Give Him A Chance To Mend 2
To tell you the truth, I wanted it to be a fluff chapter. My mind had a different idea, so we start up with angst/whump at the beginning, before the fluff comes in.
And let me just say, I completely adore both Hector and Varian, and I can totally see them bonding over animals.
Anyway, enjoy~
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Chapter 2: When Can We Do This Again?
It’s been two weeks since Adira and Hector decided to move in with Varian and his dad. Quirin and his son finally stopped freaking out at every sound coming from the house whenever they were together, adjusting to the fact now there were four people living in the house.
The former Brotherhood members adjusted to the new life quicker than expected. Adira was always willing to help out the villagers in menial tasks, whether it was fixing the broken roof or simple collecting of crops. Hector, obviously, was quickly recognised as an animal person, and was often called for when the villagers needed help. He also served as a kind of scarecrow, scaring away wild animals before they can damage the crops. Although, he was generally seen talking them out, instead of actual scaring. It didn’t matter, really, as long as the village was safe.
Varian himself was… trying. With Andrew sent away, far from the boy, he could finally relax and focus on healing, both physically and mentally. While his visible injuries healed rather fast, the wounds inflicted to his mind refused to do so, leaving scars that didn’t want to heal. Not once Quirin, Adira and Hector were woken up in the middle of the night, was it either by anxious Ruddiger or cries of the boy.
Usually it was fairly easy to calm down the terrified alchemist, after he woke up from another dreadful nightmare. Sometimes, however, they spent the better half of the night, consoling the trembling boy. These were the times Quirin could see how broken his son really was, how the man who pretended to be his friend hurt him, if only to satisfy his own desire of justice.
These were the times the man held Varian in a warm embrace for hours, whispering soothing words, feeling his small frame trembling under the pressure of his past.
And these were the times both Adira and Hector hated how much time it took to travel to the Dark Kingdom and back to Corona. Hated, how long it took them to find the trail. Hated, how late they were to find their nephew. And hated, how long the boy was subjected to Andrew’s twisted ideas.
It was the morning after exceptionally vivid nightmare. It took the three of the adults and at least fifteen minutes of constant shaking and calling, before the boy finally woke up, sweat-covered and wide-eyed. His breaths were short, whole frame trembling from the night visions. He didn’t speak of what he saw, and he didn’t need to. None of them fell asleep that night.
Hector was strolling through the village, his bearcats trailing behind. Villagers claimed before they moved in, wild animals almost every night threatened the village, stealing the cattle, destroying crops, scaring people half-to-death. Truth be told, Hector couldn’t fathom how much of it was true. Since he and Adira started living in Old Corona, he’d seen maybe two or three wolves. The only ‘wild’ animal he saw on the daily basis, was the little raccoon his nephew kept as a pet. Clever little thing, he must admit.
Speaking of which, his trained eyes spotted the blur of grey on one of the apple trees. The raccoon snatched two apples from the branch, before climbing down and setting on Varian’s shoulders. The boy looked up from the book he was reading, seated under the tree, and smiled gratefully.
“Thanks, bud.” He ruffled the raccoon’s head and the animal bumped against it, craving for affection.
“You trained him well.” Hector spoke up, approaching the boy. Varian startled for a moment, relaxing when he saw his uncle.
“I didn’t exactly train him.” He replied, smiling sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. Hector rose an eyebrow, surprised.
“You can’t expect me to believe you didn’t teach him to do that.” The man crossed his arms and looked at the raccoon, happily munching on his apple.
“I didn’t.” Varian repeated and shrugged. “I always shared food with him and took care of him. I guess he just learned to do the same for me.”
As if to confirm the statement, Ruddiger chittered and pawed at the boy’s cheek. Varian laughed at his uncle’s surprised gaze.
“He always does that when he tries to comfort me.” He petted the animal gently. “I guess, we just learned to understand each other without words.”
