#earthbound community will see this and go HECK YEAH

[nickpeppermint]

[oumaheroes]

Earthbound 3/?

Summary:

Centuries after humanity fled a dying Earth and found sanctuary in the stars, the planet has healed enough to support mankind once more. For some, there is something more than curiosity; memories from another life whisper history in familiar voices, calling them home.

 'He closes his eyes and thinks about blue flowers and large statues of stone, of ships and red coats flapping over a green meadow.'

Previous chapters:

1, 2

AO3

……………………………………………………………………

Chapter 3: A World In Orbit

Someone, he would love to know who, found out at some point after their ship had set off from where he boarded that Alfred has a background in engineering. Once this fatal slip occurred it was only a matter of time for someone else to go digging for his name through all of the records out there, through the collections shared by each and every human colony, and find his qualifications and work history. That was that, in their eyes.

Now they, they being anyone who needs anything fixing or mending, won't stop bugging him, trying to cajole him into moving division and come and work in engineering again. Even the head of engineering for the ship himself comes to ask after him personally for a big job that needs doing.

'I don't understand!' the man waves his arm angrily, in frustration, and frowns at Alfred who slouches lower in his chair, refusing to make eye contact. Matthew sits stiffly in the alcove in the corner, unnoticed, and observes the proceedings with mounting apprehension.

'With your skills you're set for life! Heck, I'd give you a permanent position on this ship with the experience you're sitting on! I'm not even asking for much, not for someone like you.'

With that, Alfred reacts. 'Someone like me? What's that supposed to mean?'

'Someone as gifted as you! I've heard all about what you've done and where you've worked. You being from where you're from is enough, not many planets specialise kids like that, you know. You're practically a gold mine just in and of yourself.'

Alfred bites his lip, tastes the disappointment. He imagines his parents, his teachers, and tries to keep his own wants in mind in the face of such familiar, haunting logic.

The head of engineering takes Alfred's silence as a rejection and tries again. 'Look, I'm not asking you to work for me forever, and I'll pay you well for this time. I'll even put in a good word for you for further work on Earth, if it goes to plan.'

It's tempting, the stability of a job is promising, but Alfred has been in this particular cycle before and knows the routine, one job leads to another which leads to another and before you know it, life has passed you by. Well, Alfred broke out once, he's not planning on going back.

He shakes his head but concedes to look the other man in the eyes, giving him to respect he's entitled to. He is, after all, not at fault here, he's right to be confused.

'Sorry, I appreciate the offer, really, but I'm done with that line of work.'

The man shakes his head and sighs. He has the grace to accept Alfred's answer, but it seems that he won't go down without causing as much damage as he can. Maybe it's as if by making Alfred doubt himself he can mop up and salvage the damaged pieces. 'There's nothing for ya in history, you know that, right? They need man power down there; they've got a colony to stabilise-' stable stable stable '-and they're gonna need people to do real work. Essential stuff. What's digging about in some dirt gonna do for them?'

It's nothing Alfred hasn't heard before, nothing that he doesn't already think to himself at night as he lays in the quiet, but it's sharp nonetheless.

Seed hopefully planted, the engineer leaves. After a beat of silence Matthew gets up and sidles over to sit besides Alfred before turning to him indignantly.

'Fuck him.' Matthew is rarely this outspoken and Alfred blinks at him in surprise. 'Who gave him the right to decide what's essential? They've already got all the 'essential' people down there otherwise the colony would have failed. Well, it hasn't, has it? So there's room for people like us, too.'

Alfred suddenly understands, it's not just Alfred Matthew is speaking for, but for himself as well. The understanding of animals does not a colony make, who needs information about bears when there's food needing to be grown?

'We benefit mankind in other ways, Alfred. And you know, if it doesn't work then we do something else. But you fixing whatever he's fucked up on this ship does not change that, so screw him.'

Alfred looks, looks for a sign that perhaps Matthew is saying all this only to convince himself or to make himself feel better about his own decisions, but Alfred finds nothing but sincerity and true belief. He gives him a beaming smile. 'There's a reason I like you, Matt.'

Matthew blushes and his lips twitch, but his face remains just as serious as he waits for a response. Alfred laughs loudly, claps him on the back and then stands, pulling Matthew up with him. 'Come one, let's get dinner. I'll buy! And you're right, we're gonna be just fine.'

