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Author Topic: The Blood that Binds [Nephero]  (Read 679 times)

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Offline Lion

The Blood that Binds [Nephero]
« on: September 17, 2017, 12:19:50 pm »
Message Incoming -Captain Xavier Lockhart to Pilot Royal Banning Lockhart
Hey Banning,

Holy shit, Pilot Royal? That’s dedication. Wow. I can’t say I’m really surprised though. You’re a Lockhart after all. But that isn’t why I’m emailing you. I know this is kind of out of the blue like this. And I know it’s been years. I heard you were having a baby. Good news tends to travel fast don’t it? Even to shithole rocks like this one, but I just wanted to say congratulations.

I’m going to be in Haviah soon. Probably by the time you receive this message. It’s asking a lot, believe me I know, it’s just I can’t go and live out the rest of my life not knowing my grandchild. And you have every right to hate me. I don’t deserve a second chance, but I guess I’m going out on a limb here. I want to start over; bury the hatchet, clean slate, start fresh. I’m not the same man I used to be. And I know you aren’t either. I’m going to be in Haviah for a few months. If you don’t reply, I’ll understand. But I’m hoping you’ll change your mind.

-Captain X. Lockhart.


It had been more than a month since receiving that email. Banning lost track of how many times he’d read it over and over. So many that he’d memorized it word for word by heart. That when he told Izzy about it, he hadn’t even had to open the message to visually show her what he meant. He just recited it aloud, closed his eyes and seeing the small mound that was showing on her belly.

3 months. Had it really only been three months? It seemed like only yesterday that she’d called him over for dinner. Went all out, made all his favorite foods and desserts and even had cracked open a cold one for him. Banning remembered sitting at that table, practically salivating at the foods in front of him. Steak and cake and burgers, and a homemade pizza. Banning was almost beginning to feel uncomfortable at how much he could eat. And when she cracked open that beer…  Only then did he get the distinct feeling something was wrong.

Was this just her way of letting him down easy? Did he step on her shoes too? Goddamn. And…

“So how do you feel about having babies?”

His eyebrows stayed to his damn hairline for about five minutes. “"If it means I get to be a better dad than my dad, I'll take a million. If it means PR is running a campaign for adoption, those flight suits can give gnarly wedgies.” That was the before. The after came in the form of Banning rather quiet when she told him. Then in that not so vague silence, he broke it with a scream and promptly ran out the door..

In hindsight it probably looked bad, leaving like that after being told that she was pregnant. The screaming probably made it worse.  Banning only knew that when he came back, he’d never seen her so hysterical before. His view, briefly blocked by a massive chinchilla, had also been disrupted by a bouquet of flowers and a copy of her favorite movie. He dropped it all on the table next to that uneaten pizza. Wrapping his arms around her and assailing her beneath an assault of kisses was instinctual, and he clung to her when tears of his own slid down his cheeks. Did she really think he would leave her like that? No. She was his and he was hers and having it any other way made Banning’s belly somersault into a terrible sickness. This was his baby, and if he could do anything to help ease her into that transition he would.

There was no question, no hesitation in the slightest, moving in, sharing a home with her. She was his family now, and with or without that baby, she always would be.

Which just made it all worse when he read that email. And read it again to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. Banning’s chest hollowed out and he wanted to be sick, wanted to feel anything other than the emptiness that plagued him when he thought of Xavier coming to Haviah, of even being on the same planet as him. Why couldn’t he just die on that rock? Why couldn’t that just be the end of it? But what if it was true, what if he was different. And could he really live without having let his child know where he came from?

Bury the hatchet, he’d said. Clean slate.

Banning hadn’t realized he’d been crying that morning. It was still dark, and his body remained curled up beside that small rounding belly, Lady Gwendolyn Fuzzybelly the First in the far corner of the room. Emergencies only that was for. Banning wiped his eyes with the bed sheets and kissed at Izzy’s belly and cheek before he got up. Breakfast wasn’t going to make itself. 

The response had been short to the previous night. Come over for dinner, the Citadel, and don’t bring anything, but that probably wouldn’t stop him. Banning felt no need to get dressed up. A tank top and joggers would do. Not even bothering with shoes either. Just flip flops because it’d be a waste of energy if this proved to be nothing more than him trying to scope out business he had no right to know. Banning made pizza, and was tempted to open up that bottle of wine. It was never too early to get shitfaced…

But he stopped himself and set the bottle back on the rack. That bottle in particular he reserved for when Izzy could drink again, they would have it together, and he’d felt the urge to drink a lot less since moving in with her. Banning didn’t know when he’d arrive. Somewhere in the vicinity of 7 o’clock, or so Xavier’s email had stated.

Banning slumped onto the corner of the couch, staring at the blank screen of the TV. His left hand twitched, grasping at the cloth of his sweats, fist clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. “If that motherfucker is late, I’ll rip his goddamn head off,” Banning growled.
« Last Edit: September 17, 2017, 12:22:14 pm by Lion »

Offline nephero

Re: The Blood that Binds [Nephero]
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2017, 09:23:53 pm »
Isabel Kiers was the absolute model of calm and collected. Anyone who knew of her could tell you this. She rarely lost her temper, rarely raised her voice, and rarely could be baited. It took quite a bit to get on her bad side, but when you did, oh…

Isabel hated you to the grave.