“Interesting.” Hector hummed and grabbed his chin in deep thought. So his nephew didn’t train the raccoon in any way, and still, the animal acted like a well-trained dog of some sort.
His train of thoughts was interrupted by the most peculiar sound he’d ever heard. It sounded like… well, he didn’t know what it reminded him of, but he could feel the vibrations behind the sound. His green eyes looked for the source, and he was shocked to see it came from his bearcats.
The two, usually wild and aggressive if not put into place by the man, laid curled up against the boy, one of them unceremoniously showing its belly, which the alchemist was rubbing with a smile on his face. never before had Hector seen them acting like that.
“What… what are they doing?” He breathed out in shock, mouth agape. Varian turned to meet his uncle’s eyes and cocked his head in question.
“Um… I do believe it’s called purring.” He said, stopping scratching, only to earn a playful pat in the hand, claws hidden. He chuckled and resumed his previous actions. “And this one just loves belly-rubs, don’t you?”
The bearcat barked in response, a content smile on its face. Hector stood frozen, wondering what has happened to his animals.
“What did you do?” He questioned. Blue eyes stared at him in confusion.
“Nothing? I think they saw how I pet Ruddiger and got jealous.” Varian answered.
The raccoon in question jumped down from his shoulders and positioned itself against the other bearcat, both animals sighing in content and continued purring. Hector must have stared for too long, because Varian looked at his in puzzlement again.
“You want to..?” The alchemist asked and it took the man a moment to realise he was asking if he wanted to pet the animals. The wild and dangerous animals he trained himself. The same animals which laid sprawled on the grass, looking like simple pets.
“You shouldn’t spoil them too much.” He grunted, stepping closer and sitting down next to the boy. His hand hovered over the other bearcat, finally gently falling on its fur, moving gently. The purring intensified and it startled Hector and caused Varian to chuckle at his expression.
“You never did that before, did you?” The boy asked as Hector once again slowly moved his hand against the fur.
“Not really. They don’t act that way around me.” He replied truthfully, a small smile creeping up his lips. “It’s nice, though. I never noticed how soft it was. The fur, I mean.”
Varian nodded and picked up his book again, one hand still rubbing the bearcat’s belly. They sat for few more minutes, before Hector got an idea.
“Have you ever ridden a rhino?”
Turned out Varian never rode a rhino. He knew the basics of riding a horse, so at least he knew how to sit in the saddle. It took few minutes for the boy to adjust to the rhythm of the animal. Ruddiger sat on the alchemist’s shoulders, the bearcats running along. Hector sat behind his nephew, his arms securing him in place, making sure he won’t fall off.
The man could sense the exact moment Varian finally got a hang of the riding. His shoulders relaxed and his grip on the man’s arms loosened. He took a deep breath, before turning his head slightly to face his uncle.
“Can it go faster?” He asked and Hector grinned.
With a quick ‘Hold on tight’ he clicked his tongue an the rhino shot forward. He could hear a gasp of surprise, before Varian laughed. They ran through the forest, trees and rocks swishing by. The boy spread his hands and laughed, enjoying the wind pulling on his hair.
It was two hours later, when they finally got back, both grinning, adrenaline pumping in their veins. Hector got down first, Varian jumping down soon after. His legs wobbled and he swayed, the man steadying him quickly.
“That was fun.” The boy smiled brightly at his uncle, pushing away and this time, he managed to stay on his feet.
“It was.” Hector replied and patted the rhino. It growled and went towards the stables, where it slept.
“I… thank you. I really needed that.” Varian scratched his neck and looked away. “Can we do this again?” He asked, eyes looked up to him, sparkling, a smile on the boy’s face.
“Anytime you want, nephew.” Hector smiled back. He was probably getting too soft. But he didn’t mind that at all.