Despite his bravado, that night the engineers words are hissed in his parents' voices and he dreams of cables and rivets curling out of the ancient bones in the dirt to drag him down to join them.

……………………………………………………………………

Being on Earth is simultaneously the best and worst thing Peter can think of which could have happened to him.

After so long on a ship and so long before that in the confined spaces of domes and tunnels Peter doesn't quite know what to do with himself when he's finally allowed outside to see what had previously been just a far off hope. It's weird, when he was younger he'd never thought of himself as being restricted in any way, everywhere always had enough room and his school playground was huge, big enough to run in and host multiple games at once. But now he realises that his preconception of what 'large' really meant is well off. Earth is huge. It is huge, and he knows that whilst the patch of land which makes up their colony is small in the grand scheme of things it's still more room than he's ever dared to think about before. The fields around him go on forever, the sky stretches up to unimaginable heights and there's so much colour and sound to take in that Peter almost feels detached from it all as his senses are overloaded.

Despite all of this, despite once again having a home, despite his dream coming true and despite his long journey finally being over, Peter finds himself slightly disappointed, he supposes, or just too accepting of everything, and this makes him feel irrevocably guilty. It's not a normal reaction, he's on Earth after all, and he worries that maybe there's something wrong with him; everyone else seems to drink the outside in with hungry eyes and beaming faces and although he's overjoyed he's not as happy as he thought he'd be, like there's something missing but nothing that he can put his finger on. Even his parents are joyful, they haven't argued since they disembarked from the shuttle and are spending their free time eagerly planning on how they'll decorate their new house, once they're finally given one.

They're sitting in the communal canteen of the Arrivals' house and looking at housing options on his dad's e-tab, his mother leaning over the table and swiping through the gallery and she looks so carefree and relaxed lately that Peter hasn't yet been able to bring himself to talk to her about how he feels. Besides, he worries about what she'd say, or think. Despite not liking how he feels, and although he knows that this isn't usual, he doesn't want to make them think that he doesn't appreciate where he is or that he's being difficult. After all, he is happy. But...

'Peter?'

Peter looks up at his dad's voice to find his father staring at him slightly concerned. He realises that he's stirring the cereal-less leftover milk in his bowl aimlessly and hastily drops his spoon.

His father gives him a wary smile. 'You doing okay there, Petey-boy?'

Peter nods. 'Yeah, just tired.'

His parents share a look and his mother shifts to face him. 'Peter, we know that we've been a bit preoccupied with the house lately and, well, we've been thinking about how we can make it up to you.'

His father nods enthusiastically, 'Yep, I know we've not really been anywhere yet and me and your mother were thinking, how would you like to go on a short trip?'

Peter frowns. 'A trip?'

'Just a short one,' his mother adds, 'Only for a few days.'

'And not too far.' His father interjects.

'And not too far. But you've been so good about all of this that we feel as though you deserve something special. You always did say you liked to see the ocean-'

 Ah.

'-so we were talking about going to the beach and camping out there by the shore. It's not too far away, I know, but it'll be a nice change from the colony buildings, hmm?'

His dad winks at him. 'What do you say? Fancy it?'

He can see it, he can see the waves and the colours and how the spray is lifted by the wind; smells the salt in the air and tastes it on his tongue as sea birds screech overhead and the water roars.

'Peter?'

'Yes!' His voice is too loud, a couple from the table over look their way curiously but Peter doesn't care.

'Yes! Please, I'd love to go, can we go soon? Will we stay there the whole time? By the sea?'

His parents chuckle good naturedly and tell him yes, next weekend and yes, right by the sea, and then, just as if the conversation never happened, they go back to looking at window sizes and colour schemes whilst Peter sits there dumbstruck.

The sea. The sea, the sea, the sea, oh God how had he forgotten the sea. Everything here was so green and there were so many other new things to look at that it had completely slipped his mind that of course the sea, he needed to see the ocean. The thing is, he didn't realise that he'd needed it that much, didn't realise he cared so deeply or longed for it so much, but his heart thumps quickly at the idea of the blue blue water and he knows that that's what he mainly thought of when he used to dream of Earth.

Not the land, but the sea.

