![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Blood of the Planet sidefic: "Managing"
Seth: Alyssa, get off your lazy ass and work with me.
Alyssa: Buh? You're awake. o.o
Seth: Yes! I've been waiting patiently, but you just keep letting in gay cops and college kids and Odin only KNOWS what else and meanwhile I'm wasting away here! WORK with me! If you're not gonna write my main story, at least do something! Here, here's a bunny!
Alyssa: o.o
Seth: PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU DON'T LET ME WASTE AWAY IN MUSESPACE T______T
Alyssa: Okay! o.o
Managing
-
"Here I goooo!"
The childish yell was accompanied by the sound of a foot striking leather and a soccer ball careening upward. Lucy smiled out the window as the two little boys squawked and ran in opposite directions, looking up fearfully to see when the ball would come to ground. It landed with a bounce behind Walker, who hollered and jumped away. Seth, laughing wildly, ran up behind him and kicked the ball ahead. Walker protested to this, running after the other boy and yelling that Seth had already gotten the kick-off, and he was gonna tell his mom that Seth wasn't playing fair. All the while Seth just giggled and hurried on towards the little alley leading out of the square, where Walker's goal was located.
"I wish they would be more careful," Kelly, Walker's mother, murmured.
Lucy turned away from the window and smiled at Kelly as she sat down. "Oh, I think they learned their lesson after the last time Seth ran into the well. They'll be careful."
"I should hope so - poor little Seth. That couldn't have been comfortable. Here's your coffee."
Lucy murmured a cordial thank-you as she accepted the mug. "It wasn't fun, for him or me. Ever tried plucking the splinters out of your little boy's nose and lower lip while he's squalling like it's Meteor again?" She chuckled a little bit. "Poor baby had a black eye too. He was none the worse for wear afterwards, though, thank goodness."
Kelly shook her head. "I'm glad Eric sanded the posts last week. I'm still nervous whenever Walker plays around there, though."
"Well, you can hardly be nervous all the time." Lucy took a sip. "Little boys are made of rubber. Trust me, with a boy like Seth, I know."
"You would, at that." Kelly laughed. "I think your son has had more broken bones than all the other children combined."
"But he always gets up and walks again," Lucy said fondly, glancing out the window. Seth seemed to be losing to Walker on purpose. She had to smile a little bit at her son; being the first child born in this new Nibelheim, and also the only one for almost two years, meant that he was much older than any of the other children, even Walker, who had been the second child born. While Seth was a robust little seven-year-old, Walker was only a little more than five, and that was a big difference. No boy Seth's age could resist pressing the advantage, but Seth was very good about not doing so very often.
"He's a sweet little boy," Kelly said tenderly. "And so brave. You both are, you've been dealing so well with--"
Maybe it was the way the light in Lucy's brown eyes dimmed, or the way the set of her shoulders drooped, or the way her smile flickered, but Kelly immediately cut herself off.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Lucy shook herself. "No - I can't just hide from it all my life. It's been two years since he died... you can say it." She took a drink of her coffee.
Kelly looked down into her coffee mug. "I'm sorry. You still look so sad whenever it comes up... we're all still a little worried about you. You didn't come out of your house at all that winter, just little Seth."
Lucy shrugged. "I missed him. I still do, but for Holy's sake, you don't have to coddle me anymore. Seth and I are getting along just fine."
"If you say so." Kelly looked up and smiled a little wistfully. "I don't envy you, darling; raising a little explorer like Seth without a father..."
Lucy forced a smile. "I don't deny it's hard, but somehow we manage. How are you and Eric getting on these days? It's been a while since I stopped to chat."
Recognizing and accepting the change of subject, Kelly opened her mouth, but at that moment a little pair of fists started pounding at the door, and she set her mug down as she quickly stood to answer the door.
"Mommamommamomma I BEAT HIM!" Walker hollered as he and Seth blew in like little whirlwinds. "I beat him ten to one!"
"Did not!" Seth retorted, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "You just saw that score on TV - you beat me THREE to TWO."
"Uh-uh! Didn't SAW it. Can't READ yet." Walker stuck his tongue out at Seth.
"You HEARD it then! Momma, momma, can Walker and me go to Mounnibel?"
"Walker and I. Mount Nibel," Lucy corrected him, clearly enunciating. "And no."
"Awwwww!" Seth slumped dramatically. "Not even if you TAKE us?"
"No, Seth," Lucy said firmly.
Seth stuck his bottom lip out. "Can't you take us? Huh? Pleeeeeaaaase?"
Lucy shook her head. "I'm sorry, Seth. Not today, and certainly not with Walker."
"WHY NOT?" Seth whined. "I wannim to see Yggdrasil!"
It was funny, Lucy thought, how Seth could barely get the words "Mount Nibel" out of his mouth, yet that ancient, mythic word rolled perfectly off his little tongue.
"Because it's too late in the day. It'll be dark when we get there. And Walker's too young."
"Uh-uh!" Walker puffed his little chest out and stood on his tiptoes, managing to very nearly match Seth's height. "'M big like Seff! See?"