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(Not) So Sweet Home Velaris - Chapter 2 - Not one to be a visitor
Sweet Home Alabama AU: AO3 link to Chapter 1 and Chapter 2
Nesta watched Cassian as he clicked the top of the pen. She watched her estranged husband rub his stubbled chin as he looked through the paperwork. When did he grow a beard? It wasn't long, more like a five o'clock shadow. Scratchy whiskers that were darker and more defined closer to his jaw. He looked rugged and more adult. In her mind, when she thought of Cassian, which was not very often, she saw him never ageing always staying at nineteen, frozen in time.
Her phone buzzed. Cassian's deep brown eyes flicker to her narrowing down to her purse where the vibration was coming from. Nesta pulled it out and saw Tomas' name on the display. "I have to take this, it's work," Nesta gets up, making her way to the front yard before answering.
"Tomas." It comes out as a sigh as she leans against a tree.
"Nesta, how's the conference going?" Tomas's voice was muffled, most likely talking through his headphones as he walked from his office to the gym. She was already missing the structure of home. Tomas lived off a schedule, he woke up at four in the morning to do meditation for an hour, at five he would call her and then at six they would go for a morning jog. It was so easy to live life in a schedule. Nothing surprising, nothing sneaking up behind to catch you off guard. It was comforting.
"As good as it can be. Networking and listening to big egos talk about their great achievements," Nesta shoots a look toward the house seeing if the two men inside were trying to listen in to her conversation. "Jared sent me a long-winded email, so I'm still on the clock, which means..."
"A bigger honeymoon for us. Did you read the fifty emails I sent you last night? The wedding planners still need approvals if we're going with a live band or a DJ."
"I thought we already talked about that. Live band, we're classy, not trashy."
"And there are also-"
"I'll read the emails when I get back to the hotel. I can't right now."
"Not having second thoughts, are you?"
"No, of course not. It's busy at work right now. There are too many companies that are going public and don't get me started on the multitude of -"
"I get it, you're very busy," Tomas had away of making everything he said sound a tad bit condescending. Like you had to take a double-take to question if he was trying to be rude or it was just Tomas, "But you need to remember our relationship is a top priority, which means?"
"Our wedding is top priority. I'll email the planners tonight when I get back to the hotel."
"Okay, I got to go. At the gym. Love you," he hangs up before her reply.
Our wedding is top priority, not her career, which is currently taking a back seat as she is dealing with the only important thing that decides if she gets married or not. She runs her hands up her face and back down as she groans. Hopefully, when she gets back into that kitchen, Cassian signed the papers and she could catch the next flight out of this Cauldron damned place.
He's still clicking the pen when she gets in. Rhys was now sitting in one of the uneven kitchen table chairs. He wobbles as he moves to watch Nesta re-enter the room. She takes her seat and the vinyl whines.
"You should have replaced these years ago." She says while trying to find her balance.
"They're my grandma's," Cassian replies, flipping to a new page. Right his grandmother, the woman who raised him when his mom died. She was a tough old lady. She didn't approve of Nesta mostly because her father was gambling drunk, and as Cassian's grandmother was extremely religious, she believed the devil was in the drink, and a dollar lost to sin was a mark of sinister things to come. She basically thought Nesta would either make Cassian a sinner or that Nesta was a witch the charmed Cassian into dating her. Either way, Nesta was a bad influence on her grandson. And yet she was the one that insisted the two got married.
"How's work?" Rhys awkwardly asked, trying to break the awkward standstill as Nesta watch Cassian read.
"Fine, you?" She watches Cassian flip to the next page. He clicks the pen again.
"Good. Feyre and Elain are good too. Elain is working up in the Steeps at a flower shop. And Feyre is actually working with - Ouch!" Rhys yelps lifting his foot from the floor up to his seat. Cassian looks up at him, and they share a long silent conversation over intense eye contact. Rhy breaks eye contact looking back to Nesta, "Feyre is working."
