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 Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 11:48 am
Beau arrived with a tupperware container full of freshly made lasagna. It wasn’t quite a peace offering, though he often felt as if conversations with Michael necessitated one — not necessarily for anything Beau had done, but… for all the success Michael had in life, it always came with an equal measure of disappointment. This had the unfortunate result of making Michael his most difficult son.
Fortunately, Beau was not put off by it. Concerned, yes, but there was nothing Michael could say or do to turn him away. In many respects, Beau felt responsible for Michael’s pain and disappointment, for it had been his footsteps that Michael followed.
Upon arriving, Beau debated the use of the doorbell or a simple knock. He half expected Michael would ignore a knock, but the bell could be jarring (if Michael hadn’t disconnected it entirely).
A knock, then. Beau rapped his knuckles against the door a few times — not so loud as to be obnoxious, but firm enough to communicate his comfort with the gesture.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 10:53 am
While Michael did have the doorbell disconnected, he had a security system in place that alerted him to any visitors approaching the property, invited or not. So it was only a couple moments after his father knocked on the door that Michael opened it with an exasperated expression to greet him with.
“Bribery?” he let out a distressed sigh as he eyed the container of lasagna. “I already told mom I’d be there for Christmas. I think. Maybe I didn’t respond to her text,” he admitted after a moment of trying to remember if he had answered her, or if he read the text and ignored it with the intention of responding. Eventually.
Still, he wasn’t so rude as to not invite his father into the new house he’d recently purchased. The previous house had served its purpose, but had too many memories that Michael was trying to sort out and move on with his life.
This house was bigger. Two stories instead of one. His bedroom was still on the first floor, but whenever Peter wasn’t working on internship things or doing whatever it was that Peter did (probably camping with aliens in the woods), he had a bedroom for him on the second floor, along with an office. The house itself was modest and had a garage so he could keep his car and motorcycle and power tools locked up and out of the rain, but the yard wasn’t incredibly large. Just enough to keep the neighbors at a respectable distance while also still being close to the city.
“Not exactly a bachelor pad,” he admitted a bit gruffly as he waited for his father to come inside before shutting the door behind him and taking the container from him. Sometimes he wondered why he bought a house instead of just getting a condo or something smaller. It wasn’t as though he ever had any plans on putting himself into the same position he’d been in before. Maybe he thought if Peter had friends who needed a place to crash, they would be able to do so without bothering him too much.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:36 pm
“It’s nice,” Beau insisted, handing over the tupperware as he glanced around the entryway with only partially suppressed curiosity. “Very homey.”
It was smaller than most of the houses Michael would have grown up in, but it suited him. Sometimes too much space had a way of allowing too much time to think. A smaller area meant distractions were closer, openly visible and easily accessible. Especially after spending a significant portion of one’s life in close confines with other people, too much space had a way of seeming overwhelming.
Putting an end to his brief inspection, Beau faced his oldest son with a small, easy smile — approachable, non-confrontational.
“You didn’t respond to your mother, actually,” he said, straightforward. His tone lacked an accusation. “Hence the gift. Not quite a bribe. Your mother worries about you, more now that I’m retired and she doesn’t have to worry about me.”
He said this somewhat apologetically, as if he would sacrifice himself to Claire’s worrying if he could.
“She’ll be pleased to see you on Christmas. I’ll let her know to expect you.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:50 pm
“Sorry. Meant to,” he mumbled as he led the way to the kitchen so he could put the lasagna in the refrigerator. He turned then to frown at his father. Not so much to glare at him, but the expression was wary and expectant.
“You didn’t just come to make sure I’m going to Christmas dinner,” he surmised. A phone call would have been enough. Or another string of texts. Or maybe Peter could have texted for him.
“No, I’m not going to therapy. I don’t want to talk to someone else about my life that they won’t even understand. I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me,” he said, because why else would his father be there?
