Work Text:
I work way too bloody hard…
Rex could admit that to himself as he trudged home from where one of the Garfont Mercenaries Tornan drive ships dropped him off. Recent rains had made the mud underfoot thick and wet and oh so clingy to his boots. Every step felt like a little more weight was added to his stride.
Always have done.
He’d left home with little to his name to earn enough to send back home, for the kids less fortunate than him. Given life had taken his mum and dad from him too early, it said a lot about what the other kids Auntie Corinne looked after had experienced.
I promise others I’ll hold back, promise ‘em I’ll ease up on me, take care of me, put me first…
The rains were a slightly pleasant drizzle now, one coating his short hair and clipped beard with a fine mist and not making his work outfit sodden—he was particularly glad about that, he didn’t need any more weight baring down on him.
But others come first. Wives, kids, family, friends, mercenaries, and now the world a-bloody-gain.
Rex had been on that awkward, overconfident cusp between boyhood and manhood the first time he’d saved their world from destruction. Now he was a man, and the Architect—no, Klaus’ legacy—was coming back to do a number on them once more.
Though it’s not just one world this time… noo, saving one world? Too soddin’ easy for a seasoned hand like me! Let’s make it two worlds! That’ll give ‘em summin’ to think about!
Nia Echell; wife, mam and doctor stood in Alrest, tasked by providence if nothing else to be one part of the link.
Melia Antiqua, Empress and Queen, stood on the other side; a world spun off from their own when Klaus initiated his experiment with the universe as the wager.
He wound up splitting the pot.
I put a lot of hard graft in to this place though…
Rex gave a friendly nod and a slightly exhausted smile to a family of phonexes watching him awkwardly shake mud free from his heavy duty boots, using a weathered chunk of stone to scrape the rest off. Home was ahead, a warm light in the dark that awaited at the end of every mission.
Ain’t gonna let that go to waste.
They had a plan.
Great minds on both worlds had poured everything into a way to let them exist past the catastrophic collision of matter and antimatter that would annihilate both worlds in the moment of their rejoining.
It meant a lot more hard work. They’d talked the ears off the other leaders in their world, or talked at the ones who weren’t so friendly to them after the events of Cloudclear—the day the World Tree almost fell—revealed more of their world to them.
They’d have the support of the major nations and countries around them, but the four of them had to put their foot down when the quibbling was started about what would be saved.
His wives and he were in full agreement: Everyone got saved. No matter the crime, no matter the attitude, no matter what came before.
Everyone in to Origin.
Everyone out of Origin.
Then a spanner went into the works.
Giving one family all that power, all those funds, all that support to construct Origin?
Too bloody easy to co-operate there, no… yer need a nation, yer need treaties, yer need contracts and staff and governance and every fuckin’ thing to get the ball rolling!
Starting a nation was more expensive than his eldest daughter’s visit to a candy shop by several orders of magnitude.
Home was within sight now, the house he’d laboured to build for the women he loved; their own little corner of the world they saved.
But if I can build a house… I’ll build a nation an’ support Nia to run it. Then I’ll help build Origin, save the world again, and then… maybe I’ll finally let myself have a break! Do some fishing, bit of salvaging, lot of time with the family… maybe even get through some more books!
The bonds of affinity that ran from his soul to the core crystals housing the souls of his family were ever-present, no matter how far he roamed. They would have felt him coming home just as he felt them drawing near.
Pyra was in the kitchen, cooking a meal for the big family she’d always wanted. Maybe when the kids were older they’d see about making it a little bigger; all of them had enough love in their heart to welcome more little bundles of Bladeling joy into the world.
Rex did his best to keep money in the pot for Pyra to put on the dinners she loved cooking, but knew Pyra made do with innovative techniques, old knowledge, and what came from the garden and from foraging to make it all go a little further.
Nia was in the study, and Rex could feel the stress radiating off her. By virtue of her sister and Da’s blood that ran through her veins as a Flesh Eater, it had been decided that she was of noble enough heritage to become Queen of the new nation.
Rex took on what he did to ease her burden, but knew he’d need at least a couple more of himself to keep her brow from furrowing under the pressure that had been placed on her. And even with Garfont and all the connections and bonds he’d forged with the world, he couldn’t put everything onto them either.
Mythra was surrounded by their children, trying to maintain some semblance of order by teaching them how to play Don’t Feed the Armu. Throughout pregnancy she’d worried if she’d be a good mom; he saw the smile not just in her face but her eyes that indicated she felt it.
The Aegis of Light’s own contributions to their efforts were on two fronts: Work with the Mercenaries to raise funds, and selling her artwork and taking commissions to add to the prospective treasury chest. Plus, having a head for numbers and calculations came in handy when it came to bookkeeping and accounting.
Rather than heading for the front door on the fairly sizeable home he’d staked out for them all, Rex headed for the side and the porch that stood near his office. The weight of the twin swords on his back, once wielded by Addam of Torna, reminded him of their presence with a nudge of a hilt to the back of his neck as he stooped to pluck an errant weed from one of Nia’s medicinal flower beds.
