Chapter Text
You lived in the slums of the sphere, days were hard but you made do with your community and were often looked up to as a caring individual. You helped people without a second thought and often were generous with your own limited resources. To be honest it got to a point where some less favorable people would take advantage of your kindness.
That’s how you met Regto, he chided you for being a doormat the first time you met him. He considered it tough love. The next time those people bothered you he sent them packing with some less than kind words. After that he kinda just stuck around? Said he didn’t want you repeating bad habits. Turns out he was your across the way neighbor who you hadn’t actually met before as he, before you, lived a more withdrawn lifestyle.
The more time you spent together the closer you became- he’s an awful nag sometimes but you also get on his case about getting out more. You take walks together, play cards together, and even read on the couch at either one’s home. Think parallel play. You’d become each other’s confidant as thick as thieves. The only thing that was off limits was the book, he was secretive about it, often adjusting it so no one could see its contents even sitting nearby. You didn’t press it; if he wanted you to know he’d tell you and you were content with that.
One day things changed a bit. You’d heard the whispers about ‘that kid’ people have been seeing around. You’d even wander the streets hoping to catch a glimpse, maybe even lend a hand. Turns out Regto happened by him first and you just showed up one day with a kid in tow. You barely got a moment to blink at him before Regto was ushering him in and sitting him on your couch. You shared a glance and things were all but settled. He knew you and you knew him.
Now you know Rudo. Your first meeting was a whirlwind, he may have socked you in the face. One bloody lip later and you resigned yourself to fixing some tea for all three of you. Regto was hovering and whispering frantic apologies at you. You shooed him away. You get it, he’s a scared kid and from the look of him, one that’s been through was too much for one so small.
When you set the tea in front of Rudo he just blinked at it then turned his gaze to you. Eyes sharp and untrusting. You casually sat across and met his face, you kept a casual expression while sipping your own tea. Regto sat on the same side as Rudo and took his tea slowly as if clinking the cup would set off more anxiety in the kid and get you stabbed or something.
You decided to strike up a conversation with Regto, normal stuff just mindless small talk. Maybe if you behaved like everything was fine that vibe would rub off on this feral lost child. You have a few minutes of kind of ignoring the kid on purpose, focusing your attention more on Regto while keeping your peripheral on the child. It took a bit but eventually you notice Rudo starting to ponder his tea considering it.
Watching him you can just hear his thoughts in his movements:
It’s definitely something you drink, it looks brown; like dookie water. He sniffs it; it smells odd and never smelled anything like it. He pokes the cup and it clatters a bit which makes him flinch, which makes Regto flinch. You don’t.
“It’s warm.” You turn to him, calm. “It will make you feel warm inside, and keep the cold away longer.” You sip your tea as if to show him how to do it. I mean he obviously knows how to survive but you doubt anyone’s offered him anything like food and clean water (as clean as it gets in the slums) before.
He takes the cup in his hands cautiously, you notice now he has gloves on, you haven’t seen them before. They’re awfully large for his size. You also notice sloppy bandages peaking past them. You let him do his thing. You swirled the tea in your cup while you blink at Regto. You share another look: him with a strained smile ‘don’t scold me’ and yours unimpressed yet unsurprised.
“I gave them to him, his hands hurt and I thought they’d help.” He mentions. You let Regto explain further and find out Regto had actually taken him in a few days ago (he takes time to himself sometimes so you weren’t concerned about not seeing him at that time) but he was struggling. That’s fair you didn’t picture Regto as a paternal type; never seen him interact with a kid before.
He tells you about Rudo’s current diet; he throws up often after eating, and can hardly keep down more than one meal. He tells you about his hands; chronic extreme pain very sensitive to touch and it comes in big waves with no warning. He doesn’t sleep well; the pain is part of it but he seems to have no set schedule, like he never thought that you move during the day and sleep when the sun is down. You imagine he’s been alone a long time.
You turn your face away and try your best to force the burning in your eyes and the stone in your throat away. Taking a beat you know you need to help, you want to and you will.
You settle into an odd dynamic. You and Regto get on well but you and Rudo are strangers. You want to help but know if you’re too eager or pushy you’ll make the kid pull away. You need him to learn to trust and depend on you and he hardly likes Regto right now. Weirdo brought him into this other weirdo's house for bitter doody-colored hot water.