"Nice." She really didn't need the update on her sisters as Elain messages Nesta's work email on the daily with reports on her everyday life. Today Nesta received an email with the subject line: "We ran out of orange roses, and I need three thousand for a wedding :{!! Also, I made cookies, and the recipe was from Pinterest:) I sent you the link!!!!". Life was difficult when you lived in the era of google sleuthing, and your job gives out your email to the public for cold calls.
"Um..." Rhys drummed his thumbs on the table, thinking of anything else he could talk about with Nesta.
"You really don't need to try to talk to me. I would prefer it if you don't."
It was quiet for a while. Nesta watching Cassian, Cassian reading and Rhys watching Nesta. Cassian looks down at his watch. Cassian places the pen down. "Rhys? What time is it?" Cassian asks, turning to look at his brother.
"I don't know. Close to three." Rhys replies.
Cassian puts down Nesta's pen and looks at her. "After careful review, I am not signing anything without my lawyer present."
Nesta's mouth tightens. "What do you mean you won't sign anything? I thought I made it clear that I don't have the time to wait for Varian to come back to review papers that have not been changed."
"Nesta, I am no lawyer. All this is," he pushes the papers back to Nesta, "is gibberish. It's like reading Tolstoy; my mind can't keep up with the words I'm reading." He puts Nesta's pen in his pocket while getting up. Nesta looks at the papers in disbelief.
"I can't believe that you would do this..." Nesta whispers to herself. Her ice glare focus right at Cassian. "I can't believe that you hate the idea that I am happy that you would sabotage my future by being... an... asshole!" She yells at him; she stands up and stabs her finger at his chest. He looks at her with steeled eyes. She only saw that look once in her life, and that was when he met his birth father. It was as if he saw right through her like she wasn't there at all.
"I am not signing anything, Nesta." He moves to the door picking up his plate of biscuits as he went.
Nesta grabs her purse, making sure to put the papers into it before following Cassian out to the porch and down to the dirt driveway. "Where do you think you're going?" She calls after him. He didn't even lock his door. Small town living was full of idiots who trusted their neighbours wouldn't go wandering into their homes, taking anything from them.
Cassian turns to face Nesta, "To your sisters' for dinner." Cassian turns to Rhys, "Let's take your car."
"What about me? What am I supposed to do? Sit on your porch and wait till Varian comes?" Nesta crosses her arms.
"I really don't give a fuck where you go," Cassian replies, getting to the sheriff's passenger side door.
Rhys looks like he would want to be anywhere but here. "You can come over for dinner. I am sure Feyre can make room at the table for an extra mouth."
"And be what? A bombshell? No, I rather not be in anyone's way, except yours Cassian." She points at him through the front window of the car.
"Where will you stay? There's no hotels in Velaris?" Rhys asks. He stood by his open door.
"I'll go to one of the resorts... Or something," Nesta replies. She really didn't think that she would be here for a full week. She didn't pack an entire suitcase of clothes; instead, she had a weekender bag with a second set of clothes in case she missed her flight, which she will in four hours...
"Nesta, Feyre and Elain would be happy to have you stay with them."
"No, I can't do that." She didn't want to see her sisters, it wasn't that she didn't love them; she adored them. But they had multiple heated arguments since her move to Orilion that put a heavy strain on her relationship with the two. Nesta feared that if she stayed under the same roof as both them, that sure enough, the argument will arise and more hurt feelings would inevitably ensue, and there would be no escape by hanging up a cellphone.
"Of course, you can, I insist that -"
"Rhys, let it go. If Nesta wants to set up camp on my porch, so be it. At least the crows won't peck at my garden with a scarecrow like her." Cassian interjects.
"There are more weeds than vegetables in that garden, and you know that."
"If you would like. I mean, you could always come with us to visit your family and friends." Cassian replies.
"I don't have friends here."
Cassian laughs dryly. "Did you hear that, Rhys. Nesta forgot that you can't throw away friends when you up and leave them." He turns to look at her, "Your fortunate to know that those people that were your friends still see you as such."
