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Percy and Vax, backdated to 8/15/17
Vax and Vex return from a night out with bad news.
Percy watched out the warehouse's third floor window as Keyleth darted across the street, her long, burnt orange hair buffeting in the wind. She went left as soon as she hit sidewalk and disappeared from sight. She was gone. Pike and Grog had left the morning before, Scanlan that same night, and now Keyleth... Their little family was splintering.
Logically, Percy knew it only felt that way. That wasn't what was really happening. People just had personal matters to attend to, and it wasn't as if they'd never see each other again. Knowing, though, did nothing for the emptiness in his gut, or the ache in his chest. Despite his best efforts, sometimes his heart refused to listen to his mind.
Not three minutes after Keyleth disappeared, one of the doors slammed downstairs, with twin arguing already in session. It was indecipherable from that distance, but clear that they were angry about something. Back and forth they went, until it suddenly went quiet and the shadows parted in the corner of the room, with Vax'ildan stalking out, his face a stormcloud. He didn't even seem to notice Percy there until he was halfway across the room, where he suddenly stopped, stone still.
Percy stood just as still, staring wide-eyed at Vax’ildan. Something tight in his chest released in a feeling like relief, and he took an abortive step forward. “You too?” The question came out quietly, almost disbelieving.
Anger just erupted across Vax's features and he turned to kick a shitty pipe across the floor. "It's all my fault. He never would have found us if I wasn't - wasn't..." What? showing off? Angry that Grog and Pike and Scanlan had left?
The disbelief quickly became concern, and now Percy did more forward. “What? Who found you? Are you alright?”
Vax sighed and shoved a hand back through his hair. "Our dad. Our fucking dad. I got nabbed by the po-po last night and he shows up out of the blue, some fucking diplomat. We have to go with him, or he's gonna put out a child rescue alert or some shit.”
Percy brain scrambled to make sense of what Vax was telling him. “Your father? He—He’s been gone for years? Why the hell is he interested now?”
Vax shook his head and stormed in a circle. "I don't know. My arrest caught his eye? I don't fucking know! But now he wants us to go live at the French embassy or some shit.”
They were leaving. Vax and Vex were leaving too. “Tell him no. We’ll leave. We’ll find somewhere else to stay.”
"We tried!" Vax hissed, then dropped down to sit on a couple of crates. "It was all...something about a Children Act and blah blah, our legal guardian and being a young offender, and maybe going to prison, but he's a diplomat so it doesn't apply, fuck, I don't know, but if we go with him, then we can at least protect you and Keyleth. And the others, when they come back.”
This was a lost battle. Percy knew it, but he still shook his head and said, “Keyleth’s gone. It’s just me. I’ll be alright.”
Vax turned and stared at him. “What?"
Percy looked properly chastised. He hadn’t intended on telling Vax about Keyleth that way. “I—I’m sorry. She left. She waited for you both as long as she could. She asked that I say goodbye for her and tell you that she was sorry she couldn’t delay any longer.”
"Oh fuckballs, Percy," Vax stared at him. "We can't leave you alone.”
Percy smiled weakly. “I have somewhere I can go,” he lied. “I told you—Don’t worry about me.”
"He's a fucking diplomat. He's like - magic - the guy can use his stupid connections to find us anywhere. Not that he bothered to before. If we could stay...God, Percy, you know we'd stay," Vax breathed.
“I know,” Percy reassured. “I know.” And this wasn’t about him. Vax and Vex were the ones being forced to live with that unmitigated asshole.
Exhaling quietly, Percy sat down beside Vax and fell quiet, staring at his hands. Their little family really was splintering. He gathered himself as best he could, pulling the hours spent in lessons about deportment and diplomacy about him like an armor, and broke the silence with, “So. You’re a mutant?”
Vax stiffened slightly. Right. Shadows. Percy. Fuck. He glanced sideways at his friend, uncertain how he'd react. "Vex is the only one that knows. Well, until now.”
The fear in Vax’s face was an emotion Percy could relate to all too well. He worried his bottom lip, then glanced over. “I’m a mutant as well.” It was the first time he’d said it aloud and it felt like removing a great weight from his chest.
Vax stared at him. “What?"
“I’m a mutant," Percy repeated.
"I got that, genius. What I mean is - why didn't you tell..." then he trailed off and sighed. "Shitty question, nevermind.”
Percy huffed a laugh, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. “I thought about telling you all,” he admitted. “I thought you might be alright with it, but there was the chance you wouldn’t be.” And it hadn’t been a chance he'd been willing to take.
"No, I...I get it. I've been playing with mine for about a month now. But, you know, same thing," Vax agreed.
"What is it you can do?" Percy asked, glancing just for a moment at the shadow Vax had stepped from earlier.
Vax quirked a small smile. He loved his power. It...fit. "I control shadows.”
