Reviews :
Burgie : That really made me feel good. I'm glad you feel that way, she's a good one, for sure. Thank you!
chuckiboo : Yes! Zed is an excellent person to have in Gideon's corner, and you're right, because Gideon reached out, Tessa and Zed now feel further dedicated to be involved. Definitely set up this way for a reason, I appreciate your comment! Thank you!
Song Listened To :
California Trees by Walk Off the Earth
*Chapter 99*
"Who are we waiting on?" Nox wondered kindly, a familiar voice Gideon could hear over the warm murmur just beyond the gape of his front door.
"Uhh, Gideon," Oliver started as he turned and peered to said gape of his mother's and father's front door; he smiled upon seeing Gideon's figure slowly pressing out of the stretch of their covered front patio. Oliver rubbed his broad chest, everyone was dressed in thicker winter jackets due to the snow that would be present on Honeydew Ridge, Oliver's deep voice gently pressed on down the list, "Emery went back home cause she forgot her favorite mittens... And, I think mom's inside."
"Zed, the most colorful person here, how could you forget Zed," Koko muttered cutely, everyone erupted into happy laughter.
"Zed, right," Oliver bobbed a nod, to which Tessa grinned and rolled her eyes as Oliver nudged her arm.
Although Gideon looked as if he was distracted with his nose buried in his phone, he cocked an eyebrow and gingerly lifted his golden gaze to the gorgeous sprawl of the palace lot before him. Dead in the center of his vision was the majority of his immediate family cutely smushed into the bigger, outdoor teleport pad, and though Emery, Zed and Vanellope were missing from this bunch, Gideon smiled back down to his phone and was grateful to hear Oliver notice that Gideon was missing, first and foremost. A diligent act of outwardly correcting the tilted scales, Gideon was well aware he'd have to soften his heart for this vacation. Not even on location yet, he could see everyone's efforts to make adamantly clear that Gideon wasn't an afterthought, and it was here did Gideon sag his phone into his pocket and silently promise himself that he'd reply to Kepa's messages later.
A family vacation he was sure he wouldn't be excited for, he suddenly felt the wiggle of it all buzz the underside of his brain in a sweep of happy anticipation that finally arrived. This was only further proof with the way Oliver warmly opened his much bigger arm to Gideon's figure and wrangled him into a cautious squeeze of a side-hug. Although Gideon knew Tessa wouldn't blatantly spoil his secrets, he was well aware Tessa likely at least told everyone about Gideon's adamancy to not be reset, due to the wound Kepa had stitched. Oliver's hug proved he was aware of it, he warmly eased Gideon into the squish of the side of his bigger chest, something Gideon previously would resist to though happily and silently sagged into, this time. Gideon smiled down to his bare feet, and though he was sure every natural-born wrecker here packed shoes, Ralph's, Tessa's, Koko's, and Oliver's bigger feet were all bare. Gideon blurt a silent chuckle and knew it took a lot to get the lot of them to wear shoes, but he was certain snow would do the trick eventually.
"Alright, got Gideon," Oliver stated in warm relief as he kept his bigger, brotherly grip about Gideon's broad shoulders. Gideon heaved a relaxed sigh and remained silent in Oliver's care, knowing this trip was now well on its way to healing internal wounds, and as Gideon's shy eyes peered about the group, he could see Tessa and Koko subtly tearing their eyes away from both boys and wiping their faces of the adoring, longing smiles they had sneakily crowned for both of their brothers.
"We need mom, Zed and Ems," Tessa mumbled, though everyone flinched as Zed suddenly appeared dead in the center of everyone. They all jolted and erupted into happy laughter as Zed bugged his eyes and starkly looked around, "Okay! Zed's explosive entrance. Just need Ems and mom."
"It's not like we can't teleport back to the palace if we need to, woman," Ralph grumbled cutely as he tossed his eyes back to the gape of his and Vanellope's front door, everyone mused into knowing laughter as Vanellope finally shut and locked the door in a scurry to approach everyone. Vanellope squished into Ralph's side and grinned in happy excitement, "Alright, just waiting on Ems."
