[Good, this guy definitely knows just how fierce Jean and Chariot are. Pami, Chariot tells Sticky Fingers, and flies back, flourishing his sword. Look how fierce he is! How brave! How utterly uncoordinated he is compared to his older self! There's none of the usual grace and precision Chariot wields his rapier with; this is a child with a toy, trying to look as cool as possible.
With a smug little smile Jean settles back, leaning heavily against Bruno. The sun is just peeking over the horizon, but he's been up for hours, all right, he's tired. Not so tired as to sleep yet, but . . . he'll just lean against Bruno for a bit. There's a blessed moment of silence, and then:]
[Sticky Fingers watches Chariot swing his rapier around so fiercely. It's barely a twitch of the Stand's lips, but there's a close approximation of a smile there as he raises a single, solitary thumb up in silent praise. Good job, little Chariot. You definitely would kick a lot of bad guy butt like that.]
Many times, [Bruno says, wrapping an arm loosely around Polnareff.] We've had to stop a lot of really bad men.
[Chariot's little chest puffs out considerably. Well! No eyes or not, Sticky Fingers has just become his new favorite. He flits closer, cooing an affectionate pami, before leaping back again. Look at this!]
Like who?
[Jean wiggles. It's not to break free from Bruno's grip-- no, he quite likes that, actually. It's just to make sure he's entirely comfortable, because surely a question like that will lead to a story.]
[The problem is that most (if not all) are not exactly child friendly. At least not for a child as young as Jean.]
[When Chariot leaps back, that would be the point when Sticky Fingers would raise his eyebrows if he had any. As it is, his expression remains more or less indecipherable. He reaches over and gently tugs the smaller Stand back over.]
Mm, there were a few bad men after a princess I was told to protect.
[Chariot goes, more or less amiably enough, as Jean wiggles his toes. That's a very odd feeling, having someone grab his Stand's foot. Not bad, but odd, and he might be very distracted by that if not for what Bruno says.]
A princess!
["Pami!" Jean outright scrambles back, turning in Bruno's lap so he can face him properly.]
What kind? Was she pretty? Did you love her? What kind of bad men? Did they have friends like ours? What did you do, how did you fight them? [And then, breathless and terribly excited:] Are you a knight!
[Here we go again with the cascade of questions. Bruno doesn't bother with trying to correct him for asking so many all at once in his enthusiasm. He just addresses a few of them instead of trying to remember and answer each in turn.]
She didn't know she was a princess because the king didn't even know he had a daughter. So when the princess' mother became very ill, she found a way to tell the king that he had a daughter before she passed away. He wanted to see her for himself when he heard the news. He asked my friends and me to bring her to him safely.
But the king hadn't been a very good ruler, and many people wanted to see him lose the throne. That's why there were bad men who would do anything to the princess in an attempt to shake the king's resolve. So, we promised to keep her safe, even from the king if it came down to it.
[That's a twist on the usual storylines he hears. Jean contemplates that for a few moments, sorting it all out in his head. Chariot lets out a soft pami, slightly worried, his fingers curling around Sticky Fingers' wrist.]
[Bruno nods a little as Sticky Fingers pats Chariot on the back gently with his free hand.]
The king wanted to hurt her, too, in the end, but my friends and I kept her safe. The king is gone now, and there's a new king who's kind and wants the people to be happy. The princess didn't want to rule herself since she was never raised a princess, but she chose to stay and help this new king fix everything that her father did to hurt the people.
[Both Jean and Chariot visibly relax. The Stand settles on the bed, scooting to the very edge to press close to Sticky Fingers.]
That's a good . . . mm. It's not a story, but it was good. [He pats Bruno's chest. Well done, Bruno.] Good job. You're a good knight. Like Lancelot, almost. Except Lancelot's uglier.
[Two points to the zippermom to get such high praise. Dang.]
[Bruno huffs a small laugh. Can't he's ever been called a knight before, let alone had his looks compared to Lancelot. Sticky Fingers moves over and sits down on the bed side Chariot. Although he doesn't pull Chariot into his lap, he does somewhat mirror Bruno by putting a loose arm around the Stand's shoulders.]
[Yeah, it was kind. Jean squirms a little, feeling the ghost of Sticky Fingers' arm around his shoulders. That's a very odd feeling. Jean leans back, resting against Bruno again.
Experimentally, Chariot pulls on Sticky Fingers' hand, pulling his arm tighter around him. Jean feels it, of course, and he giggles.]
That's weird. Nobody's ever been able to touch him before. I tried to get Sherry to do it, but. [He pulls a little face.] She can't. [A beat, and then:] She still can't do anything fun.
At least she can walk an' talk now. Even if I'm not allowed to fight her.
[Fight meaning roughhouse, which apparently you can't do with a five year old. Lame. Jean sighs again, so put upon, and pushes back against Bruno. Pity him, Zipper Man. Or snuggle him. Whichever.]