Percy’s eyebrows disappeared beneath the fringe of his bangs. “Really? That’s—” There were a lot of words for that and the one he finally settled on was, “Impressive.”
"You haven't even seen what I can do with it yet," Vax flashed a little grin. Then, slowly, his smile faded as he heard Vex's voice from downstairs. "God. Perce...I don't like leaving you like this. Look. I uh, my power. I can sneak out of the embassy whenever I want. You just text me where to meet you. Anytime. Right?”
Percy so badly wanted to accept the offer. He was going to miss everyone — Keyleth, Vex, Pike, Scanlan, even Grog. But something quiet told him he was going to miss Vax most of all. Impulsive, infuriating, brilliant Vax. “Don’t put yourself at risk. It sounds like just living with him is going to be a challenge all on its own. You shouldn’t make it any worse.” He looked at Vax and smiled, trying for reassuring. “I’ll be alright.”
Vax didn't know what to do. Something crazy in him told him to hug Percy, or smack him over the back of the head, or shove a phone in his hand. Something physical - something just to...to make the moment hurt less. "I'll find you," Vax promised instead as he stood.
Percy’s heart dropped as he realized Vax and Vex weren’t just leaving, they were leaving now. “I’ll keep in touch. I’ll write you. Both of you.” He sounded calmer than he felt, and he wasn’t sure what it was that prompted him to say that of all things.
Write. Like Percy was a fucking Victorian prince or something. Though, for all his proper grammar and gestures, maybe it was possible. Vax cocked his head. "Hey. What's your power, anyway?"
Percy had never had to put ‘I turn into a giant shadow monster’ into words aloud before. “I shapechange.”
"Holy shit," Vax breathed. "Fuck, Freddy, that's awesome. I mean, personally I'm fond of the original you, but still, badass.”
The corners of Percy’s mouth tugged up, strangely flattered over something he’d had no control over. “It takes some getting used to. It’s…very different.”
"I bet," Vax told him, then almost started to say something else before stopping. "Hey, you should say goodbye to Vex. She wants to see you.”
Percy nodded and stood. “Give us a moment, will you?” He asked before crossing the room to the stairs. He hesitated at the top of them, glancing over at Vax like he wanted to say more, but then just nodded to him and went down to say his goodbyes to Vex.
As soon as he was gone, Vax found Percy's things and dumped all the coin he had into them. He couldn't do much. Hell, he couldn't do shit - but at least he could do that. Then he grabbed his own shit and stepped into the shadows.
Percy watched out the warehouse's third floor window as Keyleth darted across the street, her long, burnt orange hair buffeting in the wind. She went left as soon as she hit sidewalk and disappeared from sight. She was gone. Pike and Grog had left the morning before, Scanlan that same night, and now Keyleth... Their little family was splintering.
Logically, Percy knew it only felt that way. That wasn't what was really happening. People just had personal matters to attend to, and it wasn't as if they'd never see each other again. Knowing, though, did nothing for the emptiness in his gut, or the ache in his chest. Despite his best efforts, sometimes his heart refused to listen to his mind.
Not three minutes after Keyleth disappeared, one of the doors slammed downstairs, with twin arguing already in session. It was indecipherable from that distance, but clear that they were angry about something. Back and forth they went, until it suddenly went quiet and the shadows parted in the corner of the room, with Vax'ildan stalking out, his face a stormcloud. He didn't even seem to notice Percy there until he was halfway across the room, where he suddenly stopped, stone still.
Percy stood just as still, staring wide-eyed at Vax’ildan. Something tight in his chest released in a feeling like relief, and he took an abortive step forward. “You too?” The question came out quietly, almost disbelieving.
Anger just erupted across Vax's features and he turned to kick a shitty pipe across the floor. "It's all my fault. He never would have found us if I wasn't - wasn't..." What? showing off? Angry that Grog and Pike and Scanlan had left?
The disbelief quickly became concern, and now Percy did more forward. “What? Who found you? Are you alright?”
Vax sighed and shoved a hand back through his hair. "Our dad. Our fucking dad. I got nabbed by the po-po last night and he shows up out of the blue, some fucking diplomat. We have to go with him, or he's gonna put out a child rescue alert or some shit.”
Percy brain scrambled to make sense of what Vax was telling him. “Your father? He—He’s been gone for years? Why the hell is he interested now?”
Vax shook his head and stormed in a circle. "I don't know. My arrest caught his eye? I don't fucking know! But now he wants us to go live at the French embassy or some shit.”
They were leaving. Vax and Vex were leaving too. “Tell him no. We’ll leave. We’ll find somewhere else to stay.”
"We tried!" Vax hissed, then dropped down to sit on a couple of crates. "It was all...something about a Children Act and blah blah, our legal guardian and being a young offender, and maybe going to prison, but he's a diplomat so it doesn't apply, fuck, I don't know, but if we go with him, then we can at least protect you and Keyleth. And the others, when they come back.”
