Untold Stories, Unsung Words
Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.
10. Reyn, Fiora, Shulk - When Our Eyes Met
Summary: Pregame. One energetic and playful boy. One curious and helpful little girl. And one timid, fearful boy. This is how they met, with the three becoming the closest of friends, with two of them becoming lovers in the end.
Pairings: None
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
"Oh oh… Who is the new kid? Dunban said he's our age!"
"We'll know soon. Just wait!"
The two four year olds were sitting at the table in Dunban's home. Reyn was wearing a sleveless orange shirt with brown shorts and Fiora was wearing a white dress that reached her knees with pink flowers at the straps of her dress. Sitting still with their heads barely reaching the dinner table, they had the chairs face each other and they sat in the same orientation, anxiously awaiting as Dunban stood near the door to the house.
Reyn and Fiora were no doubt two interesting friends. Both at the age of 4, they were constantly playing with each other various make believe games and doing all sorts of activities. It was never without the usual bickering among themselves and headaches from Dunban, but what else can 4 year olds do?
But for once, they were actually sitting still and being quiet. Reyn was having a hard time just sitting still and trying to hold back his barrage of questions. All he got were blunt answers from Dunban, saying, "You'll see. Just be patient."
Quiet knocks then silenced the two kids. Dunban opened the door and bowed slightly. Reyn and Fiora turned and squinted to see any sign of the guests Dunban told them about, but they were still standing outside and the view obstructed by the doorframe.
"Thank you for coming. Please, come inside." Dunban stepped aside and gestured to enter the house.
"I must thank you for your hospitality." A quiet, middle-aged female voice replied.
Two peopled entered the house. Reyn and Fiora stared quietly at the guests. One was a brunette female woman who appeared to be in her thirties. She had green eyes and a delicate face. She seemed a little pale, strangely. She was wearing a simple pink dress with white outlines that reached her knees. She had short, straight brown hair up to her shoulders. She took a quick look around the house and noticed Reyn and Fiora staring at her. The two children blushed and waved quietly. She smiled back and waved too.
Behind her was a middle aged man who was a few inches taller than her. He had a stern look on his face. He had blue eyes and blonde hair, with a small beard too. He was wearing a simple white shirt with black pants. He also glanced at Reyn and Fiora and nodded quietly, gesturing hello. The two kids put two and two together that the couple they saw were married adults.
The woman turned around and looked outside. She raised her hand with her palm facing her and moved her fingers towards her. "Come in. Look, there are some children your age here too."
Reyn and Fiora left their seats and proceeded towards the entrance. They stood next to Dunban, anxiously waiting to meet the kid their age.
No one was at the door.
"Please come in. There's no need to be shy."
At the left of the doorframe was a pair of small hands. And then half a face.
It was a boy with blonde hair that was a little long past his ears and had blue eyes. He was a little pale too like his mother.
"…"
"Dear…" The mother walked towards the door frame and took the boys hand. He took her hand and gently led him inside.
Reyn and Fiora now has a good look of the new boy. He was wearing a black shirt with red and blue outlines and khaki shorts. He wore black shoes and his feet were really small, even for a boy. As he held his mother's right hand with his left, he was covering the lower half of his face.
Reyn was the first to greet the new kid, waving his left hand. "Name's Reyn! Hello!"
Fiora waved her right hand and also added, "My name is Fiora! It's nice to meet you."
The mother and the father smiled at the cute introductions the four year olds presented. Even Dunban was surprised that Reyn at least was composed. Dunban couldn't help but laugh quietly at how overly polite they were. He was waiting for Reyn to go overboard. The woman bowed. "Hello, children. My name is Sherilyn. This is my husband Nathan and this is-"
"M-Mmmm…" The boy mumbled interrupting and holding onto his mother's hands tighter.
The mother sighed at her son's shyness. "I'm sorry, he's just too shy and we're still pretty shaken up from the last few days. His name is Shulk, and he's four years old, just like the two of you."
"Oh wow! You're our age! That's so cool!" Reyn was overjoyed, yet he was overreacting with his loud tone.
"Reyn! You're scaring him enough! Look at him…" Fiora growled, pinching Reyn at his arm. Shulk was now standing behind his mother and shaking. It was somewhat inaudible, but he was whimpering too. Shulk's mother sighed and turned around, kneeling down to face him directly. Shulk's father sighed too, approaching Dunban and bowing.
"I truly apologize making this awkward for the children here. If there's anything I can do…"
Dunban shook his head. "No no. It is understandable. I can't even imagine what happened to you all in Colony 1. When he's ready, Reyn and Fiora will gladly be acquainted with him." He looked at the whimpering boy, his face turning to a slight frown. "This poor kid... he lost all of his friends..."