There were few quicker ways to earn a permanent place upon Commander Isabel Kiers’ shit list than to hurt a member of her family. This also extended retroactively as well: all it took was a perfectly off-handed comment over a pizza dinner for her to summarily decide that if she ever had to be face to face with Captain Lockhart, she would let him know in no uncertain terms that he had done. Fucked. Up.

So when Banning-- her Banning, her wonderful, sweet, thoughtful Banning, the father of her growing child and object of every last ounce of her affections-- when Banning told her about the email Xavier had sent, WELL.

Izzy had damn near popped a blood vessel, all under the calmest, coolest expression ever worn by sentient creatures. She'd had OPINIONS, of course. But right then was not the time for a hormone driven tirade. It was clear Banning was upset, and so instead she had sat herself as close to him as possible, had pulled his head down against her chest, and pet his hair (no longer stubbly and back to its normal hue), and let him take his time. Figure out what he wanted to do. And made it clear he'd have her support no matter what.

Which was why when Banning kissed her and Virgil, Izzy was immediately awake. She didn't emerge from the bed at first, touching instead at the soft bit of wetness left behind on the sheets, where she was sure Banning thought he could hide the fact he'd been crying.

A flash of white hot anger hit her, and for a wild moment Izzy indulged fantasies of slapping the ever loving shit out of what she imagined was just a bigger, craggier, much more unpleasant Banning. Those fantasies made her feel a thousand times better, but they'd have to remain fantasies. Banning had decided to give Xavier another chance, the golden opportunity to be a proper part of their family.

Their family.

Not that Xavier deserved it. Not after how he treated her Banning. After he told Banning he'd never amount to anything.

Well, fine. She couldn't obliterate Captain Lockhart on sight? She could at least make him eat his goddamn words.

Banning had made it clear he didn't want to make any effort. Which was fair, he shouldn't have to. But Izzy was another story. She'd dress to the nines (in what fit over her belly, anyway), put on eyeliner like Lilo had showed her, put on a bit of perfume…

She was a Kiers. And she was Banning’s. And she would make it abundantly clear that Banning had amounted to everything. Pilot Royal. Expectant father. And with one of the oldest Aedolian bloodlines there was in Haviah. Certainly nothing to shake a stick at.

Slowly, the Pilot Noble rolled out of bed, rubbing affectionately at her rounded stomach, sensing the pulse she and her growing child shared and feeling overwhelmingly happy for half a moment. How had she gotten this lucky? Well, she knew HOW, but…

She was getting sidetracked. She needed to shower, to get dressed, and while Xavier would not arrive for a while, she wanted to be absolutely ready.

Thoughts of revenge vacated her as soon as she saw Banning on the couch, television still off and every line of him hard and tense. She frowned, hearing the low growled threat, and immediately leaned over the back of the couch to kiss at the top of Banning's head.

“If he's late, you and I get a delightful dinner, just the three of us.” She said against the short strands of violet hair. “And you'll never have to worry about this again.”

She slid her hands over Banning's shoulders, squeezing here and there to ease tense knots.

“How’s your leg?”

Offline Lion

Re: The Blood that Binds [Nephero]
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2017, 01:21:09 am »
Banning had the remote in hand, and his thumb running over the power button. It wasn't like he didn't even want to watch anything. Anything to distract his mind from running wild was more than welcome; the feel of his thumb running over the vague bumps of that remote power button kept him grounded. Kept him from throwing that remote into the TV screen and seeing it just gray and spark everywhere.

But Izzy didn't need him ruining her stuff. And didn't need to see him having a fit. They were having a child together. The last thing she needed was him going on and acting like one. Banning's breath hitched and his grip loosened on the remote.

Her lips making contact with his head, his hand twitching and a small shiver ran down his back. Tingles sprawled out from there and Banning dropped it off to the side. Closing his eyes that wave of relief couldn't have come at a better time. And her being there, who was he kidding himself, she was the one keeping him grounded. Banning just needed her touch, to know that she was there and his hackles immediately relaxed.

His hair had grown in and those fake tattoos had washed off his face. The only thing that ached was his thigh and the place where he still felt his leg. That phantom limb of where it remained and he twitched a little.

"Yeah. And it is pizza," he admitted, trying to mitigate the twisting blender feeling in his guts. Her arms draped over his shoulders and he reached up to meet those hands, long fingers dragging up her forearms and another shiver chilled him, and a soft whine came out.

"Terrible. I still feel it. But at least I have toes to wiggle. I know you like those wiggling toes," he murmured, smiling now that she had her face next to his. The beard had grown back in, the faint stubble rubbing against her cheek. "Let me look at you. Come around here."

