Author's note: Hello, I'm actually on time! And as a gift to all you wonderful readers (since this is the last chapter of this first story), you get a longer chapter! :D! I can't tell you how much I love this one. It's a little different from my previous ones but I feel like it's a good way to close off this one while also teasing some things to come :). So with that: enjoy!
Nina beheld the scene before her with a smile. True, the lounge room was a mess: toys, books and games were scattered about as a result of the two brother's activities. But despite the fact that she was the one to most likely clean the place up, the sight of her two children, at this moment, was truly heart-warming. The culprits of the chaos were currently sitting in front of the fire, drying their fur from the water fight they'd had earlier; Teemo's head on Kennen's shoulder, with Kennen's own resting atop of it. Both were sound asleep, completely exhausted from the day's events.
Silently the pale, female yordle moved toward the pair, pulling Teemo gently up to rest in her arms. He sighed once in his sleep before snuggling further into her warmth, his head nuzzling up against the side of her neck. Once Nina was sure he was secure she softly shook Kennen's shoulder, causing him to look up at her with sleepy blue eyes.
"Bedtime sweetie."
He nodded once with a yawn before following her to the bedroom and promptly crashing head first on his bed, fast asleep. With another fond smile, Nina simply tucked them both in and kissed them goodnight.
Closing the bedroom door, she affectionately recalled the antics and laughter of the day. Yes, she decided: the decision to adopt Teemo had definitely been a good one.
Ziggs and Tristana stood up against a wall near the school gate, waiting for Teemo and Rumble to meet them so they could head back to Tristana's place for the night.
With exaggerated covertness, Tristana glanced over at Ziggs before whispering, "Did you get it?"
Just as much overstated discreteness, Ziggs unzipped the top of his bag to show the top of a miniature MG cannon to her. "My older brother Meelo said he'd show you how to use it. We're going to keep it in my room so your mum doesn't find out about it." Zipping the bag back up, he gave her his trade mark grin, "Happy birthday Trist."
Breaking their surreptitious charade Tristana launched herself at Ziggs, pulling him into a bone crushing hug. "Ziggs, you're the bomb."
Quietly, he thought, being extra cautious to keep his already light steps even softer. He stuck close to the wall, trying to stay out of sight in the little cover their shadows gave him. So far so good. However he knew the hardest part was still to come.
Coming up to the opening, Rumble discretely checked the impending area for danger. Nothing moved in the dim room however causing him to relax. Seemed like he was in luck. Quickly he scurried across the lounge, hoping to make it to his room before anyone noticed.
Just as he was a few steps from the hall, the light turned on. "Rumble?" The voice from the doorway caused him to freeze. Guiltily he turned to face his mum.
Rosalyn's eyes widened as she took in the sight of his wounds. "Oh honey," she breathed, walking closer, "I thought the bullying had stopped."
Rumble simply shook his head, "No. It's just not as often now. Only when I'm alone; like when the others have something on or I'm coming back from the junkyard."
"Why didn't you tell us?" the older blue yordle asked, checking his split lip.
His eyes found the ground and he shrugged. "I didn't want to worry you."
Rosalyn stopped her examination to look him directly in the eyes, lifting his chin up in the process. "Rumble, you're my baby. I'll always worry about you."
"I'm seven mama, I'm not a baby."
She pulled him into a hug, "No matter how old you get, you'll always be my baby."
"Hey Poppy, I'll race you home," Kennen suggested eagerly.
"No," Poppy said firmly.
Kennen pouted, "Aw, why not?"
The girl raised an eyebrow at him, "Because you always win."
"I'll give you a head start."
"How about we have an arm wrestle when we get back instead," Poppy suggested.
"But you always win those," Kennen grumbled.
Poppy laughed, "That's the point. Three-two-one-go!"
She took off leaving Kennen confused for a few moments.
"Hey! No fair!" he called after her.
"You said I could have a head start!" her voice drifted back.