This was a lost battle. Percy knew it, but he still shook his head and said, “Keyleth’s gone. It’s just me. I’ll be alright.”
Vax turned and stared at him. “What?"
Percy looked properly chastised. He hadn’t intended on telling Vax about Keyleth that way. “I—I’m sorry. She left. She waited for you both as long as she could. She asked that I say goodbye for her and tell you that she was sorry she couldn’t delay any longer.”
"Oh fuckballs, Percy," Vax stared at him. "We can't leave you alone.”
Percy smiled weakly. “I have somewhere I can go,” he lied. “I told you—Don’t worry about me.”
"He's a fucking diplomat. He's like - magic - the guy can use his stupid connections to find us anywhere. Not that he bothered to before. If we could stay...God, Percy, you know we'd stay," Vax breathed.
“I know,” Percy reassured. “I know.” And this wasn’t about him. Vax and Vex were the ones being forced to live with that unmitigated asshole.
Exhaling quietly, Percy sat down beside Vax and fell quiet, staring at his hands. Their little family really was splintering. He gathered himself as best he could, pulling the hours spent in lessons about deportment and diplomacy about him like an armor, and broke the silence with, “So. You’re a mutant?”
Vax stiffened slightly. Right. Shadows. Percy. Fuck. He glanced sideways at his friend, uncertain how he'd react. "Vex is the only one that knows. Well, until now.”
The fear in Vax’s face was an emotion Percy could relate to all too well. He worried his bottom lip, then glanced over. “I’m a mutant as well.” It was the first time he’d said it aloud and it felt like removing a great weight from his chest.
Vax stared at him. “What?"
“I’m a mutant," Percy repeated.
"I got that, genius. What I mean is - why didn't you tell..." then he trailed off and sighed. "Shitty question, nevermind.”
Percy huffed a laugh, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. “I thought about telling you all,” he admitted. “I thought you might be alright with it, but there was the chance you wouldn’t be.” And it hadn’t been a chance he'd been willing to take.
"No, I...I get it. I've been playing with mine for about a month now. But, you know, same thing," Vax agreed.
"What is it you can do?" Percy asked, glancing just for a moment at the shadow Vax had stepped from earlier.
Vax quirked a small smile. He loved his power. It...fit. "I control shadows.”
Percy’s eyebrows disappeared beneath the fringe of his bangs. “Really? That’s—” There were a lot of words for that and the one he finally settled on was, “Impressive.”
"You haven't even seen what I can do with it yet," Vax flashed a little grin. Then, slowly, his smile faded as he heard Vex's voice from downstairs. "God. Perce...I don't like leaving you like this. Look. I uh, my power. I can sneak out of the embassy whenever I want. You just text me where to meet you. Anytime. Right?”
Percy so badly wanted to accept the offer. He was going to miss everyone — Keyleth, Vex, Pike, Scanlan, even Grog. But something quiet told him he was going to miss Vax most of all. Impulsive, infuriating, brilliant Vax. “Don’t put yourself at risk. It sounds like just living with him is going to be a challenge all on its own. You shouldn’t make it any worse.” He looked at Vax and smiled, trying for reassuring. “I’ll be alright.”
Vax didn't know what to do. Something crazy in him told him to hug Percy, or smack him over the back of the head, or shove a phone in his hand. Something physical - something just to...to make the moment hurt less. "I'll find you," Vax promised instead as he stood.
Percy’s heart dropped as he realized Vax and Vex weren’t just leaving, they were leaving now. “I’ll keep in touch. I’ll write you. Both of you.” He sounded calmer than he felt, and he wasn’t sure what it was that prompted him to say that of all things.
Write. Like Percy was a fucking Victorian prince or something. Though, for all his proper grammar and gestures, maybe it was possible. Vax cocked his head. "Hey. What's your power, anyway?"
Percy had never had to put ‘I turn into a giant shadow monster’ into words aloud before. “I shapechange.”
"Holy shit," Vax breathed. "Fuck, Freddy, that's awesome. I mean, personally I'm fond of the original you, but still, badass.”
The corners of Percy’s mouth tugged up, strangely flattered over something he’d had no control over. “It takes some getting used to. It’s…very different.”
"I bet," Vax told him, then almost started to say something else before stopping. "Hey, you should say goodbye to Vex. She wants to see you.”
Percy nodded and stood. “Give us a moment, will you?” He asked before crossing the room to the stairs. He hesitated at the top of them, glancing over at Vax like he wanted to say more, but then just nodded to him and went down to say his goodbyes to Vex.
As soon as he was gone, Vax found Percy's things and dumped all the coin he had into them. He couldn't do much. Hell, he couldn't do shit - but at least he could do that. Then he grabbed his own shit and stepped into the shadows.
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Also love that Vox Machina is already a thing in this world. It does my heart so much good.
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>.>
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Man, those would be some badass powers!
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