She likes being the princess now, though. So that's okay. An' she-- [A beat, and he grins.] She thinks I'm magic because of him.
[Pami, Chariot says happily, and wiggles beneath Sticky Fingers' arm. Jean might be remembering Sherry with some irritation right now, but Chariot has nothing but affection for their sibling.]
[Bruno huffs a small laugh at Polnareff's explanation of his relationship to his sister while Sticky Fingers gives Chariot a light squeeze. Don't fight your sister, Polnareff. C'mon.]
I guess. I have to watch her all the time, so she doesn't have much choice. I even have to walk her to school this September.
[His life is very hard, Bruno. Harder than anyone else's in the world, probably. That's true, but this is all a familiar complaint, so even as he speaks Jean is looking around. He hadn't much of a chance to examine his room before, but now that dawn has illuminated things, he can take it in properly.]
[Some things truly have not changed at all throughout the years. Though it's notable that Polnareff spends a lot less time whining at this age. Amazing. A point to bring up later when Polnareff is older again.]
It is. Though I've taken the liberty of tidying it up some for you.
[Laundry does not belong in a pile in the corner, Jean. Holy shit.]
[That's probably the simplest and safest answer. Bruno rubs Polnareff's back a little to subtly get him to settle again, though Sticky Fingers doesn't mirror the movement on Chariot.]
[Bruno's tactic works: with a little sigh Jean settles back, leaning heavily against him.]
You're . . . [A yawn.] You're a nice person. Nice knight. [Which are a fun two words to say, and he mumbles them to himself once or twice more. Nice knight, nice knight . . . oh, wait, he had a point, which is:] You can stay, if you want.
[Oh, was that in debate? Apparently so, but there you go, what a grand little gesture of kindness that is. Jean pats his chest again, the action fond enough.]
Thank you, patatino. I think I will for a little while.
[At least until Polnareff is asleep and sleeping deeply enough that he can be tucked in without disturbing him. Then Bruno will quietly make his exit. Until then though, he continues rubbing Polnareff's back.]
[Oh, that's a good distraction. He was about to object to little one, but yes, he can be persuaded to talk about himself when he's older. If he must.]
Yeah!
[He offers Bruno a brilliant, buck-toothed grin.]
I'm gonna be a fencer! Or a football player, maybe, I dunno which yet. Or baseball, I like baseball too. But whatever I do, I'm gonna definitely be really strong when I do it! Me and Chariot both!
[Pami, Chariot offers, and flexes a skinny arm for Sticky Fingers' inspection.]
[Oh. Well. Sticky Fingers gives the skinny arm a small, gentle squeeze. He does well to feign surprise at how strong he obviously is (not). Very nice, little Stand. Very nice.]
[Bruno looks from Sticky Fingers and Chariot back to Polnareff.]
Just don't forget to do well in school while you're playing all those sports, hm? A strong mind's just as important.
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[Good, this guy definitely knows just how fierce Jean and Chariot are. Pami, Chariot tells Sticky Fingers, and flies back, flourishing his sword. Look how fierce he is! How brave! How utterly uncoordinated he is compared to his older self! There's none of the usual grace and precision Chariot wields his rapier with; this is a child with a toy, trying to look as cool as possible.
With a smug little smile Jean settles back, leaning heavily against Bruno. The sun is just peeking over the horizon, but he's been up for hours, all right, he's tired. Not so tired as to sleep yet, but . . . he'll just lean against Bruno for a bit. There's a blessed moment of silence, and then:]
Have you fought before, you and him?
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Many times, [Bruno says, wrapping an arm loosely around Polnareff.] We've had to stop a lot of really bad men.
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Like who?
[Jean wiggles. It's not to break free from Bruno's grip-- no, he quite likes that, actually. It's just to make sure he's entirely comfortable, because surely a question like that will lead to a story.]
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[The problem is that most (if not all) are not exactly child friendly. At least not for a child as young as Jean.]
[When Chariot leaps back, that would be the point when Sticky Fingers would raise his eyebrows if he had any. As it is, his expression remains more or less indecipherable. He reaches over and gently tugs the smaller Stand back over.]
Mm, there were a few bad men after a princess I was told to protect.
[Time to sanitize.]
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A princess!
["Pami!" Jean outright scrambles back, turning in Bruno's lap so he can face him properly.]
What kind? Was she pretty? Did you love her? What kind of bad men? Did they have friends like ours? What did you do, how did you fight them? [And then, breathless and terribly excited:] Are you a knight!
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She didn't know she was a princess because the king didn't even know he had a daughter. So when the princess' mother became very ill, she found a way to tell the king that he had a daughter before she passed away. He wanted to see her for himself when he heard the news. He asked my friends and me to bring her to him safely.
But the king hadn't been a very good ruler, and many people wanted to see him lose the throne. That's why there were bad men who would do anything to the princess in an attempt to shake the king's resolve. So, we promised to keep her safe, even from the king if it came down to it.
