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Challenges 031 and 032
Story title: Parts of a Whole
Author: Ingvild
Word Count: 639
Rating and warnings: Safe for everyone
Characters and/or pairing: Une, Mariemaia, mention of Treize
Summary: Continues after my previous AU fic. Une comes home to hear how Mariemaia’s doing.
She had been away for three months.
Too long, Une thought. She’d missed so much. Mariemaia’s debut into polite society had happened six weeks ago, and the young girl was now almost besieged by Romefeller Elite. Of course, she had Mister Treize to guide her, but Une suspected that the additional support would have been appreciated.
By all rights, she shouldn’t be so fond of the girl. She was, if you decided to be crude about it, nothing more than Mister Treize’s by-blow, who had been foisted on him at a time when he really couldn’t afford the distraction. She was a symbol of a youthful indiscretion, and in all honesty, just by existing, she had damaged his social standing.
And yet, neither Une nor Treize himself had ever considered denying the girl in any way. There was something about that stubborn, steel-covered vulnerability that got to both of them, and somehow, Mariemaia had become the centre of their life together. Just by being there, Mariemaia had turned what had been (mostly) a work relationship into something almost a like a family.
And now, Une was back, and she was surprised by how happy she was when Mariemaia came, if not running then walking quickly, to see her.
“Lady, you’re back,” the young girl began, before growing silent. She seemed to be struggling to find the right words.
“Yes, I am. Have you been well, Miss?” Une asked. She didn’t have a too easy time finding the right words either. It didn’t seem to matter too much. For the moment, just being in the physical presence of each other was enough.
“I’ve been fine.”
“Really?”
Mariemaia actually squirmed. For someone who normally had such great control over her expressions and body language, she seemed to lose it remarkably often when in the presence of Treize or Une.
“I...I’m okay enough. I’m a bit fed up with all the Romefeller people, actually. Well, Dorothy Catalonia is okay, but...”
“Miss Catalonia is?” Une was honestly surprised. Of all the words one could use to describe Dorothy Catalonia, “okay “ was one of the last she’d have used.
Mariemaia smiled shyly. “Yeah. She talks to me like I’m an actual person. I like that.”
Une felt the old insanity pressing behind her eyes. She had managed to get her more blood-thirsty personality under control recently, but it seemed that threats to her child brought it out again (never mind when, exactly, she had begun to think of Mariemaia as her child).
“And the others? What do they say?”
Mariemaia bit her lip. “Well...Lots of stuff, but the worst was something saying that it was like Dermail’s pet dog had got a new bone to chew.”
For a moment, Une couldn’t see anything. Her gaze was covered by a red haze of anger. Then she shook her head violently, and pulled the girl close to her.
“Shows what they know,” she said firmly. “If they think that Mister Treize is nothing more than Dermail’s dog, they’re sorely mistaken. And you are so much more than that to him, to both of us.” She smiled, and ran her hand down Mariemaia’s back. “If you have to be a bone, be this one. Your backbone.”
“Eh?”
“The spine connects the upper and lower body. It’s incredibly important for the function of the whole body, and it carries sensory information everywhere. Having a solid backbone is also an expression for being able to stand up for yourself.”
Mariemaia looked up at her. “That’s not so bad. So if I’m the spine, what are you and Father?”
Une chuckled. “Mister Treize is obviously the brain. I suppose I’m the legs, or the hands?”
“Maybe you’re the heart,” Mariemaia suggested, and if Une’s own heart skipped a beat at that moment, neither of them paid it any notice.
Author: Ingvild
Word Count: 639
Rating and warnings: Safe for everyone
Characters and/or pairing: Une, Mariemaia, mention of Treize
Summary: Continues after my previous AU fic. Une comes home to hear how Mariemaia’s doing.
She had been away for three months.
Too long, Une thought. She’d missed so much. Mariemaia’s debut into polite society had happened six weeks ago, and the young girl was now almost besieged by Romefeller Elite. Of course, she had Mister Treize to guide her, but Une suspected that the additional support would have been appreciated.
By all rights, she shouldn’t be so fond of the girl. She was, if you decided to be crude about it, nothing more than Mister Treize’s by-blow, who had been foisted on him at a time when he really couldn’t afford the distraction. She was a symbol of a youthful indiscretion, and in all honesty, just by existing, she had damaged his social standing.
And yet, neither Une nor Treize himself had ever considered denying the girl in any way. There was something about that stubborn, steel-covered vulnerability that got to both of them, and somehow, Mariemaia had become the centre of their life together. Just by being there, Mariemaia had turned what had been (mostly) a work relationship into something almost a like a family.
And now, Une was back, and she was surprised by how happy she was when Mariemaia came, if not running then walking quickly, to see her.
“Lady, you’re back,” the young girl began, before growing silent. She seemed to be struggling to find the right words.
“Yes, I am. Have you been well, Miss?” Une asked. She didn’t have a too easy time finding the right words either. It didn’t seem to matter too much. For the moment, just being in the physical presence of each other was enough.
“I’ve been fine.”
“Really?”
Mariemaia actually squirmed. For someone who normally had such great control over her expressions and body language, she seemed to lose it remarkably often when in the presence of Treize or Une.
“I...I’m okay enough. I’m a bit fed up with all the Romefeller people, actually. Well, Dorothy Catalonia is okay, but...”
“Miss Catalonia is?” Une was honestly surprised. Of all the words one could use to describe Dorothy Catalonia, “okay “ was one of the last she’d have used.
Mariemaia smiled shyly. “Yeah. She talks to me like I’m an actual person. I like that.”
Une felt the old insanity pressing behind her eyes. She had managed to get her more blood-thirsty personality under control recently, but it seemed that threats to her child brought it out again (never mind when, exactly, she had begun to think of Mariemaia as her child).
“And the others? What do they say?”
Mariemaia bit her lip. “Well...Lots of stuff, but the worst was something saying that it was like Dermail’s pet dog had got a new bone to chew.”
For a moment, Une couldn’t see anything. Her gaze was covered by a red haze of anger. Then she shook her head violently, and pulled the girl close to her.
“Shows what they know,” she said firmly. “If they think that Mister Treize is nothing more than Dermail’s dog, they’re sorely mistaken. And you are so much more than that to him, to both of us.” She smiled, and ran her hand down Mariemaia’s back. “If you have to be a bone, be this one. Your backbone.”
“Eh?”
“The spine connects the upper and lower body. It’s incredibly important for the function of the whole body, and it carries sensory information everywhere. Having a solid backbone is also an expression for being able to stand up for yourself.”
Mariemaia looked up at her. “That’s not so bad. So if I’m the spine, what are you and Father?”
Une chuckled. “Mister Treize is obviously the brain. I suppose I’m the legs, or the hands?”
“Maybe you’re the heart,” Mariemaia suggested, and if Une’s own heart skipped a beat at that moment, neither of them paid it any notice.
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