The new combat exoskeleton I had was working beautifully. I could tell because I sprinted through crowds of Grim, twirling about and slicing them apart with my plasma sabers. It was almost like dancing with Andy, spinning and spinning. Sighing I wished we could go out and dance somewhere again. We hadn't gone in a real date in a while.
I burst through the last line of Beowulfs, skidding to a stop and facing the rest of the Grim. My combat skeleton was bulkier than my normal walking leg braces. I stood in metal boots that had bars and joints that ran up the outside of my legs, covering them in armor plates. They connected to my waist and an armor backpack that branched out over my arms. The arm bars clamped around my wrists, armored gloves wrapping my hands. My whole body was covered in plated black armor, I was like a modern knight.
Today was another test, more analyzing the exoskeleton, more practice for me and the new weapons they had developed. It was another day but something I could enjoy. Anything that didn't involve those damn scientist subjecting me to more pain was a relief. Smiling I leaped into the air, my augmented body flying 30 feet into the air over the remaining Grim. I landed on one with a crunch, bounding into the fray once again with my two humming swords slicing in every direction. In minutes the forest that I was in was clear, littered with limps and half bodies.
The trees and brush fragmented into pixelated boxes, falling into the ground and dissipated until the gray room walls were all that remained.
"Great job Skye," a voice boomed through the loudspeakers. "You can come out now."
I took a deep breath, wiping the sweat off my brow and tucking the loose strands of hair behind my ears. My tight combat suit that I wore was slightly damp but the exertion of the fight was barely anything. With all the training my body had gotten stronger and used to it all.
The doors automatically slid apart as I walked into the air conditioned testing room, opposite of the glass viewing window. A tiny body ran up and immediately latched around my legs. At first I wanted to shake whoever it was off, still partly in that combat mode, but then an age old voice cut through the air.
"Oh my Gods, Skye! That was wonderful!" the voice was light, almost angelic to my ears, so full of sweetness like a trickling stream of candy.
"You're so tall now onee-chan!" the little one around my legs said.
"Okaa-san?! Robin?!" I exclaimed in utter disbelief as my mother wrapped her arms around me, covered in tears.
My mother was sobbing joyfully into my armored shoulder while my little sister Robin was bouncing about on my leg.
"Onee-chan! Onee-chan! Onee-chan is tall now, she can walk too!" she sang loudly.
"What… How… What are you two doing here? Is Dad here too?" I said, finally breaking out of my stupor and grasping them both tightly to me. I had to be careful not to crush them in my combat exoskeleton.
"Oh him," she said smiling, pulling away so she could look at me, "he's back at home. He couldn't get away from work but told us to give you his best."
"Skye," one of the assistants interrupted and I shot them a dirty glance, "we have to get your exoskeleton off."
My mother gave me a nod and I bent down to peel Robin off my leg, giving her a good ruffle of her red hair.
"Wait right here with Okaa-san okay? I'll be right back," I told her.
"Okay Onee-chan! But you have to carry me on your shoulders later!"
I scratched her head cutely again, "Of course Robin."
I trudged over to a mechanical station, setting both of my armor boots into locks on the ground. Latches came out and hooked into them and around my torso, holding the exoskeleton in place. Disengaging it I watched as the armor and connections peeled away from my body, allowing me to step out of the suit.
"Here," my mother said grabbing my wheelchair that was in the corner, "let me help you."
"No!" I said more forcefully than I wanted to. "I mean… I can walk now Okaa-san, see?"
It surprised me that I had that rage from my childhood still pent up. Actually it didn't. I finally was able to walk. I didn't have to depend on anyone anymore, except maybe those I let and that was only Andy. With one of the people who cared for me so much back around I was protective of my independence. The reliance was like a trap, a prison that I could be thrown back into and I desperately didn't want those chains on me again. I wanted to be free.
My mother cringed at first but then relaxed, looking me up and down.
"Yes, yes Skye you can. Little Robin is right, you're so tall now. I never noticed how much you've grown too, sitting in your chair all the time," she said admiringly.
I bit down on my tongue, holding back from snapping from the old memories.