Grinning, Kennen put on a burst of speed, quickly catching up and overtaking her. "See you at home Poppy!"
"Show off!"
Rosalyn and Chuck were sitting around Nina and Milo's dining room table, as the two nurses caught up together. Outside, Teemo and Rumble were playing close to the window, allowing all four of them to keep an eye on the boys.
Smiling at their antics, Rosalyn turned to the others. "It seems Teemo is fitting quite nicely into your family. I'm so glad everything turned out alright with him."
"Us too," Nina nodded.
Watching them somewhat pensively, Chuck commented in his gravelly voice, "I know that you adopted him, but it's a little uncanny just how much he resembles you and Kennen, Miles."
Miles face turned serious, "I've noticed that too. Sometimes I've wondered…if maybe my brother-"
Nina's abrupt movement stopped his words. Standing up she told him sternly, "Look, I know you've had your suspicions but I don't really care. Whether he's related to us or not, he's our son."
"I know that-" Miles tried.
"No! No matter who he might be related to, that won't make us love him any differently."
"Nina?" Rosalyn's soft voice cut through the building tension.
Taking a deep breath, the peach coloured yordle gave her a wane smile, "I'm sorry. Now's probably not the time for such discussions. Would you two like any more cupcakes?"
Without waiting for an answer she moved swiftly to the kitchen. "Nina," Miles' quiet voice stalled her movements. "I know you don't like these questions but they're going to be asked. Even if I don't Teemo will one day. And he has a right to know."
Rumble and Ziggs lay on their bellies under the school office veranda, their small hands working a controller between them. Up ahead Klive and his friends stood talking, completely oblivious to the small mechanical device that was jerkily making its way towards them. Once it was in range of the trio Ziggs pushed the big button in the middle of their controller, causing the device to explode and sending glue and glitter everywhere.
From their hiding place, Ziggs and Rumble silently hi-fived as shouts off outrage emerged from the furious group.
"That ought to stop them from jumping you at the junkyard again," Ziggs grinned.
"Hopefully," Rumble agreed. His turned to Ziggs with a serious, slightly hesitant expression. "Thanks for your help Ziggs."
"No problem," the brown furred yordle's smile grew wider. "After all, you mess with one of us: you mess with all of us. Now let's go before we get caught."
Poppy moved about her father's forge, humming lightly to herself. Rummaging through the junk pile, she searched for the hammer her father had misplaced, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed the big yordle pause. His face wore a strangely tender look – a look she'd only seen directed towards her before – as he gazed at the object in his hand.
"I thought I'd lost you," he spoke quietly to himself.
Curiously the blue girl approached him. As she came closer, her dad tilted him hand, giving her a full view of the item he was holding. It was a fairly simple necklace, with a gold pendant hanging from a delicate chain. The pendant had been wrought into the shape of a poppy and contained a small cluster of white gemstones to highlight the centre.
"It was your mum's," Blomgrun explained. "I made it for her when we got married."
"It's beautiful," Poppy told him.
"Yes, it is." He studied it for a moment longer before sending her a sidelong glance. "And you haven't even seen the best part yet." Unlatching the side, he revealed the small picture nestled on the inside. Poppy took in the younger version of her mum and dad as they smiled back at her. Both had their arms around each other, a look of pure contentment on their faces. And there, settled within her mother's arms, was baby Poppy with the biggest scowl on her face.
The yordling laughed, "I guess I wasn't a very happy baby."
Her dad chuckled, "Not necessarily. You were always very serious but never really unhappy. You just hated photographs. Still do."
Poppy grunted in agreement.
"Here," he passed her the necklace. "I want you to have it."
She gazed at the image a little longer before carefully closing it and putting it in her pocket.
"Thanks dad," she hugged him.
"No problem baby girl."
He picked up the hammer that had been standing conspicuously next to them. "Now: I'm reckoning you're strong enough to learn how to use Whomper."