……………………………………………………………………

When he's finally allowed outside, Francis really doesn't know what to look at or touch first. It's so bright, he could never have even dreamt that sunlight could be like this; the colours are the same but the hues and tones and so vibrant and there's so much to see that Francis just staggers to a stop, arms dangling limply by his side as Arthur disappears into a tide of plants.

The light dances and bounces off dust in the air and he's surrounded by movement no matter how still it is because there's always a glint or a shine and there's so much to take in that his eyes don't know where to look and stay, so he settles for spinning about in a dizzy attempt to take in it all. He goes back in after a good hour of mindlessly ambling and grabs his camera, and over several trips outside, when he's finally not working, he takes photos to capture it all; the way the light hits a tree and spills over the ridges in the bark, the way the shadows collect behind the bumps and dips in the stone, the way the light catches the green in Arthur's eyes as he stares out to the sea which borders the rocky cliffs he likes to sit on.

He buys more e-frames than he needs and puts the photos' data inside to hang up. Arthur scoffs at this because one, you can put unlimited photos in an e-frame, stupid, and because two, he hasn't yet got a house to hang them in. He's got his little bunk in the room he shares with Arthur at the landing site but the civilian homes aren't yet ready to accommodate everyone and who knows how long he'll have to wait for one of his own; unmarried and childless he's certainly not a priority. But Francis doesn't care, instead he takes more photos and buys more frames and Arthur starts to find them huddled in his drawers now too, sat proudly atop his socks and clothes.

Arthur can't really complain too much though, because he likes to collect flowers. Francis thinks that that is stupid because the flowers die and by picking them you're technically ruining the point of flowers but he keeps quiet because when Arthur comes back after a day of flower foraging he has this silly little smile on his face that Francis has about five photos of, all tucked into one, well hidden, e-frame.

The one day, when Francis is at work, huddled in with soil deposits, he gets a call from an emotional sounding Arthur. Immediately, he panics because if Arthur displays any sort of intense emotion there's usually cause for concern and at the moment Arthur breathless with something.

'I've got a house!'

Suddenly, the air is sucked out of him. 'What?'

Arthur gives a light, airy laugh, he can't find the words to adequately express all that he is feeling but he is so happy; Francis can hear that clearly enough. 'I got a house. Fuck, Francis- I got a house.'

Francis leans heavily against the wall, he is in the corridor of the geology building, where he'd run to when Arthur called. His tongue feels thick in his mouth, moving it is hard. 'Congratulations. Why'- why you, why you and not me, don't leave me behind '-how did you get one so quickly?'

Arthur snorts dismissively. 'God knows, I applied the same time as you.'

Why does this hurt him so much? Why is this so hard to deal with? They'd both applied, Francis himself had been the one to collect the forms for them both from the Commons building so why did the prospect of it actually happening cause him to feel as though he'd just swallowed a brick?

'When do you get to move in?' He manages through a jaw made of stone. He can't seem to move his eyes from the window; a bird sits on a branch on the tree to the right and the sun glints on its eyes as it turns and Francis- Francis can't, he-

'We're allowed to next week, but we can go and have a look at it tomorrow.'

'We?'

There's a choking sound and Arthur doesn't speak for a while. Francis has to prod him to make sure he's still there. 'Arthur?'

'I- I mean, well I wasn't going to say it now and I suppose it doesn't really matter either way if you don't want, but I was thinking, you know, because it already works, as it is, our housing situation that is, so it makes sense to but of course it's up to you-'

'Arthur,' despite himself, despite his brain screaming at him not to jump to conclusions, there's a smile on his face and Francis finds himself daring to wonder if maybe... 'Arthur are you asking me to move in with you?'

There's a funny little noise on the other end. 'W-well I'm not asking anything, I'm just saying that seeing as we already manage to live together without killing each other that it would help other people who are waiting for a house, if we shared one, that is. Not that I'm expecting you to say yes, of course, but-'

'I'd love to.' Francis can't stop himself from grinning and ducks his face down to stare at his shoes in case any of his colleagues see him looking so giddy.

'Well,' starts Arthur, 'good, I suppose.' A pregnant pause. 'Bye.'

With that, he's gone and Francis is left alone, smiling stupidly at his feet.

They move in together, into their nice little house, and despite there being two bedrooms and despite what he had said, Arthur sleeps in the same bed as Francis does; there are flowers in the kitchen and e-frames everywhere and Francis feels that void inside of him shrink and close, little by little.