Robin saved me from the moment, running up and circling me. Her short red hair was messily spiked. It was her namesake and mine combined. I was the sky that the red colored bird flew amongst. I was the air under her wings, her shelter. She ran up to each of my sides, tapping the extremely slim braces clamped around my legs. That cute little button nose pressed against the matte colored metal of them, looking at every inch.
"Is this what makes you so tall Onee-chan?" she asked.
"Haha, this is what allows me to walk," I told her as I picked her up and placed her on my shoulders. She squealed with glee.
"I'm so high! I can see everything from here!"
I laughed and returned my attention to my mother. "See, this is what allows me to walk. I can walk, run, jump, do everything that I used to."
My mother came up to me and lightly touch one side of my legs. "And you can… feel?"
"Yes, yes of course. With these on I can feel everything, like nothing ever happened."
"Oh my, this is a miracle!"
"Not a miracle ma'am," one of the scientists interrupted annoyingly, "just lots of hard work and science. Skye is one of most promising. Her efforts allowed us to progress this far. Skye, we're done for today."
"Thanks," I scoffed, taking my mother's hand. "Oh my Gods. Okaa-san there's someone I want you to meet! You must tell me everything along the way!"
We walked slowly, my mother not having my youthful energy. I told her about the facility, my room and how life was here. Mainly though I went on and on about Andy. My mother's face was something curious. She listened intently but her small smile disguised something that she thought. I asked her but she told me it was nothing. I had to stop myself from going on anymore so I could find out about home.
Mother spoke of home fondly. Things back there were still the same. It almost seemed like nothing had changed. People were growing up, many stayed and others left for work or adventures. There were new buildings built and being built. Dad was hard at work at always. He owned a mechanic shop back home and the family business was doing well. People would come in and he'd fix whatever they brought in. Dad had a particular knack for dust type machines and had taught me a lot while I was back there.
I turned the corner into the hallways where I went to pick up Andy, seeing her standing outside her testing rooms.
"Andy!" I called excitedly but instantly I knew something was wrong.
Andy wasn't waving back or smiling but that wasn't what really shocked me. She was standing totally wrong. Her heels were together, head was down, and hands clasped in front of her. She looked like a maid waiting for a job except that she wasn't dreading whatever was coming.
The other thing that stood out was that there were two adults next to her. There was a woman wearing a floral dress with shoulder length curly hair, wrinkles forming on her brow and around her eyes. Next to her was a man in a casual suit jacket and slacks with a bowtie. He was salt and pepper hair with a groomed beard and mustache. Immediately I felt a taste of bile in my mouth looking at him. We walked up catching the last bits of what he was saying.
"… you're a daughter of mine. Of course the tests would go well! Look at you! Those… dog ears look… good. Your mother and I did really well, after all these years too you've grown up. I bet if you grew up back home you'd even be ten times the lady you are now. And oh if you could see home now! It's changed so much, mainly cause of my efforts and our new business. Well, new to you since you're just finding out about it, but it's been thriving for years back there! Right dear?" he finally stopped ranting.
"Of course honey," replied the other woman. "I think that our Andy would rather-."
"Bah!" the man interrupted. "We must go and," he stopped finally noticing us walking up on them. "Oh and who is this?"
Andy's eyes raised from the floor, locking with mine. She forced a smile and tried to look happy but her eyes looked helpless, trapped.
"Andy," I said ignoring him which earned me quite the nasty sneer, "is everything alright?"
"Skye I," Andy begin but again was interrupted by the man.
"Excuse me. Do you know my daughter?" the man practically demanded.
"Dear!" the other woman interjected but was silenced by his glance.
"Ah, perfect!" my mother clapped her hands together, walking to a spot in between Andy's group and mine. "This is how we got here. Mr. Ted here discovered that we were trying to visit this facility much like himself and offered to pull a few string to help us get here."
I stared at the other man and woman. It was obvious now that these two were Andy's parents. What wasn't obvious was why Andy was so dejected and quiet among their company. I would've expected her to be ecstatic, the kind and lovingly Andy that I knew.
One thing was obvious to me, this Mr. Ted, Andy's father, was a prick and I didn't like him one bit.