Poppy answered his excited grin with one of her own.
"And then the dire wolf lunged at Ford! But because of his timely distraction I was able to get behind it. As he jumped for my partner my dart hit him and the poison dropped him down – dead! And so we saved the village from danger," Miles finished his story.
"Woah," Teemo breathed. "When I grow up, I want to be a Bandle City Scout, just like you dad."
Miles smiled. "You know, it's not all as great as my stories make it out to be. There's a lot of danger and a lot of hard work involved too."
"I still want to be a scout," Teemo told him persistently. "I'm going to be the best scout ever. Just like you."
Miles pulled him to his feet, a soft smile on his face. "Well then, you better get a head start. How about we go to the backyard and I'll teach you the basics of surviving in the jungle."
Pearl watched the four kids play in the backyard, her face drawn.
"You can't change her Pearl." The blue yordle turned toward her husband, taking in his serious face. Charlie continued, "She's happy the way she is. The more you try to change her the more she'll resist you."
Pearl sighed, "I just worry about her. What if she does become a Megling? She could get killed."
The white furred yordle tilted her head away from the children and back to him, "Pearl: we have an incredible and beautiful daughter. She may not be very demure or ladylike but she has a caring heart, a selfless courage and a desire to do the right thing. If she becomes a Megling she'll make a huge difference regardless of the danger. You should be proud of her."
"I don't want to lose her," the female told him, eyes starting to water.
Charlie gently wiped her tears away. "Me neither. But she's going to grow up and we can't stop that."
Pearl's face grew determined, "I can try." And with that she marched off.
Violet eyes watched her go before Charlie sighed. "There's more than one way to lose her," he whispered to himself.
Ziggs sighed, his knees pulled up and his head resting on them as he observed the ruins of his birthday party. He'd only wanted to help. He hadn't expected the cake to explode. It was the last thing he'd expected could explode. But the layers of sugary icing covering the table, chairs and popped balloons told him otherwise. He sighed again, his already drooping ears dropping even further. It seemed he couldn't do anything right.
"Ziggs?" Tristana's tentative voice broke through his thoughts, causing him to look up at his three approaching friends.
He tried to smile, "Some party huh? Can't say it didn't end with a bang."
The other's faces stayed serious, not believing his façade for a moment. Slowly the smile slid from his face.
"Sorry for the mess," he whispered. "I never meant for it to happen."
Tristana came and sat next to him, throwing an arm over his shoulders, "It's okay. These things happen."
Teemo and Rumble moved closer too, Rumble giving him a half smile. "You have to admit, it was kinda entertaining."
"And at least your present's okay," Teemo held out the chaotically wrapped box.
Taking it from him, Ziggs managed a genuine smile, "Thanks. You guys are the best."
"Well go on, open it. It's from the three of us," Rumble urged him.
Obediently Ziggs did, pulling out a custom made helmet. It was a sturdy piece, designed to cover all the way from the low back of the head to the bridge of the nose. Width wise it would enclose the entire head up to the ears. The top was painted in wide red and blue bands and the eye lenses were the same bright green as his eyes.
"We know how accident prone you can be sometimes, so we got you something to protect your head," Teemo explained. "You can use it when you work on your experiments or, you know, your cooking."
Ziggs grin grew until it was its usual incredible size. "Thanks guys." He put on the oversized helmet, his ears propping it up and an eye peeking out from underneath the eye pieces. "What do you think?" He struck a dramatic pose.
They laughed. "Give it a bit of time and you'll grow right into it," Tristana smiled.
"Hopefully," Rumble added.
Teemo, Ziggs, Tristana and Rumble lay looking at the stars in their sleeping bags. In front of them a fire flickered and crackled, while behind them the tents Nina and Miles had lent them stood proudly, everything set perfectly for their backyard camping trip.
At the moment Teemo was telling them about some of the different star images and the stories behind them.