After about a month of walking on eggshells and trying to help with Rudos routine this is what you come up with; more liquid based food until be can handle solids without throwing up, wrapping his hands better than Regto (Rudo bit you more than once), and giving him more hot doody-water and reading to him while making him lay down for long periods after dark.
Regto helps you by keeping things clean, bathing Rudo while also teaching him how to do it himself, and restraining him gently but firmly when he has outbursts. Despite the times Rudos lashed out at you; you don’t give up one him. Obviously you want this kid to live and you want him to feel safe.
You spend so much time with Rudo working on this consistent routine that he’s been living with you and Regto has been there the whole time too. The arrangement is; Rudo was set up in your bedroom( it’s the only bedroom in your place) so he can have space to be alone if he is overwhelmed or just wants to be alone. Regto gets the slightly (barely) bigger couch. Finally you resigned yourself to the smaller couch as you were shorter than Regto. He was resistant to the set up but you insisted that this made the most logical sense.
You let them have the house to themselves at times and Regto encouraged some breaks as he’s the one who pulled you into this ‘co-parenting’ situation. Mostly you just went to replenish resources you’d been needing for more of Rudo’s care and doing an occasional small job (repair work usually) to trade for other necessities.
During one of these outing you happed to help an elder with her chores and she offered you a tiny metal music player, it was broken and didn’t play anymore but she said if you can fix it you can keep it before she placed a bag of dried beans into your palm and curled your fingers over them. You didn't ask for a trade, she just gave it to you for helping without expecting a reward.
You bring the trinket and the food home. After cooking them and making sure Rudo ate well with you and Regto at the table with him (you’re trying to create a bond with ‘family dinner’) you take out the trinket and start fiddling. You poke and move the pieces trying to evaluate what stopped the music. Using your thumb to pull the wheel it lets out a few tunes so it can still make sound it just isn’t moving through the mechanism.
The small noises catch Rudo’s attention and he ends up watching you fiddle. You notice the small arm used to crank the box is so loose it has nearly no resistance and just spins. You end up retrieving a small screwdriver you hope is the right size to try and open the outer protective plates. Magically you’re able to get it open and take a look. You don’t notice Rudo watching you but Regto does and he watches and smiles.
A few moments of tightening here and picking at a bit of rust there and you get the arm to move the wheel and get a small melody. You replace the protective case and wind up the music box fully. You place it down and let it do its thing. A pretty tune graces your presence filling the small space. It’s a song long forgotten and you doubt you or Regto could name it. When it finished you reach out to it only to have it snapped up in Rudo’s hand.
You watch him surprised; he’s staring at the box mouth agape. He moves it to inspect it from every angle he pokes at the arm a bit before running his thumb on the wheel pulling it in the direction it moved before to produce the tune manually. He nearly drops it when the tune comes from his actions. “WOAH!” Is all he manages as he keeps messing with it.
You share a glance with Regto, you’d both never seen the kid so interested in something. You share a smile and end up watching him fiddle in his own way. After a bit of just watching it happens; the box slips and clatters on the table a weak had toon as the arm pops off and a metal tooth that plays the tune snaps off as well.
You and Regto don’t move and don’t breath you just glance at the box then glance at Rudo. Your heart nearly shatter as you watch his big eyes start tearing up. His gloved hands fist in his oversized shirt so tightly you know it’s gotta be flaring up his nerve pain. He’s lips tremble slightly before he’s trapping the lower one in his teeth already drawing blood.
You immediately spring up and to Rudo’s side. “Hey hey it’s alright!” You reach for him and he flinches away but doesn’t look away from the box. You correct yourself immediately; no touching, he needs something else. Come at this from a different angle. You decide to reassure him verbally and show him it’s okay. “It’s okay Rudo really,” your tone is unconvincing with your nerves. “I can fix it again, watch!” You try to be confident. You pick up the box cautiously and awkwardly work on the repair leaned over the table in Rudo’s view as he still hasn’t moved one bit, just staring and crying and lip actively bleeding.
You manage to open the box and reinsert the arm you fumble a bit trying to screw it back on but you manage after a panicked minute that feels like an eternity. You can’t put the tooth back on but you close the box up and rewind the box. It plays the song again though this time missing obvious notes. “S-see it’s still good! Still works and we still get the music! You hear it? Still pretty right?!” You pray he feels even a bit reassured. Arm aching as you hold it out to him at such an awkward angle.
