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[risorto]

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[risorto]

[Bruno feels the little tug on his own hand and smiles a little. Sticky Fingers maintains the tightness that Chariot sets by pulling on his hand.]

You're a good big brother though, aren't you? You try to include her anyway.

[silvercrusader]

I have to or else Mama gets mad.

[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.]

[risorto]

[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.]

It sounds like she looks up to you a lot then.

[silvercrusader]

[He shrugs.]

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?

[risorto]

[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.]

[silvercrusader]

Why?

[He wiggles again, restless despite his exhaustion. Chariot does the same, moving against Sticky Fingers, fingers curling against the blankets.]

[risorto]

I like doing nice things for you.

[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.]

[silvercrusader]

Oh.

[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.]

[risorto]

[Bruno smiles anyway.]

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.]

[silvercrusader]

You keep calling me that.

[An observation, not an objection.]

What's it mean?

[risorto]

It's an Italian way of saying "little one."

[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?

[silvercrusader]

[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.]

[risorto]

[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.

[silvercrusader]

You sound like Mama.

[Bruno. Don't be lame. Jean wrinkles his nose up at him.]

[risorto]

[Bruno chuckles.]

I'll take that as a compliment. You wouldn't be the first person to say that.

[silvercrusader]

No, it wasn't. Don't tell me to do my homework, that's so boring . . .

[But he's not so put out as all that, as he sticks out his tongue.]

I'm better at sports than school anyway.

[risorto]

I'm sure that's true, but what if you were to get famous one day for playing sports? Would you really want to tell the kids who look up to you not to bother with school at all?

[silvercrusader]

[Oh. Well. That's cause for some thought, and Jean frowns, staring down at his hands for a long few seconds. Hm . . . ]

I guess not.

[But!]

That doesn't mean I have to do school, though. I can just lie to them.

[risorto]

[That Mom Look™ on Bruno's face? He's not mad. He's just disappointed.]

[silvercrusader]

Why not!

[risorto]

How would you feel if someone you looked up to lied to you?

[silvercrusader]

[That requires more thought. Jean sighs and stares down at his hands, trying to work through that line of thought. Eventually:]

What if they didn't find out? Is that all right?

[It's a genuine question, clearly.]

[risorto]

Would you really feel good about something like that?

[silvercrusader]

I'm asking.

[It's a whine. Don't make him think, Bruno.]

[risorto]

I could only answer based upon my own feelings, not yours.

[Sorry, but there's no getting out of thinking, kiddo.]