"You will be soon," Kelly said, ruffling her son's sandy hair, "but not yet."
Walker whined a little bit, then ran off, presumably to sulk. Seth started to follow him, but Lucy snagged his arm and pulled him back.
"Momma, I wanna play with Walker!" Seth complained.
"Your ponytail's half out. Did you loosen it?"
"It was pulling." Seth sulked.
"Well, your hair is a mess." Holding Seth to her with one arm, Lucy reached down to where she had set her purse on the floor and dug out a brush. Seth squirmed, protesting as Lucy pulled his ponytail holder the rest of the way out and proceeded to brush his hair without mercy.
Nobody had ever quite understood where his hair had come from. Shortly after Seth's birth, Lucy had sent to Midgar for any records that anyone could find in the Shinra building regarding hers and Rowan's family trees. It had been almost two months before they came back, with a frazzled note of apology from one Thomas Reeve, explaining that Midgar had been sent all to hell by Meteor and it was very difficult to find one's own arse these days, to say nothing of obscure geneaology files; and just who was this, someone from the false Nibelheim? He had helpfully informed her that they could stop acting now. Lucy had written back to thank him for the files and helpfully inform him that they had stopped acting quite a long time ago, before settling down with the files and her newborn son.
Seth's father, it seemed, had come from a very long line of redheads, with little to no deviation anywhere in his family tree. Lucy had more more diversity in her ancestry, but it was all between blonde and brunette and black, with one or two redheads tossed in once every three generations.
She remembered poring over the files with Rowan, and the two of them turning their heads down simultaneously to look at their little child, whose hair was stark, silvery white.
He was pale enough to almost look albino, but his eyes were the same dazzling green as his father's. They'd speculated that maybe his hair would get some color as he aged, but it had been seven years since then, and it had remained the same bizarre, shimmering silver. Lucy had long ago given up and accepted it as a simple fluke. She even had to admit to liking it, a little... as if it somehow marked her son as being special.
Finishing with Seth's hair, she tied it back up in its short ponytail, slightly looser than she had that morning, and set him back down on the floor. Barely ruffled, Seth dashed off to play, his silver ponytail bobbing behind him. Kelly smiled after him, then turned to Lucy.
"You handle him well," she said cheerfully.
Lucy leaned back and smiled in satisfaction. "We manage."
Alyssa: Buh? You're awake. o.o
Seth: Yes! I've been waiting patiently, but you just keep letting in gay cops and college kids and Odin only KNOWS what else and meanwhile I'm wasting away here! WORK with me! If you're not gonna write my main story, at least do something! Here, here's a bunny!
Alyssa: o.o
Seth: PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU DON'T LET ME WASTE AWAY IN MUSESPACE T______T
Alyssa: Okay! o.o
Managing
-
"Here I goooo!"
The childish yell was accompanied by the sound of a foot striking leather and a soccer ball careening upward. Lucy smiled out the window as the two little boys squawked and ran in opposite directions, looking up fearfully to see when the ball would come to ground. It landed with a bounce behind Walker, who hollered and jumped away. Seth, laughing wildly, ran up behind him and kicked the ball ahead. Walker protested to this, running after the other boy and yelling that Seth had already gotten the kick-off, and he was gonna tell his mom that Seth wasn't playing fair. All the while Seth just giggled and hurried on towards the little alley leading out of the square, where Walker's goal was located.
"I wish they would be more careful," Kelly, Walker's mother, murmured.
Lucy turned away from the window and smiled at Kelly as she sat down. "Oh, I think they learned their lesson after the last time Seth ran into the well. They'll be careful."
"I should hope so - poor little Seth. That couldn't have been comfortable. Here's your coffee."
Lucy murmured a cordial thank-you as she accepted the mug. "It wasn't fun, for him or me. Ever tried plucking the splinters out of your little boy's nose and lower lip while he's squalling like it's Meteor again?" She chuckled a little bit. "Poor baby had a black eye too. He was none the worse for wear afterwards, though, thank goodness."
Kelly shook her head. "I'm glad Eric sanded the posts last week. I'm still nervous whenever Walker plays around there, though."
"Well, you can hardly be nervous all the time." Lucy took a sip. "Little boys are made of rubber. Trust me, with a boy like Seth, I know."
"You would, at that." Kelly laughed. "I think your son has had more broken bones than all the other children combined."
"But he always gets up and walks again," Lucy said fondly, glancing out the window. Seth seemed to be losing to Walker on purpose. She had to smile a little bit at her son; being the first child born in this new Nibelheim, and also the only one for almost two years, meant that he was much older than any of the other children, even Walker, who had been the second child born. While Seth was a robust little seven-year-old, Walker was only a little more than five, and that was a big difference. No boy Seth's age could resist pressing the advantage, but Seth was very good about not doing so very often.