You watch closely as the tension leaves his shoulders and hands. He slowly lowers himself into a more sitting position at the table again. Just staring at the box still but no longer crying. Regto steps in the placing a slow hand on Rudo’s shoulder. He doesn’t flinch this time. “See? It’s still good. Still works. It’s a little busted, sure but it can still sound pretty.” He backs you up. Rudo blinks slowly, finally. He then turns to you looking up at you with those doe eyes he is so unaware he has.
“I’m sorry I broke your thing.” He says simply.
You talk instead of thinking. “Oh no worries kid, it was an accident! It’s fixed again so don’t worry!” You awkwardly laugh hoping to avoid more crying(from either of you). You take a breath and steel your nerves.
“I can fix things, so if something gets broken I can even show you how to fix it up! Don’t be worried. I’m not mad, okay?” You smile at him. He blinks and turns to stare at the box again. “Okay” he says quietly, seeming more relaxed. You’re not sure if he feels better right now but you hope he will trust your word.
This incident leads into you teaching Rudo small repairs; some routine upkeep and some after accidents or outbursts. It gets you and Rudo closer to a point he comes to you with stuff he finds in the streets after going out with Regto. When you were all out together once you even noticed him pocket something to bring back hope for you to fix together. It warms your heart that he comes to you for this, like he’d come to Regto for other things.
After a few years your routine is set in stone; Rudo and Regto have integrated into your home seamlessly. Everything from Regto’s home slowly moved into yours and now there was a comfortable cramped feeling to the house. You kept Rudo in your room but now you and Regto shared a bed in the living room. You weren’t together but you also had no room or money for another bed.
Despite not being together, like you said, you couldn’t deny the closeness you two shared now- it was unconventional. You considered yourself more friends than lovers but you did things ‘friends’ undoubtedly didn’t do. You’ve kissed before a peck after serving breakfast, a kiss goodbye if one of you leaves for the day, a far between heated exchange of tongues and desperate touches, well after Rudo was put to bed, when you had a rare moment alone after a stressful day.
You kept the same demeanor of friends and Regto still kept his secrets. You were content with this odd family you’ve grown to care for. Your best friend and the child you co-parent together. Rudo has taken to calling Regto not only by his name but also the occasional ‘dad’. You both shared a quiet excited freak out moment then Rudo turned away as if it was such a casual everyday drop of the word. You were so jealous and Regto definitely teased you about being acknowledged by his SON first. Yeah whatever asshole. You gave him major side eye jealous jelly beans.
When the day came that he dropped it with you it didn’t even process. He asked for a snack like he would any other time and replaced your name with that sweet sweet parental term of endearment. AND YOU TOTALLY DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE!!
Just a “yeah let me finish cleaning this first honey.” You say wiping down the counters. (You’d been calling him pet names less than a year in) Regto of course noticed at has grinning so hard you’d think that stupid smug expression would stick that way. When you’re done fixing the snack for Rudo and notice his dumb look you are confused. “What?” You ask for a brow raised. A small thanks and faint munching sounds from Rudo as you look at Regto expectantly.
“Oh I don’t know,” he used the term, “I just thought you’d be more excited.” He’s cheesing so bad dear lord… it takes you a minute to process. What’s he talking about?? Then it hits.
You slap your hand over your mouth so loudly and quickly you make Rudo flinch from the sound. Then Regto has that smug look immediately wiped off his face as he gets bulldozed by an expression he’s never seen from you before. You look almost like Rudo that day with the box. Lips trembling and comically large tears rolling down your face. You sniff embarrassingly loud and can barely make a sound over your shaky inhales.
Rudo has barely finished his snack as you nearly knock him over pulling him into a hug. “MY BABY!!!!” You sob over his shoulder as you clutch him into your chest like he’ll slip away. Rudo is so confused at this moment as he also hadn’t realized he called you that. It came so naturally he didn’t even process it.
Then after another couple years you’ve always been this term with him, he hardly calls you your name anymore; occasionally if he is being actively babied by you in public with your doting. ESPECIALLY in front of Chiwa!
