A/n- Something sweet and familial for you all today, even if the timelines in Askr are a bit wonky. XD Enjoy!

The Commission Files- File #449 Family Beach Day

Characters: Mark, Lyn, Pre-War Rutger

Based on: a commission by gm_laz on Twitter

It was another fine day in the kingdom of Askr, it's Order of Heroes getting ready for another shift of protecting those in need and keeping the peace. Most of them anyways. On this day Rutger, the version of himself from before the war with Bern, was wondering what he would do with his day off when there came a knock on his door.

"Just a minute!" He called before finishing up getting dressed and walking to his door. He opened it to see some pretty familiar faces, a version of his parents who had also been summoned to Askr as heroes. It was still a bit strange seeing a version of them around his age, but he felt comfortable around them nonetheless. "Mother, Father, what brings you here so early in the morning? I would have thought one of you would be in bed till lunch." Rutger joked about Mark since he was known to be a heavy sleeper.

"Well, let's just say I woke up with a lot of energy today." Mark noted with a grin before letting Lyn speak up.

"We just wanted to come by and ask if you'd be willing to spend the day at the beach with us, as a family." Lyn told Rutger. "As you can see, we're already dressed for it, but we figured we'd ask you since we know you have the day off and you came from one of the beach themed Elibe realms."

"It's okay if you don't feel like it either, like if you have a date with a cute girl lined up today." Mark added. "I know how that feels and I wouldn't want to get in the way of that."

"Actually, I don't have any plans for the day and I was looking for something to do." Rutger admitted with a happy smile. "And it's been a while since we've had some time together, so I don't see why not. Just give me a few minutes to get into my beach attire and I'll be ready to go."

"Wonderful!" Lyn replied with a happy and excited tone. "We'll make sure to make today extra fun for you then." So Rutger closed the door and quickly changed into his beach outfit before the three of them took the portal to a beach on Elibe's Western Isles, one of the many well traveled areas for heroes on their days off. There weren't that many people on the beach so it wasn't very crowded, so that was good.

"I love the smell of the ocean, almost as good as the smell of the plains back home." Rutger said contently as he breathed through his nose. The beach or the lake near where he and his actual parents lived was always one of his favorite spots to go to relax and have fun.

"I couldn't agree more." Mark noted before looking out on the dunes and seeing someone pointing a tome at the wildlife. "Is that Anna?" He wondered.

"She must be using her camera tome to get some pictures to advertise her services." Lyn commented.

"Hey, you think if we give her some gold she'll take a picture of us?" Rutger suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Lyn noted. So the trio walked up to Anna and explained what they were thinking and she was glad to oblige for a small fee and rights to the image.

"Alright, I think it will come out the best if Rutger is in the middle with the two of you on his sides." Anna said focusing her tome. So the family arranged themselves so Rutger was in the middle with Mark on his left side and Lyn on his right side. Rutger then put his arms around his parents and they all leaned in a smiled for the pose. "That's perfect!" Anna told them. "Okay, I'll take the picture on three. One! Two! Three!" And with that the tome flashed slightly but the trio kept their smiles and before they knew it Anna was inspecting the product the tome made.

"How did it turn out?" Mark wondered. "I know Lyn and Rutger look good in any portrait, but I always seem to be the one coming out with a weird face."

"It turned out great." Anna replied, handing each one of them a copy. "I really like the winks you and Lyn did at the end, very nice touch. I think these will promote the beach very well."

"Just don't put anything too out there on the advertisement." Lyn noted. "I know and you know we all like to get around, but we don't want everyone knocking on our doors."

"Of course, I may be a businesswoman at heart, but I know how to keep my talent happy." Anna replied with her usual cheeky tone and smirk. "I just wonder if people will believe you three are actually family, given everything."

"I think there are enough heroes with similar situations that they would understand." Rutger noted. "Though I know what you mean in one respect, I sill don't know how I got to be so much taller than my parents."

"It's probably just Lyn's long legs on a male body, at least that's how I think about it." Mark noted. "But hey, I'm glad you're tall, that means you'll be able to reach things I can't." He joked.

"True enough." Rutger chuckled. "Thank you again Anna."

"No problem, you three enjoy your time on the beach." Anna told the trio. And that's what they did. The walked around the beach looking at the wildlife, they caught up with some other heroes and competed in volleyball matches and swimming competitions. It was all really fun and Rutger was enjoying himself. Though something later on caught him by surprise when he and Mark were sitting on the beach together resting for a bit.

"Say Rutger, can I talk to you about something serious for a moment?" Mark wondered.

"Of course, you're my father, I'm all ears." Rutger replied, wondering what was up. He expected his father to speak up immediately like he always did, but this time Mark was taking his time, thinking about what he was about to say.

"Your version of me, he's a good father right?" Mark asked eventually.

"He's a wonderful father." Rutger confirmed. "He's pretty much just like you just older. He's smart, funny, caring. He's taught me pretty much everything I need to know about life and a lot of academic things I wouldn't have learned otherwise. Yeah he can be forgetful at times, but you know yourself, it's never on purpose. Why do you ask?"