Walking past all of them I went over and hugged Andy tightly causing gasps here and there.
"Are you okay?" I whispered into her ear.
She replied with by nipping my ear like I would nip her ears. "Please don't leave me."
"Wouldn't dream," I said back into her ear before stepping to her side and taking her hand. "Yes I know you're daughter," I told her father. "In fact…" I paused glancing at Andy with a dastardly grin, "we've been sharing the same bed for the past few years."
"What?!" her father bellowed.
"Skye?!" Andy shrilled.
Both our mothers almost had the same reaction, clasping their hands together and placing them over their mouths. They both looked happily surprised though.
"Okaa-san, what does Onee-san mean, sharing the same bed?" Robin asked tugging at my mother's skirt.
My mother placed a hand on Robin's head. "I'll tell you in a few years," she giggled.
Oh my mother, what a woman. She always supported me no matter what.
With Andy in shock I gave her a tug, heading back to our rooms. Our guests trailed behind, her father sneering at the back of my head while our mothers began to chat like mothers do. I could hear secrets and childhood stories spilling from both of them. Robin had hopped down and latched onto my mother's hand.
I pulled ahead of them a bit so that Andy and I could talk a little louder to one another.
"Andy what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Okay, you know what I'm about to say."
"I… I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here right now with my parents."
"But why?" I asked confused. "I thought you'd be happy to see them."
"Uhm, sort of. I'd rather they leave right now," she said bitterly.
"But fox, they came all this way to-."
"And I wish they went all that way back!"
I was so confused it didn't make any sense.
"You could at least be nice since they made the effort to come and see you. It sounds like they had to get a lot of favors to visit. Plus they brought my mom and sister along," I tried to reason with her but she remained silent until we arrived back at my room.
We walked into the room and Andy made her way into the kitchen. It was her turn to cook and I think it was something to keep her mind off of things.
"Oh wow," my mom said, "your room is so nice."
"Yes, it is quite homey," said Andy's mom. "Is this your room Andy?"
Andy smiled genuinely this time, "No Mother, it is Skye's but we share it." She obviously was warmer towards her mom.
There was a bark from the other side of the room and Basher came running, his tongue hanging out, from my bedroom. Spira followed him in the air, swooping over to a nearby couch arm rest. I bent down to give them both a good scratch but jumped when there were screams of terror behind me.
"Grim!" Andy's father screamed. "There's Grim here!" He backed up against the front door frozen in fear.
My mother had broken down, grabbing Robin and shielding her with her arms.
"What?! Oh no, stop!" I yelled, grabbing Mr. Ted's wrist as he grabbed a nearby lamp to use as a club. My voice dropped low and to a dark place, "Don't. You dare. Hurt my pets."
Andy has rushed over to reassure her mother and mine, her aura was as healing as my semblance.
"Your pets?!" Mr. Ted exclaimed.
It took some time, sitting them all down and explaining. Andy brought over tea and snacks, but had poured glasses of wine as well. She had a rather large cup for herself which I didn't mind but it did worry me. Our guests were deathly scared but Robin warmed up immediately to Basher as he cuddled with her. Both our mothers were slow but began to see the difference of these unique Grim. Thankfully Spira was as regal as ever and worked on my mother until she was laughing at that mini Nevermore's shenanigans. Mr. Ted sat quietly at the far end of the couch.
"Ahahaha! You're so cute!" Robin said as Basher licked her chin relentlessly.
"Well, we're cooking him for dinner," I joked causing both Robin and Basher to shriek. Bash rolled into a tight ball as my little sister hugged him tightly to her chest.
"Noooooooooo!"
"I'm only kidding," I laughed.
"Anyways," Andy's curt tone cut through the room. She rested a hand on my thigh. "As you can see Father, Mother, I am perfectly fine here. There is nothing wrong so you can head back home."
"Nonsense!" her father said. "We only just arrived and we have much to talk about"
"Like what?" Andy shot. Her voice was getting frightening close to someone we both would rather not pop out. I slipped my hand onto her head and began scratching her ears. I wanted to keep her mind here.