Banning coaxed her hand and guided her around to the front of the sofa. With a grunt, Banning forced himself to stand. The prosthetic was well made, and there was no real conceivable different between using his new leg in how it felt to the old one. Strides in limb replacement had come a long way, and each joint could be articulated thoroughly. The visual aspect, certainly, was the most jarring.

Banning sometimes found himself staring at his foot. Maybe he'd opt for synthetic flesh later on. How they connected the synapses to his nervous system, he didn't know. It wasn't his job to figure out the complexities of that. It performed the task it was meant to do, and he could move as well as he did before. Nothing different, he told himself. Nothing was missing.

And when those phantom pains came ghosting back to him, he just leaned closer to Izzy. She didn't care. Or so he thought.  He didn't ask her. Maybe he was afraid of the answer.

He held her hand out, to do that dramatic twirl and he grinned wide. "Damn, you are on fire, girl. You sure you don't wanna go out on the town tonight? Maybe I ought to cancel his invitation altogether."

Offline nephero

Re: The Blood that Binds [Nephero]
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2017, 03:57:31 pm »
The mere sound of that soft low whine was just heartbreaking. Izzy never liked it when Banning was unhappy. For one, it made Izzy feel powerless (a completely irrational emotion, of course, but one learned to stop arguing with hormone-driven nonsense). For another, it made Izzy feel bad to know that Banning felt bad. She nuzzled close, loving the scratchy sensation of stubble against her own smooth cheek, and couldn't help a mirroring smile when Banning guided her around the sofa.

Despite the circumstances that led up to Banning’s bout of medical leave, having him around had been so, so nice. She was certain if she had been alone, she'd have gone completely stir crazy, and then there would have been the inevitable drama of “no Izzy, you should be resting, no Izzy, you should just call for a stage 5 to get that for you, no Izzy, no Izzy, no Izzy.” Now she knew how Chance had felt, cooped up with his bad knee and going near barking mad for it.

Of course, she'd have preferred it if Banning hadn't had to lose his leg, but there was no denying she was grateful for his company. Every night when they settled into sleep spooned against one another, every morning when they had a solid giggle at one another's bedhead, the “busy days” when it came to deciding on this or that for when Virgil decided to grace them with his presence-- Izzy had no doubt she COULD have done this on her own (she was Pilot Noble Kiers, she could do anything), but she never would have wanted to. That initial “break the news” scare had pretty much solidified just how much she had wanted THIS, being together, having a family with him and being a family.

Especially all the goofy little moments like being twirled in their living room. She snickered when she came back around, certainly not feeling terribly graceful but not really minding either.

“Mmm, don't tempt me. But no, I felt like being… what's the word. Shit. It's not ‘catty’, but it's basically ‘catty’. Shit. Now I can't think of it.” A heavy sigh, and she leaned in close, nuzzling their noses together.

“The second you need it, I'll boot his ass out so hard he'll have bruises to the grave. Just give the word.” A soft hum, and she shot Banning an impish grin, “Might just do it anyway so I can eat his share of the pizza.”

Offline Lion

Re: The Blood that Binds [Nephero]
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2017, 01:07:22 am »
Banning didn't just roll out of bed one day and decided he wanted to be a dad. It wasn't even just a vague obligation that he had found himself here and now, that he had done this to her, and that it was only right that he saw through it to the birth of his own spawn. She was a part of him, and he'd given a piece of himself to her in turn, the likes of which now formed in that growing mound that was her belly. To made that together, he'd be damned if he was going to walk away from that.

She was the first good thing he'd come across in his life. He wasn't going to throw that away for nothing. Not fear, not desperation. For once in his life, everything seemed clear. Too bad he had to lose a leg in the process. But eh, what were you gonna do? Have your cake and eat it to? Pffft.

"That's the word, Isabel. Catty because you're looking mighty fierce. You've got claws and just need something or someone to sink them into." Banning snorted, done turning her and letting his arms fall to her sides. The awkward weight, adjusting on that leg and making sure not to step on her foot. Metal was still metal.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind in the slightest. I'll set up the camera and I'll forever have that memory, and the footage, to enjoy it into ripe old age. Because hmmm, just something about a woman taking out the trash is amazing. Just chucking out yesterday's news."  Banning tilted his face in, giving a brief kiss, making a soft noise that was on the verge of a whine. No words came out and his arms just slipped tighter around her, keeping her close.

"You....you got your lipstick all smudged. Let me get that," he whispered and kissed her again, deeper and let his head tilt into the crook of her shoulder, resting it there, taking in a deep breath, lingering on it for as long as he could. "Thank you," he whispered into her neck. "Thank you so much for being here with me. Like this. I'd be falling apart if you weren't here. There's one else I'd rather it be, than you. I love you, Iz.'

Banning shuddered and clung to her tighter, closing his eyes and feeling the sting of tears trying to breach his eyes. No here, not now. The man had taken enough out of him.  A few managed to spring forth and dampen Izzy's neck.  He sniffed and brought his head back to hers. "How are you doing? How do you feel? You are already dressed to kill. Is there gonna be a murder?"

 

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