When he confided in you he had a crush on the girl before Regto it was your turn to rub it in his face. Regto is bitter he’s the first guardian the ‘pants wearer’ he calls it…’That’s who you go to for man stuff like crushes!’ Yeah whatever buddy you think rolling your eyes.
You all meld so perfectly now; a loving, happy, unconventional family.
Then the worst happens. You’re out working around the slums. Regto was home writing in his book and Rudo, despite your warnings, was likely out again raiding the trash collection depots for stuff to fix up and sell. You and Regto have tried convincing him it’s unsafe but he argues he’s careful and is doing it to contribute to and thank you both for the family you gave him. You find it very endearing, you just wish there were other things he would try. Though you suppose it’s your fault for instilling this habit for fixing stuff up in the first place; he has such a proclivity for it you think sometimes he’d have ended up doing this without your influence.
As you made your way home you got this feeling in your stomach. It was like there was a hot heavy stone resting in your stomach, creating an uncomfortable pressure that flared your nerves. You’ve been getting that lately, like an impending omen hanging over you. Maybe you’re paranoid? Your life is so good right now so maybe your brain is just itching for something wrong to find. You try to focus on good things like the domestic moment you had yesterday. You and Regto had teamed up to tease Rudo about his crush after Regto had told you Rudo was totally practicing his moves to confess to Chiwa.
Lost in your thoughts you didn’t even notice when reaching for the door that it was already open. You blink as your hand grips air. Hm… maybe Rudo left it open in a rush as he often does coming home. It’s a bad habit you’re working on with him.
“Rudo what’d I tell you about the d-“ you are interrupted by the acrid scent of blood. Your brain won’t let you process what you’re looking at. It’s Regto… he’s on the floor. It dark in the room aside from the light from the doorway. There’s….red…everywhere….
It finally clicks and you’re doubling over like someone punched you in that heavy burning stone. The hot pressure is radiating out and enveloping every limb of your body. You tremble to Regto barely able to move your legs. “R-Regto?” Your voice is a trembling croak that sounds like it’s coming from anywhere else but you. Your hand rests on his chest and you jostle him wanting any reaction. You jostle him again then grip his coat and shake him weakly. You slap shakily at his cold cheek as if it wakes him. You know it’s useless. His empty gaze towards the ceiling and lack of color in those irises tell you as much.
You just can’t … you don’t want to believe this is actually real. He was here with you laughing! Smiling! You kissed him goodnight before going to bed! It was only yesterday! You can feel those thoughts screaming in your head as you crumble. You’re sobbing uncontrollably into his shirt not caring if his blood smears on your face or the dried flakes of it flake off on your hands.
You can barely breathe as your arms give out and you’re practically laying on his chest. It’s so quiet… no beating… just so quiet.
You don’t hear it when someone enters… you don’t feel it when you’re pulled into someone’s arms. You don’t hear them when they call your name… you want Regto to say something.
You do notice them when they lean you back and slap you across the face. In your shock you clutch your cheek and turn to the woman. “….Granny…?” You whisper. It’s a nickname Rudo referred to her as after you took him with you to fix something for her. You weren’t particularly close to her outside business so you asked him about it; he said ‘she’s old so what else would I call her?’ You had to explain that was a bit rude.
“Your boy,” she says. “The Apostles! They took your boy!” She urged you clutching your shoulders. You take a second to process. “Rudo?” You ask as if the only other boy that was even vaguely ‘yours’ wasn’t dead on the floor right beside you.
She repeated herself only once more before you’re on your feet. You run quicker than you ever have for anything. If the Apostles were on this side of the city then there’s no doubt where they’d be, if they ‘take you’ there’s no doubt about where you’re going.
You hear the chanting before you even break the horizon of the incline. He’s there stung up like a feral beast. Chained. You’re furious. How dare they put your baby in that thing! How dare they be hurting your baby! You’re rushing down the hill so fast you can hardly tell your feet are hitting the ground.
You’re pushing through bodies, shoving people out of your way as hard as you can as you stumble through the wall of scum just watching your baby be treated like a criminal! Wishing for his certain doom! That rock in your stomach was now coal burning the furnace of rage threatening to engulf your entire being.