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[That's a twist on the usual storylines he hears. Jean contemplates that for a few moments, sorting it all out in his head. Chariot lets out a soft pami, slightly worried, his fingers curling around Sticky Fingers' wrist.]
So what happened? You protected her, right?
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The king wanted to hurt her, too, in the end, but my friends and I kept her safe. The king is gone now, and there's a new king who's kind and wants the people to be happy. The princess didn't want to rule herself since she was never raised a princess, but she chose to stay and help this new king fix everything that her father did to hurt the people.
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[Both Jean and Chariot visibly relax. The Stand settles on the bed, scooting to the very edge to press close to Sticky Fingers.]
That's a good . . . mm. It's not a story, but it was good. [He pats Bruno's chest. Well done, Bruno.] Good job. You're a good knight. Like Lancelot, almost. Except Lancelot's uglier.
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[Bruno huffs a small laugh. Can't he's ever been called a knight before, let alone had his looks compared to Lancelot. Sticky Fingers moves over and sits down on the bed side Chariot. Although he doesn't pull Chariot into his lap, he does somewhat mirror Bruno by putting a loose arm around the Stand's shoulders.]
That's very kind of you to say, Jean. Thank you.
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[Yeah, it was kind. Jean squirms a little, feeling the ghost of Sticky Fingers' arm around his shoulders. That's a very odd feeling. Jean leans back, resting against Bruno again.
Experimentally, Chariot pulls on Sticky Fingers' hand, pulling his arm tighter around him. Jean feels it, of course, and he giggles.]
That's weird. Nobody's ever been able to touch him before. I tried to get Sherry to do it, but. [He pulls a little face.] She can't. [A beat, and then:] She still can't do anything fun.
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You're a good big brother though, aren't you? You try to include her anyway.
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[A little labored sigh, and then:]
At least she can walk an' talk now. Even if I'm not allowed to fight her.
[Fight meaning roughhouse, which apparently you can't do with a five year old. Lame. Jean sighs again, so put upon, and pushes back against Bruno. Pity him, Zipper Man. Or snuggle him. Whichever.]
She likes being the princess now, though. So that's okay. An' she-- [A beat, and he grins.] She thinks I'm magic because of him.
[Pami, Chariot says happily, and wiggles beneath Sticky Fingers' arm. Jean might be remembering Sherry with some irritation right now, but Chariot has nothing but affection for their sibling.]
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It sounds like she looks up to you a lot then.
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I guess. I have to watch her all the time, so she doesn't have much choice. I even have to walk her to school this September.
[His life is very hard, Bruno. Harder than anyone else's in the world, probably. That's true, but this is all a familiar complaint, so even as he speaks Jean is looking around. He hadn't much of a chance to examine his room before, but now that dawn has illuminated things, he can take it in properly.]
Is this my room?
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It is. Though I've taken the liberty of tidying it up some for you.
[Laundry does not belong in a pile in the corner, Jean. Holy shit.]
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[He wiggles again, restless despite his exhaustion. Chariot does the same, moving against Sticky Fingers, fingers curling against the blankets.]
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[That's probably the simplest and safest answer. Bruno rubs Polnareff's back a little to subtly get him to settle again, though Sticky Fingers doesn't mirror the movement on Chariot.]
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[Bruno's tactic works: with a little sigh Jean settles back, leaning heavily against him.]
You're . . . [A yawn.] You're a nice person. Nice knight. [Which are a fun two words to say, and he mumbles them to himself once or twice more. Nice knight, nice knight . . . oh, wait, he had a point, which is:] You can stay, if you want.
[Oh, was that in debate? Apparently so, but there you go, what a grand little gesture of kindness that is. Jean pats his chest again, the action fond enough.]
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Thank you, patatino. I think I will for a little while.
[At least until Polnareff is asleep and sleeping deeply enough that he can be tucked in without disturbing him. Then Bruno will quietly make his exit. Until then though, he continues rubbing Polnareff's back.]
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[An observation, not an objection.]
What's it mean?
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[Not an exact, literal translation, but that's the heart of what it means.]
But I won't be able to call you that forever, will I? You're going to be much bigger and stronger when you grow up, aren't you?
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Yeah!
[He offers Bruno a brilliant, buck-toothed grin.]
I'm gonna be a fencer! Or a football player, maybe, I dunno which yet. Or baseball, I like baseball too. But whatever I do, I'm gonna definitely be really strong when I do it! Me and Chariot both!
[Pami, Chariot offers, and flexes a skinny arm for Sticky Fingers' inspection.]
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[Bruno looks from Sticky Fingers and Chariot back to Polnareff.]
Just don't forget to do well in school while you're playing all those sports, hm? A strong mind's just as important.
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[Bruno. Don't be lame. Jean wrinkles his nose up at him.]
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