The house itself looked like it was out of a catalog, just as his previous place had. There were no photos or personal touches anywhere. The counters of the kitchen were clean and everything was put away. And just like in his old place, one of the drawers had been dumped with his military medals that he couldn’t manage to throw away, but also didn’t want to look at.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:10 pm
“I’m not here to talk about therapy,” Beau said, but his brow lifted, a silent, Though I think you might benefit from it.
He looked around the kitchen with nothing but his eyes, not the type to snoop unless damning evidence necessitated an invasion of privacy. Since there was no such evidence, he left Michael’s things alone, simply glanced around to take in the décor — the color of the walls, the style of the cabinets, the intricacies of the backsplash.
Michael’s suspicions were not entirely unwarranted, but Beau rather liked to think he had more to offer in the way of conversation than his insistence on medical treatment.
“I thought it might be time for you and I to be honest with one another,” he said.
Blue eyes left the clean countertops and met an identical blue gaze.
“You’ve been spending quite a bit of time with Chris lately,” Beau observed. “Working on a project? Something important, I assume, if it’s enough to get you out of the house as often as it has.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 5:22 pm
It took a great bit of willpower for Michael to not roll his eyes. Of course Chris had to open his mouth and talk to either their dad or mom about doing things with him. It wasn’t as though it was unheard of for him to do things with his middle brother, but their lives were a bit different these days. He was an elective teacher and Chris played baseball and was a father of three. Married. Happily.
“What’s there to be honest about?” he wondered with a frown, because he wasn’t as in the dark as he could have been about things. Obviously Peter talked to him. Which meant their father probably knew, despite his preferences to keep his identity secret.
“Working on knight stuff, yes. Trying to find a way to even our odds against the Negaverse.”
He could tell by the look in his father’s eyes that there was no point in playing dumb. Neither of them were stupid and pretending the other didn’t know was just insulting.
“Did someone actually tell you, or did you figure it out on your own? Peter told me about you and mom,” he admitted. Because even if their father hadn’t told anyone else that he was Empyrean, their mother of course gushed to Peter about it. She was so proud of all of them. It made Michael feel like even more of a failure because he hadn’t done anything worth her pride.
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:29 am
“No one told me anything,” Beau said. “In fact, it was their complete omission of you from all powered conversation that clued me in.”
Chris, Paris, and Peter were always careful never to mention Michael even in the most offhand manner when certain topics were brought up — even when those topics included events they all knew Michael may have attended, events that quickly devolved into the sort of hapless chaos Destiny City was known for.
Besides, it seemed their family had a penchant for producing knights. Of them all, Michael certainly wouldn’t be the odd one out. (That fate was left to Peter, who was a Senshi.)
“Knowing you might be involved made determining who you are relatively easy,” he admitted. “Jupiter runs in the family, apparently. And Peter doesn’t exactly hide his affiliation with you when he’s running around as Oberon.”
Beau didn’t know that he trusted Peter’s judgement in that regard, but Peter had been a Senshi since he was very young. Perhaps Beau didn’t give him enough credit. Many adults didn’t survive the war. That a child could do so while being as involved as Peter tended to be was remarkable.
“I’m not here to harass you about it,” Beau reassured him. “I’m not here to lecture you or to gloat about it or to ask you to stop. Chris mentioned the project you’re working on. I was going to offer my help, but before bringing it up with him I thought you and I should clear the air about who’s who and who’s been doing what, so… I’m Empyrean, Page of Jupiter, newly awakened as recently as this summer. Your mother wanted to tell you as soon as it happened, but I assumed you’d prefer the illusion of privacy for a while longer.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 4:34 pm
“Peter told me,” Michael confessed when his father introduced himself as Empyrean, Page of Jupiter. “Mom told Peter. She really needs to not talk about stuff like that,” he said with a sigh and shifted somewhat awkwardly against the counter.
He didn’t want others to know if they didn’t absolutely need to. It was dangerous, for everyone involved.
“Sessrumnir… Jupiter,” he mumbled, and then shrugged because it really wasn’t that big of a deal (it was to him). “I awakened… before my birthday…. So September, twenty eleven. Four months after Chris. Four before Peter.”