Their garden was a working one more than an ornamental one. There was a little area for the children to putter about in, getting their hands dirty while growing easy-care flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Plus there was the tree with the rope swing on, a favourite of them on a summer’s day.
Nia had her beds of herbs and flowers; backing up her skills as a healing blade with pharmacology. There was another garden of hers nearby, fenced off with warnings due to the toxic and poisonous nature of the plants. Not everything that healed was harmless, after all.
Mythra’s areas of the gardens were all for her art. Petals turning to pigments, saps to binders, roots made into stains, and an assortment of nuts and berries into inks. She’d even taken to starting to make her own brushes; pinching the tools from Rex’s workshop to carefully craft handles for brushes.
Rex would check up on his own section in the morning. He grew flowers for his wives, fruits and nuts for the kids, and a few salvaging staples to help keep his equipment in order, and some merc medicine favourites calling upon the knowledge that Vandham had imparted to him.
Keen gold eyes did a final check around him before letting himself in with the key he procured from his pocket. A mercenary of his renown made enemies; Rex’s biggest fear was those trying to get to him through the people he loved. The house had defences, thanks to Tora’s ingenuity, but even so…
“… oh, hey you,” Rex flashed a grin as he locked the door behind him, crouching down to fuss at the creature atop the basket of carefully folded clothing that one of his loves had left for him to change into. “Gettin’ it all nice an’ warm for me, eh, Lappy?”
The soft-furred Pippito made a happy little chirping sound, nuzzling at Rex’s hand before making little jabby motions with a forepaw at his jacket pocket.
“Well, yer done me a solid by warming those up for me… so a lil’ treat is fine by me!” He laughed, dipping a hand into a pocket to procure a fingertips-full of chopped nuts and fruits to offer to an insistent mouth. “Now, go on in and get warm by the stoves, I don’t need any pippies peepin’ at me changing!”
He got an affectionate nuzzle from nose-to-nose before Lappy whipped around and dashed through the flap he’d thoughtfully installed for her, her bushy tail whapping him in the face in her eagerness to get inside.
Yeah, I’m eager t’get in too, but…
Rex started his transition from top-rank salvager and mercenary to husband and father by placing his hand on the Crest of Torna that sealed off a pipe system running up to his study. With a pulse of blue light the shutter slid open for him, leaving two locking mechanisms for him to place Empty Moment and Striker Edge into.
The Ice-attuned and Dark-element swords had been recovered from Tornan vessels, used hard and later modified to include a pair of Ether Furnaces to help power them. Rex relied on the Blades that had come into his life; he made sure he could stand alone without them.
Stripping off the outer layers of his travelling outfit, he grabbed one of the towels to mop at his hair, face and beard, even as he filled the small washbasin he’d installed with hot water. Pyra was a stickler for washing before dinner. While a soak in a hot spring was what he craved, that could come later.
A quick salvager’s wash followed by drying off and changing into Pippito-warmed and recently laundered lounge wear would do for now.
Changed into a soft jumper of dark blue with matching loose-fitting trousers of an equally soft material, Rex braced himself before entering the house knowing just what would happen next with no need for Myth’s Foresight ability.
“DADDY!” Three voices chorused from where his children had been poised, waiting for that door to open. Three young Bladelings barrelled his way and flung themselves into his waiting arms… well, that was the plan.
Mio wrapped herself around his right leg, his daughter with Nia clinging tight as she started telling him about what she was learning in school. She was his youngest, only by two days, and with ears just as expressive to her emotions as Nia’s were.
Vahn, his middle child by a day and his only son, took the left leg to hug. Even before any Blade powers kicked in, he radiated with a similar warmth as to Pyra’s; just without the glow. He was busy telling him about the seeds he was germinating on coarsely-pressed and dampened paper towels.
Milly, the eldest, opted to scamper up his back and throw her arms around his neck. She was willful, strong-natured, and just like her mom in so many ways. She took being the eldest seriously, and when she spoke? It wasn’t to him.
“Daddy just got home and he’s probably super tired!” she huffed, pouting down at her siblings. Speech came quickly and competently to Bladelings; it made for invigorating chats with his children.
“But Da’s been gone fer ages and I wanna tell him about school!” Mio whimpered, her ears flattening.
Vahn nodded as well before putting his reasoning forth. “And he needs to know about the seeds for the garden!”
Rex glanced up and saw Mythra staring at him with a warm smile and questioning look of if he needed assistance. He flashed a grin back—not just because she looked damn good with her hair pinned up and a foot tucked behind her as she leaned on the door frame—and decided actions spoke louder than words.
Vahn and Mio squealed with glee as he scooped them up so they were clasped under each arm, even as he gave his head a little shake to tickle under Milly’s chin as it pressed against the top of his head. “’ey, kiddos, good to see yer all! Yer ol’ dad’s never too tired to hear all about what you’ve been doing!”