"Thank you." Nathan bowed again slightly. "If you don't mind, is it possible to escort me to Xord's smithery? I'd like to take a look at his weapons for the upcoming journey."
Dunban nodded. Indeed, Xord was truly the most famous blacksmith in all of Bionis. Homs from all remaining colonies travel here to Colony 9 simply for his well crafted weapons. "Yes sir. Please follow me." Dunban and Shulk's father headed to the exit, and Dunban turned shortly to tell Reyn and Fiora, "Please keep Shulk and his mother company for now. Dickson will come soon."
"Okay!" Fiora and Reyn replied happily.
"We'll be back later for dinner." As Dunban closed the door behind him, Reyn and Fiora faced towards Shulk's mother. "Come in!" Reyn offered as he moved the seats he and Fiora were previously sitting. Fiora was amazed on how courteous Reyn became around strangers. "I-I'll get some water!" Fiora announced, moving quickly to the refrigerator.
After opening the door, he noticed the pitcher of water on her reach in front of her on the third shelf from the top of the fridge but nearly full, so she used both of her hands to carry it. She underestimated the weight and nearly dropped the pitcher. "Wo-aahh!"
"Hey, careful Fiora!" Reyn called out as he finished pulling out the chairs.
"I am!" She replied, balancing the weight of the pitcher. She turned around and slowly placed them on the kitchen counter by stepping on a stool that Dunban placed for her to stand on. "Whew…"
"Oh my, thank you both…" Sherilyn replied, astounded by the children's hospitality. She led Shulk towards the two chairs Reyn moved for them to sit. Shulk's mother sat down, but Shulk himself just stood by her side, holding her left hand close to his face.
"Shulk, you can sit down next to me."
"Mmph…" Shulk whimpered, holding onto his mother's hand more tightly and now burrowing his face near her waist. His mother used her right hand to rub his head gently, hopefully to pacify him. "Whatever am I to do with you…"
Reyn took a few steps away from Shulk and his mother, his face now showing disappointment. "Am I not nice enough…?" He muttered to himself, crossing his arms.
Fiora finished pouring the two glasses with water and took one for each hand. As soon as she stepped down from the stool, she closed the fridge door with her left foot and began to approach Shulk and his mother. "Here you go! I'll get the pitcher if you want more!" She offered one glass towards Shulk's mother.
"Thank you so much, darling…" Sherilyn accepted the glass with her right hand.
Fiora placed the other glass on the table by tiptoeing and pushed it forward so it would not fall. She then ran back to the stool to retrieve the pitcher on the counter.
"F-Fiora, lemme bring that one at least!"
"Oh, thanks, Reyn."
As Reyn approached Fiora, Sherilyn moved her left hand a bit to get her son's attention, which was still being held onto tightly. "Sweetie, please drink some water, you must be thirsty."
Her only response was mumbling and his head shaking no as he buried it closer to her waist. "Hnnn…mmph.."
Sherilyn placed the glass of water on the table and sighed. "Okay okay… later then…"
Reyn approached Shulk and his mother and placed the pitcher next to the glass she put down on the table. He cleared his throat to get her attention, also saying, "Uh… here's the water… umm… this might be a bad time to talk… then…?"
Shulk's mother faced Reyn and nodded no. "We can talk for a little bit. Although, you won't get anything from my son, sadly…"
"I-It's okay…!" Fiora replied nervously. "He must be too shy so… we can talk to you!"
"That is very kind of you, thank you both."
Reyn and Fiora moved the seats opposite to Shulk and his mother and sat down.
"Let's get you in a more comfortable position…" Sherilyn muttered to her son. She placed her right hand on the boy's right side of his waist and was able to move her left hand to his right side and lifted him up to have him sit on her lap. As soon as he sat on her lap, Shulk hugged wrapped his arms around his mother and buried his face against her chest. He was also moving a little bit to be in a comfortable position. Reyn and Fiora's faced grimaced, seeing how terribly shy Shulk was to the point where they couldn't even see his face. The only time they got a glimpse on how he really looked was when they first saw him, and now they won't be seeing his face anytime soon.
"Okay, we're settled here… so tell me, are you two in school right now?"
"Yes, we are, Mrs. Shulk's mom." Fiora replied politely as she could.
"Oh dear…" Sherilyn laughed. "You don't have to go too formal. You can call me Mrs. Sherilyn instead to make it easier on you both."
Reyn scratched his nose. "Uh, okay, Mrs… Sherilyn… We're in kindergarten right now. Listening to teachers is a drag, but I love playtime!"
Fiora elbowed Reyn at his comment. "Reyn…!" "Ow, Fiora, that hurt!"