"That's really cool Teemo, where'd you learn about all this?" Ziggs asked.
"My dad taught me about them," Teemo told them proudly.
Pushing herself up, Tristana turned to the pale boy. "Your family's really nice Teemo," she told him earnestly.
"I know," Teemo commented softly. "They were a family worth waiting for."
Poppy and Kennen were talking in the apple tree in his backyard, late one afternoon. Poppy was lounging with her back to the trunk and her legs stretched out before her as she listened humorously to her friend. Kennen, on the other hand, was walking along the branch above her head; his arms stretched out to keep his balance as he talked animatedly. He wobbled slightly as he turned around, causing Poppy to shake her head.
"If you break your arm again falling out of the tree, I'm not taking you to the hospital."
He simply laughed, hooking his legs over the branch before falling backwards to grin at her upside down. "I won't fall."
"Right," was Poppy's sarcastic reply.
Muffled laughter below brought the two of them out of any further argument. Looking down they saw four mischievous faces grinning up at them. With impish looks Teemo and his friends started chanting, "Kennen and Poppy sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G," before breaking down into more laughter.
"Hey!" Kennen shouted indignantly. He swung his legs off their hold, landing neatly on the branch next to Poppy before lunging down to the spot his brother and his friends were laughing.
"Scatter!" The four of them bolted in different directions trying to escape their furious pursuer. Trying to out run Kennen, however, was a futile effort. He quickly caught up to Teemo, pinning the boy to the ground before mercilessly beginning to tickle him.
The pale kit's laughter filled the air as he tried to escape his older brother's onslaught.
"Take it back," Kennen ordered him.
"Never," Teemo gasped between giggles.
The tickling intensified, "Take it back!"
"Guys!" Teemo pleaded. "Help!"
All of a sudden Kennen heard a voice shout, "Charge!" and the other three rushed out of the bushes at him. Taken by surprise, the four of them managed to push the older boy over and, before he knew it, he was lying on his stomach with the four of them perched on his back.
He struggled, trying to throw them off, but their combined weight was too much. Finally he stopped, looking up to where Poppy still sat in the tree, watching them in amusement.
"A little help?" he asked.
Poppy seemed to think about it for a moment before taking pity on her friend. "Alright you four," she jumped out of the tree and stalked towards them. "You've had your fun, now playtime's over." They took one look at her serious face before fleeing, still shrieking with laughter.
Poppy chuckled as she pulled Kennen to his feet, "Seems like you're pretty popular."
He sighed, "Why do they always follow me around?"
"Because they admire you," Poppy answered simply. "God knows why."
Kennen laughed, "Guess I'm just that great."
She rolled her eyes.
They sat in silence for a little while before Kennen's curiosity got the better of him, the earlier words replaying in his head. "Hey Poppy?"
"Mmm?" She hummed in response.
"Do you ever think about love?"
"Sometimes," she admitted. "When my dad talks about my mum I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have someone love me that way. But it doesn't last for long. Honestly, it's not something that I need to worry about now; I have much more important things to focus on like helping my dad in the forge and keeping you out of trouble." She nudged his shoulder causing him to laugh again.
"I'm glad we're friends Poppy," he told her, curiosity satisfied.
The blue girl smiled, "Me too."
And that's it for now. Honestly I am a little sad that it's over, but also excited for what's to come :). Be warned it will get a little more serious from here but I still plan on keeping a lot of the fluffiness. Anyway, I really hoped you enjoyed it and thank you for supporting me on this wild ride :D.
Shiftyyy: Aw thanks :) I'm glad you liked it. I thought it was a pretty good idea myself.
Sarah: Well...it is cannon. So...yeah. Sorry not sorry. Honestly, I have a lot of stuff planned for these guys, both cannon and non-cannon: some of it really cute and light and some of it sad and kinda dark. So yeah, brace yourself. I hope you continue to enjoy it though, no matter what happens. And thank you :D! That means so much.