"Nesta..." Rhys pauses, thinking of the best way to approach the beast, that is, Nesta. He opens his mouth and closes it again. Why repeat what Cassian said, even if it was going to be more sugar-coated. "If you feel that you can't stand being here out in the cold, come by to your sisters. I really think that they would happily open their arms to you." And with that, Rhys slipped into his car, buckles up and heads out with Cassian.
______
Nesta sat on the porch stairs looking out to the lake. In her hand was her work cellphone opened to her emails. She was at first scrolling through the twelve unread emails, all asking what her status was with preparing the first prospectus for a new tech company. Instead of replying, she watched the water lap the stone beach. It was tranquil here. The sound of the breeze through the trees and the crickets in the meadow was like a time machine. Nesta took a long breath and paused. She closed her eyes and took in the only minute of stillness she had from the past nine years, no since she was nine. The city was loud and busy and made it easy for her to push down her need to review her life choices and start the process of regret. One of the best things about being a lawyer was that you could keep working till you crash and gosh did she push herself to crash. She let her breath go.
She knew that her relationship with Tomas might not be the best with communication. Tomas was not a conversationist. He was a man of passion... for his job, golfing, gym and sometimes her. And that suited Nesta's life perfectly. She needs her independence. He never got too upset when she stayed late at the office, nor did he get upset when she had to skip out and take a phone call while out to lunch. He cared for her.
He bought her expensive gifts and vacations; he made his bachelor apartment their home with her own office, and Nesta appreciated his company, well most of the time. One of the very few dislikes that Nesta did not really love of Tomas was his frat boy attitude to things. He was a rich boy that went to a prestigious university only to party and work half-assed to get his diploma for business and went straight to work at his parent's company. Tomas went to one of the top fraternities where he spoke only rich boy. He was dull and came across as stupid when he talked to his university friends. His social media was full of photos of him flexing at the gym with captions: "Flex Friday." He was very much two dimensional in public.
But he was safe, and he was home.
She walks over to her car to grab her laptop. Might as well start on the prospectus and those emails before the phone calls start.
______
Bored. She was bored. She made her way into Cassian's kitchen to work as the idiot didn't lock his door when he left. She sent off a rough first draft of the prospectus to the lead partner for review and finished her emails with in the first three hours. Cassian was still not home.
Nesta did not want to sit around for the rest of the afternoon, waiting for Cassian to be back. She searched on her laptop for hotels in the Steep. She looked for a midrange hotel and called they had no rooms. She called the next hotel... and the next hotel... She called every Cauldron forsaken hotel in all of the Steeps, and none had a hotel room. It was mid-June, and every hotel was booked. It would make sense if it was the winter months as skiing and snowboarding were very popular, but mid-June? She had nowhere to stay except her rental car, which was not idle. Who wanted to be that loser that slept in her rental in front of her estranged husband's home? Not her.
She thought of her next choices. She already crossed out her car. She could see if Mr. Surriel wouldn't mind her staying at his home. No, she did not want to stay at his place to be used as a gossip mine. Her only other option was her sisters' home. She weighed her options again but only came out with the same conclusion.
She got into her car and drove.
______
Her childhood home was similar in style to Cassian's but with a second floor. It resided in the far edge of town nestled by trees with a large backyard where Elain's garden bloomed this time of year. It was a home full of melancholy memories.
Nesta parked in front of the neighbours and once again debated. Cassian had yet to come back, which meant he was most likely still with her sisters, which most likely also means that her sisters' friends were even there. She had to make another choice. Sit in her car and wait or get out and walk to that front door like a big girl.
With her weekender bag over her shoulder and her purse nestled in the crook of her elbow, she walked on the uneven cement pathway to the front porch. Elain's roses crept up trellises next to the living room window. The front door was painted firey red ombre to almost appear that it was a flame, Feyre's work most defiantly. The closer Nesta got to the front door, the louder the laughter and music got inside. The driveway proved that there were plenty more people than just her two sisters, Cassian and Rhys.
