Cross Our Heart

(Cite / Dragato / Tula)

* Takes Place Several Weeks after the Surge*

“Thanks a ton for watching over Tula the past few days while I was at the hospital, Dragato. She seems to really enjoy being around Cite .”

Falspar chuckled when he watched her daughter try to mimic the painting the Squishy was currently working on. Cite was kind enough to donate his old easel to the Sasuke, so whenever she comes over she would always ask if they could paint something together.

“Yeah, she really likes going through all his art supplies. Then again, I’m sure I’d be the same if I were her age.” He smiled back and continued to watch the pair for a few more minutes before shifting the attention to his comrade.

“So, how’s Pyrell doing? I heard he’s up an about?”

“A bit. He’s still fumbling a lot, though. Mends said give him another month or so until he’s fully recovered....”

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I’m sure Cite wouldn’t mind lending him his crutches in the mean time.” He joked, which the Squishy picked up.

“Don’t think I didn’t hear that.” The Squid called out as he started to wrap up his little painting session with Tula. The Sasuke happily ran to Falspar and held out her canvas to show him what she had painted.

“Look what I drew! Isn’t it pretty?”

He grabbed the canvas of the night sky and gave his daughter one of his cheeky smiles. “Little Plum, this is one of the greatest things you’ve drawn so far! I’ll have to find space to hang it on our wall once we get home.”

"It’s a get well gift for Daddy. Ummm.…when he comes home.” She softly spoke since she’s been taking his recovery quite hard. Falspar picked up the tone of her voice and knelt down to her level to tell her the good news Mends provided him today.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.” He smiled, "He’s coming home this evening.”

“W-wha- Really?!!!” Her mood completely shifted, and she looked towards her uncles in excitement. “Did you hear that?!!! He’ll get to see the painting I drew!!”

Dragato save a smile of excitement, equally happy about the news. “Well then, you better hurry up home. I’m sure you’d like to get everything ready before he returns.”

“Hm!!” She nodded, knowing she has a lot to do before he arrived. She quickly ran past the group and headed to the guest room to start packing.

Falspar eventually stood back up, and gave the pair a weary smile. “It’s been such a hectic month, I, ah…hope Tula wasn’t any trouble.”

Since he’d spend most of his time in the hospital helping Pyrell, he rarely got to see his daughter this entire time. Dragato and Cite graciously took her in for the time being, and although he told Tula to behave while he was away, Falspar knew she was having a hard time coping with the news.

“She’s been such a joy, Falspar, don’t worry about it.” Dragato smiled, and began rambling to his comrade to fill him in on what he had missed. “At first she’d wake us up during the middle of the night. Some days she’d go in my room, and some she’d head to Cites'. After several days, she finally calmed down and began settling in. It was then Cite thought having her paint would help ease her from such a tense situation."

“It seems to have worked for the most part.” Cite chimed in as he walked towards Dragato.

“I can’t thank you two enough.” Falspar bowed. “Please, let me return the favor. I’d love to take the two of you out tonight, if possible."

“And Pyrell?” Dragato asked. “Shouldn’t you stay home and watch over him?”

“We’ve already talked, and he’ll be able to manage for the next few hours. I’m sure Tula would love to catch up with him, so I’ll leave them be while the three of us go out."

“Well, if you’re sure.” He turned to Cite. “You’re fine with that, Cite?”

“Yeah, that’s fine with me. Thanks, Falspar.” The Squid nodded.

“Daaaaad! I’m ready!!” Tula called out, shuffling out of the hallway with her suitcase.

"I'm coming." Falspar walked over and picked it up. "Say goodbye to your uncles, sweetie."

"Hm!" She nodded and raced to give them a hug. "Thank you for letting me sleep over! It was lots of fun!"

"We're glad to have you." Dragato returned the hug followed by Cite.

"You're welcome any time, so come back soon." He lightly patted her head and watched as she and Falspar headed out.

"Hey Dragato?" Cite spoke once they left.

"Yeah?" He glanced over.

"Did....Falspar tell us what restaurant to meet him at?"

"I...ah....."

Cite watched as the warrior slump his shoulders followed by soft mumbles of calling his comrade in a few minutes.

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Falspar anxiously waited for the pair at the lone restaurant east of Kalmari Town. It was one of his and Dragato's favorite places to go growing up and even though it was a bit pricey, he figured with was for a good occasion. A humble thank you gift and....maybe something more if he where to actually go through with it. Now fiddling with his silverware, the warrior had second thoughts of his request for the pair. It was daunting, to say the least, but.....

"Ah, there he is!"

Dragato's voice caused him to look up. Giving a small wave, Falspar watched the pair slowly snake their way to their table. Dragato stepped ahead and pulled out one of the chairs for Cite. Falspar couldn't help but give a slight smirk of amusement.

"Does he do that for you often?"

"On his own accord." Cite spoke, handing off his canes to the magenta Puff. "Then again, I'm not one to complain You should see him back home."

Dragato took his seat soon after and gave his friend a smile. "He houses me and I take care of the house in return. It seems like a good trade off."

"You two are starting remind me of Teacher Bate and Teacher Gordon." Falspar mused as the pair began laughing soon after.

When the conversation started to settle down, Falspar ordered drinks for all of them to start off the evening. He gently poured the sake and slid each cup to them. Raising his, he thanked the pair for all their help before taking his shot. Eventually the waiter came, and Falspar ordered several expensive dishes for the group. Dragato and Cite couldn't help but glance at one another from his generosity.