"Plenty! But I'd rather talk, privately," he demanded it rather than asked.
Oh how I wanted to demolish the sly face of his. I simple whistle could set loose Basher and Spira upon him. Hell I could take this wine glass and…
"Why don't we make dinner?" my mother offered, standing up with Spira on her shoulder. "Come on Robin, Skye, we can get started and leave them to talk." She took Robin and headed into the kitchen, already summoning a recipe from memory and perusing for everything she needed.
I reached over and hugged Andy again. "Are you going to be okay? I'll be right over in the kitchen."
"Go. I can handle this."
Smiling weakly I got up and kissed her fox ear, going to help my mother with the food. She had already pulled out ingredients from my fridge and had the stove going. Even as I helped her I kept a watchful eye on Andy and her parents. Something was obviously wrong.
"You love her don't you?" my mom shocked me.
"Wh-what?! Okaa-san what are you saying?!"
"Oh, Skye don't you Okaa-san me," she said bumping her hip against mine. "It's so obvious. The way you look at her, the way you hold her hand and hug her, kiss her, not to mention that you told us all that you two shared the same bed."
"Okaa-san!" that woman never ceases to amaze me.
"You're so cute. Your father would be going crazy if he were here. He'd be running around the room, jumping for joy, and couldn't wait to tell everyone."
"Oh Gods," I moaned covering my eyes with my hand.
"Don't worry my blue sky. I'm not going to get in the way. I actually think you two look very sweet together. I'm simply relieved that you're happy. You can walk now, you've got someone you care for and that cares for you. Everything seems to be falling into place," she stopped to hug me tenderly.
"Please… don't use my nickname," but I couldn't help but hug her back. She was right and saw right through me.
She pulled away and held each of my shoulder, her eyes watering up. "I… I'm happy you came here. I was wrong. Your father and I were both wrong to be so worried and hesitant about giving you our permission… and our blessing. You coming here… it was the right thing."
Now it was my turn to hold back my tears. "Thank you Okaa-san. I… I'm sorry too. I didn't mean all those things I said before I left."
"It's okay. I know," she hummed, returning to preparing food.
All seemed well until…
"GET OUT!" Andy screamed. She was standing now, her hands balled into fists. "GET OUT! GO HOME! LEAVE!"
"DON'T YOU YELL AT ME GIRL!" her father bellowed back, raising a hand to hit Andy.
Instantly I was at her side, protecting her with my body. I was too late to block though, his backhanded slap stinging my cheek. It took all that I had not to crush his skull.
Andy had lost all control. She was clawing behind me, trying to get at her father. I pushed her away with ease, simply caressing her bird tattoo on her neck and staring into her eyes. Immediately she regained herself and stood there. I turned to deal with her father.
"Get out of my way peasant," he growled.
Stepping up to him I grabbed his collar and lifted him off his feet so he dangled in the air.
"I think it's time you left," I said in a fine china voice.
"Don't you think you can tell what to do girl!"
With that I walked the short distance to my door and threw him out into the hallway. The deadbolt slid into the lock position with a clunk.
Andy's mother had taken her into her arms as she sobbed. My mother had come over too to comfort her and protect her. Robin held my two pet Grim in her arms at the edge of the kitchen, Bash and Spira were docile but ready for a fight.
What the hell.
Robin scurried over to me with a frightened look on her cute face. "Onee-chan, what happened?"
"I don't know Red," I said using her nickname. "Hey, Basher and Spira need to be fed. Their food is in the drawer in the fridge. Can you feed them for me?"
"Okay!" she said hurrying off.
I made my way over to the cluster of mothers and Andy, intent on finding out what was wrong.
"Has she said anything?" I asked concerned.
"No, not yet," Andy's mother responded. "I'm sorry. We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Andy's mother, Teresa." Instead of shaking my hand she embraced me in a hug. "Thank you for taking care of her all this time. I've been… so worried."
"I, uh, nice to meet you," I said a little put off. She was a drastic change from Andy's father. "Hey Andy," I said walking over to her. Andy was still sobbing into my mother's arms. "Hey my dear fox, I'm here. What happened? What's wrong?"