He laughed, carrying them through to one of the reception rooms so he could flump down on the chair with all three, rearranging them as Milly worked her way down to nestle under his right arm. “C’mon, tell yer Da all about what’s been goin’ on while I’ve been off and about doing good deeds and such!”
He could still feel Mythra’s loving gaze on him as he nodded to Mio’s dramatic retelling of just what was going on in school over at Fonsett.
He could feel Pyra’s happy humming in the kitchen as she finished setting the finishing touches to dinner, even as he nodded along to Vahn’s rather technical explanations of just what was going on with growing Urayacress and sprouting micro greens.
He could feel Nia’s concern for him as he started to nod off, unable to resist the call to rest as he laid surrounded by the warm, loving presence of his children and the bonds he shared with their mothers…
‘ey, Rrrex, yer better get up…
Nia’s voice stirred in his mind as she let her powers gently infuse him; a temporary boost of energy to get him through the night towards a proper bedtime.
Nia…? Damn, fell asleep right after promisin’ them I wouldn’t… such a soddin’ letdown an-
Don’t be a prat, love… look…
Lifting his head with great effort, his eyes darted from where Nia had been standing over him to the cluster around him in the chair.
Vahn was tucked in the crook of his left arm, dozing peacefully and radiating warmth that had led to Mio napping just like her mam did; sprawled out on her back across his lap with limbs draped all over the place.
Milly wasn’t taking fourty-winks. She was staring up at him with those bright gold eyes and a rather discontent expression.
“You shouldn’t lie, Daddy.” Milly declared, her cheeks puffing out. “You were super tired and-”
“Didn’t mean to, Mills… yer all just so cosy I couldn’t help it. I’m okay, promise.”
Milly didn’t look convinced, and Rex was mentally kicking himself for letting her down.
“Sort Daddy out, Mam!” She ordered to Nia, squirming off her position in the chair under his right arm to toddle off towards the kitchen.
“Oh, I’ll sort him out alright!” Nia nodded, waiting for Milly to leave before leaning down to kiss her husband’s forehead. “She’ll make a ‘ell of a drill sergeant; she was keepin’ us all on the straight and narrow while you were off...”
“I’ll have a chat with her, try an’ get her to settle and-” Rex began.
“That can wait. You need a break,” she declared.
“That your expert opinion as my doctor?” He grinned up at her, getting a playful bap of her fingertips against his nose as a response.
“That’s my loving concern as yer wife, smartarse,” Nia’s quick scowl softened immediately. “They worry about you. We worry about you...”
“That’s family…” Rex admitted. “I worry about you all too, but… we’re doing this for them. For the future. Their future, and ours...”
“Doesn’t mean we have t’like it though!” Nia hissed in discontent, soon dropping to more of a crouch to let her nose trace through his hair. “Missed yer...”
Anything else they wanted to say was interrupted by Milly stomping back with a carefully held cup of coffee in one hand and a saucer clasped under it to stop any spills. The mug had been hand-painted by Pyra as a gift, and stated ‘I climbed the World Tree and all I salvaged was this mug!’ in black letters.
“Daddy, Mummy says you have to drink this,” his eldest daughter declared. “It’s the good stuff!”
“The good stuff, is it?” Rex grinned, perking up at the scent of a perfectly brewed cup of his wife’s own blend of coffee.
“The Pyrrra stuff,” Nia chuckled, involuntary licking of her lips at the aroma.
“The Mummy stuff,” Milly nodded, “though it must not be that good because I can’t have any…” Milly’s cheeks puffed out at the sheer injustice of it all, before deflating quickly. “Daddy?”
“Nope, kiddo,” Rex said, taking the coffee from her before she could have a sip. “Yer’ve got a lot of growing to do before we give yer coffee, else we’d not get yer off the bleedin’ ceiling!”
“… Oh. Hey!” Rex said, coming to a stop as he entered his bedroom with a robe still around him from his soak in the hot springs.
Pyra, Mythra, and Nia were tucked up in his bed. Myth with a sketchbook doodling, Pyra tackling the crossword in one of the local papers, and Nia with a report from Treeroot on ancient medical techniques.
“I thought I was supposed to be getting rest!”
“Rex,” Pyra sighed, “just because we’re here doesn’t mean- we missed you too. Is it wrong for us to want to cuddle up and sleep besides you?”
“’course not, loves… was only kidding. I’m glad yer here. Sleep don’t come easy without all of y’near.”
“Although...” Mythra mused, giving Rex an appraising look, “I missed you a lot too.”
“Mythra!” Pyra gasped, trying her best to ignore Nia’s snickering.
“What? We all did, and-” Her next word was interrupted by Rex slipping the comfortable robe off and expertly tossing it to hook onto the back of his bedroom door.
Years of training, exploring, salvaging and work had given him a muscular physique, shown off as he did a few stretches. “Y’know me, loves… stickler for attending all my duties; that includes as a husband!” He grinned at them, clambering onto the bed to prowl up towards them.
“Never too tired fer ya all...”