The fire rages in your ears so loudly you hear nothing else. You have your eyes so locked in on your son you can’t even tell he’s descending- it’s happening so slowly to you at this moment. You don’t notice a hand graze your arm as it misses in an attempt to pull you back. You hardly feel it as your body instinctively jumps after Rudo as he plummets past your line of sight on the lip of the cliff. You don’t even hear his screams as he curses the whole city as you pass the first layer of clouds.
You only focus on seeing him, keeping him in sight and reaching out. You need to catch him. You need to break his fall. Even if you die trying, you have to at least try to cushion him. Maybe there is so much trash built up that the bottom could be closer than you’d ever imagined… you make up any prayer in your head, you beg and plead with any god listening. Take me…. Take me instead!
You grasp his sleeve and pull him to your chest. Your tears sting from the air and how devastated you’re feeling. You hug him tight; it reminds you of when he first called you as his guardian. You hope with all of your being you’ll someday even after this life hear it again.
You twist your body as hard as you can and tuck his head into your chest to protect it. If you can get yourself under him maybe, just maybe, you can cushion him with your body and give him a slim chance of surviving the fall. You try to keep this position steady and the air rushes past and threatens to pull you from him or into a worse angle. But you fight it, you twist against any resistance that moves you too far to one side and you try to make Rudo impossibly smaller in your hold.
You’re sweating anxiety shooting up and down your spine at the feeling of this free-fall. You smell something pungently awful and you feel like you could be sick. It burns your nostrils and the rotten air prickles them painfully. You don’t get a second more to process it before you hit. It was a split second of instant pain- then nothing.
Darkness is all consuming. A bleak reminder that you’re probably dead and you’ll never hear your baby call to you again.
You wonder if reincarnation exists, wonder if you Regto, and Rudo could all live again as a family. You wonder if it would be just as unconventional or just as content as this one was.
Then you wonder how you’re even wondering at all… dead people don’t wonder… man what fuckin stinks?
Man that stinks bad!!
You shoot up instantly. Your eyes quickly adjust to your surroundings. It’s a dump and there’s a murky purple mist seeping from every direction. Your inhale stalls and you begin near retching with hard coughs. It feels like the air is made of glass and the copper taste in your mouth makes you believe it is. You try covering your mouth with your sleeve in an attempt to filter this rancid gas.
You remember then your arm is free but you’re supposed to be holding something. RUDO! You quickly shoot your gaze over your lap ‘no not there’ and around the trash piles you’re surrounded by ‘not there!’ You try to yell out but are met with more harsh coughing and an even more present taste of blood.
You rush to gain footing on the trash piles you landed on. You let your eyes scan the areas more carefully. Nothing…. Where? Where is my baby…?
Before you could have a screaming, crying, total meltdown you are interrupted but a large ground rubbing smash not too hard behind you. It throws a lot of the thrush around you, and yourself, forward.
You barely land before you’re scrambling up again, tripping over unsteady terrain. Looking back to where you once were you see an almost pilled like rock or at least what you think is a rock until it starts moving again. What in the actual fuck?
You crane your neck back as you try to take in the whole form of whatever this thing was. You do notice it doesn’t stop moving, almost like this mass covered in garbage was alive. Is… is the mass made of garbage? It’s hard to tell. You squint as an angular sort of head kind of shape comes into view. Then a sort of hinge opens and out comes a sharp grating screech.
Oh it is a head. It has a head so it is alive? The garbage? Alive?
You blink at it twice. If this is your brain trying to show you things to help you process that you’re actually dying right now at the bottom of the pit, you’re not exactly sure how this is supposed to help. Maybe your brain got scrambled from the fall and it’s backfiring. That’d be your luck for sure…
Another loud abrasive stomp sends you flying and tumbling down a deeper part of the mountain of trash you landed on. You slide pretty quickly but the odd beast hallucination is gaining on you. As you reach the bottom of the avalanche of trash you hit hard on what you assume is solid ground.
You groan and slowly stand. Your whole body is aching horribly. You did fall from the cusp of the pit so that makes sense. You rationalize that if your throat hurts, and your body is hurting from the fall then you must not be dead… huh… so that’s a relief. So if you’re not dead… you look back at the trash monster running towards you.
“That crazy shit is real?!” You manage to yell out the empty junkyard. You don’t give it a second longer before hightailing it in the other direction. Where the fuck are you? The bottom of the pit obviously. Where the fuck is Rudo? Not here obviously.