At that Andy pushed away, running into my bedroom and shutting the door. Basher tried chasing after her but found that his head was a poor way to open a closed door. He rolled over to the side dazed as Robin fawned over him.
"Okaa-san?"
"I didn't say anything! She just cried as I tried to comfort her and then left," she said equally confused.
"I can explain," Teresa said solemnly.
Teresa sat down, taking a glass of wine and taking quite a large gulp. Up this close I could see the resemblances between her and Andy. Her hair was dyed darker, but it's auburn and brighter colors were growing in from her roots. They had that same caring, kind face, the one that a child could walk up to and instantly be at ease with. Those eyes were crowded by wrinkles and filled with experience, but they were the same selfless ones I always saw in Andy.
"I trust that Andy's told you how she got here?" she began.
"Yeah," I said thinking back years ago, "she told me that she volunteered. She wanted to become a faunus."
"Oh," Teresa sighed, her eyes growing dark, "so that is what she told you. I am sad to inform you that is incorrect."
"What?!" I exclaimed. "What do you mean?! Tell me!"
"Our family, if you can call it that, wasn't always like this. We didn't have our business, all the money, and all these nice things. Before, when there were the three of us we were barely surviving. We had little food, no electricity, and our home was falling apart. Andy's father couldn't keep a job. He would either get fired or not even be hired. He was an enterprising kind of man who just wanted to be rich," she said with a sad smile.
"Sounds like a nice guy but definitely not the one that was in my room threatening Andy. He was a prick," I scoffed.
"Skye!" my mother berated.
"What? It's true."
"It's also true that without him we wouldn't have been able to visit you so the… man, deserves a little gratitude," she reasoned.
"Hmph."
"No, no you're right Skye," Teresa said, "on both accounts. My husband is a despicable man right now. I wish you could've seen him before all this. He had a good heart and always looked after us, always worked his absolute hardest to make sure we had the best that we could. It wasn't enough for him though."
Teresa began to shake, her words were intermingled between sobs and her face grew pale. My mother sat beside her, hold her shoulders to steady her.
"It's okay," my mother hummed. "Just, tell us when you're ready."
Teresa took a deep breath before she continued, trying to stem her flow of sobs. "One night… he came to me while Andy was sleeping. He said… He said… Oh Gods!" she was rocking back and forth hugging herself.
"That's enough," mother said in a stern loving voice. "You should rest, we can talk more later."
"No!" she cried, "Skye deserves to know. You've seen the same thing I've seen Kimiko, her and Andy…" She returned her eyes to me. "He told me that he had found a way to solve all our problems. He said he could give all three of us a better life. I couldn't believe him when he told me his plan. I was against it, it wasn't right. We couldn't do that to our Andy but he convinced me that we were giving her a better life. That if we did this she didn't have to live on scraps. I believed him. So we…"
I feared what was coming. Something was wrong and every fiber in my body was screaming. Everything about this was wrong.
"You what… Tell me… Tell me now."
Teresa stared at me with dead eyes, "We sold our daughter Andy."
A sharp slap cut through the room as I backhanded Teresa.
"YOU MONSTER!" I bellowed, all the rage inside me unleashing at once.
I lunged at her, aiming for her throat. I wanted to eviscerate her, to tear out her windpipe. They had sold Andy, given up their own flesh and blood for money. They had thrown away the one person in my life that had care and loved me for all these years, the one person that I had given my heart to, the one person that I suffered with. All those years of torturous experiments on Andy is what I wanted them to feel.
My mother leaped up and block me from repainting the couch and floor in blood. She hugged me, not even trying to fight back. Her hands touched my two tattoos, somehow knowing about the paw on my side. It caged me up in painful memories of Andy.
"Go to her Blue Sky," she said. "Teresa is already in her own self agony. Nothing you can do will hurt her more. Go to Andy, she needs you."
"Okay Okaa-san," I said softly.
"Teresa, here come along. You should help me make dinner so we can all eat tonight," she gently picked up the broken woman, helping her to the kitchen to distract her with cooking.
I whistled two notes, two simple notes that made Bash's and Spira's heads jerk up. They scurried over to me, hopping onto the couch.