"Well, not to get too down while we're here, but Lyn and I have been thinking about you and the other you. The one that comes from after whatever is going to happen to him." Mark noted. "We're just worried that maybe we won't be good enough parents to you and that's why he's like that." Rutger could see now what this was about and he pondered it a bit before deciding what he wanted to say.

"I've talked to him a bit you know, as much as I can in situations where we're not with the Lilinas doing anything, and honestly I don't think you have anything to worry about." Rutger commented. "If anything he's like that because you two were awesome parents to him. I can't say for sure, but I know that he felt very loved by the people who were taken away from him, and I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be mostly because of you two. Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"A few times, but we never really can break through, at least not yet." Mark explained. "That's another reason why we wanted to spend the day with you. We thought if we could see how you think on the situation we could use that with him to see if we can get any closer to knowing anything."

"That makes sense. Do you need me to do anything? I'm willing to help?" Rutger noted.

"No, no, I think that would just get him a little too suspicious at the moment, but thank you for offering." Mark replied.

"Well, if I do find anything out I'll be sure to tell you." Rutger commented before they went back to talking about normal things. A bit later in the day though something else came up. Rutger and Lyn were sparring with their weapons on the beach, but Rutger could tell something was off.

"Mother, is everything alright?" Rutger wondered. "You seem a little distracted."

"Maybe I am." Lyn admitted as she put her blue bow down and walked closer to Rutger. "I'm sure Mark has already talked to you about it, but I'm worried that I'm not going to be a good mother to you when we go back to our Elibe."

"Yeah, he mentioned that, but I don't think you have anything to worry about." Rutger assured her. "Like I told him, my mother was amazing, she taught me so many things about swords and nature, and all her lessons were filled with love for me and our family. Having that ripped away from you, even now I feel kind of bad thinking about it, so I can't imagine how hard my other self took it. At least you got to say goodbye to your parents as they died, he wasn't as lucky."

"That's what it always comes down to with me though." Lyn noted. "I went through pretty much the same thing he did, and I didn't turn out like that. I mean I could have given different circumstances, but I wonder if I didn't tell him enough about what happened in my past because it hurt too much to think about still."

"I don't think that's it." Rutger replied. "You've told me a number of times about what happened as a grew up, and as I got older you gave more and more of the relevant details and I came to understand what a harsh situation it was. As for me, right now, I think going overboard with revenge is kind of dumb, but like you said, some circumstances change how one feels. Think about it, when your parents died you were still relatively safe right? No war, no impending doom or anything like that?"

"No, I just made sure to move farther away from the bandits so they wouldn't overwhelm me." Lyn noted.

"Now think about what happened to the other me." Rutger continued. "He got his parents ripped away in the middle of a warzone. He couldn't get away from it, he had to fight to survive pretty much. And when you have to fight, sometimes your reasons for fighting can get a bit skewed, don't you agree?"

"I can see where you are coming from." Lyn commented. "But still, seeing you like this right now, seeing you be 'normal' for lack of a better term, still makes me worry."

"Think about it this way." Rutger noted. "I can see how it happened with him, it makes sense to me given what I know. And what I know is that I had amazing parents, the best even. I don't doubt that whenever it happens to me, I'm going to be destroyed mentally and emotionally, even with you and Father's guidance. But what's important is this, he's not a lost cause. He's not as far gone as you and Father told me about Karel who I heard has really mellowed out since you last met him. He knows in his heart what is right and wrong, he's just going to need some help from his friends to make him see it again."

"I guess you're right, but it's still sad to think about." Lyn sighed, a bit dejectedly.

"I know, but at least you'll probably forget about it once you get sent back so you won't have to worry about it." Rutger mused.

"True. And sorry for bringing the mood down." Lyn apologized.

"No, I understand you two needed to get this off your chests and I appreciate you came to me to talk." Rutger assured her. "Now, are you ready to spar again, I've always wanted to see how I stack up to you at this age?" Lyn perked up a bit at the challenge and picked her bow back up.

"Oh, you're on! You know I can't resist a challenge!" Lyn teased him. And for the rest of the day everything else was pretty light and happy. The family spent a wonderful time on the beach and it was a fun day all around. Once they got back Mark and Lyn peeled off from Rutger, somehow they found the time to get some nighttime partners while they were at the beach, something Rutger still needed to find his groove with, leaving him alone. Though as he was walking back to his room he caught up with his older self who was also going into his room.

"Hey, I know we don't talk much, but I need to tell you something." The younger Rutger said to his older self.

"What?" The older Rutger wondered.

"Talk to our parents while you still can. I know we're probably going to forget all this once we get back, but they are worried about you and I really think it'll make you feel a bit better while you're here." The younger Rutger told him from the heart. Normally the older Rutger would brush it off but he could hear the sincerity in his tone and he knew something must have happened for him to say something like this.

"I'll think about it, alright?" The older Rutger offered.

"Fair enough." The younger Rutger replied. "Are we still on with our mission and other activities with the Lilinas tomorrow?"

"As far as I know, just don't call me an old man in front of them this time."