Someone Else's Daughter
Jan. 8th, 2009 03:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crankyoldmanFandom: FF7:BC
Characters/Pairings: Veld, Aeris
Rating: PG
Summary: Some family men also happen to be assassins, and some daughters happen to be Cetra.
Notes: This was for an icon drabble meme a while ago, and well, that's why the characters and the arrangement. It's been in my WIP folder FOREVER, and I'm so glad I finished it!
Someone had left the door open to the lab. Mom was tired from the last experiment, but she still had boundless energy. Yes, the scientist man was a bit mad, but he wasn't entirely inhumane... so long as they followed the rules, they could move about freely.
Of course, as soon as she skipped out, it just made sense she'd nearly trip someone.
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE--"
He stopped. And blinked. She smiled at him.
"You're tall," she said, matter of factly, small voice nearly getting lost in the sterile hallway. He seemed a little spooked.
"This is no place for children," he said finally, recomposing himself. He looked like a nice person, she decided, even though he had almost yelled at her. Maybe he was just cranky, like the scientist man. Mom had said that he was lonely; maybe this man was too?
"Are you lonely?" she said, never one to not say what was on her mind. His expression was unreadable, but there was a momentary waver there.
He crouched down to her level.
"What is your name?" he asked, with a tone that suggested this was not his first time dealing with a small child.
"Aeris."
"Nice to meet you Aeris, my name is Veld."
---
She was a stubborn little thing.
She wouldn't tell him where she'd popped out from, or where her parents were. He was used to people lying, but not small children... she couldn't be any older than seven. And lying was not something natural at that age. At least, not this intelligent type of lying.
Maybe she was protecting someone or something. The idea intrigued him. For now, he took it upon himself to make sure that none of the less than honorable employees stumbled upon her. She was a pretty and delicate looking little girl, like a doll, and some people would take advantage of such a thing. She was almost familiar, but then... no, he didn't want to think about that.
She'd taken a liking to some of the random objects in his office. Particularly the fan.
"This is pretty!" she said gleefully, opening it carefully in a manner very unlike most children her age. She twirled around with it, the colors swirling about her. He didn't even know why he had that fan; it was a duplicate Wutain one from somewhere in Sector Seven... some old lady had pestered him into buying it. He hadn't even thought about it much.
In fact, his office was rather cluttered with random things. He'd developed a habit of not throwing things away when he should have. On top of the forgetfulness, it was no wonder that a few people on the board had whispered that he was losing it.
"You can keep it, if you like," he said without thinking. But she smiled in such a way that he didn't mind the momentary slip in his sanity. He couldn't help but think that she'd grow up to be quite a heartbreaker some day.
He couldn't help but wonder how Felicia would handle a girly girl like Aeris.
She stopped her twirling and looked at him, her head tilted to the side. That kind of attention made him uncomfortable, and brought his mind to regions that he didn't want to think about.
"Are you hungry?" He asked it more to distract himself with something useful than any charity on his part. She nodded, and went back to that inquisitive sort of look.
Today was going to be a trying day.
---
He made the lady make a sandwich for her. She thought it was silly, that he didn't make her a sandwich, but then again, he had a lot of silly things around him. Like how when she'd tried to hold his hand as he brought her down the hall, he jerked it away. Or how nobody looked at him straight, even this lady.
She liked this lady's hair, though, it was like gold.
"Thank you again, Anna."
"Of course sir." A slight smile, the kind that said she didn't smile much appeared. "I didn't think you were the type to bring your daughter in to work."
He shot her a look. "I'm not. You'd best be getting to your paperwork too, rookie."
She saluted and left. What strange people.
---
It had been a week since he'd found her, and still hadn't found anyone that claimed her. Anna and Tseng had taken a liking to her as well, and when he was in meetings made sure to watch her. He appreciated that she was mostly quiet as he did paperwork. Despite several of his kids' attempts to get out of work by playing games and the like with her, she preferred to sit in the chair in the corner of his office, doodling with his highlighters or flipping through the one or two picturebooks he had.
He didn't want to admit it, but it was good to have a daughter of sorts around at work, even if he'd never taken his own into Midgar.
Since he rarely went home--that is, he never went home at all--he'd set up a little huddle of blankets for her, as he slept on a cot. Considering that Tseng and Anna were always the first to arrive in the morning, he had nothing to worry about. They were his best kids. They knew his ways, and they knew not to question where she'd come from. Other people assumed she was another daughter of his, so no new rumors started.
"Do you know where my mom is?" He figured it would come up sometime, and this morning was no exception. She wasn't his child. His child was in Kalm, with her mother who was currently pissed off at him for working so much. Maybe if he'd been honest with her about what he did there would be less fights.
More likely there'd be a divorce if that were the case.
"You have to tell me who your mom is, for me to know."
