February Catch All [closed]

[nastyboy]

Who: What remains of Team Femblemtroika
What: With a few hard hitting losses to the gang, they all try to deal with it. This may mean a roadtrip through Kanto.
When: February
Where: Starting in Olivine, ending in the vague and widely defined area of Kanto
Warnings: None besides their grief (as of yet)

Comments

[candyapplechild]

A water park too...!

[ Oh now she's very excited... granted, they'll have to figure out what to do about the concerning amount of scars on Eri's body if they're going to go swimming, but that's something to figure out later. ]

[nastyboy]

That's right. There are a lot of amazing places to see in Kanto.

Do you want to look over it all with me? We can decide where to go first.

[candyapplechild]

Mm...! Thank you, Dimitri-sa—ah, um...

[ Eri's enthusiasm suddenly and abruptly turns to nervousness again... though before Dimitri can question her on it. ]

D... Dad...

[ The look on her face is as if she's asking if "this is okay" ]

1/shrug noises

[nastyboy]

Oh, it's no problem, Eri -

2/

[nastyboy]

[wh]

3/

[nastyboy]

[did she just-]

4/

[nastyboy]

[is he dad now]

5/

[nastyboy]

[AND HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO GET INTO A HIGHLY RESTRICTIVE AND POTENTIALLY LOVELESS POLITICAL MARRIAGE TO WHATEVER NOBLE FAMILY WAS MOST ADVANTAGEOUS TO HIS REIGN AS KING OVER NOT JUST ONE COUNTRY BUT LIKE THREE WHOLE ONES THAT WERE TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER?]

6/

[nastyboy]

[AND IT'S ERI]

7/

[nastyboy]

ERI WANTS TO CALL HIM DAD]

8/

[nastyboy]

his heart is doing stuff]

9/

[nastyboy]

[don't cry. don't cry. don't cry.]

[nastyboy]

[Okay. Deep breaths. Super don't cry. Dimitri manages a smile.]

We have all sorts of books. And I can go get us something to snack on while we look at all the different places we can go to. Okay?

[And then he can cry in the kitchen, or someone's shoulder. HE'S DAD? HE'S DAD NOW.]

[HE ALWAYS WANTED TO DAD.]

[candyapplechild]

[ Eri is looking up at him, clearly concerned because of the seeming lack of an obvious—at least to Eri—reaction to having worked up the nerve to call him "dad". ]

O-Oh! Um... okay!

[ Is he upset? Is he happy?? Eri has no clue. ]

[nastyboy]

[He's having a lot of emotions, Eri, it's okay, he's]

[probably fine]

Then lets go - I bet we can make something very yummy while we read. [With that, he hefts her up into his arms.]

[Although he does have to ask...]

Eri... Were you serious about calling me "dad"?

[candyapplechild]

[ Eri is still nervous, waiting for the acknowledgement of what she just called him... and so she wordlessly nods as he hefts her up into his arms. Then, at last, the acknowledgement comes... ]

U-Um...

[ And she's suddenly WAY more nervous than before. Still, it's something she's thought about for a long time... so even if literally none of her prior-planned words are in her head anymore, she still has to answer. ]

I-I um... I-I thought about it... for a long time...

[ Her small hands grip Dimitri's shirt. ]

I-I wasn't sure at first... b-because... u-um...

[ She feels her voice catch in the back of her throat, unable to speak the words that she wants to say... causing her to have to try and explain in a different way instead. Truth is, the idea of having a "dad" was a stressful one to Eri. Even if it was just a cover story, the closest thing she ever had to a dad was Overhaul himself... and Dimitri knows how well that went. More than that, she scarcely even remembers her blood-related father... the one who she was apparently at fault for having disappeared due to her power.

It's why, despite how long Eri's been here with everyone, Dimitri has determinedly remained "Dimitri-san" and so on. But more time passed, and more people ended up leaving... and the thought arrived in her mind. What if Dimitri disappeared one day as well?

The thought threatened to crush Eri's heart right then and there... but with it also came a new sense of clarity for how she felt about the man who has been taking care of her for so long now. Even longer than when she had been traveling with Ochako. ]

Y-Yeah... I'm serious...

[ She can't get all of that out just yet, it's all just too complicated even for Eri right now... but the important part is that if this isn't what it's like to have a dad... then she really doesn't have any idea what a dad is supposed to be. ]

[nastyboy]

[Try as he might.... But Dimitri can't stop the way his one good eye starts to tear up painfully. Everything else, he manages to successfully win the fight against - the sniffing, his choked up voice, all of that. At least, he's won a momentary victory, and helps ensure it a while longer as he presses his face against Eri's hair.]

Then.... Then I couldn't be happier.

[Not gonna cry. Not gonna cry. Not gonna cry.]

I always wanted a wonderful daughter to call my own.... So thank you, Eri.