"Okay, Gideon, so this is lesson number one," Nox held his hands out, to which Gideon brightened and peered his curious eyes tight to Nox's; a squirrelly being so closely resembling Lash, he grinned in full cheek and shook his head, "Stay single."
"Oh, come ON," Koko erupted as everyone was rocked into full, teasing laughter, such laughter that had a wide grin finally crowning Gideon's face, a rare sight to be seen, something everyone was eager to just bask in.
"You're gunna go on big trips with a girlfriend or fiancé or wife and she's gunna forget her mittens and it's gunna be all over," Nox rushed, Oliver flagged his free hand in Nox's direction and was successful in ruffling his hair a bit, to which Nox blew a raspberry and took a step away from Oliver's reach; the air was warm with laughter and coos of tease, "THEN, we'll get there and Koko will have forgotten her favorite curling iron. And then Tessa will scold Zed for not bringing their weighted blanket."
"... Oh, shit," Zed muttered as he cued his vivid silver pixels, utilized the teleport pad and was suddenly off; everyone howled with laughter as Nox threw his hands up.
"Point and case!" Nox shouted with a hard chuckle as now Vanellope, Koko and Tessa were wiping their eyes free of tears. Nox grinned and sweetly brought his eyes back to Gideon, "You only have to worry about yourself. Relish in it, my guy."
"I'll probably forget something of my own, so I guess I'm my own worst enemy," Gideon shyly mumbled; not used to having this kind of banter with his family and their swap mates, he felt nervous to open up too quickly, though with the continuous snug of Oliver's arm tight about his shoulders, he felt his hardened heart begin to finally feel the sweet release of rigidity that he had been stuck in for awhile now.
"Wait, where's Novus?" Vanellope urged in a furrow of a now lofted stare far across the palace lot, in the direction of the flyer's enclosure.
"He's gunna arrive later in the day, he's asleep," Gideon explained, somehow he felt at peace, and though there was a nagging thought in the back of his brain to still be on guard and wary of any mishaps, he found himself sagging a bit deeper into Oliver's much larger embrace, a held, snuggly side hug both men just remained in, neither wavering from the one thing Oliver knew Gideon needed the most.
"Alright, let's go," Zed stated after he returned, and as he stepped off the center of the pad, Emery showed up as well, she held up her hands in which were cutely covered by her favorite green and white striped fuzzy mittens.
"I found them," Emery sweetly mumbled as she stepped to Oliver's free arm, to which Tessa finally stepped to the center of the teleport pad and began to count the heads.
"Alright guys, ready?" Tessa chimed excitedly, everyone nodded in happy delight.
Although not something she usually did to the palace's teleportation pads, she easily cued the coding on the soles of everyone's feet and utilized the waypoints of the palace's pad to teleport them to the front, gaping lawn area of Honeydew Ridge's lovely, snowy cabin. In a blink of an eye, and a correct splay of materialized coding everyone now settled into, the stillness of Honeydew's glorious cliffside now sung with snowy song birds, the whistle of the cold breeze through the mint bark vines, Honeydew's infamous cabin stood in pristine condition with a hefty layer of fresh snow caked atop of it. Almost on cue, everyone sagged in a full show of excited relief, the understood notion that their winter vacation began right in this second. Koko squealed a cute, excited noise, clapped her hands in a flutter of a bounce and began to skip across the full field of untouched snow. Gideon exhaled a long, shaky breath and watched as the air about him and Oliver heavily fogged with their hot breath.
