here?" Zed wondered with a cute chuckle. He set his phone down, moved his coffee a bit deeper onto the side table he was near and sat on the edge of his seat, so to get closer to both boys. He sweetly took Gideon's hand and shook his head with a warm smile, "You've got yourself a flyer... Not everyone on palace grounds is so lucky."
Gideon's warm eyes pierced Zed's blue gaze with nervous, naive intention. He gently squeezed Zed's hand and realized he was in the King's formative, enveloping care, though what was more, a brother's care. Gideon bobbed a small nod and sweetly caught eyes with Novus, to which Zed tenderly pressed on.
"Novus didn't pick Callum," Zed nearly whispered, and as both boys caught eyes, Gideon narrowed his gaze in a ping of soft suspicion and could tell Zed was in the know of Gideon's struggles, towards Callum. Now well aware that all of the adults, in Gideon's life, were likely cued in to Gideon's struggles, Gideon felt a weird wave of reservedness come over him. Almost scared to now let people in more-so, he allowed for the buck to stop here, he allowed for Zed to speak his peace and was then due to ending said chapter with an abrupt thrust of a closed book. Nonetheless Gideon's feelings of being lightly exposed, Zed's voice was deep, warm and sincere, "Novus picked you. Sure you two can verbally communicate, but I watched that whole thing. That was a show of two beginners on the path to being seasoned masters. I know you two will have a lot of fun when Tessa comes home, today, now that you've already had such a smooth-sailing warm up."
"Thank you," Gideon mumbled cutely, to which Zed bobbed a nod and inhaled a deep breath.
"I'll make y'boys a deal," Zed's fatherly voice grumbled as he grunted to a stand and now near-towered over Gideon, to which Novus was just under his eye level, "I won't tell either of your parents that you broke the no-flight pact if you don't tell Tessa that we ate her left over cake."
"... Deal," Gideon's eyes lit up with a cute smile, though before all three boys could scurry inside, they scuffed their feet to a halt as new beings appeared on the Rec-Hall's outdoor teleportation pad.
"Uncle Zed," Theo chimed happily; him, Tatum, Koko and Wren all eased off of the teleport pad, "Ah- and, Uncle Gideon and Novus, palace trouble-makers."
"Born and raised," Gideon boasted quietly with a proud nod, he narrowed his gaze in cheeky cuteness as Theo warmly approached, ruffled the top of Gideon's head and lulled into a sweet laughing fit with Theo.
"Uncle Gideon, still the weirdest thing ever to hear towards someone littler than you," Koko pressed with a giggle as she cutely wrapped Gideon's becoming-broad shoulder into a side hug; Gideon happily obliged and felt a warm swathe of camaraderie fall over him, the kiss of sunlight hit his cheeks with dewy renewal, he wondered if maybe it was just the lot of the Fluggerbutter clan that were so tight-knit that they were unaware that they would potentially leave out a poor soul.
"He won't be little forever," Zed stated sweetly as he gripped Gideon's strong shoulder, jostled him a bit and smiled about the group, "What are you guys up to?"
"Berri, Gunner and Mara are back at Turbotime discussing a few things for our last stretch of the tour," Wren stated with an exhausted yet happy sigh, the group collectively began to swing into adult conversing, something Gideon desperately tried to keep up with in the form of intent eye contact, standing still and sweetly nodding when necessary, to prove he was listening and eager to hear what the people he admired had to say. Wren rubbed the back of his head and gave Zed a knowing, annoyed side-eye, "She, uh... Wanted us to see if you had the... Thing."
"What thing," Zed mumbled nervously, Koko rolled her eyes and blurt a chuckle.
"Just come out with it," Koko argued, though Wren flagged his hand in Gideon's direction.
"UH, little ears are listening," Wren volleyed, to which Zed furrowed his brow and glanced down to Gideon; the top of Gideon's head met with Zed's lower chest, and although he was just a boy with the maturity of a very young teen, as well as still had some growing into himself to do, his intentional, intuitively mature eyes dart about the adults in the group with a swathe of concern.
"What?" Gideon huffed nervously as he sagged his shoulders, his diligent front of actively listening was suddenly thwarted by being put on the spot for something he was unaware about.
"The Firewall Addition, Uncle Zed," Theo muttered cutely, to which Zed grinned and shook his head; Gideon's face turned beet red, and though he maybe had some form of an inkling as to just what a firewall was for, he still was entirely uncertain now how to participate in this rather adult conversation, if at all.
"What, you don't want babies on tour?" Novus bravely blurt, this caused a wide, sneaky grin out of Gideon's figure.
"No, I don't want more grandchildren while my daughter is on tour," Zed sternly corrected as he gripped Novus's chin, though it was all held with playful smiles and chuckles all around, all except Gideon. Zed bobbed a nod and smiled in everyone's direction, "Yeah, I can make sure you guys are sent off with the addition. Everyone wants one, yeah?"
"Theo doesn't," Tatum rebutted, though everyone firmly peered to the two in hot shock as Theo's face washed to white humility; everyone erupted with laughter and curious coos of hot suspicion.
"Wait, I thought that was a joke!" Wren staggered with a laugh, "Y-You guys..."
"NO, we want the firewall addition!" Theo firmly argued with a laugh as he flagged his hand, though him and Tatum shyly caught eyes, "Who knows what... Things will look like after tour."
"Aww, you guys!" Koko eagerly cooed as she cupped her hands under her chin and grinned, "More babies! You guys would make really cute babies."
"Please let me help you pick a wedding dress," Wren muttered as he cocked an eyebrow and waggled his finger towards Theo, "That is, if this man will ever propose."
"Oh, come on," Theo argued, the group was full of laughs and smiles, "We've been touring, don't make me out to be an asshole."
"Watch your words, little ears," Zed politely reminded as he gingerly sagged his masculine, careful hands over either side of Gideon's littler head, to cover his ears; he removed them after a brief moment.
"Oh, whoops, sorry bud, don't repeat my words," Theo mumbled sheepishly down to Gideon, to which Gideon bobbed an unsure nod, twiddled his fingers and looked off.
"You'll understand one day, Giddy," Koko sweetly stated to him, words that held such warm, good intentions, though now was beginning to carve into Gideon's heart like a dull knife.
Gideon inhaled a shaky breath through his nose and felt the wind cut from his sails. The group so eagerly went on and on about babies, firewalls, weddings, every single little thing only really the adults would find great pleasure in. Surely all grand things Gideon was excited to indulge in one day, he opened his bigger wrecking palms and stared down into them with a hit of further isolation. His mother's words rung true in his ears, a kind plea to keep his youth, to really cherish these times, though somehow the desire to fit in with the big kids overrode any of the joy he knew he should be feeling. The brand new rush of a power he had been blessed with was something he was previously excited to show everyone, though now knowing that it had nothing to do with the current hot topic being discussed, he figured it wasn't his place to pop everyone's bubbles. Desperate to soothe the now tumultuous spinning of frustration rising within his heart, he stabbed his fiery golden eyes tight into Novus's blue gaze and was beyond eager to get to the skies with Tessa. Although a big kid, herself, he heaved a hot sigh through his nose and was well aware Tessa was at least another place of solace, just like his mother.