You can hear the trampling stomps of the monster behind you as you push your aching legs as hard as you can. You can’t even breath well standing still and now you’re having to push toxic painful air through your lungs to run. It hurts so bad but it’s not like you have a choice, you can feel blood pooling in your mouth as you try clearing your throat. You need to get out of here and find your son!
You can feel your body starting to fail you, you’re stumbling and barking, catching your footing to stay one step ahead of the monster gaining on you. Taking a quick turn around a large pile you hope to make it slide from its speed and give yourself maybe a few more steps in a lead. Unfortunately this only leads to the monster crashing its large body through the wall of trash you turned at and plowing into your body like a truck.
Your body is thrown a few feet away and you can tell some ribs are broken the second you land. You flinch when you shakily try to move. Your wrist screams at any pressure you place on it. You flop hack down as your body finally gives in to the intense strain you’re placing on it. Your breaths slow and blood flows consistently from your mouth. You’re weak and slipping by the second. As your eyes start feeling heavy and your vision blurs you can make out the monster sniffing for, you assume, your body. It does turn in your direction and begins slowly getting closer.
Fuck…
Then you hear something else. It sounds like a whirring metal wound different from the monster, it’s getting louder and closer and you’re worried it will be another monster that will fight with this one over which gets to tear you apart. Blinking your vision slightly clears for a moment allowing you to whiteness as a large drill like object plows through and shatters the monster that threw you.
Your brain really can’t process anything else today… what the fuck is even this now. You think as you watch the whirring drill object slow and take on a more umbrella-like form? The umbrella(?) ends up being attached to an arm and that arm is attached to a silhouette you can’t make out very well. You can hear rocks crumbling from what you imagine of the left over parts for that monster.
The silhouette takes a few steps closer and you weekly try leaning away in response. The person, you assume, takes you in for a moment before leaning back and dressing behind him, you think it’s a man from the voice. “Hey kid I found what you’re looking for!” He hollers before turning back to you. Stepping even closer to you he reaches into his bag attached to his hip.
At this point you’re hoping for a quick death. He reaches into only a moment before pulling out some sort of mask. You can hear a lot of rustling and some smaller steps closing in as the bad places the mask over your nose and mouth. You flinch but don’t pull away. You don’t have the energy.
“It’s okay just breathe. This will make the air come easier.” His voice is gravely but gentle. You barely get more than a few weak breaths before you have a body plowing into you and knocking it a little loose. You can feel the body on you trembling and you reluctantly take the mask in one hand to keep it pressed to your face as you divert your attention to the body. You barely take a moment to recognize the messy mop of hair you’ve become accustomed to for these past years. Your other arm immediately grips at his clothes and you can feel fresh tears burn your eyes.
You can make out familiar sobs you haven’t heard in a long time, while you wish he wasn’t crying you’ve never been more relieved to hear them. You can hear Rudo sobbing your name into your shoulder as he clutches you just as desperately. He’s rubbing his face into your shirt like a child trying to nuzzle into your skin. He is a child, your child… and he’s alive. You pull him impossibly closer and pull him into your lap rocking him gently for both of your comfort.
“My baby…. My baby….” You’re still having a hard time breathing from the unclean air and sobbing fit. Your head feels light but you’re trying to fight the urge to pass out. You can hear the masked man mumbling about wrapping this sweet reunion up but you don’t regard him yet. You want just a few more seconds of relief that your son is alive and here with you. You take that second before taking a slow even breath as best you can.
“Rudo.” You croak, voice horse from the damage. “We gotta move.” You say trying to sit up. Once again you flinch and slip on your injured wrist a pain in your side pulses horribly. You wouldn’t be able to move even if you wanted to. The masked stranger sighs before leaning in and picking you up bridle style. Any regular day you’d have protested but at this rate your body is failing you fast. Your vision is darkening at the edges and you reach your hand down as you feel yourself moving. You can feel Rudo’s hand slip into yours as you grip weakly onto him, you don’t want him to slip away again.
He squeezes very gently on your hand. Regto taught him light squeezes like this were reassuring a quiet acknowledgment that you’re there and will continue to be there. Regto…. Oh god….
That’s as much as you can deal with as your head starts pounding. You finally let the darkness take you while in the care of the odd stranger and your son. When you wake up maybe you can get to the bottom of where you are and what you can do next.