Michael figured he might as well tell his father everything he knew, since he would probably figure it out anyway. Still, it was almost insane to think that he and his brothers (and Paris for that matter, as well as Marissa), had been doing this magical war thing for so long.
“I don’t know what Chris told you, but what we’re working on has the potential to be very dangerous. You’ve seen what the Negaverse is capable of doing.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:10 pm
Ten years was a long time to be at war.
A part of Beau was proud of his sons for all they’d done, but a larger part of him felt guilty that he had only been aware for half that time. He felt powerless, knowing now the full extent of what they’d been through, while he had been unable to do anything about it. Arguably, he wasn’t able to do much about it now, either. At seventy-one, he wasn’t exactly in his prime.
(He wondered, briefly, at the order of their awakening — Valhalla first, then Sessrumnir. From what he knew through his ancestor, it had been the same in the past.
A conversation for another time, perhaps.)
“I have seen what the Negaverse is capable of,” he agreed. “I’ve seen what we’re all capable of. I’ve seen what the Velencians are capable of. Of course this Void has the potential to be dangerous. I’d argue that’s true for much of the war.”
That didn’t mean they should cower, simply proceed with caution.
“Chris told me what the Void is, where you found it, what it’s meant to do. I got the impression there might be some frustrations in regards to the time it’s taken to get the device anywhere close to being complete, much less replicated. I thought an extra pair of eyes might help. Two engineers might prove better than one.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 2:18 pm
His father wasn't wrong. There was a lot of frustration with the Void and getting it to work. Even with Lucasta's help, and with trips to Valhalla and Sessrumnir, and even Ganymede, they weren't figuring out a way to get the thing completed quickly enough. Maybe the device itself was too old, or the blueprints were just a decoy. Maybe Valhalla was smart enough to not put everything that was important in the same place, just in case someone got their hands on it.
But if they'd had the Void working, then maybe they could have made a difference on that hilltop when the Negaverse ambushed them. When they put their trust in the Velencians -- or specifically Lyndin -- only to be tricked.
So many Senshi and Knights had been corrupted during that battle… Michael was just glad it wasn't anyone he knew.
"Sure, if you want to take a look at our thousand year old schematics and see if there's anything you can figure out, be my guest," Michael said with a quiet sigh as he relented. He knew his father was smart, and he knew he and Chris were out of their league trying to put this thing together. Maybe they really did need some extra help. And there weren't many they could trust.
After a few moments, he pressed his lips together in thought, and said, "With how young Peter awakened, and others, it's only a matter of time before Abby, Henry, and Elsie might be pulled into this war. Paris listens to you. I think it would be important to start teaching them at least how to defend themselves. They're a bit young, but… I don't think the youma or Negaverse care when it comes to starseeds."
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 5:32 pm
A thousand year old schematics for a thousand year old device were sure to generate many issues. Beau could not be certain of his own capabilities in that regard, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if the answer to their problems might be as simple as talking to a thousand year old ghost — a feat neither Michael nor Chris could accomplish.
Beau chose not to suggest that until he knew for sure that old Carolus Martel would be of any help. He only nodded appreciatively, grateful that his offer had been accepted. Chris had needed much less convincing than his older brother.
A single eyebrow rose at Michael’s subsequent suggestion.
“There might be a fine line between teaching them to defend themselves and raising child soldiers,” he said. “But you have a point. Peter was how old? Eleven? I’ve seen Senshi younger than that. Even in the event that Abby, Henry, and Elsie never awaken into anything, it wouldn’t hurt for them to practice self defense. Although at this point, it seems unlikely that they’ll all escape our fate.”
Two generations of their family were involved. Their mother was a Princess. Their father was a Knight. Even their grandparents had awakened now. That seemed to imply a certain level of inevitability. Carolus Martel certainly expected one of them would inherit Empyrean.