"Ah, geeze, Falspar." Dragato took a small sip of his drink. "You didn't need to buy us all this. I'm sure you'd do the same if any of us needed help."

"I know, but I just wanna show how much I appreciate it." He softly spoke, nervously rubbing his hands. "I...well....Tula's everything to me. And you've helped her when I couldn't."

"She understands. It's been stressful on you as well. I couldn't imagine going through what you have if something ever happened to Dragato." Cite said.

"And besides." Dragato reassured his troubled comrade. "We're her uncles. We'll always be there for her."

He thought his words would brighten his mood but to Dragato's surprise, Falspar was still hesitating. Living together as kids, Dragato knew something else was up. Surly he'd know Tula understood the situation he was in and couldn't take care of her as much as he'd like. They seemed fine when he picked her up in the morning so....

"Okay, Falspar. Talk." Dragato spoke, pointed his fork at him. "I know there's something else on your mind. Did something happen?"

"W-what? N-no, Dragato, it's nothing." Falspar perked up slightly when he heard the tone of his voice. "I'm fine, it's just been a hectic day and I'm a bit tired."

"Tired?" He raised a brow, shaking his head. "Falspar, we grew up together. Don't think you can slide under the radar with that bogus attempt of a lie. Now tell me. Is Pyrell okay? Do you need us to watch Tula again or something?" He asked, trying to put the pieces together when Falspar wouldn't say anything.

"It's not like that, Dragato. Can we just....enjoy dinner?" Falspar stressed. "I really don't want to talk about it right now."

Eventually Dragato stopped pestering and gave a small nod. If Falspar was acting this out of the ordinary, then he figured maybe talking about it at a restaurant wasn't appropriate. Once they leave, however, he swore to Nova he was going to figure it out.

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"Thank you, Falspar. It was delicious." Cite and Dragato complimented as they stepped on the porch of their home.

"I'm glad it still holds up after all these years." He smiled. While Cite was opening the door, Dragato thought it would be perfect to bring up their little scrap from earlier.

"Hey, why don't you come inside for a cup of tea or something." Dragato offered.

"Ah, thanks, but I should really get back home. It's getting late and I'm sure Pyrell needs some help getting Tula ready for bed." He said.

"Just for a minute." He extended his wing to push the Puff in. "Besides, don't think I didn't forget what you said during dinner."

When Falspar was lead to one of the living room chairs, he and Cite took a seat across from them. Dragato, not beating around the bush looked straight at him. "Okay, we're at home. Are you comfortable telling us what you couldn't at the restaurant?"

The warrior avoided their gaze. "I said it was nothing...."

"It doesn't sound like nothing. What, you don't trust me or something?" The warrior spoke with slight agitation in his voice. "You're like my brother, Falspar, if something's troubling you, maybe we can help. Is it about Pyrell?"

"N-no....I....." There was no way he could get out of this, huh? Dragato was going to keep badgering him until he talked so with a deep sigh, Falspar leaned on the table and used his arms to rest his head. "It's about Tula..."

"Tula?" They spoke in unison.

"Y-yeah. After what happened with Pyrell, and then seeing Tula's reaction from it....I....." He paused for a moment to gather his bearings. "I'm scared if something happens to the both of us. What's going to happen to her if we're gone?"

"O-oh...." Dragato reeled back his tone when he realized it was more serious than he thought.

Falspar eventually sat up and faced the warrior. "Dragato, Cite, I know I'm asking a lot, and I know no about of gifts or outings will compare to what I'm going say but...." Taking a quick breath, he spoke. "If something were to ever happen to Pyrell and I.....could you please take care and protect Tula for us?"

"Us?"

"Again, I know I'm asking a lot and.....I understand if you say no." He closed his eyes, not sure how they'll take it. "But you're the only ones I trust enough to watch over her and-"

Falspar didn't have time to react when he received a swift blow to his face. Falling back on his chair, the warrior stumbled back up in distraught when he realized he's been punched! "W-what the heck, Dragato?!!! You could've just said no instead of punching me!" He snapped, clutching his cheek in pain.

Dragato got out of his chair and towered over his friend. "You idiot. I punched you because you had the audacity to hesitate telling me such a thing. Do you honestly think we'll let anything happen to your daughter if you and Pyrell died?!"

"Dragato, I...."

"Because you're even stupider than you look if you think that." He barked, angrily crossing his arms. "Of course we'll take her in, you moron!"

"Y-you will?" He questioned but soon cowered when Dragato shot him a glare. "I...I mean I know you will! I never doubted you wouldn't" He quickly added.

"Good." He huffed. The warrior took his seat once more and gave a small sigh. "Now I'm sure Pyrell is wondering where you are. Go. We'll talk more about this later, okay?"

"Y-yeah, of course." Falspar shyly rubbed his head and gave them a faint smile. Cite gave a slight nod in return as he tried to cool off Dragato. The magenta warrior just looked away, still huffy and shrugged back. Yeah, he was mad, but Falspar knew he could always trust him to be there for his family. Will there reall be a time when he and Pyrell are no longer part of this world? The future is uncertain, but Tula will be taken care of. For a father, that's all he could ever hope for.

-The End-

Artist Comment:

May 29, 2018

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Bonds run deep withing the Ramset family. Falspar should know that by now. u///u