"She's Mom."
He couldn't help but laugh. It was why he liked children; honesty and naivete. The innocent sort of ignorance to the things he had been trained to find of the utmost importance. It was refreshing.
"Tell me a little about what you remember."
"There's a cranky man with a big forehead that sometimes talks to her and does... tests."
"Tests?"
"Yeah, he pokes Mom a bit and she coughs and stuff."
He didn't want it to show in his face. She was clearly oblivious to her dire situation. A lab specimen? Her mother must have been the brave sort, not to let one whatever what being done to her. For all Aeris's concerns, it was a game, like what everyone else seemed to want to play with her. She was a bright child, but even bright children can miss some things.
"I'll go ask around, alright? We'll find your mom."
Part of him hoped that she was just a sick woman that went to doctors a lot, not associated with Shinra at all. Because for all his power as a Turk, he couldn't go over the heads of the Science Department for long. Not since Mako replaced coal and SOLDIER replaced troopers. It was the high time to be a scientist, and the low time to be a corporate babysitter/assassin.
---
He held her hand as they went up the long elevator, and she tried to let go, because he was squishing it a little. But it must have been somewhere scary, because he even smoothed her braid a little.
Her mom was here.
She'd always been told to just close her eyes and follow things, so she did, even if Veld was leading her. It was a little scary, doing that, as there were noises that sometimes snuck up on her out of the blue.
"Ah, good job Veld. I've been looking for that one."
"I figured I could look after her. You're not conducting any tests, I would assume."
"I do check her vitals."
"She just wants to see her mother, I figured that we could watch her. Have to say, your security measures are a little lax, Hojo."
He gripped a little tighter when he said the cranky man with the big forehead's name, but she didn't make any noise about it. Her mom had told her that it was ok to leave, anyway.
"Maybe for a while. But you have to bring her here for whatever tests I may be doing, I can't be inconvenienced by your schedule."
"Of course not."
---
He didn't get to see her mother, she was just led away to parts unknown, and for a minute he felt a sort of tightness in his chest, like Felicia was being led away. But it was Aeris, someone else's daughter, and his was... well, she was gone. Even if he pretended that she wasn't. Not like many people knew the truth, it was the way of things.
"I told my mom about you."
She had a spring in her step, which was usual, but now she was almost dancing. Maybe it was then that he decided to break into the lab after hours and talk with her mother. Or maybe he'd been thinking that all along.
"I'd hope you said nice things."
"I told her true things."
"Fair enough."
Characters/Pairings: Veld, Aeris
Rating: PG
Summary: Some family men also happen to be assassins, and some daughters happen to be Cetra.
Notes: This was for an icon drabble meme a while ago, and well, that's why the characters and the arrangement. It's been in my WIP folder FOREVER, and I'm so glad I finished it!
Someone had left the door open to the lab. Mom was tired from the last experiment, but she still had boundless energy. Yes, the scientist man was a bit mad, but he wasn't entirely inhumane... so long as they followed the rules, they could move about freely.
Of course, as soon as she skipped out, it just made sense she'd nearly trip someone.
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE--"
He stopped. And blinked. She smiled at him.
"You're tall," she said, matter of factly, small voice nearly getting lost in the sterile hallway. He seemed a little spooked.
"This is no place for children," he said finally, recomposing himself. He looked like a nice person, she decided, even though he had almost yelled at her. Maybe he was just cranky, like the scientist man. Mom had said that he was lonely; maybe this man was too?
"Are you lonely?" she said, never one to not say what was on her mind. His expression was unreadable, but there was a momentary waver there.
He crouched down to her level.
"What is your name?" he asked, with a tone that suggested this was not his first time dealing with a small child.
"Aeris."
"Nice to meet you Aeris, my name is Veld."
---
She was a stubborn little thing.
She wouldn't tell him where she'd popped out from, or where her parents were. He was used to people lying, but not small children... she couldn't be any older than seven. And lying was not something natural at that age. At least, not this intelligent type of lying.
Maybe she was protecting someone or something. The idea intrigued him. For now, he took it upon himself to make sure that none of the less than honorable employees stumbled upon her. She was a pretty and delicate looking little girl, like a doll, and some people would take advantage of such a thing. She was almost familiar, but then... no, he didn't want to think about that.
She'd taken a liking to some of the random objects in his office. Particularly the fan.
"This is pretty!" she said gleefully, opening it carefully in a manner very unlike most children her age. She twirled around with it, the colors swirling about her. He didn't even know why he had that fan; it was a duplicate Wutain one from somewhere in Sector Seven... some old lady had pestered him into buying it. He hadn't even thought about it much.
In fact, his office was rather cluttered with random things. He'd developed a habit of not throwing things away when he should have. On top of the forgetfulness, it was no wonder that a few people on the board had whispered that he was losing it.