……………………………………………………………………

After two years of being mostly feeling as though his legs have turned to jelly and his stomach lead, Ludwig is more than a little overwhelmed to hear that they're going to be landing within days. He hears about it over the intercom and on his e-tab newsfeed before Gilbert bursts through the door with delighted whoops. His brother never had been good at being cooped up, on the space station at least he could take his shuttle and go on drives with his friends but on a big voyage with a time constraint like this all commercial travel has been stopped, lest anyone get left behind. Not that Gilbert has had enough time to himself do so anything of the sort anyway.

Despite Gilbert's infectious enthusiasm and glee, Ludwig can't quite stop worrying about what if. What if they've come all this way for nothing? What if, after all Gilbert has given up, despite what he says about the matter, he can find no rest on Earth either?

He doesn't have much chance to worry too much though because before he knows it they've stopped and Gilbert is throwing things into cases whilst Ludwig does his bit folding clothes and generally tidying up after the whirlwind his brother leaves behind.

The day they're moved from ship to shuttle, belongings already sent ahead, is luckily a good day. Ludwig and his stomach feel perfectly fine, well enough to stay and move about as normal, and more than capable of pulling his brother back from where he tries to crane over people's heads to get to the window. He pulls him down to sit and wait, legs jittery and foot jumping where he's resting it on his knee.

Gilbert looks first at it, then at him, and grips his shoulder tightly. 'It'll be awesome, you'll see.'

'Hmm.' Ludwig's sure it will and Gilbert's right, if nothing else just seeing and experiencing Earth is worth coming all this way. But he hopes that's not the only thing that they gain from this.

Gilbert understands and doesn't press him for more, instead he claps him on the back and then manages to control himself and sit still, letting Ludwig process things in his own time.

All too soon, the clouds obscuring the view from the windows clear to show expanses of green growing ever larger. A collective gasp goes up from the people in the shuttle as people catch sight of it and Ludwig momentarily forgets to be concerned because he himself is drawn in by the sight. Such a colour, and so much of it; how anything can be this beautiful is beyond him. He comes to his senses because Gilbert is breathing noisily in his ear where he's leant into Ludwig's space to see.

He turns to brush him away in irritation and there it is; a jolt and they've landed.

There's silence. No one knows quite what to do, it's not quite registered yet and so everyone just sits spellbound in their seats, hands gripping whomever's next to them. Their driver, or one of them, opens the door to the passenger cabin and informs them that they can disembark and suddenly there's a massive scramble of movement as people rush to the doors. Gilbert and Ludwig wait for the worst to pass and then they stand cautiously before making their way to the door. Gilbert goes first and Ludwig stands still, watching for a second before stepping out of the door, away from artificial gravity and onto solid ground.

 Oh.

Ludwig gasps sharply. There's such a pressure, such a force pushing him to the ground that it takes him a moment to balance himself. Looking up he can see people ahead of him staggering into the Arrival's building, legs bent and head bowed to watch their toes. Gilbert is no better, he is picking up one leg at a time, lifting it high experimentally before placing it back down again and moving forward. He looks like he's just shat himself from the back, but when he stops and spins about to search for Ludwig the look on his face is ecstatic.

Ludwig grins back giddily because he's aware, all at once like a light turning on, that he feels amazing. More than that, he feels invincible. His legs are already aching with the stain and want to buckle beneath him but his stomach, his blessed fucking stomach is steadier than he's ever felt it. Is this how people are supposed to feel? Is this how people feel everyday; what 'normal' feels like? He swings his head to look behind him at their shuttle, then back to Gilbert and laughs out loud because the Earth stays still. It doesn't swing and pitch, his head doesn't buzz and his stomach doesn't turn not even slightly and Ludwig throws back his head and laughs.

Gilbert comes rushing back to him, or as fast as rushing his legs can currently do for him, and tackles him into a tight hug, shaking him from side to side and squeezing the air out of him.

'Yeah? Yeah?'

Ludwig presses his wet eyes and smile into his brother's shoulder and manages a soft, watery, 'yeah.'

Gilbert sniffs wetly and releases one arm to scrub at his eyes. 'Fuck. Fuck Lud, that's awesome.'

Ludwig doesn't even try to compose himself. 'Yeah.'