Although Gideon had been to Honeydew Ridge, he was a baby and obviously didn't remember any of it. Tessa, Koko and Emery wildly giggled with each other as they excitedly skipped ahead and began to frolic in the thick layer of snow, Gideon allowed his shoulders to sag a bit more as his slump into Oliver's side hug was now becoming more and more obvious. So much so, Oliver grunted a small chuckle, readjusted his footing and firmly squeezed his arm a bit tighter about Gideon, as if to silently make clear that the unwavering loyalty was to remain as such, no matter what. Understood that mildly difficult conversations were likely on the horizon, both men silently relished in the calm before the storm, and as everyone began to slowly step towards the front door of Honeydew's cabin, Ralph tossed his gaze back to his sons and paused to wait for them to catch up. Oliver chuckled, jostled Gideon a little and finally allowed his much bigger arm to slide away from the grip he had on his little brother.
"Been too long, bud, I'm glad you can experience Honeydew with us and make proper memories of your own," Oliver's loving voice stated down to Gideon, to which both men now causally filed past Ralph. Ralph firmly pat Oliver's broad shoulder as they all pressed on, and as Gideon's nervous though hazed with enchantment gaze glossed their pristine, white, snowy surroundings in awe, Oliver warmly continued on, "I'm really glad that what happened the other night didn't deter you from coming... I'm happy you're here, it wouldn't be the same without you."
"Thank you," Gideon mumbled shyly; not even sure how to begin starting fresh with Oliver, he could feel both men on the brink of it, something he was at least grateful for.
Gideon sighed, the cold now began to properly nip at his nose and bare feet, though just in time for him, Oliver and Ralph to follow the crew up Honeydew's gorgeously crafted wooden stoop, into the huge gape of a round front door, one of which the rest of the family had vanished into. Gideon scoffed in gentle surprise at just how spacious and gorgeous this cabin was. One single level, high ceilings with hefty wooden cross beams, a massive splay of a low-laying living room to the right, with an equally as massive, cozy fireplace, alongside an open format of a kitchen and dining area to the left, all the bedrooms were securely spaced down a long corridor directly down the middle of said huge sprawl of a space. An open area big enough for even Novus to sprawl his wings and easily exist in, Gideon heaved a long sigh of relief and felt his skin prickle with the new birth of sparkling roots that would eventually bear the fruit of golden memories. Removed enough from the palace to feel new though surrounded by his immediate family, Gideon felt relieved to understand that this was the happy medium he desperately needed. Away from the bustle of the palace's swathe of gamers, securely tucked in the root of his powers and familial love, he finally smiled in a visible glow of shy happiness and looked about in a show of unconcerned curiosity.
"Alright, Gideon, YOU are the lucky duck that gets the grand tour," Koko chirped in excitement as she took a few bouncing steps closer to her little brother, she gripped his lower left arm and jostled him a bit as Gideon visibly looked lifted, his golden eyes smiled down into her eyes.
"You mean you didn't give me one when I was a baby? I promise I would've remembered," Gideon muttered in smiling tease, everyone brightened with Gideon's easiness, a full show of now solidified relief that sapped Honeydew's gorgeous, snowy face.
"Koko did, actually, I remember that," Tessa stated with a nod in a matter of fact kind of way, she gestured openly to the living room and kitchen area, "Alright, if it's not obvious, y'got the living room, the kitchen, dining room... This HUGE fireplace that dad always falls asleep in front of without fail."
"Yeah, remember that one time I got too close?" Ralph grumbled, everyone erupted into happy laughter, though Tessa did what she could to continue the smaller group, that had branched off, further down the corridor so to keep Gideon firmly invested.
While Zed, Oliver, Vanellope and Emery lazily moved into the kitchen and began to prepare the kitchen, fridge and pantries for their four day stay, Ralph, Koko, Gideon, Tessa and Nox began to mosey towards the long, single archway that led to now all five bedrooms and bathrooms. Although not the hugest cabin for the amount of rooms, it still was spacious enough for everyone to coexist peacefully. Gideon shyly looked about; although there was an itch under his skin that firmly reminded him that his family had spent years here without him, creating a vast amount of memories, even long before Tessa was born, he lulled his eyes closed and knew he had to at least attempt to meet everyone half way, however difficult it'd be for him. Trying to plow through the hurt was painful in of itself, though Gideon could now see their glimmering, fervent attempts at making absolutely certain Gideon felt fully loved on and included, all things he was glad was arriving to him better late than never.