“I’ll talk to Paris and Chris, see what they’d be comfortable agreeing to,” he offered. “I’m sure they’ve already considered it themselves.”
They’d be foolish not to.
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 5:41 pm
Michael nodded appreciatively, because while he didn’t want them raising child soldiers, he couldn’t stomach the thought of them getting hurt, or worse, just because their parents refused to let them learn how to defend themselves, even if only a little.
“Thank you,” he said quietly now, and he relaxed a bit further.
While he didn’t have a bad relationship with his father, it wasn’t as though they often sat down to discuss things. It was his own fault, Michael knew. He was the one who pushed his own family away. He was the one that avoided them. He was the one who had all but decided to disappear once he turned thirty. He wanted to withdraw enough money from his newly accessible trust fund and take his boat and live out his days away from the rest of the world.
At least until Peter stepped in to live with him.
He hadn’t thought about it before, but it wasn’t as though it would have been easy to just let a teenager leave home to live with their older brother who had his own set of problems.
“Was it Peter’s idea to move in with me when he was in high school, or yours?” Michael asked, unable to stop his own curiosity. “I was just remembering how desperate I thought you must have been to get Peter out of the house if you and mom let him live with me.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 6:04 pm
Beau liked to think he had a good relationship with each of his sons, at least as far as he was able to build one when his career often kept him away from home. His relationships were simply different between each of them, due to the fact that his sons were three different men with different life experiences, at different points in their lives.
Chris was the easiest. Peter somewhat less so by virtue of the fact that he came about later in Beau’s life, at a time when neither he nor Claire were expecting to have more children. Michael was the most difficult, but Beau didn’t resent him for it. He liked to think he treated them all the same even if the ways in which he handled their development were different.
“Peter wanted a change, I think,” Beau said. “He was restless at home. Maybe the thought of moving in with his oldest brother seemed something like an adventure. He was very young when you enlisted. He might have used moving in as a way to spend more time with you, to get to know you better. And he worried. We all did.”
There was no accusation in Beau’s tone, nothing to convey worry or disappointment. He liked to be as matter of fact as he could. He thought it helped, especially with someone who didn’t like to be smothered.
“Your mother and I thought it would be good for the both of you,” he admitted. Then he paused and offered something like a sympathetic smile. “Although your mother probably would have preferred for you all to live at home. Since that seemed unlikely given how much you value your independence, we thought this arrangement might satisfy everyone involved. It seems to have worked out.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 6:15 pm
Michael nodded in acceptance of his father’s explanation, and snorted softly in amusement at the thought of how things worked out.
They did work out. There were some years in which Michael had been more confused than others. Some in which he thought he was happy, when he had been happy, but people went their own ways in life. And he went his own. And he would have to figure things out.
“Well. Thanks,” he said again. Whether or not it was Peter’s idea or his father’s or his mother’s, Michael supposed it didn’t really matter. But he did feel guilty about not saying anything sooner. He kept his life so private that maybe they thought he didn’t care when he did.
“I’m… sorry it took so long to let you know. I wanted to protect everyone. Hopefully if we can get this Void to work, we won’t have to worry about the kids learning how to fight youma.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2021 6:27 pm
“You’re entitled to your privacy,” Beau said. “I only thought it a bit ridiculous not to at least acknowledge what we know about one another.”
That didn’t mean he had any intention of interfering more than Michael wanted him to. The Void was its own matter. If Michael wished to keep the rest of his powered life separate from his family, Beau could understand, and wouldn’t begrudge him that. There might even be some benefit to it. The war was so dangerous, and Michael had already been through enough long before he became Sessrumnir.
Still, they could coexist.
Beau smiled, and moved like he meant to allow Michael more of that oft-desired privacy.
“I’ll get out of your hair,” he said. “The lasagna’s fresh. Your mother said she made it because she was craving it, but I’m sure it was just an excuse to send some to you. Text her. I’ve told her not to harass you, so she won’t bombard you with messages. She just likes to hear from you from time to time.”
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