"You can keep it, if you like," he said without thinking. But she smiled in such a way that he didn't mind the momentary slip in his sanity. He couldn't help but think that she'd grow up to be quite a heartbreaker some day.
He couldn't help but wonder how Felicia would handle a girly girl like Aeris.
She stopped her twirling and looked at him, her head tilted to the side. That kind of attention made him uncomfortable, and brought his mind to regions that he didn't want to think about.
"Are you hungry?" He asked it more to distract himself with something useful than any charity on his part. She nodded, and went back to that inquisitive sort of look.
Today was going to be a trying day.
---
He made the lady make a sandwich for her. She thought it was silly, that he didn't make her a sandwich, but then again, he had a lot of silly things around him. Like how when she'd tried to hold his hand as he brought her down the hall, he jerked it away. Or how nobody looked at him straight, even this lady.
She liked this lady's hair, though, it was like gold.
"Thank you again, Anna."
"Of course sir." A slight smile, the kind that said she didn't smile much appeared. "I didn't think you were the type to bring your daughter in to work."
He shot her a look. "I'm not. You'd best be getting to your paperwork too, rookie."
She saluted and left. What strange people.
---
It had been a week since he'd found her, and still hadn't found anyone that claimed her. Anna and Tseng had taken a liking to her as well, and when he was in meetings made sure to watch her. He appreciated that she was mostly quiet as he did paperwork. Despite several of his kids' attempts to get out of work by playing games and the like with her, she preferred to sit in the chair in the corner of his office, doodling with his highlighters or flipping through the one or two picturebooks he had.
He didn't want to admit it, but it was good to have a daughter of sorts around at work, even if he'd never taken his own into Midgar.
Since he rarely went home--that is, he never went home at all--he'd set up a little huddle of blankets for her, as he slept on a cot. Considering that Tseng and Anna were always the first to arrive in the morning, he had nothing to worry about. They were his best kids. They knew his ways, and they knew not to question where she'd come from. Other people assumed she was another daughter of his, so no new rumors started.
"Do you know where my mom is?" He figured it would come up sometime, and this morning was no exception. She wasn't his child. His child was in Kalm, with her mother who was currently pissed off at him for working so much. Maybe if he'd been honest with her about what he did there would be less fights.
More likely there'd be a divorce if that were the case.
"You have to tell me who your mom is, for me to know."
"She's Mom."
He couldn't help but laugh. It was why he liked children; honesty and naivete. The innocent sort of ignorance to the things he had been trained to find of the utmost importance. It was refreshing.
"Tell me a little about what you remember."
"There's a cranky man with a big forehead that sometimes talks to her and does... tests."
"Tests?"
"Yeah, he pokes Mom a bit and she coughs and stuff."
He didn't want it to show in his face. She was clearly oblivious to her dire situation. A lab specimen? Her mother must have been the brave sort, not to let one whatever what being done to her. For all Aeris's concerns, it was a game, like what everyone else seemed to want to play with her. She was a bright child, but even bright children can miss some things.
"I'll go ask around, alright? We'll find your mom."
Part of him hoped that she was just a sick woman that went to doctors a lot, not associated with Shinra at all. Because for all his power as a Turk, he couldn't go over the heads of the Science Department for long. Not since Mako replaced coal and SOLDIER replaced troopers. It was the high time to be a scientist, and the low time to be a corporate babysitter/assassin.
---
He held her hand as they went up the long elevator, and she tried to let go, because he was squishing it a little. But it must have been somewhere scary, because he even smoothed her braid a little.
Her mom was here.
She'd always been told to just close her eyes and follow things, so she did, even if Veld was leading her. It was a little scary, doing that, as there were noises that sometimes snuck up on her out of the blue.
"Ah, good job Veld. I've been looking for that one."
"I figured I could look after her. You're not conducting any tests, I would assume."
"I do check her vitals."
"She just wants to see her mother, I figured that we could watch her. Have to say, your security measures are a little lax, Hojo."
He gripped a little tighter when he said the cranky man with the big forehead's name, but she didn't make any noise about it. Her mom had told her that it was ok to leave, anyway.
"Maybe for a while. But you have to bring her here for whatever tests I may be doing, I can't be inconvenienced by your schedule."
"Of course not."
---
He didn't get to see her mother, she was just led away to parts unknown, and for a minute he felt a sort of tightness in his chest, like Felicia was being led away. But it was Aeris, someone else's daughter, and his was... well, she was gone. Even if he pretended that she wasn't. Not like many people knew the truth, it was the way of things.
"I told my mom about you."
She had a spring in her step, which was usual, but now she was almost dancing. Maybe it was then that he decided to break into the lab after hours and talk with her mother. Or maybe he'd been thinking that all along.
"I'd hope you said nice things."
"I told her true things."
"Fair enough."