"Alright, Giddy, this is YOUR room," Tessa instructed as she filed past an open room on the right and gestured to the second door in the hallway. Said hallway now had one main bedroom at the very end of it with two equally as large bedrooms on the left, and two on the right. Gideon's bedroom was secured, second door to the right, agape and alive with the beam of morning sunshine that flood inside. Tessa filed into his room first, to which Ralph, Nox and Koko cutely held back and allowed Gideon to follow her inside for a proper reveal. Gideon's curious eyes firmly looked about; a beautiful, pristine room with a huge bed, a private bathroom, his own television and a gaping, gorgeous view of the whole snowy cliffside and swooping valley below. Gideon raised his eyebrows in delighted surprise and scoffed a happy chuckle as Tessa held her fists to her chest in excited anticipation, "Y'like? It's ALL yours. We each have our own designated rooms, on our Honeydew trips... This one's reserved for you!"
"Thank you, I love it," Gideon stated in full, genuine gratitude, he bobbed a nod and gave Tessa a loving smile, "Thank you... Not a shabby view to wake up to, truly."
"Mine and Koko's room is next door with the same view, you're absolutely not wrong," Nox stated lowly in smiling agreeing from the gap of Gideon's bedroom door.
"Each room looks similar, except for the views and decor and whatnot," Tessa assured Gideon, to make clear that his room was definitely on par with everyone's, though she rolled her eyes and tossed her gaze to her father, who cutely hung back in the huge hallway and peered into Gideon's bedroom, "Except mom and dad..."
"Yeah, you're guys room is absolutely not fair," Koko stabbed, Ralph wildly furrowed his eyebrows as suddenly everyone was now thrusted into happy laughter, Ralph grew teasingly animated.
"Oh, SORRY! It's not like your mother and I started this whole mess," Ralph bellowed in a full show of playfulness, everyone erupted into louder laughter that the crew in the kitchen were now cued to, "None... Let me repeat, NONE of you fools would even be here if it weren't for us two."
"Ooo, what're we fighting about," Vanellope eased in a lilt of grinning mischief as she peeked about Ralph's bigger arm, the group only laughed louder.
"Guys, we've been here five minutes and already we're fighting, come on," Oliver loudly bellowed from the living room.
"It's the same 'ol topic we usually fight about," Ralph muttered, Vanellope now rolled her eyes and looked up.
"Ralph's right! Just let them have the best bedroom in the house!" Nox cried, Ralph firmly grappled Nox's shoulder and wildly jostled him about.
"And THIS is why you're my favorite child!" Ralph yelled, to which now everyone was hunched over with teary laughter.
"Phew, 'bout time," Nox muttered as he collected his footing and grinned.
"C'mon, let's get settled, I was gunna make a big breakfast and prepare the cabin for a whole lotta what?" Tessa paused and pointed to Gideon in a swing of baited wait, to which she cheekily continued her statement, "Whole lotta NOTHING."
"I'm good at doing nothing," Nox affirmed with a hearty nod as Gideon and Tessa began to push out of Gideon's bedroom; Gideon found a sliver of bravery come over him, the need to cheekily assert himself, likely the easiest avenue being Lash's little brother.
"We know," Gideon sharply whispered in a sarcastically mean tone, though Nox felt the knock back as the whole group prickled in grinning shock.
"Oooo, burn," Koko mused.
"Alright, dude, game on!" Nox urged as he and Gideon now swung into a bit of a boyish shove fight full of grunting chuckles as they stumbled down the gape of the cabin's single, massive hallway.
"No, game OFF, no one talk about games or game day or quarter alerts for the next four days, please," Ralph grumbled as he firmly rubbed his face, and as everyone's sunny demeanors sagged into the whole of the cabin for a envelope of true, familial care, Tessa cutely closed Gideon's bedroom door and filed behind everyone, the slowest, easiest sigh of relief lifted from her figure as she prayed that this happy vibe was diligently held on to.