Nesta brought her ringless hand (she stashed it away in her purse in hopes that she wouldn't need to have an argument over invitations) and knocked. She paused, waiting for the noise to die down. It didn't. She knocked again. Nothing. She twists the door and to her, not surprise the door opened.
The small foyer welcomed her in with photos of her younger years. A bench next to the door was crammed with shoes of all types and sizes in disarray. Nesta slipped off her heels and held them, not wishing to lose them in the pile. She passed the stairs to the left into the living room, where a large L-shaped couch faced a fireplace and bookcases full of novels and knick-nacks. A small electric piano was pushed to the wall next to the archway to the kitchen with sheet music opened.
Coffee mugs and plates of snacks once forgotten littered the coffee table. In her childhood, the living room lived only a sofa bed where her father slept. It looked such a different know like people actually lived here and not just slept.
The laughter was loud and coming from the kitchen. Nesta could hear Feyre telling a story about Vin's general store and making a narrow escape from buying an overly expensive coffee machine. She then made fun of how it was the same model Rhys just recently purchased at a marked up price in the city.
"If I knew that Isaac was going to be selling them next to the frozen section of Vin's, I wouldn't have travel three hours to get a triple priced machine."
"Hindsight is twenty-twenty, babe," Feyre replies with a giggle.
Nesta's breezing is hitched. What was she doing? Sleeping in her car would be far less horrible than walking into her childhood home with no explanation, then there were no hotels, and I am trying to get a divorce.
"Well, if you want to know, my day was very eventful."
"You caught another speeding teen?" Amren asks.
"No, I actually dealt with a house call, didn't I Cassian?"
"What house call, you didn't... No. We are not discussing that."
"Discussing what?" Elain piped up.
"Nothing -" Cassian got caught off from Rhys.
"Cassian had a little house intruder."
"Stop talking, Rhys. I swear to the Cauldron that you will regret whatever you say next."
"Someone that - Ahh! Get off of me!" There was a loud commotion sounding as if Cassian jumped on top of Rhys.
Nesta heard as everyone tried to separate the two brothers. "If you're going to fight, do it outside!" Feyre yelled.
"I was only going to tell them that -"
"Shut your stupid mouth, Rhys. That is none of your fucking concern."
"That Nesta is back?"
Silence. No one made a move. "That was no concern for any of us?" Elain asks. "That my sister appeared in town after a year of no contact?"
"Elain, she came here to see me."
"She's my sister. If she showed up out of thin air, I want to know. I don't care if she was there to see you." Elain's voice was restrained. It was the angriest Nesta heard from her.
"She said she didn't want to see you and to know that she was in town," Cassian continued.
"I don't care what she said. I want to know these things." Elain replied.
"Elle, she said she didn't want us to know," Feyre calmly said.
"I don't care."
"I know. But you have to understand that Nesta wants her space."
"I don't fucking care! I am sick of her avoidance. If she's here, I want to see her. Where is she, Cassian."
"I don't know," Cassian replies.
"Yes, you do. Where is she?"
"She was at my porch last I saw her. She said that she was going to the Steeps to get a hotel."
"She might be still at your place. Feyre, can you drive me?"
"Elain, I really think that you shouldn't just ambush her. And most likely, Nesta is up in a resort somewhere."
"If you won't take me, then I am just going to go myself."
"You're going to walk all the way to Cassian's?"
"Yes."
Nesta could hear footsteps nearing her, not so hidden spot. Nesta looked around, trying to spot a place that didn't make it look like she was overhearing their entire conversation. She walked quickly back to the foyer.
"Elain, I'll take you tomorrow. If anything, she will be back at Cassian's." Rhys said, following Elain into the living room.
Elain walked her feet made no noise as she got closer and closer to her sister. "I don't want to go tomorrow I want to see her -- Nesta?"
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