"He's a sweet little boy," Kelly said tenderly. "And so brave. You both are, you've been dealing so well with--"
Maybe it was the way the light in Lucy's brown eyes dimmed, or the way the set of her shoulders drooped, or the way her smile flickered, but Kelly immediately cut herself off.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Lucy shook herself. "No - I can't just hide from it all my life. It's been two years since he died... you can say it." She took a drink of her coffee.
Kelly looked down into her coffee mug. "I'm sorry. You still look so sad whenever it comes up... we're all still a little worried about you. You didn't come out of your house at all that winter, just little Seth."
Lucy shrugged. "I missed him. I still do, but for Holy's sake, you don't have to coddle me anymore. Seth and I are getting along just fine."
"If you say so." Kelly looked up and smiled a little wistfully. "I don't envy you, darling; raising a little explorer like Seth without a father..."
Lucy forced a smile. "I don't deny it's hard, but somehow we manage. How are you and Eric getting on these days? It's been a while since I stopped to chat."
Recognizing and accepting the change of subject, Kelly opened her mouth, but at that moment a little pair of fists started pounding at the door, and she set her mug down as she quickly stood to answer the door.
"Mommamommamomma I BEAT HIM!" Walker hollered as he and Seth blew in like little whirlwinds. "I beat him ten to one!"
"Did not!" Seth retorted, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "You just saw that score on TV - you beat me THREE to TWO."
"Uh-uh! Didn't SAW it. Can't READ yet." Walker stuck his tongue out at Seth.
"You HEARD it then! Momma, momma, can Walker and me go to Mounnibel?"
"Walker and I. Mount Nibel," Lucy corrected him, clearly enunciating. "And no."
"Awwwww!" Seth slumped dramatically. "Not even if you TAKE us?"
"No, Seth," Lucy said firmly.
Seth stuck his bottom lip out. "Can't you take us? Huh? Pleeeeeaaaase?"
Lucy shook her head. "I'm sorry, Seth. Not today, and certainly not with Walker."
"WHY NOT?" Seth whined. "I wannim to see Yggdrasil!"
It was funny, Lucy thought, how Seth could barely get the words "Mount Nibel" out of his mouth, yet that ancient, mythic word rolled perfectly off his little tongue.
"Because it's too late in the day. It'll be dark when we get there. And Walker's too young."
"Uh-uh!" Walker puffed his little chest out and stood on his tiptoes, managing to very nearly match Seth's height. "'M big like Seff! See?"
"You will be soon," Kelly said, ruffling her son's sandy hair, "but not yet."
Walker whined a little bit, then ran off, presumably to sulk. Seth started to follow him, but Lucy snagged his arm and pulled him back.
"Momma, I wanna play with Walker!" Seth complained.
"Your ponytail's half out. Did you loosen it?"
"It was pulling." Seth sulked.
"Well, your hair is a mess." Holding Seth to her with one arm, Lucy reached down to where she had set her purse on the floor and dug out a brush. Seth squirmed, protesting as Lucy pulled his ponytail holder the rest of the way out and proceeded to brush his hair without mercy.
Nobody had ever quite understood where his hair had come from. Shortly after Seth's birth, Lucy had sent to Midgar for any records that anyone could find in the Shinra building regarding hers and Rowan's family trees. It had been almost two months before they came back, with a frazzled note of apology from one Thomas Reeve, explaining that Midgar had been sent all to hell by Meteor and it was very difficult to find one's own arse these days, to say nothing of obscure geneaology files; and just who was this, someone from the false Nibelheim? He had helpfully informed her that they could stop acting now. Lucy had written back to thank him for the files and helpfully inform him that they had stopped acting quite a long time ago, before settling down with the files and her newborn son.
Seth's father, it seemed, had come from a very long line of redheads, with little to no deviation anywhere in his family tree. Lucy had more more diversity in her ancestry, but it was all between blonde and brunette and black, with one or two redheads tossed in once every three generations.
She remembered poring over the files with Rowan, and the two of them turning their heads down simultaneously to look at their little child, whose hair was stark, silvery white.
He was pale enough to almost look albino, but his eyes were the same dazzling green as his father's. They'd speculated that maybe his hair would get some color as he aged, but it had been seven years since then, and it had remained the same bizarre, shimmering silver. Lucy had long ago given up and accepted it as a simple fluke. She even had to admit to liking it, a little... as if it somehow marked her son as being special.
Finishing with Seth's hair, she tied it back up in its short ponytail, slightly looser than she had that morning, and set him back down on the floor. Barely ruffled, Seth dashed off to play, his silver ponytail bobbing behind him. Kelly smiled after him, then turned to Lucy.
"You handle him well," she said cheerfully.
Lucy leaned back and smiled in satisfaction. "We manage."
no subject
Little Seth is so CUTE!!!! ^_____^ I love this! I love BotP, I love backstory, and this fits both! Alyssa, ya did great.. it literally made me go "EEE!" this morning when I skimmed, and again when I had the time to actually read through tonight. "Mounnibel"! XD SO CUTE! AUGH! I love you! And Seth! And everyone else for that matter, with few exceptions. Whee!