"Basher, Spira listen," I said. "Bash, this is serious," I told him, tucking away his hanging tongue back in his mouth and resting my hand on his head. Instantly he became attentive, noticing my sternness. "Whatever happens, you two protect them," I said looking at our mothers and Robin in the kitchen. "They are my family, my mother, my little sister, and Andy's mother. Certain people want to hurt them, Andy and maybe even me. Watch them and don't let that other man back inside our home. Understand?"
If a Grim could grin Basher was doing it. He growled as a response while Spira held her head high with the new mission. Both were taking this seriously. My idiotic like Ursi was baring his fangs slightly while his claws extended to the full length from his fat paws. Spira's own talons were protruding from her feet, her feathers quivering with anticipation. Their eyes burned a deeper blue with pure resolution to ensure that my family was protected.
Basher hopped off the couch and waddled like a lion on the prowl over to the door. He stopped a couple feet back and kept his eyes on the door, not even bothering to sit down. Spira was about to hop away before I stopped her.
"Spira, a feather please," she didn't even caw in complaint but stuck out her wing, keeping her head and eyes trained on the kitchen. I plucked out a single razor sharp feather, careful not to cut myself. "I'll return it afterwards."
Spira just cawed as if saying 'keep it,' ruffling her feathers. She covered the distance to the kitchen in a few flaps of her wings, landing on a chair at the counter. Her talons clacked on the wood as she turned to face the door, keeping her head on a swivel so she could constantly scan the room.
"Thank you," I whispered to no one in particular.
I went over to the bedroom door, knocking on it even though I knew what Andy was going to say.
"GO AWAY!" she screamed. To me it sounded more like 'help' the way it was said through gritted teeth and body wrenching sobs.
"My lovely fox, it's your bird," I said to the door.
"Sk-Skye?"
"Yes it's me, can I come in?"
"No! Stay out! Leave me alone!" she said weakly.
That was my cue. I took Spira's feather and slid it into the door. A normal feather wouldn't have done a thing, but Spira's were razor sharp and stronger than steel. It slid into the seam and with a little bit of wiggling unlocked the door.
Inside was a wreck. Andy had been busy exerting her anger. A quick search and I found her nestled in a far corner, crying in ruins. I went and knelt before her, reaching out to scratch her fox ear but she slapped away my hand.
"Don't touch me!"
"Andy, are you alright?" it was such a dumb question.
"Please my little bird, just leave me alone," she begged, hugging her legs to her chest.
"I can't do that fox, you know that."
Those cute ears of hers flattened against her head. "Why did they have to come here? I was happy here with just the two of us, everything was just fine."
"Your mom doesn't seem that bad," I said, purposely leaving the other prick out. "They…" I hesitated, knowing I was about to upset a hornet's nest, "They told me… about how you got here. They told me… how they sold y-."
I didn't get to finish my sentence as Andy slapped me with full force. I was stunned, clutching my tender cheek. Andy stood above me, her face… distraught, despairing, sad, and guilty.
"How… How… No…" she mumbled. "Get out…" she whispered deathly.
"No," I said stubbornly. "I'm not leaving you and, this is technically my room."
She shoved me with full force, throwing me onto my back.
"Get out! Get the hell away from me! You… you stupid… CRIPPLE!" she said that last word with such force.
That hurt me more than her slap, more than her tears, more than her agony. It threw a lance that cut through all my armor, all my love and went straight through my heart. Here was the girl I loved, calling me the worst, most personally damaging thing she could. It was one word that held all the intimacy we shared used as a weapon against me.
But I couldn't let it impede me. It was my turn to be the selfless one.
"Y-y-y-you're not… getting rid of me… that easily," I struggled on my words, fighting past the internal agony I felt.
"Fine! You know what!" Andy's eyes glazed over and I knew what was coming. "C-ydna is back to play!"
But I already had closed the gap while she was switching personas. I had both her wrists in my hands and pinned her against the wall, holding them above her head.
"You've been naughty cripple, cripple. I've got to punish you for trying to hurt Andy now," it taunted.