Sherilyn giggled at Fiora and Reyn's playful banter as she stroke the hair of her son who was still clinging onto her tightly. "What about you, Fiora? What is your favorite part of school?"
"Um…" Fiora stopped glaring at Reyn and her left index finger on her chin to think. "Let's see… I like show and tell. I like collecting things around the colony such as flowers and showing it to everyone."
Reyn frowned and crossed his arms at Fiora. "Pretty dull… you find those things everyday…" He muttered.
"Did you say something else, Reyn?" Fiora growled, narrowing her eyes at the boy.
"N-No…"
Sherilyn giggled again. "Show and tell is wonderful, isn't it? And playtime too… You know Shulk likes to read books out loud to his class. He could read books with long sentences and without pictures. I think in a year, he could start reading chapter books…"
"Ooooohh…" Reyn and Fiora replied simultaneously in awe. The two children could barely read and usually need pictures to aid them. Shulk is just in a whole new level…
Fiora clapped her hands quietly. "Wow, Shulk must love to read then! Does he read a lot?"
"He sure does…" Sherilyn grinned, now very gently patting her son's head. She felt his embrace become a little less tighter. "He reads for hours a day and learns to read himself. And at the end of each day, he would read to me and his father out loud to see if he learned anything. And goodness, by the day he gets better and better…"
Reyn asked, "So, he's really smart then! He's at the top of his class I bet?"
"Indeed…" Sherilyn muttered, but her response wasn't too happy. It was actually melancholic. Fiora and Reyn were concerned and the two asked at the same time, "Are you okay, Mrs. Sherilyn?"
"Oh, it's nothing… I appreciate your concern you two…"
Sherilyn looked down to see her son no longer moving around, only feeling his steady breaths. As she peeked down to see his face, they were closed but not tightly. He was fast asleep. She was always astounded on how quickly her boy can sleep.
"Shulk is asleep… it looks like we have to talk more quietly now…"
"Ohhhh… okay…" Reyn replied, trying to lower his tone. Fiora faced him and placed an index finger near her lips. "Shhh, Reyn! Lower your voice."
"Hey, you know I'm trying…!"
"You're terrible at whispering!"
Shulk's mother laughed lightly at Reyn and Fiora's bickering. "Dunban is blessed to be taking care of such lively children…" She said to herself. She looked down again and brushed aside her son's hair to see his face more clearly. Still asleep… Placing her left hand at the side of his face, she smiled.
"Shulk... these two will be special to you... I'm sorry that you have lost all of your previous friends but... these two will be waiting for you when you're ready."
Headcanons:
1. Reyn was a very loud, energetic, and confident four year old who caused Dunban lots of trouble for his antics. His favorite time of the day was playtime and the three main mealtimes.
2. Fiora was calm and gentle, always trying to prevent Reyn from getting into predicaments and drags her brother around to do little activities such as flower picking and crafting. She loves show and tell in school.
3. Shulk was a shy four year old who initially didn't want to befriend Reyn and Fiora and always clung to his parents. He learned how to read at a very early age of 3 and began to read chapter books early too to the point where his vocabulary got too extensive. He lost all of his friends in Colony 1, hence he is afraid of making new friends, worried that he'll lose them too.
A/N: I am totally burned out with my writing, geez. A busy summer got to me pretty damn hard that my writing skills severely suffered as well as my creativity. And with doom and gloom from school looming in the corner...
An interesting note is that I found an online post about beta designs on characters and one of them was... Shulk's mother. That's right, even though her appearance was not shown directly to the player, there are official sketches on what she looks like and yup, Shulk appearancewise takes after his father. And I can assume his physique from his mother. (I'll look for the image and post it here once I find it again.) Another thing as to why Shulk is such a shy little boy? Hm, I could extend the headcanon and it may be a possible oneshot in the future. Another thing is that this takes place days before the oneshot Rebirth. If you haven't read it, you can take a look.
I'm at a huge writer's block in all of my current oneshot developments that I would need a break and sometime to think about how to write them, cause I'm really not satisfied on how this one turned out to be. Cause of this, it'll take much longer to publish the next oneshot unfortunately. In the meantime, I'll try to finish out some of the art for this oneshot collection and hopefully get some artistic ideas.
Another way of getting ideas is writing 2-3 new fanfictions that is similar to this one, but it'll be for a different series. And that series is Tales of Xillia. ARGHH, ONE OF MY FAVORITE SERIES EVERRR. Hopefully I can get some creative ideas for this fanfiction as I write the other. You can read the descriptions of the fanfictions in my profile. And woah, a fanfiction devoted on costumes? Wut.
Anyways, I appreciate the reviews and criticism.