I was prepared and released both of Andy's wrists as I leaned in and kissed her lips. C-ydna pulled back surprised and probably disgusted but since I had pushed Andy back into the wall there was no where he could go. He didn't even try to use his free hands to attack me. I tried to force every bit of love I could muster from my wounded heart into my lips, hoping…
Pulling away I saw Andy again, my Andy shocked that she had woken up so quickly.
"How did you do that?" she demanded.
"Luck, and a bit of love," I replied emptily. Her and C-ydna's voices taunting 'cripple, cripple, cripple' still rang through my ears.
Andy didn't give up and shoved me off of her, causing me to stumble back a few steps to the bed. I took a step toward her again but she took a swing at me, actually tried to punch me. Dodging it I took another step, granting me a slap.
"Goddamnit Andy why now of all times do you have to be so stubborn?"
"Stay away from me cr-cripple!" she wailed, forcing out the insult this time.
Bellowing out I rushed the small space in between us, taking hit after hit, slap after slap, and hand after hand shoving me and my face away.
"Andy… ugh! I'm just… OUFF! Trying to… AHH! HUG YOU!" finally I swatted away all of her hands and wrapped my arms around her.
Even then she squirmed and fought but I held on tight. She bucked and turned, pushing us back and onto the bed. Finally she resorted to biting.
"OUCH! So you wanna bite?!" I said, filling my mouth with her fluffy orange fox ear and biting down with significant force.
Andy shrieked in pain but finally stopped fighting. It was then I could hear her crying. "Please… Please Skye… just bite them off. Bite my ears off so I don't have to have them anymore! I can't… I can't stand them!" she pleaded.
I spat out the fur in my mouth and began rubbing her ear tenderly, keeping my other hand latched around her. "Now why would you want that?"
"Because… because…"
"Andy what's going on? Why didn't you tell me that… that… how you got here?" I asked.
"I couldn't tell you. I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want you to know that my parents sold me for money. I didn't want you to know that I was forced to come here. I didn't want you to know that I didn't want to be a faunus," she cried.
Now I understood. This was her secret. This was what she hide from me for all these years.
"I felt so guilty not telling you but I couldn't," she continued. "I hated coming here but then it all changed with you and… I was afraid to tell you… I thought, I thought."
"You thought what? I'd just ditch you?"
"I thought that you'd feel sorry for me and I didn't want that," she said nuzzling into my chest.
"Andy, I love you. No matter what happens and no matter what happened in your past I will love you," I said tenderly, kissing her forehead.
Andy's arms slid around my torso and squeezed hard. "My father came today because his reputation was at stake. There were rumors going around that he had sold his daughter to get his enterprise started. He wanted to get me to love him again. I can never love him," she explained.
"Oh…" I muttered. "I uh… didn't know that."
"It's okay, there's no way you could but you asked what was wrong. I never wanted to be a faunus. I didn't hate them or like them but I never wanted to become one. I just wanted to be with my family again. But… it all changed with you Skye. You made me love being here, you made me love being a faunus, you showed me how to appreciate my life," she told me.
I was shaking with nervousness, my heart pounding. It was nerve racking everything she was telling me and I couldn't help flushing red.
"Y-y-you know," I began shakily, "your mom really loves you. She regrets what they did and was convinced by your father."
"I didn't know that my father convinced her but I could have guessed. I know… she loves me very much," she said. "I'm sorry…"
"For?"
"Calling you a you-know-what."
"Apology not accepted," I cringed.
"Skye, please!"
"Nope, it's your punishment. Plus you slapped me, unleashed C-ydna on me, and bit me."
"Little bird… I wasn't in the right mind."
"Still nope. There's one way you can make up for it though," I said rising from the bed and taking her with me.
"What is it?"
"Eat dinner with me and let me introduce you to my mother and sister."
"Okay Skye."
"And! You put in a good word to your mom for me."
"Of course."
"AND!" I shouted, causing Andy to jump. "Ears. All night."
"Skye! Really?"
"That's my deal, take it or leave it," I said walking to the door, leaving her by the bed.
I heard her run up behind me and glomp me from behind. "Okay."